City Council Regular Meeting

COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 1. Call to Order: Vice Pres. of Council: It is Thursday, July 25, 2024, and this is our regularly scheduled 7:00 p.m. Council meeting. 2. Opening Prayer: Fr. Mike Matusz, Our Lady of Victory Parish, Tallmadge. Pledge of Allegiance: 3. Roll Call: Mr. Bollas, Mrs. Epstein, Mrs. Gutman, Mr. Pavlik, Mr. Roy, Mr. Rubino – present. Mr. Bozic was excused. 4. Correcting and Adopting Previous Meeting Minutes: 7-11-24 Council Meeting Minutes Mr. Pavlik moved to adopt the 7-11-24 Council meeting minutes. Seconded Mr. Roy. Roll Call: Mrs. Epstein, Mrs. Gutman, Mr. Pavlik, Mr. Roy, Mr. Rubino, Mr. Bollas – unanimous. The 7-11- 24 Council meeting minutes were adopted by a vote of 6-0. 5. Financial Reports: None. 6. Public Hearings: None. 7. Community Input: This is the point in the meeting where we ask if there is anyone in the audience who would like to address Council on something that is not on the agenda. I would ask that you come to the podium and state your name and address. 8. Agenda Additions: Vice Pres. of Council: At this time, I would like to make a change to the agenda. I would like to move Community Issues Committee to this point in the meeting. There is a resolution that Council would like to vote on prior to recognizing the Tallmadge Blue Devils Wheelchair State Champions. At this point I would like to ask Mr. Roy to open the Community Issues Committee. Mr. Roy: I call the Community Issues Committee to order. We have Res. 2024-4 before us this evening at 1st Reading. The resolution was read into the record. Can I get a motion please? Mr. Bollas: So moved. Seconded Mrs. Epstein. Roll Call: Mrs. Gutman, Mr. Pavlik, Mr. Roy, Mr. Rubino, Mr. Bollas, Mrs. Epstein – unanimous. Res. 2024-4 is adopted by a vote of 6-0. Mayor: If I could recognize the Wheelchair champions. I am just very, very excited to congratulate the Tallmadge Blue Devils Wheelchair Basketball Team. They were the 2024 Interscholastic wheelchair basketball State Champions with a 24-16 victory over Austintown Fitch Falcons on March 9, 2024, at the University of Akron James A. Rhodes Arena. I do want to make sure that I announce all of the players’ names. The Mayor went on to name all the members of the team and their coaches. There was a short video played showing highlights of the team. Coach Michalec: I would just like to say a couple of words. We are not a group just from Tallmadge. The way the rules are you can put up to 3 schools together just not over 5,500 total enrollments. We are from Tallmadge, Michael is from Woodridge, and then Ta’Shaun is from Steele Academy right down the street. We are the hardest working team in the league. There is no doubt about it. I have been referred to as the “Bobby Knight” of wheelchair basketball because I yell a lot, but these kids need direction and discipline, and they perform. The other thing that I want to recognize is Monica Currey. Monica Currey has retired from coaching and so she is leaving us a State Champion. The good news is that I am the Head Coach now. Cory and I and we do have a new Ass’t. Coach and we will announce him just as soon as he is approved by the school board. We have been State runners-up 3 times. Going into this game this year we had 2 losses; they were both to Austintown and they were undefeated and we lost to them by 8 in Austintown and by 6 here in Tallmadge and we scouted them all through the playoffs and we said you know something, nobody expects us to win and we are just going to go out there and we are going to play our game. They had a kid on there who averaged 18 points a game. We held them to 8 in the championship game. We win with dignity; we lose with dignity, and we represent the City well and the City has backed this program since day 1. Last year we won District. 1  COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 Coach Michalec (Cont’d.) of the Year. It was the first time they ever gave it out and they gave it to us because of the support that we get from the City and the schools. We draw more fans than anybody else and we just always got support from the past City Administration and the current City Administration. We are going to keep growing and keep playing our hardest. So, thank you very much for this award. Vice Pres. of Council: Just a reminder that we have a motion and a second. Roll Call: Mrs. Gutman, Mr. Pavlik, Mr. Roy, Mr. Rubino, Mr. Bollas, Mrs. Epstein – unanimous. Res. 2024-4 is adopted by a vote of 6-0. Mr. Roy: Is there anything else for Community Issues? Hearing none, I will close committee. • Presentation of Certificate of Appreciation to the owners of the Tallmadge Academy of Dance on West Avenue. Mrs. Epstein: Carole Bader and Morgan Bader-Isenhart are the owners of the Tallmadge Academy of Dance. Carol is an alumnus of Tallmadge High School and her daughter Morgan are both seasoned dancers since childhood and they took the helm of Tallmadge Academy of dance in 2016 formerly named the Denise Bryant Studio of Dance owned and managed by Denise Bryant for over 24 years. Under their leadership this dance studio has evolved into more than just a place of instruction; it has become a second home and a true dance family for students ranging in age from 18 months to their most seasoned dancer at 84 years old. This love of dance by their students is evident by their recent achievements at the Revolution National Dance Competition in Orlando, Florida. To qualify for nationals, they must receive an exceptional judication award or scholarship while competing at a regional competition or convention. 10 talented dancers from the Tallmadge Academy of Dance have all qualified and competed in 11 of nearly 2,000 routines showcasing their skills and bringing honor to our community. Both dancers and staff received recognition for choreography, special judge’s awards and training scholarships. 9. Reports of Administrative Officers: a. Mayor/Dir. of Pub. Safety: • Many of you know our Summit County Public Health Commissioner, Donna Skoda, announced earlier this year that she would be retiring and stepping down at the end of the year. So, on July 23rd they did announce that Christopher Barker has been selected to replace Donna Skoda upon her retirement at the end of 2024. The Board upheld and voted to appoint Christopher at the Board of Health meeting on July 11 th. He began his career at Summit County Public Health in 2009 as an Emergency Preparedness Planner. He earned his Masters of Public Health degree from Kent State in 2016 and most recently held the position of Director of Preparedness in compliance with Summit County Public Health. So, I just wanted to make you guys aware of that. • I did take a trip to Bounce Innovation Hub last week to see what the huge incubator actually does. It is an amazing place. It really does work because we do have a business here in Tallmadge that started off in the incubator at Bounce and quickly grew and outgrew their location there and that is what an incubator does. It helps people start up and helps them to grow and then helps them to go off into their brick-and-mortar businesses. As you can see McDonald’s did close their doors. Demolition should be starting soon, and they will start the construction for the new McDonalds property in front of it. We also have the West Avenue Community Engagement event on July 30 th. Again, I would like to invite Council to that. It is July 30th at 5:30 p.m. and it is at the Community Center. It is a wider audience of properties within 500’ of West Avenue. The business community and the general public are invited so if anyone wants to get any information on what this overlay is all about, please make sure you attend that event. 