November 16, 2015 Council Meeting Minutes

Regular Council Meeting

November 16, 2015

The Council of the Village of Riverlea met on the above date at the Thomas Worthington High School, Worthington. The following Council members were present: Mayor Kirk M. McHugh, Scott K. Gordon, Eric A. MacGilvray, Josh Schoenberger, and Jacalyn Slemmer. Also present were Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, L. Leah Reibel, Solicitor, Carolee Noonan, Planning Commissioner, and William P. Charles, Street Commissioner. Guests of Council were Marc & Sheila Benevento. At 7:02 pm the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Worthington Chief of Police

James Mosic, Chief of the Worthington Police Department, addressed the Council members. He thanked the Village for its partnership with the Worthington community and Police Department in particular. He stated that he would like to improve the communication and relationship between the Village and the Police Department. He mentioned that the department offers many programs which may be of interest to residents, including a Block Watch program, a national Night Out, and the Citizens’ Police Academy. They also offer self-defense classes if any residents wanted to take advantage of these. The web site for the Police Department lists these events.

Mosic stated that the Columbus area had recently seen problems with drug addiction, most notably heroin, and that there are programs within Worthington and the area to help anyone with these issues. He also stated that residents can use the web site crimereports.com to see reported crimes in the area.

Carolee Noonan asked Mosic about the age requirement for the Citizens’ Police Academy, stating that she knew some Boy Scouts who may be interested in this. He replied that he was not sure of the requirements, but that he had not heard of a juvenile enrolling in the program. He suggested a Volunteer Public Safety program, which is run through Franklin County, for the younger residents.

Slemmer inquired if there had recently been an increase in the number of burglaries in the area. Mosic stated that there had been three recent burglaries close to Riverlea. The Police have a suspect in these burglaries and believe they are responsible for all of them. He stated that car break-ins are constant.

Sheila Benevento thanked Mosic and the Worthington Police for the addition of the sign near the entrance to the woods at the end of Olentangy and for the increased Police presence in the area.

The Mayor told Mosic that the Village had seen an increase in trash pickers, leading to problems such as speeding through the village and dumping in the ravine. Mosic said that he will pass this information along to the Officers, who will look for this in their patrols on trash pickup days. MacGilvray inquired as to whether an ordinance against trash picking would be enforceable, if the Village were to implement this. Mosic replied that more research would need to be done, seeing how these have worked in other communities.

Minutes

1. The minutes of the regular Council meeting of October 19, 2015 were not read since each member had received a copy. Slemmer moved and Schoenberger seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion carried (4-0).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

1. Gordon moved and Schoenberger seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for October 2015 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion carried (4-0).

Report of the Mayor

1. The Mayor reported that the brush at the end of the ravine had been cleared. He had called several tree companies, and spoke with a representative of one company which had planned to be in the neighborhood, which would save the village some money.
2. The Clerk-Treasurer asked Council if they would like the Social Coordinator to arrange for the decoration of the Christmas tree at the end of the ravine. Council replied that they were fine with this, as long as there was room in the budget

Report of the Solicitor

1. The Solicitor reported that she had heard from Dennis Schwallie, the bond Counsel for the Village, about the next steps in the infrastructure process, and that he had stated that the Village should receive a certificate of the election results from the Board of Elections in the next few days, at which time, there would be a 15 day period in which someone may contest the results of the election. MacGilvray stated that he had a meeting scheduled with Mr. Schwallie to begin discussions of the Village’s strategy throughout the upcoming process.
2. The Solicitor stated that there were several resolutions that would need to be voted on later in the meeting, including those to authorize the signing of new contracts with the City of Columbus for legal services, as well as with the Worthington Police Department. She stated that there were no increases in either of those contracts.

Report of the Street Commissioner

1. The Street Commissioner reported that progress continues on the stormwater outfall repairs along Olentangy. It is on target to be complete by December 18.
2. The Street Commissioner stated that he would speak with Mike Blanchard about installing the new street signs around the village.
3. The Street Commissioner reported that he would contact Decker Construction about repairing several potholes around the Village by the end of the year. He estimated that this would cost between $500 and $2,000. Council did not express any reservations with these repairs.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

1. The Planning Commissioner reported that there was no meeting and no applications in November.
2. The Planning Commissioner reported that two members of the Planning Commission had terms expiring at the end of the year. Taylor Surface had agreed to serve on the Commission again, beginning in January. She had not yet heard whether Bryce Jacob would be returning as well. If he does not return, she will publish the opening on the website.

