Village Council

Village of Wellington Council Meeting Minutes Barbara O'Keefe, Mayor Council: President Hans Schneider, Sandy Denes, Helen Dronsfield, Jeff Hyde, Steve Maurer, Guy Wells Revised September 2, 2104 Council Chambers Monday August 4, 2014 7:30 p.m. 1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor O’Keefe called the meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance. 2. ROLL CALL Council President Hans Schneider – Present Councilman Jeff Hyde – Present Councilwoman Sandy Denes – Present Councilman Steve Maurer – Present Councilwoman Helen Dronsfield – Absent Councilman Guy Wells - Present Others Present – Mayor O’Keefe, Village Manager Pyles, Finance Director Shaw, Law Director Bond Interim Police Chief Barrett, Electric Superintendent Bealer, Public Works Superintendent Brasee, Water and WW Superintendent Rosemark, Sargent Shelton, Zoning Inspector Furcron, Clerk of Council O’Brien, Enterprise Reporter Valerie Urbanik, Rural Urban Reporter Stacey Brewer, Residents Varney Hunter, Tiffany Gancol, Vickie DeHart, Bill Neff, Richard Leiby, Mary Yerardi McArthur 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – Mr. Wells recommended amending the minutes from the July 21, 2014 Council meeting; page two, Finance Director Shaw – (in bold) Ms. Shaw reported that the RITA income tax collections were .11% greater than they were in 2012 and the cost for income tax collections went down 41%. Item 6. Reports of Committees, Finance – (in bold) Mr. Hyde made a motion to set a $1,000.00 credit card limit per utility account per month, 2nd by Wells. Ms. Denes recommended amending the minutes to add under New Business – “Mr. Schneider mentioned that the Division I, 8 and 9 yr. old boys’ baseball team will be playing in the State Championship in Alliance.” Motion by Wells, 2nd by Hyde to approve as amended. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. 4. FINANCIAL REPORTS – Mr. Maurer and Ms. Denes had questions concerning the bills, Mr. Brasee, Mr. Bealer, Mr. Pyles, Ms. Shaw, Mr. Rosemark and Mr. Barrett answered their questions. Motion by Hyde, 2nd by Wells to approve the expenses and pay the bills. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. 101 Gen $ 100,902.70 201 Street CM&R $ 614.99 205 Police Pension $ 4,466.51 208 Permissive $ 6,162.41 401 Capital $ 15,363.15 501 Water $ 39,614.92 502 Sewer $ 45,829.18 503 Elec. $ 25,333.74 Power Bills 504 Garbage $ 100.00 506 Storm Sewer $ 795.73 508 Consumer Deposits $ 400.00 Pay #15 $ 99,083.45 Total $ 338,666.78 5. COMMUNICATIONS FROM MAYOR, COUNCIL, AND VILLAGE OFFICIALS: § Mayor O'Keefe – Mayor O’Keefe read a retirement letter from Gary Walker effective July 31, 2014. Motion by Denes, 2nd by Hyde to accept with regret. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Mayor O’Keefe asked the council members to choose an alternate day for the first council meeting in September as it would fall on Labor Day; Motion by Wells to schedule the meeting for Tuesday September 2, 2nd by Maurer. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. § Law Director Bond – Nothing to report § Interim Police Chief Barrett – Chief Barrett reported that Safety Town started today. He mentioned that his officers began issuing warnings and chalking tires for parking violations in the business district. He reminded residents who are walking their dogs to remember to scoop; his officers are watching for those violations also. He also reminded residents that school would be starting shortly and to pay close attention in school zones. He mentioned that one of the new officers and two of the dispatcher had started, the last officer will begin tonight. He reported that he would be having a meeting with the Fair Board to discuss fair traffic. He also reported that the SRO contract would be finalized soon, and that he had spoken with Mr. Rosemark about in regards to a Reservoir emergency plan. § Finance Director Shaw – Ms. Shaw reported that she had been making accounting adjustments to several accounts, particularly related to current construction projects throughout the village. She mentioned that she is still working on getting the online bill pay up and running. Ms. Denes asked Ms. Shaw about utility bills which are in arrears; Ms. Shaw explained that she is still working on a new collection policy which should help with the problem. Mr. Maurer asked whether or not these were current residents, or if these bill were owed by residents who had moved from the area; Ms. Shaw explained that these were current customers, the others are turned in to the collection company. § Village Manager Pyles – Mr. Pyles reported that the reservoir had been tested for algae, as there have been concerns due to the Toledo algae bloom. The reservoir tests came back negative. He further reported that the village controls the water that comes into the reservoir and that it is added at a time when the risk of nitrates (which cause the algae to form) is very low. Ms. Denes reported that Mr. Pyles had made an update to the webpage at her request and thanked him. 6. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES § Finance – Mr. Hyde reported that the committee had met prior to the council meeting, and discussed three ordinances which were on the agenda for tonight. He mentioned that any residents who had delinquent income taxes owed to the village would be receiving a subpoena in the mail from RITA. The next committee meeting will be the 2nd meeting in Sept. and Fire Board will meet on September 3rd. § Police – Mr. Maurer reported that he had given Chief Barrett some contacts of individuals who may be able to help bring Narcan (used in Heroin over doses) into the village with little expense to the village. Sgt. Shelton reported that all of the officers have had Narcan training. Mr. Maurer thanked Sgt. Shelton for his work with Safety Town. Mr. Maurer mentioned that the Ambulance Board would meet on August 12th at 7:00 PM. § Public Works – Mr. Schneider reported that the committee had met prior to Council. He mentioned that they had discussed a potential part time employee which was referred to the Finance committee, and was put on hold for now. He reported that the elevator was in need of repair and would be out of service for a few days, hopefully during fair week, at a cost of $12,944.00. The next committee meeting will be the first meeting in September. Ms. Shaw reported that she had a customer, who was paying their sidewalk program bill, give much praise to the sidewalk repair crew, especially  to Kyle Keiffer. Mr. Wells mentioned that the planters in the downtown area, particularly the Cana’s which were planted, looked very nice. Mayor O’Keefe mentioned that Marla had received many calls about the planters from out-of- towners. Mr. Brasee said that Hook’s Greenhouse plants the flowers in the planters. § Utility – Ms. Denes mentioned that the committee met before the Council meeting. She reported that there were no internal applications for the Waste Water Plant Operator position and that it would be advertised. She mentioned that there was an ordinance on the agenda for Armstrong Cable, who bought South Shore Cable, allowing the village to collect 5% franchise fees for any of those customers which may be in the village. She reported that Armstrong would not be moving into the village limits. The next committee meeting will be Sept. 15th. § Ordinance- Mr. Wells reported that the committee had met prior to the Council meeting and would meet again on Sept. 2nd, if there was business to conduct. He mentioned ordinance no. 2014-30 & 2014-32, the committee would like to recommend Council pass them. He further mentioned draft Ordinance No. 2014-33, relating to sewer construction, and recommend council pass this also. Mr. Wells made a motion to amend the agenda to add Ordinance 2014-33 for the first reading, 2nd by Hyde. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Mr. Wells mentioned the discussion that council had with Mr. Sumption at the July 21, 2014 meeting regarding his GLWB cable service. He reported that he had received a response from Joel Large from GLWB relating to the problem. Mr. Large responded in an email that GLWB had been experiencing tampering (vandalism and theft) with the cable box at the Heritage Square apartment complex. Mr. Wells mentioned that while watching the Council meeting broadcasted on Channel 12, he experienced one of Mr. Sumption’s complaints for himself; there was a 10 – 15 second outage during the cable discussion of that meeting. Mr. Wells also reported that during that same broadcast a key adverb was lost or “fuzzed out” in the discussion of the cable issue. Mr. Wells stated for the record that his statement was: “Mr. Large reportedly stated that he would never meet with the Cable Commission again.” The word “reportedly” was taken out of the broadcast due to the possibly coincidental interference in the sound track. § Resolution for Gary Walker – Mayor O’Keefe read a resolution for Gary Walker, recognizing and thanking him for his 41 years of service. Motion by Wells to approve the resolution, 2nd by Denes. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. 7. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS RESOLUTION NO. 2014-23 A RESOLUTION DECLARING THE OFFICIAL INTENT AND REASONABLE EXPECTATION OF THE VILLAGE OF WELLINGTON ON BEHALF OF THE STATE OF OHIO TO REIMBURSE ITS CAPTIAL IMPROVEMENT, WATER, SEWER, AND STORM SEWER FUNDS FOR THE BARKER STREET IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT #CI31R/CI32R WITH THE PROCEEDS OF TAX EXEMPT DEBT OF THE STATE OF OHIO 2nd Reading nd Motion by Denes, 2 by Wells to move the second reading. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. RESOLUTION NO. 2014-24 A RESOLUTION DECLARING THE OFFICIAL INTENT AND REASONABLE EXPECTATION OF THE VILLAGE OF WELLINGTON ON BEHALF OF THE STATE OF OHIO TO REIMBURSE ITS WATER FUND FOR THE JOHNS STREET WATERLINE REPLACEMENT PHASE I PROJECT #CT25R/CT26R WITH THE PROCEEDS OF TAX EXEMPT DEBT OF THE STATE OF OHIO 2nd Reading  Motion by Schneider, 2nd by Wells to move the second reading. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. ORDINANCE NO. 2014-27 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2014 ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS ORDINANCE TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS FOR CERTAIN EXPENSES AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE 1ST Reading Motion by Denes, 2nd by Wells to suspend the rules. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Motion by Wells, 2nd by Denes to approve as read. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. ORDINANCE NO. 2014-28 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 2014-11 RELATIVE TO THE ACQUISITION OF A 2014 PICK-UP TRUCK, AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE 1ST Reading nd Motion by Denes, 2 by Wells to suspend the rules. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Motion by Wells, 2nd by Schneider to approve as read. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. ORDINANCE NO. 2014-29 AN ORDINANCE ENACTING A NEW SECTION 181.01(00) OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES, DEFINING “PENSION” FOR INCOME TAX PURPOSES 1ST Reading ORDINANCE NO. 2014-30 AN ORDINANCE RECOGNIZING THE OPERATION OF ARMSTRONG CABLE WITHIN THE VILLAGE, CONFIRMING THE ASSESSMENT OF A CABLE FRANCHISE FEE CONCERNING ITS OPERATIONS, AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE 1ST Reading Motion by Wells, 2nd by Schneider to suspend the rules. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Motion by Wells, 2nd by Schneider to approve as read. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. ORDINANCE NO. 2014-31 AN ORDINANCE TO REVISE THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES PRUSUANT TO OHIO R.C. 731.23 BY ADOPTING CURRENT REPLACEMENT PAGES; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. 1ST Reading Mr. Maurer asked Mr. Bond about changes in the fire code and whether Chief Wetherbee knew about the changes; Mr. Bond explained that he did not know if Chief Wetherbee was aware of the changes or not. He further explained that the job of the codifier is to add in whatever is put in at the state level. Mr. Maurer asked Mr. Hyde to make sure the fire chief is aware of the change. ORDINANCE NO. 2014-32 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING RECOMMENDATION FROM THE HOUSING COUNCIL TO REINSTATE 100% ABATEMENT FOR THE COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT AREA AGREEMENT WITH GRAHAM ENTERPRISES OF OHIO, INC. AND GRAHAM & GRAHAM REAL ESTATE PROPERTIES LTD. AND DECLARING THIS ACT AN EMERGENCY 1ST Reading nd Motion by Wells, 2 by Denes to suspend the rules. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. Motion by Wells, 2nd by Denes to approve as read. Roll call vote was taken with all members present voting “yes”. ORDINANCE NO. 2014-33 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 922.01, 922.04, 923.01 AND 923.02 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES RELATIVE TO BUILDING SEWERS 1st Reading 8. OLD BUSINESS – Nothing to discuss 9. NEW BUSINESS Main Street Wellington, Mike Epply- Mr. Epply thanked all of the village employees for their help with the Cheese Festival. He also mentioned the flower planters in the CBD and thanked the employees for taking such great care of them this summer. He reported  that there would be a new antique store opening in the old Black River Antiques space, and mentioned that Addies Antiques will be expanding into the former Laundromat on E. Herrick. Richard Leiby – Mr. Leiby brought papers signed by several businesses in the village in support of Interim Chief Barrett. Mary Yerardi McArthur – Ms. McArthur lives at 150 Courtland St. She has lived there for 24 years, made several updates to her property, and takes pride in her community. She explained that the property owners behind her on Dickson St. do not take care of their property and have many sickly cats. Ms. McArthur is trying to sell her home and feels that her property values have depreciated due to the property owners on Dickson St. She would like something done to get that property cleaned up. Zoning Inspector Furcron reported that the property owners had been sent a letter giving the owners 15 days to clean up the property. Ms. Denes asked if this is the first letter they have been sent; Mr. Furcron said no, they do enough work to get by and then they eventually bring in more things and the process begins again. Mayor O’Keefe assured Ms. McArthur that they were working on getting it taken care of. Varney Hunter – Mr. Hunter explained that the sidewalk west of the RxR tracks on Magyar St. is in very bad shape and it gets a lot of traffic during the fair. He would like to see repairs made to the sidewalk. Mr. Varney also recommended keeping Interim Chief Barrett. Mr. Rosemark – Mr. Rosemark mentioned that it was a privilege working with Gary Walker for 36 of his 41 years. He further mentioned that Mr. Walker had made him the oldest person in the company overnight. Mr. Rosemark stated that Gary was the bread and butter, and without Gary’s hard work we wouldn’t have gotten paid. Tiffany Gancos – Ms. Gancos explained that she lives behind the Elementary School on Wenner St. She mentioned that she has seen an increase in patrols since Chief Barrett began working for the village, and stated the she was there in support of Interim Chief Barrett. Council President Schneider – Mr. Schneider asked Council to instruct Mr. Bond to amend the Ordinance pertaining to the Christmas Eve holiday as needed. He stated that this year in particular if the employees work Christmas Eve, which is a Wednesday, by giving them Friday off, instead of Christmas Eve, the employees will have Thursday through Sunday off for Christmas. Mr. Bond said that he would be happy to do so. Mr. Schneider added that he had spoken with the Mayor and Mr. Pyles to get their approval prior to the Council meeting. Executive Session – Motion by Schneider to go into executive session to discuss personnel and the only persons in attendance would be the Council Members and Mayor O’Keefe, 2nd by Denes. Roll call vote was taken with all members voting “yes”. (8:15 PM) Mr. Schneider mentioned that the work session would be postponed. 10. ADJOURN – 9:17 PM