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, December 5, 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, December 5, 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 December 2, 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 2022-0338 Mayoral Proclamation - National Impaired Driving Prevention Month 2022-12 Mayor Jadwin said the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's is a time when everybody's excited to travel, go visit family and friends, whether that's out of state or even just locally. December is also a time of year that has proven to be the deadliest because December is the time when we see the most impaired driving circumstances happening. Jadwin invited Doug Scoles, who is the regional executive director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), to join her in receiving the proclamation on National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. Jadwin provided the following statistics: alcohol impaired driving crashes, which range from being under the influence to distracted driving, cause 338,000 injuries per year due to impaired driving, 43 percent of fatally injured drivers tested positive for drugs, and 11,654 people were killed City of Gahanna Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2022 in impaired driving crashes in 2020 with 4,300 of those killed under the age of 21. For more than 40 years, preventionists have sought to recognize December as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. Jadwin said this effort is to drive attention to the fact that we need to be careful so that people can not only go out and enjoy themselves but come back home safely and that others who are on the road are safe. Mr. Scoles said it was important to recognize that we can pass all the laws in the world and have the public awareness programs in place, but it was vital to have committed officers on the road monitoring for alcohol and drug impairment and removing this off the road to keep others safe. Jadwin noted she was also here to honor one of Gahanna’s finest officers, Officer Jeff Hoffman, who later this week will attend the MADD luncheon to receive the 2022 award for his work enforcing our roadways and arresting impaired drivers. So far this year, through the month of November, Officer Hoffman has had 33 OVI arrests, which accounts for 27 percent of all OVI arrests on his shift and 21 percent of all OVI arrests Division-wide. The number of OVI arrests just shows the impact that he is having on our Gahanna community. Due in large part to his focus on traffic safety, the Division made 157 total OVI arrests in 2022 through November, which is up from 134 during the same time last year and 17 percent through the month of November. Jadwin invited Chief Spence to present Officer Hoffman with a core value award in recognition of his work. Chief Spence presented Hoffman with the award. Chief noted that Hoffman is a steadfast enforcer. He is helping the environment that the City found itself in especially over these last several months with traffic volume. This enforcement amounted to a lot less impaired driving on the City’s roadways. 2. Members of the Public Bob Schultz of 130 Jahn Drive, Gahanna, Ohio, spoke on a parking situation on his street. Mr. Schultz said the reason why he here is that he would like to have City Council be aware of parking issues he and his neighbors are having on their street. He was not sure if this was due to money or what. The street used to have signs that said “No Parking 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM” on school days. Since the signs have been taken down, which happened when they redid the sidewalks and the streets, his corner at Gary Lee and Jahn have been inundated with students’ cars. There are several times they have had incidents. They are parking too close to driveways. They are throwing trash in his yard, which he picks up daily. They are being disrespectful to the residents. Schultz feels that something should be done about it. He would like to see the signs put back up. He said he could care less who parks there. It is just that there needed to be some kind of rules to keep people from getting in driveways. Schultz said he was not bad mouthing the Police Department, but apparently, with warnings, their tickets are not being written like they should City of Gahanna Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2022 be. He stated he knows it is on the books there is to be a three-foot distance from the right-of-way of your driveway. He stressed that the City needed to do something. This problem is every day. Every day from 7:30 AM until probably 4:00 PM. He said you cannot get in and out of their street without having to stop because there are cars on both sides and across from each other. He feels something needs to be done. He does not know if it needs to be one side parking or just putting the signs back up. He does not know what the best solution is, but also does not know why the signs were taken down after they redid the streets. They put the new sidewalks, and new streets up. It is right there at the corner. It is hard to get in and out. President Renner thanked Schultz. He said he knew there were other speaker slips that had been submitted from people wanting to speak on the issue. He invited Mayor Jadwin to comment. Mayor Jadwin said that she and Chief Spence just had a conversation about Jahn Drive today. She said she would let Chief speak to some