Committee of the Whole

City of Groveport 655 Blacklick St. Groveport, OH 43125 614.830.2052 www.groveport.org . Meeting Minutes Monday, May 17, 2021 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 & Chad Grashel Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes May 17, 2021 I. Call to Order by Committee Chair Hilbert at 5:30 p.m. Staff Present: BJ King - Administrator, Kevin Shannon - Law Director, Jason Carr - Director of Finance, Jeff Green - Development Director, Casey Adams - Chief of Police, Ruthanne Sargus Ross - Clerk of Council Staff Not present due to technical difficulties with Zoom application : Public Service Director - Brian Strayer , Stephen Moore - Chief Building Official, Tom Walker - Director of Golf, Kyle Lund - Recreation Center Director, Patty Storts - Community Affairs Director, Tom Byrne - Director of Parks & Facilities Management, Steve Farst - City Engineer, Bob Dowler - Director of Transportation, Sue Wadley - Personnel Director Guests Present: The Guest Book is on file with the Clerk of Council. II. Moment of Silence Committee Chair Hilbert asked everyone to join her in a moment of silence. III. Pledge of Allegiance Council Member Becky Hutson led the Pledge of Allegiance. IV. Roll Call Council Member Dildine arrived at 5:33 p.m. Present: 6 - Cleary,Dildine,Grashel,Hilbert,Hutson, and Lockett V. Approval of Minutes - April 19, 2021 The April 19, 2021 Committee of the Whole Minutes stand approved as submitted. #124-2021 COTW Minutes 4.19.2021 Attachments: COTW Minutes 4.19.2021.pdf VI. Business of Guests A. Carole McGonigal - Groveport Elementary Student Council Advisor City of Groveport Page 1 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes May 17, 2021 Carole McGonigal Groveport Elementary Student Council Advisor introduced herself, Stephanie Escue and her students. She handed the microphone over to the Groveport Elementary Student Council to address Council on the restoration updates and funding request of the historic fountain in front Groveport Elementary. Cheyenne Parrott: “We are the 20-21 Groveport Elementary Student Council Members. We would like to thank you for taking the time at this meeting to listen to our ideas and progress on our project of restoring the historic fountain in front of our school.” Kannen Eggars: “We began this project last year but COVID got in the way of our efforts. We decided to continue our work on this project this year with hopes that the fountain will be operational by the beginning of the next school year.” Estell Hale: “Like John Rarey and his horse Cruiser, the fountain is an icon for our school and the Groveport community. Unfortunately the fountain has not worked for several years. It is sad that the fountain cannot be enjoyed as in years past.” Addyson Hale: “The fountain was donated from the first 4 graduating classes of Groveport School which were the classes of 1925-26-27 and 28. It was built in 1929 and has stood for 92 years working on and off. Sydney Westcamp: “Here are some of the things that we have done to prepare for the repairs/restoration of this landmark. 1. We have completed several school wide fundraisers, raising approximately $1,300. 2. As a result of the article in the Southeast messenger there is now a community committee working to help raise additional funds. Savannah Westcamp: 3. A mason has been contacted to give estimates for repairs. 4. Poseidon Pools has also been contacted to give estimates for repairs. 5. We have a plan in place to clean and complete a dry run of the fountain. Oscar Viton: “We would like you to help us fix the fountain with a monetary donation and help us get the word out about the project. We need support with keeping the fountain cleared and flowing.” Olivia Hart: “If we raise money that surpasses our needs for the restoration and repairs we plan to use the additional money for beautifying the area around the fountain. We want this to be a beautiful space for our school and community. We want everyone to feel a sense of pride when they are enjoying the grounds for gatherings. Emma Webb: "“In closing we hope you will help with the fountain. We City of Groveport Page 2 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes May 17, 2021 agree with Rick Palsgrove in saying, “This fountain reminds us of the power of education and the spirit of those who have gone before us and those who will follow us."