2  COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 • I also participated in the Fair opening on July 23rd. Each year it is growing a little bit more. • I am going to again ask for your support for the strategic plan. I know I had asked for it at 2nd Reading so that we could get started on it per the scope of work. We would like to get started by August 5th. • I did have my “After Hours with the Mayor.” Mr. Rubino: About the McDonald’s project and simply because I was asked earlier, and I wasn’t sure of the answers so I figured this would be a good setting. A lot of that is currently fenced off that is connected to the Circle. Was that a swap that occurred of some kind or . . . Mayor: No, McDonalds . . . Mr. Rubino: Or are they just taking the whole property? Mayor: They purchased that property years ago. So, they are going to be building the new facility on the empty property and then with the demolition, that is all part of the whole parcel with storm water management and all of that. So, it will all get used up probably. If there is anything that they don’t need, then that will be a discussion that they would either want to sell the property or do something with it. Any other questions? End of report. b. Director of Administration/Economic Development: • I received some questions about negotiations. Our first Teamster negotiation has been scheduled. Their representative has been engaged in a couple of other events and so we won’t get started with them until the second week in August. We will keep you updated obviously in a different form as those progress. • We conducted a business retention and expansion engagement with Continental Battery Systems that is located on Tacoma. Other than your questions that is all I have for this evening. Mr. Rubino: I do have a question. For the Teamsters negotiations what services and departments does that involve? Dir. of Administration: That is the Public Service Department and that will cover Street, Water and Garage. Mr. Pavlik: When does Police start? Dir. of Administration: Once we are underway with Teamsters then we will go ahead and engage those consecutively though, not all concurrently. We are waiting to have that first negotiation well underway and have some ideas in certain areas. More than happy to schedule an appointment to talk to each and every one of you offline if you have any questions about that. c. Director of Public Service: • The paving program is underway still and hopefully next week we will start getting to the point where we can start wrapping that up. If the weather would cooperate, we would probably be farther along. Those rain showers every afternoon are throwing us off. • Then just keep in mind that August 10th is Circle Fest. That’s it for my report unless there are any questions. d. Director of Finance: Thank you. All Council members should have received an e-mail from the Auditor’s office that our annual audit has been released for public information. Our Annual Financial Report and the Community Report have both been posted on the City’s website for public viewing. So, if you want to take a look those, they are on the City’s website. If anybody needs it e-mailed, I can do that also. We will start the course next week for advertising through Facebook, through the Rec Newsletter and different channels that are available to the public online. If anybody has any questions, I would be glad to answer them. e. Ass’t. Director of Law: We have nothing to report this evening. 10. Reports of Standing Committees of Council of the Whole: 3  COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 a. PLANNING AND ZONING Mary Gutman, Chair Jessica Epstein, Vice Chair The Planning & Zoning Committee deals with land use, zoning, conditional uses, planning, economic and community development, and public property. i. Third Readings of Ordinances and Resolutions. A. Ord. 2024-48 – Amended – P&Z Rec. approval 4-0 – Approving and granting a conditional zoning certificate to applicant, Ellen Selle, Sheetz, Inc., on behalf of owners, Burton Thompson, Jr., Kevin Thompson, Babara A. Thompson, Joan M. Thompson and Roholt Real Estate LLC, for an automotive filling station located at 592 S. Munroe Road (PN 6009938), S. Munroe Road (PN 6005077), 855-857 Southeast Ave (PN 6004494), and 583 Southeast (PN 6009979). Sponsor: Councilperson Mary Gutman Mrs. Gutman: I call Planning & Zoning to order. We have before us at 3rd Reading tonight amended Ord. 2024-48. Planning & Zoning recommended approval by a vote of 4-0. The ordinance was read into the record. So, just to go over how we will handle things tonight. I know we have representatives from Sheetz here and I believe their Traffic Engineer in attendance. Oh, the Traffic Engineer is not here this evening. So, we will cover any questions and then I will have anyone from the audience who wishes to speak, and we will have Council go through the review standards which we will talk about in a moment and then we will do our vote. So, I just wanted to review for anyone who wasn’t at the last meeting or didn’t watch it online, what Council’s role is in this and what our vote is for . . . the property in question . . . what we are doing is every use is permitted except for the conditional . . . except for the filling station I should say which is conditionally permitted. So, this means that we are not voting on a zoning change or amending the zoning. We are looking at . . . probably more scrutiny permitting its use conditionally per se. So, Planning & Zoning already had a public hearing and listed these conditions which we have added by amendment. Those are in Section 2 of the ordinance. We can ask questions on them if there is anything in particular but I just wanted to make that clear that the filling station is already conditionally permitted. We are not making an amendment to the Zoning Code for that. This is commercial property. I also wanted to clarify one more time this is not a City project as I have gotten feedback multiple times from people who are a little bit confused about that. The title of the ordinance; this is a private property owner and a company. It is not a City project so this isn’t something that the City is doing. We are just providing the oversight that is required by our ordinances. So, I once again would like to ask about traffic. Perhaps Mrs. Selle if you would come to the podium just one more time for the record state your name and address. Ellen Selle, Sheetz, 351 Sheets Way, Altoona, Pa. So, there were a lot of questions last time on traffic and we talked through several things, but I think hearing the residents afterwards there are a lot of questions on that 25%. That is not 25% new traffic generated by Sheetz. We wanted to make that very clear. That was just how you calculate the split when you are doing calculations in a traffic study. 