Committee of the Whole

City of Groveport 655 Blacklick St. Groveport, OH 43125 614.830.2052 www.groveport.org Meeting Minutes Monday, July 17, 2017 5:30 PM Council Chambers Committee of the Whole Mayor Lance Westcamp Council Members - Jean Ann Hilbert, Ed Dildine, Shawn Cleary, Becky Hutson, Scott Lockett & Jim Beidler Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes July 17, 2017 I. Call to Order by Committee Chair Dildine at 5:30 p.m. Staff Present: Marsha Hall - Administrator, Jeff Green - Director of Finance, Dennis Moore - Public Works Superintendent, Tom Walker - Director of Golf, Kyle Lund - Recreation Center Director, Tom Byrne - Director of Parks & Facilities Management, Steve Farst - Engineer, Bob Dowler - Director of Transportation, Sue Wadley - Personnel Director, Ralph Portier - Chief of Police Guests Present: The Guest Book is on file with the Clerk of Council. II. Moment of Silence Committee Chair Dildine asked everyone to join him in a moment of silence. III. Pledge of Allegiance Chief Portier led the Pledge of Allegiance. IV. Roll Call Council Member Hutson arrived at 5:40 p.m. Present: 6 - Beidler,Cleary,Dildine,Hilbert,Hutson, and Lockett V. Approval of Minutes - May 15, 2017 Approved as submitted. #461-2017 COTW Minutes 5-15-17 Attachments: COTW Minutes 5-15-17.pdf VI. Business of Guests a. Richard Brown, Ohio House of Representatives Richard Brown, the newly appointed State Representative for the 20th District, came to Groveport tonight to introduce himself to Council. Mr. Brown is an attorney who has lived in Canal Winchester for 22 years with his office located on High Street in Canal Winchester for the last 7 years. He is committed to the 20th District where he and his wife have long ties to this district. His goal is to do what is best for the communities and the district as a whole. He plans to be a presence in City of Groveport Page 1 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes July 17, 2017 Groveport, Canal Winchester, Obetz and all the communities south of I70. He is available to anyone who has questions and/or concerns. Mr. Brown thanked Council for the opportunity to introduce himself. b. Madison Township Fire Chief Bates - Monthly Update Madison Township Fire Chief Bates reported an error on the submitted report will be corrected on next month's report. Numbers for 2012 were not reported, instead 2013 numbers have been reported twice. The new Engine 181 was picked up last week in Appleton, Wisconsin. The engine was on display on Friday and Saturday at the Ohio Fire Chiefs Conference. The Board of Trustees approved moving forward on the construction of Station 183. The department is in the process of finalizing financing the project and the agreements with Turner Construction. The department tentatively looks to have the groundbreaking next week. Groveport Officials will be notified of the date and time. The 4th of July went well, Chief Bates didn't see any real issues. The fireworks were fantastic, the fireworks company and Community Affairs Director, Patty Storts did a wonderful job. He thanked Chief Portier and his department for their assistance. The department had an incident at the metro park off of Lithopolis Road during the flooding. They rescued a couple of people stranded on debris in fast moving water. Council Member Beidler inquired about the department's stats on opiate abuse runs. Are the stats rising or falling within Madison Township? Chief Bates said the department does keep statistics year to year. Recently, the numbers were looked at for the year to date period for inventory purposes and the department was at 39 incidents reported as overdoses, with another 19 incidents reported as unconscious. He can't say how these numbers compare to last year, but it certainly seems the numbers are on the rise. The department seems to be seeing some more serious overdose cases to the extent that it has lead the department to change its medical protocol about six weeks ago. Council Member Hilbert will be working the Franklin County Opiate Crisis Task Force. She will contact Chief Bates with details of a scheduled meeting at the Madison Township Community Center for the first of October. One of the highest problem areas in the County is Blacklick Estates in Madison Township. #462-2017 MTFD Council Report Attachments: MTFD Council Report.pdf VII. New Business None. City of Groveport Page 2 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes July 17, 2017 VIII. Unfinished Business None. IX. Ordinances and Resolutions A. 3rd Readings ORD. 17-027 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING PART FIVE - GENERAL OFFENSES CODE, CHAPTER 521, HEALTH, SAFETY AND SANITATION, SECTION 521.10 - NONSMOKING AREAS IN PLACES OF PUBLIC ASSEMBLY OF THE GROVEPORT CODIFIED ORDINANCES Sponsors: Beidler Attachments: ORD. 17-027 521.10 Smoking Ban attachment.pdf Scott Heimlich addressed Council regarding Ordinance 17-027 by offering some opinions on this ordinance that pertains to the smoking ban. Looking at the amendments to the ordinance, he understands that it is for government buildings only. It is amending what the State law says. There are two (2) government buildings operated by the City of Groveport that are sources of income, the Recreation Center and the golf course. Mr. Heimlich's concern is that with the amendment it directly affects the stream of income at the golf course and the Paddock Pub, being a lessee of the City of Groveport, at the Links at Groveport. He understands the varying opinions on smoking for those who don't smoke and those who enjoy a cigarette or cigar. In certain areas, it is easier to define where the boundaries of smoking and non-smoking areas should be. He has a no smoking ban in