Tallmadge City Council Regular Business Meeting (2013-2019)

REGULAR MEETING in Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. April 9, 15 1. CALL TO ORDER: President of Council Donovan called the Regular Council meeting of Thursday, April 9, 2015 to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. PRAYER: Pastor Bryndon Glass, Shephard’s Pasture for All Nations Church, Tallmadge. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. 3. ROLL CALL: Mr. Donovan, Mrs. Kilway, Mr. Sisak, Mr. Stalnaker, Ms. Tricaso – present. Also present were Mayor Kline, Dir. of Pub. Service Esler, Dir. of Finance Shanafelt, Dir. of Law Raber, Economic Developer Loughry and Clerk of Council Burton. Mrs. Ray was excused. 4. MINUTES: 3-12-15 Regular Council meeting minutes. Mr. Rensel moved to adopt the 3-12-15 Reg. Council meeting minutes. Seconded Mrs. Kilway. Voice vote 6-0. The 3-12-15 Reg. Council meeting minutes were adopted by a vote of 6-0. FINANCIAL REPORTS:  SMR Transfer in the amount of $200,000 to Council on 3-31-15.  Bond Retirement Transfer in the amount of $100,000 to Council on 3-31-15.  Appropriation Report, Fund Report, Revenue Report, and Encumber Report for the period ending 3-31-15 to Council on 4-6-15.  Tallmadge Recreation Center Profit and Loss Report for the period ending 3-31-15 to Council on 4-6-15.  Income Tax Comparisons for the period ending 3-31-15 to Council on 4-6-15.  March Financial Reports to Council on 4-6-15.  Revenue Comparisons for the period ending 3-31-15 to Council on 4-6-15. Mr. Sisak moved to approve the Financial Reports submitted by Dir. of Finance Shanafelt. Seconded Mr. Stalnaker. Voice vote 6-0. The Financial Reports submitted by Dir. of Finance Shanafelt were approved by a vote of 6-0. 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS: Ordinance 31-2015 At 3rd Reading. PLANNING & ZONING Amending the zoning map by rezoning the P.H. ON 4-9-15 @ 7:03 P.M. property of applicant, HTH, LLC, dba Silver POLL AFTER P.H. 3-0 Star Motors, LLC on behalf of owner, West and Industry LLC, from Industrial-1 to Com- mercial-4 consisting of approximately 1.58 acres located at 257 West Avenue. Pres. of Council: We do have a public hearing this evening on Ord. 31-2015. It is now 7:09 p.m. and I will call the public hearing to order. At this time, if there is anybody who would like to speak in favor of Ord. 31-2015 please come to the microphone and state your name and address. Ovsep Tovmasyan . . . you need the house address? Pres. of Council: Yes. Mr. Tovmasyan: 2079 Moreland Drive, Twinsburg, Ohio 44087. Mr. Rensel: Could you spell your last name for the record? Mr. Tovmasyan: Tovmasyan. We are here again for the rezoning of the property because we want to come into this nice city and do business here. We want to open up a used car dealership where we can also do service and body work and you know . . . it will be good for everybody. Pres. of Council: Are there any questions? Mr. Rensel. Mr. Rensel: Yes. Thank you. Can you tell us or give us a brief history of your business experience in selling used or new property for automobiles? Mr. Tovmasyan: Yes. I have been in this business for nine years. I currently work in partner with North Coast Auto Mall. They have three locations in Ohio. They have one in the Bedford Auto Mile; they have one in Akron and Tallmadge. They have one in Brookpark Road in Parma and so I have been doing this for a while and it is time to open up another location and this one is pretty much . . . I am doing it on my own, but I still will have a partnership with North Coast Auto Mall doing what we are doing as of now; do you know what I mean?. Mr. Rensel: OK, so they know that you are doing this? Mr. Tovmasyan: Yes. Mr. Rensel: OK. Are you planning on making improvements to the property? It was a bakery before. Mr. Tovmasyan: Correct. Inside there will be some cosmetic repairs done. I will do some changing of the windows, painting and making it look good. Just cosmetically . . . I mean there is nothing really with the structure that needs to be done. The exterior is good; maybe some paint to freshen it up and eventually do some asphalt, but obviously when we come to that point we will come and get the permits and whatever is necessary to go forward with that. Mr. Rensel: The used car business is very competitive as you know. West Avenue is by in large an auto mall; at least here in Tallmadge. How do you . . . what is your business strategy . . . how do . . . what is your vision to see that you are going to be able to compete and sustain your business and that you just won’t be in an out like a few others that we have had on West Avenue? Mr. Tovmasyan: Well, giving my experience and my partnership with North Coast Auto Mall; we do have many banks that we work with from secondary financings so we can get people financed who have very bad credit scores if we can’t get it done through the banks we can do in-house and just the expertise of my partners and the experience that I have in working with them and learning this business. I feel that I am pretty qualified to do this.  REGULAR MEETING in Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. April 9, 15 Mr. Rensel: Sure and you already have contracts or agreements with the local banks for financing? Mr. Tovmasyan: Yes. We did have a slight hiccup with the financing, but it is all taken care of and everything is done and we are working on the title work right now. It should be finalized shortly here and so by the end of the month, we should be closing on the property. Mr. Rensel: OK. Thank you sir. Pres. of Council: I have a quick question. It is sales, but you also said service and also body work will be done there on site? Mr. Tovmasyan: Yes. Pres. of Council: Is there anything else? Mr. Tovmasyan: No. Mr. Sisak: How many cars do you plan to keep in inventory at this property? Mr. Tovmasyan: Well, eventually we will get up to probably I will say 55 to 65 cars because that is what that lot will hold. But if extra space is needed, our Akron location is nearby and there is parking there that is available and if not, there are always warehouses available for indoor storage. We