Committee of the Whole

City of Groveport 655 Blacklick St. Groveport, OH 43125 614.830.2052 www.groveport.org . Meeting Minutes Monday, June 21, 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 & John Hougland Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 21, 2021 I. Call to Order by Committee Chair Hilbert at 5:30 p.m. Staff Present: BJ King - Administrator, Kevin Shannon - Law Director, Jeff Green - Development Director, Casey Adams - Chief of Police, Public Service Director - Brian Strayer , Stephen Moore - Chief Building Official, Kyle Lund - Recreation Center Director, Steve Farst - City Engineer, Ruthanne Sargus Ross - Clerk of Council 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 Mayor Westcamp led the Pledge of Allegiance. IV. Roll Call Present: 6 - Cleary,Dildine,Hilbert,Hougland,Hutson, and Lockett V. Approval of Minutes - May 17, 2021 The May 17, 2021 Committee of the Whole Minutes stand approved as submitted. #155-2021 COTW Minutes Attachments: COTW Minutes 5.17.2021.pdf VI. Business of Guests A. Madison Township Fire Chief Robinson Madison Township Fire Chief Robinson was not present. Mr. Dildine commented that Chief Robinson’s report includes the presentation that the Chief made to the Madison Township Trustees on Groveport’s implementation of the storz adapter fittings project. Fire Chief Robinson and Assistant Fire Chief Adams are very appreciative of Groveport’s initiatives that make the Fire Department’s job much easier with the more effective and efficient adapters. It also helps with the mutual aid fire departments that come into the City to help when there is a need. City of Groveport Page 1 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 21, 2021 #156-2021 MTFD Monthly Report Attachments: MTFD Monthly Report.pdf VII. New Business None. VIII. Unfinished Business None. IX. Ordinances and Resolutions A. 3rd Readings Ord. 2021-020 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING PART ONE - ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, CHAPTER 153, PUBLIC SERVICE DEPARTMENT OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF GROVEPORT, OHIO Sponsors: Dildine Attachments: Ord. 2021-020 Exhibit A Chapter 153.pdf Administrator BJ King commented the Ordinance is to establish the rates the City will charge for damage to public property: guardrails, street lights, etc. When someone has an accident Administration coordinates with the Police Department to obtain copies of the accident report to turn the costs over to the insurance company. The insurance company of the individual who caused the accident will bear the cost of repairs to public property. Public Service Director Brian Strayer added the purpose of this legislation is to allow the City to recoup any funds spent on labor, materials, and contractor costs. If an individual does not have insurance the City can, depending upon the amount of the loss, pursue the matter in a civil court. Mr. Cleary mentioned that several people have taken out the fence at the cemetery. At the time the Cemetery Funds funded the costs but the previous Administration put any recouped funds in the General Fund. He wants the money to be put back in the appropriate fund account. Mr. King assured him it would be refunded to the account that bore the costs. Clerk of Council Ross read by title Ordinance No. 2021-020. A motion was made by Council Member Dildine, seconded by Council Member Hutson, to recommend approval to the City Council. The motion carried by the following vote: City of Groveport Page 2 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 21, 2021 Yes: 6- Cleary,Dildine,Hilbert,Hougland,Hutson, and Lockett B. 2nd Readings Ord. 2021-024 AN ORDINANCE DESIGNATING ONE-WAY TRAVEL ON CANAL STREET AND SHOEMAKER ALLEY BETWEEN WEST STREET AND COLLEGE STREET Sponsors: Dildine Law Director Kevin Shannon advised Council that this Ordinance will need a typo corrected. Section 1 needs three words added to the end saying “is hereby established”. It doesn’t read correctly otherwise and we apologize for that. Mr. King stated that this was a request that came into Administration because of the narrowness of the roadways involved. The issue is that when two vehicles are traveling in opposite directions one has to pull to the side often on private property leaving tire tracks in the yard. Mr. King stressed that whatever decision is made on this matter someone is going to be inconvenienced by the one-way designation. One resident had requested this one-way designation and Administration is aware that as of now, two residents oppose the designation. Mr. King has not heard from anyone else having property along those two roadways. There are many alleys in the City with the same issue. Mr. King will work with City Engineer Steve Farst to possibly look at the City’s entire alley system and the impact changes can have on the residents trying to navigate. When Mr. Farst first heard of the proposed change to one-way travel it made sense. When you have two vehicles in opposite directions trying to pass each other one will inevitably roll off of the pavement going into someone’s yard or the right-of-way eroding the soil and that causes an issue. It was suggested that Administration and Engineering do a comprehensive look at traffic flow within the City’s downtown older areas and do an overall/broader scope versus just these two roadways. After an open discussion on the matter, a comprehensive look at all the alleys and roadways in the older areas of the City will be done. Council does not want to make piece by piece changes in these streets and alleys until it can look at the big picture. Mr. Dildine wants Council to take its time in making changes and to