Committee of the Whole

City of Groveport 655 Blacklick St. Groveport, OH 43125 614.830.2052 www.groveport.org . Meeting Minutes Monday, March 20, 2023 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 & Jack Rupp Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 20, 2023 I. Call to Order Vice Chair Hutson called the Committee of the Whole meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Staff Present: BJ King - Administrator, Kevin Shannon - Law Director, Jason Carr - Finance Director, Casey Adams - Chief of Police, Mindy Kay - Assistant Clerk of Council Guests Present: The Guest Book is on file with the Clerk of Council. II. Moment of Silence Vice Chair Hutson asked everyone to join her in a moment of silence. III. Pledge of Allegiance Motts Military Museum Founder Warren Motts led the Pledge of Allegiance. IV. Roll Call A motion was made by Council Member Dildine, seconded by Council Member Lockett, to excuse Council Members Cleary and Hilbert from tonight's meeting. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4- Dildine,Hutson,Lockett, and Rupp V. Approval of Minutes The February 20, 2023 Committee of the Whole Minutes stand approved as submitted. #052-2023 COTW Minutes 2.20.2023 Attachments: COTW Minutes 2.20.2023.pdf VI. Business of Guests A. Madison Township Fire Chief Robinson #062-2023 MTFD Monthly Report Attachments: MTFD Monthly Report.pdf City of Groveport Page 1 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 20, 2023 B. Warren Motts - Motts Military Museum Motts Military Museum Founder Warren Motts spoke about the highlights of the Museum over the past year. He said the Museum had approximately 7,000 visitors to their website last month alone. According to the guest registrar, people from 34 states and 15 countries had visited the Museum. Mr. Motts went on to speak about the Museum’s Advisory Board Members who were lost this year including Chief Portier and Rob Doremus. Colonel Tom Moe has joined the Advisory Board. Mr. Motts told Council that the Museum currently has 70 volunteers. He recognized volunteer Bob Kovich who is a 30-year veteran of the US Air Force. He travels 160 miles once every week to come volunteer. He also recognized three of the volunteers and licensed electricians, Cliff Miller, Shawn Miller and Dennis Sweeney, who installed all the electric in the new building. Mr. Motts then said that the Museum is not only a Museum for Groveport. They have artifacts on loan to other museums in five different states across the country, including the National Veterans Memorial, Gettysburg Museum, a Kenosha Wisconsin Museum, and the national Museum of Funeral History in Huston Texas. He said that many of their items are priceless because they are very rare and unusual. He went on to talk about the various temporary exhibits the museum hosted off-site last year. These exhibits include an exhibit at Groveport’s Town Hall and exhibits at the State House all through the major Holidays. One in particular featured women in the military during WWII. Another project Mott’s Museum is working with the State House on includes battle flags. Groveport will be recognized in that exhibit, which Mr. Motts said is really neat. He added that Mott’s Museum has a 911 Building project underway. They have been involved in many parades this past year, especially on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July where they attended the Red White and Boom parade as well as Groveport’s parade. He informed Council that Honor Flight hosts their annual reunions at Mott’s Military Museum and this past June there were over 500 attendees. Mr. Motts had also spoken at the POW Convention and attended Women’s Conference at Ohio State University. He spoke about the Groveport Free Day at the Museum, which had about 100 people in attendance that day. He also mentioned Steve Miller, who is the Founder of the Columbus Veterans Beneficial Board. He said Mr. Miller wants Mott’s to build a memorial on its grounds dedicated to all the branches of service. Mr. Motts then mentioned Groveport’s Brick Ceremony in August which had about 200 people in attendance. He said he also had a Veteran’s Owned Business seminar at the National Vets Memorial. In September the Transportation Security Administration presented Mr. Motts with the Ohio Federal Security Directors Patriot Award. He said it was quite the City of Groveport Page 2 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 20, 2023 ceremony and an overwhelming honor to receive that award. He then told Council about the 911 Memorial Ceremony held by Madison Township Fire Chief Robinson. He said it was a wonderful ceremony and recognized the MC of the event, our very own Council Member Dildine. He said the Museum is diligently working on the 911 memorial and has had the honor of having four volunteers who had served at Ground Zero. He said the Museum honored Captain Jack, who was in charge of recovery at Ground Zero. They had a special ceremony for him. He also spoke of the many Firefighters from surrounding