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, June 13, 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 7:04 p.m. All members were present for the meeting. B. ADDITIONS/CORRECTIONS: Vice President Bowers noted that administration requested that RES-0016-2022 regarding the 2022 Sidewalk Maintenance Program be removed for discussion and be reconsidered later. C. DISCUSSIONS: 1. Finance Update - Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Council Member Schnetzer, Finance Chair, provided an update to the Committee of the Whole on the City’s CIP. The CIP is a long-term strategy that guides responsible and transparent investments and capital improvements, such as public infrastructure, facilities, and equipment (playground, fleet, snowplows, streetlights, etc.), and land acquisitions. Administration began work on this last fall in conceptual meetings. City consultant Jennifer Syx of the Insite Advisory Group and her staff were engaged to lead the project. Work on outlining various processes soon followed. The consultants were provided with a litany of documents the City had already developed, such as the Gahanna Thoroughfare Plan, Go Forward Gahanna, the facilities assessment, the Land Use Plan, the 2022 Capital Needs Assessment, and the MORPC Transportation Plan. The Insite Advisory Group and administration gave preliminary interviews or discovery meetings with department heads to understand the scope of what would be needed. Schnetzer said that Council might recall from February a general overview of a CIP presented. Since then, the working group has established various planning districts and collated all projects identified by the department City of Gahanna Page 1 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 13, 2022 heads and from within all the plans already mentioned. Some that were not recurring have been removed and others have been added. He said the goal is targeting efficiency such that projects can be combined that would also help in identifying grant opportunities to lower cost. The next steps will be assigning budget numbers to the projects, a public input session in late July or early August, a workshop with Council prior to public input, and a deep dive workshop after the public input. The goal is to have the CIP adopted prior to the presentation of the 2023 Budget to Council. Vice President Bowers confirmed there were not presently any action items for Council on this. Schnetzer said that this was just an update as far as what to anticipate coming. 2. Economic Development Training Series President Renner said that an idea came up between the administration, including Director of Economic Development Nate Strum and Mayor Jadwin, as well as Vice President Bowers and himself to hold a training series. He said that there are a lot of developmental issues and fundamental concepts on development that are a little tenuous and tough to deal with from the public’s point of view. Therefore, the idea came about for a series to be held during Committee of the Whole with Director Strum as the star teacher with a planned list of guest speakers from various subjects that will talk about all the pros and cons of economic development and the impact of all of that. Renner said that on the years he has been on Council, it is necessary to really understand the nuts and bolts of how a deal is being put together and what the impacts of those deals are. Therefore, during this summer, through about six or so Committee meetings it is planned to go through various economic development items to learn about and be more productive in conversation when Council talks about development. Vice President Bowers said that things have changed across the region in terms of incentive policy and what it might take to bring the type of development to Gahanna that Council wants to see. She said what she hopes people get out of this is information not just from internal economic development perspective, but also outside economic development perspectives on types of incentives being used, why these incentives are used, and how the Council can best be involved in policy around incentives to be good stewards of tax dollars. Bowers said that one of the items that came up last year was around calculation of return on investment (ROI) on some of the economic development sheets. She said she is hoping for a thorough explanation on ROI analyses and a deeper, more nuanced dive in incentive policy and help educate each other and bring more information to the public. She thanked Director Strum and his team for helping pull this together. She anticipated each session being about 20 to 30 minutes throughout the summer. Mayor Jadwin said she appreciated the opportunity to schedule this into Committee of the Whole. She noted that Director Strum has been a speaker on this topic nationwide. Strum is president of Mid-Ohio Development City of Gahanna Page 2 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 13, 2022 Exchange (MODE), which supports economic development in the state, and was also an officer of Ohio Economic Development Association (OEDA). Jadwin said Strum is used to giving these types of presentations and that she knew he had lined up a great field of speakers. She said she recognizes the value of not just hearing from administration but