November 25, 2013 Council Meeting Minutes

Regular Council Meeting

November 25, 2013

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, Jon L. Ankrom, Scott K. Gordon, Briggs W. Hamor, Jenny D. Jones and Eric A. MacGilvray, President Pro-Tem. Also present were Pamela M. Colwell, Clerk-Treasurer, L. Leah Reibel, Solicitor, William P. Charles, Street Commissioner, Karen McElmurray, Marshal, Michael Jones, Planning Commissioner, and Jody Croley Jones, Web Manager. Guests of Council were Josh Mehling, Jan Williams, Chad Lowe, Jeff Colwell and Worthington Police Chief Mosic. At 7:10 p.m. the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

1. The minutes of the regular Council meeting of October 21, 2013 were not read since each member had received a copy. MacGilvray moved and Gordon seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

1. Jones moved and Ankrom seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial report for October 2013 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).

Report of the Mayor

1. The Mayor introduced Worthington Police Chief Mosic who made a presentation about the Code Red Emergency Notification System. Worthington contracts with Code Red to provide the city with the ability to deliver emergency or important messages quickly to Worthington and Riverlea residents. This is done by text messages or phone calls. Residents are asked to register to make sure they are included. This information will only be used for this service but will also be subject to the State public records laws. Chief Mosic said that this service was recently used to notify residents of a street closure. He wanted to make sure Village residents were aware of it.

Report of the Solicitor

1. The Solicitor reported she sent a letter to Pharazyn Landscaping to notify them that the Village will not be continuing their contract for 2014.

Report of the Street Commissioner

1. The Street Commissioner reported that the sanitary sewer project has been completed on schedule. Louis McFarland, Burgess & Niple, has notified OPWC that the project has been completed and the invoice will follow shortly.
2. The manhole lining was finished and passed inspection.
3. The lift station needs to be cleaned out before the end of December.
4. The street and curb repair on Crescent have been started and there will be re-grading on Pioneers to correct standing water in front of a driveway.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

1. The Commissioner reported there was one application for an addition that was approved.

Report of the Marshal

1. The Marshal reported there were 281 checks with no citations or warnings issued.

Report of the Web Manager

1. The Web Manager reported there was an increase in activity on more pages, so people are looking around the website.

Report of the Newsletter Editor

1. The Editor would like copy for the Newsletter by December 5, 2013.
2. The deadline for directory changes is December 1, 2013.
3. The Mayor reported that the Newsletter Editor, Lois Yoakam, has decided to retire at the end of this year. Council will need to decide if there should be any changes to the job description as the Village moves into digital communication.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

Old Business

1. Committee on Infrastructure
   Briggs Hamor, Chair, reported that Marc Benevento has resigned because of the responsibilities of a new job. Hamor’s term on Council ends this year but he wants to continue on the Committee. He will wait until January to determine what the next steps for the Committee will be.
2. Committee on Ordinances
   Jenny Jones, Chair, reported that she has a few issues to clarify before giving the draft of ordinance changes to the Solicitor.
3. Committee on Communications Jon Ankrom, Chair, reported that the Committee has discussed the Newsletter Editor’s job and possible job description changes. The Mayor asked if there was really any need for a monthly newsletter since most residents get their information from the website. It was suggested that information could be put on the kiosks for those who do not use the internet. Ankrom said the Committee will discuss this and report back to Council next month with their findings.
4. Ordinance No. 05-2013 Ordinance No. 05-2013, Annual Appropriation Ordinance (Village) for 2014 was given its second reading.
5. Wye Replacement
   Chad Lowe built a new home at 175 W. Southington and connected to the sewer in 2013. When the main sewer pipe in the street was being lined, it was discovered that Lowe’s lateral line was partially blocked and cracked and the wye probably also needed to be replaced due to its age to prevent leakage. It was critical that the repairs be done promptly to prevent a delay in the sewer project. The Street Commissioner notified Lowe of the problem and asked him to make the repairs immediately, which he did. Lowe is asking the Village to pay for part of his expenses for the repairs because he incurred extra charges due to overtime incurred so that the Villagewide Sanitary Sewer Project would not be delayed. The total repair cost is $9626.81.The Street Commissioner reported that homeowners are usually responsible for all expenses for connecting to a sewer in most cities, including Worthington. In April 2013, Flowline Inc. reported that the service line was ¾ full of mineral deposits but Lowe did not realize the magnitude of the problem at the time.