areas who come to the Museum to see the fire truck they have on display from Ground Zero. Mr. Motts then told Council about iHeart Radio and their car show called Driving with Daisy. They start with a live cast from Mott’s Museum and then they start the car show. He said that 250 people attended that event and iHeart Radio paid for everything including all the trophies and awards. A Groveport resident won the 50/50 raffle at the car show and donated the money back to the Museum. Mr. Motts said that the Museum has done lots of radio and television interviews. Mr. Motts had also been given the honor of speaking at the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Madison Township Police Department. He also told Council that the Museum hosted a wedding ceremony underneath the C-47. The groom was Jacob Burns, a mechanic who volunteers at the Museum. Mr. Motts said they have also had funerals and all kinds of ceremonies there. He went on to say that the Museum hosted a reception and a tour with the American Society of Photographers, of which Mr. Motts is the President of. The group came from all over the country. He said they put his photo on the cover of their magazine and had an article about Mott’s Military Museum in that same issue. He also spoke of the Volunteers' Party the Museum hosted for all its volunteers at the Paddock Pub. He said the volunteers had donated 5,578 hours to the Museum from January to September last year. Mr. Motts went on to speak about the Museum’s new memorial honoring war dog handling teams. He told Council about a veteran who drove all the way from Colorado to see his dog in the memorial. He then spoke about all the schools that do class visits to the museum and how many of them come every year. He said it is good and heartwarming to see the students honoring veterans the way they do. He went on to tell Council about a big exhibit the Museum is going to be a part of at the Ohio Gun Collectors Association this coming weekend. He said the Association asked them to do a display of military guns and there will be a full-page ad for the Museum in their magazine. He concluded by saying the museum is in possession of a 1965 ambulance from the Vietnam War that had just been completely restored and in the process of planning the restoration of another ambulance from the Korean War. He thanked Council and the City of Groveport for their City of Groveport Page 3 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 20, 2023 continuing support for the Museum. C. Matt Schutte - NorthPoint Development Matt Schutte from NorthPoint Development introduced himself and his company to Council. NorthPoint Development is a Kansas City based industrial and multi-family developer with an office in Cincinnati, OH. He spoke of the company’s experience in Groveport developing two buildings in 2016 and 2017 on Pontius Rd. Those buildings were sold shortly after completion and a 5.8 acre parcel north of Sharps Landing Drive was retained. The lot needed to be rezoned in order to be developed into industrial. At the time it was zoned limited industrial. One of the conditions to get the parcel rezoned was to place a deed restriction on it with the intent to keep bulk development from being built there and leave it as green space. Mr. Schutte went on to say that NorthPoint no longer owns the two buildings on Pontius Rd and no longer has a use for the remaining parcel off Sharps Landing Drive. He explained that NorthPoint would like to sell the property and proposed the idea to Council to lift the no build deed restriction on the parcel and rezone it to potentially something more restrictive for a preferred use for Groveport. He explained that his company has tried to donate it to Groveport, however the City is not interested in creating another park. He then said that NorthPoint would like to have the ability make the property marketable to another developer. Their initial thought was to establish it as a Select Commercial Planned District but would like to ask the City what it would prefer to have built there. Mayor Westcamp stated that currently that parcel is occupied by a dirt mound that is being used to hide the warehouses behind it. Administrator BJ King added that his understanding is that when this was developed, part of the approval was that there would be a deed restriction for no development on this property. He believes that is typically done to screen the warehouses that are going in, meaning that it will be there forever as a screen. That is certainly a condition that the rezoning was approved upon, however anybody has the ability to come back and seek a rezoning request through the Planning & Zoning Commission and Council to do that. He did stress that the condition of the approval of the rezoning for this parcel was that it would remain to be used for screening and buffering of warehouses and that nothing would ever be built there. Mayor Westcamp then asked if NorthPoint might still be willing to donate the parcel to the City of Groveport. Mr. Schutte confirmed