hearing from other people in the field. Jadwin stressed that the City had one of the top five economic development directors in the state, which she said were words coming from people at the state level. Strum has been around the block and knows what he is talking about. Jadwin shared the development numbers are going through the roof, noting over $180 million of new capital investment in the City last year and more to come. Development is not slowing down. Jadwin wants Council to be comfortable when administration comes to Council with a project - that Council understands what has happened leading up to presentation to Council and work that has gone into evaluation and other factors considered. She said this will help Council position itself to be prepared to ask the questions needed to effectively evaluate what is being brought forward. D. ITEMS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE: 1. RES-0015-2022 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE TAX BUDGET OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA, OHIO, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2023 Joann Bury, Director of Finance, stated that Ohio Revised Code requires the Resolution be filed with the county auditor by July 20th. She requested that the tax budget be acted upon so that it can be filed with the county auditor. Once it is filed, the county budget commission will use it to determine that all property tax levies should be authorized and approved without modification. The product, an Ordinance from the County Budget Commission, will come around October that certifies the tax levies and amounts which Council will need to accept. Recommendation: Introduction/First Reading/Adoption on Consent Agenda on 6/21/2022. E. ITEMS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: 1. ORD-0030-2022 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER (SRO) CONTRACT WITH THE GAHANNA-JEFFERSON PUBLIC SCHOOLS (GJPS) FOR THE 2022-2023 SCHOOL YEAR, WAIVING SECOND READING, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY Chief Jeff Spence, Division of Police, stated that this is the standard school resource officer (SRO) contract that was passed from previous years with no substantive changes. The contract for the 2022-2023 school year represents a 2.4 percent increase from the previous year’s contract for a total not to exceed an amount of $208,584. The amount constitutes 75 percent of salary and benefits of one officer anchored at Gahanna Lincoln High School and 50 City of Gahanna Page 3 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 13, 2022 percent of the salary and benefits of the second officer. It used to be a 50 percent split for each of the officers but was change in the 2019-2020 school year. Chief said that the reason for the waiver and emergency is due to the agreement with the FOP in process. He said the officers’ FOP bargaining unit has passed the tentative agreement and that negotiations with supervisors are still pending. It is hoped that the City will bring that agreement forward quickly. This SRO contract only applies to the officer bargaining unit salary, which is why it is being brought forward now. This also must go before the school board so that it is in place by the start of the school year in early August. Council Member McGregor asked about the reason for the emergency. This is the same thing that is done every year. She asked whether this request and why it is later than usual had to do with the contract discussions. Chief Spence confirmed that was correct. He said they are waiting on salary and benefits to be finalized but that the officers’ unit has accepted the City’s proposal and that the SRO contract only impacts that bargaining unit, which is why it is being brought forward now. President Renner said he has long been a very strong supporter of the SRO program and police. He noted that these are trained officers, trained in multiple scenarios. Renner said that today the Governor signed a bill making it easier for teachers to have guns inside our schools. Setting this aside, Renner asked Chief whether the police has had discussions about the now changed dynamic inside our schools. Chief Spence said that the Division of Police was aware of the passage of the law the Governor signed today. He said that decision to arm teachers still rests with the school board. The boards would authorize within their own district the ability for their teachers to be armed. Spence said that within our district, this would be a heavy lift. He thought the decision might be different in a rural setting where first responders are far away as a half hour to 45 minutes away. He thought this changes the dynamic. However, Spence said if anything did come up with Gahanna, it seemed too early to tell at this point how this is going to be embraced at the school district level. Renner responded that he was not aware of local school districts having a choice in the matter. Spence reiterated it is solely within individual districts’ capacity to decide whether to arm, including 24 hours of training that could be increased at the district level. Vice President Bowers asked the Chief to speak to parent and public feedback on the SRO program. Spence said that the feedback had ranged from compliments that come through his office, the safety