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, April 11, 2022 7:00 PM City Hall, Council Chambers A. CALL TO ORDER Vice President of Council Merisa Bowers, Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. There were no additions or amendments to the agenda. Mr. Renner was absent from the meeting. All other members were present. B. DISCUSSIONS 1. Update from Department of Public Safety: Traffic Program Briefing 2022-0114 Gahanna Division of Police Traffic Enforcement & Roadway Safety Presentation Chief Jeff Spence, Gahanna Division of Police, said that as part of Distracted Driving Awareness Month, tonight’s presentation would provide an overview of the City’s traffic safety plan for both distracted driving and impaired driving, as well as crash reduction and enforcement efforts. Chief Spence introduced Lieutenant Ethan Moffitt, Gahanna Division of Police Field Services Subdivision, and Lieutenant Mike Akers, Ohio State Highway Patrol - Columbus Post, for the briefing. Chief Spence noted the briefing would include video from body worn camera footage. He thanked Council for providing these tools. Lt. Akers noted the collaboration between the Patrol and Gahanna Police since he began in 2017, especially with traffic issues on I-270. For Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the Patrol will be assisting with some issues on Hamilton Road (State Route 317) and US 62. Lt. Akers said that according to a traffic counter, 10 million people had already traveled along I-270 through the City’s jurisdiction since the start of 2022. Of these, 2 million traveled over 75 miles per hour, 556,000 traveled over 80 mph, and 92,000 traveled over 85 mph just so far in 2022. Lt. Akers referenced crashes on 1-270 that occurred within an hour of each other that resulted in fatalities. He said there will be a City of Gahanna Page 1 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes April 11, 2022 concerted effort between the Patrol and Gahanna Police to partner and work the area to try to improve traffic safety. Lt. Moffitt said one of his duties is to execute the Chief’s vision as it relates to roadway and traffic safety in the City. Lt. Moffitt guided Council through the PowerPoint presentation. He noted traffic enforcement is balanced with a host of other responsibilities and activities, one being in neighborhoods as well as on I-270. Lt. Moffitt highlighted the following statistics for Quarter 1: 900+ physical house watch checks, and 1,796 traffic violator stops (up 25% over 2021). He noted that proactive traffic enforcement was impacted over the past year by several factors, such as staffing and the pandemic, and the Division is focusing on being more proactive. Additionally, the Division had 123 directed traffic enforcement deployments throughout the City in Quarter 1, including St. Patrick’s Day OVI Saturation Patrol Deployments on March 16 and March 17 (Impaired Driving Enforcement City-wide). Additional deployments are scheduled for April, including school-zone enforcement initiatives. Speed Monitoring and Notification Devices (SMNDs) are deployed to locations throughout the City, primarily residential, that are associated with routine speed complaints. SMNDs record traffic volume and speed data, peak times, and provide an enforcement evaluator to assist with directing enforcement activities. In 2021, with just two devices deployed and rotated at 20 different locations around the City, these devices clocked over 400,000 vehicles with average speed of 21 mph. Approximately 85% of the vehicles clocked were traveling at the posted speed or less. Another device the Division utilizes is the Jamar Black Cat Radar Recorder (Stealth Stat). The device is a box that can be mounted on a pole that provides a picture of roadway conditions in the absence of mitigation efforts, such as police presence or SMNDs. Removal of impaired drivers is a top priority of the Division. In 2021, 37 OVI arrests were made in Quarter 1. So far, 36 OVI arrests have been made in Quarter 1 of 2022. Lt. Moffitt showed the Council video of an impaired driver colliding with a truck at 127 mph on November 7, 2021. The operator’s blood alcohol content (BAC) was .167, which was twice the legal limit. A female passenger was killed. About two hours after this crash, another fatal crash occurred with a wrong way driver going southbound on I-270 north. The driver collides with a semi. The estimated speed was 65 mph. He played the footage of the vehicle in flames and Gahanna officers responding at the scene. Another video showed a vehicle that had crashed into a building on Granville. The driver’s BAC was .333, or three times the legal limit. The OVI arrest map for Quarter 1 showed locations scattered throughout the City along various main roadways. In Ohio through April 4, 2022, there have been 66,035 distracted crashes with drivers aged 15-24 accounting for 40% of the crashes. In Gahanna for Quarter 1, there were 102 crashes with no distraction reported, 1 crash noted as “manually operating an electronic communication device,” 1 noted with “other activity with an electronic device,” 1 with “passenger,” 4 with “other distraction inside vehicle” and 7 with “other distraction outside vehicle,” and 21 as “other/unknown” (majority of these were hit skips). Lt. Moffitt showed images of a three-unit crash that resulted in a multi-lane freeway shutdown on I-270 from texting while driving, as well as a crash on Lincolnshire involving a City of Gahanna Page 2 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes April 