City Council

NEW PHILADELPHIA CITY COUNCIL MET IN REGULAR SESSION IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON JULY 28, 2025 WITH PRESIDENT DON KEMP PRESIDING. MR. RIPPETH OFFERED A PRAYER, AND ALL IN ATTENDANCE RECITED THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. COUNCIL MEMBERS IN ATTENDENCE MR. DAN LANZER MRS. CHERYL RAMOS MR. STEVE RIPPETH MR. BRIAN SEARS MR. TOM SIMMELINK EXCUSED ABSENSES: MR. KRIS KREINBIHL MR. MICHAEL WALKER MAYOR JOEL DAY SERVICE DIRECTOR RON MCABIER LAW DIRECTOR MARVIN FETE  MR. RIPPETH MOTIONED TO APPROVE TONIGHT’S AGENDA MR. SIMMELINK SECONDED THE MOTION 5 YEAS TONIGHT’S AGENDA HAS BEEN APPROVED  MRS. RAMOS MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE JULY 14, 2025 REGULAR SESSION OF COUNCIL MR. SIMMELINK SECONDED THE MOTION 5 YEAS MINUTES FROM THE JULY 14, 2025 REGULAR SESSION OF COUNCIL HAVE BEEN APPROVED CORRESPONDENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CLERK, JULIE COURTRIGHT 1. To Council and Administration from Mayor Day, dated July 25, 2025. This is an invitation to attend Michael McInturf’s Master Vision Plan Presentation on September 8, 2025 from 6pm to 7pm. 2. To Council and Administration from Mayor Day, dated July 28, 2025. The Mayor’s Report. MAYOR’S REPORT/REQUESTS ….MAYOR JOEL B. DAY….EXCUSED ABSENSE Mayor Day had the following report:  After the Labor Day holiday weekend, the City will begin preparing the site at Tuscora Park for a new inclusive playground. The project was created by Preston Goodie Cornell, a science teacher at New Philadelphia High School. An inclusive playground is a playground that allows children of all ages and abilities to play together. It’s wheelchair accessible and helps to develop physical, cognitive, sensory and social skills. The inclusive playground will replace the aging playground equipment adjacent to the train and roller coaster rides at Tuscora Park. City crews will remove the existing equipment and rough in the site. Ms. Cornell has raised enough money to purchase new inclusive playground equipment and finish the site preparation. But she needs more to finish the project. Search “Tuscora Park Inclusive Playground” on Facebook to learn more about it and how you can make a donation. The Tuscora Park Foundation is sponsoring the project. 1   Where’s the Coolest Walking Path in the City? If the hot sun and humidity are limiting your outdoor walks, remember that the City’s park system has two walking paths that are under the cooling shade of tree canopies. The pedestrian trail at the Southside Community Park starts in the pollinator garden and offers a comfortable walk through the park’s wooded area. The second walking path is the Crider Avenue Nature Trail, which is at the end of Crider Avenue NE. There’s a parking lot for vehicles. The Crider Avenue trail offers a good workout in a natural setting under cooling shade trees. Both trails are dog- friendly so take your four-legged family members with you.  New Hours for the City Health Department City Health: Commissioner Nichole Bache has implemented new operating hours for the City Health Department. The department will now be open from 8am to 4:30 pm. No longer will the office be closed from Noon to 1pm. The new hours will make the City’s public health services more accessible for those persons who can only visit during lunchtime.  The County’s Convention and Visitors Bureau Needs Board Members: The Tuscarawas County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the organization responsible for promoting tourism to New Philadelphia and Tuscarawas County, has three openings on its volunteer board of directors. Here is information about the position provided by Dee Grossman, the CVB’s executive director: The board member will serve a three-year term beginning in January of 2026. Board members are responsible for the long-term planning of the CVB and the fiscal soundness of the organization. Board meetings are usually held the third Wednesday of the month at 8:00AM. Board members are also encouraged to participate in the CVB activities such as FAM tours, travel shows, and other tourismrelated events. Please send your letter of intent/interest to the CVB offices by September 19, 2025. All letters will be reviewed by the current board. Potential candidates may be asked to attend a board meeting prior to the end of the year to meet with the current board. For more information, please contact Dee Grossman at 330-602-2420. Letters of interest can be mailed to 124 East High Street, New Philadelphia, OH 44663, or emailed to director@traveltusc.com. # SERVICE DIRECTOR………….. Service Director Ron McAbier: EXCUSED ABSENSE AUDITOR ……………MRS. HEATHER DENHAM…………NO COMMENT TREASURER………..MR. TOM GERBER……………NO REPORT SAFETY DIRECTOR ………………………….MR. KEVIN MILLIGAN Mr. Milligan had the following report:  June Volume Reports for the Fire Department: 301 calls for the month, 15% of those were in Goshen Twp. We’re going to start renegotiating the agreement with Goshen Twp as it expires in 2026.  