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, March 26, 2018 7:00 PM Council Committee Room CALL TO ORDER Chair Leeseberg called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present 5 - Brian Metzbower, Nancy R. McGregor, Karen J. Angelou, Jamie Leeseberg, and Michael Schnetzer Absent 2 - Stephen A. Renner, and Brian D. Larick UPDATE FROM THE MIFFLIN FIRE DEPARTMENT - Chief Kauser Not available. UPDATE FROM THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY Thomas provided an overview of the attached report; did have a DOA this past weekend; completed Citizen's Police Academy last week. 2018-0063 Committee Reports - 3.28.2018 COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT CORPORATION (CIC) ANNUAL REPORT George Mrus, President of the CIC and Anthony Jones, Director of Planning & Development: provided 2017 Annual Report; Mrus thanked the Mayor for another year of support; thanked Council for another year of support; CIC represents the best of a public/private partnership; does not work without the volunteers they have; have liaisons with multiple stakeholders in our City; have five sets of goals from 2017; always fluid; successfully completed audit; reviewed financial overview for 2017 comparing revenue and expenses; transferred 181 Granville Street property to the City; maintained and leased residential properties on the City of Gahanna Page 1 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 26, 2018 West Side; Jones updated on the first new office in Central Park that was approved in over a decade; is 69,000 square feet of office space; includes a brewery; direct result of CIC and Council; working through the Planning Commission process; will be before them next month; Mrus said 2018 Groundhog Day was successful; thanked Sharon Patterson for all her work; did a wonderful job; Jones provided a technology update; established a new P3 with CeraNet data center; Mrus provided governance update - formalizing a records retention schedule; reviewed 2018 goals; one being - reduce dependence on Bed Tax Revenue for Operations; have five committees this year; will take a look at this each year as we evolve; looked at 2018 budget numbers. Leeseberg said in the audit; heard that we are very unique; they were quite impressed with the activity. ITEMS FROM THE DIRECTOR OF PARKS & RECREATION ORD-0028-2018 Amend Gahanna CVB Contract - Ohio Herb Education Center management services Mayor Kneeland said will talk about a proposal; we currently have the Herb Center at Creekside; cities and government do not run private business well; wanted to investigate if there was opportunity for the CVB to take over or manage the Herb Center; want to still maintain the building; prepared to throw this out there and inform Council; want everyone to feel comfortable; have some good stuff; good for the Creekside district and the quality and productivity of the Herb Center; Barr said through City Attorney and Ms. Jadwin - put together a management agreement for 2018; recommending that the CVB manage the center for the remainder of the year; everything will remain the same in regards to events and functions; employees will still be City employees for the remainder of the year; will allow the CVB to see what they do on a detailed level; they do work together throughout the year; Metzbower said this is temporary; Barr said for the remainder of 2018, but the intent is to give full operations to the CVB; employees will be CVB employees after that; they will do webpage, social media, updates, etc.; Metzbower asked if this is a loss of government benefits; Barr said HR Director is coordinator of that; said Jadwin is looking into benefits; Kneeland said now this is a management contract; said Jadwin would manage the Center; in 2019, employees would change to being CVB employees; benefits with part-time plus employees, are not like full-time; people over there are not full-time; do not want to damage anything for employees; all was considered; Barr said Brooke is vested with OPERS; that would continue; would still entitle her to that; in 2019, would not be part of OPERS; Jennifer is part-time, looking into her vested status; would do something to make sure she can stay an employee and be vested; City of Gahanna Page 2 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 26, 2018 Amanda has not been with us long enough; our part-time employees accrue time off now; cannot speak to CVB time off; Metzbower asked if there is a current contract written; Barr said have an agreement coming out of the City Attorney's office; now just in draft mode; will be to Council by Monday's meeting; Metzbower confirmed this is administratively written; Angelou asked if any are union; Barr said no; Angelou asked about healthcare; Barr said they have healthcare option as part time employees; said Jadwin is researching this for her current employees; Angelou confirmed City will do all maintenance past 2019; Barr said yes, will all be addressed in 2019 agreement; Angelou asked about HR; Jadwin said will work with HR Director with