director, and the Mayor, to daily engagements that the officers have. He said these are tenured officers with a lot of years of experience. He noted that there was a new officer hired for this role after Officer Hixson retired about a year and a half ago. The officer that replaced him was another long tenured officer. Spence said the ability of these officers to interact with students not in an enforcement role but as mentors and educators will have lasting effects that may never be known until years into the future. Officers are there as a first line of defense and response, but in this mentorship role, students now in their late 30s or City of Gahanna Page 4 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 13, 2022 early 40s will come back and say what a positive impact that the City’s first SROs, Dean Blamer and Joe East have had on their lives. The benefits of the program are immeasurable and not easily quantifiable. However, Chief said the near daily feedback that the City gets for the SROs is significant. Council Member Padova asked Chief Spence to provide the Council (and public) an overview of what SRO duties are in the school, as she did not grow up in a school with SROs. She wondered at what point officers are called into classrooms. Spence said most of the response to incidents inside the school, if it is a police response, is at the direction of the school district/school officials. The primary role of the SRO is not enforcement. They spend time in classrooms in an educator role. A typical day will consist of monitoring traffic at the beginning and end of the day, dealing with pedestrians and vehicular traffic in a short amount of time, teach a variety of classes through Project Alert both at the high school and middle school, engage with mental health professionals in the schools, and putting community resources together to help kids and families in needs. Spence said the SROs know about the situations kids are growing up in and the services that are provided or have been provided and act as a conduit between all those service providers. He stated it is not a typical police role that they are in, at least in the model that Gahanna has. SROs are there in school as a deterrent and provide safety and security to the building. Padova thanked the Chief, stating it sounded like the SROs wear a lot of hats. Spence agreed. The SROs also attend prom and sporting events. They know kids by first name and can tell you a lot of things about them. Council Member Weaver said that he was thankful for the program in Gahanna. He said that as a former student of Gahanna Jefferson Public Schools he remembered with great fondness Officer Blamer in the hallways. He knew everyone. It did not matter if it was someone who frequently came across the program or availing themselves of the myriad of services. He would see the SRO at performances and sports events. Weaver added his thanks for the work of the SROs in the schools. Chief Spence clarified that there are two SROs at the high school and a third SRO that goes to the middle schools, elementary schools, and St. Matthew’s and private schools as well. The City pays for all the costs associated with the third SRO. Spence said that in addition to these officers, the Division has a sergeant who is fully trained and qualified as an SRO as well. He noted that if there were gaps in coverage, the sergeant would fill in. Separate and distinct from this is the City’s community liaison officer that will also work more closely with service providers like Franklin County Children’s Services, mental health providers, etc., as a more specialized conduit for those resources. Council Member Schnetzer said that while he did not have direct firsthand knowledge of the program and the daily interactions that go on between the SRO and school community, people that do have reported back to him through the years about precisely what Chief Spence just described. City of Gahanna Page 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 13, 2022 Schnetzer said this included the officer knowing the students, knowing the family structure, knowing any challenges that might be occurring at any given time. When SROs see there is an opportunity to intercept something that might spiral out of control, they can diffuse and divert and calm the situation. He said there is no value you can place on this, as it could involve a young person’s life. Schnetzer said he is happy to support this. Recommendation: Introduction/First Reading/Waiver and Emergency Adoption on Consent Agenda on 6/21/2022. F. ITEMS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE & ENGINEERING: 1. ORD-0031-2022 AN ORDINANCE ACCEPTING TAYLOR STATION ROAD ROADWAY INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS Caitlyn Ridge, Interim City Engineer, stated that the Council’s acceptance of the roadway improvements is more of a formality. The City has not had to do this in some time. She said Code Chapter 1107 requires the City to formally accept new public infrastructure improvements completed as part of a private development plan. It is best practice to accept these improvements so that the City can maintain them properly. She said that as part of the Adams Pointe development located in Jefferson Township, Taylor Station Road (which is Gahanna