that is still an option and added that his company has also spoken to private soccer clubs that might be interested in putting a soccer field in there, but are open to any suggestions from the City. The Mayor thanked Mr. Schutte for his proposal and said that Council will take it under advisement. He then stated that the area has a problem with heavy truck traffic, and that the City of Groveport Page 4 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 20, 2023 City had been talking about trying to find a place to put in a turnaround for trucks when they miss the access to Saddle Creek Drive. This would defer truck drivers from turning around at the school. He told Mr. Schutte that he understands NorthPoint’s desire to no longer pay the property taxes on the parcel and that if the City comes up with an offer Administrator King would be in touch with him. Mr. Schutte thanked the Mayor and Council for their time and said that his company would have to do more research to find a company who would like to buy the property but ultimately donating it to the City of Groveport is an avenue they’d be willing to take. #065-2023 GP Introduction Attachments: GP Introduction.pdf VII. New Business VIII. Unfinished Business IX. Ordinances and Resolutions A. 3rd Readings Ord. 2023-010 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF NOTES IN THE AMOUNT OF NOT TO EXCEED $1,300,000 IN ANTICIPATION OF THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF DESIGNING, ENGINEERING, AND CONSTRUCTING VARIOUS IMPROVEMENTS TO THE CITY'S MUNICIPAL GOLF COURSE, WITH RELATED SITE IMPROVEMENTS AND APPURTENANCES THERETO; AND APPROVING RELATED MATTERS Sponsors: Hilbert Finance Director Jason Carr stated that Ordinance 2023-010, Ordinance 2023-011, and Ordinance 2023-012 all relate to the reissuance of the bond anticipation notes the City issued in 2022 for a total of $1.8 million. Ordinance 2023-010 will be reduced from an original issuance cost of $1.6 million for the Golf Course to $1.3 million. We’re going to budget each year $300,000 to pay down this note. Based on the estimated useful life of the cart paths, we anticipate it’ll be about five years before we will have to do any significant repairs. We used the $200,000 for the purpose of purchasing a front-end loader and also partial payment of a snow truck for the Public Works Department. We will try to pay that down as soon as the Golf Course is paid off. That is essentially the purpose of these three ordinances. He said we will actually reissue the notes in April City of Groveport Page 5 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 20, 2023 when they mature. At that time, we will have a better idea of what the interest rate is, final costs of issuance, and other related matters. A motion was made by Council Member Dildine, seconded by Council Member Lockett, to recommend approval to the City Council, due back on 3/27/2023. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4- Dildine,Hutson,Lockett, and Rupp Ord. 2023-011 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF BOND ANTICIPATION NOTES IN THE AMOUNT OF NOT TO EXCEED $200,000 IN ANTICIPATION OF THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ACQUIRING VEHICLES AND OTHER RELATED EQUIPMENT FOR MUNICIPAL ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND SERVICING PURPOSES, AND APPROVING RELATED MATTERS Sponsors: Hilbert A motion was made by Council Member Rupp, seconded by Council Member Lockett, to recommend approval to the City Council, due back on 3/27/2023. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4- Dildine,Hutson,Lockett, and Rupp Ord. 2023-012 AN ORDINANCE CONSOLIDATING UP TO TWO BOND ANTICIPATION NOTE ISSUES OF THE CITY OF GROVEPORT, OHIO INTO A CONSOLIDATED NOTE ISSUE, AND ESTABLISHING THE TERMS OF SUCH CONSOLIDATED NOTE ISSUE Sponsors: Hilbert A motion was made by Council Member Dildine, seconded by Council Member Lockett, to recommend approval to the City Council, due back on 3/27/2023. The motion carried by the following vote: Yes: 4- Dildine,Hutson,Lockett, and Rupp B. 2nd Readings X. Financial Report Finance Director Carr shared some highlights from the 2023 February Financial Report and informed Council that our General Fund balance is two million dollars higher than at this time last year. Looking at income tax collections, year over year for the month of February we’re down $169,732. Year to date we’re down $22,874. He said the biggest change is on the net profit side. Having fewer net profit estimated tax payments is essentially driving the flat collections from year to year. He then drew City of Groveport Page 6 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 20, 2023 Council’s attention to operations at the Recreation department. Collections were higher by $32,000, primarily attributed to the number of memberships that are being sold. He went on to say that collections at the Golf Course were also higher by $32,000. With the great weather so far this year, we’ve had 934 rounds played so far year to date which