Report of the Marshal

1. There was no report from the Marshal.

Report of the Web Manager

1. The Web Manager was not in attendance, but had submitted an email requesting that Council send her the descriptions for the Council member positions that would need to be filled in January, so that she could post them on the Village web site. She also stated that she had received requests from outside services (gas, cable) to advertise on the web site. She wanted to know if Council still wanted to refrain from posting these on the site, and Council stated that this was still the case.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

Old Business

1. Committee on Infrastructure
   The Mayor stated that he had heard from several people, from residents to State lawmakers, congratulating him and the Village on passing the bond levy by such a wide margin. He congratulated and thanked the Council members, current and past, for their work on this issue.
2. Ordinance 09-2015
   Ordinance 09-2015, An Ordinance Enacting and Adopting a Supplement to the Code of Ordinances for the Village of Riverlea, Ohio was given its third reading. Slemmer moved and MacGilvray seconded the motion to adopt this resolution. The motion passed unanimously (4-0).
3. Ordinance 11-2015
   Ordinance 11-2015, the Annual Appropriation Ordinance was modified and given its second reading.

New Business

1. Open Positions
   There will be three openings on Council in January, with the expiration of terms for two of the members (Gordon and Jones), as well as MacGilvray becoming Mayor. Gordon stated that he had not heard from Jones about whether she would be willing to serve again, but that he would be willing to do so.
2. Photoconductor
   Council authorized $200 for the purchase of a new photoconductor for the copier used by the Clerk-Treasurer.
3. Resolution 2015-18
   Resolution 2015-18, A Resolution of Appreciation for Jason Galloway for his Services in Making the Village of Riverlea More Beautiful by Improving the Public Landscape Areas was introduced by MacGilvray. Gordon moved and Schoenberger seconded the motion to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to thank Galloway after the completion of his project. The motion passed unanimously (4-0). Schoenberger moved and Gordon seconded the motion to adopt this resolution. The motion passed unanimously (4-0).
4. Resolution 2015-19 Resolution 2015-19, A Resolution Authorizing the Mayor of the Village of Riverlea, Ohio to Contract with the City of Worthington, Ohio and the Worthington Police Department to Provide Police Services in the Village, and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by Slemmer. Gordon moved and Schoenberger seconded the motion to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to submit this to the city by the end of the month. The motion passed unanimously (4-0). Schoenberger moved and Slemmer seconded the motion to adopt this resolution. The motion passed unanimously (4-0).
5. Resolution 2015-20
   Resolution 2015-20, A Resolution Authorizing the Mayor of the Village to Enter into a Contract with the City of Columbus for Legal Representation in Certain Criminal and Traffic Cases was introduced by Schoenberger. Slemmer moved and Schoenberger seconded the motion to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to submit this to the city by the end of the month. The motion passed unanimously (4-0). Gordon moved and Schoenberger seconded the motion to adopt this resolution. The motion passed unanimously (4-0).
6. Ordinance 12-2015
   Ordinance 12-2015, An Ordinance to Approve a Modification and Realignment of Ordinance 04-2014, the Annual Appropriation Ordinance (Village), and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by Schoenberger. Slemmer moved and Gordon seconded the motion to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to pay the village’s expenses on a timely basis. The motion passed unanimously (4-0). Slemmer moved and Schoenberger seconded the motion to adopt this resolution. The motion passed unanimously (4-0).
7. Expenses
   Slemmer moved and Schoenberger seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditures:
   $12.00 – Ohio EPA – 2016 Discharge fees
   $2,207.32 – Radico – Lift station maintenance
   $1,791.81 – William Charles – Street sign reimbursement
   $378.00 – Dawson Insurance – 2016 Crime policy
   $300.00 – Dave Tree Service – Brush removal

   The motion was approved unanimously (4-0).

Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items