take a look at the changes in traffic with the two new buildings being constructed. Clerk of Council Ross read by title Ordinance No. 2021-024. This Ordinance was referred back to the City Council with no recommendation from the Committee of the Whole. City of Groveport Page 3 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 21, 2021 Ord. 2021-025 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING PART NINE - STREETS, UTILITIES AND PUBLIC SERVICES CODE, TITLE FIVE - OTHER PUBLIC SERVICES, CHAPTER 941 PARKS, OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF GROVEPORT Sponsors: Hilbert Attachments: Ord. 2021-025 Chapter 941 Park Rules 2021.pdf Administrator BJ King commented that this legislation is to clarify, or memorialize, that bounce houses, inflatables and others things of that sort, are not permitted in the City's parks by individuals who rent the City's shelters. Liability issues come with these types of activities and the City does not want people setting these things up in the parks. The amendment also talks about prohibiting stapling, nailing or pinning anything to City property; e.g. shelter posts, poles, tables, etc. This would not affect the City's ability to have such things at its own events, as the City would be covered under its own insurance to cover any incidents. Kyle Lund, Recreation Director, noted that the Recreation Center gets quite a few requests for these types of fun activities. This would be enforced by the City’s Police Department. Mr. Lockett raised the matter of motorized bikes. He asked if electric bikes were motorized bikes. Mr. Shannon believes that the City of Columbus is consistent with state law which states someone can be cited with an OVI violation even if they are on a bicycle even if it is not a gas propelled or electric propelled. It is considered to be a motor vehicle by definition under Ohio law. He does know that the City of Columbus, since having all those electric bikes down there, has had enforcement for traffic offenses for individuals riding on those bikes. They are treated as vehicles for purposes of traffic enforcement. Mr. Shannon’s take is that the law would apply to the electric bikes. Electric bikes can be used in City parks and on bike paths. As to motorized scooters and such, Groveport City Council can make the laws governing any type of propelled apparatus, as it is the local legislative authority, to be what they would think best for this community. After an open discussion on the new modes of individual transportation and the progression of the shared use paths, it was suggested that the City could look into the matter of providing rental services of bikes, scooters and such. Clerk of Council Ross read by title Ordinance No. 2021-025. A motion was made by Council Member Dildine, seconded by Council Member Cleary, to recommend approval to the City Council. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6- Cleary,Dildine,Hilbert,Hougland,Hutson, and Lockett City of Groveport Page 4 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 21, 2021 Ord. 2021-026 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE ADMINISTRATOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH GROVEPORT MADISON SCHOOL DISTRICT TO PROVIDE A SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER AND THE DECLARATION OF AN EMERGENCY Sponsors: Hutson Attachments: Ord. 2021-026 SRO 2021 Exhibit A.pdf Administrator BJ King noted this legislation is the renewal of the City’s school resource officer agreement. The emergency is due to the time frame to get the agreement into place. The Groveport Madison School Board passed the matter on May 25, 2021. After meeting with the GM School Superintendent, Chief Adams learned that Ms. Ogden wants to be sure the School Resource Officer is fostering a very supportive role in the schools and that they are role models. Chief Adams suggested that one great way of doing that would be to allow that officer to travel around to all the district schools within the City’s corporation limits. Ms. Ogden was in favor of it as long as it can be communicated with Madison Township Police to make sure that there is an officer in the GM High School at all times. An officer may be at the high school for 4 hours one day and visiting the Groveport and Glendening Elementary and the middle schools for 4 hours. This would allow the Department to make sure it was establishing a good rapport and relationship with the students as they start in kindergarten and move up through the twelfth grade of high school. The Department would be included in a lot of the school training, like de-escalation training. The Department already has a couple of officers who are SRO certified in the event that the current officer is unable to serve out the contract. Chief Adams is already looking toward the next generation SRO trained officers. Mr. Shannon reviewed the contract and it's the exact verbiage that was used for the last contract when the school district had its attorney update it with the current state law as it relates to use of officers within schools. Nothing has been changed or modified in an adverse way, the City still has law enforcement discretion, it is exactly like the previous contract. If an officer is unable to fulfill the duties of SRO, the department has other SRO certified officers. Mr. Shannon added that those types of provisions are in this agreement. Officers working as a SRO wear the uniform of the day and are not typically in plain clothes. Chief Adams checked with two different vendors about School Resource Officer (SRO) uniforms. The vendors, who have heard from other agencies wanting a softer look in their school, are currently looking into options. Officer