   Council stated that the circumstances regarding this are very unusual. It is very unusual to have a new home built on a lateral that had not been used in many decades, in the middle of a village wide sewer renovation project. They did make some exceptions to cover the cost of lining lateral service lines for some residents because of the need to comply with EPA orders. However, they did not want to pay for problems connecting to the sewer for other new houses or other new laterals. Council decided they would pay for part of Lowe’s expenses because delaying the sewer project would have been more costly. After some discussion they agreed to a pay half of the costs of excavation, asphalt and some materials, and full cost of the 8-inch pipe, wye and overtime for a total of $5,047.43.

   Again Council stressed that this was a very unique circumstance and a onetime exception. They will be drafting legislation to detail that it will be the homeowner’s responsibility to conduct a video inspection and submit to the Street Commissioner for approval prior to connecting to the sewer; and all costs associated with connection, including excavation, will be the homeowner’s responsibility up to the wye. If the wye also needs to be replaced, the Village may pay for the wye but not any excavation or resurfacing costs, and the new legislation will address these points specifically.

   Resolution No. 2013-16
   Resolution No. 2013-16, A Resolution to Compensate the Homeowner at 175 W. Southington for Unanticipated Expenses Related to the 2013 Villagewide Sanitary Sewer Improvement Project, and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by Ankrom. Ankrom moved and Hamor seconded the motion to amend Resolution No. 2013-16 to change the wording in the second paragraph to be “the Council has determined to reimburse the homeowner in this instance for partial cost of the repair” and to add the amount of $5,047.43 in Section 1. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). Jones moved and Hamor seconded the motion to declare an emergency and suspend the three readings of Resolution No. 2013-16. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). Jones moved and Ankrom seconded the motion to adopt Resolution No. 2013-16. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). Gordon wanted to be clear on what actually had to be done. He asked how Lowe was informed of the problem and the Street Commissioner said he told Lowe the work needed to be done right away. Jenny Jones pointed out that this was a case where it was also cost beneficial to the Village to expedite this repair. She wants language added to the ordinances that under certain circumstance where it is beneficial to both the Village and homeowner, costs may be shared.

6. Street Repairs
   The Street Commissioner reported that about 8′ of curb and 82′ of asphalt needs to be repaired on Crescent and about 125′ of asphalt needs to be re-graded to help solve a standing water issue on Pioneers. Jan Williams said the problem on Pioneers was made worse after the building of the new home next to her. Decker will do both locations for $5,500. MacGilvray moved and Ankrom seconded the motion to authorize the expenditure of $5,500 for Decker to do the work.
7. Clerk-Treasurer Resignation and Replacement
   The Clerk-Treasurer, Pam Colwell, gave notice of her resignation effective February 1, 2014. Josh Mehling was the only resident to show interest in the position and has been learning about the job. Council said they support Mehling for the Clerk-Treasurer position and wanted the record to reflect this.

New Business

1. Ordinance No. 06-2013 Appropriation Modification
   Ordinance No. 06-2013, An Ordinance to Approve a Modification and Realignment of Ordinance No. 06-2012, the Annual Appropriation Ordinance (Village) was introduced by MacGilvray. The Clerk-Treasurer said she needed to move some funds from one item to another but there was no increase in the total amount appropriated. Ankrom moved and Jones seconded the motion to suspend the three readings of Ordinance No. 06-2013. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). Jones moved and MacGilvray seconded the motion to adopt Ordinance No. 06-2013. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
2. Resolution No. 2013-17
   Resolution No. 2013-17, 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 was introduced by Hamor. This is for 2014. Jones moved and Gordon seconded the motion to suspend the three readings of Resolution No. 2013-16. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). Jones moved and Hamor seconded the motion to adopt Resolution No. 2013-16. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
3. Resolution No. 2013-18
   Resolution No. 2013-18, A Resolution Ratifying Amended Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission Articles of Agreement was introduced by Ankrom. Hamor moved and Jones seconded the motion to suspend the three readings of Resolution No. 2013-17. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). Hamor moved and Jones seconded the motion to adopt Resolution No. 2013-17. The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).
4. Election Results
   Jenny Jones asked about the election and the results. Council responded that there were 4 vacant positions but only two qualified candidates. Jeff Colwell and Mike Blanchard were the two write-in candidates and were elected. MacGilvray, Hamor and Renee Albert have expressed interest in the two remaining Council seats.
5. Expenses
   Gordon moved and Jones seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditures:
   $300 American Legal Publishing – Code of Ordinances internet renewal
   $285 Ohio Municipal League 2014 dues
   $20 EPA storm water discharge fee
   $39 W2/1099 tax software
   Lift station cleaning not to exceed $1,600

   The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).

Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items