The Council of the Village of Riverlea met on the above date at Thomas Worthington High School. The following Council members were present: Mayor Eric A. MacGilvray, Scott K. Gordon, Janet Heidkamp, Leah M. Pyter, Emily Saving, and Dan E. Schlichting. Also present were Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, L. Leah Reibel, Solicitor, and Steven Orenchuk, Street Commissioner. At 7:04 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

The minutes of the Council meeting of August 15, 2022 were not read since each member had received a copy. Schlichting moved and Heidkamp seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 5, Gordon, Heidkamp, Saving, and Schlichting; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (5-0).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Pyter moved and Schlichting seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for August 2022 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The motion carried (5-0).

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor stated that Riverlea would hold its Fall Festival on Saturday, October 15 at 4 pm in the Circle Park. Food trucks will be on site and there will be crafts, guessing games, and a bounce house for the kids. The Mayor thanked Kathy McClintock and the Social Committee for organizing.
  2. The Mayor reported that he received a question from a resident about whether there is anything in Riverlea’s code concerning residents feeding the deer. Riverlea does not have such an ordinance, though Worthington does have this language in their code. The Mayor queried Council as to whether they felt the Village should adopt language along these lines and they felt that it would be difficult to enforce. However they agreed that residents should be reminded that they are advised not to feed the deer.
  3. The Mayor suggested that he invite the owner of the apartment building at High & Riverglen to the October meeting for a discussion about parking along Riverglen. The owner is requesting that parking be allowed at some point along Riverglen between Crescent & High to alleviate parking issues. Council agreed that the owner should attend in October for this discussion.

Report of the Solicitor

  1. The Solicitor stated that she had researched and distributed information to Council members on salary comparisons for Village officials in similar sized municipalities. She noted that the Mayor’s salary had not been changed since 1992 and that the Mayor’s salary in Marble Cliff, the village closest to Riverlea in the area in terms of size and structure, is $12k. Heidkamp and Savings volunteered to form a committee to review these salaries and make a suggestion to Council on potential changes. Any changes would not be effective until after the 2023 election.
  2. The Solicitor stated that she had researched who is considered to be a mandatory reporter for the Child Abuse reporting legislation to be adopted. The Village Solicitor would be considered a mandatory reporter because attorneys are mandatory reporters; however Council members and other Village officials would not.
  3. The Solicitor stated that she had prepared legislation regarding the designation of the five most public places in the Village for the posting of Village information. Council will review this legislation in October.
  4. Gordon inquired about the possibility of enrolling the Village in the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS), as there may be benefits vs. social security for public employees who also serve as Village officials. There is a possibility that these employees could accrue service time for time served as a public official as well as in their primary position. The compensation committee will review this issue as well as the Village salaries.

Report of the Street Commissioner

  1. The Street Commissioner stated that tree removal in the right of way for the lift station is scheduled for the week of October 4. A space for placement of a new generator for the lift station has been cleared.
  2. The Street Commissioner stated that he responded to a request for a curb cut at 5707 Olentangy.
  3. The Street Commissioner reported that he had received a question from a resident on how to handle a dead deer. If it is a fresh kill, residents are to contact the Worthington Police Department. If not, they are to contact the Sharon Township Street Department.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

The Planning Commissioner was not in attendance. The Clerk-Treasurer reported that the Commission had met in September and approved the following:

  1. The addition of a concrete patio at 288 Frontenac
  2. The removal and replacement of a patio at 267 Beverly
  3. The construction of a house on the vacant lot at 141 W Southington

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents on agenda items.

Old Business

  1. Committee on Infrastructure

Schlichting, the Chair of the Committee, reported that the Committee had not met in September.

  1. Web Manager

The Web Manager was not in attendance.

  1. Communications Committee

 

  1. Gordon, the Chair of the Committee, stated that the Village directory would likely need to be updated at least bi-annually due to turnover within the Village and asked Council if they felt that it would make more sense to issue the directory in an electronic format rather than in print to make the updating easier. There was some discussion of methods of hosting the directory online and it was decided that for logistical and privacy-based reasons, it is preferable to issue the directories via printed copy.
  2. The Chair inquired whether there was any interest among members in livestreaming the Council meetings. Council felt that given the low amount of resident attendance at in-person meetings, there did not appear to be enough interest to make it worth the effort and cost of setting up a live feed.

New Business

  1. Resolution 2022-08

Resolution 2022-08 – A Resolution Authorizing Certain Village Officials to Execute a Memorandum of Understanding for the Investigation of Child Abuse and Neglect, and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by Pyter. Pyter moved and Schlichting seconded the motion to waive the three readings of the resolution to sign the memorandum in a timely manner. The motion carried (5-0). Pyter moved and Saving seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion carried (5-0).

  1. Resolution 2022-09

Resolution 2022-09 – A Resolution to Provide Legal Counsel for the Village of Riverlea was introduced by Schlichting and had its first reading.

  1. Resolution 2022-10

Resolution 2022-10 – A Resolution to Provide for the Acquisition of Consulting Services from Burgess & Niple to Provide Engineering Services During Construction of the 2022-2023 Sanitary Sewer and Lift Station Project, and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by Schlichting. Schlichting moved and Saving seconded the motion to waive the three readings of the resolution to sign the contract in a timely manner. The motion carried (5-0). Schlichting moved and Pyter seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion carried (5-0).

  1. Ordinance 02-2022

Ordinance 02-2022 – An Ordinance to Approve a Modification and Realignment of Ordinance 04-2021, the Annual Appropriation Ordinance (Village), and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by Gordon. Gordon moved and Schlichting seconded the motion to waive the three readings of the resolution to submit the request to the Franklin County Auditor in a timely manner. The motion carried (5-0). Pyter moved and Heidkamp seconded the motion to approve the resolution. The motion carried (5-0).

Expenses

Gordon moved and Saving seconded the motion to authorize the following expenditures:

$6,800.00 – American Legal Publishing – Ordinance codification

$3,805.00 – The 1 Tree Service – Tree removal in right of way

The motion was approved unanimously (5-0).

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 17 2022 at 7:00 p.m. at Thomas Worthington High School.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Pyter moved and Saving seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). The meeting was adjourned at 8:06 p.m.

 

Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer

Eric A. MacGilvray, Mayor