will get to that point. It is not like tomorrow we are going to go and park 65 cars. By the time we get the licensing in place and get the place cleaned up and get it painted; it is going to take some time. Mr. Sisak: Sure. So you are thinking 55 to 60 potentially? Mr. Tovmasyan: Yes. It has to be comfortable where there will be moving in and out. Mr. Sisak: Walking around the cars. Thank you. Pres. of Council: How about employees; how many people are you looking at initially and then ongoing? Mr. Tovmasyan: Eventually it will be probably 4 or 5, but I think that we will grow because there is fourteen bays there and eventually what we want to do is start doing all of the extended warranty claims in that facility and so because North Coast has their accident warranty that we sell with any vehicle; so there is a service that they can come in and we can take care of the service. So eventually if everything goes according to the way I expect; we should probably be up to maybe 10 to 15 employees. Mr. Rensel: Thank you. I just wish to confirm. You are the . . . you will be the owner of the property? Mr. Tovmasyan: Yes. Mr. Rensel: OK. So if there is an issue with the Police or Fire Departments or whatever; you are the person to be contacting? Mr. Tovmasyan: Correct. I will be the person; yes. Pres. of Council: Thank you. Mr. Tovmasyan: Thank you. Pres. of Council: At this time I would like to ask if there is anybody who would like to speak against Ord. 31-2015? No one came to the podium. Again; this is the second time; is there anyone who would like to speak in favor or Ord. 31-2015? Dennis Thompson, 820 Bentley Place, Tallmadge. I am listening to some of the questions and I think the biggest thing that they have going for them is that they are purchasing the building. The other places that have come and gone were always rentals. We have allowed the ice cream stand to be turned into a used car dealership and we have allowed a shoe store to be turned into a used car dealership. This building has 16 garage door bays. This is a perfect building for a used car dealership to work on his cars inside. I have had the outside of the building painted. The inside of it; it was vacant for five years and so you can imagine that the inside of it was pretty bad so we have completely cleaned the inside out. I can tell you there is no trash inside the building at all. We have sealed and striped the parking lot to make it look better and we have cut the trees down that were just left to grow alongside the road and we are asking you to lower the zoning and so it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. All of the other buildings or properties will be in the same zoning and so we are not infringing on anybody there. I would like to ask you to pass it tonight. I know that it is only at the 2 nd Reading, but we have been working for three months now with the gentleman to purchase the property. We have had it EPA checked and we have done everything . . . the bank is ready to sign the deal next week and like I said, it has already been several months and they are ready to move in and spruce it up even more and so it will be a better looking building by the time they get in there and get to work on it. So again, I am just asking you to consider; there is no opposition and if you could pass it tonight; they could own the building next week. If you wait another two weeks; you will . . . remember, you guys were on break and that cost us a month. It cost them a month to get their business up and running and so that is why we are asking you to move it ahead? Pres. of Council: I have a question and maybe I missed it, but what is your role? Mr. Thompson: I’m sorry; I own Westin Industries which owns the building. Mayor: He is the seller. Mr. Thompson: I am the seller of the property. Pres. of Council: To the other gentleman? Mr. Thompson: Yes. Dir. of Law: Mr. Donovan, if I may, for purposes of the record; this is at 3rd Reading tonight. Zoning ordinances have to be at 3rd Reading before adoption, but it is at 3rd Reading today. Mr. Rensel: That was my question. I was trying to understand how Mr. Thompson was involved in this endeavor. So, Mr. Thompson, a brief history . . . you picked up the property through auction or . . Mr. Thompson: Yes sir. Closed at auction back last October. Mr. Rensel: So then you fixed up the property and it is a business proposition for you and once you sell the property you are no longer the contact person so to speak or will have anything to do with it? 2  REGULAR MEETING in Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. April 9, 15 Mr. Thompson: Correct. There was an article in the Express that said I was the owner of the property and I was kind of surprised that she mentioned that in her article. Mr. Rensel: I wish to confirm it on the record sir. That is what I am doing. Thank you. Pres. of Council: Are there any other questions? No on responded. Thank you. Mr. Thompson: Thank you. Pres. of Council: Is there anybody who would like to speak against Ord. 31-2015? No one responded. Is there anybody to speak in favor of Ord. 31-2015? No one responded. Is there anybody who would like to speak against Ord. 31-2015? No one responded. Hearing none; I close the public hearing and it is 7:21 p.m. Mr. Sisak. Mr. Sisak: I call the Planning & Zoning Committee to order; myself and Mrs. Kilway are present. Mrs. Ray is excused. We had a recommendation to poll after the public hearing by a vote of 3-0 at the last Committee meeting. Mrs. Kilway; do you have any insights or comments tonight? Mrs. Kilway: I don’t have any concerns with this. I think we are ready to adopt. Mr. Sisak: I agree. Council; are there any concerns? Yes, Mr. Rensel. Mr. Rensel: Yes. While Mr. Thompson and the new owner are discussing that everything is fine; the community doesn’t think it is fine. I am getting complaints because they did pick it up in the Express and said, what is going on here; we have another used car dealer; they are turning our City into a used car lot. Now, I realize that business is business, but we are taking this to an extension and the next person to come along and the