75% is pass-by traffic of the Sheetz, total numbers of Sheetz not the total numbers on the roadway. So, of the Sheetz traffic that we are counting 75% of that is pass-by, 25% for Sheetz is new traffic is how we calculate it, but numbers related to your intersection and your roadways aren’t those same percentages. So, we provided a memo from the traffic engineer, and I can just kind of read off what some of that said. So, some of the things with the traffic study that we looked at are a.m. and p.m. peak hours. So, in the a.m. peak hour in just one hour there will . . . Sheetz will bring 23 new vehicles to the area going through the intersection. That is a 3% increase in the a.m. In the p.m. it is . . . I’m sorry that was 23 new entering and 23 new exiting in the a.m. and then in the p.m. it is 21 new entering and 20 new vehicles exiting. So, again an increase of just 2%. So, it is not a 25% increase in traffic. We are talking in the peak hour less 4  COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 Mrs. Gutman (Cont’d.) than 25 new cars through that intersection. Hopefully that helps people see a little bit better that it is not significant; it is a slight increase but it’s not 25% new traffic coming to that intersection. I think that was the biggest question we had, was there something else that you wanted me to answer? Mrs. Gutman: So, that was definitely the biggest concern that we have heard is that number and it is unfortunate that it took us this long to address it properly, but I appreciate those numbers. Definitely. On the traffic study report there is a table that I just wanted to . . . if you scroll down to Table 2 it has the wait times to go through the intersection. So, you can see the red or the “f” rated areas. So, this is why people are concerned. I want to just say that I appreciate that there are obviously unacceptable traffic conditions there but what I wanted to highlight and maybe you can speak to it in case I don’t say this correctly but it looks like when you compare the before and after and this is a 10-year difference like now up to 2034 into the future. There isn’t a significant change verses building versus non-building. Is that correct? Ellen Selle: That is correct. It just might be easier to point here. Mrs. Epstein: Before you start can we zoom in a little bit. Ellen Selle: So, this first half is the no-build condition. So, no-build means existing condition, and this is just looking at this main intersection. It is not looking at the movement in front of Sheetz; it is looking at your intersection. The public intersection right now. So that is these first few columns, and it goes through, and the traffic study gives it a rating and so like an A is the best, and F is pretty much failing. But still usable, obviously still usable. There is a range that goes with each one. I don’t know what the range is. It is probably listed somewhere here but it is in a manual somewhere but D range, F, E that is what you see existing and then yes, if you go to our build condition which includes you know our 2% increase, 3% increase at your intersection it is a very minor change. So, you have to look at if this is the a.m. peak hour existing and then this is the a.m. peak hour build condition with the Sheetz. D to D. F to F. It is the same. It doesn’t impact it that much. But if you go down to the actual numbers the wait time; that is how long you are sitting there waiting at the red light. Those numbers do increase slightly. So, from a 41.9 to a 43 second wait. You are not going to feel that. Does that help explain this? Mrs. Gutman: Yes. Ellen Selle: So, then the very last line is the total intersection delay. It averages out everything and the same thing, it is still F to F. It is still the same. Mrs. Gutman: OK. Thank you. I appreciate that and while we have Ms. Selle at the podium, is there anyone else who has traffic or engineering type specific questions? Mrs. Epstein: I also wanted to ask, so looking at the pre-build or no-build condition to the build condition, the increase in traffic includes the new customers that might be coming which in peak hours would be anywhere from 21 to 23 or 3% and then it also, in the page above, talks about calculating and anticipated increase traffic just over the course of 10 years and that was 0.55%. Is that .55 or .50? I’m not sure, but it is less than 1. Is that quoted in there as well in addition to . . . Ellen Selle: Yes, in addition. Mrs. Epstein: So, then any extension of time includes growth over those 10 years plus the build versus no-build? Ellen Selle: Correct. Mr. Pavlik: Yeah, so one of the recommendations in the traffic analysis was the Southeast bound left turn lane was warranted and I believe, if I remember correctly, Mayor when we talked about this, the City Engineers were looking at the feasibility or how that is built out. Has that been done and completed? Mayor: That is still being worked on between Sheetz and the City. Ellen Selle: Our traffic engineers have been talking to the City about the widths of the lanes, but regardless we have to put in that left turn lane. So, it is 100’ left turn lane into our site but how that is going to look if it is an 11’ or 12’ lane, that has to be worked out still. The design has not been done but the requirement is there. 5  COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 Mayor: That is a huge benefit that the City will receive having Sheetz foot the bill for that turn lane. Mr. Pavlik: Correct, but nothing has been decided yet. Wouldn’t that need to be decided first before . . . Mayor: No, that will be in the final documents. Ellen Selle: It is part of our permitting that we have to go through so we can’t construct anything in your roadway without City approval and City permits. So, the first step is getting the traffic study approved and getting these approvals through City Council and then we design our construction documents and then the City has to approve them. Mr. Pavlik: So, hypothetically speaking, if that turn lane can’t be done, I’m not saying it can or can’t be, then the project can’t happen; right? I mean in layman’s terms, right I mean then . . . Ellen Selle: We have to have an approved traffic study and whatever the approved traffic study says, we have to do. So, I think the way that our conditions, Diane, do they have approvals from the City written in there? Diane Calta: Construction drawings for example, which would include the roadway construction will go through your approval process and reviewed by your traffic engineer and your engineer whether there . . . the building will actually be reviewed by your Building Department and your plan examiners. All of that will happen after these approvals and then that is when, if all of those things are approved, that is when permits are issued. Mr. Pavlik: So, if those aren’t approved, then permits can’t be issued until that is approved. Diane Calta: Correct Ellen Selle: This is just a site plan. Diane Calta: Correct. So, we go to the next step of the engineering of the construction drawings after all of these things are approved. The process is