place on the patio at his other restaurant. The clientele is very different at Barcelona than the clientele attracted to the golf course and the offerings at the Paddock Pub. Mr. Heimlich expressed concerns about not being included from the start in the conversation to amend the smoking ban ordinance and its impact on the golf course and the Paddock Pub. If he and Director of Golf, Tom Walker had been approached beforehand, there may have been an in-house resolution. His clientele at the Paddock Pub can be defined in two different categories; his golfers and his community diners. Each is very distinct and very different in their needs, wants and desires. He asked if Council would possibly reconsider the amendment or be open to some language changes. Or perhaps if Council would allow Mr. Walker and Mr. Heimlich to come up with some alternative solutions to handling the smoking regulation issues and to satisfy patrons. Mr. Heimlich and Mr. Walker have already talked about ways to handle the smoking issue. Council Member Beidler commented the way he understands City of Groveport Page 3 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes July 17, 2017 this Ordinance the City will be mirroring the Ohio Revised Code. The ORC does not impact patios. Administrator Marsha Hall stated there is a section in the state law that allows a municipality or business owner to make any decision they want in regards to smoking and non-smoking areas. Law Director Kevin Shannon wanted the language written so the City can change areas when deemed necessary and appropriate. After further discussion, Mr. Heimlich and Mr. Walker will bring alternatives back to Council for consideration. No recommendation was made by the Committee of the Whole on this matter. Chair Dildine read by title Ordinance No. 17-027. The Committee of the Whole made no recommendation. B. 2nd Readings ORD. 17-028 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 MAJOR TRAFFIC SIGNAL UPGRADE PROJECT AT HAMILTON ROAD AND FIREHOUSE LANE Sponsors: Cleary Council Member Cleary wants Administration to make sure there is a manual control to the traffic light at this intersection for traffic control during school hours and football games. He wants to be sure the matter is brought up during negotiations. City Engineer, Steve Farst commented that is down the road, the City is now looking to file for the OPWC application. If the City is successful, engineering will start probably after the first of the year. The City will then engage in the process with a professional engineer and traffic engineer by going through all the specifications the City wants to see in the infrastructure. If the application is unsuccessful, the school will still go forward with its plan which includes the crosswalk and sidewalk. Mr. Farst explained this is a complete reconstruction more or less to mimic the style and equipment that is seen at Bixby Road and SR 317 and Main Street and SR 317. Mast arms and luminaires will replace the current span wire. The school's project is not as significant; it entails replacing and adding signal heads, a crosswalk and installing a pedestrian refuge island. This application is a totally different project from the school's original intentions. Ms. Hall added the replacement of the current signal with mast arms has been in the City's Capital Improvement Plan for several years. Mr. Farst felt it would make a good application to OPWC to combine the two projects because it concerns safety and working with another entity. The application City of Groveport Page 4 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes July 17, 2017 includes many elements, such as, the fire station’s sensor at the end of the driveway that trips the traffic signal light, changing the speed limit in the school zone during certain hours, etc. Chair Dildine read by title Ordinance No. 17-028. A motion was made by Council Member Hilbert, seconded by Council Member Beidler, to recommend approval to the City Council. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6- Beidler,Cleary,Dildine,Hilbert,Hutson, and Lockett ORD. 17-029 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 WEST BIXBY ROAD PAVEMENT REHABILITATION (PHASE II) PROJECT Sponsors: Hilbert Chair Dildine read by title Ordinance No. 17-029. A motion was made by Council Member Hilbert, seconded by Council Member Cleary, to recommend approval to the City Council. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6- Beidler,Cleary,Dildine,Hilbert,Hutson, and Lockett RES. 17-004 A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE FIVE YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FUND PLAN Sponsors: Hutson Chair Dildine read by title Resolution No. 17-004. A motion was made by Council Member Hutson, seconded by Council Member Hilbert, to recommend approval to the City Council. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6- Beidler,Cleary,Dildine,Hilbert,Hutson, and Lockett #473-2017 CIP Street Program 2018 Attachments: CIP_StreetProgram_2018_WORKSHEET__VF_7_10_17_TOJuly20 17COW.pdf WORKSHEET_Capital Summary - 2018_VF_7_10_17_TOJuly2017COW.pdf X. Financial Report The Finance Report will be made available to City Council at a later date. XI. Other Business None. City of Groveport Page 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes July 17, 2017 XII. Reports A. Mayor - Lance Westcamp Mayor Lance Westcamp commented in all his years he has never seen the flooding the area experienced last week. He has talked to City staff on the matter and let the department heads report on the flooding. Council Member Hilbert stated the last she remembers it this bad was in 1958. B. Administrator - Marsha Hall Administrator Marsha Hall referred to a list of park