of the parameters and issues around this. However, they spoke earlier today because Jadwin was on this street. Vehicles were parked on both sides of the street, and it was very difficult to get through. Chief said that he was going out to take a look at it. The plan is to put signs up one side of the street. Jadwin said she could not really speak to why they were taken down before, but maybe Chief has some additional insights on that. Alveda Bates of 100 Jahn Drive, Gahanna, Ohio, spoke on student parking on Jahn, Gary Lee, and Douglas. Ms. Bates said she was glad to hear that the Mayor was there to see the street. Bates said that she and her neighbors were before Council mainly because of the frustration around putting up with all the garbage. She said a student ran down the street recently. A dog bolted out of a home. They hit the dog. The dog rolled under the wheel of the car. The car kept on going and killed the guy's dog. They just kept on going. So, now they have an incident that is serious enough for everybody and the Chief to pay attention. She said they are scared and worried. One of the students blocked one of the neighbor’s driveway. The neighbor went out and he put a sign on the front of the car on the windshield and said, “If you block me tomorrow, I'm going to have your car towed that evening.” The neighbor was out mowing his grass. A man came running up, screaming, and waving his paper in the air and wanted to know if [the neighbor] blankety blank put that piece of paper on that car. Bates said her neighbor said yes. The man continued on threatening the neighbor with assault. She hoped that the neighbor would have called the police. She was concerned the neighbor would have done something about that threat and that there would have been a police incident then, but the neighbor chose not to. That being said, the neighbor goes back into the house. She stressed that students have impeded their lifestyle. For example, if you want to have any service that you have for your house, she must get up at 7:00 AM, be out on the street and cordially ask the students to not park there today because she is going to have work done. She said they also City of Gahanna Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2022 cannot have visitors. Bates said to continue the story on her neighbor, which is the real reason all of the other neighbors have come, is that a car pulled up yesterday, parked within whatever parameter it was, turned the music up really loud. Bates said she and her neighbors really want those signs to go back out on their street. She is finding everything from garbage, when the students eat their lunch and kick it out their door. Her neighborhood beautiful. It is an old neighborhood. The neighborhood now has young families because the neighborhood is turning over. They have got sidewalks and were on a walk recently. She said they were finding used condoms on the street. She said this is really disgusting and is what they have been putting up with. She said she is almost afraid now to speak publicly. She is concerned with the escalation and possibility for violence over this situation. President Renner thanked Bates. He asked if Chief Spence would like to address the situation. Mayor Jadwin added her thanks to Bates for sharing her experience. She noted that in attendance in Chambers tonight is one school board member, Daphne Moehring, sitting behind Bates. Jadwin said Chief could speak to the sign issue. Jadwin added that she would reach out to the school superintendent tomorrow as well and relay Bates’ comments to her. The City and school will work together on this. Chief Spence said from a historical perspective, going back to the signage on that roadway and specifically in that neighborhood, as that road project began around 2018 or 2019 a lot of the signage that was installed was not installed properly or per Code. There were various signs that were not supported in code. For example, “no school, no student parking.” The City does not have any mechanism in Code similar to Columbus, for example, where they have parking zones in the Short North and parking stickers specifically for residents. Gahanna does not have that mechanism in Code. There are some things that were related to the postings of those signs. For whatever reason, from a historical perspective, Chief could not find the documentation of when the various signs were picked up. Some were two-hour parking. Some were no parking in certain hours, which can be restricted. They also ran across several residents that complained that one side of the street was no parking, but other sides were not. He said it became sort of a hodgepodge of signs. Those were taken out related to the road construction project. They were not reinstalled. Chief said with the construction of the high school, student parking is being pushed out into the neighborhoods. They are seeing it not only in Gary Lee and Jahn Drive and that area, but also other surrounding streets from the high school. As construction continues, Chief imagines that issue will continue to get worse when it comes to parking complaints in general. These are complaint-based. The Department is not actively looking. He acknowledged that the situation has gotten exponentially worse as the construction continues and more students are pushed out farther into the neighborhoods. With that, Chief said he believes the City is prepared to do the correct sign process and no park streets on the