Kurt Boso and Lieutenant Joshua Short City of Groveport Page 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 21, 2021 will meet with one vendor who will supply different colored shirts to wear as test samples. The uniforms, the shirts along with some pants that are less tactical looking, will be provided to the Police Department for free for Officer Boso to wear and keep at no charge. The pants will look a little more formal like a khaki pants. The school doesn't want the officer to be dressed to blend in too much with teachers. Then you could have a person with a gun who looks like a teacher that could be too easily misperceived. If an incident were to take place in a school, the SRO would need to be easily distinguishable as a police officer. Clerk of Council Ross read by title Ordinance No. 2021-026. A motion was made by Council Member Hutson, seconded by Council Member Dildine, to recommend approval to the City Council. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6- Cleary,Dildine,Hilbert,Hougland,Hutson, and Lockett Ord. 2021-028 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE ADMINISTRATOR TO ENTER INTO A LICENSING AGREEMENT WITH CHRISTINA LEWIS (THE FLOWER BOUTIQUE / BARBER SHOP) Sponsors: Cleary Administrator BJ King stated that the Flower Boutique approached the City about installing a handrail on its steps. To do this it would extend into the City’s right-of-way. Chief Building Official Stephen Moore added that the big issue is the fact that the sidewalk, because there is that big front porch, is partially in the right-of-way.The ordinance states the City will enter a licensing agreement so the agreement can specifically name requirements and stipulations. Clerk of Council Ross read by title Ordinance No. 2021-028. A motion was made by Council Member Cleary, seconded by Council Member Hutson, to recommend approval to the City Council. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 6- Cleary,Dildine,Hilbert,Hougland,Hutson, and Lockett X. Financial Report Council Member Cleary remarked that Jason Carr does an excellent job on the financial reports. #157-2021 Financial Report Attachments: Financial Report.pdf XI. Other Business City of Groveport Page 6 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 21, 2021 None. XII. Reports A. Mayor - Lance Westcamp Mayor Westcamp remarked on the fabulous success of Third Thursday and he looks for it to only grow and get better. More food trucks would bring out more people and lessen the time waiting in line which in turn would allow more free time for the crowd to peruse the vendor booths. The 4th of July Committee had its last meeting this morning. It’s a group the Mayor put together and all one has to do is sit back and listen. They have everything lined up and ready to go. The Mayor apologized that some of the businesses on Main Street were not aware that the parade was to be on Saturday, July 3rd. Council Member Dildine commented that the City's social media pages were lacking in getting the 4th of July events out to the public. Mayor Westcamp thanked Rick Palsgrove for the excellent article he wrote in the Groveport Messenger on Groveport Police Officer Shellie Rimmer who serves, not only our community, but our country as well. B. Administrator - BJ King Administrator BJ King echoed the Mayor’s comments about Third Thursday; what a great night. He looks for crowds to get larger and the event to only grow bigger each time. Mr. King thinks more and more events will occur here in the City of Groveport. He updated Council on the weekly mosquito spraying noting the next scheduled spraying is this Wednesday. He reported that the bunting on Town Hall is to be installed tomorrow in time for the 4th of July. Jeff Green will be announcing in front of Town Hall. #158-2021 Admin report to Council Attachments: Admin report to Council June 21 2021.pdf Flower Boutique.pdf C. Director of Law - Kevin Shannon Law Director Shannon had nothing further to report. D. Director of Finance - Jason Carr City of Groveport Page 7 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 21, 2021 Finance Director Jason Carr was not present. E. Chief of Police - Casey Adams Chief Casey Adams remarked it has been nonstop meetings since he has been in the Chief of Police office. Since the last Committee of the Whole, twelve candidates have been interviewed for the lateral entry position for the two patrol officers. Once the Personnel Board of Review certifies the eligibility list, the department will start background investigations on the top six candidates. Those top six will be interviewed by Mayor Westcamp, Lieutenant Short and himself and hopefully be able to make a decision on who the two new patrol officers will be in Groveport. Today, the Department had the promotional assessment center conducted by The Kettering Group LLC. The Kettering Group was very impressed with the City of Groveport’s facilities. The former Chief of Police of Kettering thought that Chief Adams (Roger Adams) was still working here in Groveport. Chief Casey Adams informed him that there is now a younger, better looking one than the former Chief Adams that now works for the City of Groveport. They performed assessments on four individuals who would like to be the next patrol sergeant for Groveport. The department is still considering promoting two new patrol sergeants. The next steps would be the formal interview process and then to calculate a combination score to move forward from there. Chief Adams and Lieutenant Short have been working on training. One goal is Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) for all the officers. It has been very hard to find this class for his officers. But