City Council

NEW PHILADELPHIA CITY COUNCIL MET IN REGULAR SESSION IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON JANUARY 22, 2024 WITH PRESIDENT KEMP PRESIDING. COUNCILMAN RIPPETH OFFERED A PRAYER, AND ALL IN ATTENDANCE RECITED THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. COUNCIL MEMBERS IN ATTENDENCE MR. KRIS KREINBIHL MR. DAN LANZER MR. MITCH PACE MRS. CHERYL RAMOS MR. STEVE RIPPETH MR. TOM SIMMELINK MR. MIKE WALKER EXCUSED ABSENSES: NONE  MR. RIPPETH MOTIONED TO ADD ORDINANCE 1-2024, ORDINANCE 2-2024, AND RESOLUTION 1-2024 TO TONIGHT’S AGENDA MR. LANZER SECONDED THE MOTION 7 YEAS ORDINANCE 1-2024, ORDINANCE 2-2024, AND RESOLUTION 1-2024 HAVE BEEN ADDED TO TONIGHT’S AGENDA FOR 1st Reading  MRS. RAMOS MOTIONED TO ADD ORDINANCE 9-2024 AND ORDINANCE 10-2024 TO TONIGHT’S AGENDA MR. SIMMELINK SECONDED THE MOTION 7 YEAS ORDINANCE 9-2024 AND ORDINANCE 10-2024 HAVE BEEN ADDED TO TONIGHT’S AGENDA  MR. RIPPETH MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE AGENDA MR. PACE SECONDED THE MOTION 7 YEAS TONIGHT’S AGENDA HAS BEEN APPROVED  MR. WALKER MOTIONED TO APPROVE MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 8, 2023 REGULAR SESSION OF COUNCIL MR. SIMMELINK SECONDED THE MOTION 7 YEAS MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 8, 2024 REGULAR SESSION OF COUNCIL HAVE BEEN APPROVED CORRESPONDENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CLERK, JULIE COURTRIGHT 1. To Council Clerk from Treasurer Gerber, Dated January 8, 2024. This is the Investment and Savings Report for December 2023. 2. To Council Clerk from Jen Boger with the Ohio Ethics Commission, dated January 9, 2024. This is a reminder to Council and Administration to file their Financial Disclosure Statements by May 15, 2024. I 1  emailed the reminder to all of Council and Administration. 3. To Council Clerk from the Ohio Division of Liquor Control, dated January 9, 2024. This is a Liquor License Request for Primo Hospitality LLC dba Uncle Primos located at 435 Minnich Ave. NW New Philadelphia, Oh. Responses must be postmarked no later than February 9, 2024. I sent this request to President Kemp so he can assign it to the proper Committee. 4. To Council and Administration from Mayor Day, dated January 17, 2024. This is an email titled “Message From Berner Dispatch”. 5. To President Kemp from Law Director Fete, dated January 19, 2024. This is an email titled “Please Assign to Special and Contact” with Ordinances 5, 6, 7, and 8- 2024 as the attachments. President Kemp asked Mr. Walker to take this legislation into his Committee. 6. To Council and Administration from Mayor Day, dated January 22, 2024. This is the Mayor’s Report. MAYOR’S REPORT/REQUESTS ….MAYOR JOEL B. DAY Mayor Day had the following report: Remembering Mayor Greg Erb Today we learned of former Mayor Greg Erb’s passing. His heavenly journey continues with the Lord and with his beloved son Daniel. Mayor Erb was a passionate man. He loved God, New Philadelphia, and America. And he had his own way of reminding you of that. To me Greg was a friend and mentor. Our City is better because of his efforts. Remember his family in your prayers. Information about his memorial service can be found on the Geib Funeral Home website: https://www.geibfuneral.com/obituaries. New Business Officially Opens in Downtown New Philadelphia Last Friday, Service Director McAbier and I attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the Keller Williams Legacy Group Realty – Tuscarawas County office at 216 North Broadway next to the post office. KW Legacy is a new real estate company in the county. We are pleased that it chose New Philadelphia as its home. Please join me in welcoming them to our growing downtown business community. Tuscora Park Will Have Signage for Persons with Special Needs New signs will soon be erected at Tuscora Park to assist persons who struggle to verbally express their wants, needs and feelings. The City Park Board approved the communication boards designed by Lacey Herbert- Stephen and donated by her Lacey PAC Adaptive Movement Center. One of the boards will be placed at the children’s playground adjacent to the main parking lot on Tuscora Avenue NW. The other will be located in the kiddie ride area. A Spanish language version is located on the backside of the boards. The communication boards fill a need to make Tuscora Park more handicap accessible. 