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, September 19, 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, September 19, 2022, in Council Chambers. President of Council Stephen A. Renner called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Vice President of Council Merisa K. Bowers delivered an Invocation and led members in the Pledge of Allegiance. The agenda for this meeting was published on September 16, 2022. Present 7 - Nancy R. McGregor, Karen J. Angelou, Merisa K. Bowers, Trenton I. Weaver, Kaylee Padova, Michael Schnetzer, and Stephen A. Renner B. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO THE AGENDA: None. C. HEARING OF VISITORS: 1. Proclamation Presentation by Mayor Jadwin 2022-0276 Mayoral Proclamation - Gahanna Residents In Need 2022-09 Mayor Jadwin noted that along with her Proclamation Council would present a Resolution in celebration of Gahanna Residents In Need (GRIN) 50th Anniversary and Hunger Action Awareness Month. Jadwin read parts of the Proclamation and invited Brenda Johnston, Executive Director, to receive it. Jadwin noted that food insecurity and the lack of access to healthy foods contributes to the development of various nutrition-related illnesses. Children facing hunger are more likely to experience developmental delays, the need to repeat school years, and experience an increase in social and behavioral problems. She said that bringing attention to this issue and providing resources to support GRIN and their work is vital to the success of the community. As most know, GRIN began 50 years ago at Mifflin Presbyterian Church with the Gahanna Rotary, Gahanna Ministerial Association and City of Gahanna Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2022 Reverend Donald Swift who decided to help people with food donations. GRIN is now a registered non-profit organization with an established board, a staff of three and seasonal staff and volunteers who contribute generously of their time. Jadwin noted the organization now had a mobile food pantry, operates multiple back to school backpacks and weekend snack packs, as well as holiday and financial assistance. Jadwin said she had volunteered at times with the organization. When you see families that come through and see the need that they have, it pulls at one’s heartstrings. Jadwin emphasized Johnston had a heart bigger than anyone she had ever met with giving so much to our community in volunteering, working part-time, and now full-time. This has made a tremendous impact on the community and continues to do so. Jadwin presented the Proclamation to Johnston, the GRIN Board, and volunteers in attendance. 2. Resolution Presentation by Councilmember Padova Councilmember Padova thanked Mayor Jadwin for the Proclamation. Padova noted the Council’s Resolution recognizes September as Hunger Action Month and honor’s GRIN in their 50th Anniversary of addressing hunger in the community. Padova took the opportunity to shine a light on some of the volunteers who keep GRIN operating. As stated in the Resolution, GRIN had over 14,000 volunteer hours. If you do the math, this would be seven full-time employees. The pantry is open on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings, as well as the first and third Tuesday night. There are 11 volunteers for each pantry. To prepare for each pantry, the group has volunteers who pick up from Kroger twice a week, volunteers who sort and put the items away, volunteers who pick up from Mid-Ohio every week, and soon increasing to twice per week due to demand. She added there are people who pick up bread from two different locations, a monthly egg pickup, weekly diaper pickups and donation pickups from Abco, Gahanna Hardware, and Mifflin Presbyterian. There are also financial assistance interviewers, weekend snack pack crews, regular Meijer shoppers, home deliveries, volunteers who clean the pantry and do social media and many more volunteers doing things and running here and there for GRIN. Padova said she is very honored to work alongside all the wonderful volunteers who spend their time and talent helping the community. Padova said that on behalf of Council, they urge citizens to support GRIN through volunteering time, donating food, or donating money to support, lend a hand, uplift, and fill the empty plates present within the community. 