Committee of the Whole

200 South Hamilton Road City of Gahanna Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Meeting Minutes Committee of the Whole Jamie Leeseberg, Chair Karen J. Angelou Brian D. Larick Nancy R. McGregor Brian Metzbower Stephen A. Renner Michael Schnetzer Kimberly Banning, Clerk of Council Monday, June 12, 2017 7:00 PM Council Committee Rooms CALL TO ORDER Chair Leeseberg called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Tom Kneeland introduced the new IT Director, Craig Main. Chair Leeseberg moved the updates from the Director of Parks & Recreation to the beginning of the agenda. Present 7 - Brian Metzbower, Nancy R. McGregor, Karen J. Angelou, Stephen A. Renner, Brian D. Larick, Jamie Leeseberg, and Michael Schnetzer UPDATES FROM THE DIRECTOR OF PARKS & RECREATION - McCutcheon Road Park Plan Jeff Barr, Director of Parks & Recreation, introduced Darrell Miller, Patty Hopson, and Catherine Hopson; said they are with Playworld; will install the playground; showed a conceptual site plan; there are adjustments reflected from the last meeting; said will phase in this project over 2017, 2018, and 2019; 2020 is contingent upon funding; one of the biggest things to date is a shared use of Center Point’s parking lot; further discussions believe it to be best to have our own parking lot; will include spaces per code; showed a general playground area; said it may move closer to the parking lot with safety in mind; have money needs spent in the next year; that will include design and engineering; phase two would be the playground itself built in 2018; phase three is to be determined; all contingent upon dollars; will connect a portion of the trail to a larger trail; will have a loop for those who wish to walk or run; the playground will be inclusionary and accessible; the mecca of the park will be the playground; one discussion at the previous meeting was moving the restroom closer to the parking lot, that has been done; Leeseberg asked about the City of Gahanna Page 1 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 12, 2017 restroom being built and the building; Barr said will be pre-fab and a $100,000 expense; desire is to do it in phase one; a prefab is cheaper and would not require an engineer; Schnetzer asked about accessibility; many of our playgrounds are accessible but not inclusive; challenge with inclusive is funding; this one is being built from the ground up; would lobby to make sure this is inclusive; asked about the parking pad itself; one new fad is the pavers; Miller said using bio-retention; until we are into design, cannot say; hoping to drain all to bio-retention; will connect to storm sewer; Angelou agrees totally; said MORPC is having a grant for funding; Barr said will be there, it is Wednesday; Renner asked if this includes crosswalk areas; Miller pointed out; advised will be on McCutcheon Road; will have a push button; and will plan to do in phase one; McGregor asked if people will be allowed to park at Center Point and if they will have access; Barr said will not alter their parking lot; personally do not believe it is a good deal for the City long-term; does not make sense that is not a good deal; parking lot long term will pay for itself; McGregor pointed out that it may change use; can people still park there and access it; Barr said yes, will need to be a good neighbor; things that we need to have further discussion with them on will be a ditch/bio-retention to separate the lots; Larick said the intent was for the neighborhood and was for walking there; did not want a dedicated parking lot; Barr said people will drive, it is inevitable; the playground will serve people from different parts of town; will be a need for some parking spaces, regardless of where they park; said we do not plan to have large scale events there that will attract cars; will be smaller scale; Larick asked about the parking lot in the back and the playground in the back; Barr said park planning and design 101 - the playground was originally in the center; if we put a playground in the middle, you miss out on programing opportunities; the picnic area is in the middle; Miller said you have to drive back to the parking lot; this seemed to fit; parking right off the road; will be able to see this from the roadway; the church services will show a view of the playground; Barr said will also be taking this to the community as well; if there is an overwhelming sense of preference, will look into that and the practical side; Angelou said the playground where it is now, don't have it where there is a lot of traffic; the other side of Hines Road is Columbus; Schnetzer asked about elevation changes; Barr said this is pretty flat around here; McGregor said appreciates moving the restrooms closer to parking lot; looks like the basketball is close to the lot; said they make a lot of noise; asked if that can be switched with the tennis courts; Barr said want to make