11, 2022 16-year-old driver who was reading a text message. These are very dangerous scenes that require a lot of police resources. Distracted driving is defined as “any non-driving activity a person engages in that has a potential to distract the driver from the primary task of driving and increases the risk of crashing.” Lt. Moffit continued, noting the categories of distracted driving (manual, visual, and cognitive), and that texting while driving is particularly bad because it incorporates all three categories of distracted driving. Division outreach initiatives include social media, newsletter and community association engagement, subdivision-wide focus on traffic safety, zero-tolerance toward occupant restraint and distracted driving offenses for April, directed traffic deployments, partnership with Ohio State Highway Patrol, and electronic signage with messaging. Lt. Moffitt provided an overview of an e-ticketing system through the State of Ohio called “SOLVE” currently being tested by the Division. He thanked the Council for the time to present. Vice President Bowers opened for questions. She thanked Lt. Akers and Lt. Moffitt for their efforts and presentation. She said (in reference to the presentation video footage) that it takes very special people to run toward a burning car or building and thanked the officers for what they do. With April being Distracted Driving Awareness Month, Bowers asked whether distracted driving was a primary offense. Lt. Akers responded that for the state, it is not a primary offense. There is a list of violations one must commit first, such as speed or following too close. Lt. Moffitt said the City’s code mirrors state law as distracted driving being a secondary violation, except those drivers under the age of 18 cannot use a device at all (primary offense). There is a distracted driving penalty enhancement that can be applied for a stop that includes a primary violation with distracted driving being a contributor to the violation. The enhancement adds up to $100 on top of the existing fine which must be paid or take a driver education course to avoid the penalty. If an operator is weaving, this would give cause to stop the driver to determine whether there is impairment or distraction. Bowers said she noticed certain things had changed in other jurisdictions and was curious as it pertains to vehicular crashes whether the Division was sending out officers on all 9-1-1 calls that are received or injury crashes only. Lt. Moffitt said the Division goes out on property damage and injury crashes most of the time. If there are time with high call volumes, there are times the Division will not take non-injury crashes and inform the callers to exchange information, report it later, or visit the online platform. Council Member Padova said that if an individual was pulled over for swerving and the officer smelled alcohol, they could be tested, but wondered how this worked for finding out whether someone had been texting. Lt. Akers said it was a good question. He noted that a lot of times, the Patrol will pull beside and look inside the car to see what they are doing or just question the driver and they will tell on themselves. He confirmed that law enforcement did need some type of evidence to show that they were distracted in some way and that it can be challenging to prove. Lt. Moffitt noted that most of the time it is rare that someone will admit to texting, but that it is known that there are a lot City of Gahanna Page 3 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes April 11, 2022 more distractions involved in crashes than what is reflected in the data police are able to collect. Council Member Weaver thanked the officers for all that they do. He asked whether the officers conduct education and outreach programming in the schools. Lt. Akers noted that during prom season the Patrol will do the mock crash scenes. Lt. Moffitt said one of the Chief’s priorities is reenergizing the Division’s educational outreach component in the schools. The Division’s new community liaison officer will be conducting educational initiatives in the schools as part of her duties. Weaver asked about statistics that showed a 25% increase in stops and 48% increase in citations from Quarter 1 last year to Quarter 1 this year. Was there a particular offense or reason for this? Lt. Moffitt said it was violations of all types. Lt. Moffitt said that if he went back several years, this year’s numbers are characteristic of those previous years, but just not characteristic of the last three years noting the pandemic and seismic shifts occurring in community policing. The Division is trying to be proactive and professional. Council Member Schnetzer expressed his thanks for everyone’s time and commented he was amazed by how data-intensive law enforcement work is. He referenced working with the Chief on the speed trailers. He was not aware of the geolocation data until tonight’s presentation. Schnetzer extended his thanks for all the service work, including the neighborhood calls and vacation checks. Lt. Moffitt added that Officer Carl Schmueckle does about 95% of the vacation checks. The Division is starting to see more community response from this with a revamped system to request the checks and response logs sent to the requester. Schnetzer said he thought this was a unique and valuable service, adding that he had personally made use of this service. Chief Spence said that on the discussion of impaired driving that there are some other things that come into play, such