3. Michele Reynolds of 7130 Rosemount Way, Canal Winchester, Ohio introduced herself. Ms. Reynolds said she was here to introduced herself as a candidate for Ohio Senate District 3, of which Gahanna is a part of. She is currently an elected official. She represents Madison Township as a trustee and board chair. She said she is also the wife of a pastor and has a non-profit organization that provides housing to formerly incarcerated men and women when they come out of prison and do not have a place to stay. Reynolds has been doing City of Gahanna Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2022 community work for the last 16 years, most recently as the faith-based director for the State of Ohio appointed in the DeWine administration. In this role, she worked with non-profit and faith-based organizations across the state. She is here for the introduction and learn about the needs and what Gahanna is passionate about so that she can be an asset to the community as the next state senator. Reynolds is a big proponent of local government. She comes from a small town and is a proponent of home rule and solutions at the local level. She said she is here to be a support for the city and if elected, she hoped to hear about the concerns in the community and take them to the Statehouse. 4. Ryan Spak of 211 Carlin Ct E, Gahanna, Ohio spoke on comments from the last meeting. Mr. Spak said at the last meeting there were some comments made that he wanted to respond to. He said that Mr. Schultz had commented there was indeed a bus route that serves the current City Hall as well as the future City Hall location. This is the Brice Road to Easton line. If you look at this line, it does not serve the majority of Gahanna geographically. Further, he said that if you checked the schedule, you would find that it would be quite a challenge to get to this meeting on time and get back home in a reasonable amount of time. He believes it is important to participate and coordinate with COTA, MORPC, and the Link US initiative but equally important to realize that those are concerned with regional mobility. It is not their goal, responsibility, or obligation to provide connectivity within Gahanna. When he steps out of his house and wants to go somewhere in Gahanna, this is for the City to figure out. Spak said we cannot rely on a third party to solve those problems. He stated that Councilmember Bowers had mentioned there was a path that goes from her neighborhood to the new City Hall location. There was nothing wrong with shared use paths, but he felt this was possibly representative of misunderstanding what he was saying. He acknowledged that his next comments might be perceived as inflammatory, but that he would try to explain what he means. He stated that the City discriminates between people based on modes of travel. People who are most vulnerable, the people outside of cars, are consistently given the lowest priority. Sidewalks and bike facilities are just as much transportation infrastructure as roads. He thought the easiest way to show what he means is to pretend the sidewalk or path is a road and ask if the way we treat it would be acceptable. First, this path only serves your neighborhood. It begins on Taylor Road, wraps around Tech Center Drive, and becomes a sidewalk before it reaches Morrison Road. There is no low stress route for anyone else to access this path. It connects to nothing. That is really a large issue that is a big part of what he is trying to say with respect to connectivity. If there is any break in the network, it will stop most people from using it. This is no different from cars. If the City built a section of road out in the middle of a cornfield that did not connect to anything or made a four-lane road that was only accessible by a gravel path, everyone would agree that is a huge waste of money. It is not a waste because we do not need roads. It is not a waste because it is not being utilized. It is a waste of money because it is poorly planned and cannot serve its intended purpose. City of Gahanna Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2022 In the example of the road, Spak added that it is blindingly obvious but that we still proceed with this patchwork approach to pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Why are they treated differently? Second, he said it was mentioned that the path might be connected in the future to the Big Walnut Trail. President Renner interrupted Spak, as his time had expired. Without objections from Council, Renner granted Spak an additional three minutes. Spak said he believed this is a misunderstanding of his larger point. According to the Central Ohio Greenways, the points of interest on the Big Walnut Trail are Hoover Reservoir, Creekside, Inniswood Metro Park, and Elk Run Park. These are all well and good but the points of interest for everyday living are more along the lines of grocery stores, schools, coffee shops, and restaurants. If the most direct path for a person in a car to access these amenities is on Granville Road or Hamilton Road, why is it that if we take that exact same person and put them on a bike, they are not accommodated on those same routes? Why are they treated differently? He said Councilmember Renner said at the end of the last meeting his son had been biking to school when he was hit by a construction fence and thrown off his bike. Spak said that fortunately it sounded like his son was on the mend but that Renner’s