Board of Aldermen Meeting

CITY OF WILLARD BOARD OF ALDERMEN REGULAR MEETING August 29, 2022 7:00 p.m. Staff present: City Clerk, Jennifer Rowe; Police Officer, JD Landon; Parks Director, Jason Knight; and Finance Director, Carolyn Halverson. City Attorney Ken Reynolds was present. Citizens in attendance: Bradley Mowell, Karie Johnson, Burnis Coleman, Donna Stewart, Kathy Stewart, Scott Stewart, Terry Kathcart, Joshua Homen, Lucas Homen, Ethan Johnson and Paul Johnson. Call to Order. Mayor Snider called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll Call. Alderman Simmons-present, Alderman Hendrickson-present, Alderman Whitman-present, Alderman Baird- present, Alderman Hall-present and Mayor Snider-present. Agenda Amendments/Approval of Agenda. Motion was made by Alderman Baird and seconded by Alderman Hall to approve the agenda. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. Consent Agenda. Motion was made by Alderman Simmons and seconded by Alderman Whitman to approve the Consent Agenda. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. Discussion/Vote on current Outstanding Invoices, draft and Check Paid Invoices for July/August 2022. Motion was made by Alderman Whitman and seconded by Alderman Hall to approve the current Outstanding Invoices, draft and Check paid Invoices for July/August 2022. Motion carried with a vote of 5- 0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. Citizen Input: Scott Stewart, owner of Pizano’s, stated that they noticed the numbers of employees dropping like flies and even the Alderman that has resigned recently. He asked what the issue was and if the Board was going to address it. Discussion/Vote to appoint Karie Phillips-Johnson to the Board of Aldermen. Mayor Snider informed the Board that he had received six (6) people interested in the open seat as Alderman, including prior Alderman Donna Stewart. He stated that after he spoke with Donna on the phone and spoke with Ms. Johnson, he has decided to recommend Karie Phillips-Johnson as Alderman. Discussion was made on her resume and how she heard about the open position. She stated her friend Rhonda Shrewsbury had shared the post from the Mayor’s Facebook page, and she saw it on the news, so she emailed him. Discussion was then made on how long she has lived in Willard and what her experience is. No motion was made therefore the discussion was ended and the motion failed. Public Hearing for 2022 Tax Levy. 08-29-22 BOA Minutes Page 1 of 4 City Attorney Ken Reynolds opened the public hearing on the 2022 Tax Levy at 7:22 p.m. No citizens wished to speak so the public hearing was closed at 7:23 p.m. Ordinance approving the 2022 Tax Levy. (1st & 2nd Read) Discussion/Vote. Finance Director Carolyn Halverson stated this was set by the State and the yearly Tax Levy required by law. The first read was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was made by Alderman Baird and seconded by Alderman Hendrickson to approve the 2022 Tax Levy. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. The second read was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was made by Alderman Whitman and seconded by Alderman Simmons to approve the 2022 Tax Levy. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. Ordinance amending Chapter 710: Sewer Use and Sewer Rates of the Willard Municipal Code. (1st & 2nd Read) Discussion/Vote. Ms. Halverson informed the Board that this was to update our Ordinances to be in line with the Springfield Sewer Contract. City Attorney Ken Reynolds also stated that part of the contract stated our ordinances must match theirs, this brings ours in line to meet the requirements. We are under a time crunch to get this done as well. The first read was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was made by Alderman Simmons and seconded by Alderman Whitman to amend Chapter 710: Sewer Use and Sewer Rates of the Willard Municipal Code. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. The second read was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was made by Alderman Hendrickson and seconded by Alderman Hall to amend Chapter 710: Sewer Use and Sewer Rates of the Willard Municipal Code. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. Ordinance amending Section 127.360 of the Willard Municipal Code regarding the meeting schedule for the Economic Development Task Force. (2nd Read) Discussion/Vote. City Clerk Jennifer Rowe informed them that this sets the meeting dates to quarterly instead of monthly. The second read was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was made by Alderman Hendrickson and seconded by Alderman Baird to amend Section 127.360 of the Willard Municipal Code regarding the meeting schedule for the Economic Development Task Force. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. Ordinance accepting the contract with Land O’Frost as the Sponsor for the Parks Department Sports Program for 2022. (1st & 2nd Read) Discussion/Vote. Parks Director Jason Knight discussed the sponsorship and the changes from last year. Discussion was made on the amount. Mr. Knight stated the Parks Department would be receiving $6500 this year for the sponsorship and he is hopeful that it will continue to raise back to the pre-covid amount of $10,000 in the future. The first read was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was made by Alderman Simmons and seconded by Alderman Whitman to accept the contract with Land O’Frost as the Sponsor for the Parks Department Sports Program for 2022. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. The second read was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was made by Alderman Baird and seconded by Alderman Hall to accept the contract with Land O’Frost as the Sponsor for the Parks Department Sports Program for 2022. Motion carried with a vote of 5- 0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. 08-29-22 BOA Minutes Page 2 of 4 Discussion/Vote to approve the Liberty Streetlight Changes. Ms. Halverson stated this was just housekeeping as the work had already been done. They upgraded these three lights to LED since they needed to be replaced. Motion was made by Alderman Hall and seconded by Alderman Simmons to approve the Liberty Streetlight Changes. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. Ordinance accepting the Intergovernmental Agreement with Greene County Emergency Management. (1st & 2nd Read) Discussion/Vote. Ms. Rowe discussed the Intergovernmental Agreement and what all was provided. Discussion was made on the contract cost and changes. The first read was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was made by Alderman Simmons and seconded by Alderman Hall to accept the Intergovernmental Agreement with Greene County Emergency Management. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. The second read was conducted by the City Clerk. Motion was made by Alderman Baird and seconded by Alderman Simmons to accept the Intergovernmental Agreement with Greene County Emergency Management. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. New Business. Alderman Hendrickson asked the scouts in the room what badges they were working on and if they had any questions. Alderman Hall asked Mayor Snider where the open seat for Alderman was posted. Mayor Snider stated to Facebook and on the news. Discussion was made on all Aldermen and others being blocked from the Mayor’s Facebook page and the need to post it on the public pages, so everyone has a fair chance. Mayor Snider stated that it cannot get more public than the news. He then stated that he brought a highly qualified individual before the Board and no discussion or motion was made. He stated he does not want to have issues down the road if other Aldermen cannot make a meeting and there is no quorum due to being down an Alderman. Unfinished Business. Alderman Whitman stated that the light had been installed at Hunt and Osage and he has heard good feedback. Attorney Reynolds updated the Board on the nuisance property at 610 Barwick and stated that the home had been sold and is being cleaned up. Discussion was made on future issues and what can be done to shorten the process time with these nuisances. Recess Open Session. Motion was made by Alderman Hall and seconded by Alderman Simmons to Recess the Open Session at 7:53 p.m. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. Open Executive Session. Motion was made by Alderman Simmons and seconded by Alderman Hall to Open the Executive Session at 8:05 p.m. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. Close Executive Session. Motion was made by Alderman Simmons and seconded by Alderman Whitman to Close the Executive Session at 8:55 p.m. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. 08-29-22 BOA Minutes Page 3 of 4 Adjourn. Motion was made by Alderman Whitman and seconded by Alderman Baird to Adjourn. Motion carried with a vote of 5-0. Voting aye: Aldermen Simmons, Hendrickson, Whitman, Baird and Hall. The meeting was adjourned at 8:56 p.m. ______________________________ ___________________________ Samuel Snider, Mayor Jennifer Rowe, City Clerk 08-29-22 BOA Minutes Page 4 of 4