CITY OF PICKERINGTON

SAFETY COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2005

7:30 P.M.

REGULAR MEETING AGENDA

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Wisniewski called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. with Mr. Wisniewski and Mr. Sabatino present. Mrs. Riggs was absent. Others present were: Judy Gilleland, Lynda Yartin, Chief Taylor, Steve Carr, John Gallagher, Ed Drobina, Lance Schultz, George Parsley, Chief Kenn Taylor, Jim Holcomb, and others.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF June 6, 2005, Regular Meeting. Mr. Wisniewski moved to approve. Motion died for lack of a second.

3. Violet Township Fire Department report on storage of liquefied petroleum gases requiring vehicle impact protection. Mr. Wisniewski stated Chief Kenn Taylor of the Violet Township Fire Department was present this evening to address this issue. Chief Taylor stated it was his opinion that legislation was not necessary to deal with this issue. He stated there are parameters in the Fire Code for this, and in fact, the updated Fire Code was just adopted last Thursday by the Department of Commerce, and as of September those new rules will be in place. He stated the new Fire Code does have more stringent rules regarding vehicle protection and those types of things. Chief Taylor stated further his Department has met with the 12 to 13 businesses in the City and Township, and there were only 3 to 4 in the City who were not in compliance. He stated his Department is willing to support any legislation the City felt was necessary, however, he thought legislation may not be necessary with the new Fire Code. He stated he would be happy to answer any questions the Committee may have. Mr. Sabatino stated he appreciated Chief Taylor surveying the businesses so we know exactly what we are dealing with. He stated if Chief Taylor felt the new Fire Code would allow him to deal with the situation, it might be best to wait and see how that works and review it at a later time. Mr. Wisniewski stated he agreed with Mr. Sabatino. Mr. Sabatino stated after the new regulations are in effect, if there is a situation where a business in the City is not complying, he would request Chief Taylor come back to this Committee and let them know. Chief Taylor stated that would be fine with him, and he was willing to help in any way he can with this situation. Mr. Sabatino stated he had also learned that the Fire Department does inspect all of these locations at least twice a year with follow-up as needed. Mr. Sabatino further clarified that during the inspections there were no issues with the cages being unlocked.

4. DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

A. Parks and Recreation.

(1) Director’s Report. Mr. Carr stated he had provided a written report this evening and he would be happy to answer any questions.

a. Parks Master Plan

1. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance authorizing the City Manager to accept Edsall & Associates, LLC’s proposal to prepare Parks and Recreation Facilities Master Plan. Mr. Carr stated the City did employ the qualifications based selection process, and staff and the Parks and Recreation Board interviewed the highest ranking firms in April. He stated the Parks Board had recommended the City begin negotiations with Edsall & Associates, and this is the product of that. Mr. Sabatino clarified Mr. Carr was satisfied with the proposal as it was presented this evening. Mr. Carr further stated the proposal is for the budgeted amount in Park Capital for this project. Mr. Sabatino moved to approved the draft ordinance and forward it to Council; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0. Mr. Wisniewski clarified the Master Plan was probably an eight to nine month process from beginning to end. Mr. Wisniewski further stated he felt it would be nice to get a map of the area at Sycamore Park showing where things are located so visitors can find where to go when visiting the park. He also stated perhaps Sycamore Park would be a more appropriate location for the Violet Festival as it is much larger. Mr. Carr stated we are running out of room at Victory Park for the Fourth of July festivities and Sycamore Park might be a more logical location, however, Sycamore Park right now is the only place we have for a shooting area for fireworks, and the Violet Festival also has fireworks. He stated over the years various locations have been explored for shooting fireworks, and Sycamore Park is the only location we currently have.

2. Joint Parks District – Update. Mr. Carr stated he and the Parks & Recreation Board will meet with the Violet Township Park Study Committee at 7:30 P.M., Tuesday, August 9^th, at the Township Administrative offices.

b. NatureWorks Grant Project. Mr. Carr stated the 12^th Round funding announcement is expected by the end of August. He stated the city has requested $14,275 in funding assistance for a disc golf course at Simsbury Park.

c. Sycamore Park Tennis Court Repair Project – Update. Mr. Carr stated a new fence will be erected this construction season.

d. Violet Festival Board – Update. Mr. Wisniewski asked if the Committee would receive a report from the Violet Festival Board on the festival and Ms Gilleland stated she would request some of the Board members attend the next Safety Committee meeting.

