City Council

200 South Hamilton Road City of Gahanna Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Meeting Minutes City Council Stephen A. Renner, President Merisa K. Bowers, Vice President Karen J. Angelou Nancy R. McGregor Kaylee Padova Michael Schnetzer Trenton I. Weaver Jeremy A. VanMeter, Clerk of Council Monday, July 18, 2022 7:00 PM City Hall, Council Chambers A. CALL TO ORDER: Invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, Roll Call Gahanna City Council met in Regular Session on Monday, July 18, 2022, in Council Chambers. President of Council Stephen A. Renner called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m. Vice President of Council Merisa K. Bowers requested all in attendance to participate in a Moment of Silence for Marty White, a Parks & Recreation department employee who recently passed away. Bowers then delivered an Invocation and led members in the Pledge of Allegiance. The agenda for this meeting was published on July 15, 2022. Present 6 - Nancy R. McGregor, Karen J. Angelou, Merisa K. Bowers, Trenton I. Weaver, Kaylee Padova, and Stephen A. Renner Absent 1 - Michael Schnetzer B. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA: President Renner announced two additions to the agenda. Following the introduction of Dr. Deagle under the Hearing of Visitors, the Mayor will hold a discussion of City Pools that would involve recreation staff addressing the Council. Second, an Executive Session was added after Item K - Council Comment. The purpose of the Executive Session is for the appointment of an employee or public official. C. HEARING OF VISITORS: 1. Introduction of Dr. Tracey Deagle, Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools Beryl Piccolantonio, Board President, Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools, introduced board colleagues, Daphne Moehring, Vice-President, Kara Coates, Sue Horn, and Dion Manley. She then introduced the incoming school superintendent, Dr. Tracey Deagle, to Council and the public. Piccolantonio stated that the board conducted an extensive but quick superintendent search. The search involved stakeholder interviews, including Vice President City of Gahanna Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 Bowers and Mayor Jadwin. The board voted unanimously on May 9 to hire Dr. Deagle. Piccolantonio said that Deagle brings 22 years of professional work in public education, recently serving as an assistant professor of pre-K through 12 educational leadership at Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. Additionally, Deagle began her career as a classroom teacher in the Van Wert City School District and served as an assistant principal at Hilliard Darby High School, principal at Davis Middle School and deputy superintendent for Dublin City Schools. Piccolantonio said that Deagle had degrees from Ohio State University, Indiana University, and the University of Dayton. She has held several faculty positions in higher education. The board is excited that Dr. Deagle and her family were able to purchase and move into a home in the school district. Deagle is spending the summer getting to know the community, school staff, and began work on a part-time basis on May 17. She will begin full-time on August 1 and a community reception is planned for August 4. Dr. Deagle thanked the City Council and Mayor for the opportunity to attend and introduce herself. She said that she and her family are very happy to be in the community. She has taken time to meet with the Mayor and Chief of Police. They have proven to be great partners with the schools. She looked forward to working with Council to bring outstanding opportunities for children in Gahanna. She said the district has always had an exceptional reputation for programming. She hoped to take it even further and ensure that families and children have the very best as they move forward and hopefully stay in Gahanna. She offered to meet with councilmembers and learn about their vision for the district and how to partner with the City going forward. Deagle also introduced Assistant Superintendent Jill Elliott. She noted Elliott was a graduate of Gahanna and has been a phenomenal assistant. Renner thanked the Board and the introduction. 2. Mayor's Discussion on City Pools Mayor Jadwin noted that new pool rules were communicated to the community on Friday, July 15. Jadwin said these rules went into effect on Saturday, July 16. Jadwin said she had spoken with a few councilmembers about the rules already and acknowledged that there had been a lot of residents who reached out about the rules. Social media had very active conversation on the subject with both positive and negative comments. Jadwin stressed it is important for everyone to understand that implementation of the rule change and how the City is managing and operating the pools was in response to multiple incidents that have been occurring at the pools with increasing frequency and escalating in severity. Last Friday, when the new rules were shared, there had been seven police calls in the previous 14 days. There were nearly 40 incident reports that had been completed and filed at the pools since the season opened. Jadwin said this was an absurd amount for what the City would typically have. There are three weeks left in the pool season. She said it would have been an easy decision to say to just try and get through this season and think about changes for next year. This was not an option. Jadwin said that for the safety City of Gahanna Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 of guests, residents using the pools, and staff and given the escalations in incidents, new rules needed to be put into place. The rules that were implemented were carefully evaluated. Jadwin said the City looked at multiple municipalities around Central Ohio in comparing rules. The City was one of the last municipalities to implement these types of rules. Administration examined every possible option that could serve as an alternative and the types of rules that could be implemented. She stressed a lot of time was devoted to this challenge on Friday on options. The rules ultimately decided upon and put into place are in the best interest of maintaining public safety and the least impactful to the people using the pool. Jadwin added that the recreation team will start to plan for next year the minute the pools close. They look forward to each Memorial Day weekend when the pools open because they want to see the kids and families come in and use the pools. This was not an easy decision for recreation staff. Jadwin said in terms of behavior, there had been stories in the news around unruly juveniles. She