Village Council

Village of Wellington Revised March 18, 2013 Council Minutes March 4, 2013 Council Chambers 1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor O’Keefe called the meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:30 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL Council President Sandy Denes-present Councilman Steve Maurer-present Councilwoman Helen Dronsfield-present Councilman Hans Schneider-present Councilman Jeff Hyde-present Councilman Guy Wells-present Others Present: Village Manager Pyles, Finance Director Shaw, Law Director Bond, Public Works Superintendent Brasee, Electric Superintendent Bealer, Zoning Inspector Furcron, President of Main Street Wellington Patti Young, Reporter Jason Hawk, and local residents Angie Brinker and Ann Linden. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES • Approval of Council Minutes-Motion by Mr. Maurer, 2nd by Ms. Denes to approve the minutes of the February 19, 2013 meeting. Roll call vote was taken, motion carried with all voting “yes”. 4. FINANCIAL REPORTS Approval of expenses from 03/04/13. 101 General Fund $ 53,623.31 201 Street CM & R $ 235.00 401 Capital Improvements $ 34,594.50 501 Water $ 18,209.13 502 Sewer $ 8,629.51 503 Electric $ 29,206.03 ***Power Bills $ 470,077.93 504 Trash $ 0.00 505 Cable $ 5,351.60 508 Consumer Deposits $ 2,200.00 Pay #04 $ 80,039.22 Total $ 702,166.23 Ms. Denes questioned some of the expenses. Mr. Pyles and Superintendent Brasee answered all questions. Motion was made by Mr. Hyde, 2nd by Mr. Wells to approve the expenses. Roll call vote was taken, motion carried with all voting “yes”. 5. COMMUNICATIONS FROM MAYOR, COUNCIL, AND VILLAGE OFFICIALS: • Law Director Bond-nothing to report • Police Chief Rollins-absent • Finance Director Shaw-Ms. Shaw mentioned that her report was in the packet. She also pointed out that R.I.T.A. will be at the Village on Tuesday, March 26th from noon until 4:00 p.m. to help the residents with their taxes. It was requested that a public service announcement be put on the cable channel which Ms. Shaw will handle. Ms. Denes had a question regarding the large difference in income tax revenue from January to February for this year. Ms. Shaw explained that because of the conversion process in January, R.I.T.A. did not begin actual collections for the Village until February so revenue collections are one month behind. Ms. Denes had a question as to why the number of payroll checks issued from January to February had gone down. Ms. Shaw explained that in addition to four less employees in February, the number of checks written in January also included year-end deduction checks to various agencies. Mr. 1  Hyde also noted that there were several employees that Ms. Shaw had thanked in her report for their help in Finance when they were short staffed. They were Steve Pyles, Betty Rucker, Dave Bealer, Gary Walker, and Marla Lent. Ms. Dronsfield reiterated that Ms. Shaw would be more than willing to help all residents who needed assistance with their taxes. Ms. Shaw also thanked Ms. Denes for her help in handing out tax exemption forms to retirees. • Village Manager Pyles-Mr. Pyles told Council that they have his report and his superintendents’ reports and would be happy to answer any questions. He reported that the RFP for the snack bar was on our website for anyone interested in bidding. He also congratulated Jay Lowther for earning his Ohio Class 2 Supply Operator’s License. He reminded everyone that the Village was now pumping to the reservoir. Mr. Maurer commented on how great the back wall in the gym looked and that the employees had done a very good job. Mr. Pyles finished his report by stating that there were some window shelves installed in the Mayor’s office that could showcase the various trophies and awards the Village had accumulated. The Mayor expressed her appreciation for how great it looked. 6. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES • Finance-Mr. Hyde reported that the next Finance Committee meeting will be held prior to Council on March 18th and that the minutes from the February 19th meeting were in the Council packets. He also mentioned that the Planning Committee met on Wednesday, February 27th, and he thanked Mr. Schneider, Mr. Maurer, and Ms. Denes for attending. The committee gave approval for the old Ponderosa building to be demolished in order to make way for a new Family Dollar store. Additionally, the committee approved the construction of a new building by Wellington Implement. He announced that the Fire District Board will meet at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6th at the Kelly Street Fire Station. He also mentioned the Fire Association fundraiser called the Night at the Races to be held on March 16th. The money raised goes back into the community. ƒ Police-Mr. Maurer stated that the Police Committee met tonight prior to Council and reported that two confiscated vehicles were sold online through the govdeals.com website. A local car dealership bought one and an out of town dealership bought the other one. He mentioned that the money from these sales would be used to buy new guns for our officers and the Chief was getting pricing. He also gave an update on the new dispatcher, Julie Baker. She has already passed the LEADS test and is doing very well. He reported on the discussions for a new School Resource Officer to be used and paid for by both the Village and the school district based on number of days worked at each. The committee decided that further discussions would be needed before any recommendations could be made. The next committee meeting will be held prior to Council on April 1st. Also, the Ambulance Board will meet again at 7:00 p.m. on March 12th at the Ambulance headquarters. ƒ Public Works-Mr. Schneider reported that the Public Works Committee met before the Council meeting tonight. Mr. Pyles gave an update to the committee about progress on the underpass and that a pre- construction meeting had been scheduled for March 20th at ODOT’s District 3 building. The next Public Works Committee meeting is scheduled for April 1st at 6:00 p.m. ƒ Utility-Ms. Denes reported that the Utility Committee will meet again on March 18th at 6:00 p.m. before the Council meeting. She stated that the minutes from the March February 19th meeting were in the Council packets. Main Street Wellington will meet next Wednesday, March 13th at 8:00 a.m. She noted that Patti Young from Main Street Wellington was in attendance for further updates later in the Council meeting. ƒ Ordinance-Mr. Wells reported that the Ordinance Committee met prior to tonight’s Council meeting. In answer to a question brought up by Mr. Hyde last month, Mr. Bond provided a report on internet cafes as they were again in the news as well as potential problems they could cause. It was determined that at present there is really no reason to change our current ordinance. There was also a discussion regarding a possible change in the Rules of Council as they relate to the appointment of alternates to the committees. The committee decided that no action would be taken on any changes at this time. Mr. Wells also reported that the committee began discussions on vacant commercial buildings in the downtown area. The committee reviewed material provided by Ms. Denes that she received from the cities of Sandusky and Painesville. Mr. Wells stated that the discussion would be continued at the next Ordinance Committee meeting as an agenda item. The next meeting will be held on April 1st prior to the Council meeting. Ms. Dronsfield mentioned that the next Cable Commission meeting was scheduled for March 14th. 2 7. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS • ORDINANCE 2013-03 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE VILLAGE MANAGER TO SELL AT INTERNET AUCTION A SERVICE TRUCK WHICH IS NO LONGER NEEDED FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES, AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE 3rd Reading nd Motion by Ms. Denes, 2 by Mr. Maurer to approve the third reading of Ordinance No 2013-03 as read. Vote was taken, motion passed with all voting “yes”. • ORDINANCE NO. 2013 - 08 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2013 ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS ORDINANCE TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS FOR CERTAIN EXPENSES AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE 1st Reading Ms. Shaw explained that this ordinance will be discussed further at the next Finance Committee meeting. 8. OLD BUSINESS Patti Young of Main Street Wellington updated Council on the meetings there are having with the Chamber of Commerce and Steve Pyles regarding Christmas decorations. She mentioned that they are also working on the Gazebo Garden Walk to be held Saturday, May 11th. 9. NEW BUSINESS A local resident, Ann Linden, addressed the Mayor and Council regarding a safety issue on Orchard Lane since the street was only 15’ wide. She provided everyone with copies of Ordinance 351.11 which pertains to parking in alleys and narrow streets. She stated that people were using the street to park and this violates the ordinance because the street is so narrow. She explained that if a 7’ wide vehicle parks along the street there would only be 8’ of pavement left for traffic. She noted that emergency vehicles are 8 – 9’ wide making it impossible for them to go around any parked cars. After some discussion about whether it was a dedicated street, the Mayor stated that the issue would be handled. 10. ADJOURN- Motion by Mr. Maurer, 2nd by Mr. Hyde to adjourn at 8:01 p.m. Deputy Clerk Mayor 3