roadway) was widened to include turning lanes to accommodate the traffic associated with Adams Pointe development. Ridge said construction also included stormwater and water improvements that were necessary to facilitate the widening. Taylor Station Road has been identified in the City’s Thoroughfare Plan to be widened. So, by this being a portion of Taylor Station Road and widened as part of this development, the City is saving Gahanna taxpayers approximately $334,000 in improvements that have been made and completed by the developer. Ridge said that improvements have been completed and the developer now requests the City accept the infrastructure improvements per Gahanna Code. These improvements meet the basic requirements for acceptance and the underground utilities and roadway have passed all necessary inspections and testing. Council Member McGregor said she was glad to see that Gahanna did this and required the developer to widen the road there. She cited the things that must be done now on Hamilton Road north of Morse Road that would have been much more easier during the project and less impacting for citizens. Ridge said that when things come through Planning Commission, the City does look for what the Thoroughfare Plan has identified and tries to ensure that the developer incorporates any additions right away for the City to make improvements and doing the improvements themselves. She said there several other development projects underway or coming where this kind of action will also be needed. Vice President Bowers confirmed that with this parcel in Jefferson Township, the City was able to still require this through the Planning Commission process. Ridge said that since the development is adjacent to the City’s City of Gahanna Page 6 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 13, 2022 roadway, the City is part of the review of their plans. This would be the same if it was the other way around (Gahanna property along a county or township road). She said that the entities will get together to come up with the best plan with that development coming in since it impacts both places. Recommendation: Introduction/First Reading on 6/21/2022 and Second Reading/Adoption on Consent Agenda on 7/5/2022. 2. RES-0016-2022 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE 2022 SIDEWALK MAINTENANCE PROGRAM AREA Recommendation: Hold in Committee for review at a later date. G. ITEMS FROM THE MAYOR'S OFFICE: 1. ORD-0032-2022 AN ORDINANCE REPEALING AND REPLACING GAHANNA CODE SECTION 549.10 PROHIBITING THE DISCHARGING, IGNITING OR EXPLODING OF FIREWORKS IN THE CITY OF GAHANNA, WAIVING SECOND READING, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Mayor Jadwin said Section 549.10 as it currently exists already prohibits the discharge, igniting, and exploding of fireworks within the City of Gahanna. She stated, as people might know from recent news articles, there was a state law that was passed that will go into effect July 1, 2022, that will eliminate that prohibition statewide. The law also provided a mechanism for municipalities, such as Gahanna, to opt-out of that legislation. Jadwin shared that recently the City of Columbus passed legislation banning fireworks going off within the City of Columbus. Several other municipalities, such as Upper Arlington, Bexley, Dublin, Powell, Grove City, and Worthington have passed or are in the process of passing similar legislation to opt-out of the state’s legislation. She explained that the action for repeal and replacement of existing Code. It was the City Attorney’s perspective that the provisions that were removed were those that referred to the Ohio Revised Code that will no longer be applicable. Instead of redlining things, it was better to just rewrite the City’s Code. While it is a repeal and replacement, it will keep the existing ban that the City has. There is no language that is different in that regard. She stressed it is the same existing ban on discharging, igniting, or exploding fireworks. Jadwin said that from a public safety perspective this continues the ability for our police and fire to maintain some level of control over fireworks going off within the city. If the ban was not put into effect, she said it would be a free-for-all. Education and awareness are always the primary mechanisms that police and fire use to curb this from happening within the community. Without an actual enforcement mechanism, it really would not matter. After discussing with the public safety team, including Director Winn, Chief Spence, and Deputy Chief Lawless, and Attorney Mularski, Jadwin said that having something in place is what would be in the best interest of the health and welfare of the citizens of Gahanna. She said it is important not only from a public safety perspective, but also from a quality-of-life perspective and keep the ban the City already has in place. The emergency and waiver request are due to the state law’s July 1, 2022, effective date. City of Gahanna Page 7 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 13, 2022 Council Member Angelou shared that she had heard firecrackers going off recently and asked what would happen if people were doing that going forward. Chief Spence said that the City’s primary response is really an education and a warning that usually in about 