referenced stories from across the country, such as Knott’s Berry Farm Amusement Park in California that shut down due to unruly behavior and fights. There are other community events that happened in Gahanna that had similar issues. Carnival rides at the Blues & Jazz Festival in 2019 had the same situation, which is why the rides disappeared from the event. Jadwin said it is not only bad behavior by juveniles but bad behavior by adults. She said one story particularly outraged her. There are kids aged 15, 16, and 17 years old that work at the city pools, with supervisors aged 18 and older. Jadwin recalled working at the pool as a rite of passage for many, whether it was as a lifeguard or concessions. It has been this way for decades but not this year. Jadwin shared that Director Ferrell had informed her of an incident within the last two weeks where a lifeguard (a 15-year-old young girl) was trying to enforce a safety rule with an adult regarding the use of the diving board and was yelled at by the adult, called a b****, and then threatened to grab her by her hair and drag across the pool. Jadwin said this is not the type of environment she expected anybody to be in, much less a City of Gahanna employee. She said she would not tolerate this. As Mayor, public safety is her ultimate responsibility. The safety of staff is of primary importance, as well as the safety of the people who come to the pools with their kids. Jadwin has had complaints from families who do not want to come back to the pool because of behaviors they had encountered there. Jadwin invited Ferrell to comment. Stephania Ferrell, Director of Parks & Recreation, explained [the new rules] were not a knee-jerk reaction to a singular incident. It is something that has been happening over several weeks. Ferrell said this was not something that could wait to be implemented. She added that Council would best be served by hearing directly from staff. She introduced the recreation team in attendance. Chris Simmons, Aquatics Supervisor, said the new rules were the result of many incidents throughout the summer. Simmons worked at the Delaware City Pool and the YMCA for several years prior to Gahanna. He had never experienced the behavioral incidents at those places that staff have experienced this summer in Gahanna and referenced several police calls that City of Gahanna Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 had been made about the incidents. In one example, Simmons said they had been dealing with patrons that were disrespecting lifeguards and the manager had asked them to leave. The individuals refused to leave. Simmons was called in for support. The individuals used some “colorful language” to express they were not going to leave. At the same time, they were also dealing with a large group of teens in the same area that ran out into the parking lot to fight. They all rushed back into the pool as the manager was trying to physically keep them out. Simmons said they let them know the police were being called, as this was too much for his staff to handle and that this was not what they were here to do. Staff are there to enforce the rules and make sure people have a fun, safe time at the pool. The behavior staff has seen is unacceptable. Simmons said therefore the rules could not wait until the end of the season. In the off-season, they will revisit and make changes as needed. He introduced other recreation staff to speak. Noelle Dennison, coordinator, stated that she has worked for the City’s pools for six years, with four years in leadership positions including pool manager and coordinator. She has attended the pools since she was a young child and is going to school with plans in pursuing a future career with the pools. However, in the five years prior to this year, Dennison said she had never witnessed the levels of disrespect, terrible behavior, and unacceptable treatment of pool staff. The incidents that have led to operational changes to occur include ones she had experienced firsthand. On June 19, Dennison said that she heard two patrons yelling at the pool manager and guest service workers loud enough for her to hear on the opposite end of the pool while she was emptying trash. Dennison said she decided to walk over to see what the problem was. A man was screaming in the face of an 18-year-old pool manager. She asked the man what the problem was. The yelling was then redirected to Dennison’s face. She added that he was so close that she could feel particles of spit flying from his mouth and landing on her cheeks. She said she felt scared and unsafe. Dennison stated that she was unable to calm the situation. Dennison explained that the man was angry about one of the 15-year-old lifeguards enforcing rules with three boys who were roughhousing and cussing and had already been spoken to by six other lifeguards that day, including Dennison. The adults at the front desk did not know these boys. They were mad because there were rules - the same rules posted at the entrance that are agreed to when guests sign the liability waiver. Dennison said this same liability waiver was fabricated by the same two adults so that the pool could not properly track who they were and that they were a threat to the site and staff’s safety. She added that between this incident and the next that these were not one-off occurrences but just two examples of just the one’s that she had encountered firsthand. On July 12, Dennison said that while lifeguarding in the back pool next to the slide there were swim lessons for a group of four preschool-aged children and another group at the opposite end. A group of teenage boys came back and within moments of them reaching their chairs she could hear them shouting cuss words at each other. Every other word was the F word. She told the boys to watch their language. After whistling to get their attention, the group of six boys looked at her. She said that one smacked their lips, and another yelled City of Gahanna Page 4 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 at her from across the pool that he “did not have to watch [his] f***ing language.” Dennison said the preschoolers could also hear this. She said she told the boys that they did need to watch their language and to not do it again. Dennison said she used a calm voice, was loud enough so that they could hear her and stern enough so that they knew it was unacceptable behavior. This was all that it took for them to begin yelling at Dennison from across the pool, “what the f*** are you going to do about it? You b****. You can’t tell us what to f***ing do.” Dennison radioed for a manager and yelled toward the boys that the manager