The Council of the Village of Riverlea met on the above date at the Old Worthington Library. The following Council members were present: Mayor Dan E. Schlichting, Jeffrey Amick, Thomas Bell, Janet Heidkamp, Leah M. Pyter, Emily J. Saving, and Suzanne Surface. Also present were Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner, Leah Reibel, Solicitor, and William Charles, Street Commissioner. At 6:33 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Open Council Position

The Mayor stated that he had been contacted by two potential applicants for the open position on Village Council created by the departure of Nicholas Bartels. One of these potential applicants removed themselves from the process, leaving one applicant. The Mayor invited this person, resident Thomas Bell to introduce himself to Council. Bell stated that he has lived in Riverlea for five years after having previously lived in Worthington Hills for thirty years. He stated that he is interested improving the community. The Mayor appointed Bell to Village Council and the Solicitor swore him in.

Minutes

The minutes of the Council meeting of August 19, 2024 were not read since each member had received a copy. Saving moved and Surface seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 5, Amick, Bell, Heidkamp, Saving, Surface; Nay: None; Abstain: 1, Pyter. The motion carried (5-0-1).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Amick moved and Surface seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for August 2024 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 5, Amick, Heidkamp, Pyter, Saving, Surface; Nay: None; Abstain: 1, Bell. The motion carried (5-0-1).

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor informed new Council member Bell that he would need to work with the Web Manager to set up his Village email account and other relevant information.
  2. The Mayor stated that he had met with Caleb Zmith of Burgess & Niple to review the cracks throughout the Village that will be sealed as part of the upcoming project, set to begin Friday, October 4. Heidkamp asked if there were considerations for the vehicles parked on streets throughout the Village during this project. The Mayor replied that he would be sending an email blast to residents asking them to remove their cars from the roads during the project. If there are any cars remaining parked on the road, crews will work around them. Roads should be drivable within minutes of being sealed.
  3. The Mayor noted that there had been another positive test for West Nile Virus in local mosquito traps so another round of spraying was planned for that evening. The Mayor stated that he had ordered four signs to notify residents of this spraying and the Village had received five. He had placed these signs around the Village for notice.
  4. The Mayor reminded Council that they would be watching a video on fraud prevention during the meeting as required by the State of Ohio.
  5. The Mayor stated that the Village had received an audit report for the 2022-2023 years and had received positive marks on its operations and compliance from this audit.

Report of the Solicitor

The Solicitor stated that she had prepared an ordinance to address the typo discovered in section 151.044 of the Village Code. This ordinance will receive the full three readings to allow time for the Planning or Street Commissioners to review the Code and recommend any other potential revisions.

Report of the Street Commissioner

  1. The Street Commissioner noted that the work has been done to connect the water and sewer lines on the new construction at 5691 Olentangy. He stated that there is irrigation work being done on the yard so it appears that things are working properly but that he has requested confirmation via email. Amick asked if the Village could withhold a Certificate of Appropriateness until it receives this information. The Mayor stated that this is granted by the City of Columbus and that they would not grant this until the work had been inspected and approved.
  2. The Street Commissioner stated that he had contacted a company about recasting the broken drain cover at Dover and Melbourne and is waiting to hear back on this.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

  1. The Planning Commissioner stated that the Commission had heard three cases at the September meeting:
  2. The Commission approved the addition of a six-foot fence at 121 W Southington given that both neighboring parties had submitted approval in writing.
  3. The Commission approved the replacement of the front porch structure at 5846 Olentangy.
  4. The Commission approved a Certificate of Appropriateness and Variance at 272 Melbourne Pl for the replacement of the front porch. The variance was required because the new porch will encroach on the setback from the road in one corner.
  5. The Planning Commissioner stated that the owners of the new house at 5691 Olentangy Blvd are planning on moving into the house that Saturday. He noted that he had asked them to replace the driveway apron as it is a saw cut and does not meet the Village Code.
  6. Amick stated that he felt that the Village needed to address the appeal request for 121 W Southington, given that the Commission had approved the project and the homeowner agreed to withdraw the request when he receives the COA. Saving moved to table the hearing on the appeal pending the claimants request to withdraw. Heidkamp seconded the motion. The motion carried (6-0).

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents on current agenda items.

Old Business

  1. Committee on Infrastructure
  1. Schlichting, the Chair of the Committee, reported that the Committee is waiting on the street sealing and CCTV inspection of the sewer lines, which should be completed in the following month.
  2. The Chair of the Committee reported that the plans for the repairs to the Village entrance signs were being finalized and work should begin within the month.

 

  1. Web Manager

The Web Manager was not in attendance.

  1. Communications Committee

 

  1. The Mayor inquired as to whether the Village should put information around the new deer feeding ordinance on the website, including the description of the ordinance and why it was needed for the Village. The Mayor said that the information is in the emails that he has sent.
  2. The Mayor suggested also that information around upcoming mosquito spraying in the Village could be added to the website. Surface suggested that a link to this information could be added to the signs placed around the Village for residents to scan.
  3. The Mayor stated that the Village should do some asset management for the information held throughout the Village government, including videos, contracts, documents, among other types. The Clerk-Treasurer stated that most of this information is held on a Google Drive that he maintains.

The Solicitor reminded Council that the Village has a document retention policy that details how this information is to be maintained and disposed of. She will recirculate this to the Council members so they have this information. The Mayor suggested that a committee review the retention schedule to ensure that no changes need to be made and that the Village is in compliance. The Chair of the Communications Committee suggested that the interested members of Council and other Officials review this at the end of the next Council meeting. Council agreed to review the retention schedule as a new item at the October meeting.

New Business

  1. Ordinance 02-2024

Ordinance 02-2024 – An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 151: Zoning Code of the Ordinances of the Village of Riverlea was introduced by Saving and had its first reading.

  1. Fraud Video

Attendees watched a video on fraud training presented by the Ohio Auditor of State’s office. All in attendance signed a sign-in sheet to attest to their viewing.

  1. Onboarding Packet

Pyter & Saving stated that they are willing to put together items that a new Village Council member would need for onboarding, such as forms and training.

Expenses

Amick moved and Heidkamp seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditures:

$ 116.09 – Daniel Schlichting – Mosquito spraying notification signs

$ 192.39 – Josh Mehling – Supplies & Postage

$ 584.51 – Kathy McClintock – Luminary Supplies

The motion was approved (6-0).

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, October 21, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Worthington Library.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Heidkamp moved and Pyter seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (6-0). The meeting was adjourned at 7:59 p.m.

 

Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer

Daniel E. Schlichting, Mayor