Committee of the Whole

200 South Hamilton Road City of Gahanna Gahanna, Ohio 43230 Meeting Minutes Committee of the Whole Merisa K. Bowers, Chair Karen J. Angelou Nancy R. McGregor Kaylee Padova Stephen A. Renner Michael Schnetzer Trenton I. Weaver Jeremy VanMeter, Clerk of Council Monday, March 14, 2022 7:00 PM Council Chambers A. CALL TO ORDER Vice President of Council Merisa Bowers, Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The Chair noted there were no additions or amendments to the agenda. Council Member Schnetzer was absent from the meeting. B. DISCUSSIONS 1. 2022 Sidewalk Program Proposal 2022-0076 2022 Sidewalk Program Proposal City Engineer John Moorehead stated that the attached program is the second sidewalk maintenance program that the City would conduct. Moorehead provided a recap of the program. The City is in a multi-year contract with EMH&T to provide consulting services for the sidewalk programs. The contract has three years within it consisting of an inspection year, a construction year, and a warranty year. The work consists of inspections of sidewalks in 2022, a construction program in 2023, and warranty work and inspection closeout in 2024. Administration wanted to bring the discussion back to the Council to have a conversation prior to reauthorizing EMH&T's scope of services for the 2022 program. Moorehead noted that the attachment included a draft map for the 2022 program area. If the City moves forward with the contract, administration will come back with action to adopt a formal program area that will likely resemble the draft map. Moorehead added the City is in an inspection phase and closeout for the 2021 program area. He referenced town halls that were held on the program. The inspection phase has helped guide the City for implementation of this year's services. The cost of the contract is for the administration of the sidewalk program, not for construction. Capital dollars fund the project, with the City providing funding up front for all costs associated with administering the City of Gahanna Page 1 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 14, 2022 program and completing the construction. The cost of sidewalk repair would be recouped through a property assessment to the adjoining property owners. The costs in the proposal are costs borne by the City - costs for the time spent operating and completing the inspections. The cost per parcel in this year's program is comparable to last year's program. Moorehead invited the Council to provide feedback and further discussion. President Renner thanked Engineer Moorehead for bringing the proposal forward and meeting with residents when they had questions or had said they did not want the work to occur. Renner remarked on the success of the 2021 Sidewalk Program, as it was well received by residents on the west side of the City. He asked Moorehead to provide background on the administration's ideas for what looked to be much more sidewalk area to be covered than the first program. Moorehead responded that the first year's program capital budget funding was smaller fraction than what this year's program would be. The administration sought to do a smaller program in the first year because it was new, and the City wanted to be sure it had a handle on the scope of work. He explained further that in setting the budget in 2020 for the 2021 cycle, the City did not yet have a firm understanding of where it would be long-term with the program. This year, the capital funding is three times what it was for the 2021 program, serving approximately 651 parcels compared to under 230 parcels in 2021. Renner asked what considerations were going into the review prior to the recommendation for final action that might mitigate or change the draft proposal. Moorehead referred to "Exhibit A" of the proposal that showed prior year street programs that the City is going back to conduct sidewalk maintenance. As the City focuses on review of the map, there will be a better understanding of how much sidewalk is truly in the program. Another consideration is getting accurate construction costs for concrete work. If the costs of concrete work go up or down, the program area will change to fit the most area within the budget. Renner identified Lincolnshire on the west side in need of sidewalk attention. Renner thanked Moorehead for the additional feedback. Council Member McGregor asked for clarification. Was the proposal for repairing existing sidewalk or adding new sidewalk? Moorehead responded that this is a maintenance and repair program, so it does not fill in gaps between neighborhoods where there may not be sidewalk or build new sidewalk along streets. It maintains existing sidewalk infrastructure. Council Member Weaver asked for further clarification on whether a panel determines that a sidewalk needs to be completely replaced, that this would occur as part of this proposal. Moorehead confirmed this is correct. Weaver complimented administrative staff on the town hall held February 1, 2022. He said this was one of the best community engagement events that he had seen. Weaver challenged the administration