99 percent of the cases takes care of the problem. He said the Division is not out actively stopping people that are igniting fireworks. It is entirely complaint-based. The complaints on fireworks, especially July 4th, if one looks at the police run records after the City fireworks show ends, will run non-stop into the early morning hours. He asked to imagine this multiplied by every day of the year potentially. Spence said the City still receives several complaints, including from commercial exhibitors. This past weekend, an annual event at the Jefferson Country Club with a fireworks permit and very nice show, there were several complaints from Hunters Ridge and surrounding neighborhoods when that show occurs. There is a commercial fireworks permit that has been issued for Harrison Pond Civic Association that Chief Spence is sure will generate complaints from the surrounding area as well. In the unincorporated areas to the east, there are several large homes and parcels that will have purchased fireworks shows that will rival any of the commercial shows which will also generate a lot of complaints from residents within the City. Spence said that for this there will be really no change in how things will be handled under the repeal and replacement. This would provide continuity, as other communities that surround Gahanna are following in similar step. Angelou asked whether this would be sent out to people in Gahanna. Jadwin said a communication through social media and the website would occur. Angelou asked whether outreach could be made to various groups to help get the word out. Jadwin said the Chief’s Civic Association meeting would be a great way to disseminate information to the various neighborhoods. This would be the quickest, most viable option to get information out as well. Council Member Schnetzer asked the administration to share a bit more detail on internal discussions and whether there was consideration for some form of compromise. He said this is coming from the perspective or vantage point of people being aware of the news headline of Ohio law changing. He said there might be an uptick in calls this Fourth of July. Schnetzer asked was there any mention of permitting this, as state law had listed a handful of holidays where the ban would not be in effect, not 365 days per year. Mayor Jadwin said there was extensive discussion on this. She said that ultimately after listening to the public safety experts, and considering the communication needs to residents (For example, it is ok this day and not this day), it can create a challenge from an enforcement perspective if the Code is not kept as a ban. Chief Spence said that the Mayor hit the nail on the head. This is to avoid confusion. Spence said the Division gets complaints on July 4th and any day someone sets off fireworks and it is not an actual show. He said this provides continuity and unity of message with neighboring communities. Spence stressed the Division is not out actively issuing citations and arresting people. They will issue warnings. He added that the chances are that by the time the police get the call or complaint and that they arrive at the scene, whatever show that was happening will have ended. Keeping the existing ban City of Gahanna Page 8 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 13, 2022 would be the best way to be consistent with resident expectations. Vice President Bowers said like Council Member Schnetzer’s question, her understanding was that some of our neighboring communities have carved out exceptions and not all of them have enforced the blanket ban. She said Reynoldsburg was considering a law that mimicked the holiday exceptions. She asked if the Gahanna law allowed fireworks on certain days of the year, the City would spend less time responding to these calls if the dispatcher could say it is permitted in the City (on that day). Spence said that, unfortunately, the animals and people affected by the fireworks, such as those with mental health needs that are affected by loud noises, do not care what day of the week it is and will call anyway. Spence said he understood the point and the only community he was aware of that took no action was the City of Hilliard. He said he knew Reynoldsburg was considering what Bowers stated but did not know they had passed any carve outs. He said they had checked with everyone else, and they found that they basically were doing exactly as what the City was doing with this action. He said it could be revisited and see how the community adjusts. Spence said he does not see it as people becoming more tolerant because of the number of calls the Division gets. Bowers also asked about the violation and M1. She asked whether it could be a lower penalty for a first offense. Chief Spence said they would be open to that. He thought the reason behind that was that a lot of the calls he considered to be harmless but that what they see in terms of the ones that are misused and cause the most damage, with commercial grade explosivity, there are blast injuries. The M1 kept in perspective the potential for serious physical harm because of misuse. He said that was why it was in focus in the penalty section. Bowers asked whether there was a gradient that could be distinguished in this, perhaps if there is a different