City Council

City of Groveport 655 Blacklick St. Groveport, OH 43125 614.830.2052 www.groveport.org . Meeting Minutes Monday, May 8, 2023 6:30 PM Council Chambers City Council Mayor Lance Westcamp Council Members - Jean Ann Hilbert, Ed Dildine, Shawn Cleary, Becky Hutson, Scott Lockett & Jack Rupp City Council Meeting Minutes May 8, 2023 I. Call to Order Mayor Lance Westcamp called the City Council meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Staff Present: BJ King - Administrator, Kevin Shannon - Law Director, Jason Carr - Director of Finance, Casey Adams - Chief of Police, Jeff Green - Development Director, Mindy Kay - Assistant Clerk of Council Guests Present: The Guest Book is on file with the Clerk of Council. II. Moment of Silence The Mayor asked everyone to join him in a moment of silence. III. Pledge of Allegiance Chief Adams led the Pledge of Allegiance. IV. Roll Call Present: 6 - Shawn M. Cleary, Edward Dildine, Jean Ann Hilbert, Becky Hutson, Scott Lockett, and Jack Rupp V. Approval of Minutes The April 24, 2023 City Council Minutes stand approved as submitted. #091-2023 City Council Meeting Minutes April 24, 2023 Attachments: 2023.04.24 City Council Meeting Minutes.pdf VI. Proclamations Mayor Westcamp read the National Police Week Proclamation and presented it to Chief Adams. A. National Police Week Proclamation #092-2023 2023 National Police Week Proclamation Attachments: 2023 National Police Week Proclamation.pdf VII. Business of Guests A. David Paul Hudson City of Groveport Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes May 8, 2023 Mr. Hudson greeted Council and stated he had two items of business he’d like to discuss; the first being a speed bump on Delane Rd in the Hanstein Place subdivision. He stated that it is a very busy road and he and several neighboring families have children who play on and near the road. He informed Council that many of the drivers are unsafe. He said he has had instances where his kids were not in the street but were near it and the drivers did not engage in any evasive maneuvers or account for the fact that there were children there and that children can be unpredictable. He said he’s seen drivers be very dangerous and reckless and went on to say that the community had implemented a radar sign that shows a driver’s speed last summer but it changed nothing. We could station a police officer there but they would only catch speeders a fraction of the time and would take time away from the officer’s other responsibilities. He added that a speed bump would be there all the time and would force people to actually have to slow down. He asked on behalf of himself and the other parents in the neighborhood if Council would consider putting in a speed bump. Mr. Hudson's second point of discussion is in regards to Blacklick Park. He said he and his family enjoy the tall trees and the pavilion there and are excited to hear that the park will be getting new playground equipment. He expressed to Council how the rear entrance from Hanstein place could use some TLC. He said it would be more welcoming if there was a sign stating there is a City park there. Currently the state of the entrance and adjacent property turns people away. He suggested some shrubs, a fence or a sign would go a long way and would also make the neighborhood more attractive for potential homebuyers. Mayor Westcamp asked him if he presumes that the speeders are residents, because there’s only one way in and one way out of that neighborhood. Council Member Dildine stated that they are probably from the apartments behind the neighborhood because they don’t have a whole lot of houses there. Mr. Hudson said that he thinks it is a mix of residents and people who live in the apartments but still likes the idea of a speed bump because it slows down all drivers including any delivery drivers. Mayor Westcamp agreed and asked Police Chief Adams if we have any speed bumps in town. Chief Adams answered no, then said he knows that neighborhood very well and has been told by several people that a lot of the traffic is coming in and out of the apartments. The Mayor inquired if there are any "Slow Children" signs. Chief Adams said there are not, but the new 25mph signs went up within the last year. he confirmed the Police Department had put the speed trailer back in that neighborhood. Mayor Westcamp told Mr. Hudson that Council would look into his speed bump proposal. Council Member Hilbert said the only thing about speed bumps is they cause issues with snow removal, but we definitely need to do something for that City of Groveport Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes May 8, 2023 neighborhood. Chief Adams confirmed with Mr. Hudson as to the location of the access to Blacklick Park that he had previously referred to. The entrance at the end of Crescent, where Crescent and Seymour join. Chief Adams added that it is a path with a bridge along a tree line. Mr. Dildine stated that it depends who owns it. If it’s on the City’s right-of-way then we would be able to do something there but not if it is someone’s private property. Administrator BJ King said he would find out who owns that piece of land. VIII. Ordinances and Resolutions A. 3rd Readings B. 2nd Readings Ord. 2023-015 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 2022-036 ESTABLISHING THE CITY OF GROVEPORT’S POLICE DEPARTMENT STRENGTH OF STAFF. Sponsors: Rupp This Ordinance was read by title Ord. 2023-016 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING PART FIFTEEN - FIRE PREVENTION CODE OF THE CITY OF GROVEPORT CODIFIED ORDINANCES, CHAPTER 1519, FIREWORKS Sponsors: Lockett Attachments: Ord. 2023-016 Exhibit A Amended.pdf This Ordinance was read by title Ord. 2023-018 AN ORDINANCE CREATING THE POSITION OF PART-TIME ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT AT THE SENIOR CENTER, ACCEPTING THE POSITION DESCRIPTION AND PAY GRADE. Sponsors: Hilbert Attachments: Ord. 2023-018 Exhibit A.pdf This Ordinance was read by title C. 1st Readings Ord. 2023-019 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE ADMINISTRATOR TO City of Groveport Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes May 8, 2023 ENTER INTO A LICENSING AGREEMENT WITH THE GROVEPORT HERITAGE AND PRESERVATION SOCIETY (GHPS) Sponsors: Cleary This Ordinance was referred to the Committee of the Whole Res. 2023-003 A RESOLUTION REGARDING THE NATURE OF SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED TO 1.94 ACRES, MORE OR LESS, PARCEL NUMBER 180-000921, LOCATED IN MADISON TOWNSHIP UPON ANNEXATION OF SAID TRACT TO THE CITY OF GROVEPORT (DAVID H. ARLINGTON AND DAWN A. ARLINGTON PETITIONERS) Sponsors: Hutson A motion was made by Council Member Hutson, seconded by Council Member Cleary, to adopt. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6- Cleary, Dildine, Hilbert, Hutson, Lockett and Rupp IX. Reports A. Mayor - Lance Westcamp Mayor Westcamp stated that after hearing discussions he thinks it is time to bring back the car show. He asked Council Member Dildine if the Trees and Decorations Committee would be able to plan it with the staff at Town Hall. Mr. Dildine said that could be possible. Mayor Westcamp said that he and Administrator King had been talking about having the car show on the fourth of July or in September when the weather is cooler. Mr. Dildine said that in the next couple weeks we could get a hold of some of the car clubs and see when some of their dates are. We don’t want to conflict with an event that is already in place. The Mayor and Council discussed closing Main Street and having the event on a Sunday afternoon as to not conflict with Saturday football games. B. Administrator - BJ King Administrator King updated Council on the completion of painting at the Aquatic Center. He said the pool will be getting filled on Saturday. he added that here is a lot of interest in Lifeguard positions, memberships are selling and it’s looking like it will be a great summer. Council member Dildine asked if we could get information about swim lessons on the website. Mr. King assured him that would be done soon. #094-2023 Admin Report to Council City of Groveport Page 4 City Council Meeting Minutes May 8, 2023 Attachments: Admin Report to Council.pdf C. Chief of Police - Casey Adams Chief Adams expressed his appreciation to the Mayor and Council for the National Police Week Proclamation, especially in light of current events. He informed Council of the City-wide Officer in Trouble calls that took place in Columbus for two weekends in a row. A female deputy was shot and killed in Wisconsin in the process of stopping an OVI driver. A young man died in New Jersey two months after being shot in the leg and another young lady was shot in Chicago on her way home this weekend. She had just graduated with her masters in Criminology and had been on the Chicago PD for three years. Chief Adams then said that on a more positive note, patrolman Ernie Bell is being recognized next Tuesday night at the Columbus Clippers Game along with Chief Bryant from Columbus PD, Officer Cortez from Newark PD, Officer Long from Hilliard PD, and Deputy McMahen from Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. They are being recognized for all their years of dedication and service to our communities. Light up Ohio Blue will be on Wednesday night. He then reminded Council that Ebright road will be closing north of Bixby Road for the next three weeks. With traffic being rerouted, we may need to rely on Madison Township for assistance with any potential calls. The road is closed due to the bridge being replaced. D. Director of Finance - Jason Carr Finance Director Carr informed Council that the City has a purchasing and financial policy that we use to entrust some of our financial and operational items. I recently made thirteen changes to the policy based on Ordinance section 126.05B. Administrator King reviewed and approved these changes. Two are of significance for Council. The first change is based on some issues in the City of Hilliard regarding the theft they’ve had with payments. Mr. Carr stated that he has gone into more detail in regards to the procedures that the City of Groveport is going to follow. We used to transfer payments to vendors from bank to bank. We are now requiring a member of the Finance Department to call the vendors directly for verification on payments. The second is a budgeting change. In the past if we had more money than what we had budgeted we call that contingency. Now we are changing that to say that every year we are going to carry over at least twenty five percent of our fund balance, or three months of operating expenditures. Meaning that for this year, if we would have followed this process we would have carried over two million dollars. This year for the 2023 budget we carried over 4.6 million dollars. However, by doing this we will continue to add to the fund balance and City of Groveport Page 5 City Council Meeting Minutes May 8, 2023 basically