hopefully this will coincide with Chief Adams’s topic with Bob Meader LLC, who will tentatively be giving legal update training to the department in September. Through Columbus Police, Bob Meader has secured four spots for the CIT training, free of charge, for Groveport officers, two in July and two in August. One of those officers will be the School Resource officer (SRO) dealing with young kids, some having mental health issues or crisis. Lt. Short is working with Madison Township Assistant Fire Chief Adams on active shooter training and providing training on first aid to help law enforcement work with the medics and fire department to provide better services. This will help with the first aid CPR training for all the department’s officers. Other training being sought is deescalating training. Chief Adams thanked Rick Palsgrove for his article on Shellie Rimmer. The department has been keeping in contact with her and she is anxious to get back home. The Chief went up and down Main Street informing the businesses of the date and time of the 4th of July parade. They were all appreciative for the heads up so they can plan for extra staff, adjust hours and the banks that may need to adjust to the change in traffic flow. Some businesses wished they had been notified earlier so that they could have participated in the parade. The City needs to put out flyers much earlier to give everyone the opportunity to participate. The second cruiser will arrive Wednesday, and the first cruiser will be ready for the July 4th parade. The Ernie Mobile will be in the parade. Third Thursday gave people the opportunity to see the new cruiser along with an old cruiser. The Chief looks to adjust the SRO’s schedule so during the summer months they can start dealing with the HOA meetings, Farmer Markets, Third City of Groveport Page 8 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 21, 2021 Thursdays and any of the special events. Officer Boso is working in the school during the summer programs from 9 to noon. Then from noon to 1:30 Officer Boso heads to the outdoor pool to patrol the pool area. Chief Adams mentioned the email from Mrs. Lyles on Toy Road thanking the Groveport Police Department for patrolling Toy Road. Officer Bell advised the Chief that he could write 30 to 40 citations a day for violations with the vehicles going through there. Obetz’s warehouses are pushing all the cars through Groveport. #159-2021 PD Council Report Attachments: PD Council Report.pdf F. Development Director - Jeff Green Development Director Jeff Green stated that the Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) has been working on a comprehensive plan for downtown development different from the market strategies. These ideas are more on what the City wants next for the downtown. The CIC Board will meet to go over next step strategies to plan for things to be done in the short term and the long term. Next week Matt Yerkes from Cultivate will be present to talk to Council about his proposal for utilizing the second floor space of the two new buildings and an over-all, very comprehensive small business development strategy. The contract to connect all of the City’s buildings with fiber was signed today. This will allow the City to downsize its footprint. The main server will reside in the police station because there is a generator that would keep the server running at all times. All other servers would go out of commission with everyone’s computer backing up to the main server with fiber. The next step will be fiber on Main Street to make it available to businesses, especially with the talk of business incubations and new businesses and offices coming in to the downtown district. Mr. Green praised the parks crew with all their hard work setting up Third Thursday. John Detty headed everything up with the crew there all day but they were cheerful and helpful to the crowd during the event. They were a pleasure to work with and did a great job. Next month there will be a large tent in front of the entertainment to provide some shade to the crowd. #160-2021 ED Council Report Attachments: ED Council Report.pdf G. Public Service Director - Brian Strayer City of Groveport Page 9 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 21, 2021 Public Service Director Brian Strayer reported the department will be purchasing a monument lifter to correct the many headstones in the Groveport Cemetery that have sunken, are leaning backward or are leaning to one side. He is not sure how this progress will go but his staff takes great pride in this project and wants to do it right. The cost of the monument lifter, about $2,500, would be a lot less than the City having to replace broken or damaged headstones. Public Works gets a lot of premature requests to pour the concrete footers for headstones. The soil needs to settle for a year after it is disturbed for footer pads. This allows the dirt to pack back down and stabilize which lessens the chances of sinking under the weight of the headstone. Public Works staff have been removing street signs on Main Street and relocating them to utilize the permanent infrastructure already in place to minimize the street sign posts on Main Street. There will be a lot of empty sign posts along the street because it is more efficient for the crew to go through all at once to pull the posts. Crews are painting street light poles and washing each lens. The City has authorized the contract with Harber Concrete Construction for the sidewalk program with the work starting in September. #161-2021 PW Council Report Attachments: PW Council Report.pdf H. Chief Building Official - Stephen Moore Chief Building Official Stephen Moore reported that Property