City Council

City of Groveport 655 Blacklick St. Groveport, OH 43125 614.830.2052 www.groveport.org . Meeting Minutes Monday, August 14, 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 August 14, 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, Mindy Kay - 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 Local Boy Scout troop 71 led the Pledge of Allegiance. IV. Roll Call Absent: 2 - Edward Dildine, and Jack Rupp Present: 4 - Shawn M. Cleary, Jean Ann Hilbert, Becky Hutson, and Scott Lockett A motion was made by Council Member Hilbert, seconded by Council Member Cleary, to excuse Council Member Rupp and Council Member Dildine from tonight's meeting. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4- Cleary, Hilbert, Hutson and Lockett V. Approval of Minutes #166-2023 July 10, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes Attachments: 2023.07.10 City Council Meeting Minutes.pdf The July 10, 2023 City Council Minutes stand approved as submitted. City of Groveport Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes August 14, 2023 #167-2023 July 24, 2023 City Council Meeting Minutes Attachments: 2023.07.24 City Council Meeting Minutes.pdf The July 24, 2023 City Council Minutes stand approved as submitted. VI. Business of Guests A Joellen Stebelton Joellen Stebelton addressed Council in regards to the intersection at Main Street and Wirt Road. She asked if there is anything in the Ohio Revised Code that requires a traffic light at the Main Street and Front Street intersection. Law Director Kevin Shannon said typically you cannot put a traffic control device at an intersection unless a traffic study has been completed and there is a warrant that basically says that traffic is warranted based upon the traffic flow on that particular thoroughfare in the City. He said we’d have to go back and see if a traffic study was done when that light was put in but he assumes that there was one. Mrs. Stebelton then asked if the light could potentially be removed. Mr. Shannon stated that a traffic study would have to be done and a traffic engineer could use the data to make that conclusion, which could then be brought before Council to consider. Mrs. Stebelton then said she has seen a serious uptick in the number of cars that fly by her house in their attempt to beat the light. Many drivers totally ignore the no right turn on red that’s posted, mostly turning from Front to Main but some from Main to Front. There have been several near misses in the crosswalk due to speeding southbound on Front Street or inattention of the driver. She said that she was almost hit by an inattentive driver as she was legally using the crosswalk at the end of June. Another incident occurred on the Fourth of July when a family of three was almost hit. She said they would have been hit for sure if the father had not yelled at the driver. The family did have the right-of-way. Mrs. Stebelton then proposed for consideration that the light at Main and Front be eliminated and replaced with a stop sign only on Front. A traffic light can then be placed at the intersection of Main Street and Wirt Road. A crosswalk can be placed stretching from the north side of Main to the east side of Wirt. School students on the north side of Main could then walk to that crosswalk to get to school instead of having to cross both the Front Street intersections and again at Wirt. Students who already cross on the south side of Wirt would continue to do so as usual but with the safety of being able to cross at a traffic light. She said she realizes this could increase traffic at the light on Main and College, but is not sure that Front Street should be used as the through street that it seems to have become. She added that she does City of Groveport Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes August 14, 2023 think it will solve some safety issues at the intersection of Main and Wirt. Administrator King said he would review her plans with the City Engineer. B Darin Gearheart Darin Gearheart introduced himself as the Senior Patrol Leader for Boy Scout Troop 71. He said he is a Life Scout working on his Eagle Project and is looking for support from the City Council to finish this project. He informed Council that his Eagle Project is to erect a new sign for the Groveport Police Department. The purpose of this project is to add a visible sign to help identify the location of the Police Department since it is hidden behind the warehouses. The only sign showing the location of the Police Department is a small sign on Green Pointe Drive. He said he believes this project will help citizens to better locate the Police Department in case of an emergency or any other need. If anyone is new in town, this sign will help them locate the building as well. He then passed some visual aides to Council. He explained that the first document is an image of a sign that off of which he is basing his idea. It will have nine-foot posts, two feet in the ground, seven feet tall. The foundation will have a concrete border and a flower