plan projects she had provided to Council last year that had not been completed. Council had been asked to check off the parks they wanted to see done. She eliminated the projects no one had checked from the current list. There are 18 projects on the list excluding the playground work that can be done with the $75,000 annual park improvement line item in the budget. Ms. Hall asked Council to rank the top ten projects, one through ten on the list and get that information back to her so she can put together a five-year capital plan for the City parks. There are some grant programs out there that can be applied for and used for many of these projects. Grants can be used for parking lots, restrooms, trails and even tennis courts. Grants would enable the City to work on these park projects a little faster. Ms. Hall will contact the Franklin County Health Department regarding additional spraying for mosquitoes with all the standing water from the flood. C. Director of Law - Kevin Shannon Not present. D. Director of Finance - Jeff Green Director of Finance, Jeff Green reported he spent quite a bit of time taking pictures on Friday to assess the damage caused by the flood water. Today he was out again talking to the Director of Golf, Tom Walker and contacting the City's insurance company. Mr. Green estimates, based on what he sees, the City will be looking at least a couple hundred thousand dollars’ worth of damage. Insurance is a little different when dealing with grounds opposed to structures, like the disaster at Town Hall. He will know what type of claim the City can submit to the insurance company tomorrow. The bulk of the damage City of Groveport Page 6 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes July 17, 2017 has occurred at the golf course. Ms. Hall has asked Parks & Facilities Director, Tom Byrne to check the stability of the stage at Heritage Park. The only parts of the golf course that hadn't flooded was holes numbers 2, 3, 4 and 5, everything else is under water. The drone footage Council Member Cleary sent to Mr. Green showed the extent of the flood waters. There were two golf outings scheduled, the one on Wednesday has rescheduled for August 9th. The outing on Friday had already been resheduled from an earlier rainout so they were going to look into another venue. Mr. Cleary asked if Mr. Walker could record the daily losses the City is accruing from the closure of the golf course. Mr. Green noted the insurance company will be looking for documentable loss. E. Chief of Police - Ralph Portier Nothing further to report. #463-2017 PD Council Report Attachments: PD Council Report.pdf F. Public Works Superintendent - Dennis Moore Public Works Superintendent, Dennis Moore, reported the City's storm water infrastructure did fine during the rain. Crews closed Bixby Road west of SR 317 and other streets were coned temporarily until the surface water receded. Canal Street is an area which drains through a small 6" pipe over to Degenhart Park. The water came up but it was passable, so crews started marking some streets with cones that they were able to pull off towards the afternoon. The City survived rather well over all considering there was 5" of rain for the week. #464-2017 PW Council Report Attachments: PW Council Report.pdf G. Chief Building Official - Stephen Moore Not present. #465-2017 B&Z Council Report Attachments: B&Z Council Report.pdf H. Director of Golf - Tom Walker City of Groveport Page 7 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes July 17, 2017 Director of Golf, Tom Walker, gave an overview of where repairs were needed. The suspension bridge on Hole 7 sustained quite a bit of damage. Mr. Walker met with Ed Shaw who evaluated the bridge to see want needed to be done to repair it. City Engineer Steve Farst identified on the north end of the bridge, the abutment has eroded away, and a bank stabilization will need to be done. The bank needs to be stabilized because if there is another major flood event that abutment could fail. The golf course can't operate without the bridge. In the past, patrons were rerouted between holes 9 and 11 but this area sustained major damage as well. There is a 3' deep blowout that staff has attempted to build back up but the moisture in the ground is hampering their efforts. The greens handle the water fairly well for the most part and were needle tined today to open them up. Hole 7 is the only green staff is concerned about and will monitor. The fairway is a completely different issue. A company is coming in this week to aerify the greens to open it up and start to over seed with rye grass opposed to bent grass or blue grass which germinate within 3 to 4 days. The goal is to recover in a week to two weeks to get the brown out and the green back. Unfortunately, four of the bunkers the City has just rebuilt are trashed. The contractor will need to be brought back in to dig them out. The drainage on bunker 9 is completely ruined. There is a lot of work to be done and after talking to Ms. Hall the golf course will remain closed to give the maintenance crew an opportunity to work unimpeded to get the cleanup done. The contractor will be in early next week to fix the bridge, and at that point the course should be able to re-open. Mr. Green will be talking to the insurance company about putting in a different type of bridge. Holes 7 and 8 are still holding a significant amount of water. Yesterday, crews were able to get on the back nine to get the tractor pump and trash pumps in place. The course is going to lose turf. His good superintendent and maintenance crew will get it back, it is just a matter of getting to that point. Crews need to get the ground where it will grow grass; if the ground is saturated