May 18, 2009 Council Meeting Minutes

VILLAGE OF RIVERLEA
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
MAY 18, 2009

The Council of the Village of Riverlea met on the above date at the Worthington United Methodist Church, 600 High Street, Worthington. The following Council members were present: Mayor Mary Jo Cusack, John S. McAlearney, Kirk McHugh, John A. Schaer, Renee Shannon, Rodney Tettenhorst and Paul J. Zenisek. Also present were Pamela M. Colwell, Clerk-Treasurer, William Charles, Street Commissioner, Lois Yoakam, Newsletter Editor, Janet Brown, Mike Blanchard, Joel Mazza, Sam McConnell and Robert Dalton. At 7:00 pm. the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

1. The minutes of the regular Council meeting of April 20, 2009 were not read since each member had received a copy. Zenisek moved and Schaer seconded a motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 6; McAlearney, McHugh, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 6-0.
2. The minutes of the Special Council meeting of May 4, 2009 were not read since each member had received a copy. Zenisek moved and Schaer seconded a motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 6; McAlearney, McHugh, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 6-0.

Clerk-Treasurer Report

1. The Clerk-Treasurer reported that a Guernsey Bank CD came due April 30, 2009 and the $18,287.48 was rolled over into a 12 month CD at 2.05% APR.
2. Schaer moved and Zenisek seconded a motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial report for April 2009, as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea,6; McAlearney, McHugh, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 6-0. See Board Referral File number 09-010.

Report of the Mayor

1. The Mayor reported she met with Rep. John Patrick Carney and he has agreed to meet to discuss the OSU Airport problems on May 21, 2009 at 1:30 pm.
2. The police are helping with the problems at the south end of Olentangy Blvd. Information about the situation was in the Newsletter.
3. Zenisek called Officer Mette to ask him to attend the Council meeting regarding the Marshal’s duties and he was unavailable. The Mayor said she is happy to have Officer Mette as our liaison with the Worthington Police.
4. The Mayor has received complaints from a number of people regarding the Blanchard residence. There is a rear garage door and allegedly a lube pit in the garage that was not approved by the Planning Commission. There was a complaint filed with the Ohio EPA and the construction has not been completed since the Certificate of Appropriateness was approved over a year ago. One neighbor says the water in his basement is a result of activity on Blanchard’s property. McHugh spoke with Blanchard who says he is doing most of the work himself when he has the time and money. Blanchard stated he has three years to complete the work and the water problem of his neighbor’s basement is not due to the draining of the lube pit in his garage. He does not have a sump pump there. He was just using a temporary pump to remove water that had entered the lube pit. The Mayor pointed out he did not have three years to complete the construction.

Report of the Solicitor

1. The Solicitor looked at Blanchard’s property today. He will research what was approved by the Planning Commission and Council along with reviewing permits and the work Blanchard has done. He will talk to Blanchard first regarding compliance and then to Council.
2. Regarding the Brogan case, we are waiting for the court to rule on the objections to the Magistrate’s report.
3. He is going to review the ordinances regarding the location of fences in yards.
4. The Solicitor stated that the duties of the Village Marshal are established by state statutes. Council needs to determine what they want the marshal to do.
5. Shannon reported that a neighbor informed her that they are going to have chickens with a coop in their fenced yard. The Solicitor said chickens are not regulated unless they become a nuisance or are running at large. Mazza asked if deed restrictions of prohibition of farm animals apply. The Solicitor said they may but the Village has not routinely enforced deed restrictions.
6. The Solicitor pointed out a court action against a village regarding solicitation permit fees for advocacy groups. The Clerk-Treasurer said we do not charge a fee for non-profit, charitable or political solicitation permits (including Advocacy groups). He said we may want to look at our solicitation ordinance again

Report of the Planning Commissioner

Report of the Marshal

Report of the Street Commissioner

1. The Commissioner reported that the driveway and curb at 5794 Westchester Court have been fixed. He was able to look at the sub base when they were working on the driveway and curb. The sub base condition is poor and the concrete gutter under the asphalt has crumbled. This was worse than expected and will have to be dealt with in the future.
2. Burgess & Niple has started on the street survey work. He will hopefully have a report from them for the next Council meeting.
3. The lift station is in good condition now. He is investigating flow monitors and hopes to find one that will notify him of a problem. It may be something he can install. He will get quotes but he figures it will cost between $7500 and $10,000.
4. He spoke with Radico and they are willing to do monthly (or other period) inspections of the lift station. They would charge $200 for the inspection. Having the lift station pumped out would be done at additional cost.