message at the end was to be careful around construction zones. Spak offered an alternative perspective. Renner’s son was riding a bike on a five-foot sidewalk because that was the best option available to him, but a five-foot sidewalk is wholly inadequate for that purpose. The infrastructure in place failed Renner’s son. Spak stated we can never fully eliminate uncertainty or prevent every accident, but if he had been on a properly designed bike lane, maybe that fence would not have been so close. Maybe there would have been room to react and maneuver or maybe a bike lane would not have been located there at all. The truth is that we do not know but it can again be compared to a car. The standard passenger vehicle used for roadway design is seven feet wide. Renner’s son riding a bike on a five-foot sidewalk would be like placing that car in an eight-and-a-half-foot lane. If one were to go and measure lanes around Gahanna, one would find that most lanes are at least 11 to 12 feet wide. Spak said that we designed roads this way because uncertainty exists and the unexpected happens. Human error is natural. Again, he asked why we think nothing of spending millions of dollars building and maintaining all the extra pavement for cars, but we can never find a fraction of that amount to make things safer for people outside of cars. Why are they treated differently? When voting for funding for the new City Hall, councilmembers made statements that “numbers made sense” or that “we’re following the numbers.” Given this, he had numbers to share. Between 2001 and 2021, approximately 7,050 U.S. servicemembers died in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2021 alone, approximately 7,500 pedestrians were killed in the US, which represents the highest number of pedestrian deaths in four decades. In one year, more pedestrians died from cars in American than the number of U.S. servicemembers who died in 20 years of war. For children and adolescents ages one to 19, cars are the number two killer. Of those children killed by cars, approximately 20 percent were pedestrians. This would be children waiting at the bus stop for school or trying City of Gahanna Page 4 City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2022 to cross the road with their parent. Of much of the last 20 years, cars were the number one killer of children in this country. Only in the past few years is something proven more proficient at killing our children. This is guns. Rounding out the top three, there are overdoses and suicides. Spak said that perhaps not coincidentally there is a strong correlation between better mental health and going outside for a walk. When you hear residents say neighborhoods are not walkable, these are outcomes you would expect to see. Spak said that Mayor Jadwin at the last council meeting awarded a commendation to recognize progress against childhood cancer but the top causes of death in children in this country are not medical mysteries that will be solved by scientists in a lab, they are societal ills that are both created and solved right in this Chamber. If you go home and think over these numbers, can you look in your child’s eye, grandchild’s eye, or niece or nephew’s eye, and say, “when I was on City council” or “when I was Mayor,” and had the chance to make decisions and change things that this is the world you chose to leave for them. Do you think they deserve better? Spak thanked Council for the time to speak. President Renner invited Spak to get involved in the City’s Bicycle and Trail Advisory Committee. He said the City would like to have Spak’s passion with this. Mayor Jadwin said she would be happy to provide information on connecting with the group. D. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. Minutes - To Approve: 2022-0273 CN Minutes 9.6.2022 These meeting minutes were Approved on the Consent Agenda. 2022-0274 CN Special Minutes 9.12.2022 These meeting minutes were Approved on the Consent Agenda. 2022-0275 COTW Minutes 9.12.2022 These meeting minutes were Approved on the Consent Agenda. 2. Resolutions: RES-0028-2022 A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE AMOUNTS AND RATES AS DETERMINED BY THE BUDGET COMMISSION AND AUTHORIZING THE NECESSARY TAX LEVIES AND CERTIFYING THEM TO THE COUNTY AUDITOR This Resolution was Adopted on the Consent Agenda. RES-0029-2022 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO APPLY FOR THE MID-OHIO REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION (MORPC) City of Gahanna Page 5 City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2022 ATTRIBUTABLE FUNDS FOR THE BIG WALNUT TRAIL - SECTION 8 This Resolution was Adopted on the Consent Agenda. RES-0030-2022 A RESOLUTION CONSENTING TO THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (ODOT) BRIDGE INSPECTION SERVICES This Resolution was Adopted on the Consent Agenda. 