would be on her way back to tell you to leave and to start packing up their things. They responded, “I don’t give a f***. We didn’t even pay to get in. We jumped the fence you dumb b****.” This continued with yelling, “I’m gonna find out where you live and f*** you up” along with other threats to herself and family. A shift coordinator got involved. The boys then proceeded to yell and use cuss words and make threats at the coordinator, who was on the ground near the boys. They towered over the coordinator, shoving middle fingers just inches from her face and bending down so that their threats were being made eye-to-eye. Dennison said the coordinator told her that she thought that at any moment one of them was going to hit her. When the manager came and told them to leave, they refused and stayed at their chairs, screaming cuss words for all the young children in the back pool to listen to. The police were called. Even then, the boys continued to cuss at the officers and refuse to pack up their belongings. When it was over, Dennison said that she cried and just sat in the guard chair because she now understood what her guards had been through daily this summer. During in-service trainings, she recalled lifeguards expressing fear of coming to work and doing their job by enforcing rules. She now understood why she was being asked what the protocols were for an active shooter at the pool. Dennison described that at one time rules could be enforced and people would listen, but not today. This year, she said the lifeguards are scared and that one of these situations is going to happen with the wrong person, someone who might have a gun and act on their threats. Dennison said that guards cannot focus on their primary responsibilities of enforcing safety rules or scanning the water when being verbally assaulted by those they have had to address. Getting a manager is no longer a way to find a solution to behavioral situations. Dennison said that managers and coordinators have now become shields for lifeguards to stop the harassment and disrespect toward them and redirect it. She emphasized that changes needed to be made for the safety of staff and patrons. There was not one group of kids that caused the changes to the rules, but an overwhelming number of groups of teens and adults. Dennison said after speaking at the City Council meeting in 2019 and saying the pools showed her the meaning of community, she can no longer say this with confidence as the pools were now littered with disrespect and divide. Dennison said she wanted her community back. President Renner thanked Dennison for her courage. Tess Francis, a 15-year-old first-year lifeguard, shared her experience with the Council. Francis said she had been coming to the pools since she was two years old and had always respected and looked up to the lifeguards. She remarked that her six-year-old self would be happy to see she became City of Gahanna Page 5 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 someone she looked up to but also confused as to why, after hearing countless stories from fellow guards on how fun and rewarding the job is, she has barely had a positive experience. Instead, she has experienced getting cussed out and threatened by adults twice her age and harassed by multiple groups of boys. On July 10, Francis said she went to work expecting a normal day. Into her shift, when she rotated to the back pool by the diving boards, there was “free swim” going on. She said this tends to get a bit rowdy and there are multiple kids in the area. As soon as a kid asked to go off the board, she allowed it. This action then causes multiple people to come over and get in line. As she was telling one kid to walk, she looked back and saw a girl climb out of the water who was clearly not 13 and did not have a green wristband. Francis tried to get her attention and was unsuccessful. When the girl stepped up to the board again, Francis said she asked the girl how old she was. The girl’s mother shot up from behind her and responded that the girl was nine. When Francis informed the mother that since the girl was not 13 or older, she would need to take a swim test and get a green wristband to continue to go off the boards. The mother replied that the daughter was on the swim team and if someone from the front wants to bring a wristband back that was fine, but that she did not need to take the test. Once again, Francis informed the mother that the daughter would need to take the swim test. The mother then replied that they had been at the pool all day and that Francis was the first to have a problem and reiterated her statement about someone bringing a wristband to the daughter. Francis looked at another guard for help and saw a signal for a rest period. The mother, father, daughter, and their friend stayed at the board so the adults could go off the board. This is common, as there are no kids in the water or in line for the diving boards. Everything was going fine until the friend of the mother was asked a fourth time to stop jumping more than once on the board before going off the board. Francis said she felt that since there was only four going off and no kids, she would give the man a couple chances, but it still had no effect. The guard diagonal from Francis saw what was happening and reminded Francis she could ask him to take a break since he could not follow the rules. Francis then asked the man to get off for the remainder of the rest period since he could not follow the one jump rule. The man was understanding and apologized. Francis thought the situation had been handled until the lady asked why he had to get off the board. The lady confronted Francis about this. Francis responded that it was a safety rule. The husband offered for them to go back to their party in the shelter at the front of the pool, and adults went for one more dive off the board. The lady asked Francis what her name was and that she was going to need that for later. Francis provided her name but said this made her uncomfortable. When they were heading back to the front pool, the daughter asked why they could not stay for a couple more minutes so she could go off the board when the rest period was over, which Francis would not let her do because she did not have a green wristband. The mother looked at Francis in the eyes and responded to the daughter “because I really don’t feel like dragging someone across the pool today.” Francis said she was shocked and froze. When the group started to move toward the front pool, the lady turned around and locked eyes with Francis, calling her a b**** before walking away and continuing to talk bad about Francis to the husband