as medical emergencies and other types of situations with people in crisis. Chief stated that the Division’s implementation of body-worn cameras allows for a second set of eyes and has prompted officers to re-engage the community because they are wearing the devices all the time. The devices are invaluable and have been embraced. The Division has adopted best practices into its policies on the cameras. Bowers thanked the Chief and all that were involved in rolling out the body-worn cameras. She noted that this is an NAACP-endorsed device, which she hopes will promote trust and transparency within the community and continues to build relationships needed for police work. 2. Update from the Mayor's Office: Sustainability Initiatives 2022-0113 SWACO Regional and Community Campaign Presentation Mayor Jadwin said that over the past year she has been sharing with Council the work the administration has been doing in developing and pursuing sustainability initiatives for the City. Part of this work has been building upon the City’s strong relationship with Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio City of Gahanna Page 4 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes April 11, 2022 (SWACO) as the City creates a plan for sustainability. For six months or so, the City has been working on SWACO’s Save More Than Food campaign. The goal is to divert food waste from landfills. Currently, one million pounds of food waste goes into the Franklin County landfill every day. Jadwin introduced Jane Karetny, Food Waste Program Administrator for SWACO, to speak on the work the City and SWACO are doing for this campaign. Karetny noted that from SWACO’s waste characterization study in 2019, food waste is the single largest material that comes to the landfill (15% of everything the comes in). The goal is to divert this material from the landfill and extend its useful life by making a useful product out of organic materials. Many partners from public, non-profit, and private sectors have been engaged to create a Food Waste Action Plan. The Plan lays out prevention strategies, rescue and donation strategies, and recycling or composting strategies. The messaging focuses on wasted food and wasted resources, such as fuel used to grow the food being wasted and money spent buying the food being wasted. SaveMoreThanFood.org has resources and toolkits for all stakeholders (residents, schools, workers, and food businesses). As part of the community campaign component, the main purpose is to elevate food waste drop off sites, make them accessible, and educating the public on reducing food waste in communities. Upper Arlington was the first community to test the campaign and evaluate its effectiveness. The Upper Arlington test’s key findings were as follows: that across the entire neighborhood treatment groups there was a 21% reduction in food waste generated across households, 42% reduction in food waste generated across households that received compost materials, and a 40% increase in usage of food waste drop off sites. Karetny said SWACO is partnering with the City of Gahanna on a local campaign. Jadwin announced the City was a recipient of SWACO’s community waste reduction grant of $7,371 to be used to assist with implementation of the food waste composting program for the first year. Jadwin said this will improve and increase the waste diversion from Franklin County Sanitary Landfill by allowing residents the option of taking food scraps to the compost location where GoZERO will come and empty the container and clean it once per week. The drop off site will be at Friendship Park next to the existing recycling bins. The location will be open and effective as of April 25. It is free to participate for Gahanna residents. Participants are asked to register so that the usage and interest in the program can be tracked by the City. For the first 100 households that register, they can receive a five-gallon compostable bin that will be available for pick-up at Gahanna City Hall April 21-22 and during the Shred It event on April 23. Jadwin said that the City will continue to work on the overall sustainability plan through the internal sustainability task force. The next step is to take the plan to the public to gather feedback. It will have recommendations on things such as what can be done at city parks, with streetlights, and broader items like incentives with development to pursue green initiatives in building projects. After public input is received, Jadwin noted the sustainability task force will bring the plan to Council and get feedback and hopefully get adoption by the City. Jadwin said these efforts City of Gahanna Page 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes April 11, 2022 segue nicely with SWACO’s Save More Than Food campaign. She thanked Ms. Karetny for her presentation and asked the Council if there were any questions. Council Member McGregor said she has been composting at her house for over 40 years. She asked whether the location at Friendship Park will accept protein. Karetny confirmed that it would, along with bones. GoZERO has a largescale operation and will accept most things. McGregor asked whether there had been issues with odor from this. For example, meat left out in the summer for a week would not smell very nice. Karetny stated she had not personally been at one of the drop-offs every day during the summer but acknowledged there probably are some smell issues. Therefore, it is important to have the site in a well-ventilated area. McGregor said she knows some