next lot will be a used car lot. We don’t have a Comprehensive Plan that I have seen updated in some time that says that West Avenue should be a used car lot or a new car lot. To their credit, the Ford and Chevrolet dealers have updated their facilities and they are impressive and that is holding them, but the fact that you can drive down West Avenue and you no longer find a furniture store; you no longer find jewelry stores; you no longer find anything but used car lots. That is not a very . . . I don’t think that is the way we had intended originally for West Avenue to become when it was upgraded with the paving program several years or decades ago and so Mr. Thompson, it isn’t all perfect. There are concerns and I realize that you have a business reason for doing what you are doing and I realize that these folks are energetic and want to start a business and get off on their own. I am assuming Madame Law Director that we have done due diligence to be sure that the people that are purchasing the property will run the business; will do so in a . . . Dir. of Law: I believe that in the Planning & Zoning Commission meeting it was put on the record and I think it was the Economic Director who had done the investigation and due diligence with regard to the Better Business Bureau. Am I correct in stating that on the record? Yes; the Economic Developer is indicating yes. Mr. Rensel: Thank you Madame Law Director; I appreciate it. Mayor: Mr. Sisak. With all due respect to you John, I think the people on West Avenue would be offended by your comments like the Giant Eagle, Dr. Schmeiser’s office; the new doctor’s office that is going in; all of the restaurants that are up and down West Avenue, Novus Clinic, Love Furniture is now a new pneumatic tool machine, Martin Wheel, Frank Rocco . . . so it is not just a used car lot as you had stated and so just for the record, I think you may have misspoke; I am not going to speak . . . Mr. Rensel: I said it was becoming; I didn’t say it was. Mayor: Well, I think you said it was a used car lot on West Avenue, but . . . Mr. Rensel: When you drive down there; sure it looks like one. Mayor: It is an auto mile . . . Mr. Rensel: I am only representing the people that . . . that elected me to my position At-Large and I get a lot more different comments from a lot of different sectors than I used to as 4th Ward. Mayor: My only comment is that it is more than just a used car lot on West Avenue. Mr. Rensel: Fair enough. Mayor: And the other people would be offended who are spending millions of dollars on West Avenue. Thank you. Mr. Sisak: Are there any other comments? Mr. Stalnaker? Mr. Stalnaker: Yes, I heard very similar comments a good number of years ago about Front Street in Cuyahoga Falls. I saw buildings being torn down and nothing being developed. Then they started selling used cars and new cars and it was amazing. They complimented each other. They said that as long as they could draw people down there to look; they would go from one lot to another and that is what we want to do. You drive down that so called million dollar mile from Stow Street to the expressway on Front Street and it is just glistening with cars and it has been a boom for Cuyahoga Falls and I hope that this will do the same for Tallmadge. Mr. Sisak: Thank you Mr. Stalnaker. Pres. of Council: I have a quick question again. How long has that building been empty? Mr. Sisak: Five years. Pres. of Council: It has been a significant amount of time and if somebody wanted it for another use or . . . Mr. Sisak: It was a Hostess or Nickle’s Bakery? Mayor: Correct, even though you had a lot of vehicles in there . . . Mr. Sisak: I think what is unique with this is that it is not going to be specifically just for car sales, but having the service end I think will . . . when there are slow times in selling cars; the service end would sustain and vice versa and so I think that is a good compliment at this time. Mr. Stalnaker commented about Front Street in the Falls and you could think of 59 in Kent going out there before you get to the university. It is the same difference; lots of car dealers and they all seem to sell cars or they wouldn’t be in business. 3  REGULAR MEETING in Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. April 9, 15 Mayor: One other thing . . . during the public hearing I didn’t want to mention at that time, but if they change any of the site work; they do have to go back to Planning & Zoning. The site that is there today will be built for this parking . . . it is not changing the site at all. So, if they want to modify the site and add more hard surface, more impervious surface or change things; change signage or so; they do have to go back to Planning & Zoning for that and they knew that at the Planning & Zoning meeting. This is strictly a rezoning of the property. Mr. Sisak: Great. Are there any other comments before Planning & Zoning? Mr. Rensel: Yes. One comment; yes Mayor, I certainly apologize to anyone on West Avenue who is investing in their personal property for a business. My point earlier in conjunction with this was regarding the Comprehensive Plan. Cuyahoga Falls, Kent . . . I am willing to bet that if you go back and look into their meetings, you will find that Planning & Zoning developed a Comprehensive Plan that included an auto mile in either location, and yes Mr. Stalnaker; they have been successful, but it was because the City put plans behind it. I haven’t seen any plans, comprehensive or otherwise, that state anything other than whoop; we have a business coming in; let’s change the zoning so we can put that in. Mr. Thompson, some time ago when you were on City Council, you were very upset about spot zoning changes . . . Dir. of Law: Mr. Rensel, if I can just encourage to not directly address someone in the audience. It is not really good . . . Mr. Rensel: I apologize. So, I think, I think, this is fine the way it is coming but I think the City needs to look at a Comprehensive Plan so that when we come to these meetings; yes, this is what we want to do. Thank you Mr. Sisak. Mayor: Mr. Sisak. Just to clarify that point, I think everyone on Council understands that the Comprehensive Plan is being worked on. It has been for the last eight or nine months and there will be public hearing meetings coming up very shortly for the public and West Avenue will be on there as a mixed use type zoning on West Avenue. Thank you. Mr. Sisak: Thank you. Are there any other comments to come before Planning & Zoning tonight? No one responded. Mrs. Kilway, you recommend adoption? Mrs. Kilway: I would recommend adoption; yes. Mr. Sisak: The committee recommends adoption 2-0 at 3rd Reading. I would like to go ahead and close the Planning & Zoning Committee. Thank you. I would like to move to adopt Ord. 31-2015 at 3rd Reading. Seconded Mrs. Kilway. Roll Call: Mrs. Kilway – yes, Mr. Rensel – no, Mr. Sisak – yes, Mr. Stalnaker – yes, Ms. Tricaso – yes, Mr. Donovan – yes. Ord. 31-2015 is adopted by a vote of 5-1. 6. COMMUNITY INPUT: Pres. of Council: I would like to welcome all of the students here this evening. Thanks for coming. I know it is something that is required, but we are still glad to see you all. Tallmadge City Council meets on the second and fourth Thursday’s of the month for the Regular Council meetings and the preceding Monday’s are the Council Committee meetings. At the Committee meetings, legislation is discussed thoroughly with Council deciding to adopt, amend, reject, hold, or table the legislation. We do allow time for community input at this point in the meeting. If there is anyone who would like to address Council, please come forward and state your name and address. Ron Withrow, 502 Hughes Drive, Tallmadge. I have a couple of questions. Two years ago we had a big storm water management problem; and we still have it going. You can look around here last month . . . last week really. We pay a lot of money into storm water management. We get nothing out of it. Why not? You already have the money and when is it going to get done? It’s not a hard question. Can you give me an answer? Pres. of Council: Mr. Hughes; can you specifically say where or what problem you are having or where it is located? I am not familiar with your situation. Mr. Withrow: Hughes Drive. Pres. of Council: I know where Hughes Drive is; what is happening? Mr. Withrow: That immediate area there in the ditch; Johnson Ditch. What is going to be done about it? Made a lot of promises when you put that big factory up there and said you were going to do everything . . . and the last two years I never had a flood or water damage problem on my property at all, and last year I had to put about $700 or $800 more dollars just to make the wall higher above my pool to keep the water from overflowing it from that up there. He said he was going to take care of it and never did. He even came in front of this Council and said he was going to do it. He said precisely what he was going to do and he never done it; why? Who is supposed to be the watch dog over this? Dir. of Law: Mr. Withrow, if I may, this is Megan Raber for the record; I am the Law Director and I know that you are a plaintiff as part of litigation that is pending still in the Court of Common Pleas . . . Mr. Withrow: Litigation over the water? Dir. of Law: Actually it is intertwined in that by the nature of the complaint and so I would recommend to Council to refrain from the discussion. Mr. Withrow is represented by an attorney and so I don’t want to get into any matters that would substantially interfere with that particular case. So I just wanted to put that out there. You are definitely welcome to continue to voice your complaint in this type of forum you are welcome to speak to us, but I would just encourage everyone to just be aware that this is a party to litigation. Thank you. 4  REGULAR MEETING in Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. April 9, 15 Mr. Withrow: Would anybody like to talk to me privately then without being . . . if they are afraid to? Pres. of Council: Mr. Withrow; I would like to talk to you at some point. Could I get your address again? Mr. Withrow: 502 Hughes Drive. Pres. of Council: Thank you. Mr. Rensel: I would like to address the Law Director. I understand about the complaint and I understand about the litigation; this has been going on for some time, but what I don’t understand, based on my engineering background, is that if a person or a group of persons have a problem that they still can’t come to City Council and ask what is the status of it being fixed. Are you trying to say to us . . . Dir. of Law: As I indicated, he is welcome to do that and you are welcome to reply . . . Mr. Rensel: He did. Dir. of Law: I know exactly; I am just letting everyone know what the circumstances are here. Mr. Esler, I believe wants to state for the record that he did go out to the Johnson Ditch today. Dir. of Pub. Service: Yes, I did go out there today and it was flowing fine. It hadn’t risen at all; it was flowing as it should have . . . Mayor: Give the location. Dir. of Pub. Service: At Howe Road; the crossover pipe at Howe Road where we have had issues. The issues; the majority of the issues that we had were from beaver dams that were north of Howe Road that we have removed at our cost that we shouldn’t have had to. Mr. Withrow: What is going to stop the water from coming down over the hill into my pool? I put a lot of money into it last year just to stop that . . . there were a lot of promises made at this meeting by the developers and they said what they was going to do and they never did. They said precisely they was going to put a flow system away from the top of my property to keep the water from coming down and it still is. Pres. of Council: I don’t know that we can address that any further here at the meeting this evening. Mr. Withrow: Well that’s . . . you got no business coming in and making promises of what they are going to do and you never made the other people . . . Pres. of Council: No, I apologize. I am saying that we can’t answer the questions. We can look into the question and see where we are at, but we are not able to answer the question this evening; I apologize. Mr. Withrow: Come out tomorrow and I will show you . . . Pres. of Council: I would be happy to. Mr. Withrow: I will be home until about a quarter after one. Thank you. Pres. of Council: Is there anybody else who would like to address Council? No one responded. I will state for the students that are here that you kind of sat through kind of the slow part of the meeting and it is about to pick up really fast and what happens now with the legislation that is in front us; most of this has come to Council on multiple times and we have looked into it and the committees have made recommendations as to what we are going to do with the legislation and so tonight basically is when we adopt or amend those ordinances. So it is going to seem like we are going really fast through things, but that is because generally we have looked at them multiple times. 