administration. Spence said he thought they would be open to an M4 on a first offense and an M1 on a second offense should Council desire that. Attorney Mularski said first there must be an opt-out by July 1st. Cities can always opt back in and change the law. If there is no opt-out by July 1st, then everything the state does gets incorporated, including aerials. This seemed to be a big problem because it must stay on one’s property. Mularski wondered how one could make this happen and what happens if it lands on someone else’s house. It can become a problem. He stressed that opting out at this point was the best thing to get a better feel as to how the City might tailor this. Mularski added that if the City wanted to add some carve-outs, one might be the reduction of the M1. All these things can be changed. Council Member McGregor asked whether the M1 was a change or had always been there. Mularski confirmed that it had always been that way. Jadwin said the only change from the existing version to this proposed version is the references back to Ohio Revised Code that will no longer be in effect. Council Member Angelou said that safety is what the City was trying to do here. She said she sees some in her neighborhood go up the street and it is almost like they are burning the street. This also creates issues with then City of Gahanna Page 9 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 13, 2022 fixing that street. She said she did not think fireworks should be allowed. Angelou said the City was going to do a fireworks display July 4th. Anything more than that is not needed. Columbus is also going to have their display. She understood it was going to be fun for some people, but for others it will not be -the sound and worry whether something was a gunshot, etc. Angelou said the Council should always be concerned about safety and if something is unsafe than it probably should not be pursued. Chief Spence added that there were timing provisions in terms of hours permitted in the state law that become a little problematic with community expectations. He said Angelou brought up a good point about gun fire. The Division responds to calls of celebratory gunfire, which has become much more prevalent in the last few years than it has in the past. The average resident sometimes does not know the difference between gunfire and fireworks. The sound does affect people and impact them from how they feel in terms of their safety. Bowers said she would really like to see at first offense a lower misdemeanor, such as an M4, and a second offense being an M1. She said this would be an important distinction here and would not be that big of a lift to get through before next Council meeting. Spence said administration would not have an objection to this. McGregor said she did not understand why the Council could not just leave it as is and change later if desired. She said this has been this way for a long time. She asked whether a citation had ever been issued for an M1. Jadwin asked for clarification if the M1 was for a second offense. Bowers said she proposed an M4 for the first offense and any subsequent offense could be charged as an M1. She said an M4 still carries potentially 30 days in jail and an M1 carries up to 180 days in jail. Jadwin said the questions she had for amending this was first with the changing of penalties on offenses and then with the proposal of a gradient (something that is a small firework to a commercial grade) would the City want to take a wider expanse. Spence said that he thought the easier is better (changing the M1 to M4 on the first offense and M1 on the subsequent offense). He said the concern is an M1 is usually viewed as an arrestable offense, and the Division would want to give some deference to issuing a citation first and thin escalating it from there. Council Member Schnetzer said that he was on board with Bowers’ proposal and added that it sounded like the Chief was as well. He said that if in practice the City is not throwing the book at violations the first time, that practice should mirror what the Council is passing here. Since it is already open at this point, it seemed logical to Schnetzer to lower the threshold or penalty for the first offense. Council Member McGregor asked whether in an incident with a large caliber of fireworks were used, the police would not be able to charge the individual with a higher offense. Bowers said that if it occurs on the first offense, it would be an M4 but if the police were called back out, they could charge it as a subsequent offense. Spence stated that the individual could be other offenses that could be applicable that would potentially be a companion charge like criminal damaging or endangering. This could be added with City of Gahanna Page 10 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 13, 2022 damage to property or damage or other physical harm. Jadwin thanked Chief Spence for elaborating on this, as she had the same concern. Spence confirmed that in this case, other potential violations would be investigated and likely present. Attorney Mularski asked whether an amendment was being requested. Bowers confirmed that she is requesting that, and that also Mr. Schnetzer, Mr. Weaver, and Ms. Padova also were indicating desire to change the penalty on the