Maintenance Inspector Courtney Shisler has been going along Main Street making sure it is cleaned up and notices are sent out for mowing to be done. She took care of the poison ivy issue that was reported along Main Street. #162-2021 B&Z Council Report Attachments: B&Z Council Report.pdf I. Director of Golf - Tom Walker Director of Golf Tom Walker was not present. #163-2021 GOLF Council Report Attachments: GOLF Council Report.pdf J. Recreation Director - Kyle Lund City of Groveport Page 10 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 21, 2021 Recreation Director Kyle Lund reported the outdoor pool has been very busy when there has been good weather. The very young staff, as far as lifeguards go, is doing a really good job. The department has gotten a lot of compliments from the general public. There have been a couple of issues where the police department has been very quick to respond to the scene. The Lazy River has not been opened for a lack of lifeguards. There is one more class for lifeguard certification to finish up and the City will consider opening the Lazy River up on weekends. #164-2021 REC Council Report Attachments: REC Council Report.pdf K. Community Affairs Director - Patty Storts Community Affairs Director Patty Storts was not present. #165-2021 CA Council Report Attachments: CA Council Report.pdf L. Director of Parks & Facilities Management - Tom Byrne Director of Parks & Facilities Management Tom Byrne was not present. #166-2021 P&FM Council Report Attachments: P&FM Council Report.pdf M. City Engineer - Steve Farst City Engineer Steve Farst informed Council the Franklin County Engineer’s Office is administering the construction contract for the West Bixby Road Phase II Project which is a cost savings to Groveport. Franklin County brings a lot of good experience to the project. Franklin County also managed the Phase I back in 2017. This same team is doing construction administration for the Saltzgaber Road reconstruction. Mr. Farst learned that Obetz is awarding a contract to improve Bixby Road west from Groveport Road with Franklin County Engineer’s team administering that construction as well. It nice to have a consistent construction administration team looking at those contracts. It will take some time to pull together the submittals for the City’s phase II projects. Franklin County is still trying to put together their schedule; there are a lot of moving parts to get setup. City of Groveport Page 11 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 21, 2021 #167-2021 ENG Council Report Attachments: ENG Council Report.pdf N. Director of Transportation - Bob Dowler Director of Transportation Bob Dowler was not present. #168-2021 DOT Council Report Attachments: DOT Council Report.pdf O. Personnel Director - Sue Wadley Personnel Director Sue Wadley was not present. #169-2021 HR Council Report Attachments: HR Council Report.pdf P. Clerk of Council - Ruthanne Sargus Ross Clerk of Council Ross had nothing to report. Q. Council Members - Jean Ann Hilbert, Ed Dildine, Shawn Cleary, Becky Hutson, Scott Lockett and John Hougland Council Member Lockett reported that the Senior Center will have some special Olympians who will be kayaking in the pond behind the Recreation Center. They were going to lose an opportunity to participate in some of their functions because of COVID-19. There will be 12 special Olympians and their families who will participate. Mr. Lockett was approached by Christine Boucher with Groveport Madison Human Needs about the possibility of a beer tent at the Third Thursday events. There are a lot of things that would go into setting a beer tent up and some logistics to consider. The City will look into the matter. The City has considered a downtown recreational district to be incorporated in the business areas where the City could hold special events like those held in other communities. Council Member Dildine reiterated Third Thursday was great but the biggest thing is that very few things this City Council has seen in all the years these members have served have created as much buzz as the City releasing the new businesses coming to Groveport. To see so City of Groveport Page 12 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes June 21, 2021 many comments on so many different platforms with 99.999% being positive just doesn’t happen in the world today. With all the things going on in Groveport; the pool, the work on Main Street, and the golf course rounds the highest since 2015; the City is abuzz and it looks good. All the department directors are doing great work and he is glad to be a part of it. Council Member Cleary raised the matter of a vending strip at the warehouses going in on Saltzgaber Road. There will be an out lot along Groveport Road for the development of retail businesses. The developer will market the out lot for someone else to develop. He also mentioned that there is a huge food pantry in Madison Township and asked if it affected Groveport’s Food Pantry. Mr. Dildine does not believe that the Township is affiliated with the pantry in any way. Madison Township Administrator Susan Brobst would be the best person to contact on the matter. Mr. Cleary welcomed John Hougland aboard and thanked him for stepping up to the plate. Mrs. Hilbert also thanked Mr. Hougland for the sacrifice of serving on City Council and she expressed Council's appreciation. XIII. Adjournment Council Member Hougland made a motion, seconded by Council Member Cleary, to adjourn at 6:56 p.m. All in favor stated AYE, None Opposed. Motion passed. __________________________________________ 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. 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