6.A. ANNOUNCEMENTS: No Board of Control Mtg. 7. REPORTS OF SPECIAL COMMITTEES: None. 8. AGENDA ADDITIONS: None. 9. REPORTS OF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS: MAYOR, DIR. OF PUBLIC SERVICE, DIRECTOR OF FINANCE, DIRECTOR OF LAW AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPER Mayor: I will be very brief. Next Saturday is the Expo at the Tallmadge Rec Center. I’m sure most of Council has heard about the little incident that we had at the Rec Center. We will be putting a temporary door in where the plywood panel is. The regular glass panels will not be available for the timeframe of next weekend, but we are working with the insurance agents and everyone else, but we are open for business. Taylor Construction came out about 7:30 p.m. and by midnight they had everything blocked in, cleaned up and they did an excellent job and now they are working on the insurance side of it. So, the Rec Center will be open for the Expo. At the next Council meeting on Monday, (April 20th) we will have the Fire Study update to Council. I know the agendas are pretty slow right now and so I will need about a half an hour and it depends on how many questions you have, but that would be in the Community Issues/Safety Committee and so when your committee is up if we can present a little Power Point presentations on that I would appreciate that. And speaking of the Comprehensive Plan, we do have three or four different meetings scheduled and they will start in May. I do not have the exact date in May, but it will be in May and June and those are all going to be public meetings with Council. I am inviting the public in for that. So those are scheduled with Mr. Hart to be here with us. He has been working on it for the past eight months. End of report. 5  REGULAR MEETING in Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. April 9, 15 Dir. of Pub. Service: We finally got the final plans for the South Avenue Waterline and the bid documents. We have a few small changes in the bid documents and then we will be ready to go with that. It is 2,175 lineal feet and it will be directionally bored, HDPE pipe. The Engineer’s estimate on that is $470,000. Generally they estimate a little high. That’s the cost of waterlines nowadays. I have another ordinance in front of you tonight and that is Ord. 39-2015, which is for the appropriation of funds that were originally appropriated in 2014. One of them was for Maca Park to repaint all of the water features that are out there. I don’t know if you have been out there, but you can see the paint is all worn off of them. We encumbered the money last year for that and the company that was going to do it split up and we are still dealing with one of the people that was with that business, but we will need a different purchase order. The other one is for the scoreboards at the Recreation Center. The purchase order was originally made out to one company and they didn’t realize that in the quote it said to put part of it towards a different company and so the purchase order for 2014 is all one company and it is the wrong company for the purchase order. So, we are just redirecting money with a different manufacturer or different business source. I would hope to get that passed at 1 st Reading. Maca Park is going to open sooner than we think and it is going to take a while for them to actually get that painting done and they would actually like to start this weekend if that is passed. We finally got the final winter calculations for overtime and salt usage and I was kind of shocked that we actually used less salt and less overtime this last season than we did through the 2013/2014 season. We used 4,000 tons of salt this year at $174,186 and we had 1,743 hours of overtime and that comes to $74,078 and in the previous season we used more; we used 5,267 tons of salt at $209,850 and we had 2,344 hours of overtime at a cost of $98,478. So we actually spent $60,000 less this year than we did the previous year. With the winter we had I would not have expected that. I think it was just the cold weather. These figures don’t include the equipment that was purchased, maintenance on the vehicles and fuel. It is just the salt and overtime. Mr. Rensel: Mr. Esler; that’s great. Do you think that the mixture or the formula that you came up with for the streets actually helped reduce the amount of salt that you needed to put down? Dir. of Pub. Service: You mean the liquid deicing? Mr. Rensel: Yes. Dir. of Pub. Service: Yes, it has helped. We found that if we pre-salted before the storm because it keeps the snow from adhering to the asphalt, and we can plow it off easier and it is also good after the storm has stopped and we get it plowed off; it will melt anything that is left quicker than the salt will. It is not really good during the storm and we don’t use it during the storm. The salt has a more lasting effect, but yes, it has contributed to a cost savings there. The overtime . . . I think we thought the winter was so long and so cold and the snow actually came . . . we would have a big storm and then it would go away instead of continuous snow and so that cut down on some of the overtime. If you had any questions; we had a diesel fuel spill on the Circle yesterday and it was like an ice rink. We actually brought the sewer truck up and the same truck that we put the salt brine down with; we put