3. Ordinances for Second Reading & Adoption: ORD-0051-2022 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICE TO ENTER INTO CONTRACT WITH AMERICAN ROCK SALT CO LLC FOR ROAD SALT FOR THE 2022-2023 WINTER SEASON This Ordinance was Adopted on the Consent Agenda. ORD-0053-2022 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING GAHANNA CODIFIED ORDINANCE CHAPTER 521.06(b) FOR CONSTRUCTION, REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT OF SIDEWALKS, INTEGRAL APPROACHES/APRONS AND RELATED AREAS This Ordinance was Adopted on the Consent Agenda. End of Consent Agenda A motion was made by Bowers, seconded by Padova, to Pass the Consent Agenda. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 7- McGregor, Angelou, Bowers, Weaver, Padova, Schnetzer and Renner E. RESOLUTIONS: RES-0026-2022 A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING SEPTEMBER 2022 AS HUNGER ACTION MONTH AND HONORING GAHANNA RESIDENTS IN NEED (GRIN) FOR THEIR ROLE IN ADDRESSING HUNGER IN THE COMMUNITY FOR FIFTY YEARS A motion was made by Padova, seconded by Weaver, that the Resolution be Adopted. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 7- McGregor, Angelou, Bowers, Weaver, Padova, Schnetzer and Renner F. ORDINANCES FOR INTRODUCTION / FIRST READING: ORD-0055-2022 AN ORDINANCE TO ESTABLISH SEPARATE DEPARTMENTS FOR PUBLIC SERVICE AND ENGINEERING This Ordinance was Introduced by President Renner and Read by Title. City of Gahanna Page 6 City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2022 ORD-0057-2022 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS - TIF Fund This Ordinance was Introduced by President Renner and Read by Title. ORD-0058-2022 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS - Developers Escrow Fund This Ordinance was Introduced by President Renner and Read by Title. ORD-0059-2022 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORD-0089-2021 AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE SALARIES FOR PERSONNEL OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA FOR THE PERIOD JANUARY 1, 2022, THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2022, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY Miranda Vollmer, Director of Administrative Services, spoke on ORD-0059-2022 and ORD-0060-2022. These items are to amend and realign the 2022 Salary Ordinance and Pay Administration Plan to implement Phase II of the compensation study as recommended by the City’s consultant for the unclassified employees for the purposes of recruitment and retention. Vollmer noted this recommendation is a continuation of the study completed in 2021 and incorporated into the budget last year. Phase II will better align unclassified compensation with market and peer communities. By making these adjustments, we will increase our competitiveness and be more flexible in retention and recruitment for the positions that are crucial for the City’s success. This Ordinance was Introduced by President Renner, Read by Title, and scheduled for further discussion during Committee of the Whole 9/26/2022. ORD-0060-2022 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORD-0091-2021 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN AND ADOPT THE PAY ADMINISTRATION POLICY, EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2022, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY This Ordinance was Introduced by President Renner, Read by Title, and scheduled for further discussion during Committee of the Whole 9/26/2022. G. CORRESPONDENCE AND ACTIONS: 1. Clerk Mr. VanMeter noted for the record that the contiguous property owner letters had been mailed out for the 5503 Morse Road rezoning proposal. Council Office posted the public hearing notice for October 17, 2022, on the rezoning. 2. Council - none. H. REPRESENTATIVES: City of Gahanna Page 7 City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2022 1. Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) - Renner, Weaver President Renner noted that the CIC will be meeting on September 20, 2022, at 8:00 a.m. in the Committee Room. 2. Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) - Angelou Councilmember Angelou noted the last regular meeting was held on the second Thursday of the month. She had many items she wanted to share with councilmembers that MORPC had been distributing information about. She offered sharing the printouts should anyone like to learn more. The Commission welcomed the 80th member, the Village of New Lexington. New Lexington was accepted as the county seat for Perry County. The current membership is the largest in all the years of MORPC. Angelou remarked on sustainability initiatives being spearheaded by MORPC. This included Intel’s efforts on sustainability and a forum overview of regional sustainability programs with best practices. The Regional Coalition of the southwest area of Central Ohio will be September 27, 2022, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. at