hydrant side. If there is somebody that legally parked on the street, it is a public street and the police City of Gahanna Page 4 City Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2022 cannot differentiate between is it a resident or do they have business there, are they visiting somewhere, or are they going to school there. He said the Department can certainly work with the school to try to educate those students and make sure they are not creating a hindrance on the roadway. If there is a violation, if the vehicle is in fact obstructing a driveway, if it is obstructing egress from a private drive, that in fact is a violation and the police could act. Chief encourages people to call the Department. They will send somebody out and will handle the violation. The police do not tow. There is not a mechanism for impounding a vehicle strictly for parking violation. There are some exceptions, but they would simply issue a citation in that manner. They cannot forcibly remove the vehicle. Ms. Bates said she did not hear anything that was going to help the neighborhood. She said behind her home is the Frazier’s property on Hamilton Road. Next to that, she said the school owns an acre or acre-and-a-half of land. There is a Lustron house sitting there. She said she tried to get the Historical Society to take that at some point when working on community projects. Bates said there is a lot of land over there that the school owns, but she notices that recently a no parking sign went up on that piece of land. They have a driveway and an entrance there. She is thinking if the school had to have overflow parking, why could this land not be used? She did not see why the cars should be pushed out into the neighborhoods. This is going to go on for two to three years. Bates said we currently have 2,500 students and are going to have 5,000 students soon. What is the answer? President Renner thanked Bates for bringing the issue before Council. She has asked the question about what can happen. He said heard the Chief say that you can call the police. The number is 614-342-4240. Renner said this is a very active response the City can do in the short term. In the long term, we can look at putting the signs back up on one side of the street. Cherie Macmaster of 122 Jahn Drive, Gahanna, Ohio, spoke about student parking on Jahn Drive during school hours . Ms. Macmaster said she had the same issue that has been discussed. They have two cars blocking the driveway on the opposite side of the road and two cars on each side of the driveway. So, when she tries to back out, she must do a maneuver to go either way. She said she has almost hit a couple of the cars a couple times. She said they really just want the sign to be put back up. She said it had been stated that the sign was going back on one side of the street. Is that for sure, or is that just something that the City is looking at? Chief Spence said the City typically no parks the hydrant side of the street. Unless there are environmental conditions that we would switch that, we would have to evaluate that. The City works with the Fire Department in terms of how those signs are positioned. Then, the police will work with the City’s Public Service Department. There is a street sign process. This process has been brought up. Chief clarified that from a practical standpoint, generally, we City of Gahanna Page 5 City Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2022 no park the hydrant side of the roadway. Ms. Macmaster said that would help because at least you have one side you could get out on. Betsy Tartal of 146 Gary Lee Drive, Gahanna, Ohio spoke on student cars parking on her street. Ms. Tartal said she liked what the Chief and Mayor said. Tartal loves Gahanna. She trusts that when the Mayor and Chief said something that they will do it. She said the people here tonight live here and we like Gahanna. They want to grow. With respect to the children, Tartal said we have all been teenagers before. Sometimes they are a little righteous and also get into little shenanigans. This is just shenanigans. They do not mean harm, but sometimes you have to give respect to get respect. Tartal said the children are our future. She said she thinks Council and administration will do the best thing they can to address this. President Renner said everyone heard what residents can do in the short term. If there is an incident, definitely call the Police Department. He asked the Mayor what needed to happen in order to the signs to get back up. Mayor Jadwin said she will follow-up with the Chief again tomorrow. They had just discussed it this afternoon after she had gone down the street earlier today. Chief is going to go look at it. Chief said that when they look at the roadway, the rule of thumb is to no park the hydrant side of the street. There are some situations that it might deviate from that, especially with curvatures of the roadways and things like that. They will need to evaluate the roadway. The Department always checks with the Fire Department because there are certain things related to their equipment. The Department will then create an order of signage. It goes through a process. They send it over to Public Service Department, and they install the signs. They will take photographs of the area and the work on places. Renner asked what the timeframe was to do all this. Chief said it would be a few weeks. He thinks this could be completed before the students get back into