City Council

200 South Hamilton Road City of Gahanna Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Meeting Minutes City Council Brian D. Larick, President Nancy R. McGregor, Vice President Karen J. Angelou Merisa Bowers Jamie Leeseberg Stephen A. Renner Michael Schnetzer Krystal Gonchar, MPA, Clerk of Council Council may caucus at 6:45 p.m. Monday, August 16, 2021 7:00 PM City Hall, Council Chambers A. CALL TO ORDER - Invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, Roll Call. Gahanna City Council met on Monday, August 16, 2021 in Regular Session. President of Council, Brian Larick, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Vice President of Council, Nancy McGregor, delivered an Invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Agenda for this meeting was published on August 13, 2021. Present 7 - Jamie Leeseberg, Stephen A. Renner, Michael Schnetzer, Brian D. Larick, Nancy R. McGregor, Karen J. Angelou, and Merisa Bowers B. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA: none. C. HEARING OF VISITORS. - Proclamation for Kiwanis Club of Gahanna Mayor Laurie Jadwin presented the Kiwanis Club of Gahanna with a Proclamation, in recognition of their 60th anniversary (see attached under file: 2021-0163 Mayor Proclamation and Report). - Members of the Public Patricia Kovacs, 527 Haversham Drive: stated that she would be commenting on the code changes brought forward last week; would like to update sidewalk law; uniform vehicle code has items that would be good to adopt into code; adding electric bikes into law; law enforcement should be able to ride an electric bike on a sidewalk if necessary; riding bikes through a crosswalk is allowed, but they must follow the same laws City of Gahanna Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes August 16, 2021 as pedestrians; they do have to yield to vehicles that are close enough to cause an immediate hazard; if a bicyclist rides on a sidewalk then they should yield to pedestrians and inform them when passing; we are only allowed to ride in residential streets in Gahanna, not commercial areas; has been lobbying the state to get these changes and will continue to do so; recently taught a bike class to some young girls; when crossing Johnstown Road, someone turned left in front of them and nearly ran them over; informed the girls that when the light turns green to just wait a minute; posted about the situation on Facebook and received a lot of feedback that it was illegal to bike through a crosswalk; wanted to clear up that it is not; some city ordinances are not in state law; motorized bikes don’t match state law and need corrected; do have a law about segways in the city and state; can be operated on sidewalks; we have a law about reckless operation, and thinks that should apply to cyclists using phones while riding; there are age limits on cyclists but thinks that should include an option for allowing them to ride with an adult; should add an age limit on electric bikes; would request to delay until the Bicycle Trail Advisory Committee can review. Brenda & Carroll Hoffman, 279 Highmeadow Drive: stated that she reached out to Leeseberg about Strawser’s construction at the corner of their street; ramp is being installed; asked Strawser employee how deep the plate was supposed to be under the truncated dots and was informed it should be 6.5”; that’s contrary to 2319 drawing that we ratified; we did not codify but we are using for the ramps; my sidewalk had to come out because of a code violation due to a problem with the Gahanna Code and was re-poured; so basically what you did was hire a contractor who tore out the legal and correctly sloped panels, in excess of 4” sidewalk, and put in panels of sidewalk, and not one single panel is 4” or greater, even landing is not 4” or greater; even the ramp is not 8” at the street curb or 4” up on the side; measured after the form was removed; they did come back after I posted about my sledge hammer skills on Facebook and contacted the city; Public Service has gone above and beyond and cannot say "thank you" enough; good job and excellent response; we still have not heard back from Gahanna about when Strawser will come back and re-pour, but dirt was put around; is a master gardener and wants own seed; someone asked her why she is worried about it because it’s the city’s responsibilities; if city will replace the ramp when the snow plow runs into it, then fine; but when thinking about it, everyone worked hard to get ADA code; asked if this is how we want it; sidewalk down the street the other way is still a problem; Strawser is your client and is being paid; they turned around and walked off when talking to the city inspector; the city did some good things here; pleased to see you all here. City of Gahanna Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes August 16, 2021 Sharon Montgomery, 572 Bonnington Way: thanked Ms. Bowers for doing her homework; asked for input on the traffic code changes; thanked Mularski for his time last week; 4511.991 appears on the surface to create an additional fine if one of many other violations is caused by distracted driving; Gahanna has chosen to put 4511.204, which is the secondary adult texting law, in our code, but not 4511.205, which is the primary teen distraction law; we enforce state traffic laws whether or not we put them in our code, therefore putting them in our code is essentially endorsing that law; would much prefer if my city did not endorse a bad law; this is a “looks good on paper” law; in 2018 the sponsors of this law carefully scattered so many