." B. Jim Brenneman - IBI Group Jim Brenneman with IBI Group went over some highlights of the Groveport Road Corridor Study. The study looked at current traffic and projected out to 20 years, both with background traffic growth that would just be passing through and the anticipated areas of development between now and 2040. The west end of the corridor is in Obetz and the east end is in Groveport. The east end has more commercial, warehousing, and distribution land use where the west end appears to be going mostly residential. Multifamily residential is planned to go in later this year. The Average Daily Traffic (ADT) table showed 11,000 ADT to 12,000 ADT over a typical 24 hour day in both directions. IBI Group expects those numbers to go up by roughly 55% by 2040 at just over 17,000 ADT. That is a significant increase not due to background traffic but by the development that is actually to occur within the corridor. A summary of IBI Group’s recommendations was provided. Council Member Dildine remarked that he would like to see the entities collaborate efforts so work being done by each entity doesn't compete or conflict one another. Mayor Westcamp remarked that a meeting is scheduled for June 4th with Obetz Mayor Angela Kirk and the Obetz Administrator along with Lockbourne Mayor Christie Ward and Lockbourne’s Administrator to start communications on dealing with issues like this corridor. #126-2021 Groveport Rd Final Report Attachments: Groveport Rd Final Report_MainBodyOnly_04082021.pdf C. Madison Township Fire Chief Robinson Chief Robinson was not present. #125-2021 MTFD Monthly Report Attachments: MTFD Monthly Report.pdf VII. New Business None. VIII. Unfinished Business City of Groveport Page 3 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes May 17, 2021 None. IX. Ordinances and Resolutions A. 3rd Readings None B. 2nd Readings Res. 2021-001 A RESOLUTION REGARDING THE NATURE OF SERVICES TO BE PROVIDED TO 48.94 ACRES, MORE OR LESS, PARCEL NUMBERS 180-005408 AND 180-005409, LOCATED IN MADISON TOWNSHIP UPON ANNEXATION OF SAID TRACT TO THE CITY OF GROVEPORT (SUNSHINE & SMOOCH, LLC AND JCD PICKAWAY FARM LLC PETITIONERS) Sponsors: Grashel Administrator King advised this Resolution pertains to the project at Hayes Road and Pontius Road as proposed by CA Ventures to annex 48.94 acres into the City of Groveport. CA Ventures plans to build a 640,000 square foot spec warehouse. This resolution is required as part of the annexation process that spells out what services the City will provide to the property. Clerk of Council Ross read by title Resolution No. 2021-001. A motion was made by Council Member Grashel, seconded by Council Member Dildine, to recommend approval to the City Council. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6- Cleary,Dildine,Grashel,Hilbert,Hutson, and Lockett X. Financial Report Finance Director Jason Carr highlighted a few points from the submitted April 30, 2021 Financial Report. The City is seeing a positive turnaround in income tax collections. Income tax collections year-to-date difference compared to last year was only 4%. On the net profit side, the City is seeing higher estimates on collections of business tax. Fund balances were higher in total based on the debt proceeds for the buildings. Debt proceeds were invested in STAR Ohio which is not a high yielding account but it is very liquid and will provide the City quick access to the funds as bills come due and give the City a little more money to put towards its projects. City of Groveport Page 4 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes May 17, 2021 #127-2021 Financial Report Attachments: Financial Report.pdf XI. Other Business None. XII. Reports A. Mayor - Lance Westcamp Mayor Lance Westcamp thanked the community and the City of Groveport for showing their support by coming out for the “Light Ohio Blue” caravan last Monday night. He thanked Chief Adams for keeping him updated on the progress of the parade that ran behind schedule which allowed the Mayor to keep everyone apprised of the expected arrival. Chief Adams is on the ball dealing with promoting the sergeants. It has only been a couple of weeks but Casey Adams is doing a wonderful job. Everyone is proud of him and told the Chief to just keep up the good work. B. Administrator - BJ King Administrator BJ King gave each Council Member a pin from the Ohio Flags of Honor organization that will have the event at Madison Christian Church over the 4th of July holiday. Mr. King’s report included the updated capital improvement projects tracker which shows the progress of the Town Hall elevator. The project is currently out to bid with bids scheduled to be opened on June 21st. The elevator project will bring about a new maintenance agreement for all of the City’s elevators. The company that wins the bid for the Town Hall elevator project will also be awarded the City’s annual elevator maintenance agreement for all City elevators. The Groveport Elementary Student Council did submit a grant application for their fountain restoration project. They have a total budget for the project of $8,000 (what they are try to raise) and their request through this grant application is for $5,000. Mr. King would be happy to field any feedback from Council on how to proceed with the matter. Last week was somewhat chaotic with the new COVID guidelines that came out; it felt a little like when COVID first started. No one was communicating and there was no consistent guidance on what needed to be done. Last Monday the City put out the operations plan for the outdoor pool with two 160 capacity sessions. City of Groveport Page 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes May 17, 2021 Then at 5:30 p.m. the next night, Governor DeWine announced the lifting of all health orders. About 36 hours later the CDC announced those fully vaccinated did not need to