to continue to be proactive in getting the word out and doing more of those, as the previous town hall was very helpful. Vice President Bowers asked about obstacles the City encountered with the program and feedback on how it has been going with absent or unresponsive landowners. In terms of general obstacles, Moorehead responded that since City of Gahanna Page 2 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 14, 2022 this was the first program year EMH&T has assisted Gahanna, learning about the community and the streets has been partly a challenge for the firm. Moorehead referenced Renner's previous comment about Lincolnshire and the need for replacement, noting that each of the City's neighborhoods have different challenges physically with the sidewalks (some are older, and some are constructed in different manners). Part of the review and proposal includes going out into the field with the consultants and walking through the different neighborhoods. He noted that the City has not gotten to a point yet where landowners are communicating directly on whether they will be doing work or what the cost of that work will be. There has been some feedback from property owners who have received notices. Whether there is an absentee landowner, homeowner, or tenant, this has not shown itself to be problematic. The work will occur regardless of whether someone responds. The City will still go out, maintain those sidewalks, and eventually file an assessment against that property. Bowers said there had been some west side focus for 2021 program, as well as Highmeadow for community engagement. She asked what kind of engagement would occur with the 2022 program. Moorehead said the City would follow the same tactics as the 2021 program, sending mailers out to every parcel. He said there would likely be a town hall every year to give people a chance to have questions answered. Mayor Jadwin noted that the town hall from February 1, 2022, is available for viewing on the City of Gahanna's YouTube channel. Moorehead stated the administration will be back in the coming weeks with an item to adopt the Sidewalk Program area that reflects Exhibit A of the draft map. 2. Fair Housing Policy Vice President Bowers said that the item is currently a placeholder and nothing formal to be added for tonight's discussion. Bowers invited others to provide specific questions. Following the presentation at the last Committee of the Whole on this topic, Bowers noted that she has been looking into getting answers to questions raised by members of Council and the public. Council Member McGregor acknowledged that Bowers was gathering information on zip codes. McGregor said a lot of the City's zip code is not within Gahanna's corporation limits. She asked Bowers if there would be a way to specify zip code data for only City residents. Bowers responded that she would do her best on narrowing in on that type of data. It was noted there were zip codes for New Albany and Blacklick that covered parts of Gahanna. Council Member Padova requested Bowers provide additional explanation on how this policy on a local level would differ from or strengthen the Civil Rights Act. Bowers stated she is planning on providing additional information about how the policy is particularly impactful for a local community from a business perspective and economic development perspective and woven into the fabric of the region with consistent policy throughout the region. Bowers thanked all for the feedback. City of Gahanna Page 3 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 14, 2022 3. Council Rules of Procedure 2022-0024 Council Rules of Procedure i. Communication and Public Input 2022-0079 Councilman Weaver Proposed Amendments Council Member Weaver noted the extent of the discussion on the proposed changes to Council Rules of Procedure, recapping the conversation began with a request to allow those who were physically unable to appear in Council Chambers for a meeting to participate in a more formal way outside of just emailing or sending letters to Council. Based on input from colleagues on Council, Weaver agreed that comments outside of the meeting are not minutes, as they did not occur at the meeting. Weaver stated he does believe there needs to be a more formal mechanism to allow and encourage constituent participation and what he is putting forward is to provide more formality in a searchable way for others viewing or wanting to learn more about other public comments, rather than going to the Clerk to inquire as to whether anyone had submitted comment to the Council on X, Y, Z, item(s). Weaver thanked Deputy Clerk Ripley and former Clerk Gonchar for their research and contact with the Ohio Municipal Clerks Association and other communities on this issue. The goal of the proposed amendment is that individuals provide the same information that would be required on the existing speaker slip for those desiring recognition during the Hearing of Visitors portion on the agenda. This would be available online and/or submitted via an email and include what item(s) an individual is desiring to be heard with similar constraints