people are hesitant to compost, but that she tells people that if they stuck with vegetable products the smell is not a big deal. Also, mice and other vermin and animals do not seem to get into it. McGregor asked whether the bin is contained so that animals would not be able to get inside. Karetny confirmed that it is a toter like a garbage can that had a lid on it. McGregor noted previous experience dealing with a raccoon trapped inside a dumpster that had been left open and then closed. She asked whether people had to close the lid or if it automatically closed. Karetny said it is a lid that people would manually close. She added there would be a larger sign with best practices and uses of the drop off site. Currently, there are 7-9 communities with drop off sites and there are 3-6 carts per drop off site. Karetny so far has not heard of any animal issues. One thing that has been a problem is an overload of pumpkins at sites during pumpkin season. McGregor said she thinks it is a great idea and looking forward to seeing how it works. Jadwin said she spoke with other communities on what their experiences have been. In terms of smell, Jadwin said she did not get feedback on problems with that. What helps is the compostable bin and the regular pick-up of carts at the drop-off site. Council Member Angelou asked whether there would be education information sent out to the community. Also, she wondered whether one had to get the compostable bin to participate. Jadwin clarified that there would be information, such as mailers or postcards that go out, and that only the first 100 Gahanna households that register will get a free compostable bin but that anyone can participate in the drop-off site. Council Member Schnetzer remarked that he had attended the MORPC Summit on Sustainability last October and recalled seeing pictures of the piled-up pumpkins. He commented how important it was to mention the upstream value chain of food, including fuel and fertilizer. This is germane to what’s happening geo-politically and what is happening on the demand side of the equation. He said it could have ripple effects and allow resources to be diverted elsewhere. Schnetzer thanked Karetny for her time and efforts. Angelou also thanked Karetny (and SWACO) for the grant awarded to the City. McGregor asked what happens to the food waste after the drop-off site. Karetny explained that material is hauled to Northwest Ohio at Andre Farms City of Gahanna Page 6 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes April 11, 2022 where the material is composted. There is a facility in London, Ohio, that is a composting operation, and SWACO is also working on a facility that will be completed in two to three years for additional composting operations infrastructure. 3. Update from the Council Office: E-Comment Vice President Bowers recognized Mr. VanMeter, Clerk of Council, to report on research with eComment and collaboration with the IT department. The eComment feature is an add-on through Granicus. Mr. VanMeter and Mr. Schultz participated in a call with a representative from Granicus to vet the tool and ask more questions on what this potentially offers for the City. VanMeter explained that this update is to continue the dialogue on citizen participation and engagement options for the City. Core values that underpin cities’ decisions to use this tool include as follows: it allows people who are unable attend meetings to be more involved and allows for input from underserved and hard to reach people. Some other benefits include accessibility features that would help people with physical or cognitive disabilities that might require screen readers or large print or other assistive tools to access information. Another data point shared by Granicus is that the feature could help close some of the generational gap, as their research indicated two times fewer Millennials attend public meetings than Baby Boomers do. Overall, Granicus believes this tool helps build public trust by providing an alternative avenue for citizen participation. Specific features of the tool include the ability to turn on or off acceptance of comments for meetings, comments being tied to specific agenda items, such as Hearing of Visitors, rating systems to gauge a citizen’s general support or opposition to a specific agenda item, guest registration or the option to require someone to create a profile with their name, address, and email to use the eComment. There are features to control for profanity. eComment integrates with iLegislate for Council iPads. In terms of searchability, there is a 24 to 48-hour delay on a comment being searchable, but it can be done. However, Granicus recommended that if the Council wanted something that was searchable, go ahead and make the comment part of meeting minutes, which would guarantee its searchability. Otherwise, just by going to Google and typing in key words specific to a Gahanna meeting, it might not bring up what one is looking for in terms of comments. VanMeter presented what the feature looks like from the City of Riverside, California and Lakewood, Ohio, websites. Lakewood implemented eComment in response to the pandemic and having options for their residents to participate in decision making. If the Council proceeded with this tool, it could allow the City to easily pivot, if needed, to more online modes of citizen participation, as infrastructure would be in place in the event of quarantine or virtual meetings. In terms of eComment’s cost, the proposal is $2,100 as an annual fee, and includes