Committee of the Whole

Office of the Clerk of Council City of Gahanna 200 South Hamilton Road Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Meeting Minutes Committee of the Whole Stephen A. Renner, Chair, Karen J. Angelou, Ryan P. Jolley, Thomas R. Kneeland Brian D. Larick, Jamie Leeseberg, Michael Schnetzer Kimberly McWilliams, CMC, Clerk of Council Monday, August 24, 2015 7:00 PM Council Committee Rooms CALL TO ORDER Chair Renner called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Additional Attendees: Mayor Stinchcomb, Troy Euton, Rob Priestas, Rory Gaydos, Jennifer Teal, Dottie Franey, Jeffrey Spence, Anthony Jones, Michael Blackford, Kim McWilliams, Shane Ewald, Sue Wadley, Joann Bury, Niel Jurist, Economic Development Plan Presenters, Press, Residents. Present 7 - Thomas R. Kneeland, Brian D. Larick, Jamie Leeseberg, Karen J. Angelou, Michael Schnetzer, Stephen A. Renner, and Ryan P. Jolley ITEM FROM THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE 1. Citywide Strategic Plan - Contracts for Facilitation Teal said we have two agreements related to the Citywide Strategic Plan; this is based on the feedback we received; two firms were selected to better suit our needs; one focuses on community engagement; the other focuses on goals and managing the results; we have a tentative timeline planned out; will kick off September 14; in order to start on time and kick off on the two month long engagement process requesting emergency; the decision process was lengthy and we want to get this moving; Angelou said likes the two choices; Larick asked if the entire scope is 2-5 years; Teal said the entire project is 2-5 years with the results; Larick asked if we are taking a further look; Teal said it has just been the 5 year time frame; implementation would take place in mid-January; emergency allows us to kick off in mid-September; this was our original goal before we decided to go with two partners; that decision was not in our original timeline; mid-September allows us to implement things in mid-January with a new budget and after the election; Kneeland asked how this will impact our budget; Teal said we will be on the course we were budgeted for; can help us decide how we implement the funding in 2016; Managing Results made a good point stating we do a good job of talking about what we do and how many things we build but we do City of Gahanna Page 1 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes August 24, 2015 not often talk about satisfaction of our consumers; Larick asked why we are not looking past the 5 years; Teal said the time frame is a period in which we can work to achieve meaningful results; said it is not a vision plan; Larick is challenged with not having a long term perspective of where we want to be; we need to know our destination; Teal said this will give us long-term goals; may give us time to develop meaningful plans to get to that place long-term; 2-5 years is more strategic planning than we have ever done; Leeseberg said Montgomery County updates their plan every five years; believes it sounds reasonable; Jolley thought this was a long-term vision plan; does not see the time line in the RFP; asked why planningNEXT had 12-18 public input meetings and now have 5; Teal said it has to do with cost; the proposal was very expensive and we had to compromise; felt this was a good amount to meet the goals we need with this team; believe we can translate this into something we can use; planningNEXT is very good at long term, 2020, big vision styles but they are more about imagining potential and less about creating real plan and action for the future; Jolley said we are focusing on where we want to be; asked why we need this grand vision and now scaling this back to our intention; Teal said we get to the big vision in the 2-5 year plan; we have limited resources and are struggling to agree on the priorities for those resources; taking large strategic plan and dividing it up into a management plan; Jolley said does not see the management plan for the critical factors we have; do not see the over-arching visioning process that will lead to the plan; sounds like we are doing another 2-5 year plan but with more articulation; does not believe 5 meetings is enough; people do not find out about the meetings until they have already taken place; liked planningNEXT because they understood that you have to come at this multiple times; we appropriated $100,000 for this project; does not see why we spend the money with just 5 meetings; Schnetzer said we can set longer term goals but does not believe we can go much further because the economic and fiscal environment changes; Larick said we have longer term perspectives that we need to understand; Teal said there were objectives that the firms identified that were not achievable in 5 years but they want to develop a plan for the approach on how we will get to that point; will have bigger goals we are working on to get to where we want to be, but it may not occur within the 5 years; the purpose of this project is not to answer all our questions; we need a strategic framework approach on learning how to talk and measure success and priorities; most organizations who strategically plan do not just do it once; Mayor Stinchcomb said these topics Council member Larick are stating, we will hear from the community; also think it is important to get this started; discussed this at budget time; believe it will set up the new Mayor and Council members in a good term; this is a good first step for this new approach; Renner said he shares the concerns; believes the schedule has now been condensed; wants to focus on City of Gahanna Page 2 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes August 24, 2015 the community engagement; Teal said we will not be the experts on how to set up