for time. He noted that the approximate typed word equivalent for three minutes of spoken words was 450 words. The onus is still on the constituent to provide information so that the Council knows who the comment is coming from, and it can be verified they are a Gahanna resident. Weaver invited questions and further feedback from colleagues. Council Member McGregor said the question she still has is how to verify that the question came from the person whose name is on the electronic slip. She also noted anyone could say that they live at a certain address. Weaver responded that McGregor had a valid point. He referred to the amendment, noting it would be at the President's discretion. If there was reason to object to the comment, the auditor's website could provide additional verifiable information. In law school, Weaver noted that they talk about the research behind when people state their name to take an oath and testify on the stand that this increases the veracity of the information over not requiring the person to state their name. He remarked that his hope is that this would be a similar situation here. McGregor expressed that this still requires somebody to decide on whether the comment would be accepted and verify the identity of the individual. Weaver said he understood. Vice President Bowers asked what the outcome was on research with the City of Gahanna Page 4 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 14, 2022 ability of the Granicus platform to accommodate public comment. Deputy Clerk Pam Ripley responded that the e-comment feature of Granicus is an online tool that makes participation easy and convenient for residents and staff. Residents can review the agenda items in detail and indicate their position on an item from any device. Ripley noted that the issue is per Director Kevin Schultz this would not work because it is not compatible with the Council Chambers' AV technology. President Renner asked whether Schultz could expand more on this, as the discussion seemed to suggest the Council is looking for real-time comment capabilities. Renner said he did not think this was the interest here. Schultz explained that one of the functions of e-comment is the real time interaction with the public and polling of the audience of a particular matter during the meeting. Bowers clarified that e-comment could be used but not have it be in the real time format. Schultz confirmed this to be correct. Renner asked for further clarification on the various e-comment function. Schultz confirmed the e-comment feature does not just capture comments, but also offers a polling feature. He noted it would be like a Facebook poll for evaluating for/against numbers and then comment. Schultz also noted that this feature did not seem to address the intent of what Council's discussion was on the Rules of Procedure for the Hearing of Visitors. Council Member Weaver said he was not looking for something in real time. He reiterated that the goal is to allow an individual at home searching the Council agenda to provide comment and that it be added to the agenda item under other attachments specific to that action item. Council Member Angelou asked whether there was a "chat" part of the existing meeting streaming that can be used by people at home. Schultz said the chat feature is currently turned off but that it can be easily turned on. Angelou proposed that with turning on the chat function, people at home can participate however they want. She noted this feature was used a lot during Commission meetings (MORPC). Bowers stated the difficulty with this is it takes away all accountability because there is no credentialing. Angelou said she believed there was credentialing. Bowers said this ability was not available through YouTube streaming. Angelou asked Schultz if it could be done through Microsoft. Schultz confirmed it would need to happen through a different mechanism than YouTube, such as Teams or Zoom. This would make the administration of the meeting more cumbersome because people need to login. Council Member Weaver noted that another concern with Council members or the Clerk reading someone else's words in whatever form into the record and that just by reading someone else's words this puts an interpretation on them and the meaning of their words. Weaver wanted to avoid that in the amendment proposed, although other communities implement a version of this. Vice President Bowers expressed her appreciation for Weaver's work on this issue. She said that under Rules of Procedure 6.32 if there could be an electronic form with required fields that could concentrate things in one direction, she would be more favorable to this because it would resemble the equivalent of a speaker's slip. There could be a limit on words within the comment section. This would also need to be ADA accessible to be compatible with screen readers. Bowers added that there should be discretion, whether the President's discretion, one Council member's objection, or a majority vote potentially excluding an email deemed not to City of Gahanna Page 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 14, 2022 