very long and detailed, but I think that answers your question. I just want to make sure it does. Mr. Pavlik: Yeah, it does; OK. So, in the event that it doesn’t get approved, you technically . . . the project could be dormant; right or you could come back and ask for some sort of variance to that? Ellen Selle: I would agree with that right. If there is something else that comes up, if there is something else that comes up it varies. So, say we get through . . . we get into more details, and something comes up that maybe the building has to be . . . and I am . . . this is off the cuff, the building has to be moved for whatever reason. There is a utility that somebody didn’t know was there or maybe a utility has to go in somewhere because the roadway needs to be 12’ instead of 11’. In that instance, if say you don’t meet the setback for the building then we come back. Mr. Pavlik: OK, so Melody, then that would go to Planning & Zoning first and then come to Council? Ass’t. Dir. of Law: It would depend on the type of variance, but it would go somewhere else before it came to you; yeah. Mr. Pavlik: OK. Perfect. Thank you. Diane Calta, Land Development Counsel with Manser, Gavin and I represent Sheetz. I did have one thing from the last meeting that I didn’t answer so, we are ready to answer all of your questions, but I do want to jump in with one thing. Mr. Pavlik: So, this traffic study that was done; is that done in conjunction with having that turn lane in there? Ellen Selle: Yes, if you keep scrolling down it is the recommendation like you mentioned. There is probably a diagram in here too that shows that left turn lane, but it is 100’ and it is going to be in our construction documents. Mr. Pavlik: OK. Thank you. Mrs. Gutman: Are there any further Council questions? You said that you would like to address us. Diane Calta: There was a question last time and I apologize I wasn’t able to answer it. Wages at the location; what sort of wages would be paid. They do vary depending on the positions and 6  COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 Diane Calta (Cont’d.) depending on the times that you are scheduled for. Ellen and Owen were very clear that a lot of times you can go into Sheetz and they are always hiring and they have $18.85 plastered but I did do a little Googling just to see what was out there and you can do the same thing, so depending on the positions, you have supervisors in the $18.50 range, you have maintenance around $16.50, you have a 1st Team Member at $15.50. There are also positions for people that actually are truck drivers that are traveling with fuel and those are up in the $35, $36 an hour. So, it does vary but I just wanted to give you an idea of where those wages are. Mrs. Gutman: OK. Thank you very much. I want to thank both of you. If there are no further questions from Council; are there any comments from the Administration? Anything that anyone would like to add before I open it up to the public? No one responded. Is there anyone in the audience who would like to make any comments? If you would approach the podium and state your name and address at this time. Justin J. Summers, Sr., 767 Southeast Avenue, Tallmadge. I also own 759 and 757. A couple of questions; a couple concerns and just some things I wanted to point out. One is the Duke; obviously the Duke is right across the street. Clearly Duke is going to go out of business so my question is for you guys; have you thought about anything that could go in there? Have you thought about the next steps so once that does go out of business, what is going to happen with that property? Is it just going to sit? Have you guys you know maybe thought about bringing something else in to take that property. Next one was the turn lane. Obviously, I live 4 houses and one business down from where Sheetz would be. I look out my window pretty often or am outside working or doing whatever. Today there was traffic past my house over the hill where I couldn’t see it going towards the Circle which wasn’t that much time, but I have been in traffic a number of times where people will cut in the ongoing lane to get to that turn lane. I have seen it many times. I have seen people racing down the road a few times, but I understand it is going to be about 100’ so it will end at the Sheetz property, I guess. I guess my question is is that really long enough to move some of those cars into that middle lane? That was a question I had was how far that middle lane; that turn lane would actually go back towards the Circle. Sidewalks. I did my own study because again I sit at home and watch people go up and down the road quite a bit and at least 6 to 12 people a day easily walk up and down Southeast Avenue. Kids go up and down on Southeast Avenue; Sheetz is going to bring a lot of kids. Let’s be honest, there are going to be lots of car meetups and motorcycle meetups. Kids are going to go there a lot. Mayor, I know you ran on a platform that hey, I’m putting sidewalks in. If ever there was a time that we need sidewalks on Southeast with Sheetz going in it would be now. There are kids every single day riding bikes up and down the road. Just a couple of years ago we had a guy get run over and killed on Southeast Avenue. There is going to be a lot more foot and wheel traffic and runners up and down Southeast. I know Sheetz is going to put it on their property and then I think the next business has sidewalks as well but then it ends. There are no sidewalks on Southeast until you hit the businesses next to the Circle. Then the other one I saw on the Facebook of whatever it is is that people were concerned about animals getting killed, run over. You know I bury at least 4 deer a year that get hit in front of my house. I have addressed Council about this in the past, but I would love to see some sort of a culling system here in Tallmadge. I know there are other cities that are more populated with less actual square mileage that do cull their deer. I know that at one time Tallmadge used to be agricultural, but it is not anymore. It is, I mean we have very little agriculture and even back then you didn’t see deer that often. I mean I love deer; it is great but seeing the same deer every single day and deer always getting hit. I know people here in Tallmadge that have herd deer that are fenced in, and they try to take care of them. The deer bring disease, they eat all your plants, and if you have ever seen the little gardens around here, they look like fortresses. I mean it looks like a penitentiary because you have to put the fences 12’ high so they don’t jump over them and eat all your stuff. So, I would like to see a study. I would love to see us look at other cities that have 7  COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 Mr. Summers (Cont’d.) done this successfully that are very close to us that do have programs to take deer. That way we are not running them over going to Sheetz. That’s all I have. Thank you. Mrs. Gutman: Thank you Mr. Summers. I appreciate that feedback. Is there anyone else who would like to speak? If you will state your name and address for the record. Gene Centore, 487 Southeast Avenue, Tallmadge. I just want to echo one point that my fellow community