build up that carry-over. E. Director of Law - Kevin Shannon F. Development Director - Jeff Green G. Council Members - Jean Ann Hilbert, Ed Dildine, Shawn Cleary, Becky Hutson, Scott Lockett and Jack Rupp Council Member Lockett stated that mosquitos are going to be out pretty soon, and that we haven’t had too many citizen complaints over the past couple of years because we do such a good job with spraying. Administrator King said we have already purchased materials and will let Council know when the City is ready to start spraying. He added that he likes how we’ve brought spraying back in house and have more control over the operation. Council Member Cleary asked Rick Palsgrove, Managing Editor of the Southeast messenger, if he would put an article in about the road closure on Ebright. Mayor Westcamp stated that it’s going to affect a lot of residents, to which Mr. Cleary agreed and said it will definitely be an adjustment for everyone the first few days of the closure. He then informed everyone that it is scheduled to be done before June 4th. H. Clerk of Council - Ruthanne Sargus Ross I. Standing Committees Council member Dildine informed Council that prior to tonight’s meeting the Trees and Decorations Committee met. He said that at that meeting they discussed an email that Mr. Hudson had sent to him inquiring whether trees could be planted in front of the playground at Groveport Elementary School. Mr. Hudson expressed how it would create a nice barrier between the playground and the road. Mr. Dildine had informed Mr. Hudson that the City does not usually plant trees on property that does not belong to it, but thought that an agreement could be made to come up with a grant program. Another point of concern on Mr. Hudson’s letter was in regards to the entrance to Groveport from US 33 East. As you turn right onto S. Hamilton Rd there is a grassy strip that is nondescript and empty. Mr. Hudson expressed how he thinks some flowering trees would make the entrance into Groveport much more inviting. Mr. Dildine then said that with it being a state route, we are limited as to what we can and cannot do and depending on exactly where that median is, it may not even be in the City of Groveport. Lastly, Mr. City of Groveport Page 6 City Council Meeting Minutes May 8, 2023 Hudson had asked about signage in his letter. Mr. Dildine said that we are working on signage throughout the City, noting and highlighting where things are. He informed Mr. Hudson that the Heritage Society is currently working on a signage project. Development Director Jeff Green inquired if we budgeted for signing this year, to which Administrator King said yes. Mr. Dildine added that he’s not sure how many signs would be in the budget but we are definitely working on directional signage to get people to the Recreation and Aquatic Center and other various places throughout the City. He then went on to explain how the Trees and Decorations Committee had discussed the appearance of entrances to different neighborhoods. He said that typically the HOA of the Community handles it. Specifically, signage in front of The Orchard community was brought up by Committee Member Dawn Bellamy. Administrator King was present at the Committee meeting and said before we move forward with it he will find out what the original Development Agreement says, who’s property it is on, who is responsible for replacing the old sign and what our legal responsibilities are if the company is no longer in business. Mr. Dildine then informed Council about another letter that was sent to Trees and Decorations inquiring the placement of flags at certain intersections and entrances to neighborhoods. It was asked if we could place more flags at every intersection and neighborhood. Mr. Dildine expressed how costly this would be, especially because of the number of intersections we have and the fact that we replace each flag every year. He then went on to say that the Trees and Decorations Committee discussed the Arbor Day festivities and Tree City USA Banquet. He said we collected $3,300 from the Tree City participants and were under budget with the event costs. The event went so well we had a spike in tee times at the Golf Course and other municipalities have been reaching out to our Community Affairs Department for help and guidance in planning their own events. Council Member Cleary spoke about the discussions of last week’s Cemetery Committee meeting. Firstly, the Rules and Regulations are being updated and will be brought to Council. He then said that following the recent traffic accident at the cemetery, we have ordered replacement headstones. The question came up of what to do with the fragmentations of the damaged headstones. The Cemetery Committee decided to bury them in order to keep the original history there. The Committee felt the proper and most honorable thing to do would be to bury them and place a marker. X. Other Business City of Groveport Page 7 City Council Meeting Minutes May 8, 2023 XI. Adjournment Council Member Cleary made a motion, seconded by Council Member Hilbert to adjourn at 7: 06 p.m. All in favor stated AYE, None Opposed. Motion passed. __________________________________________ Lance Westcamp, Mayor __________________________________________ Mindy Kay Acting Clerk of Council PLEASE NOTE: THESE MINUTES ARE NOT VERBATIM. A RECORDING OF THE MEETING IS AVAILABLE IN THE CLERK'S OFFICE DURING REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS. City of Groveport Page 8