just plain water in it and it still had a sticker on it that said, “Liquid Salt” and so if you get any questions about that; we weren’t putting salt down; it was just plain water to wash that off the road and make it safe again. Our salt dome is full. We also filled up the bin that we have up on North Munroe too and so we are in good shape for the beginning of next year. End of report. Mr. Sisak: Mr. Esler; how much volume do you use of the liquid deicer? Do you have any calculations or costs? Dir. of Pub. Service: I don’t have that. Mr. Sisak: It is probably not enough to make up that difference between the salt usages; do you think? Dir. of Pub. Service: It is gallons that we put down. Mr. Sisak: Right, but I mean like as far as dollar wise? Dir. of Pub. Service: It is considerably cheaper. Mr. Sisak: Oh, is it? Dir. of Pub. Service: Yes. Dir. of Finance: Thank you Mr. President. I will make it brief. I do have a couple comments on the March Financial Reports. Briefly, the General Fund Revenue is on track with what we estimated. The Income Tax is ahead of last year by a little over 7%. The General Fund balance is almost $4.4 million. The Rec Center ended the month with an almost $25,000 net operating profit. The Fire Fund balance is a little over $226,000. The Street Maintenance balance is a little over . . . well, it is about $204,000. The Sewer Operating Fund is down a little bit at $901,846. The Water Operating Fund is up over $2 million; almost $2.1 million. The Storm Water Revenue is $76,686. That is just a little bit of an update on the March figures. Thank you. 6  REGULAR MEETING in Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. April 9, 15 Dir. of Law: Thanks. I just wanted to do a brief reminder today that as the warmer weather is now coming upon us, we are seeing an increase in call volume about unfortunately, neighbor disputes. So I just wanted to remind everyone that we have the Neighborhood Mediation Program and so if you get those type of phone calls and want to refer them to my office; I would be happy to explain the details and see if they are eligible and since we rolled it out last fall and then winter quickly came, I think now is probably when we will really see, hopefully its benefits. So, again please just remember that that program is available. Thank you. Economic Developer: Thank you. I have several things this evening. Some that are actually economic development and a couple that are not. First off, I would like to ask Council to please adopt Ord. 28-2015 this evening. That is the New Jobs Agreement to help WARDJet grow. I get excited when Tallmadge businesses are growing and I would ask that you adopt that. Also, Ord. 43-2015; the Mayor would like that adopted at 1st Reading this evening. Next we have a project that I was involved with with several people in the building here and actually throughout the City and that was putting together a Senior Directory as a help and as a resource to help our senior folks in the community. Those started to be distributed and they are also available on the website. We are excited with how they turned out and they are being received very well in the community. We have three companies that are looking to grow and I am not at liberty to tell you the names of them at this point, but one company has been here for a long time and is in only about 10,000 square feet on a property that is zoned Industrial and they are going to build a 30,000 square foot new building on another property that is zoned Industrial. Another company that has been here for a long time in about 20,000 square feet and it is zoned Industrial and they are going to build a brand new building of about 35,000 square feet also on property that is zoned Industrial so there won’t be any zoning change there. There is no need for concern. Then we have a company that is in about 50,000 square feet that is hoping to stay in Tallmadge and build a new building of about 100,000 square feet. Again, that is an Industrial building on Industrial property and they will be looking to build new on Industrial property. So some don’t get excited about business growth, but I get paid to get excited about that. So thank you very much. That is it for this evening, but I will take some questions. 10. Ordinance 27-2015 At 3rd Reading. PUBLIC UTILITIES Authorizing the Director of Public Service to advertise for bids and the Mayor to enter into a contract for the replacement of a waterline on South Avenue from Ferguson Drive to the south corporation limits and . providing for immediate enactment. Mr. Rensel moved for the adoption of Ord. 27-2015. Seconded Mrs. Kilway. Roll Call: Mr. Rensel, Mr. Sisak, Mr. Stalnaker, Ms. Tricaso, Mr. Donovan, Mrs. Kilway – unanimous. Ord. 27-2015 is adopted by a vote of 6-0. 11. Ordinance 28-2015 At 3rd Reading. FINANCE Authorizing the Mayor to enter into an agreement with WARDJet, Inc. for a New Jobs Program Grant pursuant to T.C.O. 160.05 and providing for immediate enactment. Mr. Sisak moved for the adoption of Ord. 28-2015. Seconded Mr. Stalnaker. Roll Call: Mr. Sisak, Mr. Stalnaker, Ms. Tricaso, Mr. Donovan, Mrs. Kilway, Mr. Rensel – unanimous. Ord. 28-2015 is adopted by a vote of 6-0. 12. Ordinance 30-2015 At 3rd Reading. PLANNING & ZONING Approving and granting a conditional zoning certificate for special nonresidential development at 1077 East Avenue for construction of a barn and fence to house seven male alpacas. Pres. of Council: Ord. 30-2015 is at 3rd Reading and will remain before the Planning & Zoning Committee. 7  REGULAR MEETING in Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. April 9, 15 13. Ordinance 36-2015 At 2nd Reading. PUBLIC UTILITIES Authorizing the Mayor to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Ohio Water Development Authority for planning and financing of the South Avenue Waterline and providing for immediate enactment. Pres. of Council: Ord. 36-2015 is at 2nd Reading and will remain before the Public Utilities Committee. 