session. He does not think the City would have it in place before the winter break. It should not take the City but a couple of days to get the process completed. There is then the turnaround time for the sign maker. President Renner responded to a comment from the audience. He said he believed that what was expressed was a school board issue. He suggested it be brought up at the next school board meeting or to contact one of the five members of school board. Renner reiterated the Police Department number 614-342-4240 to call for incidents. Kayden Pallorino, a student at Gahanna Lincoln High School, spoke on the parking issue. Ms. Pallorino said she is a senior at Gahanna Lincoln High School. She has listened to everyone talking about the parking issue. She said something City of Gahanna Page 6 City Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2022 should be addressed with the school through the City. Since the construction started this year, there has been no parking for any students. She explained they are having to park miles away at churches and thinks something should be said with the school just to figure out the parking. She thinks the school should take more control of the parking situation because in the morning it is bad for people trying to get through the school parking lot. It puts people 20 minutes behind. President Renner thanked Pallorino for having the courage to stand up and speak on the issue. He also encouraged her to speak with one of the school board members that is in the audience. D. PUBLIC HEARINGS: ORD-0074-2022 AN ORDINANCE TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS FOR CURRENT EXPENSES AND OTHER EXPENDITURES OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA, OHIO DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2023 1. FY 2023 Budget - Opportunity for Public Comment President Renner noted that in this Public Hearing, the Council would accept comments from the public on the budget for next year. Pursuant to Council Rule 9.20.1, Finance Hearings being a special circumstance shall have the following Rules: (A) Speakers shall have five (5) minutes to speak on increases or additions of an item. (B) Speakers shall have five (5) minutes to speak on reductions or removal of an item. (C) Speakers shall have three (3) minutes to speak on general comments. President Renner opened the public hearing at 7:31 p.m., asking for anyone desiring to speak on additions or increases. Max Orsley of 691 Vivian Court, Gahanna, Ohio spoke in support of increasing the Parks budget. Mr. Orsley said he would like to voice support for increasing the City’s Parks budget, particularly when it comes to the matter of transportation around the city by means other than car. Orsley thinks this could benefit everyone, in particular with the conversation tonight about parking and everyone needing to get to a single place. He said it was important to have multiple forms of transportation, not just driving. This could be transportation through buses. Orsley said Gahanna is a city of 35,000 people. He thinks we could have rail of some form and walking and bicycling. With no other speakers for additions or increases, President Renner asked for anyone desiring to speak on reductions or removal of items in the budget. Max Orsley of 691 Vivian Court, Gahanna, Ohio spoke on tax subsidies. City of Gahanna Page 7 City Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2022 Mr. Orsley said he had been paying attention this year to City Council meetings and the Committees of the Whole. He wanted to address what he referred to as subsidies that go to businesses, particularly with the project for multifamily housing. He said there is this anonymous party that is going to provide this employment and this revenue to the city, but they will not say who it is. Orsley would like to see those kind of things be resolved more completely in a way that is transparent to the population so that people know that the anonymous party is going to make good on their commitment and not give them tax abatements or give them money, essentially something that they are not delivering on guaranteed. President Renner responded that Orsley was talking about a process and a contract, and that is not necessarily in the budget, but it is important when Council would talk about tax subsidies or what have you. With no other speakers on reductions or removals, President Renner asked for anyone desiring to speak with just general comments on the budget. With no speakers for general comments, Renner closed the meeting at 7:35 p.m. E. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. Minutes - To Approve: 2022-0331 FIN Minutes 11.14.2022 The minutes were approved on the Consent Agenda. 2022-0332 CN Special Minutes 11.21.2022 The minutes were approved on the Consent Agenda. 2022-0333 CN Minutes 11.21.2022 The minutes were approved on the Consent Agenda. 2022-0334 FIN Minutes 11.21.2022 The minutes were approved on the Consent Agenda. 2. Resolutions for Adoption: RES-0034-2022 A RESOLUTION TO DECLARE THE NECESSITY AND INTENT FOR TAYLOR STATION/CLAYCRAFT RIGHT-OF-WAY ACQUISITION The Resolution was adopted on the Consent Agenda. 