protective conditions throughout it that it is extremely unlikely to be used enough to have a deterrent effect; they even blatantly misrepresented their own bill and sponsor testimony by overselling the extra fine being required, which it is not; to prevent traffic crashes, injuries, and deaths we must have “works in real life” laws; defending a bad law with “something is better than nothing” can have consequences; as long as we keep accepting scraps, that’s all lawmakers will offer us; and the mindset is that we have already taken care of that so we don’t need to deal with it anymore; last week Chief Spence pointed out that the full time and attention law is easier to prove so it’s used for distracted driving violations; proving the violation is an essential part of enforcement; but we don’t use generic failure to control for drunk drivers because we have devised ways of proving drunk driving; downside of using these laws is that they don’t educate the public on the unique dangers of the specific dangers of driving while using electronics; they don’t provide the data we need to determine if the laws are working; thanked Chief Spence for collecting and publishing data on distracted driving violations. D. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. Minutes - To Approve: 2021-0162 Council Meeting Minutes for Approval. These Minutes were Approved on the Consent Agenda. 2. Ordinances for Second Reading: ORD-0049-2021 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO CONTRACT WITH AECOM FOR THE CLAYCRAFT ROAD WATERLINE REPLACEMENT; AND TO REQUEST A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION. City of Gahanna Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes August 16, 2021 This Ordinance was Adopted on the Consent Agenda. 3. Resolutions: RES-0029-2021 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SUBMIT A FORMAL APPLICATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE OHIO PUBLIC WORKS COMMISSION STATE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND TO EXECUTE CONTRACTS AS REQUIRED, FOR FUNDING THE CLAYCRAFT WATER MAIN REPLACEMENT; AND TO AUTHORIZE THE FINANCE DIRECTOR TO ESTABLISH A SPECIAL FUND FOR THE GRANT, IF AWARDED. This Resolution was Adopted on the Consent Agenda. End of Consent Agenda A motion was made by Leeseberg, seconded by Schnetzer, to Pass the Consent Agenda. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 7- Leeseberg, Renner, Schnetzer, Larick, McGregor, Angelou and Bowers E. ORDINANCES FOR INTRODUCTION / FIRST READING: Leeseberg Introduced the item under Section E. ORD-0050-2021 AN ORDINANCE TO ADOPT AMENDMENTS TO TRAFFIC CODE SECTIONS OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA; TO PROVIDE FOR PENALTIES; TO PROVIDE FOR CODIFICATION; TO PROVIDE FOR SEVERABILITY; TO REPEAL CONFLICTING ORDINANCES; TO PROVIDE AN EFFECTIVE DATE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. This Item was Introduced. F. CORRESPONDENCE AND ACTIONS: Clerk- none. Council- none. G. REPRESENTATIVES: Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) - Leeseberg Leeseberg stated that there would be a live, in-person meeting at the Gahanna Golf Course tomorrow; first in-person meeting in a while. City of Gahanna Page 4 City Council Meeting Minutes August 16, 2021 Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) - Angelou Angelou stated that they had their first meeting back at home; was so wonderful to welcome everyone back; it is a beautiful place to work and meet; the song of the month was “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow” because no one from MORPC stopped working during COVID; everyone is looking forward to the future. There were about 70 people who attended virtually, but 40-50 were in person. We had some recognition of guests; Steve Stivers from Ohio Chamber of Commerce visited and thanked MORPC for what they do for the region; had city of Columbus health commissioner give an update on COVID. Franklin University and Ohio University are giving scholarships to any members of MORPC who wish to pursue college. They discussed the annual salary and fringe benefit study; had a Rapid5 update; Regional Housing Strategy speaker series; MORPC night at the Clippers had to be canceled due to weather; Census data released prior to the meeting; recognized Hilliard for Sustainable 2050; discussed federal infrastructure money coming in. Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) - Leeseberg Leeseberg provided the following update: Plans are still underway for Creekside Blues and Jazz Festival. Volunteers are needed for a variety of duties. You may sign up for a shift on CreeksideBluesandJazz.com. CVB would like to know if Council would like to man a booth on Friday. “Midweek at the Creek(side)” continues this Wednesday (weather permitting). Right on Main is the band this week. Next Wednesday is the last one of the series with the Buzzard Kings performing. Be sure to check out Visit Gahanna’s new website that was recently launched. One of the new features includes event submission capability. If you are hosting an event, you may submit it to the website to be included in the Calendar of Events. School Board (SB) - Schnetzer No report. H. OFFICIAL REPORTS: Mayor 2021-0163 Mayoral Proclamation and Report. City of Gahanna Page 5 City Council Meeting Minutes August 16, 2021 Jadwin stated that the city is blessed to have a community that has so many organizations that volunteer their time to make this a better community; stated that during COVID Administration has been providing reports at each Council meeting to keep everyone in the