the meetings; we will work with planningNEXT on this step; they will try and reach the community and find out what is going on; they are experts at drawing out ideas and thoughts and hopes for the future from the people they speak to; will be a partnership and we will work together on moving forward; will invent it as we go; Angelou confirmed this process would be more transparent than it has in the past; Teal said they can do this better than we can; example of a customer with Managing Results was ADAMH; have been doing this and are getting ready to kick off another 4-5 year plan; their goals have not changed but their tactics have; Renner said we will not be talking with the same group of people at these meetings; we will try and touch different people at each meeting; will have everyone who has attended the meetings meet again at the end; Teal said the idea based on the timeline is for a mid-September kick-off; the public engagement will occur in mid-November so it is an input in the rest of the results; Kneeland said it looks like we will have one general input section; Teal said we can work with them on that; the whole process in developing the agreement is for the firm to get to know us; Kneeland concerned that we get enough public input; Teal said it is not what we have been discussing but it is not how it reads; Kneeland asked about the specific stakeholders attending a meeting; said we need to expand that as it is very important; Kneeland asked if they will be responsible for advertising; Teal said yes they will; we will work with them but they will come up with the graphic designs and be web-present; said we will use our internal assets; Mayor Stinchcomb said when the firms meet with all of us they will hear the concerns that are brought tonight; may change the scope of work after they meet with us; Jolley said we have asked for a proposal and they have given us a proposal; we are being asked to pass an Ordinance based on the proposal; do not believe 5 meetings is enough; does not want to get started without a solid plan; asked how many other public engagement meetings did other municipalities have; Teal said planningNEXT does not have the experience in managing the results like Managing Results did; want to engage as many people as we can and develop big ideas to analyze; said other entities with results had planned for 3-5 meetings; Jolley said the 3-5 meetings may be the problem; said we need more on the front end than we have ever got in the past; we have a great staff that can turn things into results with far less resources; we lack in the understanding of what the community wants; Renner believes the adoption of the strategic plan should be very public; Teal said they have not developed the plan yet; Angelou said we looked at three choices; satisfied that we have chosen firms that can give us the results we are looking for; we can add public engagement meetings as needed; believe we need to move forward with an open end in the beginning of the process; Teal said the timeline is in play on purpose; need to include new leadership in the development but also need to City of Gahanna Page 3 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes August 24, 2015 include the expertise of existing leadership; Mayor Stinchcomb said she believes we have good firms and we can broaden the scope as needed; Larick said we are not concerned with the firms; a little concerned with the goal we are trying to achieve and where we are going; also concerned with the timeline a bit as it feels a bit rushed; at a first reading option and would like to come back; Jolley agrees; Angelou confirmed we do not have to rush this; Teal said there is no rush, just excited to get this started; we also have our legislative process we need to wait on; will lose valuable time beginning to work with these firms; Kneeland also agrees we do not need to rush this; wants more open dialogue in the time frame; need to tweak some components; would prefer to revisit this now and save money. RECOMMENDATION: First Reading; back to Committee on September 14, 2015. 2015-0166 Finance Supporting Documents ITEM FROM THE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT 1. Economic Development Strategy Jones passed around the proposed Economic Development Plan (attached); said we last visited the Economic Development Plan in 2007; have a few presenters here tonight who have worked tirelessly on the details of the current plan; Chris Magill with Ice Miller gave a powerpoint presentation; reviewed how to use the plan in a City; said it is a guide to follow; reviewed how to use the plan in the private sector; help them understand the potential; the plan was created with community insight, existing market conditions, and market potential and strategies were developed and the output was target sites; said there is a lack of brand identity; their research shows Gahanna is not at capacity; 25% of Gahanna's payroll comes from education and healthcare; that is higher than state average; talked about how community insight is very important; did a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis for business stakeholders; went out and met businesses and held meetings engaging business owners; discussed the national average for professional and business services and finance and insurance services; looked at household incomes where Gahanna is growing; can see where Gahanna is going and where we have dropped; Ken Danter said we have a 19.5% vacancy rate in office space in Gahanna; we have a couple great spots for office space in this City; surveyed the City and what people were paying for rent, the growth rate to determine how we could jump in front of that trend; warehouse distribution is where we can jump ahead; looked at the hotel and conference base; we have the airport and we have