3. Ordinances for Second Reading/Adoption: City of Gahanna Page 8 City Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2022 ORD-0068-2022 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING GAHANNA CODIFIED ORDINANCE SECTION 133.099 FOR MUNICIPAL MAYOR'S COURT SPECIAL PROJECTS FUND The Ordinance was adopted on the Consent Agenda. ORD-0069-2022 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING GAHANNA CODIFIED ORDINANCES TITLE THREE PUBLIC UTILITIES - CHAPTER 921 SANITARY SEWER CONNECTIONS AND RENTAL RATES AND CHAPTER 929 WATER CONNECTIONS AND RATES - AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY The Ordinance was adopted on the Consent Agenda with an emergency declaration. ORD-0070-2022 AN ORDINANCE ACCEPTING, APPROVING, AND RATIFYING THE SUBMITTED RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA TAX INCENTIVE REVIEW COUNCIL FOR TAX YEAR 2021 The Ordinance was adopted on the Consent Agenda. ORD-0071-2022 AN ORDINANCE APPROVING THE DISSOLUTION OF THE COMMUNITY URBAN REDEVELOPMENT CORPORATION The Ordinance was adopted on the Consent Agenda. 4. Ordinances for Waiver, Adoption as an Emergency: ORD-0075-2022 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO MODIFY VARIOUS AGREEMENTS WITH SCIENCE ONE, LLC, RELATING TO THE TECH CENTER DRIVE EXTENSION, WAIVING SECOND READING, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY President Renner introduced the Ordinance and read it by title. The Ordinance was adopted on the Consent Agenda with waiver of second reading and emergency declaration. ORD-0077-2022 AN ORDINANCE ACCEPTING A DEED OF EASEMENT OF 0.655 ACRES ON PARCEL NO. 027-000113 FROM SCIENCE ONE, LLC, FOR UTILITY EXPANSIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE TECH CENTER DRIVE EXTENSION, WAIVING SECOND READING, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY President Renner introduced the Ordinance and read it by title. The Ordinance was adopted on the Consent Agenda with waiver of second reading and emergency declaration. End of Consent Agenda A motion was made by Bowers, seconded by Schnetzer, to Pass the Consent Agenda. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Gahanna Page 9 City Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2022 Yes: 7- McGregor, Angelou, Bowers, Weaver, Padova, Schnetzer and Renner F. MOTIONS: MT-0019-2022 A MOTION TO APPOINT KYLIE COOPER CYRUS TO THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION SEAT 2 FOR THE UNEXPIRED TERM ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2023 Vice President Bowers thanked those who applied to fill the roles that were available recently for board and commission seats. It is wonderful when we have an opportunity to interview candidates and decide on filling these important roles that serve the community. The boards and commissions make up a large part of some of the oversight and function of local government, and so it is a great way for people to get involved and to really learn how certain aspects of local government work. For people who may be interested or wanting to become more involved, it can be a very accessible way to do so on a limited time commitment. Bowers encourages folks to keep their eyes open on the Council's website. There are also appointments made through the Mayor's Office. The Mayor also solicits applications when those positions are available to be appointed through her office. Bowers thanked Ms. Cooper Cyrus for submitting her resume and interviewing. A motion was made by Bowers, seconded by Padova, that the Motion be approved. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 7- McGregor, Angelou, Bowers, Weaver, Padova, Schnetzer and Renner G. ORDINANCES FOR INTRODUCTION / FIRST READING: ORD-0073-2022 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE OFFICIAL ZONING MAP OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA ADOPTED BY ORDINANCE 198-96 ON NOVEMBER 19, 1996, AND SUBSEQUENTLY AMENDED; CHANGING THE ZONING DISTRICT OF +/- 0.299 ACRES OF 3.4 ACRE SITE LOCATED AT 348 GRANVILLE STREET, PARCEL ID 025-000276 FROM SUBURBAN OFFICE (SO) TO COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL (CC); PROJECT KASSEL 348 GRANVILLE, LLC, MATT VON BARGEN, APPLICANT President Renner introduced the Ordinance and read it by title. ORD-0074-2022 AN ORDINANCE TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS FOR CURRENT EXPENSES AND OTHER EXPENDITURES OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA, OHIO DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2023 President Renner introduced the Ordinance and read it by title. ORD-0076-2022 AN ORDINANCE ACCEPTING A DEED OF EASEMENT OF 0.020 ACRES ON PARCEL NO. 027-000110 FROM VALUE RECOVERY GROUP II, LLC, FOR UTILITY PURPOSES ASSOCIATED WITH THE City of Gahanna Page 10 City Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2022 TECH CENTER DRIVE EXTENSION President Renner said he thought all Gahanna parcels were 025. This is 027. He asked City Attorney Mularski if that was correct. Director of Planning Michael Blackford said it was correct. Councilmember McGregor clarified this was part of Jefferson Township fire. President Renner introduced the Ordinance and read it by title. H. CORRESPONDENCE AND ACTIONS: 1. Clerk - none. 2. Council - none. I. REPRESENTATIVES: 1. Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) - Renner, Weaver President Renner announced there would be a joint meeting of Council and the CIC on December 20 at 7:30 AM at the Senior Center. This will be the second time that Council and CIC got together. Renner applauded the leadership on the CIC for proposing and pushing this forward. 2. Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) - Angelou Councilmember Angelou said on December 1, the executive committee met to discuss many items that are going to be coming forward this Thursday for the Commission meeting. These included the MORPC annual budget, the public policy agenda for 2023-2024, and the City of London joining as a member. Angelou said she has invited Clerk VanMeter to attend the Commission meeting on Thursday as her guest. 3. Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) - Padova Councilmember Padova noted that Visit Gahanna hosted the Santa Race on Saturday. There were over 300 participants. She believed Vice President Bowers was one of them. She thanked everybody who came out and participated and volunteered to make it successful. The CVB also coordinated the Creekside Holiday Scavenger Hunt for the third year in row. This will be taking place through December 23. Participants are eligible for prizes when they find 10 items on the list. Gahanna's holiday lights display is also included in the State of Ohio's Holiday Light Trail this year. This means that Gahanna’s display is one of 55 that were chosen by the State of Ohio Division of Tourism. They are promoting Gahanna as a destination for holiday lights. The Ohio Herb Center and Visit Gahanna are hosting Santa visits in-person. This is the first time since 2019. This will be on Saturday. As soon as the slots were available, the reservations filled up. It is a free activity, but families are City of Gahanna Page 11 City Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2022 encouraged to bring donations for GRIN. 4. School Board (SB) - Bowers None. J. OFFICIAL REPORTS: 1. Mayor Mayor Jadwin congratulated the Historical Society for a wonderful event. There was the Santa Run on Saturday morning and then the Historical Society held a Victorian Christmas event on Saturday. They had all three buildings open. Councilmember McGregor and her entire family were there organizing crafts and making crafts. Ms. Cooper Cyrus, who Council just appointed to Civil Service, did a fantastic job organizing that event as well. Having a Victorian Santa available as well was a wonderful opportunity for people to come into our community and to see that historical treasure that is here. On Friday, Jadwin attended ED411, which was the first time that One Columbus and the Mid-Ohio Development Exchange returned to their in-person event. Economic Development Director Nate Strum was a moderator. There were about 600 people at the Ohio State Union for that event. Jadwin shared there were fantastic conversations happening around placemaking strategies for developing a DE&I workforce. Jadwin congratulated the high school football team for the first time in 40 years being regional champions. She braved the Mansfield weather and headed up there a few weeks ago for that game. She still thinks they could have won that game had they just scored that first touchdown. Nevertheless, they had a phenomenal season and deserve all the congratulations for their success. This past Friday was the very first girls wrestling team tournament held at the high school. This was pretty special, as there is some great girl power happening over at the high school as well. She also commended again Officer Jeff Hoffman for his work in the OVI arrest category. Hoffman is a devoted officer and a stalwart leader within the Division for his work. This is a time when everybody is on the road, traveling to visit family. Whether it is impaired driving, distracted driving, or whatever it is, just one second can change families for a lifetime. She also acknowledged that we have an officer who is at home recovering from a situation where he was injured. Everybody has to pay attention when they are on the roads because we want everybody to be safe. Jadwin also shared a situation that happened this evening with police. Earlier this evening, she was advised that our officers were planning for the arrest of a kidnapping and domestic violence suspect in the Christopher Wren Apartments. Information came in that the suspect may also be in the company of an individual who was wanted in connection with the murder in the Detroit area. Gahanna officers organized a solution and went over to execute the warrant. Once officers entered the apartment, they located several firearms that were ready at hand for the occupants inside. She believed one was situated just inside the window that could have been used against officers as they were approaching. The murder suspect was taken into custody. They were armed and undoubtedly ready for a City of Gahanna Page 12 City Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2022 confrontation with police. Jadwin said everyone is just very thankful that once again our Division of Police worked as a team with partners and executed a situation that could have gone very dangerously for everybody. With their professionalism and their training, they were able to execute this seamlessly. She applauds them for a job well done. 2. City Attorney None. K. COUNCIL COMMENT: Councilmember Angelou hoped that next time all of Council could attend the ED411. Angelou was able to attend. She said the City is very fortunate to have Director Strum. She enjoyed the day very much and thanked the Mayor for driving her to the event. Councilmember McGregor thanked all the people who came out for the Victorian Christmas with the Historical Society. She said it started off kind of rough. They got there and noticed there were muntin bars gone from the windows. McGregor said she knew immediately there was a squirrel in the log