CITY OF PICKERINGTON

SAFETY COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2007

7:30 P.M.

REGULAR MEETING

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Sabatino called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. with Mrs. Riggs, Mr. Sabatino and Mrs. Hammond present. Mr. Wisniewski arrived at 7:38 P.M. No members were absent. Others present were: Judy Gilleland, Commander Ralph Portier, Ted Hackworth, Steve Carr, Ed Drobina, Brenda VanCleave, Paul Lane, Mike Stacy, Danny Mahaffy, Officer Delp, Stacey Bashore, Susan Chapman, and others.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 5, 2007, Regular Meeting. Mrs. Riggs moved to approve; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Riggs, and Mr. Sabatino voting "Yea." Motion passed, 3-0.

Mr. Sabatino stated if there were no objections, he would address the item regarding Lakes Edge Apartments so residents who wanted to speak to that issue did not have to wait until the end of the meeting.

Mr. Sabatino asked if there was anyone there to address Safety Committee regarding Lakes Edge Apartments. Susan Chapman stated she lived in the Pickerington Run subdivision and she was in view of the emergency gate that was opened during the bad weather in February. She continued that this gate was opened to provide an option for the apartment residents and resulted in cars speeding through the neighborhood. Mrs. Chapman further stated she has lived in her home for 13 years and it has always been her understanding this access was only for a physical obstruction to the main entrance or if an emergency vehicle had to get through to the apartments. She stated the apartments are under new management and they were very understanding that this was for emergency only and stated they wanted to open it as an option for their residents. Mrs. Chapman stated a bus stop is located in this area and during the bad weather cars were skidding on the ice near where the kids stand to catch the bus. Mrs. Chapman stated a lot of this matter has been resolved since Mr. Mahaffy spoke with the manager, but she wanted to make sure the agreement that this access is for emergency use only is on paper and definitive so if there is another change in management we have a record and don't have to fight this battle again. Mr. Mahaffy stated that he and Jim Holcomb of the Violet Township Fire Department have address this issue with the new management and they have copies of all correspondence and they will keep that on file. He further stated the new manager seemed to convey that she wanted to be a good neighbor and that they would lock the gates unless something happens or the fire department needed access. He stated in his last conversation, the manager stated she was getting a lock and only she and the fire department would have the key. He stated after this meeting, the issue seems to be resolved. Mrs. Chapman stated she was very appreciative of Mr. Mahaffy and the Fire Department's intervention because they were able to get accomplished what residents of the subdivision could not get done. Mr. Sabatino stated any time Mrs. Chapman has an issue, he hoped she would call the City and we would try to get it taken care of.

3. DEPARTMENT REPORTS

A. Parks and Recreation:

(1) Director's Report- Mr. Carr stated he had provided a written report to the Committee and he would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Sabatino asked if item number two regarding field use policy was something new or was it updated and Mr. Carr stated it was a new policy, because we are getting more independent teams with various percentages of kids from in and outside of Pickerington, so we felt we needed to formalize our field use policy. He further stated this was discussed with the Parks Board and in the policy we dealt with scheduling priorities, liability insurance, hourly field rates, and handling of requests. Mr. Carr stated that so far this year we have been able to meet everyone's requests at least 90 percent to their satisfaction and we have dealt with three independent youth baseball teams, baseball tournaments, two soccer groups, and a lacrosse group. Mr. Sabatino asked if the hourly charge was new or updated and Mr. Carr stated the hourly charge was an update because we had waived the fee a lot in the past and we had been charging groups $35 per diamond per day. He further stated the hourly rate made more sense to these teams because they may only be having a two hour practice. He stated we did research with surrounding communities and he believed we still have the lowest rate for outside groups. Mr. Carr clarified that we waived the fee for the PYAA Baseball Tournament, but we would be proposing to charge groups like PASA that had not been charged in the past and any groups that we have dealt with have been notified of our policy updates. He stated that PASA has one field that has scheduling priority by Ordinance so that would remain at no charge to them.

Mr. Sabatino clarified that this would not come as a surprise to anyone and Mr. Carr stated it would not come as a surprise to anyone we had dealt with in the past.