City of Gahanna Page 6 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 and friends. Francis said tears were in her eyes and a rock was in the back of her throat. Francis said she did not know what to do with this person at least twice her age and a daughter only six years younger than herself. She was just doing her job. Fellow guards realized quickly that something was off with Francis. She said after calming down, she told the guards and aquatic coordinators what had happened. The coordinators, one of them Noelle Dennison, wasted no time and had Francis point out who the lady was and hopefully have her calmly leave the facility. Francis stayed back in the guard room while the coordinators confronted the lady. A couple guards informed Francis that this confrontation with the coordinators and the lady was escalating quickly. Francis said she later learned the lady almost punched Dennison and the police had been called. Francis added that as a teenage girl, it was sad that getting harassed is a common thing and seemed to be normalized. She said she has had multiple guys from ages 13 to 18 come up to her either in the water or on land ask for her Snap, her phone number, and what time she gets off work. When Francis responds, “no,” she said that nine times out of 10, the guy or group of guys get an attitude. She said she knows she is not the only female guard to have experienced this. Speaking to the audience, Francis said some people might wonder why these rules were put into place. She said people might think their child is an angel but that they do not see them when they are dropped off at the pool. She added that it was not her job to be a babysitter but to be a lifeguard. Francis ended by asking how one might feel if it was their daughter getting threatened, cussed out, or harassed the way [she and others] do for simply doing her job. Director Ferrell said there was nothing else to say, aside from these being a few instances of what staff was dealing with. She acknowledged there would always be challenges at the pool and dealing with teens and misbehavior. However, this has escalated beyond “normal” misbehavior at the pool, and this is a safety concern. If nothing else is done, it will get worse. Ferrell said the City has a responsibility to keep staff safe and these [new rules] were the steps they were taking to do so. Vice President Bowers asked what the procedure was for terminating a membership or restricting a person from the pool after an incident like these occurs. Ferrell said this has happened multiple times throughout the season. If there is a circumstance with a pool member, the staff identifies and speaks with parents and suspends pool membership. With youth, it is not an indefinite suspension. It is a consequence for misbehavior. Another opportunity for the following year can happen but a week or two-week suspension is not enough of a consequence. For an adult, Ferrell said depending on the severity of the circumstance, there is potential for indefinite suspension. President Renner asked for clarity whether the Mayor or Director Ferrell could add that part of the rules is that pools are going to be staffed with police full-time or some of the time or what. Ferrell said there will be a school resource officer (SRO) between 4:30 and 6:00 p.m. From 6:00 p.m. until close at 8:30 p.m. there will be another officer at least parked in the facility. City of Gahanna Page 7 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 They will be able to monitor on foot throughout the fences of the pool. The staff know that they have the support of police onsite. Mayor Jadwin said the SROs have adjusted their schedules to cover the 4 to 6:00 p.m. shift and then will be picking up overtime hours. All the overtime shifts this week have been filled for pool coverage. Renner asked what the last day the pools are open for the summer season. Ferrell said Gahanna Swimming Pool closes on August 10. Hunter’s Ridge will remain open on the weekend only. The Splash Pad will be open but not staffed. Ferrell indicated this would be reviewed, but potentially be open through October, weather permitting. Councilmember McGregor asked whether this problem was at both pools. Ferrell said there have been circumstances at Hunter’s Ridge Pool as well. With the incident reports on behavior, there is a larger volume at the Gahanna Swimming Pool. There is more space at that pool and attendance overall is larger, but the incidents are not just at Gahanna Swimming Pool. Ferrell stated this was something that will be evaluated in the off-season. The current membership is good for entry to both pools. This could be evaluated in the future to see if this still makes sense. Councilmember Angelou asked whether the incidents were people living in Gahanna or from outside the city. Ferrell responded it was a mixture. She noted suspensions of resident members and non-resident members. Jadwin asked Ferrell to respond to daily passes and why things have changed, as people will come in and buy a day pass. The City cannot track them or know really who they are. Jadwin shared that a lot of times when there have been incidents and the staff had questioned individuals, they give fake names, contact numbers, etc. Ferrell said the City requires they fill out information on their entry, but as Jadwin indicated the information provided is false a lot of times. When parents would need contacted, the phone number would not be correct. Ferrell said it is another level of security to make sure the City knows who is in the pool at what time and have their guardian’s information. Angelou said the City decided some years ago to keep the pools open. It was a difficult decision because many pools were completely closing, and Gahanna ended up being one of the only pools that stayed open. She said this was wonderful, as the community loves the pool. Angelou said these types of things are happening throughout the United States and this is sad to see in Gahanna. She said this made her cry hearing about these experiences shared tonight. Angelou said to look at neighbors, friends, and parents and reinforce that these things cannot be done anymore. She stated it was sad for all the swimmers and for those who want to have a job. She was flabbergasted at this situation. Ferrell said that is why these new rules were in place. She said if nothing is done, the City would lose participation of those who were using the pools as intended. Also, the City would lose staff members and the “community” pool. With three weeks left in the season, this was not something just pulled out of nowhere. The city was aware there would be negative social media, but