serve a legitimate purpose or the harm outweighed a benefit. There is already the ability to exclude things like threats or hateful or intimidating things. President Renner commented that the amendments and discussion had great ideas. He thought it was fine to have an interface for the website to permit comments in limited ways that had been suggested but asked where the comments would be stored, such as a link on the agenda or a link on the website. Renner imagined comments coming in through two different ways: 1) something overarching in the City that they want or want to see, and 2) something specific on the agenda. Renner said he was opposed capturing the comments as minutes, but open to referring to the existence of comments on the website if the comments are reflective of some Ordinance or Resolution under consideration. Renner asked whether this was what Council Member Weaver was suggesting. Weaver said he was opposed to comments being an item in the minutes, and since many items reoccur at several Council meetings, perhaps the agenda might not be the best place to harbor the comments. Weaver said a better place might be a separate item on the page by item number where it would be more accessible and easier found. Vice President Bowers said this was looking like a monthly report for communications received by Council Office but wondered what that would look like. If there was consensus that the comments were not minutes since they did not occur at the meeting and consensus that it would not go on the agenda because the comment might not relate to an agenda item, then it might come back to a public records maintenance question. Council Member McGregor asked whether there was a way to create a "file" for comments submitted by the public on something, for example, the Sidewalk Ordinance. It would be a separate thing dealing with comments on a specific item. Renner said it sounded like the Council is getting close to creating something and gathering requirements. He asked for the Council to get a bullet list of requirements and send them to Director Schultz, with the Mayor's permission, to see if it is feasible. Weaver said McGregor's comments were part of the original intent, but the only difference would be clicking on the item in an agenda to view attachments. The comments would be a separate file as an attachment with that action item. ii. Agenda Amendments 2022-0080 President Renner Proposed Amendments President Renner said the President does not have the authority to create a new agenda item. The Agenda is coded within the Rules of Procedure. Item "L" (Under 6.2 Order of Business) in the Rules does not define what representatives are, but one can infer those representatives are a subset of four committees. If the Council would like to expand in the future reports by individuals on various committees, it would need to occur under representatives or create a new item "other committees as assigned." Renner expressed he is stuck on where to put reports from other representatives of Council. Vice President Bowers noted the way City of Gahanna Page 6 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 14, 2022 she reads Rule 6.20 " the agenda order for regular meetings shall be at the discretion of the Council President but should include the following..." Bowers sees this as the President having the ability to flex this as deemed appropriate. Renner responded that Bowers seemed to be indicating there is enough there for wiggle room as the rule is written. City Attorney Ray Mularski said the rule is specific in that there are four representatives unless Council approves other representatives. Renner asked how to proceed with expanding as this is too limiting. Council Member McGregor remarked that previously Council members served on a committee created by the President and the appointees provided a report. Renner acknowledged there were previous subcommittees. Bowers said she understood Attorney Mularski's response about four categories, but there are two representatives to CIC. Mayor Jadwin offered that this number was required per the CIC bylaws. Mularski clarified that he understood the question to be whether there could only be the four groups of representatives. He said there could not be, for example, a sewer representative per the current Rules. With respect to how many can be representatives within the groups listed, Mularski noted that it does not say. Renner said he is searching for a way to enable flexibility for the future so that there is the ability to add [representatives]. Renner asked whether the Council proceed with adding additional organization representatives under "L" or adding "other committees as assigned." Council Member McGregor expressed that it seemed another category was needed for other committee reports as required by the President or something like that. Mularski asked whether the question was on representatives or committees as there are different provisions in the Rules. Renner said he is referring to the provisions under 6.2 representatives on the regular agenda. Council Member Angelou commented that