training and setup. VanMeter asked for Council’s feedback and questions. Council Member Weaver thanked Mr. VanMeter and Mr. Schultz for researching the feature. He said that one of the concerns voiced previously was about verification of identity and avoiding catching spam or other people outside of Gahanna. VanMeter said this had been part of the internal City of Gahanna Page 7 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes April 11, 2022 discussion as well. Currently, with Hearing of Visitors, there is a speaker slip that must be completed but there is no verification process in place for identity or residency. The eComment tool does not have a required field for an address and no other mechanism that would be 100% foolproof for identity verification. VanMeter asked if this was a concern, there would need to be more discussion and guidance on how Council Office would verify identity. Weaver said he understands the concern that had been voiced. When someone comes before Council at a meeting, Council can see the individual. Council might not know the individual, but there is the added level of at least the person can be seen. He reminded Council colleagues of what he said previously on this topic, referencing studies in courtroom settings that showed when individuals take an oath and affirm who they are and what they are doing, that it does increase the veracity of the information. He hoped that people would not be intentionally malicious with something like eComment. VanMeter said that a disclaimer or verification statement could be added prior to registering as a profile. Council Member Padova appreciated the effort in researching the tool. She asked whether comments would be displayed immediately or whether an approval process existed. For example, if someone had posted fake information, she asked whether this would this be caught or immediately posted. VanMeter said there were a couple options for this. First, it could be setup to only allow Council to see comments that someone has made (as well as the individual making the comment). Second, it could be setup to have different time constraints so that there is a period of vetting or review. eComment will send alerts to administrative accounts once a comment has been made. This would be within Council’s discretion on how it would want to govern the process. Vice President Bowers asked about next steps. She asked whether VanMeter was looking for feedback from Council on a decision to move forward with integrating the feature. She proposed keeping this on the agenda for the next Committee and giving people time to digest and then giving a thumbs up or thumbs down on whether the Council tries it out. It would not have to be permanent. Council Member Schnetzer said his only comment was to give Council a couple weeks to digest and look at the example websites that had been shared to get a gist of the tool and content and then come back and talk about it. Bowers asked VanMeter to send a follow-up email to Council with information shared at the meeting and anything pertinent to Granicus and the eComment tool to consider feature-wise. C. ITEMS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES ORD-0017-2022 AN ORDINANCE AUTH O R I Z I N G A SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATION - MORPC INTERN Vice President Bowers recognized Kevin Schultz, IT Manager, for comment. City of Gahanna Page 8 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes April 11, 2022 Mr. Schultz explained that MORPC has an annual internship program and that this year the Department of Information Technology would like to get a data/GIS intern. The intern would work primarily on the asset management implementation with various data tasks, such as putting together equipment lists and costs associated with labor and material. He provided an overview of the costs and numbers in the supplemental. He noted that MORPC will reimburse up to $1,500 of the total cost. Council Member Angelou commented that this was a great MORPC program and that there are many more that will be coming. She remarked that oftentimes these programs lead people to jobs within the City. Recommendation: Introduction/First Reading on 4/18/22 and Second Reading/Consent Agenda on 5/2/22. D. ITEMS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS & RECREATION ORD-0018-2022 AN ORDINANCE TO ACCEPT THE DONATION OF LAND FROM VALUE RECOVERY GROUP II, LLC Vice President Bowers recognized Stephania Ferrell, Director of Parks & Recreation. Ms. Ferrell said that in early March, the Planning Commission approved two applications for subdivision without plat from the Value Recovery Group II LLC. As part of this, there was a donation of .221 acres to the City of Gahanna to connect to the existing Central Park Reserve. Currently there are two separate parcels, and this donation would join the two together. Administration is requesting acceptance of the land donation. Bowers asked if there were questions or comments from Council. Council Member McGregor said that as she was looking at the maps, it was hard for her to tell what was being donated. Ferrell acknowledged they were hard to see. She recommended looking at the headers for the one specific to the .221 acres. She will send a separate map to show as a visual of the .221 acres. Bowers thought the first page of Exhibit B would be the best visual to see the donation. McGregor asked where the path was at the park. Ferrell said that the existing path is part of an easement, and the donation would be for the land where