house. Her husband had to go in and chase the squirrel out, put all the muntin bars back up, and clean up the mess. She joked that this was their first visitor. They had a wonderful Santa, Jason Ruark, and his wife Colleen were there all day. People really loved it. He was wearing both the Victorian and traditional Santa attire. He joked with the kids, and they were just laughing. They also had some real interesting crafts. They were not particularly easy. McGregor said that at one time it sounded like Santa’s workshop with seven people with hammers and tin cans tapping a pattern out on the tin cans. Parents were so patient with the kids and really seemed to enjoy it. McGregor appreciated her granddaughters and friends for volunteering hours with the event. Councilmember Weaver hoped everyone had a nice Thanksgiving holiday. He congratulated Ms. Cooper Cyrus on her appointment to the Civil Service Commission. He echoed Vice President Bowers’ comments on boards and commissions being a great way to get involved with the community. He added that he noticed that the City’s website has been updated with job postings for summer positions. Weaver encourages folks to apply and get involved. He urged people to be safe on the roads. Councilmember Padova congratulated Officer Hoffman on receiving the core value award this evening. She thanked the Mayor and Chief Spence as well for addressing the parking issue on Jahn Drive tonight. She has heard from people about this. The situation has certainly escalated since school started. She is glad to hear that the City is making progress on the situation and that hopefully what is proposed will be a solution for those incidents. On Saturday, Padova had the opportunity to attend the Pinnell Christmas extravaganza that has been held for many years now. The Pinnell Dance Center and the City of Gahanna Page 13 City Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2022 Gahanna Lions Club team up for a great show. This year they were able to donate over 3,000 pounds of food to GRIN to help support our community. Padova encourages everybody to get out and see that next year if they have not been to it before. They do a great job, and it is everybody from the teeny, tiniest dancers that they have there in the studio all the way up to the seniors. Some of them go off and dance professionally. Vice President Bowers said she wanted to recognize so many great people and organizations that have been contributing to a very festive holiday season already, including church groups, civic associations, the Historical Society, GRIN, Visit Gahanna, and so many others. These holiday traditions are important because they bring us together. It helps us to know each other and contributes to a sense of stewardship and fellowship. Rathburn Woods Civic Association has been doing carriage rides in the neighborhood for about 25 years. This helps neighbors get to know each other and spend time with each other and really get to know our community. She thanked everyone who is involved in any small or large way and gave a particular shout out the Ruark Family, who double as Mr. and Mrs. Christmas for the community. She said it was great to see them in Chambers tonight. President Renner congratulated Officer Hoffman on receiving the core award. It is always a great pleasure to see one of our officers get decorated or awarded for their service. He added that Council also heard from the public tonight. He thanked all for having the courage to come forward and talk about a problem in one the city’s neighborhood. He also deeply appreciated the high school students coming into Chambers as well and having a balanced discussion about that issue. Renner also addressed the problem of vigilantism. He said we cannot do that. We must obey what the rules are. We must obey what the laws are. If we do see an issue, if we are confronted with an issue, we must remember that the police are the ones that are ready to act. With the parking issue, he said, unfortunately, news travels fast with one or two bad students. He recognized that one or two students’ actions are not true about all the students. He again thanked Pallorino for coming and helping provide that balance in the discussion. Renner noted that from this discussion, he learned the City is going to start acting. He also moved others to talk to school board members about this. L. EXECUTIVE SESSION: A motion was made by Weaver, seconded by Schnetzer, to go into Executive Session under authority of Section 5.40(c) of the Council Rules of Procedure to confer with the City Attorney for the public body concerning disputes involving the public body that are the subject of pending or imminent court action. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 7- McGregor, Angelou, Bowers, Weaver, Padova, Schnetzer and Renner City of Gahanna Page 14 City Council Meeting Minutes December 5, 2022 President Renner announced that the Council would meet in the Law Library for Executive Session with no action to follow. Attorney Mularski was invited to join the Executive Session. Council rose to report to Executive Session at 7:58 p.m. Council rose to report from Executive Session at 8:08 p.m. with no further action. M. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business before the Council, President Renner adjourned the meeting at 8:08 p.m. Jeremy A. VanMeter Clerk of Council APPROVED by the City Council, this day of 2022. Stephen A. Renner City of Gahanna Page 15