Prairie Township Community Center. The Local Government and Schools event will be September 29, 2022, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at MORPC to discuss benefits of joint planning. With this event, community leaders can take necessary actions to preserve the quality of life and create a sustainable environment for future generations. Angelou stressed that joint planning with schools is something the City should be doing. The guest speaker is a writer and researcher on school infrastructure planning, sustainability, community development, housing police, refugee resettlement, educational economics, and joint use of schools. She added she hoped all would be going to the Summit on Sustainability coming up on October 14, 2022. Mayor Jadwin is part of this organization. Angelou is looking forward to attending. She indicated that through the Roundtable, the state legislature has five days left of session and $1.9 Billion in ARPA funds still not spent. Restoring these to government funds included prioritizing affordable housing, sewer and water infrastructure, and food banks. She hoped some of this money would be coming to Gahanna, especially in terms of sewer and water. Some other updates included as follows: the Rapid 5 organization received another grant of $200,000, details on the enhanced mobility funding workshop, and meeting for people with disabilities. Angelou and Councilmember Weaver discussed the passage of the CHIPS Act. 3. Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) - Padova Councilmember Padova noted staff at Visit Gahanna and their board of directors are in the strategic planning process. This is expected to take five months. The activity provider applications and vendor applications are currently being accepted for the Holiday Light Celebration that will take place on Sunday, November 20, 2022. There will be lots of fun events and activities. Early bird registration is available for this year’s Santa Race taking place on City of Gahanna Page 8 City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2022 Saturday, December 3, 2022. This weekend the Gahanna Area Arts Council is presenting the Columbus Symphony Orchestra at Sunpoint Park Sunday at 5:00 p.m. Tickets are still available. Also, the Gahanna Historical Society will host the Mill Street Market on Sunday. 4. School Board (SB) - Bowers Vice President Bowers said the school district has been diligent in communicating construction updates. They have been posting videos to YouTube with updates on the work being done across the district, including the work at both Blacklick and High Point Elementary schools. These additions appear to be working on interior finishing at this point. Bowers said she had driven by when staff was getting a tour at Blacklick Elementary. The work is also underway at the stadium with the turf being removed and the next steps being the track. The district also posted on their YouTube channel an update on the floor plan changes and “value engineering,” which is a fancy word for budget cuts. Bowers said they were reducing some square feet in common areas and not doing shell buildout for second floor classrooms. There are other tweaks and layout changes to rooms and cafeteria. They are working with stakeholders on these things and publishing the video updates for others to be informed of what is going on in the process. I. OFFICIAL REPORTS: 1. Mayor Mayor Jadwin congratulated GRIN again with their 50th anniversary and service to the community. She noted the volunteers and staff are a tremendous group of people. The City commends them on their work. Jadwin said the Bicycle and Trail Advisory Committee (BTAC) meets quarterly. They just met in August. She directed comments to members of the audience, noting that Director of Parks & Recreation Stephania Ferrell is not sure when the next meeting will be, but would provide her contact information to learn more about the committee. Jadwin said she appreciated Mr. Spak’s comments about trails. She said the Parks & Recreation Department had equal fervor for trails as well. The City currently has three trail projects underway. She said she would be happy to talk with Spak and others about the work that goes into this. Jadwin also noted Director of Engineering Tom Komlanc in the audience who would also be happy to talk with Spak and others about the steps that are involved in trail projects. Bike lanes on roads are a phenomenal idea. The City has had many conversations with Link US as they look to build out multimodal opportunities for transportation within the region, including in Gahanna. These are ongoing conversations and long-term projects. She stressed they are on the radar and of equal concern to the City as well. She thanked Spak again for his comments. The City will have a tent at the Mill Street Market with various departmental representatives available to have conversations