members have had and that is sidewalks. I notice my neighbor’s kids walk up and down the street and I notice folks walking up and down the street to work or to school or to what have you. I definitely agree with the point of sidewalks and then to the point of the deer culling. I would like to see a study on that as well because I know last year my wife and I tried to start a vegetable garden and any produce we had the deer ate. So, yeah. Mrs. Gutman: Thank you very much. I appreciate that. Burt Thompson: I own Gary’s Tallmadge Mower and the properties in question; a number of them. I said it before, and it was very tough for the family; the Thompsons’ to sell these properties off. Very tough. My mom graduated from Tallmadge, Class of 41 and my family has owned properties I don’t know, maybe 9 properties in Tallmadge. My father, myself . . . on behalf of the Thompson family I just wanted to thank everybody again on Council, the Mayor, the Police Chief, the Fire Chief and the citizens for being our customers all of those years. I do believe this will be in the best interests of Tallmadge and our family too. I thought long and hard about this to sell to Sheetz Company which is another family-owned business and I just want to thank all of you again for all of your time and everything and the citizens of Tallmadge and our neighboring community customers. On behalf of B.R. Thompson, my father, my mother Helen Thompson, for Thompson Jr., Barbara Thompson, my wife, and all of our children and the rest of our family I just want to thank you all again because most of you are my customers too. Sorry for closing up, but I’m 74 years old. It’s time. But thanks again to the City of Tallmadge and all the citizens and everybody. I appreciate it very, very much. Thank you. Mrs. Gutman: Thank you Mr. Thompson. We do appreciate your contributions to the community as well. Rose Custer, 218 Dunbar Road, Tallmadge. When I first moved . . . when my husband and I first moved here in 1976, we moved here because we thought it was a nice, little town close to a big city. Since then, it has been growing way too fast. We are thinking about moving out because it is getting too big. It is getting too congested. It is just you know tiresome to go by the Circle and see all these cars and now there is going to be a Sheetz gas station. Every Sheetz gas station I have seen; there is a lot of land around it. Now at the Circle, I mean at 6 corners, there is not going to be a lot of land around it. There is going to be a gas station across the street, there are going to be all these other businesses real close together. So, I’m definitely against it but you know, I don’t know who else is but that is why I came to this meeting when I heard about it and also there is a Sheetz gas station going in on 43 in Brimfield. I mean how many Sheetz gas stations do we really need? There are Sheetz gas stations all over the place. So, I don’t know, that’s my thought. Thank you. Mrs. Gutman: Thank you. I appreciate your input. Is there anyone further? OK. Well, I thank you all for being here and taking the time to share your thoughts with us. We do appreciate it and I also thank everyone who has sent e-mails. It is helpful to get that feedback. Frequently our process when we have zoning before us is to go through the review standards that we use when we consider these ordinances. The review standards are, just to clarify, we don’t have to agree on them and they are to consider when we make our final vote so what I will do is I will just read each standard and give each Council member a chance to share their input if they would like the standard and if you don’t have anything to add on it, you can just say so. That is OK. So, we have 7 standards in front of us. Number 1 is the proposed use shall be in harmony with the existing or intended character of the zone or district and nearby affected zones and districts and shall not change the essential character of the zones and districts. So, I will start and then we will just work with Jessica down. My thoughts on this. Well I understand that it is commercially zoned 8  COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 Mrs. Gutman (Cont’d.) and perhaps underused commercially at this point so it feels like a big change for some of the residents that are in the area, and I do appreciate that feedback that we are getting. It is also next to a filling station, so my view is that it is a commercial area at a busy intersection next to a filling station and it is hard to argue that that is not in harmony. But I would like to say that I appreciate those of you who have said that you don’t think it is. Mrs. Epstein, would you like to comment? Mrs. Epstein: Sure. I agree. C-3 zoning classification and this use is permitted there and there is also a filling station across the street. I believe we received information that that was maybe 1972 since that gas station has been there. There are proposed waivers for the street trees and the foundation planning. That is condition I-C and I-D which I did review but my understanding is that there will be planter boxes in place and so as long as there is some greenery there to maintain I think that that continues with the harmony there in the landscaping. Mr. Roy: I think with it being a C-3 it gives them the right to put a business in there and I just think it is something . . . it is not always good to get 100% of the people who are going to want something. You are going to have 2 sides to everything and that is what makes our job tough when we have to make these tough decisions. Thank you. Mr. Rubino: Yeah, I think the area as you guys said before has a gas station and it is currently zoned appropriately minus some minor adjustments. I think the investment to the community would be worth it. Mr. Pavlik: I agree with everything that’s been said, unfortunately every gas station in this City is zoned C-3 as it sits right now which makes it hard to deny this request. I think at one point on that corner there were up to 3 gas stations. So, you have to take that into consideration when we were a smaller town there were 3 gas stations there. So, I can’t . . . as much as I hear the disdain from the people who spoke, and I know there are others out there but unfortunately this is a conditional use. It is not changing the zoning and therefore they afford that right to be heard. Mr. Bollas: The only item I might add is just that I would like to see our economic development discussion around that area like the comment the gentleman spoke of regarding the concern for Duke’s and the surrounding area and just you know obviously trying to insure that that business, all the businesses thrive in that area that are zoned in that capacity and whatever we can do as a part of a committee as a whole especially during budget season to understand what we can do to improve things like sidewalks and infrastructure to help mitigate the concerns of the community. Mrs. Gutman: Thank you. Our second standard is the proposed use shall not adversely affect the use of adjacent property. Given that there is a gas station in close proximity currently I feel that there isn’t an adverse effect and I also appreciate the measures that have been taken