nothing will grow. The Paddock Pub was able to re-open on Saturday. A company had been contacted to clean up the parking lot. #466-2017 GOLF Council Report Attachments: GOLF Council Report.pdf I. Recreation Director - Kyle Lund Groveport Park did experience flooding, the water receded sooner than at the golf course. The Recreation Center is still recovering from the power outage from a few weeks back. The roof of the Recreation Center held up fine. The second phase of the project starts August 11, 2017 which will include removing all the paint from the interior roof decking and recoating the roof deck. This phase will take about three City of Groveport Page 8 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes July 17, 2017 weeks to complete. #467-2017 RC Council Report Attachments: RC Council Report.pdf J. Community Affairs Director - Patty Storts Not present. #468-2017 CA Council Report Attachments: CA Council Report.pdf K. Director of Parks & Facilities Management - Tom Byrne Director of Parks & Facilities Management, Tom Byrne, reported from a facility standpoint the City did pretty well during the storms. There were a few leaks, one at the golf course and a couple at the recreation center. There was no flooding in any of the facilities. As to the parks, diamonds 1, 2, 3 and 4 are going to need some work. A lot of landscaping flowers were lost. Town Hall, being one of the City's oldest facilities, held up well. There were no reports of leaks in the roof and/or around the windows and no water flooded the basement. #469-2017 P&FM Council Report Attachments: P&FM Council Report.pdf Energy Report.pdf L. City Engineer - Steve Farst City Engineer, Steve Farst was on vacation during all the rain storms but he did get out today to get a sense of how flooding affected construction. Construction and flood waters can be a bad combination. Sites have pipes that are partially constructed and there is sediment fence designed to keep sediment out, which prevents water from getting into the drains. After Mr. Farst talked to inspectors out in the field, the sites seemed to handle the water well as it receded. On West Bixby Road, a company has come in and started grinding up the pavement. An asphalt emulsion will be applied to start rebuilding the pavement. The Bixby Road project is on track with completing the pavement by the end of July, getting the road re-opened for Pelotonia to continue on the route as planned. Mr. Farst has a progress meeting on the Hendron Road project. Today the first course of asphalt was being laid down on the north side of the road. City of Groveport Page 9 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes July 17, 2017 The ODOT project has installed the solar powered RFB by the Log House. One has also been installed on one side of Main Street at the east driveway of the Middle School, some trees will need to be cut back to make the RFB visible. Another one is on Bixby Road. These signals help with pedestrian safety. #470-2017 Engineers Council Report Attachments: Engineers Council Report.pdf M. Director of Transportation - Bob Dowler Nothing further to report. Council Member Cleary commented Mr. Dowler does a great job. #471-2017 Transportation Council Report Attachments: Transportation Council Report.pdf N. Personnel Director - Sue Wadley Nothing further to report. #472-2017 HR Council Report Attachments: HR Council Report.pdf O. Clerk of Council - Ruthanne Sargus Ross Not present. P. Council Members - Jean Ann Hilbert, Ed Dildine, Shawn Cleary, Becky Hutson, Scott Lockett and Jim Beidler Council Member Hutson attended the opening for the new center (The Recovery Village Columbus), it is a very nice facility with 80 beds. The center is not in the City corporation limits but it is great to have it in the community for those who need the care they provide. Council Member Beidler commented the pickleball lines turned out great. Council Member Hilbert noted the traffic control sign located on the south side of Main Street is completely covered by tree limbs. The sign is before the 35 mph speed limit sign and you cannot see the sign display. Council Member Cleary inquired if the City has a list of valid solicitor permits on the City's website or is it word of mouth only? Chief Portier City of Groveport Page 10 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes July 17, 2017 stated generally it is just by word of mouth. The police department will add a list of approved business solicitor permits on their website page. Groveport neighborhoods can always call if they have any questions and/or concerns. There were concerns regarding an ice cream truck soliciting in Canal Winchester, but Chief Portier assured Council Groveport has one ice cream truck soliciting who has been coming here for the last six or seven years. The department has never received a complaint on the gentleman. He pays his fees and goes through a background check with every permit application. Groveport's ice cream solicitor is not the same one reported in Canal Winchester. Officers are provided a list with valid permits. Council Member Dildine reported Council received notice from the Village of Obetz wanting information regarding utility services. Administration has already taken care of this matter. Council Member Cleary thanked everyone for their support during this rough week of flooding in Groveport. XIII. Adjournment Council Member Hutson made a motion, seconded by Council Member Beidler, to adjourn at 6:45 p.m. All in favor stated AYE, None Opposed. Motion passed. __________________________________________ Edward G. Dildine, President Pro-Tem __________________________________________ Ruthanne Sargus Ross, 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 11