the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) representatives are determined based on the U.S. Census. The representatives that come to MORPC are Mayor Jadwin and Angelou. Angelou said if members, such as Mr. Weaver, want to be involved in other things that is fine but that it was not part of the basis for what [Mayor Jadwin and Angelou] are there for. Angelou acknowledged there was disagreement about this. She emphasized that the representatives for MORPC were determined based on the Census. For example, if the City had 50,000 residents, there would be three representatives. Renner said he understood, and that Angelou was appointed by the Council President to serve, and he could have picked someone else but did not. Renner reiterated his search for the ability for other members of Council to be able to sit on MORPC committees and other organizations and for it to be documented and placed on the agenda. Angelou said anyone can show up for things related to, for example, the schools or MORPC. There are many people on certain committees, but it is not the people on the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and representing the City. City of Gahanna Page 7 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 14, 2022 Renner asked Angelou which way she saw the path forward on this issue, such as adding another heading on the agenda or something else. Angelou said she thought another set of committees was fine. Angelou stressed that the MORPC number, however, is determined by Census. Renner said he understood, and added that there are other members of Council, such as Mr. Weaver, that are going to serve on a MORPC committee. Renner asked for the consensus of Council on how to proceed. McGregor proposed adding other representatives or committee reports as assigned by the President of Council. Council Member Padova stated that what McGregor suggested allows for more room to grow in the future if the Council desired to report other things than just the four listed in the Rules. Bowers said she thinks there is confusion on who is a voting member, for example, of CIC or MORPC versus what a Council-assigned representative is. Bowers noted that she is a Council-assigned representative to school board, but she cannot as that representative be a voting member of the school board. Additional representatives or additional categories could be added to Item "L". Bowers reiterated her interpretation of the Rules is the agenda is at the President's discretion. Renner reviewed there seemed to be agreement on an additional heading that will say other representatives and committees as assigned. Mularski stated this would be created under Rules "L (5)". Renner said he will take the input and put out an email to Council. Angelou commented that there have been times when the Council has had a committee of three members for various purposes which might or might not have included a report back to the Council but that this was a different ballgame from what has been happening. Renner thanked everyone for their input. C. ITEMS FROM DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE 2022-0077 2021 YEAR END REPORT Joann Bury, Finance Director, highlighted the 2021 Year End Report beginning with the General Fund. Bury noted that for all funds that receive income tax revenues, the amounts exceeded expectations. General Fund revenue receives 20% more than what was planned, largely due to income taxes. Also, the Intergovernmental Revenues received 34% more than what was planned, mainly due to local government fund revenue distributed from the state. This is an indication that the state is recovering very well. On Interest Earnings, the City received 39% more than planned based on securities that matured. Commercial paper was added in 2021 as an investment, and this tends to yield more than STAR Ohio and some of the other treasuries. In the category of Other Taxes (lodging tax), the City received 22% more than what was planned. This shows there is some relief in the hospitality sector. For 2021 compared to 2020, there was a 4% increase (a little more than $1 million), of which a lot is related to income tax. There were decreases in Fines and Fees and Charges for Other Services compared to 2020; however, the City tracked well compared to the budget. City of Gahanna Page 8 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 14, 2022 Bury noted the City had capacity in the Special Revenue Funds based on the COVID-19 cancellations and restrictions. This created unanticipated on reserve fund balances that the City was able to use which explained those decreases. Even though Interest and Investment was up for the year, there was a decrease compared to 2020, which was expected based on the securities and yield. Other taxes were down, but the City received more than anticipated. Looking at just the first quarter between the two years, there was a sharp decline of 62%. Looking at the fourth quarter for the two years, there was a 90% increase. This showed how the recovery is going for hospitality and lodging. Regarding General Fund expenditures, the City was about 84% of budget for actual expenditures. However, including