Ferrell believed 100 percent this was the right decision. Jadwin said not only the Parks & Recreation staff involved, but consultation with the Police Department and the Mayor’s Office on the best way to address the problems. She hoped the people in the community City of Gahanna Page 8 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 understood that when a decision was made that it was not done quickly, although sometimes the city must act quickly, but are always thoughtful and informed. Jadwin said they do not always get it right but that the city does its best and with this situation felt that things needed to be implemented to immediately address the concerns. Angelou thanked the administration for doing that. She thanked the staff for still staying with the City and doing their job. She said they should be proud of the work they do. Renner expressed his thanks and reiterated the individuals were courageous for coming to Council and publicly declaring what some of the issues were. He said he understood very much the “command and control” philosophy of the police and the idea of quickly of grabbing the situation and having public safety. He looked forward to an open communitywide discussion about this and engaging people on the virtues of respect and what it means and holding each other accountable for that. 3. Jimmy Craig of 756 Jonsol Ct., Gahanna, Ohio, spoke on St. Matthew Festival issues. Mr. Craig described his neighborhood and its proximity to St. Matthew’s. Craig said he has been a lifelong resident of the City. He went to the St. Matthew’s Festival religiously each year. His family home had backed up to the old baseball field at St. Matthews before it was demolished. He had great memories there. When he moved to Jonsol Court in 2005, things were going well with the Festival. Around 2018-2019, the neighborhood started to see a steady decline in behavior of young adults. He shared 2019 started with numerous fights, trash in people’s yards, people parking in other people’s driveways, and blocking fire hydrants. Craig said there would be no way for fire equipment to get down Jonsol Court if there was a fire. With property damage, including breaking fences, as well as throwing fireworks at animals, the incidents have escalated every year. In 2020, the Festival did not occur due to the pandemic. In 2021, the Festival got bad. Craig said he has two dogs, including a drug and gun detection canine valued at about $80,000. Juveniles come down between the houses and like to throw fireworks across his fence and startle the animals. This year, Craig said he had to have one of the animals sedated due to being so worked up and wanting to get at the perpetrators. He wanted to bite. Also, he pointed to a scar on his nose and indicated this happened with an altercation with juveniles in the neighborhood. Craig is one of eight residents on Jonsol that is under the age of 70. An elderly neighbor who is widowed and aged 84 or 85 years old had a group of six that had backed into her driveway, sitting on the hood, smoking marijuana, and being loud. The neighbor opened her front door and asked them to get out of her driveway. He said he would paraphrase what she said not using “cultural language.” The neighbor was told to get her a** back in the house before she got f***ed up. Craig added that he was across the street on his front porch listening to this. He said he is a firearm carrier. He walked across the street and asked them to get out of the driveway. They decided to not get out of the driveway. A couple inside the car got out of the car. Now there were four outside and two still inside the car. Craig said something was thrown and hit City of Gahanna Page 9 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 him in the nose. He started to bleed. He heard someone say, “just f***ing shoot him!” At that time, he said he pulled out his firearm and put them at gunpoint and made them leave. Craig shared that they ended up leaving once they figured that it was not going to go their way. He said this is just an escalation that has been happening over the last three to four years with juveniles and young adults that go to this festival. Craig said he had a conversation with the facilities manager at St. Matthew’s today but did not get any satisfaction from what they perceive as the problem. He stated they are not taking responsibility. They hire the police to come in and protect their property and festival. Craig said they do what they need to do to get the bad actors out but that just filters out onto the streets directly around St. Matthew’s. When elderly people are threatened by young adults and someone coming over to assist also is threatened, Craig said it is going to get ugly one day and the City will be on the news if this keeps escalating and nothing is done with the juvenile issues. D. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. Minutes - To Approve: 2022-0208 CN Minutes 7.5.2022 These meeting minutes were Approved on the Consent Agenda. 2. Resolutions: RES-0016-2022 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE 2022 SIDEWALK MAINTENANCE PROGRAM AREA This Resolution was Introduced by President Renner and Adopted on the Consent Agenda. RES-0020-2022 A RESOLUTION DESIGNATING JULY 2022 AS PARKS AND RECREATION MONTH IN THE CITY OF GAHANNA This Resolution was Introduced by President Renner and Adopted on the Consent Agenda. RES-0021-2022 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS - Finance Contract Services to Various Employee Wages and Benefits This Resolution was Introduced by President Renner and Adopted on the Consent Agenda. 3. Ordinances for Introduction, Waiver, Adoption: ORD-0040-2022 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS AND WAIVER OF SECOND READING - General Fund Police Overtime, Workers Comp, Medicare, and Police Pension Fund City of Gahanna Page 10 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 This Ordinance was Introduced by President Renner and Adopted on the Consent Agenda. 4. Ordinances for Introduction, Waiver, Adoption as an Emergency: ORD-0039-2022 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A BARGAINING UNIT AGREEMENT FOR THE FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE, CAPITAL CITY LODGE NO. 9 FOR THE PERIOD OF JANUARY 1, 2022, THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2024, WAIVING SECOND READING AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY This Ordinance was Introduced by President Renner and Adopted on the Consent Agenda. End of Consent Agenda A motion was made by Bowers, seconded by Angelou, to Pass the Consent Agenda. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6- McGregor, Angelou, Bowers, Weaver, Padova and Renner Absent: 1- Schnetzer E. MOTIONS: MT-0014-2022 A MOTION TO AMEND THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA SECTION 6.30 HEARING OF VISITORS, ESTABLISHING SUBSECTIONS 6.30(a) "IN-PERSON" AND 6.30(b) "VIA VIDEO" Councilmember Weaver noted this has been a long discussion and wanted to thank all on Council for input over the past several months. He said what is before the Council fulfills the goal of not just making Council accessible but getting to the root of public comment being more accessible. He acknowledged Council was attentive to email and cell phone calls. The intent and goal is public comment being more accessible, and this rule does that. He thanked the City Attorney, Clerk, and City staff involved. Councilmember McGregor said she appreciated all the effort that went into this. This was discussed for quite a while. She said she is not in favor of the video. There is opportunity for mischief and put people in a bad position to have to censor comments that come in via video. She said she thinks there will be opportunity for misuse and what not want to put anyone in the position of having to censor it and determine on what basis to censor and thinks this is a bad idea in general. She said she will not be in support of the motion. President Renner indicated he would be voting in favor of the motion. He said that what was discussed in Committee was that it was going to be an experiment. He understood and sympathized with McGregor’s position. He City of Gahanna Page 11 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 thinks the Council can at least try and show that it can do something. As it was previously discussed, Renner reminded that this can be turned off or ended if it becomes abusive. Councilmember Angelou said she agreed with McGregor. She said she thought that it was something the Council was going to try and see if it works. If it works, it can continue and if it does not, it can stop. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 5- Angelou, Bowers, Weaver, Padova and Renner No: 1- McGregor Absent: 1- Schnetzer F. ORDINANCES FOR INTRODUCTION / FIRST READING: ORD-0034-2022 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND GAHANNA CODE CHAPTER 903 REGARDING SIDEWALK CONSTRUCTION This Ordinance was Introduced by President Renner. ORD-0035-2022 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND GAHANNA CODE CHAPTER 907 REGARDING DRIVEWAYS AND CURB CUTS This Ordinance was Introduced by President Renner. ORD-0036-2022 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND GAHANNA CODE CHAPTER 909 REGARDING DRIVEWAY DRAINAGE This Ordinance was Introduced by President Renner. ORD-0037-2022 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ENGINEERING AWARD AND THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO CONTRACT WITH GUDENKAUF CORPORATION, INC FOR BIG WALNUT CREEK FIBER LOOP ST-1095 This Ordinance was Introduced by President Renner. ORD-0038-2022 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE CITY OF GAHANNA BUILDING AND ZONING FEE SCHEDULE This Ordinance was Introduced by President Renner. G. ORDINANCES FOR INTRODUCTION, WAIVER & EMERGENCY ADOPTION: ORD-0033-2022 AN ORDINANCE TO ACCEPT THE FINAL PLAT FOR THE CRESCENT AT CENTRAL PARK SECTION 2; CONSISTING OF FOUR LOTS AND RESERVES "B" AND "C" LOCATED ON BUCKLES COURT NORTH; PARCEL ID NO. 025-013773; CURRENT ZONING SELECT COMMERCIAL PLANNED DISTRICT (SCPD); LARRY City of Gahanna Page 12 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 CANINI, APPLICANT; WAIVING SECOND READING AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY Councilmember Angelou said this was an exciting night to have the item come forward. She thanked Mr. Canini for his work on this. Vice President Bowers noted she had asked about the stormwater waiver and the legislative process on it. She said she hoped to get insight on this. Bowers said she understood from the code section that there appeared to be a process by which the application and waiver for stormwater discharge occurred. City Attorney Mularski deferred to Director Blackford. Mayor Jadwin acknowledged Bowers’ email and said there was a conversation with Attorney Mularski, Director Blackford, and Interim City Engineer Ridge and that Blackford could best speak to this. Blackford said that there is a section in the stormwater management policy that references the City Engineer issuing a waiver application. When this was reviewed with Mr. Canini, there was a lot of discussion back and forth on the applicability of this code and the letter that is part of the record. Blackford said there is not an already created application process. Rather than create paperwork to already encompass the review that had been ongoing with the applicant and the City Engineer, it was just that the review and appropriateness of the waiver was done in conjunction with the final plat. Blackford said the City Engineer agreed with the waiver in the final plat and that a separate application was not necessary. Blackford said the code was 1193.05. Bowers clarified that for the record to be clear, she did see an email application from Mr. Canini in the documents attached and that her understanding is the City Engineer pursuant to 1193.05 is recommending the waiver. Blackford confirmed this to be correct. Bowers asked whether the waiver was submitted to Planning Commission. Blackford said it was discussed and part of the application package and forwarded to City Council. Bowers asked whether Blackford felt confident that the Planning Commission had approved the waiver. Blackford said, yes, and part of the presentation during Planning Commission included the applicable code section. He recalled that this was discussed with Planning Commission a bit more than any other element because it was very unusual. Bowers thanked Blackford for clearing up this matter. President Renner said that he would be supporting this and expressed his thanks for Mr. Canini’s work in the Crescent area. A motion was made by Angelou, seconded by Padova, that the Ordinance be Introduced, Second Reading Waived, and Adopted as an Emergency. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6- McGregor, Angelou, Bowers, Weaver, Padova and Renner Absent: 1- Schnetzer H. CORRESPONDENCE AND ACTIONS: 1. Clerk - None. City of Gahanna Page 13 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 2. Council - None. I. REPRESENTATIVES: 1. Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) - Renner, Weaver President Renner noted the CIC would be meeting tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. in the Committee Room. 2. Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) - Angelou Councilmember Angelou said there was no report due to no meetings being held this month. 3. Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) - Padova Councilmember Padova stated that there would be a Volunteer Appreciation Picnic on Wednesday, July 20 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Visit Gahanna Ohio Herb Center. All volunteers for the Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival are welcome to attend. Also, Midweek at the Creek is continuing every Wednesday through August 10 with live musical entertainment on the plaza at Creekside. In the last month, Gahanna has hosted four motorcoach groups, two of which visited the Ohio Herb Center. 4. School Board (SB) - Bowers Vice President Bowers thanked the board members for attending and introducing Dr. Deagle. She said it was a pleasure to be part of the superintendent search process and to see how the Board engaged the community. Bowers also thanked Assistant Superintendent Jill Elliott for attending the meeting as well. J. OFFICIAL REPORTS: 1. Mayor Mayor Jadwin thanked the board of education for their introduction of incoming Superintendent Deagle. She commended them on their choice and looked forward to working with Deagle, noting that Deagle has a lot of enthusiasm for the schools and is a bright star. Jadwin also thanked them for staying for the duration of the meeting to hear the discussion [on the pools]. She also thanked the Council for permitting the discussion item on the pools. She said she knew of some of the things, but to hear directly from the staff put it into perspective even more. With the school board and incoming superintendent here, Jadwin said the City does need to have a dialogue in the community on how to address this. How do we communicate with our families? How do we City of Gahanna Page 14 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 communicate with our students and address this behavior to be a community again, one of respect and kindness and peace? She said this gives one an appreciation for what teachers go through every day in the classroom. Whether this is post-COVID and the after-effects, as one of the City’s SROs believes, it is a behavior that we are seeing. Jadwin said with all the kids that were in lockdown behind a screen for a year to a year-and-a-half and forgetting how to communicate with one another, there is a problem. She said it is not unique to Gahanna or to Central Ohio. She stressed the City can come together as a community. She looked forward to ongoing dialogue with the school district, as it is going to take all to help with this issue. Jadwin thanked Vice President Bowers for the moment of silence for Marty White. Mr. White was a 17-year employee of the City of Gahanna and very proud of his work. He was even more proud of his family and community. He loved parks and serving the parks. Jadwin said any person that visits the parks in Gahanna can see Marty’s work. Jadwin stated that the Parks Master Plan is underway. A survey is posted online on Gahanna.gov. Jadwin said the City needs the community input on shaping the future. There will also be a Town Hall on Wednesday, July 20 at 6:00 p.m. regarding the work for facilities. For the last two-and-a-half years, the administration has been working with Council and evaluating the condition of facilities and what the next steps might be. This conversation will also be livestreamed and posted on the City’s YouTube page. 2. City Attorney Attorney Mularski said last week Director Blackford was asked a question and had answered accurately, but Mularski believed the question and answer was a little misleading due to a legal distinction. He was asked whether he felt that an owner-occupied individual was being treated differently than a landlord. Mularski said the City is allowed to do this. They are a business, and the City is allowed to regulate businesses for the health and safety of the tenants. While it is true that there is some distinction between how owner-occupied is treated and the landlord is treated, it is still done within the law. Mularski said the City must compare landlords to landlords that they are being treated the same and owner-occupied to owner-occupied that they are treated the same. President Renner thanked Mularski for saying this, as he had asked the question and was looking for something about this. K. COUNCIL COMMENT: Councilmember Angelou said tonight was interesting as there were some wonderful things happening and some crummy stuff happening. She said she was at a loss for words for what is happening [in reference to pools, disrespect]. She said she believed this was not just in our community but all over. Angelou said she thinks that the community is one that tends to want to be with their neighbor and welcoming. It was devastating to hear what has happened when the City has worked so hard to be able to have these pools for our community. Angelou said she cannot say enough for the City staff here and trying to work on the issue and the people that would have been watching and did not potentially help. She thanked the Chief for getting some City of Gahanna Page 15 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 officers at the pools to help settle things down. She said she hopes the pools can open again next year. There is the beautiful new Splash Pad. She said it would be a shame after getting things working so well to not have it be available. She said she prayed the attitude would stop and things would get back to treating people right. Angelou thanked the Council and the staff that attended. She thought the incoming superintendent might be wondering why she was going to be coming to Gahanna [after hearing about the incidents]. Angelou had been a teacher and knew what it was like to have things like this happen and thought the City must make sure that it is talked about more because it should never happen in our community. Councilmember McGregor thanked the young women who spoke about their experiences. McGregor has teenage grandchildren who lifeguard at a smaller pool. She said she really feels for the girls and thought it was very brave, especially for a 15-year-old to come forward and speak to what she had endured in what was supposed to be a fun job. McGregor said she was a lifeguard in high school. This was a fun job to teach swim lessons and work at the pool for the summer. She said she was sad that these rules had to be developed by appreciated that the City is trying to keep everyone safe. Councilmember Weaver thanked all the guests in attendance and extended an additional welcome to Dr. Deagle