The Council of the Village of Riverlea met on the above date via Zoom teleconference software. The following Council members were present: Mayor Eric A. MacGilvray, Marc J. Benevento, Scott K. Gordon, Kathy E. McClintock, Ted C. Miller, Leah M. Pyter, and Dan Schlichting. Also present were Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner, Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, L. Leah Reibel, Solicitor, and William P. Charles, Street Commissioner. At 7:03 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

The minutes of the Council meeting of September 21, 2020 were not read since each member had received a copy. Pyter moved and Schlichting seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion carried (6-0).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Miller moved and Schlichting seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for September 2020 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion carried (6-0).

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor reminded Council that trick or treating in the Village would be October 29 from 6-8 pm.
  2. The Mayor stated that Decker Construction would be out in the Village the following week to finish the concrete work from the infrastructure project.
  3. The Mayor announced that the Village had held a public forum to discuss the upcoming levy ballot issues in the Circle Park on September 27, with modest attendance. He also stated that there would be a second public forum held via Zoom on October 25. The Mayor will mail out a flyer summarizing the issues before the election.
  4. The Solicitor noted that the Rush Run Park sign at the entrance to the park is missing. The Solicitor will inform the City of Columbus Parks and Recreation Department of this.
  5. The Mayor stated that he would research the CARES Act funding that was recently made available to municipalities.

Report of the Solicitor

  1. The Solicitor stated that she had drafted resolutions for the Web Manager, Solicitor, and Worthington Police contracts.
  2. The Solicitor stated that she had discussed the pool ordinance with the Planning Commissioner and has a copy of the ordinance ready to distribute to Council for review.

Report of the Street Commissioner

The Street Commissioner reported that he had spoken with Franklin County about the new construction at 141 Southington. The focus of the discussion is the tapping of the new sewer lateral to the sewer main.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

  1. The Planning Commissioner stated that the commission had approved a certificate of appropriateness for an addition at 5826 Westchester at the September meeting. The committee tabled discussion on plans for a covered porch at the residence until the builder submitted more complete plans.
  2. The Planning Commissioner noted that the commission had approved plans for a privacy fence at 5925 Olentangy at the July meeting. Since then, a neighbor who had stated support for the project at the meeting had contacted the Planning Commissioner, stating that the privacy section of the fence was too long. The Planning Commissioner noted that the fence was built according to the approved plans and everything appeared to be in order.
  3. The Planning Commissioner stated that he had received complaints regarding noise at the construction project at 35 W. Riverglen. The Mayor stated that he had spoken with the residents about restrictions in the Village around after-hours work, after which the resident had complied. The Council agreed that their interpretation of the Village’s noise ordinance was to keep construction crews from doing work on weekends, not necessarily to prevent residents from doing work on their own houses. Gordon questioned whether Council would want to revisit the ordinance to make it less broad. The Solicitor stated that she would review the code and that of other local municipalities to determine if any changes were necessary.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents on agenda items.

Old Business

  1. Committee on Infrastructure

 

  1. Benevento, the Chair of the Committee stated that the committee had received the results of the sanitary sewer inspection. These results showed that there were some minor issues with the lines, including slight damage, root intrusion, and mineral deposits. The committee had asked for a quote on lining the problem areas vs. lining the entire system.
  2. The Chair of the Committee reported that Burgess & Niple had revised the asset management plan for the Village and the committee had approved these revisions.
  3. The Chair of the Committee reported that Burgess & Niple had reviewed the gouges in the streets throughout the Village and did not recommend work at this time. They will monitor the streets after the winter and make a recommendation at that time, if necessary.
  4. The Chair of the Committee reported that he had contacted the City of Worthington about street sweeping, and the City is not interested. The Chair also contacted Sharon Township about this, and they offered the use of a leaf vacuum to clean gutter pans, but they do not offer leaf pickup.

 

  1. Committee on Communications

Gordon, the Chair of the Committee, stated that the committee is working on getting information from new Village residents for the directory. He stated that he hopes to have the directory out at the beginning of the year.

  1. Web Manager

There was no report from the Web Manager.

New Business

  1. Resolution 2020-13

Resolution 2020-13, 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 Benevento and had its first reading.

  1. Resolution 2020-14

Resolution 2020-14, A Resolution to Provide Legal Counsel to the Village of Riverlea, and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by Gordon. Gordon moved and Pyter seconded the motion to waive the three readings of the resolution in order to sign the contract in a timely manner. The motion passed (6-0). Gordon moved and Pyter seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion passed (6-0).

  1. Resolution 2020-15

Resolution 2020-15, A Resolution to Confirm the Appointment of Gregory Bonk as Web Manager was introduced by Gordon and had its first reading.

  1. Ordinance 09-2020

Ordinance 09-2020, An Ordinance to Approve a Modification and Realignment of Ordinance 03-2019, the Annual Appropriation Ordinance (Village), and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by Schlichting. Schlichting moved and Pyter seconded the motion to waive the three readings of the resolution in order to send the appropriation to the County Auditor in a timely manner. The motion passed (6-0). McClintock moved and Schlichting seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion passed (6-0).

  1. Ordinance 09-2020

Ordinance 10-2020, 2021 Annual Appropriation Ordinance (Village) was introduced by Benevento and had its first reading.

  1. Hunting Ordinance

Benevento noted that other than firearm restrictions, the Village does not have anything in the Village code pertaining to hunting within the Village limits and that the Village may want to address this. Benevento stated that he would make a recommendation for an ordinance to Council.

The Solicitor stated that she would research hunting ordinances in other jurisdictions.   There was a discussion about the need for an Ordinance Committee to review the current Nuisance Ordinances of the Village, in light of the discussion of the current noise ordinance, and lack of a hunting ordinance.   The Mayor appointed Scott Gordon, Leah Pyter, Bryce Jacob, and Leah Reibel, Village Solicitor, to the Committee.

Expenses

There were no expenses to approve

Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents on non-agenda items.

Next Meeting Announcement

The next regular meeting will be Monday, November 16 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom teleconference.

 

Adjournment

There being no further business, Pyter moved and Schlichting seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (6-0).  The meeting was adjourned at 8:08 p.m.

 

Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer

Eric A. MacGilvray, Mayor