encumbrances, it comes to about 91%, which is reasonable for the end of the year. Compared to 2020, there was a 5% increase mainly driven by salaries and benefits. Council Member Weaver requested that Director Bury's report be displayed for the public to view during the meeting. There was a spike in public safety over time due to the City's reopening and COVID-19 leave situations and staffing shortages that drove overtime. The increase for Contract Services in 2021 compared to 2020 was due to a CIC Land Bank payment made in 2021. There were no payments in 2020. Capital Outlay will continue to decrease with encumbrances whittling down. For debt service activity, Bury noted that the first payment was made on the judgment bonds in 2021. Vice President Bowers referred to the comment of encumbrances and expenditures at 91% of planned. She asked whether this included the reference to debt service or whether there were additional encumbrances. Bury responded that there were no encumbrances left in debt service, so the outstanding encumbrances were other open purchase orders for activities within the General Fund. For Other Financing Sources and Uses, Bury continued, referencing the police pension transfer (General Fund to Public Safety Fund). For General Fund balance at year end, there was a $4 million increase for a total of $24.2 million. Of that balance, there is $1.9 million in encumbrances and $5.9 in reserve, leaving about $16.3 million unreserved. This represents nine months of operating expenditures, which is more than the two months minimum set by policy. Bury also highlighted other funds that receive income tax, including the Public Safety Fund, Parks and Recreation Fund, Public Service Fund, and the Capital Improvement Fund. The end-of-year report summaries for Other funds, as well as specific line-items, were referenced for Council's review in Director Bury's report. Bury highlighted the Income Tax and specific areas of growth, such as Net Profit, and provided analysis on what the City can anticipate for future revenue collection. She noted caution for potential refunds for the "Work From Home" withholdings depending on a pending Ohio Supreme Court case. The City is planning for zero to modest growth moving forward, but also monitoring trends to better forecast Income Tax revenues. Bury asked whether Council had any questions. President Renner thanked Director Bury for an excellent presentation and for taking care of the City's finances. He asked about the ARP monies and whether the City had a list of things that were geared towards these funds. Bury noted a section in the Budget Book that spelled out planned uses for the funds and that there were no amendments to the plan. ORD-0013-2022 AN ORDINANCE AUTH O R I Z I N G A SUPPLEMENTAL City of Gahanna Page 9 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 14, 2022 APPROPRIATION - SPLASH PAD Director Bury explained that expenditures were missed in 2021 due to titling of legislation that the City would like to appropriate again in 2022 and to cover some inflationary costs related to the Splash Pad. There were no further comments or questions from the Council. Council Member McGregor requested that when the legislation proceeds to Second Reading that it be listed under the Consent Agenda. President Renner stated he was ok with that. Recommendation: Introduction/First Reading on 3/21/2022; Consent Agenda on 4/4/2022. ORD-0014-2022 AN ORDINANCE AUTH O R I Z I N G A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION - WORKERS COMPENSATION SELF-INSURANCE PROGRAM - WAIVE SECOND READING. Director Bury said that this item was related to the self-insurance workers compensation program. In 2022, Bury said there would be, in addition to claims, three contracts that would be entered into as follows: 1) Bureau of Workers Compensation (BWC) assessment, 2) Third Party processor, and 3) Excess Loss coverage. The BWC assessment was higher than expected (2021 had a higher-than-normal claim experience) as well as some increases in the other contracts. A supplemental was requested to meet all these needs. Bury asked for a waiver of Second Reading due to a pending invoice for stop-loss and the need to not lapse in coverage. Council Member Angelou asked for clarification on supplemental amounts requested. Bury reviewed the main chunk of the supplemental was the claims experience. Recommendation: Introduction/First Reading/Waiver Second Reading/Regular Agenda on 3/21/2022. D. ITEMS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE & ENGINEERING MT-0005-2022 MOTION AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICE & ENGINEERING PERMISSION TO BID THE BIG WALNUT FIBER REDUNDANCY LOOP PROJECT. Grant Crawford, Director of Public Service & Engineering, noted that the project would install about 7,500 feet of conduit and fiber and utilize an existing 5,200 feet of conduit installed as part of the Big Walnut Trail Section 4. During the design of this section, the City identified the pedestrian bridge going over the Big Walnut as an opportunity to add conduit, which could be utilized now with the fiber loop redundancy. This