and congratulations to the Board on their decision. He wished Deagle much success. He also thanked the Parks & Recreation staff for their dedication. He said it had gone somewhat unnoticed that on Consent Agenda the Council had passed a Resolution that designated July 2022 as Parks & Rec Month in the City of Gahanna. He said he especially wanted to thank the three young individuals who spoke on what they have had to endure on a day-to-day basis. Like Councilmember McGregor and Mayor Jadwin, Weaver said he had been a lifeguard for many years. It is a rite of passage and can be the best job one could possibly have. He expressed that he was sorry to hear about what [the staff] is going through. He echoed that this is not limited to our community, but with it being in the community it does require a community solution. He looked forward to the dialogue. Weaver extended his condolences to Mr. White’s friends, family, and colleagues. Councilmember Padova thanked the board of education for the introduction on the incoming superintendent. She thanked Director Ferrell and her staff, especially the young ladies that were speaking to Council about their experiences. She said it broke her heart that any of them have had to go through the things described. She thanked the staff for coming and letting people know what is happening at the pools for people who are just seeing things on social media and not experiencing it. As Councilmember Weaver noted, with Parks & Rec Month she has been trying to go to all the parks during the summer. Her family has gone to ten so far. Padova shared that her mother-in-law and niece attended a park and relayed that with their experience, if the park was any indication of how the parks are in the City, then the staff was doing a fabulous job. Padova said that indeed the staff were doing an excellent job. She invited all to come out on Saturday from City of Gahanna Page 16 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 8:00-9:00 a.m. to join Weaver and herself for a walk in the park to celebrate Parks & Rec Month. It will be at Gahanna Woods. It will be a half-mile walk through the woods. They will stick around to chat with people on thoughts on any improvements that could be made in the City. Vice President Bowers thanked the staff, Director Ferrell and Chief Spence, and Mayor Jadwin for their hard work and making some difficult decisions over the last couple weeks. She said she knew some things had been escalating but did not know how bad they had gotten. Bowers commented that the stories shared by staff really put things in perspective. As Mr. Craig had indicated, Bowers expressed concern that once the City displaces people from one area, they can create a problem in a different area. Bowers stressed the City could not have staff being treated in such manner and putting youth employees at risk. She again thanked the staff for giving Council the full picture. Bowers thanked Mr. Schultz and Mr. VanMeter for the work on the video comment tool. She said that knowing that this was kind of already functional or close to being ready to launch was an important piece. She thought it would be a good tool for the Council to use and evaluate. Bowers understood colleagues’ concerns as well, but that it could be evaluated going forward. She also mentioned that this past weekend the 988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline launched. For people experiencing mental health or addiction crisis, they can dial 988 and be connected with non-law enforcement crisis specialists that can connect them to resources. Bowers said as the community continues to experience fallout from COVID-19 and increase in all kinds of crisis circumstances, this could be useful. She thanked Chief Spence for joining her on July 6 at the Columbus Metropolitan Club luncheon presentation on the alternative response pilot program the City of Columbus has been working on. She said the panel included Columbus City Council President Hardin, a member of Columbus Division of Fire, and a couple other community members. They talked about how important this alternative response has been. Some of the data shared included a 62 percent decrease in number of calls requiring a law enforcement response because the caller had been triaged in a different way by linking the call with the right response. In Columbus, where there are more resources and personnel, Bowers said that can possibly be built out differently. She said she was able to compare it to what the City is already doing, which included a comprehensive and holistic intervention. Law enforcement in a community the size of Gahanna is the first line of defense both in crisis and response. She said that she was glad to hear about having 40-hour CIT-trained officers and knowing that the City has an integrated communications/dispatch center with people really listening. She was also glad to hear about potential opportunities for how the City could be doing differently or better. She said she was proud of the Department and how it looks at community policing and community holistic safety. President Renner said that this had been a tough meeting but important to keep things real. To have good community discussion, the Council needs to understand the reasons and what is happening. He thanked the Mayor and Chief Spence for taking his calls late Friday when he was trying to understand what was going on in the community. It was a shock. He also echoed thanks City of Gahanna Page 17 City Council Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022 to Parks & Recreation staff and Director Ferrell. He acknowledged Ferrell had spoken last week and hinted at things. Hearing it directly tonight was very educational for everyone. L. EXECUTIVE SESSION: A motion was made by Weaver, seconded by Padova, to enter into Executive Session under the authority of Section 5.40(a) of the Council Rules of Procedure to consider the appointment of a public employee or official. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6- McGregor, Angelou, Bowers, Weaver, Padova and Renner Absent: 1- Schnetzer President Renner announced that the Council would meet in the Law Library for Executive Session with no action to follow. There were no other invitees for the Executive Session. Council rose to report to Executive Session at 8:31 p.m. Council rose to report from Executive Session at 8:48 p.m. with no further action. M. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business before the Council, President Renner adjourned the meeting at 8:48 p.m. Jeremy A. VanMeter Clerk of Council APPROVED by the City Council, this day of 2022. Stephen A. Renner City of Gahanna Page 18