sure there is a good visual and audio buffer; knows there will be noise; Angelou asked about lighting; Barr said no lighting; typical park hours; Larick asked about shelter being close to the restrooms; Barr said you are right, the shelter is further from restrooms; Barr said possibly in phase three can put one unisex restroom near the picnic area. City of Gahanna Page 2 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 12, 2017 In regards to the playground, possibly has a $75K donation for the playground; the award would be in 2018; will continue to seek other grant opportunities and private funding sources; showed conceptual images of the playground; uniformity in playgrounds is cost effective; Larick asked what makes this accessible and inclusive; Hopson said a solid rubber surface; there is a structure duplicated at Hannah that is accessible for two people in a wheelchair; there are features to help people who have a challenge walking; there are parallel bars in the center with handrails; main thing is not wanting a playground that offers too many easy things; want different levels of challenge; look at abilities versus disabilities; said with the tile, there is a lot of flexibility and is better for long term use; Metzbower said have noticed increase in audio components, is that in this design; Hopson said can incorporate that; would like to incorporate free notes to make your own music. 2017-0133 McCutcheon Park Plan - Gahanna Active Senior Advisory Council By-Laws Barr said at the last Committee Meeting, was asked to bring this back; requested Council accept an apology on behalf of his department; said in May 1992, these by-laws were created; this process was inherited and practiced since 2016; staff cannot provide any documents supporting the process; in 2017, new by-laws were brought forward; our former Director took suggestions to the Parks & Recreation Board; they were approved in fall 2016; would be more in line with other ad-hoc committees; there was a lot of information that Patrick and Pam researched; can answer any questions going forward; McGregor said this had a budget and a lot of activities; seems like the ones who were elected from the general population should be Gahanna residents; Barr said would allow up to 2 non-residents to serve; we would like to support that if Council is comfortable; said a good number of their active seniors are not residents; believe it is the right thing to do; McGregor said they do not have skin in the game, they do not pay the taxes, does not believe they should be allowed to be appointed; Angelou said agrees with McGregor; said believes we need our skin in the game; Larick said recognizes the communication gap; believes all members should be from the City; would argue that the decision needs to go back to the Parks Board; the representation should be on the Parks Board; Leeseberg confirmed we do not have representatives in other ad hoc committees; Barr confirmed; Leeseberg said our trails are costing more and more to build and City of Gahanna Page 3 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 12, 2017 maintain; those are areas where representation is important; Angelou said we do have appointments to the Parks Board; Barr said will need direction from Council on how to proceed; Renner asked for a reminder on how active this group is; also a size and scope on programing; Barr said 520 members, registration is in the beginning of the year; we are at about 460 and we should hit the 500 mark; a good chunk of the members are not residents; they socialize, play cards, Wii Bowl; most residents sign up for events through our Senior Center; most functions have food involved; most activities are during the day; there are some physical activities; will start to include a monthly report that is given to the Parks Board; they stay pretty busy; Renner asked about the demographics in Gahanna; Barr said does not have the statistics with him; can provide those in a future report; rough range guess is 12%; maybe 10-15%; Angelou said because this worked the way it worked for a number of years, what was the change about; Barr said the rotation of everything; the Mayor, Council, and Parks Board appointment; it was streamlining the process; Mayor Kneeland said it seemed redundant to him; already has appointments to the Parks Board; Angelou said we are representatives; the Parks Board is not making an appointment; said sometimes we want to keep in touch and it is difficult; Leeseberg said this Board changed their by-laws; with staff; question is what can we do and what is the procedure to go back; Barr said this would be taken to the Parks Board; his role would be to have this discussion with the Parks Board; this is an advisory committee; we do not have a code establishing this; Leeseberg asked what is the will of Council; Renner said absolutely; needs the oversight body to put representatives there; they should select the members; McGregor