14. Ordinance 38-2015 At 1st Reading. FINANCE Authorizing declarations of official intent under U.S. Treasury regulations with respect to reimbursements from note and bond proceeds of temporary advances made for payments to insurance, and related matters, and providing for immediate enactment. Pres. of Council: Ord. 38-2015 is at 1st Reading and is assigned to the Finance Committee. 15. Ordinance 39-2015 At 1st Reading. FINANCE Authorizing re-appropriation of funds for 2014 purchase order for Maca Pool and Recreation Program and providing for immediate enactment. Mr. Sisak moved for the adoption of Ord. 39-2015 at 1st Reading. Seconded Mr. Stalnaker. Roll Call: Mr. Stalnaker, Ms. Tricaso, Mr. Donovan, Mrs. Kilway, Mr. Rensel, Mr. Sisak – unanimous. Ord. 39- 2015 is adopted by a vote of 6-0. 16. Ordinance 40-2015 At 1st Reading. FINANCE An ordinance providing for the issuance and sale of bonds in the maximum principal amount of $3,100,000 to advance refund at a lower interest cost certain of the City’s outstanding various purpose bonds, Series 2006, dated March 1, 2006, that were issued for the purpose of paying a portion of the costs of constructing a new recre- ation facility; authorizing the call for optional redemption of the refunded bonds; autho- rizing execution and delivery of a bond registrar agreement escrow agreement and bond purchase agreement; and authorizing the preparation, use and distribution of preliminary and final official statements and related matters, and providing for imme- diate enactment. Pres. of Council: Ord. 40-2015 is at 1st Reading and is assigned to the Finance Committee. Mr. Rensel: Is it possible, or Mr. Steve; is it possible that we could make two or three ordinances out of this to make it so that each one could be handled distinctly? Dir. of Law: This is the way that the ordinance is appropriately written and we have bond counsel that makes recommendations to us and this is what they have advised and so I would not advise separating that. Mr. Rensel: I was just asking. Dir. of Law: Yeah. I would advise leaving it as is. Mr. Rensel: The audience about went to sleep listening to that! That’s a long one. Dir. of Law: It is. Mr. Stalnaker: Mr. Shanafelt, did I understand that the last payment on this is in 2031? Dir. of Finance: Yes. That’s correct. Mr. Stalnaker: I will vote for this if you guarantee I’ll be around!!! Dir. of Finance: I will do my best sir. 17. Ordinance 41-2015 At 1st Reading. FINANCE Authorizing the appropriation of funds from unappropriated fund balances for an expan- sion of the 2015 Paving Program and pro- viding for immediate enactment. Pres. of Council: Ord. 41-2015 is at 1st Reading and is assigned to the Finance Committee. 8  REGULAR MEETING in Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. April 9, 15 18. Ordinance 42-2015 At 1st Reading. PUBLIC SERVICE Amending T.C.O. 351.03 Prohibited Standing or Parking Places and providing for immediate enactment. Pres. of Council: Ord. 42-2015 is at 1st Reading and is assigned to the Public Service Committee. 19. Ordinance 43-2015 At 1st Reading. COMMUNITY ISSUES/SAFETY Authorizing the Mayor to enter into a contract with the Tallmadge Little League, Inc. for the mutual exchange and use of a John Deere utility vehicle “Gator” and providing for immediate enactment. Mr. Stalnaker moved for the adoption of Ord. 43-2015 at 1st Reading. Seconded Mrs. Kilway. Mayor: Just to clarify what this is actually doing here is that Tallmadge Little League has a couple of gators that we use in the City for different events. We go down and open the garage and we take them and vise-versa. Like this weekend they are having big tournament and they would like to borrow our gator and so it goes back and forth. This is to clarify the liabilities and in talking with Megan, it is the best way to go that everybody is above board as to who has the liability if you hurt the machine or if you physically get hurt; it just clarifies it since we borrow back and forth that equipment. So that is what this allows us to do. Mr. Sisak: Is the . . . I guess does the liability go with the vehicle or does it go with the person who is operating it? Dir. of Law: It is going to go with the person operating it unless there is negligence in the maintenance of the vehicle and so it could get complicated if the vehicle was not maintained correctly and if that vehicle . . . otherwise it is going to go with whoever is actually operating the vehicle. They have the obligation. The contract is also written to make sure that whoever is operating it from Little League is actually covered under their insurance and it is 18 years of age and is an officially licensed driver and so we tried to put additional restrictions to make sure that it is being operated appropriately. Mr. Sisak: Did you put any restriction in there about minors riding in it? Dir. of Law: I didn’t put any riders . . . I guess quite frankly I am not familiar with what the vehicle is and so if you would like to amend the contract on the floor; you could do that tonight to include that it shall prohibit any riders under the age of 18. Mr. Sisak: Because there was an issue a few years ago with my son’s friend with one of the gators used by a Little League volunteer. He was under 10 for sure and he actually fell out the side and got partially run over by this gator and was hospitalized. So that is why . . . it kind of brings to light the concern of having minors just riding anywhere on it. Mayor: That’s a good point. Dir. of Law: I agree 100%. I guess I am not familiar enough to know even what they are doing with it. Mr. Sisak: They drag the fields with it and they might throw some bags in the back and plates and different rubber things and tools. You know a lot of times the kids get kind of gittie about riding in them. Dir. of Law: I agree 100%. If you would like to . . . if you are inclined to pass the ordinance; if you would like to move to amend the contract itself, which is incorporated as part of the ordinance to include a clause that would prohibit any riders under the age of 18. I would definitely be in favor of that myself. Mr. Rensel: I move to amend the contract to exclude individuals under 18 from riding in the gators. Seconded Mrs. Kilway. Pres. of Council: OK, so we have a motion and a second to amend