2 Please Attend Tomorrow’s NP Schools Facilities Meeting Tuesday night at 6:30pm the New Philadelphia Schools administration will be having a public meeting to discuss the future of the school district’s buildings. The meeting is being held at the Front Avenue Administrative Building. Among the issues to be discussed will be the location of new school buildings. I urge all City Council members to attend. To me, it’s essential that the City partner with the New Philadelphia School Board to determine the course of action to address the school district’s aging buildings. Mayor Taylor’s Memorabilia Collection to be Displayed at City Hall Items from former Mayor Mike Taylor’s extensive collection of New Philadelphia memorabilia will soon be on display at City Hall. George Lawrence of Museum Acrylics has built and installed three display cases in the vestibule outside of the Mayor’s office. Mayor Taylor’s collection is now in the hands of the Tuscarawas County Heritage Home Association, which donated the cases. Items from his collection will be rotated periodically. I will announce when the cases are filled and ready for public viewing. I want to thank Mayor Taylor and the Heritage Home Association for using this project to give all of us a better appreciation of New Philadelphia’s history. A Group of Downtown Business Owners Would Like a DORA I would like to give the remainder of my time to property and business owner Jim Knisely, who is leading a group of downtown businesses that are interested in creating a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, or DORA, in the downtown area. Following his presentation, President Kemp, I ask that the DORA idea be assigned to a Council committee for consideration. Jim Knisely, owner of Alleycats and Fresh the Market, gave a presentation on a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) in the City. Highlights of the Presentation: - In 2015 the State of Ohio passed legislation that allows for cities to have a DORA Zone, where you’re allowed to leave an establishment that serves alcohol with an open glass of alcohol in a designated container. The cup can’t be refilled. - The containers have to designated with lettering to ensure it’s a designated cup. - The New Phila. VFW has been picked as a sponsor of the cups. The bars would charge the patron an additional fee for the price of the cup. - The money raised from the cups would go toward the VFW to help fund their ongoing projects such as a food pantry for veterans and energy assistance for veterans. - The DORA Zone would go from Fair Ave. to Front Street, from 2nd Street on the west side to 1st Drive on the East Side. There are seven bars in that area; Craft, JNG, Gavin’s, Broadway Brewhouse, Mustard’s Ricardo’s and The Venue. All of the bar owners have agreed to participate in the DORA Program. - Off all the communities who currently have DORA, three of them responded. In Coshocton the program has been very helpful at revitalizing the downtown area. - If DORA is a problem for the city it can be stopped anytime. - If a store owner doesn’t want to participate they can put a “No DORA” sign on their window. Mrs. Ramos asked the following question: You said this would improve our downtown area. It’s basically open carry alcohol, so how’s that going to improve our downtown area? Mr. Knisely: It makes an enhanced shopping experience, and when we have events like Art in the Alley it improves the atmosphere. The other cities that have DORA are getting more participation for their downtown events since they instituted this. It’s one more thing we can do to enhance our business district. 3  Mr. Walker had the following question: Is the area where Art in the Alley takes place included in the DORA District: Mr. Knisely: Yes it is. Mr. Walker: Is it legal to sit in the Courthouse courtyard and drink an alcoholic beverage? Mr. Knisely: If it’s not legal there could be signs posted that it’s a No DORA Zone. President Kemp asked Mr. Walker to take the DORA issue into the Special and Contact Committee for review. SERVICE DIRECTOR………….. Service Director Ron McAbier: Mr. McAbier had the following report: On Al Maloney Midway we’ve been refurbishing that restroom. I stopped over there today on my way to the stadium. The insulation has been put in as well as all the new fans and some lights. The walls and ceiling have been painted as well as the walls. They need to epoxy the floor and put on all new doors. Now with state standards in restrooms we have to put hot water tanks. Also today at 10 o’clock we met at Woody Hayes Quaker Stadium. They’re having some issues with the bleachers. It looks like it may be a complete rebuild. We met with representatives from Dover Tank and Plate, Benchmark Construction, as well as Supt. Wentworth and Mr. Haney. We’re going over some preliminary costs, I’ll report back on it. Mayor Day noted that the bleachers in the lower level are fine. It’s just the upper bleachers that are compromised. AUDITOR ……………MS. BETH GUNDY…………..NO REPORT SAFETY DIRECTOR ………..MR. GREG POPHAM…………..NO REPORT Mr. Popham had the following report: On January 9th we gave an entrance exam at the police department. We had six participants and all six passed. Also, in the police department we are the recipient of a grant for Body Cams for almost $40,000. Those will mesh with the car cams that were purchased in 2023. We’re 22 days into January and the police department has been called 570 times for service so far. The fire department has been called 211 times for service. I would now like to turn the rest of my time over to the Community Cares Coordinator Paula Lancaster. She’ll give us an update on the Community Cares Program. Paula Lancaster gave a Presentation on the Community Cares Program to Council. Highlights of the Presentation: • The CARES Program began in 2020. • CARES means Community Access Resource Education and Solutions • Ms. Lancaster got certified in fall assessments, fall prevention and car seat safety. • Aging in Place is something they see every day. Ms. Lancaster strives to help people stay in their homes safely. • Since 2020 Ms. Lancaster has done 300 fall assessments. • Ms. Lancaster helps individuals find everything from social services to healthcare to transportation, housing and food. • The position of Community Cares Coordinator helps to reduce non-emergency 911 calls for the Fire Department. • Year to date Ms. Lancaster has done nearly 3,000 face to face visits to assess their needs. • Ms. Lancaster opens avenues of needs for each client to address their needs. • In 2020 they did the Compassion Station in which they served 160 families. • They do an annual toy drive. 4  Mayor Day presented Ms. Lancaster with a Commendation for her dedication and commitment to the Community. - TREASURER . . . . MR. TOM GERBER……………….NO REPORT LAW DIRECTOR……MR. MARVIN FETE Mr. Fete had the following report: I want to talk about Greg Erb. The City lost not only a tremendous mayor, but also a tremendous advocate for the City of New Philadelphia. Greg Erb was a dear friend of mine. The way we became friends was kind of unique. I had worked for a congressman in Cleveland who got defeated. I applied to law school after he got beat. I got accepted but I had to wait 6 months before I could get in there so I needed a job for 6 months. Greg was the mayor of the City of New Philadelphia at that time. At that time the City Council was very partisan. Greg was a Republican and the Council was ran by Democrats. Greg came in and defeated a long-term Democrat Mayor. Once he was Mayor he hired someone for an Executive Assistant someone who lived a mile outside of town, so Council invoked a residency requirement. That’s when he hired me as an Executive Assistant. He was probably the smartest man I ever met. He was very forward thinking. The Skate Park that’s here, he did that. He also wrote an ordinance that was called 39-97. It was a precursor to everything we have done with the Non-Bargaining Units. It was the first ever attempt to make sure that those non-bargaining units were recognized, singled-out, and given specific job criteria. He also had a tremendous sense of humor. I last saw him when I was going door to door to get signatures for re-election. We visited about an hour at his house and I’m so grateful for that. BOARD/COMMISSION REPORTS: PLANNING COMMISSION……………….MAYOR JOEL DAY The Planning Commission will be meeting on February 13, 2024 at 1:00 PM here in Council Chambers. I’m sure we’ll have some more information from Wendy Moehler with COMPASS Point Planning who’s diligently working to revise our Zoning Codes. BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS…….MR. RON MCABIER The Board of Zoning Appeals will meet February 13 2024 at 5:00 PM here in Council Chambers. AIRPORT COMMISSION…….MR. DAN LANZER The Airport Commission will be meeting on February 13th. I will update you on the next meeting Where the meeting will be held. We’ve been talking about moving the meetings back to the Airport. PARK BOARD………………….MR. MITCH PACE…..NO REPORT 5  CEMETERY BOARD…………………….MR. MITCH PACE………..NO REPORT HEALTH BOARD ………………….