there is existing easement. Recommendation: Introduction/First Reading on 4/18/22 and Second Reading/Consent Agenda on 5/2/22. E. ITEMS FROM THE COUNCIL OFFICE RES-0011-2022 A RESOLUTION AFFIRMING THE CITY OF GAHANNA'S COMMITMENT TO ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION AND RECOGNIZING APRIL 22, 2022, AS EARTH DAY Vice President Bowers said she appreciated Ms. McGregor’s proposed Resolution with specific items for Gahanna and for integrating her points with the existing Resolution. Bowers referenced the redlined version for changes, City of Gahanna Page 9 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes April 11, 2022 including Mr. Schnetzer’s comments on diversified modes of transportation and varied housing stock and Mayor Jadwin’s feedback on sustainability measures. Bowers said that President Renner would like to comment on the Resolution but was not unable to attend. Council Member Schnetzer asked about the title of the Resolution. McGregor said this was the original title. When looking at it again, she thought it did not really flow with the rest of it. Schnetzer said he did not have a suggested title. He wondered whether the Council was zeroing in on one item at the risk of ignoring other things that the City is trying to accomplish or raising awareness of with respect to Earth Day. McGregor said when integrating her proposed language to the existing Resolution, the title was not reconsidered, but that she did agree there could be changes to the title. Bowers said this had started with a suggested title that had been on the schedule of resolutions from January. This was not written in stone. To her, she thought the existing title was important, and the point she thought Mr. Renner was making as well. It is important on a local level that we talk about things we can do to help prevent damage to the environment and further reducing the effects of climate change on our community. Bowers said it was important to her to maintain the title. In terms of changes, Bowers said she would like to retain the clause stating “affirm commitment to Invest in Our Planet, the 2022 Earth Day theme, and work with regional partners to build a prosperous and equitable future” as a separate clause. Council Member Weaver asked whether Mr. Schnetzer’s concern was whether the title was not sufficiently broad. Schnetzer said this was what he was meaning. Schnetzer provided an additional example, noting the issue of pollution, on one of his runs he saw a storm drain that said “no littering” or “no waste,” as it drains into the Big Walnut Watershed. He said he saw paint on the storm catch drain. He did not want to lose sight of things people would have a direct impact on the environment. When talking about climate action, he thought that this was a global thing. He acknowledged that all people participate in that, but again reminded he did not want to lose sight of the other environmental commitments at the local level. Weaver said he took the title as encompassing all those things. McGregor asked whether Schnetzer had an alternate suggestion for the title. Schnetzer thought something broader was better. Bowers asked whether “environmental action” would work. Schnetzer said that there is somewhat of a distinction between environment and climate. Bowers said she liked environmental action and asked whether there was consensus around changing this. Various members expressed being amenable to Bowers’ change. Council Member Angelou spoke about air quality being one of the main things to consider, as air quality is a main thing that causes some of the issues within climate change and wellness. She thought that the air quality part was important, as we want to help varied modes of transit. Bowers asked whether Angelou thought this was still captured in a change in the title from “climate” to “environmental.” Angelou stressed that one of the best things that can happen is that people are doing things with a concern for air quality. She said City of Gahanna Page 10 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes April 11, 2022 climate is always changing in many ways and not just changing because of having too many cars. She hoped that the climate is changing back into something better. She acknowledged the intensity of storms. The Sustainability Summit provided her with a real view of what climate change was. It was not that everyone was going to die in ten years, it is the fact that things are happening with the intensity of storms, and that some specific actions would help return to less intensive storms. Council Member Padova stated she agreed with Bowers’ request to reinclude the Invest in Our Planet clause, especially considering hearing about the City’s composting efforts and partnership with SWACO and other regional partners having a ripple effect. Bowers acknowledged two edits: title change “climate” to “environmental” and reinserting the Invest in Our Planet clause. Recommendation: Regular Agenda 4/18/22. 2022-0110 Ohio Division of Liquor Control Notice: TRFO 9436262 Mr. VanMeter noted there were no objections of the permit. Bowers asked whether this should be on Consent Agenda. VanMeter said his understanding is that if there were objections, this would prompt a hearing or request for a hearing. Bowers confirmed that there would be no action needed. F. ADJOURNMENT The Chair announced the adjournment of Committee of the Whole at 8:49 p.m. Jeremy A. VanMeter Clerk of Council APPROVED by the Committee of the Whole, this day of 2022. Merisa K. Bowers City of Gahanna Page 11