creates redundancy fiber networking for City services, safety services, and for businesses utilizing the fiber. This project would assist the Communications Center off West Johnstown Rd and South Stygler Road emergency services, and potentially assist the Intel project and existing data centers in New Albany, as the Loop would open the door to potential lease or sale options for carriers to connect. City of Gahanna Page 10 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 14, 2022 The Loop project has been recommended by the City's internal Fiber Management Committee. Crawford requested approval to bid out the project. Vice President Bowers asked whether there were infrastructure costs identified with some of the expected users of the Loop. Crawford responded there were none identified yet, but he is anticipating more coming along. The lease or sale of the fiber or conduit would be a way for the City to receive revenue and recoup costs invested. Council Member McGregor complimented the Department for having thought ahead of time about the potential for adding a fiber loop during the design of the pedestrian bridge. Recommendation: Consent Agenda 3/21/2022. MT-0006-2022 MOTION AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICE & ENGINEERING PERMISSION TO BID THE 2022 STREETLIGHT PAINTING PROGRAM. Director Crawford introduced Dan Wilson, Operations Manager, who has been with the Department for two years. Wilson reviewed the map for streetlights. With funding from Issue 12, the City had a pilot program established in 2021 that funded painting of 150 streetlights mostly in the Creekside District. In 2022, 300 streetlights are planned to be painted on the west side of Gahanna. The entire program will take 5-8 years. Wilson requested approval to bid the project. President Renner indicated his support for the program. Vice President Bowers asked what the cost was for the pilot program. Wilson responded that it was around $40,000. Crawford said this was about $283 per streetlight. Council Member McGregor commented that she enjoyed seeing the work in progress in the Historic District on South High Street. McGregor said the workers did a great job with the painting. Mayor Jadwin added that this is a project that helped instill a sense of pride in the community and important because residents can see improvements immediately. Administration is excited to bring this program forward. Council Member Padova asked how many streetlights were in the City. Wilson said there were approximately 1,800 in the City. Padova asked what the lifespan was for the paint. Wilson said about 8-10 years depending on where they are and how much sunlight they get. Council Member Weaver followed up by asking whether thought had been given to creating an ongoing fund to do "X" number of lights per year. Mayor Jadwin indicated that would be the plan. Recommendation: Consent Agenda 3/21/2022. MT-0007-2022 MOTION AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICE & ENGINEERING PERMISSION TO BID THE MUNICIPAL LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE CONTRACT. Director Crawford said the current contractor gave thirty days' notice to the City that they would be closing their doors due to various factors. Crawford indicated the Department would also come back with a request for Waiver City of Gahanna Page 11 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 14, 2022 and Emergency legislation after competitive bidding to award the contract due to the timing of the current contractor's notice and immediate needs. The contract provides for a three-year term with two, one-year extensions. Crawford requested Council permission to bid the contract. Council Member McGregor commented that when coming into the City she noticed at Hamilton Rd. and I-270 trees seemed to be missing. She asked whether they were growing or there were other factors. Crawford said the Parks Department might have a better answer. He said when the lot of trees were installed there were too many and, as a result, not all were survivable. The goal was to thin out the lot and relocate trees to other locations. Council Member Angelou requested Crawford get some more answers on this. Crawford said he would reach out to Parks. Mayor Jadwin confirmed that administration would follow-up. Recommendation: Consent Agenda 3/21/2022. E. ITEM FROM COUNCIL OFFICE RES-0009-2022 A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND HONORING THEATRE IN OUR SCHOOLS MONTH Council Member Weaver said he had received some comments that other communities were sponsoring similar resolutions and proclamations. Given the tremendous theatre program at Gahanna-Lincoln High School, Weaver hoped some theatre students and the program director would join Council next week in celebration of this month. Recommendation: Regular Agenda on 3/21/2022. F. ADJOURNMENT The Chair announced the adjournment of Committee of the Whole at 8:34 p.m. Jeremy VanMeter Clerk of Council City of Gahanna Page 12 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 14, 2022 APPROVED by the Committee of the Whole, this day of 2022. Merisa K. Bowers City of Gahanna Page 13