first offense to M4 and second offense to M1. Mularski asked whether there was a time between the first and second offense. Bowers suggested any time for any subsequent offense. Bowers deferred to the City Attorney’s office and the Chief for discretion on this. McGregor asked whether it needed to be an amendment or just changed prior to introduction. Bowers said it can just be changed and put on the agenda. Mularski requested to confer with the clerk of council on the changed language. Mr. VanMeter confirmed. Recommendation: Introduction/First Reading/Waiver and Emergency Adoption on Regular Agenda on 6/21/2022. H. ITEMS FROM THE COUNCIL OFFICE: 1. MT-0014-2022 A MOTION TO AMEND THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GAHANNA SECTION 6.30 HEARING OF VISITORS, ESTABLISHING SUBSECTIONS 6.30(a) "IN-PERSON" AND 6.30(b) "VIA VIDEO" Vice President Bowers said she had requested this item be brought back to Committee. The issue was that she believed the City Attorney had some input on revising the rule. Bowers said she had not had a chance to discuss with Attorney Mularski about revisions. She also said she was not sure whether any colleagues had discussion. It was recommended to keep this in Committee pending further review and input from the City Attorney. Mularski said it appeared the Council was attempting to limit the video submission to only things that are on Council’s agenda for that day. Bowers said there had been discussion around this point. She said that if Mularski thought this would help him feel more confident that the Council is positioning itself to have this be a success, that she would be receptive to this. She did not think there was any kind of unanimous decision or general consent on this point. Mularski said when he read the rule in that manner, he thought this was better because it gave Council more control over this type of content. For instance, Mularski said he received information from a tape from Grove City with a citizen rambling about everything that was not on the docket. He said he could foresee this being problematic with an individual currently not allowed on City property but still able to espouse views utilizing Sunshine Law through a format such as video submission. Mularski stressed that he thinks keeping the video specific to what is on the Council docket that this would be fine. If the submission by an individual goes into other topics, it gives the Council more control over the presentation. City of Gahanna Page 11 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 13, 2022 Council Member McGregor said that the communication Council received from Mularski and Assistant City Attorney Matt Roth gave her even more reason to be hesitant to support allowing this format. She stated that this has the potential for great problems and potential abuse. Council Member Angelou said she agreed with McGregor. Vice President Bowers asked if there was a requirement that the submission be related to an agenda item, in addition to being limited to three minutes, and screened for profanity, would this yield any greater comfort on this item. McGregor said someone is going to have to decide on whether this video is ok or not. Someone else will then disagree with that decision. That puts the person in a hard place on whether it is appropriate or not. She said there is all kinds of mischief that could happen, and this did not make a difference to her. Council Member Weaver said he appreciated the City Attorney sharing his concerns. He said he would be good with what was suggested. To the point just made, Weaver said he did not see the difference between somebody making that evaluation, watching a video and the Council President determining that a speaker appearing in front of Council had crossed those lines. If a speaker starts going off the rails, cursing or threatening, the speaking could be ended. McGregor said she thought there was less inhibition in doing a video where they do not have to personally appear in front of other people. Council Member Padova said she saw McGregor’s point. Padova stated she did not see a lot of difference between people being up on the screen and in person and going off the rails. She said it would be much easier to turn the video off then to have somebody yelling down the hallway. In doing a video, she said she thought it would be unlikely for someone to take a video of themselves and upload it without looking back at it and watching it before uploading it. Putting a video together is much different than putting a written comment rattling off on a social media site. One must take the time to do the video, fill out the form, upload it, and steps in place where it would seem unlikely that someone would make a video going off the rails in fury. She said she had no objections to having the video be tied specifically to an agenda item. Padova stated that Council originally went down this road to give people an opportunity to talk to Council if they had something to say and not able to make it in person. If it is not about a specific item or something being voted upon, then they have more time to get to Council. If it is something that is being voted upon that night, the individual wants to be heard and be public, they could then attach a video to an agenda item that can then be played that night. Council Member Schnetzer said everyone was making good points. He thought that if Council wanted to give this a shot and it goes sideways that the plug could be pulled on it. President Renner said he agreed. Bowers proposed making some edits to the proposed rule and send it to Mularski’s office for review and then have it come back to the Committee of the Whole next time for one more review. Bowers said she appreciated everyone’s input City of Gahanna Page 12 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 13, 2022 and concerns. Recommendation: Hold in Committee for June 27, 2022 review of additional edits. 