the City for the remainder of the year; Angelou asked if one employee prefers to stay with the City; Barr said Brooke is being very cooperative; she will continue to be an asset for the Herb Center but there will also be opportunities for her with the CVB; believes she has a lot of potential; Angelou confirmed they would be under social security; McGregor asked how rent will be handled; Barr said CIC would give up portion to pay for management services; would pay the CVB for this year; 2019 would be a different agreement; will talk about rent and utilities; have not negotiated that part; are given a 9 month period to review the details; Kneeland said we have a great relationship with the CVB; want to maintain the structure; having it in a more private sector environment could increase profitability for that facility; Barr said Parks Department provides a lot of logistics; that will continue; want to see it be successful; Angelou asked how logistics of events will be supported with assistance from Parks staff; Barr said want City events to still be successful; McGregor asked if Herb Center today is profitable; Barr said no, but they should be able to help with their marketing and business strategies; McGregor asked if the savings to the City is the employees; Barr said yes, and the utilities; IT just did a 5 year lease for copiers, one is at Herb Center; Jadwin said drive business to the Herb Center, and therefore Creekside, and then the restaurants; Barr said not asking for emergency or waiver; Angelou asked about CIC not taking any bed tax next year; Kneeland said that is part of the discussion. RECOMMENDATION: Introduce, back to Committee. - Discussion Point - Go Ape Zip Line & Treetop Adventure Barr asked how Council would feel about this type of operation; course would be set-up at Creekside; would share revenue but they would operate; agreement is typically a 10-year term; would be around Creekside Island; they are looking forward to coming to Gahanna; they have an area in Cleveland; asked if we should continue to pursue this; $40-$60K/year in revenue sharing for our portion; have businesses and mixed use at Creekside; this is not year-round; 7 day a week operation in City of Gahanna Page 3 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 26, 2018 warmer months; a lot of their business is reservations; corporate retreats, team building, summer day camp, senior class field trips, etc.; not a ride you wait in line for; safety is the biggest concern; they have trained professionals; is about a 3 hour adventure; requires foot traffic, would not be suitable for say Academy Park; will also be a junior course put in; Leeseberg said will need to remove some tree limbs; what about the path; they'll cover liability; are we restricting the use of the island; Barr said no; Charles with Go Ape will take the design to his team; want it all still to be usable for current uses; they will design and lay this out with no restrictions to what we have; Leeseberg said we have experienced flooding during certain times of the year; Barr said April is their shoulder month; Angelou asked if there is a YouTube video; Barr showed website and a video from their site; said can forward information out; will have their seasonal employees and then a year-round manager; Metzbower said very excited about this; could be a great asset to that area; McGregor said not sure this is the right area for this; Barr said they will help maintain the area; we will need to address the flooding; columns and beams are at ground level and will flood; they will need to work with us to show us how they will minimize impact; Barr said sounds like Council has a positive outlook on this; will move forward with discussions. ITEMS FROM THE DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING ORD-0026-2018 TO AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO CONTRACT WITH LAW GENERAL CONTRACTING FOR THE LARRY LANE BRIDGE REPLACEMENT, ST-1050 AND PIZZURRO PARK BRIDGE REPLACEMENT, ST-1042. Priestas said this is request to award contract for two bridges; McGregor asked if dog park will be closed; Priestas said yes, about 7 days. RECOMMENDATION: Consent Agenda. ORD-0027-2018 SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION - Grant Awards Priestas said this is for a Supplemental for Big Walnut Trail Section 4; have received some grants; need to appropriate those funds. RECOMMENDATION: Consent Agenda. ITEM FROM CITY COUNCIL - Refer Chapter 1171, Fence Standards & Maintenance to Planning Commission City of Gahanna Page 4 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 26, 2018 Ewald said issue brought to their attention by resident when trying to maintain their fence; request this be recommended to Planning Commission for study and review; Leeseberg said brought forward to Code Review Committee; was discussed extensively; Ewald said Planning Commission will review this and recommend changes to Council. COMMITTEE REPORTS - no action required. 2018-0063 Committee Reports - 3.28.2018 ADJOURNMENT 8:06 p.m. City of Gahanna Page 5