such as the landscaping plan and the conditions put in place that, for example, the decibels level the property line was considered so that there won’t be any noise disruption. They have also put in place requirements that deliveries and dumpster emptying happen during daytime hours, so the property owners won’t be disturbed by loud noises like at 3:00 a.m. or 4:00 a.m. So, I do feel like those conditions that have been put in place are appropriate so that there is no adverse effect. I will say that for the most adjacent property I have not heard negative feedback that would cause me to feel differently about this condition. Mrs. Epstein: Yes, I think in reviewing some of the conditions that are put in place, storm water has been reviewed, light plan such as photometrics; that has all been looked at by the City Engineer. The audible device does not exceed 55 dba at the property line. My other thought is the surrounding area. There is a fire station across the street and the light and noise disturbance from the fire truck or ambulance leaving is going to be louder than a potential song being played at the gas pump. So, it is not going to increase any disruption and those alarms could go off at any time at night. So, we do have those conditions so that the sound is within reasonable hours so I would think that I don’t have any objections to this. Mr. Roy: I have nothing on this one. Mr. Rubino: Yeah, I agree. 9  COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 Mr. Pavlik: The same. Mr. Bollas: Nothing further to add to this one. Mrs. Gutman: OK, Number 3. The proposed use shall not adversely affect the health, safety, morals or welfare of persons residing in the neighborhood. I think that the conditions put in place and the things that we talked about as far as like the welfare are adequate and I don’t feel like to state that I was encouraged to learn about Sheetz’ security measures that exceed some other filling stations as far as having cameras and that those have two-way speakers through them and so there is an additional measure of security and I actually having done shift work in the past and getting home at 1:00 a.m. having a safe filling station to come to at night on my way home is actually I believe an increase in the health and safety of our residents so I am in favor of this. Mrs. Epstein: I was just confirming in the staff report that we have that we do have responses from the Police Department and the Fire Department, the Fire Marshal and Chief Bohon has reviewed this and I think as long as the Fire Department can operate and not be disrupted by this addition then there is no concern for safety here. Mr. Roy: The only thing I really want to add is I think the sidewalk thing is probably a good idea and it is a long road which would be a lot of tax dollars but we appreciate you people coming and giving that feedback because we need that kind of stuff so maybe we can take a look and maybe we go a quarter of a mile. Anything that we can add is going to help that situation. That’s all I have. Mrs. Gutman: Thank you Mr. Roy. That might be fruitful for looking at grant money in the future. Mr. Rubino: I would agree with Councilman Roy that while I don’t think a sidewalk necessarily needs to go all the way to the Circle or all the way to the highway, I think a certain portion of sidewalk going to a location like that would probably increase safety and be beneficial. As for Ms. Gutman’s point, I don’t think we have any 24-hour gas stations in the immediate vicinity. I know I was going to work at a very early time in the morning recently and went into Brimfield and could not find an open gas station and I was running on fumes and had to get off in Akron just to get gas and so I think that that all will benefit the City. Mr. Pavlik: In my eyes, I studied the 7 and this is probably the weakest one of the seven but because of the whole, I look at it from a different point of view. It is an underground storage tank, so you have potential environmental issues but since there is already a filling station there, they set the precedent. Mr. Bollas: Nothing more to add. Mrs. Gutman: OK, Number 4. The proposed use shall be served adequately by facilities and services such as but not limited to roads, police and fire protection, storm water facilities, water, sanitary sewer and schools. I will just say that our public services, Police and Fire all do give input into the zoning report and have their chance to add input and their own conditions and thoughts, and we don’t have any negative feedback from that. Mrs. Epstein: Sheetz does not require any additional public facilities or services and so no additional comment. Mr. Roy: I have nothing. Mr. Rubino: No additional comments. Mr. Pavlik: Nothing to add. Mr. Bollas: No additional comments. Mrs. Gutman: Number 5. The proposed use shall not impose a traffic impact upon the public right-of-way significantly different from that anticipated for permitted uses of the zoned district. So, obviously I considered this one pretty extensively given the current traffic situation at that intersection. I have several thoughts. One is that it does, from reading that traffic study, that there are possibly things we can address, or you should look at addressing because any commercial operation that goes into this land has the potential of increasing traffic. What we learned tonight is that Sheetz doesn’t seem like it will significantly increase the traffic, but it is problematic there. That 10  COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 Mrs. Gutman (Cont’d.) is a separate issue that I think we have the responsibility to consider but it is a commercial intersection, and we want it to be safe and we want it to be active. We want to attract businesses there. But I am glad to hear the information that it is not going to significantly bring more cars into that intersection. So, that was welcome news tonight. Mrs. Epstein: I would agree. I did, I think, misinterpret the initial numbers that it was a 25% increase to the overall intersection. I think with your clarification that was 25% of your customer base and looking at 2 to 3% overall increase in traffic is not a significant number in my opinion and it does say upon the public right-of-way significantly different. There are some areas like Ms. Gutman said that were already rated “f” or predicted to be rated “f” and I think maybe a total of 4 directions and those did not change significantly either so I would have no objections on Number 5. Mr. Roy: No. I think the chart pretty much showed everything that we needed to know and 2% is not that much. Mr. Rubino: I think it is fantastic that Sheetz is working with the City by adding that turn lane which I think will help ease some of those issues. I have no issues. Mr. Pavlik: I second to what Mr. Rubino said about the turn lane. I think it is imperative to make sure that that is constructed correctly. Mr. Bollas: The only thing further that I have is that I think in the long term that we need to try to do everything we can to apply for grant money to look at a future Circle at that location. This is long-term and I understand that that being a state route might be lower on the application pile, but it