2. RES-0017-2022 A RESOLUTION DESIGNATING JUNE 2022 AS ALZHEIMER'S AWARENESS AND BRAIN HEALTH MONTH Vice President Bowers said this was an item brought to Council last year and that we were continuing this forward to make sure the Council was appropriately addressing the needs and the rising prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in the community. Recommendation: Introduction/First Reading/Adoption on Consent Agenda on 6/21/2022. 3. RES-0018-2022 A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND HONORING JONATHAN COOLEY Council Member Weaver brought this item forward to Committee. He shared that one of Gahanna’s own was part of the coaching staff for the Los Angeles Rams who won the Super Bowl earlier this year. Weaver said Cooley is a Gahanna Lincoln alum and that they were classmates in 2007. Cooley’s family is still in the community, and he will be visiting soon. It is expected that Cooley will be able to attend the Council meeting. Vice President Bowers thanked Weaver for bringing this forward and looked forward to meeting Cooley. Recommendation: Introduction/First Reading/Adoption on Regular Agenda on 6/21/2022. 4. RES-0019-2022 A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING JUNETEENTH, JUNE 19, 2022, IN THE CITY OF GAHANNA Vice President Bowers said Juneteenth has come to the forefront with a lot of attention locally and nationally. She had added this to the proposed resolution list to recognize Juneteenth. She noted that a measure had been passed last year that added Juneteenth to the list of observed paid holidays for the City, which conformed to what Franklin County had done. Bowers noted she circulated a couple edits earlier today and had reviewed the draft with a friend that works in corporate DE&I. She clarified insertions in the first whereas clause that identified “African Americans,” the second whereas clause that added in “Black and African Americans,” and in section 2 of the Resolution inserting “racial and ethnic biases”. Council Member Schnetzer asked where there is not an actual presentation or guest in attendance if there were objections to including these honorary resolutions, such as the Alzheimer’s and Juneteenth resolutions, on the consent agenda. He noted that in some cases, these are becoming regular or routine. He asked whether there was desire for this practice in the absence of some sort of presentation or guest. President Renner said he did not have a problem with this. He said the point of these resolutions is to help recognize and educate for the benefit of Gahanna citizens. Council Member Weaver City of Gahanna Page 13 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 13, 2022 said he did not have any objections with adding to the consent agenda. However, he said he was going to try to reach out to some on the Alzheimer’s resolution but would not know if they could attend by the end of this Committee meeting. He said it still was possible for the Council to move them on the agenda during the meeting. Schnetzer said he did not mean to pick on these three but was offering the practice as more in general to the extent they are recurring and in absence of some ceremony. Bowers said that the Council could put the two resolutions currently without any presentation in mind (Alzheimer’s and Juneteenth) on consent agenda and the Council could always move it off should that be necessary. Council Member McGregor asked with the last whereas clause what was meant by “bending the arc of the moral universe towards justice.” Bowers said it comes from a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr. in one of his speeches. McGregor said she had not heard that. Bowers said the line is in deference to his quote. McGregor asked whether it should be quoted and cited for Martin Luther King, Jr. Bowers said it could be rewritten so that it could be referenced. She offered an idea of how to do that. Weaver said that the line had been paraphrased so that this idea would not be a direct quote. Bowers said that the clerk could revise the wording and circulate offline. Recommendation: Introduction/First Reading/Adoption on Consent Agenda on 6/21/2022. I. ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Jadwin introduced Dan Pearlman, the City’s new Public Information Officer, assisting with technical support tonight. She said he will have completed one week with the City as of Tuesday and that they have thrown him right in to assisting with livestreaming. Council members welcomed Mr. Pearlman to the City’s team. Without any further business, the Chair announced the adjournment of Committee of the Whole at 8:18 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 14