Report of the Newsletter Editor

1. She would like copy for the newsletter by June 5.
2. She asked Council if they wanted extra newsletters if they meet in July and/or August. Council said they would and agreed to pay her for the extra newsletters at the same rate. The Solicitor will create an addendum to her contract for the next meeting to be approved.

Report of the Web Manager

Report of Parks and Recreation

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

1. Joel Mazza explained that his daughter’s bicycle was stolen at the south end of Olentangy Blvd. He suggested that a bike rack would help secure bikes while people go into the woods. There is one type of bike rack that can be attached to the guardrail and swing out of the way when not in use. Some members of Council thought it was a good idea. Mazza will bring pictures and a price quote to the next meeting. He also was against having chickens for pets. He hoped deed restrictions would prohibit them.
2. Bob Dalton wants the enforcement of the law that prohibits motor vehicles parked too long on the street. He has pictures of the gold mini van in front of an Olentangy Blvd. residence that has not been moved in weeks. He called Lt. Dougherty but got no response. He asked Council to support him in complaining to the police so he is not the only one. Council understands the problem and is trying to deal with it. The Mayor will speak with Officer Mette about this. Dalton also volunteered to coordinate cleaning up the Village streets. Information will be printed in the Newsletter and posted on the Web site.

Old Business

New Business

1. Schaer moved and Shannon seconded a motion to approve the additional expenditure for the Bunny Hop ($10 additional for $210 total), accept the expenses stated for the Halloween party that are missing receipts ($62), and to approve the expenditure of $50 for flowers for the front entrances. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 6; McAlearney, McHugh, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 6-0.
2. McHugh moved and Schaer seconded a motion to approve the expenditure of $140 for the Mayors Conference. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 6; McAlearney, McHugh, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 6-0.
3. Schaer moved and Zenisek seconded the motion to authorize the expenditure of up to $2,500 for the July 4 picnic. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 6; McAlearney, McHugh, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 6-0. The Clerk-Treasurer will order the tent, chairs and tables. McHugh will bring and cook the meat. Hopefully others will volunteer to help
4. The five kiosks in the Village are showing their age and need to be refurbished. The Clerk-Treasurer will ask a local plastics company about replacing the Lexan plastic windows. The weather stripping needs replacing and new clips are needed to hold in the windows. The Clerk-Treasurer has volunteered to do the work. Schaer moved and McHugh seconded a motion to authorize the expenditure of up to $800 for materials. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 6; McAlearney, McHugh, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 6-0.
5. The Village needs to purchase eight traffic cones, some reflective tape or 18″x18″ reflectors for the guardrail at the south end of Olentangy Blvd. Schaer moved and McHugh seconded a motion to authorize the expenditure of up to $500 for materials. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea, 6; McAlearney, McHugh, Schaer, Shannon, Tettenhorst and Zenisek: Nay, None. The Motion carried 6-0.
6. Shannon discussed the possible need for masks for residents if there was an outbreak of the swine flu. She is going to look into this and will have the information available in case there is a need.
7. Ordinance No. 04-2009
   McHugh introduced Ordinance No. 04-2009, An Ordinance to Revise Certain Timing and Other Requirements for the Consideration of Applications for a Certificate of Appropriateness. There was a lot of discussion regarding hearing an appeal as a de novo review. Some did not agree with it and felt if new evidence is presented, then it should be sent back to the Planning Commission to review. The Planning Commission should be able to make a decision based on the same evidence. Others disagreed and stated that it would bounce back and forth between the Planning Commission and Council whenever evidence was considered new. It was pointed out that Council was not finding fault with the Planning Commission. Some felt Council should give the Planning Commission their full support. Others said they were giving them their full support but there are unique circumstances and that’s why an appeal process exists. Regarding the recent appeal, Council was also reminded that the Planning Commission’s decision was a split decision of 3-2. The Solicitor was asked to try to come up with an amendment to require new evidence to be provided in advance of the appeal date so Council can discuss it with the Planning Commission.
8. Ordinance No. 05-2009
   Shannon introduced Ordinance No. 05-2009, An Ordinance to Revise Certain Timing Requirements for the Consideration of Applications for a Variance. This ordinance was discussed in conjunction with the above ordinance.
9. The Mayor said the Solicitor will provide the definition of a “hardship” to discuss at the next Council meeting.
10. The Mayor announced that Mortine has asked to be relieved of the job of Marshal, so now is the time for Council to determine what the Marshal’s duties should be. Council discussed the need to have someone enforce some of our local ordinances. It was decided that a committee would meet to decide on the duties of the Village Marshal. Zenisek, McHugh, Shannon and the Solicitor will meet and report at the next meeting.

Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items

Next Meeting

Adjournment

MARY JO CUSACK, MAYOR

DAN E. OWENS, CLERK OF COUNCIL