is still worth pursuing because I think that would also help alleviate a lot of these concerns as well as just position that intersection for success in the future. Mrs. Gutman: Thank you. Standard No. 6. The proposed use should be in accordance with the general and specific objectives and the purpose and intent of the Zoning Code compatible with the guiding plan documents and ordinances of the City. The only thing I wanted to say here is that one of the comments we heard at . . . I’m not actually sure if it was at our last meeting or at Planning & Zoning, was that there are quite a few variances and I just wanted to let people know that with most big projects that happen in the City, there are variances. It is very normal. Sometimes there are many, many variances because every piece of land is different, and every developer and every business has different requirements and we want to work with our property owners and business owners the best we can while still keeping the standards of our Code. So, seeing the variances in our amendment and in the recommendation isn’t unusual. I just wanted people to know that this is not something that has never happened before in that regard and that said, I think that the variances that are . . . that have been made are reasonable. Having sat through the Planning & Zoning public hearing and hearing that presentation where they went through them, I think they all make sense, and they won’t have a significant impact on the acceptability of the project. Mrs. Epstein: Thank you. There is a note that I wanted to highlight because I thought that it was applicable here but the Comprehensive Plan; this is not a focus area in that plan for the City but the overreaching themes is to maximize efforts to maintain the competitiveness of existing buildings or facilitating redevelopment and the redevelopment of this commercially zoned district will elevate the development in this area and bring non-conforming property into conforming property. So, I would agree with those statements and have no objections. Mr. Roy: I have nothing on that one. Mr. Rubino: No objections. Mr. Pavlik: I have nothing to add. Mr. Bollas: No further comment. Thank you. Mrs. Gutman: Our final standard. The proposed use shall be found to meet the definition and intent of the use specifically listed as a conditional use in the zone of district in which the subject property is situated and I think it does. Mrs. Epstein: Agreed. Mr. Roy: Agreed. 11  COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 Mr. Rubino: Agreed. Mr. Pavlik: I have nothing further to add. Mr. Bollas: I agree. Mrs. Gutman: Thank you. So those are our review standards and I hope that is helpful for our audience to understand what we consider when we vote. With that, I would ask for a motion to approve this Ordinance 2024-48. Mr. Pavlik: I move that we adopt Ord. 2024-48. Seconded Mr. Roy. Mrs. Gutman: We have a motion and a second. Is there any further discussion? Seeing no further discussion, Madame Clerk please call the roll. Roll Call: Mr. Pavlik – yes, Mr. Roy – yes, Mr. Rubino – yes, Mr. Bollas – yes, Mrs. Epstein - yes, Mrs. Gutman – yes. Amended Ord. 2024- 48 is adopted by a vote of 6-0. Mrs. Gutman: Is there anything else to come before Planning & Zoning this evening? Mayor: Mrs. Gutman, I just want to thank you very much for the details that you gave us during your analysis of this ordinance. I commend you for all the work that you have done on this. You did an excellent job. Thank you very much. I think this is a great project for Tallmadge and there is a lot of feedback that has come from our residents that is being taken into consideration. Some of the items we have already started on, but I want to thank you very much for your leadership in this. I appreciate it very much. Mrs. Gutman: Thank you. I appreciate that and I appreciate that our residents who are unhappy with the result of our vote and I do hope that we can address some of their concerns as the project progresses that we will be able to show through action that this will be a positive thing for this area of the City and for Tallmadge as a whole. Diane Calta: If I may I just want to say thank you on behalf of Sheetz also. This has been a very detailed, involved and very well-run process. We appreciate that and if there are questions that come up, you have our contact information so please reach out. Mrs. Gutman: Thank you very much. Is there anything further? Hearing none, I will close committee. ii. Additional Items: b. FINANCE Donald Pavlik, Chair Jonathon Bollas, Vice Chair The Finance Committee deals with budget, appropriations, reappropriations, bonds, franchises, investments, and expenditures. i. First Readings of Ordinances and Resolutions. A. Ord. 2024-53 – Exhibit A – Expressing intent to sell unneeded, obsolete, or unfit vehicles and equipment and providing for immediate enactment. Sponsor: Dir. of Pub. Service Rorar Mr. Pavlik: I call the Finance Committee to order. We have Ord. 2024-53 at 1st Reading before us this evening. The ordinance was read into the record. Mr. Rorar, do you have anything on this? Dir. of Pub. Service: No. As you can see from the list, there is nothing of real value there. Some of this stuff is pretty old. We will do it through Gov Deals. Mr. Pavlik: Is there anything to add from Council? I will entertain a motion. Mr. Roy: So moved. Seconded Mr. Rubino. Mr. Pavlik: Is there any discussion? Hearing none, Clerk, will you please call the roll. Roll Call: Mr. Roy, Mr. Rubino, Mr. Bollas, Mrs. Epstein, Mrs. Gutman, Mr. Pavlik – unanimous. Ord. 2024-53 is adopted by a vote of 6-0. ii. Second Readings of Ordinances and Resolutions. A. Ord. 2024-50 – Appropriating funds for Round River Consulting, LLC and providing for immediate enactment. Sponsor: Mayor Kilway 12  COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 Mr. Pavlik: Next we have Ord. 2024-50 at 2nd Reading. The ordinance was read into the record. Mayor, do you have anything on this? Mayor: I just want to say again that I think this is a good plan for the City to do in order to move our City forward. It will gather input from Council, from the community, from our businesses and we will be able to guide our City through the next 5 to 10 years based on this strategic planning and it is something that is not done typically in municipalities in Northeast Ohio. It is done throughout the country though and I really want to get started on this so that we don’t fall behind. So, I would appreciate approval of the $35,000 for Round River Consulting and if you have any other questions. Mr. Roy: I just have one. This is like a one-time deal, correct? It’s not like you are going to come back in January and say, OK we want to get them to do more stuff? Mayor: No, this is a one-time deal. Yes. We will use their consulting services to get the strategic plan in place and to gather the information and to formulate the ideas and it is an outside firm so that will make them more credible instead of just doing it ourselves. Mr. Pavlik: How many, and I know we talked before about how many did this go out to in terms of our fee? Mayor: It went out to several and it was narrowed down to the last 2 that we discussed. Mr. Pavlik: Several as in 4 or 5? Mayor: I believe we had the names of like 5 or 6. Mr. Pavlik: In this study, or not study, but consulting firm; there is going to be a strategic team put in place? Mayor: Yes. Mr. Pavlik: How is that going to be picked and derived? Mayor: That is picked . . . you have the plan in front of you and that will be a picked as a combination between input from Council and input from the Administration and input from the consulting firm and the community. Mr. Pavlik: Are there any further questions? Mr. Bollas: Just wanted to thank the Mayor for taking the time last week to walk through this and then just for Council’s awareness like one item too that we hit on was around the payment schedule and then the deliverable schedule on the statement of work and in walking through like the final I had asked you know what entails in terms of that signoff in terms of like what checks and balances are in place and she further explained like within that payment schedule as well as the review of the final deliverable, there is . . . I want to say there is room in the schedule for revisions, you know if . . . edits or if it is deemed non-acceptable you can delay the final sign-off. Is that right? Mayor: Yes. Mr. Pavlik: Any further questions? Is there a motion? Mr. Rubino: So moved. Seconded Mrs. Gutman. Mr. Pavlik: Any further discussion? Hearing none, roll call. Roll Call: Mr. Rubino, Mr. Bollas, Mrs. Epstein, Mrs. Gutman, Mr. Pavlik, Mr. Roy – unanimous. Ord. 2024-40 is adopted by a vote of 6-0. Mr. Pavlik: Is there anything else for Finance this evening? Mr. Bollas: One question. Regarding the remaining $400,000 ARPA Funds, can you remind me please of the deadline for us to propose projects and . . . Dir. of Finance: You just approved at the last meeting the Maca bathrooms which should eat up the remainder of the ARPA Funds. Mr. Bollas: OK, so just . . . Dir. of Finance: Because the funds have to be committed by December 31, 2024. We have until December 31, 2026, to liquidate that but they have to be under contract and submitted by the end of this year. So at the last Council meeting you guys approved the Maca bathrooms and we are going to put those out to bid and see what that comes back out as and then look if we have funds left from the bid, how much of it do we want to hold over, but we are working through those kinds 13  COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 Dir. of Finance (Cont’d.) of final determinations. It is expected and is my hope that for this final project we will be able to spend the remainder of the funds and have all the projects shored up. Mr. Pavlik: Is there anything else? Hearing none, I will close committee. iii. Additional Items: None. c. PERSONNEL Jonathon Bollas, Chair Donald Pavlik, Vice Chair The Personnel Committee deals with personnel, labor relations, insurance claims, Rules of Council and State Statutes. Mr. Bollas: I call Personnel to order. We have no legislation before us this evening. Is there anything that Council or the Administration would like to contribute to the Personnel Committee this evening? I would like to thank the Dir. of Administration for the update on the various negotiations that are forthcoming. With that, I will close committee. i. Additional Items: None. d. SAFETY Nicholas Rubino, Chair Ted Roy, Vice Chair The Safety Committee deals with disaster services, communications, fire, and paramedics, police and health. Mr. Rubino: I call the Safety Committee to order. We have no legislation before us this evening. Is there anything anyone wants to talk about or discuss? Mr. Bollas: Regarding the project right on the Tallmadge/Brimfield border, I don’t know if it is assisted living or a senior living facility that is going in. Are there any progress updates on that because we had discussed the potential for that to increase our run rates for our fire and police potentially. So, are there any updates on that project? I know it is still in progess, but is there any update on that development? Mayor: I do not have an update. I am trying to get an update on that and a couple of other things as well. I will get that information for you. Mr. Rubino: Are there any other questions or discussion? Hearing none, I will close the Safety Committee. i. Additional Items: None. f. PUBLIC SERVICE Jessica Epstein, Chair Nicholas Rubino, Vice Chair The Public Service Committee deals with streets, highways, sidewalks, buildings, and improvements: water, sewer, electricity, gas, energy resources, recycling, waste, and trash. i. Second Readings of Ordinances and Resolutions A. Res. 2024-3 – A resolution expressing support for the expansion of Amtrak. service in the Akron-Canton region. Sponsor: Councilperson Jessica Epstein Mrs. Epstein: I call the Public Service Committee to order. We have Res. 2024-3 at 2nd Reading this evening. The resolution was read into the record. Are there any questions from the last meeting that weren’t answered yet? I know that I had a lot of information that I provided you all on this and we have been focusing a lot on Sheetz and making sure we do our due diligence so if you 14  COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. July 25, 2024 Mrs. Epstein (Cont’d.) have not read it I will be happy to take this to 3rd Reading. Mr. Bollas: One, I just wanted to thank you for providing the information on this resolution and then I was going to humbly request one more reading so that hopefully we can all be in attendance and discuss it as a committee as a whole if that is acceptable. Mrs. Epstein: Sure. Are there any questions that I can take at this time? Alright. Gentleman from audience (inaudible). Can I make one quick comment about the . . . this is basically telling the State that hey, we would like for Amtrak to come through the Canton, Akron, Cleveland area: correct? Mrs. Epstein: Correct. The most recent funding that was issued did not include the Akron/Canton area. We got kind of left out of that. It will be going through Cleveland, it will be going through Columbus, a lot of the other major areas so this resolution is just asking when funding is being considered again that we can be included in the plan. We don’t know the specifics of what that would be because it doesn’t exist yet. We just want to express our desire to be included in the expansion. Mrs. Epstein: If there are no other comments, I will close the Public Service Committee. ii. Additional Items: None. 11. Reports of Special Committees: a. Council Operations Committee i. Additional Items: None. 12. Announcements: Mr. Roy: I would just like to thank Burt for coming tonight. Thank you for all the years of service. I was raised in Akron, but I lived off of Eastwood and my father actually came to you. We want to thank you for all you have done for the City and paying your taxes. You will be missed. 13. Adjournment: Mr. Pavlik moved to adjourn. Seconded Mrs. Gutman. Roll Call: Mrs. Epstein, Mrs. Gutman, Mr. Pavlik, Mr. Roy, Mr. Rubino, Mr. Bollas – unanimous. The Council meeting of 7-25-24 adjourned at 8:35 p.m. sb Adopted: ___________________ ___________________________________ ______________________________________ Susan E. Burton, Clerk of Council Jonathon D. Bollas, Vice President of Council 15