wear a mask inside or outside but masks do need worn in health settings, nursing homes, and mass public transportation. The CDC recommends that those who have not been vaccinated still wear a mask. So again, like at the start of COVID-19, there was no consistency across the board. Administration held a managers meeting to talk about what it meant for the City’s operations. Mr. King feels that at this point the wearing of masks needs to be a personal choice for employees. We have several employees who have been vaccinated. Administration is not going to be, and cannot be, the vaccination police. Employees can’t be asked to show their card as proof of being vaccinated so that employee won’t have to wear a mask. Employees are welcome to wear a mask if it makes them feel more comfortable. If an employee goes into an office of another employee who requests that a mask be worn, they need to respect that request and put on a mask. As of tomorrow, wearing a mask will not be a requirement when a City employee is out of his or her office. Mr. King is confident that having followed all the guidelines through the pandemic, the City is in a good place to follow the new guidelines. Mr. King will talk to Council President Pro-Tem Hilbert about bringing back the directors to participate in Committee of the Whole meetings in person. Directors were directed to talk to their staff about any concerns about City employees having the choice to or not to wear a mask. Having met with the directors this morning, no one reported any concerns. Administration does not know if or when virtual participation in meetings will go away. It may stay for a while. There were no employee concerns reported back from the other departments. Mr. King met with Kyle Lund and Seth Bowers to talk about opening the outdoor pool and other amenities at the Aquatic Center. It has been decided to open the outdoor pool without any restrictions. There will be no restricted sessions, no restricted numbers of patrons, and memberships and day passes will be sold. One issue they face is a shortage of lifeguards. After discussing the matter they decided to open up everything at the Aquatic Center up except the Lazy River. They use five lifeguards just for the Lazy River. It is being proposed that the City open the outdoor pool as it normally would have before COVID-19, 12 to 7 with a max of 500. Once the 500 max is reached the max will go up to 600 for season pass holders. With Governor DeWine’s order of no more health orders come June 2, 2021, the City has to open the outdoor pool. Mr. King thinks it is important for this community to have access to the pool with no restrictions in place. Because the pool is scheduled to open May 29th and the health orders lift June 2nd, City of Groveport Page 6 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes May 17, 2021 Administration has decided come May 29th the outdoor Aquatic Center will open with no sessions, no 160 patrons per session, no pre-registration, and the City will sell season passes and day passes. The City usually hires 60 lifeguards in a season, right now the City has about 45. Mayor Westcamp added that the City has an Aquatic Center Manager and an Assistant Aquatic Center Manager and one of them will be present at all times when the outdoor pool is open. Both are certified lifeguards as well. #128-2021 Admin report to Council May 17, 2021 Attachments: Admin report to Council May 17, 2021 Committee.pdf C. Director of Law - Kevin Shannon Nothing further to report. D. Director of Finance - Jason Carr Nothing further to report. E. Chief of Police - Casey Adams Chief Casey Adams reported the City has 15 applicants for the two open positions in the Police Department. Chief Adams and HR Personnel Director Sue Wadley are looking at a date, possibly in the first week of June, to interview all 15 applicants. The candidates range from 5 years to 17 or 18 years in experience. The sergeant assessments that were due Friday resulted in 6 candidates ranging from 5 years of service with the City of Groveport to 20 years of full-time experience. The Chief did contact Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy. OPOTA is opening for business but there are a lot of changes in the course format. Many 8 hour classes have been knocked down to 4 hours but the cost of the classes has doubled. Chief Adams looks to do a lot of the classes in-house. He has talked to Mr. King about using the City’s facilities, using the recreation center, and bringing in other departments for in-house training. The Light Ohio Blue event had over 100 cruisers that left from London, Ohio and made it to Groveport with former Groveport Chief of Police Ralph Portier serving as Grand Marshal. The caravan stopped at Motts Military Museum where everyone got out of their cruisers to enjoy the museum. Warren Motts rode in the caravan in a Groveport police cruiser with Officer Westhoven. The caravan left Groveport around 9 or 9:30 at night and headed to downtown Columbus. City of Groveport Page 7 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes May 17, 2021 #129-2021 PD Council Report Attachments: PD Council Report.pdf F. Development Director - Jeff Green Development Director Jeff Green informed Council that a survey will go out tomorrow for community input in regard to the accessible park at Degenhart Park. The committee formed for the accessible park developed the questions. Mr. Green will keep Council updated on the results. Mrs. Hilbert noted that due to technical difficulties department directors were unable to participate in tonight’s meeting. She wanted to comment on the City’s transportation system (program). Mrs. Hilbert’s husband, Larry, underwent surgery to have his artificial knee removed and has to keep his knee extended. When it came time for a post op appointment, Mrs. Hilbert didn’t know how she could possibly get him there until she thought about Groveport’s Senior Transportation. Roger came with a wheelchair and made it a wonderful experience for them. #130-2021 ED Council Report Attachments: ED Council Report.pdf G. Public Service Director - Brian Strayer #131-2021 PW Council Report Attachments: PW Council Report.pdf H. Chief Building Official - Stephen Moore #132-2021 B&Z Council Report Attachments: B&Z Council Report.pdf I. Director of Golf - Tom Walker #133-2021 GOLF Council Report Attachments: GOLF Council Report.pdf City of Groveport Page 8 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes May 17, 2021 J. Recreation Director - Kyle Lund #134-2021 REC Council Report Attachments: REC Council Report.pdf K. Community Affairs Director - Patty Storts #135-2021 CA Council Report Attachments: CA Council Report.pdf L. Director of Parks & Facilities Management - Tom Byrne #136-2021 P&FM Council Report Attachments: P&FM Council Report.pdf M. City Engineer - Steve Farst #137-2021 ENG Council Report Attachments: ENG Council Report.pdf N. Director of Transportation - Bob Dowler #138-2021 DOT Council Report Attachments: DOT Council Report.pdf O. Personnel Director - Sue Wadley #139-2021 HR Council Report Attachments: HR Council Report.pdf P. Clerk of Council - Ruthanne Sargus Ross Nothing to report. Q. Council Members - Jean Ann Hilbert, Ed Dildine, Shawn Cleary, Becky Hutson, Scott Lockett and Chad Grashel City of Groveport Page 9 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes May 17, 2021 Mr. Cleary mentioned Apple Butter Day coming back this year in full-force. He expects the 4th of July to be like a coming out party. He looks for people to go out this year and that it will be quite the event. Mr. Dildine asked if the 4th of July Committee planned to expand any more on the event. Mr. King relayed that the Committee decided to leave the plan as it was this year. The City is committed to Ohio Flags of Honor Ceremony at Madison Christian Church. Mr. Dildine doesn’t have any issue with the grant money for the Groveport Elementary fountain restoration, the application has his approval. He wants to be sure everyone is on the same page in regard to the amount of the grant requested and would like to get the money to the student council sooner rather than later. There was an open discussion on the donations from alumni already received and potential donations from alumni as the word gets out. It was suggested to wait and see what funds come in from other resources. Mr. Carr advised that he could speak to Ms. McGonigal to get an accounting of where the group is as the project progresses. He can figure out how much has been donated and where they stand on their funds. Then he can meet with Mr. King to figure out their balance budget. Mrs. Hutson raised the matter of who can attend the ceremony for the GMHS 2021 valedictorians at the Paddock Pub. Mayor Westcamp announced the event has been opened up and all members of Groveport Council are welcome to attend. Next year the City will be looking into partnering up with the Southeastern Franklin County Chamber of Commerce to get more involved in the event. Mr. Dildine updated Council on items from the Madison Township Fire Department. A new fire truck has been ordered and the Department completed 3 days of live burn training at the Ohio Fire Academy that opened back up to group training. Chief Robinson plans on doing a swearing-in ceremony for those hired in the last 15 months. Chief Adams added that Pastor Crenshaw, who held a peaceful protest march last fall, plans to hold another one this Saturday. They came to an agreement that since this was the weekend of the city-wide yard sale, Pastor Crenshaw agreed to use the City’s sidewalk. The march will leave the Kroger Plaza area at 11 am and march toward the recreation center where some students will do some public speaking. This is a peaceful protest march and anyone is welcome to attend. XIII. Adjournment Council Member Cleary made a motion, seconded by Council Member Dildine, to adjourn at 6:35 p.m. All in favor stated AYE, None Opposed. Motion passed. City of Groveport Page 10 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes May 17, 2021 __________________________________________ Jean Ann Hilbert, President Pro Tem __________________________________________ Ruthanne Sargus Ross, CMC 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