B. Building Operations: No Report.

C. Service Department:

(1) Traffic Engineer

a. Review of recommended speed limit on Hill Road South. Mr. Gallagher stated we are still waiting on the County to submit their portion to ODOT.

b. S.R. 256/I-70 Signage – Update. Mr. Gallagher stated ODOT has installed everything they have been asked to do. He stated we have some outstanding issues with signal timing and he will meet with Mr. Bosch this week to trouble shoot some of the problems we have had, so he should have a report on this issue at the next meeting. Mr. Sabatino stated he recalled some type of overhead signage being discussed. Ms Gilleland stated the estimate for erecting a structure from which to hang the signs is about $5,000 and spending that money for just one sign was very expensive. She stated ODOT did do some additional pavement markings. Mr. Sabatino stated then as he understood it, we have done all we are going to do at this time. Mr. Wisniewski ascertained from Chief Taylor there has not been a significant increase of accidents turning left into Marcus Theaters. Mr. Gallagher stated he felt overhead signage would make very little difference there. Mr. Wisniewski stated he understood there would be some changes at the Diley Road signal. Mr. Gallagher stated the timing needs to be changed for the new traffic pattern and he would be working on that this week. Mr. Wisniewski questioned if the turning onto Diley Road from S.R. 256 heading south would stay the way it is until the next phase is done. He stated currently there are two lanes, but the right lane ends almost immediately and he would like to know if we can get something painted on the road or a sign put up that would address not to block the driveway into Drug Mart. Mr. Gallagher stated he would look at both of these items. Ms Gilleland stated there have been on-going discussions regarding the Drug Mart access as it is very close to S.R. 256 and it will continue to be an issue for us. Mr. Sabatino stated it appeared there was not enough inventory space for cars coming around, and questioned if there were any alternatives available. Ms Gilleland stated she has discussed putting the access further west, literally behind the building, and eventually closing down the current access. Mr. Sabatino ascertained that the new Diley Road actually splits through the Georgio property and he does have an access point there, and he has several vehicles parked on one side of the road. Ms Gilleland stated she would request the code enforcement officer check to see if these are junked vehicles. Mr. Wisniewski stated the S.R. 256/I-70 signage could be removed from the agenda.

c. Review and request for motion to amend Traffic Control Map to add stop signs at Center Street/Milnor Road intersection. Mr. Wisniewski stated this item can be removed from the agenda as it has been determined we do not want to put stop signs in this area.

D. Code Enforcement:

(1) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance amending Sections 1290.05, 1290.10, 452.03, and 452.13 of the Pickerington Codified Ordinances related to parking. Mr. Schultz stated the Property Task Force had recommended changes to the Codified ordinances regarding on-street and off-street parking. He stated one recommendation was to limit the size of vehicles in residential areas, and this would prohibit semi-trucks, panel trucks, box trucks, etc., in subdivisions. He stated they had also recommended that for sale signs on vehicles be limited to one sign per residence and it would have to be located on the property of the owner or tenant selling the vehicle. Mr. Sabatino clarified the draft ordinance did not include tenants, however, that was an oversight and would be added to the ordinance. Mr. Schultz stated the recommendation was to also to allow recreational vehicles to be parked in the rear or side yards and utility trailers shall be parked in the garage, but unloaded utility trailers are allowed to be parked in the rear and side yards and the surfaces on the rear and side yards can be unpaved. Mr. Schultz stated this needs to be clarified in the draft ordinance as it currently states the surface should be leveled, and he felt it should state unpaved so it is more specific. Ms Gilleland stated this would be a change in our code as we currently require all parked areas to be paved, however, over the years we have allowed trailers, etc., in side and rear yards to be on areas not paved without enforcing the code. She stated as we have not been enforcing this, we should either do away with the requirement for the surface to be paved or begin enforcing it. Mr. Sabatino stated he felt the whole purpose of the Property Maintenance Task Force is to pin down some details, not leave them ambiguous when they are done. Mr. Sabatino further stated he wanted to clarify that the Property Task Force’s job was not to create legislation, but to recommend changes to the legislative body. He continued the ordinance states the City desires to amend these standards to prohibit certain commercial vehicles from parking in residential areas, and he felt we should further define which certain ones we were attempting to prevent from parking in residential areas. Mr. Schultz stated if the vehicles exceed the height and length in the ordinance they would be prohibited. Mr. Schultz stated the Task Force determined the height and length requirement would be easier to enforce because you can always measure the vehicle on the street, rather than going by weight, etc. Mr. Schultz stated it was also a safety issue as the larger vehicles could block the view of driver’s. Mr. Sabatino questioned how trucks making deliveries would be treated, and Mr. Schultz stated it was included in the ordinance that vehicles used to repair a home, road or sidewalk being worked on were exempted. Mr. Sabatino stated that did not address a delivery. Mr. Schultz stated the intent was not to restrict deliveries and that could be added to the ordinance. Mr. Sabatino stated he understood the safety issue regarding the parking of larger vehicles. Mr. Schultz stated he would have the revisions made to the ordinance that had been recommended this evening.