went back to them having Gahanna residents only; Larick suggested to include those who operate a business; Leeseberg said a Parks Board representative and members being a Gahanna resident or business owner; asked if we have any Parks Board members that are seniors; Angelou asked who runs the meetings; Barr said Patrick as the City liaison; Leeseberg asked Council if we need more representation; Angelou said believes she would like to have her ability to put someone on the Board; McGregor agreed and would like the representation; Barr said residency and skin in the game, has direction; Angelou said this is also a way to stay involved; would like an update; Barr said will start with a bi-annual report; Larick asked what this Board does; Barr said they are providing recommendations and programing ideas; said the budget dictates a lot of these things; focused now on planned giving. Metzbower circled back and asked about the funding breakdown for McCutcheon Road Park; Barr said $1.5-1.6 million; Metzbower asked for city funding versus private funding; Barr said will forward that out. City of Gahanna Page 4 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 12, 2017 2017-0126 Parks & Recreation COTW Report 6.12.2017 ITEM FROM COUNCIL MR-0015-2017 MOTION RESOLUTION TO WAIVE FEES, PURSUANT TO SECTION 135.11 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA, FOR GAHANNA RESIDENTS IN NEED (GRIN), FOR THEIR RELOCATION AND RENOVATION TO THE BUILDING LOCATED AT 165 GRANVILLE STREET. McGregor said a resident called her and advised her that GRIN will be moving to Granville Street; said some renovations will be done; said trying to minimize their cost; will need some permits; wondering if Council can waive their fees; said we can waive fees for non-profits; Teal said apologizes, Dottie Franey had to leave, confirmed that this process exists; cannot waive fees that we pass to another agency like electrical or plumbing; anything being passed to the state or county cannot be passed; Renner said supports this; Banning added that Wesney Construction is donating their time; all they are paying for is supplies; McGregor said it will be a nice relocation; Renner asked if this has occurred in the past; Teal said cannot recall. RECOMMENDATION: Consent Agenda. UPDATE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS - Brand Launch - Strategic Result: 4.4 Kusz said our ambition remains the same; if we can all get behind one brand; issued an RFP to engage an ad agency; internally, went through two rounds of screening; got down to 4 companies; they came in to present about 2 weeks ago; had representation from the City, Council; Angelou and Metzbower; participation from the Chamber, CVB, the schools, and someone from Columbus2020; are in the process of formulating a recommendation; personally followed up with all stakeholders that participated in the interviews; expect to have a recommendation in the next few days; 6-7 months once we engage an agency; Larick asked about the decision of the 4; Kusz said we are in the process of reviewing the 4; Metzbower said the term “brand” gets thrown around quite a bit; could you talk more about what a brand is; Kusz said more than a logo and a font; need to get to the essence of what Gahanna is; have heard from residents and businesses that it is hard to articulate what Gahanna is; we need to do research to City of Gahanna Page 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 12, 2017 understand the emotional benefit; needs to understand what makes Gahanna tic; Metzbower asked if this can be a powerful economic development tool; Kusz said absolutely; if we can establish the umbrella brand and we are all behind this one brand; we can stretch our marketing investment; Angelou said the day spent on this was insightful; Leeseberg asked about the recommendation to Council; Kusz said in a week or two; request will be a contract and will need legal review; Ewald said the number in the RFP was outside Council constraints; that will come back to Council; Leeseberg thanked Angelou and Metzbower for being part of the process 2017-0127 Marketing & Communications COTW Report 6.12.2017 ITEM FROM THE CLERK OF COUNCIL MR-0011-2017 MOTION RESOLUTION THAT THIS COUNCIL HAS NO OBJECTION TO THE NEW D5 LIQUOR PERMIT FOR BWR GAHANNA LLC, NWC OF BEECHER RD AND HAMILTON ROAD, GAHANNA, OH 43230. Banning said this is a new liquor permit; said the Police Department has no objection; McGregor asked if this makes a difference if they are appealing the decision asked if they have paid the fees; Ewald said this portion would not be held up, they would own the permit but not be allowed to use it; does not know if the fees have been paid. RECOMMENDATION: Consent Agenda. REPORTS - no action required. 2017-0128 COTW Reports 6.12.17 Teal said at the next Committee Meeting, will have the Capital Needs Assessments ready; said budget is upon us. ADJOURNMENT 8:15 p.m. City of Gahanna Page 6