…. MR. TOM SIMMELINK The Health Board will be met on January 10, 2024. The Board voted to raise the charges for Vaccinations effective March 1, 2024. It’s the first time they’ve done it in 8 years. They’re Seeing an increase in Covid, RSV, and flu. STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS: FINANCE COMMITTEE ………………MR. STEVE RIPPETH Mr. Rippeth had the following report: The Finance Committee met tonight in Council Chambers. We discussed Ordinance 1-2024 and Ordinance 2-2024 which we recommended tonight for immediate passage. We also discussed Resolution 1-2024 which we also added to the Agenda and hope to pass tonight. We adjourned at 6:58pm. . PUBLIC WORKS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE…MR. DAN LANZER….NO REPORT SAFETY, HEALTH, AND SERVICE COMMITTEE……MR. TOM SIMMELINK….NO REPORT ZONING AND ANNEXATION COMMITTEE……MRS. CHERYL RAMOS Mrs. Ramos had the following report: The Zoning and Annexation Committee met tonight at 7:00. We did put on the Agenda for tonight a Rezoning for the MPS Manufacturing owned property on Kaserman NE and the City owned property on Commercial Ave. SALARY COMMITTEE………..NO REPORT………MR. KRIS KREINBIHL….NO REPORT PARKS AND CEMETERY COMMITTEE……………MR. MITCH PACE………NO REPORT 6 SPECIAL AND CONTACT COMMITTEE……MR. MIKE WALKER…..NO REPORT Mr. Walker noted that there will be a Meeting on February 12 at 7:00 PM. VISITOR’S COMMENTS__ NONE COUNCIL COMMENTS Mrs. Ramos had the following comment: I would like to give a shout-out to my wonderful husband. Yesterday we celebrated 35 years of marriage. President Kemp had the following comment: I’d like to give a shout-out to the New Phila Lion’s Club. They volunteered at Santa’s House on the Square to make sure Santa was there for children to visit this year. READING OF ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS ORDINANCES: 1-2024 AN ORDINANCE BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW PHILADELPHIA AUTHORIZING THE SERVICE DIRECTOR TO ADVERTISE FOR BIDS AND ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH THE LOWEST AND BEST BIDDER FOR SANITARY LANDFILL SERVICES FOR A TERM BEGINNING MAY 15, 2024 AND ENDING MAY 15, 2027. 1st Reading MR. RIPPETH MOTIONED FOR SUSPENSION OF RULES ON ORDINANCE 1-2024 MR. LANZER SECONDED THE MOTION 7 YEAS RULES HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED ON ORDINANCE 1-2024 MR. RIPPETH MOTIONED FOR APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE 1-2024 MR. LANZER SECONDED THE MOTION 7 YEAS ORDINANCE 1-2024 HAS BEEN APPROVED 2-2024 AN ORDINANCE BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW PHILADELPHIA DIRECTING THE SERVICE DIRECTOR TO ADVERTISE FOR BIDS AND TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS WITH THE LOWEST AND BEST BIDDER FOR THE CITY’S REQUIREMENTS OF VARIOUS MATERIALS AND SUPPLIES FOR 2024. 1st Reading MR. RIPPETH MOTIONED FOR SUSPENSION OF RULES ON ORDINANCE 2-2024 MR. KREINBIHL SECONDED THE MOTION 7  7 YEAS RULES HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED ON ORDINANCE 2-2024 MR. RIPPETH MOTIONED FOR APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE 2-2024 MR. KREINBIHL SECONDED THE MOTION 7 YEAS ORDINANCE 2-2024 HAS BEEN APPROVED 9-2024 AN ORDINANCE BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW PHILADELPHIA, OHIO TO PERMANENTLY REZONE THE FOLLOWING PARCELS IN THE CITY OF NEW PHILADELPHIA, OHIO FROM RESIDENTIAL ZONE TO BUSINESS ZONE. 1st Reading 10-2024 AN ORDINANCE BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW PHILADELPHIA, OHIO TO PERMANENTLY REZONE THE FOLLOWING PARCEL IN THE CITY OF NEW PHILADELPHIA, OHIO FROM RESIDENTIAL ZONE TO INDUSTRIAL ZONE. 1st Reading RESOLUTIONS: 1-2024 A RESOLUTION BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW PHILADELPHIA, TUSCARAWAS COUNTY, OHIO, AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE SAFETY DIRECTOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH MONTROSE FORD FOR THE PURCHASE OF THREE 2023 FORD EXPLORER POLICE CRUISERS AND NECESSARY EQUIPMENT FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AT A COST NOT TO EXCEED $42,039.08 EACH, FOR A TOTAL OF $126,117.25. 1st Reading MR. LANZER MOTIONED FOR SUSPENSION OF RULES FOR RESOLUTION 1-2024 MR. RIPPETH SECONDED THE MOTION 7 YEAS RULES HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED ON RESOLUTION 1-2024 MR. LANZER MOTIONED FOR APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION 1-2024 MR. RIPPETH SECONDED THE MOTION Mrs. Gundy noted that they are not through the budgeting process yet and the total amount might be different. 7 YEAS RESOLUTION 1-2024 HAS BEEN APPROVED UNFINISHED OR OLD BUSINESS: Mr. McAbier had the following comment: Mr. President could you assign to a committee the purchase of a street sweeper? President Kemp assigned this matter to Mr. Rippeth’s Committee. 8  Mrs. Ramos noted that they were still working on the rental registration. NEW BUSINESS: NONE With no other business to discuss Mr. Lanzer motioned to adjourn at 8:40 PM. CLERK OF COUNCIL______________________________________________________ Julie Courtright APPROVED ______________________ PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL __________________________________________________ Don Kemp 9