is a big increase from this time last year. He concluded by saying that interest earnings based on rates have brought us $83,442 or about 50% of the budget, and that’s only through two months. #053-2023 Financial Report Attachments: Financial Report.pdf XI. Other Business XII. Reports A. Mayor - Lance Westcamp Mayor Westcamp informed Council of the upcoming Meals on Wheels event that he, Council member Rupp, Administrator BJ King, Community Affairs Director Jessica Wyke, and Community Affairs Executive Director Kristiauna Trelay will be attending. They will be taking a tour of the facility and preparing meals. Mayor Westcamp then spoke about the State of the State meeting at the school. He said most of Council was able to attend and that it had a really big turnout. B. Administrator - BJ King Administrator King updated Council on the acceptance of Ken Hill for the position of Recreation Manager. He will be starting his new position on Monday, March 27th. He told Council that Mr. Hill will most likely be introduced at the first Council meeting in April. C. Director of Law - Kevin Shannon D. Director of Finance - Jason Carr Director Carr wanted to brief Council on some of the current issues with banking and how they relate to the City’s investments. We own commercial paper at Credit Suisse Bank. Credit Suisse has recently merged with UBS, as they were having some potential issues with City of Groveport Page 7 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 20, 2023 bankruptcy. When this commercial paper was purchased in September 2022 it had the highest grade possible and it is an allowable investment under the Ohio Revised Code. He said that based on the merger with UBS bank there should not be any issues with us receiving payment when this commercial paper matures. Also, there is a possibility that they may pay before the maturity date. He told Council that although he risk is very low, there is still a possibility that upon maturity we may have had difficulty receiving our investment proceeds back. This time it doesn’t appear to be the case. Council Member Rupp inquired if they pay it off early would it reduce the payment at the end. Mr. Carr replied that commercial paper is considered to be zero coupon, meaning the cost basis was 750,000 but when we purchased it, it was $728,000. We just would not receive 750,000. It may be a little less than that. What we would recognize is interest or gain is the spread between what par is and what cost was. We may not recognize the total amount but we would at least recover the cost basis that we had invested in it. #064-2023 Finance Director Report Attachments: Finance Director Report.pdf E. Chief of Police - Casey Adams Chief Adams reported to Council that Patrolman Ernie Bell was asked to be a board member on the Central Ohio Law Enforcement Historical Society. He has attended his first meeting and the board was impressed by his extensive knowledge. Chief Adams added that Patrolman Bell will be setting up a display for the Coffee with a Cop event starting in April to show some of the history of our Police Department. He then then told Council that Detective Gilbert was asked to speak at the Ohio Attorney General’s conference in regards to his work on the catalytic converter investigation. #054-2023 PD Council Report Attachments: PD Council Report.pdf F. Economic Development Director - Jeff Green #055-2023 EDEV Council Report Attachments: EDEV Council Report.pdf City of Groveport Page 8 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 20, 2023 G. Public Services Director - Brian Strayer #056-2023 PS Council Report Attachments: PS Council Report.pdf H. Chief Building Official - Stephen Moore #057-2023 B&Z Council Report Attachments: B&Z Council Report.pdf I. Director of Golf - Tom Walker #058-2023 GOLF Council Report Attachments: GOLF Council Report.pdf J. Recreation Director - Seth Bowers #059-2023 REC Council Report Attachments: REC Council Report.pdf K. Community Affairs Director - Jessica Wyke #060-2023 CA Council Report Attachments: CA Council Report.pdf L. City Engineer - Steve Farst #061-2023 ENG Council Report Attachments: ENG Council Report.pdf M. Director of Transportation / Senior Services - Bob Dowler #063-2023 DOT Council Report Attachments: DOT Council Report.pdf City of Groveport Page 9 Committee of the Whole Meeting Minutes March 20, 2023 N. Personnel Director / Human Resources - Joyce Myers #047-2023 HR Council Report Attachments: HR Council Report.pdf O. Director of Information Technology - Trevor Swackhamer P. Clerk of Council - Ruthanne Sargus Ross Q. Council Members - Jean Ann Hilbert, Ed Dildine, Shawn Cleary, Becky Hutson, Scott Lockett and Jack Rupp XIII. Adjournment Council Member Dildine made a motion, seconded by Council Member Rupp, to adjourn at 6:16 p.m. All in favor stated AYE, None Opposed. Motion passed. __________________________________________ Becky Hutson, Vice Chair __________________________________________ Mindy Kay Assistant 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 10