loop; determined it would be better now to provide those just once per month. Events are returning; Midweek at the Creek is coming up; Capital Corvette show returned to town; had over 300 cars; thanked Mark Thomas and their planning committee and members for a wonderful event; raised a lot of money for Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Supporting Gahanna Together is coming up again on September 4; started last year as an opportunity to bring community together; have many volunteer opportunities available; go to volunteergahanna.org to sign up. Staff updates include: MORPC partnership brought us a student working in Parks & Rec, from Ghana; was supposed to go home and instead he stayed in Gahanna to work for the last 14 weeks; his last day is Friday; he focused on trail connectivity; presented to MORPC; will receive special recognition at MORPC State of the Region. Longtime administrative assistant in Economic Development and now Department of Planning, will be retiring in September. We are heading into the Budget season and meeting with staff to determine department budgets. Crescent at Central Park is moving at a fast pace; 4th building has been added on, which means added jobs. Thanked Ms. Hoffman for comments on street program; moving into final restoration phase of the program; largest street program in city history; would like to thank Director Crawford and his Public Service & Engineering team on their hard work; thanked Council for support on the program. The sewer system remains a top priority; have been massive rains recently; will schedule a virtual town hall to update west side neighbors on the survey program. City Attorney Mularski congratulated Kiwanis of Gahanna on 60th anniversary; is a part of the Eastern Kiwanis which helped form Gahanna club. I. COUNCIL COMMENT Angelou: stated that she provided information on funding availability to enhance mobility of the elderly and those with disabilities; no local funding required due to Cares Act; may be something the Parks & Recreation Department should look at. MORPC is losing a staff member, who did data analysis for the past five years; he is getting married and moving out of state. Have been visiting the Gahanna Golf Course recently and it is a beautiful golf course and a great place to meet people; thanked the Parks & Recreation Department for their hard work there. City of Gahanna Page 6 City Council Meeting Minutes August 16, 2021 Bowers: thanked MORPC for sponsoring the African American Male Wellness Walk that took place this past weekend; is a signature event and pinnacle event for African American Male Wellness Week; the organization began in Columbus but spread across the nation. Thanked Montgomery and Kovacs for speaking about the traffic code changes; Montgomery has taken an incident of personal tragedy and turned it into a cause; champions safe driving laws at the state level and here locally; 4511.19 was the accumulative efforts of mothers impacted by drunk diving; today we accept that driving while under the influence of alcohol is unsafe; it is true that electronic devices are a critical problem in our area; deaths are up from crashes and the metro area has been marked as an area with one of the worst driving in the country, largely due to distracted driving; hopes that we can work together to curb distracted driving. During the last Committee of the Whole, misspoke about the current failure to control section; does provide that a citation can be issued for failure to provide full time and attention; does believe it speaks to all forms of distracted driving; the code provides for a first offense as an M4, which is criminal and carries a maximum penalty of time in jail; said previously that it was an M1. Wanted to bring to attention that alarm user permits are required under Ch. 715 of Gahanna Code; there’s a onetime fee of $35; for any questions, contact non-emergency police line. Thanked Police Department for quick responses to non-emergency calls. Leeseberg: completed the Muddy Miler; took the wrestling team out as part of practice. Will be at MOD Pizza after the meeting for a fundraiser for Center Ice. Renner: said it’s wonderful to give a shout out to our neighborhood organizations; National Night Out was two weeks ago, thanked Administration for support; it was a hot day but 300+ attendees showed up at Sunpoint Park. In the Royal Manor area, there was a lot of flooded streets; had a lot of residents reach out to him; there was over 4,000 gallons of water that fell within 20 minutes, per average rooftop; the systems were inundated; same across the county. Schnetzer: thanked Mark Thomas and the Corvette Club; thanked Chief Spence for National Night Out. When visiting Creekside, met a visitor from New Orleans, who was here on business; knew the Creekside area well; he spoke so highly of the community; thought it was clean and welcoming; had his dog and visited the trails; we sometimes take for granted what we have in our own back yard. McGregor: stated that McKenna Creek breached the road; when water City of Gahanna Page 7 City Council Meeting Minutes August 16, 2021 recesses, there is silt left in the road; called Service Department and they had the road cleaned; the water in the road is ok so long as basements are not flooding. Larick: stated that he received a message last week that a friend of his passed away suddenly; friendship went back to college years; they were a family; went to Kansas for the funeral; don’t take your loved ones for granted. J. EXECUTIVE SESSION: None. K. ADJOURNMENT At 7:54 p.m. City of Gahanna Page 8