with residents and answer questions. She also noted the Columbus Symphony event and sponsorship by the Gahanna Area Arts City of Gahanna Page 9 City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2022 Council. This will be a great event on the west side of Gahanna. The Creekside Hops and Vines was Saturday. This was another great event. Jadwin congratulated the Parks & Recreation Foundation and the members for organizing the event, along with the City’s Parks & Recreation Department. In the first hour alone, there were around 600 people that came through the gate. She thanked all those involved with setting up the event. On Friday, she noted that with the attendance of all councilmembers, the City held a dedication ceremony for the historical marker commemorating the Big Walnut Country Club. It was wonderful to see so many in attendance, including Representative Jarrells, Representative Lightbody, many community members and others outside the community. This celebrated a significant piece of Gahanna’s history that was not well known until maybe the last 10 to 12 years. This started with the Gahanna Historical Society and Christy Evans’ research. Jadwin recognized the Historical Society, Gahanna Area Arts Council, Mifflin Township, the Parks & Recreation Foundation, the City of Gahanna, and the Big Walnut Country Club Vision Committee. This group led by Kevin Dengel took all the research that had been done over several years and completed the application for the marker, of which the Ohio History Connection found valuable. Jadwin said the marker is now at Friendship Park and will tell the story of Big Walnut Country Club for generations to come. This is a phenomenal piece of history for the city and for the region. Lastly, Jadwin said that staff, including Director Bury and all the directors, are working hard on finalizing the draft of the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) so that it can be presented in a few weeks, likely mid-October. 2. City Attorney Attorney Mularski said ditto to what the Mayor said. J. COUNCIL COMMENT: Councilmember Angelou added that GRIN was a wonderful organization and thanked them for their contributions to the community. Regarding the Big Walnut Country Club event, she said this would now be known across the State of Ohio through the historic marker. She expressed her thanks to the many residents who worked to get the marker in the city, along with Mayor Jadwin and staff. It was a glorious afternoon filled with happiness for those who were able to share the story of this historic organization. This could not have happened without their hard work, as well as the work of other community partners. Councilmember McGregor again mentioned the flea market, the Mill Street Market, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Last year, there were around 100 vendors. This year there are currently 140 vendors and climbing. It will be even bigger than last year, with a lot of variety in vendors and less duplication of interests. McGregor also discussed the Big Walnut Country Club. This dedication was held on a beautiful day, and it was a great event. Thanks to Mayor Jadwin and Director Ferrell for the planning that went into it. She asked whether there was a video. Mayor Jadwin confirmed that, yes, it had been City of Gahanna Page 10 City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2022 filmed and a video would be posted. McGregor noted there was dancing in the gazebo. At the time of operation, there was a pavilion and no air conditioning then. When her husband worked for the state, many properties had been donated to the state. On several of these properties, there were these pavilions that were in bad shape and needing to be torn down. McGregor said people danced and sang at these pavilions. Seeing them dance during the dedication reminded you of the time that it was in operation. These were places for people to join as a community. The speakers were great, and stories intertwined. She thanked Christy Evans for her work. Evans dug into the history of this. When she got enough information, she applied for matching grant through Ohio Humanities Council. They awarded the grant. She spent a lot of time in researching the archives and microfiche. McGregor again expressed her thanks to all involved in making this happen. It was much appreciated. Councilmember Weaver echoed thoughts of colleagues. He congratulated GRIN on their anniversary and thanked them for all they do in the community, especially as times are tough for a lot of folks. He also attended the Big Walnut Country Club event, marking the first historical marker for the City. He said this was absolutely awesome. He said he got a hint there was another marker coming. Mayor Jadwin said, yes, another one would be coming. McGregor said this would be the Souder House. Weaver said there was a lot of great history in Gahanna and is great