bed, which will have plants year-round. He is hoping our Horticulture Department will be willing to maintain it. The main part of the sign will have Groveport PD’s flag. On the bottom of the sign will be either the non-emergency number or the address. He then spoke about the Franklin County Auditor’s view of the grid where we could put the sign. It is thirty-two feet from the property line to the Department. He’s hoping the sign can be placed at the center, roughly sixteen feet from the Department and sixteen feet from the property line. He presented the last page which shows views from the Police Department toward Groveport Road, views from the left and right side of the building, as well as street views from Groveport Road toward the Police Department. He concluded by saying he believes the sign would be beneficial for the residents of Groveport and its visitors. Council Member Hilbert asked what kind of support he is seeking from Council. He said he is seeking help from the Zoning Department for any tools or documents that he might need, as well as help from the horticulture department for maintaining year-round plants. Mrs. Hilbert then asked how he proposes to pay for the sign. He said he is currently looking into fundraisers and is currently creating a budget for everything. Council Member Cleary asked if he’s going to put in just one sign, to which Mr. Gearheart said yes. Mrs. Hilbert stated there is one down the street. Mr. Cleary said he’s just wondering if they would match. He also stated he noticed the need for electric in the lighting and suggested a solar option. He said running electric could be very costly. Mayor Westcamp asked Administrator King about the right-of way. Mr. King said we would have to make sure there is enough room in the right-of-way to place the sign and that the City would certainly work with Mr. Gearheart once he has a more City of Groveport Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes August 14, 2023 definitive plan established. The Engineering and Building departments can help guide him on what needs to be done. Mrs. Hilbert asked what he thinks the project would cost. Mr. Gearheart stated his ballpark estimate would be about $4,000. Mrs. Hilbert said she looks forward to seeing the rest of his plans as he moves forward. Council agreed that the sign is a great idea. Chief Adams said he was talking to Public Service Director Strayer about some of the current signs needing updated or replaced because some of the posts are pretty beat up and definitely need painting. He said they had talked about painting the signs to match the new striping on the cruisers so Mr. Gearheart’s design would actually accomplish that. Mr. Cleary inquired about the time frame he’s proposing. Mr. Gearheart replied he is planning on September and October. Mayor Westcamp told him to meet with the Building Department as soon as possible. Mr. King said to contact him or come in tomorrow. Our City Engineer is well versed in Eagle Scout projects. #183-2023 2023.08.24 Darin Gearheart PD Sign Proposal Attachments: 2023.08.24 Darin Gearheart PD Sign Proposal.pdf VII. Ordinances and Resolutions A. 3rd Readings Ord. 2023-028 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 2023-015 ESTABLISHING THE CITY OF GROVEPORT’S POLICE DEPARTMENT STRENGTH OF STAFF. Sponsors: Hutson A motion was made by Council Member Hutson, seconded by Council Member Hilbert, to adopt. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4- Cleary, Hilbert, Hutson and Lockett Ord. 2023-029 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR TO PREPARE AND SUBMIT AN APPLICATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE OHIO PUBLIC WORKS COMMISSION STATE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT AND/OR LOCAL TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM(S) AND TO EXECUTE CONTRACTS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE PORT ROAD RECONSTRUCTION (PHASE II) PROJECT Sponsors: Lockett A motion was made by Council Member Lockett, seconded by Council Member Cleary, to adopt. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4- Cleary, Hilbert, Hutson and Lockett City of Groveport Page 4 City Council Meeting Minutes August 14, 2023 B. 2nd Readings Ord. 2023-032 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE ADMINISTRATOR TO SOLICIT BIDS FOR THE PURCHASE AND/OR LEASE OF GOLF CARTS AND TO FURTHER ENTER INTO ANY AGREEMENT NECESSARY TO FACILITATE SAID PURCHASE AND/OR LEASE Sponsors: Rupp This Ordinance was read by title C. 1st Readings Ord. 2023-033 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING PART ONE - ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, TITLE FIVE- ADMINISTRATIVE, CHAPTER 137 -BOARD OF CEMETERY TRUSTEES, SECTION 137.02 - RULES AND REGULATIONS AND SECTION 137.03 POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Sponsors: Cleary Attachments: Exhibit A Chapter 137.pdf This Ordinance was referred to the Committee of the Whole Ord. 2023-034 AN ORDINANCE ACCEPTING THE ANNEXATION OF 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: Dildine Attachments: Exhibit A.pdf This Ordinance was referred to the Committee of the Whole VIII. Reports A. Mayor - Lance Westcamp Mayor Westcamp wanted to publicly thank April Bright and her committee for organizing the 100th Anniversary of Groveport Elementary. He then thanked Mrs. Hilbert for speaking and the Golf Course for providing two golf carts to get people in there. He said it was a great event, especially for those who went to that school. It means an awful lot City of Groveport Page 5 City Council Meeting Minutes August 14, 2023 to us. B. Administrator - BJ King Administrator King reported that the budget process has started for 2024. He said he’ll be contacting each Council Member to talk about any priorities they may have and that he is looking forward to the budget process, as it helps set the course for the coming year. He then said we had another successful three months of our First Thursday event. We continue to do very well with our community events. C. Chief of Police - Casey Adams Chief Adams stated that on Friday, he and Lieutenant Short were at Groveport High School. They were doing some dry runs with the new security protocols with the machines. They reported that the day before they had run a couple hundred people through the machine in about 6 minutes. They’re going to have four entrances and five security guards plus an officer at each entrance. We will see how that goes as school starts Wednesday. He also spoke with the Street Department and they’ve got the school zone signs programmed and ready to go. He reported that Pelotonia came through very easily and there are no injuries to report with the bike riders. He added that our HR team has started scheduling oral boards for our new hires starting next Monday. Hopefully we get through those pretty quickly. D. Director of Finance - Jason Carr Finance Director Carr informed Council that attached to his Finance Report is a report that is put out by the Ohio Auditor of State based off the results of the 2022 Audit. The 2022 Health Indicator’s Report includes seventeen total ratios of analysis that are formed based on our audit financial statements. We had sixteen positive outlooks and one cautionary. The one cautionary outlook deals with our fixed assets, capital assets, our assets combined and how much depreciation we have between them. The intent of this is to provide a heads up that we may need to look into this. It’s nothing specific to a certain class of asset, like a vehicle or anything like that. It’s just looking at it from a bigger picture. He said we had the same result as last year and opened the floor for questions. He concluded that since our 2022 audit is complete, there will be a Post-Audit meeting at 5:00 next Monday. The auditors will present the audit and the Mayor and Council will have the opportunity to ask questions there as well. #168-2023 Finance Director Report City of Groveport Page 6 City Council Meeting Minutes August 14, 2023 Attachments: Finance Director Report.pdf 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 Cleary stated that he will not be here next Monday but wanted to say he has talked to Director of Golf Tom Walker and is in support of the golf cart ordinance. He said in regards to the Cemetery rules ordinance, if anyone has any questions they can ask him or refer to Mr. King, who was also present at the Cemetery Committee meeting. He informed Council that the final count for Pelotonia was 13,286 riders. He suggested that we need a sign welcoming them to Groveport on the corner by Cruiser park as they enter town. It’s a great way to promote Groveport. He went on to say he is glad that Chief Adams reported the school lights are up and running. He added that after a couple weeks when things settle down, we should get a head count on walkers. Council Member Hilbert stated that we need to make sure the school walkers are protected. They’re walking over at Glendenning as well. Mr. Cleary asked if Madison-Christian has a lot of walkers along the path on Bixby Road. Chief Adams said it is usually vehicle traffic there. H. Clerk of Council - Mindy Kay I. Standing Committees Mr. Cleary reported that on September 9th from 10:00-12:00 the Hendren cemetery will be open to the public. It drew a lot of people in years past and it’ll be nice to showcase our new fence there. He said he has not decided on an open house at Groveport Cemetery, yet we may try to get something in maybe at the last minute. He concluded by saying he will get with Chief Adams about plans to safely guide people in and out of the cemetery, as the entrance is dangerous and hard to find. IX. Other Business City of Groveport Page 7 City Council Meeting Minutes August 14, 2023 X. Adjournment Council Member Cleary made a motion, seconded by Council Member Hilbert to adjourn at 6:58 p.m. All in favor stated AYE, None Opposed. Motion passed. __________________________________________ Lance Westcamp, Mayor __________________________________________ Mindy Kay 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