Easton; found we have a good place for a conference center and additional hotels; we City of Gahanna Page 4 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes August 24, 2015 could have an asset here if we develop the Buckles Tract; we also looked at residential; had very low vacancy rent; had rents higher than the average in Ohio; despite the fact that our product is aged we are still seeing these numbers; Magill reviewed the top economic development strategies and the key findings; identified all of the incentive tools the City can use already in their toolbox; OHM Advisor representatives discussed the application of the plan for development sites; reviewed the framework that was identified in Gahanna; development sites were particularly selected; reviewed all of the target sites that were identified; said there is data Gahanna does not collect; should start with the data we already collect; the next steps will be adoption by Gahanna City Council, establish implementation task force and begin implementation. Renner thanked Jones for showing powerpoint slides and presenting something on the west side; asked what the next step for getting it to the public; Jones said it has already started; educating businesses and community leaders; said the Gahanna Area Chamber of Commerce holds a forum; where the City's budget goes is still to be determined; the Convention & Visitors Bureau will be heavily involved as well as the schools; will next be getting this on the website for the public to develop questions; Renner asked when they need Council adoption; Jones said he believes that is something that happens at the front; Kneeland said when the plan is adopted we need to bring the public on board; need to point out this is not a project, is a strategic plan; Renner would like to see a public engagement opportunity before Council adoption; Angelou asked if they were planning to do a public hearing; Jones said that would be a great idea; Larick confirmed we have more capacity than there is demand; asked what the resources or methods there are to manipulate the demand in our specific location; Jones said we can show them the plan and show them how we can meet their needs; will just guide them to our sites, do not need to manipulate the market; Angelou asked if the information will go to Columbus 2020; Jones said they are already aware and have been involved in the process; Renner said he would like to see a public education session prior to the public hearing at Council; Magill added that time is money with this report; have already been engaging businesses in the area and surrounding agencies; noted this is just a guide; as the public starts recommending changes it could change the game; Angelou would like this to be at a Council meeting with an overview; Magill said the branding process will be educational; Schnetzer asked what an optimal time frame for adoption is; Jones said would like to see this adopted before the budget for 2016 is set in place; Teal said we will see the conversation about strategic planning help us in this plan; Larick suggested an open meeting between now and the second meeting in September; the first meeting being a public hearing and the second meeting the adoption. City of Gahanna Page 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes August 24, 2015 RECOMMENDATION: First Reading on September 8, 2015; Second Reading & Public Hearing on September 21, 2015. 2015-0176 Economic Development Plan & PowerPoint Presentation 2015-0170 Development Supporting Documents ITEM FROM THE MAYOR 1. Motion Resolution - Mayor's CIC trustee appointment Mayor Stinchcomb said she would like Council's support to add Betty Collins to the CIC Board as a trustee. RECOMMENDATION: Consent Agenda. 2015-0167 Mayor's Supporting Documents ITEMS FROM THE DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES 1. Motion Resolution - Transfer funds from PD to HR to cover recruiting costs for the Deputy Chief position Wadley said would like to transfer funds from the Police Department's contract services fund to the Human Resources contract services fund to account for expenses related to recruiting for the Deputy Chief position; Larick asked if those are future costs; Wadley said they are future, must have them appropriated before they can be spent. RECOMMENDATION: Consent Agenda. 2. Enter into agreement with International Association of Chief of Police to conduct background investigations for Deputy Chief position Wadley said this is to enter into agreement to conduct background investigations; asking for emergency and waiver to speed up the process; said we have completed the Civil Service testing as of today; hope to have the test results back by early next week; the review board will then own the process and they will make the schedule based on their availability; Larick asked what the cost is; Wadley said we were quoted for multiple items that we will not be using and we will not be charged for services that are not utilized; the final candidate will get the full background check; Kneeland asked when we need this contract; Wadley said we need in the next 3-4 weeks to move forward with the interview process. RECOMMENDATION: Consent Agenda. City of Gahanna Page 6 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes August 24, 2015 2015-0175 Human Resources Supporting Documents ITEM FROM THE CLERK OF COUNCIL 1. Liquor Permit - D5, D6 - Mr. Sushi Clerk McWilliams said Mr. Sushi is requesting a transfer of location with their liquor permit; will be the same permits they have now; Larick asked if there was a cost; McWilliams said yes, believe it was a $50 fee. RECOMMENDATION: Consent Agenda. 2015-0168 Clerk of Council Supporting Documents REPORTS 2015-0165 Parks & Recreation Report ADJOURNMENT: 9:40 p.m. Kayla Holbrook, Reporting. City of Gahanna Page 7