to see it celebrated. Weaver said he was born and raised in Gahanna and the Big Walnut Country Club was something he never knew about until he was a member of the Gahanna Area Arts Council. As a now former member for the Gahanna Area Arts Council, Weaver knew Kevin Dengel had been working on this. He urged all to go check out the marker at Friendship Park to learn more on the history. He thanked the Vision Committee, all the speakers and entertainment, state representatives Lightbody and Jarrells, Ohio History Connection, Mayor Jadwin and staff. Councilmember Padova echoed sentiments of colleagues. She added that her favorite part of the marker dedication was the dancing. She is glad have historical marker in the city. Vice President Bowers said that September 15 also kicked off Hispanic-Latina Heritage Month which runs through October 15. This is a time to recognize the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. This was established in 1968 by President Lyndon Johnson after signing into law a proposal for legislation from a representative in Los Angeles. President Ronald Reagan expanded the law into a month in 1988. Columbus recently hosted their Latina heritage parade over the weekend. Bowers stressed importance of also recognizing this as a community this month. Columbus is also hosting Neighborhoods Best Practices Conference on October 15 at Columbus State Community College. She thought this was an important to mention. The theme of this conference is “Neighborhoods Rising: Building Resilient Communities Post Pandemic.” The keynote will be a representative from City of Gahanna Page 11 City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2022 ADAMH who will speak on mental health in the post pandemic era. Generally, there will be a lot of conversation and material on stabilizing housing, youth engagement, and cultivating resilience. Bowers expressed thanks to Gahanna school board members for speaking up for students so that longstanding Title IX protections remain in place for all Gahanna-Jefferson students. She said that Honesty in Education is an organization that has been opposing a resolution pending before the state school board on Title IX. Several school board members are fighting to ensure students remain protected. Bowers said she appreciated Mr. Spak’s comments tonight. Bowers agreed the City needed to do all the things he talked about, including ensuring the safety of pedestrians and cyclists and putting funding there. She added, and yes, the City also needs to move forward on new City Hall project. She asked how they could do all these things together and continue to allocate funding to all these things that would make the community safer and healthier. She saw that Ohio is 45th most polluted state in the nation. She was horrified by this number. Appreciating Trustee Reynolds comments on home rule, Bowers said one thing we can do as a city is to move the needle in healthier transportation ways and sustainability measures. She noted the state has done a lot to preempt some of the work of cities at the local level. Bowers looked forward to continuing conversation with Spak. President Renner noted that his council colleagues covered things very well. He also attended the Big Walnut Country Club historical marker event. It was fantastic. He is deeply in awe of the volunteers that put everything together. Renner said that as Councilmember McGregor talked about listening to the stories was amazing. Those at the event only heard a snippet of the history. He encouraged everyone to learn more, visit the historical society website, and watch the video that will be coming. He said history is a very important aspect to recognizing events in society, especially in a democracy. It is important for us to look at and to remember both the great things and the bad things. History is a comparative look to us now to understand that which was not right and maybe choose a different path. Renner noted that one hears a lot of people being afraid of history. He urged people to not be afraid of history, but to embrace it, look at it and acknowledge, understand it, and move forward. Additionally, he noted that September is Emergency Preparedness Month. He asked those listening and in attendance if they had an emergency kit, emergency supply of water, or an emergency radio. If anyone did not, he asked those to visit the American Red Cross and several organizations in the community to make sure to have these things on hand. One never knows when mother nature is going to interrupt and cut power and cut water access. K. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business before the Council, President Renner adjourned the meeting at 7:52 p.m. Jeremy A. VanMeter Clerk of Council City of Gahanna Page 12 City Council Meeting Minutes September 19, 2022 APPROVED by the City Council, this day of 2022. Stephen A. Renner City of Gahanna Page 13