Ord. 43-2015 to prohibit any minors from riding in, driving, operating, climbing on or any other use of the gator. Mr. Rensel: Should we say under 18 or not licensed because you can be licensed at 16. Dir. of Law: For the operator section, I already have that they must be 18 and they must have a valid driver’s license. I had not envisioned riders and so that is not in there. Pres. of Council: Is there any further discussion? Mrs. Kilway. Mrs. Kilway: I have probably a stupid question, but it was stated that when we need to borrow one of their gators, we go down and take one out. Is there like a sign-out sheet so that if something were to happen we know that the City borrowed the Little League gator at this time and you know, checked it out at this time and returned it at this time and visa-versa? Dir. of Law: This is intended to formalize that process and so it has to be run through our Dir. of Public Service now and the Dir. of Public Service has to authorize it and it has to be our employee who is operating it and so it needs to be routed through him and he is in control and there is also a limitation of only doing this three times per year because if we need it that badly, I would suggest that we need to purchase another one or vice-versa and so it is only intended . . . and it is also limited; Little League is only allowed to use it on public property and then we are only allowed to use it for public purposes obviously and so that is another limitation put on it. Mrs. Kilway: Thank you very much. Dir. of Law: Then the term of it is for five years, and it is for during the season and so I would be happy to answer any other questions that you didn’t actually ask. 9  REGULAR MEETING in Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. April 9, 15 Mr. Rensel: Dave, help me out; if the City . . . if you are using it and I know you use it in parades and stuff like that; does that preclude us from putting minors in the gator? Pres. of Council: Yes. Mr. Rensel: Well, it hasn’t in the past and that is why I am asking because if you remember when the Little Leaguers came back from Oregon; you had them riding . . . Mayor: It doesn’t preclude, I don’t think for a City owned vehicle . . . if I am driving a City vehicle around the Circle for the parade and I happen to pick up a 12-year old baseball player in our City vehicle . . . Dir. of Law: This doesn’t cover that. This is only when we are using the Tallmadge Little League gator and when Tallmadge Little League is using the City gator. Mr. Rensel: That is all I wanted to clarify. Dir. of Law: Yes. Otherwise all other applicable liabilities would follow if it is our gator and our employee. Pres. of Council: On the floor we have a motion to amend Ord. 43-2015. Is there any further discussion? No one responded. Roll Call: Ms. Tricaso, Mr. Donovan, Mrs. Kilway, Mr. Rensel, Mr. Sisak, Mr. Stalnaker – unanimous. Pres. of Council: Ord. 43-2015 is amended by a vote of 6-0. We previously had a motion and a second for the adoption; do we need to redo that process? Dir. of Law: Probably; yes. Pres. of Council: For the amended version; do they need to withdraw their motion? Dir. of Law: They can withdraw their original motion. Pres. of Council: The motion and second are withdrawn and then . . . Mr. Stalnaker: I move for the amended version of Ord. 43-2015. Seconded Mr. Rensel. Roll Call: Mr. Donovan, Mrs. Kilway, Mr. Rensel, Mr. Sisak, Mr. Stalnaker, Ms. Tricaso – unanimous. Ord. 43- 2015 is adopted by a vote of 6-0. 20. Resolution 3-2015 At 1st Reading. Extending the sympathy of the Council and the Administration to John D. Rensel and members of his family in the death of Virginia “Val” Rensel and providing for immediate enactment. Mr. Stalnaker moved for the adoption of Res. 3-2015. Seconded Mrs. Kilway. Voice vote 5-0. Res. 3-2015 is adopted by a vote of 5-0. Mr. Rensel: Thank you very much. I appreciate it and the family appreciates it and it was a beautiful funeral and funeral mass and the funeral home did a great job. Mr. Stalnaker: Well John, when I saw the pictures of your father and mother, I think they both could have been movie stars in all respect to you. Mr. Rensel: I knew you couldn’t resist Mr. Stalnaker. 21. Resolution 4-2015 At 1st Reading. Congratulating Rachel Prior for being named one of the top two youth volunteers in Ohio for 2015, in the 20th Annual Pru- dential Spirit of Community Awards. Mr. Rensel moved for the adoption of Res. 4-2015. Seconded Mrs. Kilway. Mayor: Mr. Chairman, if Council remembers, Rachel was in here to show what she did and her accomplishments not only for herself, but for her family and most importantly for the cause that she is working on. It is just outstanding to get this award and it is pretty special and that is why I thought it was appropriate that we all recognize her on this great endeavor that she is doing. Voice vote 6-0. Res. 4-2015 is adopted by a vote of 6-0. 22. ADDITIONAL ITEMS: Pres. of Council: I have a note here to remind Council that on Monday, April 20 th there will be a short presentation regarding the outcome of the Fire Study that was done. Is there anything else to come before Council? Mr. Rensel: I would like to remind Council and the Administration that the Warriors Journey Home has a gala at Guy’s Party Center on the evening of April 23rd. Tickets are $50 per person and the proceeds go to help the program. Reverend John Schleup is the Master of Ceremonies for that event. Thank you. Mayor: That is a Council night and I do plan on going to that. It starts at 7:00 p.m. for the food portion, but the ceremony will start at about 7:45 p.m. I told him that I would be there, but it would not be so much for dinner, but for the presentation. Pres. of Council: We will talk fast. 10  REGULAR MEETING in Council Chambers @ 7:00 p.m. April 9, 15 23. ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Sisak moved to adjourn. Seconded Mrs. Kilway. Voice vote 6-0. The Regular Council meeting of 4-9-15 adjourned at 8:08 p.m. sb Approved: _____________________________________ __________________________________ Susan E. Burton James M. Donovan Clerk of Council President of Council 11