Firefighter Wes Halter participates in the Quick Response Team, which is part of a grant from the ADAHMS Board and the Sheriff’s Department. It’s a fully funded grant from the State of Ohio. What they do is respond and do some follow-up visits with victims of drug overdoses or patients that succumb to drug overdoses. Comparing Data from July 24 to June 25 there has been a 48% increase in overdoses that needed EMS.  Police Department: Some annual numbers through 6 months; they’ve responded to 17,939 calls for service. The majority of those calls are related to suspicious activity. There’s a lot of traffic work that they’re doing in the City. 2   I’ll be working with a traffic engineer from ODOT next week to go over traffic control to evaluate traffic flow concerns in the City.  I’ve met with our SWAT Commander Ty Norris. It’s a great value to our citizens to have a valuable SRT team. Since 2013 we’ve had at least 10 officer involved shootings in the City. That team formed under Joel Skinner under partnership with Dover. I’ll be meeting with the Safety Director and Mayor of Dover to look at ways we can collaborate. Mrs. Ramos had the following question: Since you were talking about traffic patterns, are you guys considering the traffic issues on Bluebell where the Chick-fil-a will be, West High, and around there. We were at San Jose the other day, and there’s no access road to Hog Heaven and Towne Place, you have one way to turn on a busy road. Have we thought about getting a road there? Mr. Milligan: ODOT is currently doing a study of the west end that extends to Bluebell Drive. The Mayor this week sent me some preliminary plans that some things are being discussed on how to resolve the traffic flow problem. As we were down there we talked about the McDonald’s property and the challenges of trying to get out of there. Mrs. Ramos had the following question: On Bluebell Drive by Walmart and Menard’s, there’s no way to get out except back to West High? Are we considering changing that? We’ve talked about this for years. A road up by College or something. Mr. Milligan: I’ve had some citizens ask about that, and it’s certainly something to take into consideration. LAW DIRECTOR……MR. MARVIN FETE………….EXCUSED ABSENSE BOARD/COMMISSION REPORTS: PLANNING COMMISSION……………….MAYOR JOEL DAY ……….EXCUSED ABSENSE Mrs. Ramos commented that the next meeting will be on August 12, 2025 at 1:00 PM. BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS…….MR. RON MCABIER………….EXCUSED ABSENSE AIRPORT COMMISSION…….MR. DAN LANZER The Airport Commission will be meeting on August 12th at 6:00pm at the Harry Clever Field Meeting Room. PARK BOARD……………………….MR. BRIAN SEARS The Park Board will be meeting on Wednesday, August 20, 2025 at Noon at the Park Pavillion 3  CEMETERY BOARD…………………MR. BRIAN SEARS……..NO REPORT HEALTH BOARD ………………….…. MR. TOM SIMMELINK The Health Board will be meeting on August 13, 2025. STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS: FINANCE COMMITTEE ………………MR. STEVE RIPPETH………….NO REPORT Mr. Rippeth noted that he would like to schedule a meeting on August 11, 2025. 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………..NO REPORT SALARY COMMITTEE………..………MR. KRIS KREINBIHL……….EXCUSED ABSENSE PARKS AND CEMETERY COMMITTEE……………MR. BRIAN SEARS…………NO REPORT 4 SPECIAL AND CONTACT COMMITTEE……MR. MIKE WALKER……………..EXCUSED ABSENSE VISITOR’S COMMENTS_ NONE COUNCIL COMMENTS President Kemp had the following comment: On September 9, 2025 we’re going to have a Council of the Whole Committee for Mr. McInturf to give his report. READING OF ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS ORDINANCES NONE RESOLUTIONS NONE UNFINISHED OR OLD BUSINESS: NONE NEW BUSINESS: NONE 5  With no other business to discuss Mr. Lanzer motioned to adjourn at 7:48 PM. CLERK OF COUNCIL______________________________________________________ Julie Courtright APPROVED ______________________ PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL __________________________________________________ Don Kemp 6