(2) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance amending Pickerington Codified Ordinances Section 1276.17 of the Pickerington Codified Ordinances Relating to Home Occupations. Mr. Schultz stated based on the discussion in the Committee in May, revisions have been made making the language a little clearer, and the language has been added that a Certificate of Zoning Compliance is not required for a home office use that is used by family members who reside at the home, and it does not generate additional traffic. Mr. Sabatino questioned why the City wanted to impose additional requirements relating to home occupations, and Mr. Schultz stated it made it a lot clearer when we get complaints to determine if the home occupations are valid or not. Mr. Schultz stated several other communities have these requirements as well. Ms Gilleland stated the Property Maintenance Task Force addressed this issue and reviewed the way it is handled in other communities before making their recommendations. Mr. Sabatino clarified that the limit of 20 percent of the home can be used for a home occupation. Mr. Wisniewski moved to approve and forward to Council. There was no second to the motion. Mr. Wisniewski stated he would like to have this item remain on the agenda for the next meeting.

5. POLICE:

A. Chief’s Report. Chief Taylor stated his report had been distributed.

B. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance enacting Section 660.17 regulating the storage of liquefied petroleum gasses requiring vehicle impact protection. Mr. Wisniewski stated based on the discussion earlier in the meeting this item can be removed from the agenda.

6. CHAIRMAN. Mr. Wisniewski stated he had nothing to bring forward.

7. OTHER BUSINESS.

A. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance authorizing the sale of certain land owned by the City of Pickerington, move commonly known as Parcel No. 041-02584-00 (300 Diley Road, Pickerington, Ohio) to be sold in accordance with Ohio Revised Code 721.01, Et. Seq. Ms Gilleland stated this is the Grimm property and in order to begin advertising Council needs to pass this ordinance. She stated we would probably go ahead and work with the realtor and have him post the signs if it passes out of Committee this evening. Mr. Sabatino stated the ordinance authorizes the sale of any real or personal property which is no longer needed for any municipal purpose and he would like to know what has changed since the City acquired the property so that it is no longer necessary. Mr. Drobina stated Diley Road has been shifted to the west. Ms Gilleland stated the purchase of the property did not require a municipal purpose, however, she could review the purchase procedures if Mr. Sabatino desired. She stated we were selling the property without the right-of-way we will be using for Diley Road. Mr. Sabatino questioned how the minimum bid price was established, and Ms Gilleland stated it was based on an estimate after evaluating the right-of-way we were taking. Ms Gilleland stated we did not have to establish a minimum bid, we were advised it was wise to give people some guideline so they did not submit low bids. She stated if we do not establish a minimum bid we still have the right to reject any bids. Mr. Sabatino stated the ordinance also states potential bidders are advised to conduct all necessary title searches prior to the date of sale and he questioned if the City did a title search when we bought the property from the Grimms. Ms Gilleland stated she was sure we did, but she would check. Mr. Sabatino inquired if the City obtained an owner’s title policy as part of that real estate transaction, and Ms Gilleland stated she would check. Mr. Sabatino stated if we did, then why would we not guarantee title this time. Ms Gilleland stated our attorneys advised this language be included in the ordinance. Mr. Sabatino stated it sounded to him that we were not intending to disclose that we have already adjusted it for whatever takings we are going to do. Ms Gilleland stated it would be fully disclosed and Mr. Sabatino stated it was not in the ordinance. Ms Gilleland stated it was included in the legal description that is attached to the ordinance and it will be fully reviewed with the purchasers and we have spoken with the realtor about it. Ms Gilleland stated we do not want any surprises with the sale of this property and Mr. Sabatino stated he felt there would be a surprise if we did not very clearly establish the fact that what we are selling is the Grimm property minus the takings the City will do. Ms Gilleland stated the right-of-way is not included in the legal description that was prepared for the sale of the property. Mr. Wisniewski moved to approve and forward to Council. There was no second to the motion. Mr. Wisniewski stated he would like to have this item remain on the agenda for the next meeting.

8. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Wisniewski moved to adjourn. The Safety Committee meeting adjourned at 8:40 P.M., August 1, 2005.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk