City Council - Special

200 South Hamilton Road City of Gahanna Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Meeting Minutes City Council - Special Brian Metzbower, President Stephen A. Renner, Vice President Karen J. Angelou Brian D. Larick Jamie Leeseberg Nancy R. McGregor Michael Schnetzer Kimberly Banning, Clerk of Council Monday, January 14, 2019 6:30 PM City Hall, Council Chambers A. CALL MEETING TO ORDER - Roll Call. Gahanna City Council met in Special Session on Monday, January 14, 2019, in Council Chambers of City Hall, 200 South Hamilton Road, Gahanna, Ohio. President of Council, Brian Metzbower, called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Agenda for this meeting was published on January, 11 2019. Present 7 - Brian D. Larick, Jamie Leeseberg, Stephen A. Renner, Michael Schnetzer, Nancy R. McGregor, Brian Metzbower, and Karen J. Angelou B. PUBLIC HEARING - ORD-0116-2018 TO AMEND SECTION 161.081, CREDIT FOR TAX PAID TO ANOTHER MUNICIPALITY, OF CHAPTER 161, INCOME TAX, OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA President Metzbower opened the Public Hearing at 6:30p.m.; read the title; reminded this is for the tax credit. Dave Whorten, 1135 Northwood Circle, Harrison Pond, for the tax credit; if the levy passed with 100% credit would benefit him; read the parks cuts and caution them as much as possible; arts and recreation; will impact all the residents in the community. Beryl Piccolantonio, 963 Riva Ridge Blvd, stated that she didn’t want to time away from other speakers; not here in capacity as school board member; she realizes it may be perceived that way and has not spoken for that reason; decided to speak tonight; doesn’t want to regret not speaking at a later date; they do not have family or work ties here; but chose to buy a house and raise their kids; both her and husband will be impacted by paying more; happy to contribute, but she has concerns about real dollars for others or are less fortunate; she didn’t realize this City of Gahanna Page 1 City Council - Special Meeting Minutes January 14, 2019 was a possibility and it wasn’t communicated to voters; voters were not presented with a possibility of these cuts if the issue didn’t passed; didn’t hear that it was only to maintain services; roads were something that has to be done; yet to talk to a resident who understands; some of the parks & rec programs was why they chose to stay there; Gahanna camps has had a positive impact on her boys; new experiences and new friends for kids and her husband; her plea if you truly believe make the case to the voters so it is clear to the voters; she understands the burden of that plea and it is hard request. EF Bailey, 647 Churchill Dr., thanked everyone for caring enough to come out on a winter’s night; his late wife passed they could have moved anywhere, but wanted to stay here; Gahanna is a wonderful community; urge Council to look deeply what is proposed now; enjoys living here and wants to stay. Elizabeth Champlin, 782 McDonald Dr.; she is a Girl Scout; she heard about the parks closing and Zach in particular because he helped her troop; keep the goal to have natural parks; without that help they couldn’t do the stuff she does now; she rides her bike every day in the parks; Angelou said that she was at that opening for Woodside Green; agrees with Elizabeth how important these parks are. Victoria Nye, 266 Cliffview Dr; concerned with cuts with parks & rec dept; opportunities provided to her and her team will be taken away; if they were to cut pools for kids at 15; they will not have alternate places to work; have to be certified to be a lifeguard; that helped her choose her career at Otterbein as athletics; she doesn’t understand the nickels and dimes behind the scenes; she does know that the children in the community need to be invested in long term; taking away opportunities in the community for life long skills isn’t good; she feels that is what needs to get shaped into adults in the future. Maddy Myer, grew up going to the pool at 3 yrs old; she learned to swim; her lifelong friends go there; this is 4th summer worked at the pool; the pools have helped her grow over the years; she’s nervous now but would have never got up to speak if she didn’t have that experience; have 3 yr. old niece but doesn’t like outdoors and would rather use iPad; thinks should the parks be gone everyone will turn to electronics and get outside. Noelle Dennison, 339 Denison Ave; employee at the pools; was born in Gahanna; lived all 18 yrs of her life her; brought to the pool by her mom; at the pools every day; even when off work she’d go with her family; taught her how to make friends; she would reach out to people who needed a friend; Gahanna taught her what a sense of community is; she sees staying here the rest of her life; she wants her children to be raised here if the parks and rec stay; kids need the pools; they are not on electronics but making friends; the pools and staff provide lessons in a safe community; if they don’t have that guidance they could be wreaking havoc in the community; if the pools and parks & rec were not giving the same importance as roads won’t be a strong community. City of Gahanna Page 2 City Council - Special Meeting Minutes January 14, 2019 Betty Hersch, 919 Ridenour Rd; she was not aware of the ballot issue that was in place; she has two issues one of them pertains to physical health; been taking an exercise class at senior center and hasn’t fell since; and it gives members of the senior center opportunity to get out of the house; she’s a meals on wheels drivers; you might be the only person those individuals see during the day; encourage support of the senior center. Harvey McCleskey, 160 Wallcreek Dr. W; here two capacities; the parks & rec bring in 90 teams for the sports tournaments; those teams are from 75 communities; opposed to cuts; personal comments lived in community for 12 yrs; he wasn’t aware that cuts were going to happen; he’d rather his money be spent here not elsewhere; there will be an outcry if the pools are closed. Jim Eley, 142 Shaw Ave, resident 22 yrs; two sons came through Gahanna schools; thankful for what we have here; love parks system; happy with all the perks with being a member of this community; he learned a lot from coming to the meetings; he doesn’t envy their jobs; spoke at other groups in similar situations; different decision to make; that would greatly impact the community; move to the ballot again and get the word out. Cathy Sprouse, from Reynoldsburg but is member of senior center; she read a statement called a no fault clause; raise fees to $100 a year; on night and weekends have other activities; apply for grants for roads; get sponsors for fireworks; 10% cuts across the board; freeze all raises and job hiring for 2 years; by closing our senior center that also that have lunches for teens and children; senior center provides interaction in the community; if children are supposed to lead the way why are you closing out the most knowledgeable; the needs of the many out way the need of the few. Joe Tanner, 1027 Norway Dr, Columbus; his mother is a resident; the senior center is remarkable; has some seniors here which can be a challenge to get out; not fair to have to advocate for themselves to come participate; not well connected in social media to get the word out; some seniors don’t get this information; senior center increases the values of our seniors; Patrick does a good job; nobody likes to face cuts; not everybody will be happy; keep that in mind when making cuts to the Sr. Center. Lee Tucker, 805 Nob Hill Dr. W, Parks & Rec Foundation Chair, we really support parks & rec; he thinks they needed to put levy back on; it was not communicated well; very important for the parks & rec to be kept going; kids, scouts, athletics; he lives on one of the streets for Detroit; he said he could deal with it for another year or two to keep parks open; Creekside events, Hops & Vines are several events they help with; without Zach these events would not have happened; retrospect there are a lot of good people; get suggestions back to help get community where it needs to be; get another plan. Tim McClurg, 935 Leaflock Ct; having a new elementary school built across the street has helped their property values increase; all for the levy; third meeting City of Gahanna Page 3 City Council - Special Meeting Minutes January 14, 2019 he’s attended about this topic; voted for other two levies; friends with former Mayor Stinchcomb; his kids have enjoyed soccer in the parks; he is a referee for soccer; his kids used to go to the pools; enjoyed having fun with friends; he wouldn’t mind paying $50 a year to give free memberships; he works in Columbus; he is for the 100% tax credit; he was unhappy to see it lost; take away credit to 50% and put ballot initiative in May to pass 2.5% increase; if it doesn’t get passed then give 100%; willing to pay more until levy passes. Kristina Caswell, 337 Westerville Dr.; children are our future; studied school shooters two of the main things relative was coping skills and confidence; camps and pools help guide these kids and give direction; parents can’t always be around; it takes a village to raise children; taking away these events the safely will be taken away, too; this will not be a safe community if the children have nothing to do. Edie Hall, 83 Knobhill Dr. N; been resident of Gahanna for 45 yrs; husband retired from Air Force; this is the place for them to live; from day one they wanted to make it better; her project is the senior center and she’s been a member for 35 yrs; she’s in her 90s; every time the budget gets sparse the senior center gets cuts; there is not more room for dances, etc.; aging population in Gahanna is getting bigger; need bigger building, not less; every day is taking up with other programs; her days are numbered; she wants to speak for younger seniors; money is tight; please don’t cut the senior center. Lew Griffin, Creekside business owner; thanked everyone for what they do; people don’t realize the amount of time that they put in; he understands what they put in and appreciates them; preaching to the community needs to be stated; not everyone is going to be pleased; need to respect others and not try to put people down, especially now in this stress; he trusts them as leaders; have fiduciary responsibility to this community; have to do with safety, services and welfare; easy out having .5 credit doesn’t hurt; hold off and give community a chance to credit it; if he has to do .5 and have responsibility to do something, he will; also keep this City financially sound; schools had to do this but he understands there could be better timing; if the City can’t get it on the ballot and get it passed; then go to zero; whether by necessity or by vote; McClurg is saying same type of thing; you have to make hard decisions; lived here for 27 years; work together as a team; we will be the best community in central Ohio. Schnetzer said he was worked extremely hard to get the message out there and see the levy across the finish line; he estimated he knocked over 1,000 doors; spoke to at least 200 or 300 people; it was challenging, but he did it because it’s important; if it didn’t pass a lot of people would get hurt; comprised time with family during a difficult time to advance this levy; he met a lot of great people that encouraged him; tonight a lot of people are here speaking about the very reason he was trying to see this levy pass; he the last ten weeks have heard from several residents; recalls only two people that recommended cuts; numbering speaking about that is something important to them; if we go back the ballot; he’s one of seven; if, which is a big if, we go back to the ballot he asked the City of Gahanna Page 4 City Council - Special Meeting Minutes January 14, 2019 patrons how many people would join him knocking doors, posting yard signs, raising funds, contributing funds, pushing back on some naysayers on social media that are trying to divide this community for no reason other than political gain; he doesn’t know if he has it in him to do it again, but he sure can’t do it alone; he thinks we can finally come together as a community and do this together [standing ovation; almost everyone raised their hand in support of helping]. Metzbower thanked Mike for his efforts; he’s selfless and it’s truly an honor to serve with him. Thanked everyone for their comments. Asked if anyone else wanted to speak. One last speaker. Richard Tads, 462 Hamilton Ct; he works in Columbus; both him and wife work there; he voted for levy; it was very close; he’s a member of the senior center and utilizes it quite frequently; he thinks this is drastic measure reducing the credit; he’d like to see it go back on the ballot with some changes; should be tax payers who make this decision; didn’t realize impact; try to get it passed again and encourage to change the last version; the difference that can be assessed would be a substantially greater amount proposed. President Metzbower closed the Public Hearing at 7:40 p.m. C. MOTION RESOLUTION - MR-0001-2019 TO PROVIDE PUBLIC NOTICE AND ESTABLISH THE SCHEDULE FOR LEGISLATIVE STEPS REQUIRED FOR THE AMENDMENT OF SECTION 161.081, CREDIT FOR TAX PAID TO ANOTHER MUNICIPALITY, OF CHAPTER 161, INCOME TAX, OF THE CODIIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA (ORD-0116-2018), AS FOLLOWS: JANUARY 2, 2019 (7 pm) - REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING, INTRODUCTION JANUARY 7, 2019 (6:30 pm) - SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING, FIRST PUBLIC HEARING JANUARY 14, 2019 (6:30 pm) - SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING; SECOND PUBLIC HEARING; COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE; DISCUSSION OF ORDINANCE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING JANUARY 22, 2019 (Tuesday, 7 pm) - REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING; THIRD PUBLIC HEARING MARCH 25, 2019 (6:30 pm) - SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING; SECOND READING TO CONSIDER ADOPTION OF ORDINANCE (AT LEAST 60 DAYS PRIOR TO ANY AMENDMENT TO SECTION 161.081, REQUIRED BY CITY CODE) After discussion on the matter, it was determined the schedule didn't City of Gahanna Page 5 City Council - Special Meeting Minutes January 14, 2019 need to part of the legislative process and failed for a lack of second. D. EXECUTIVE SESSION - to go into Executive Session under authority of Section 5.40(a) of the Council Rules of Procedure to consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee or official, or the investigation of charges or complaints against a public employee, official, licensee, or regulated individual, unless the public employee, official, licensee, or regulated individual requests a public hearing. Angelou asked Council if they had an idea of how long the session would last due to the amount of people in attendance for the committee meetings; Larick stated they'd check back with everyone after 20 minutes; and communicate if that needs to change. A motion was made by Larick, seconded by Schnetzer, to go into Executive Session under authority of Section 5.40(a) of the Council Rules of Procedure to consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation of a public employee or official, or the investigation of charges or complaints against a public employee, official, licensee, or regulated individual, unless the public employee, official, licensee, or regulated individual requests a public hearing. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: Larick, Leeseberg, Renner, Schnetzer, McGregor, Metzbower and Angelou President Metzbower requested Council attend the Executive Session in Council Conference Room. Council rose to Executive Session at 7:47 p.m. Council recessed from Executive Session at 8:36 p.m. with no action taken. A motion was made by Larick, seconded by Leeseberg, to reconvene Executive Session. The motion carried by the following vote: Council rose to Executive Session at 9:36 p.m. Council rose to report from Executive Session at 10:54 p.m. with no action taken. Yes: 7- Larick, Leeseberg, Renner, Schnetzer, McGregor, Metzbower and Angelou E. ADJOURNMENT. by Renner at 10:54 p.m. City of Gahanna Page 6