(2) Skate Park Noise Complaint - Update Mr. Carr stated we sent a letter to Huntwork Gardens indicating that when the weather broke we would be experimenting with putting sand in the ramps and since that letter went out we are also looking at a spray foam insulation. He stated we should be getting a quote on that and the plan would be to experiment with it to see what effectiveness it would have and whether it is a reasonable price. Mr. Carr stated the Building Department told us that there may be some issues with the sand in the ramps due to weight and vibration. He further stated it would all be experimental because no one that we are aware of has dealt with this in an effective fashion and we are working with the Building Department to come up with anything that may provide some sound mitigation. Mr. Sabatino asked if there was anyone present from Huntwork Gardens and there was not. Mr. Sabatino clarified that Ms. Gilleland and Mr. Carr have not heard anything from the Huntworks after the letter was sent.

B. Building Regulations Department:

(1) Building Department Report (Mr. Lane) Mr. Lane stated we received the first commercial impact fees for the year from the Pickerington Health Center and it came to approximately $14,500. He further stated he wanted to make everyone aware of the fact that so far this year we have issued 13 residential permits and last year at this time we had already issued 38 residential permits. Mr. Hackworth asked if we would have any of the building permits start to expire from last year and would we have to return the impact fees that have been collected and Mr. Lane answered yes. Mr. Hackworth stated he was referencing the email regarding George's Creek and Mr. Lane stated we would have a conversation with that builder and see if they would want to put the money toward a future permit.

(2) Chief Building Official's Report (Mr. Stacy) Mr. Stacy stated he had provided a written report and would like to point out that the 2007 Ohio Building Code becomes effective July 1st, so the 2005 Ohio Building Code will stop being enforced on June 30th. He further stated there was a City staff meeting regarding problems with the sanitary sewer tie-ins and consensus was reached on installation of a hub set to try to protect the system from foreign matter. Mr. Sabatino asked for clarification and Mr. Stacy stated there have been several occurrences of foreign matter entering the sanitary sewer systems and messing up the sewage ejectors at the lift stations, so to keep that from happening again we are trying to prevent that matter from getting in the sewer lines. Mr. Sabatino asked how the matter got in to begin with and Ms. VanCleave stated a majority of the time it would be from a contractor who had water in a basement and wants a quick solution, so they pulled the plug and let it flow in instead of pumping the water out. Mr. Sabatino clarified that the hub set would prevent that, and Ms. VanCleave stated it provides a method of identifying where it came from. Mr. Stacy stated we are also working with the Insurance Service Office to address some issues that may impact our rating for the next few years. Mr. Sabatino asked what the plans were for remediation on the ISO rating and Mr. Stacy stated we are working on a plan; some of it is training and we are also working on several ideas on what we need to do to bring that number up to 3 or better. He further stated we have until May to identify our action plan and begin implementing it.

C. Service Department:

(1) Traffic Engineer.

a. Review and discussion regarding Drug Mart access issues. Ms. VanCleave stated as of this morning we were still trying to iron out some minor bugs in the contract and once that is ironed out this should be moving forward.

b. Review and discussion regarding traffic signal at Cherry Hill and Diley Road. Mr. Sabatino stated that Mr. Boetcher, a resident of Cherry Hill, had some concerns regarding safety once the Diley Road and Cherry Hill intersection was improved. Mr. Sabatino stated he told Mr. Boetcher that we were not really at a point where we could do anything about it because of the stage of the project. He further stated Mr. Boetcher was satisfied with that. Mr. Sabatino asked that this item be brought back to the Safety Committee in the 1st quarter of 2008.

D. Facilities Operations:

(1) Update of City Hall Renovation Project- Ms. Gilleland stated it was progressing and, hopefully, in the next two weeks we would see things put back in order.

4. POLICE:

A. Chief's Report- Commander Portier stated Chief Taylor had provided a written report. He stated the Chief was under the weather so he was there to answer any questions as best he could. Mrs. Hammond stated she noticed that in most locations the traffic accident count was down and Commander Portier stated the weather had a lot to do with that. Mrs. Riggs asked where the tornado sirens would be located and Commander Portier stated that had not been decided yet. He stated there would be a committee meeting on March 19th to help make that determination. Mr. Wisniewski stated he thought the fire department was providing the sirens for everyone that was serviced by them and Commander Portier stated we would only be covering the City of Pickerington and the township will be doing their part for their residents. Ms. Gilleland clarified that her last conversation with both the Fire Chief and Bill Yaple was that the funds for the tornado sirens for the unincorporated area of Violet Township would be coming out of the Township general fund and not the fire fund. She further stated that we all pay into the fire fund and if the fire fund buys sirens for the unincorporated area of the Township then they would supply sirens for the City as well. Ms. Gilleland stated she felt comfortable that we would pay for our two sirens and the township is getting five sirens. She further stated this has been a joint project with Fairfield County EMA and we had a lot of things donated, so we are getting a great deal. Mr. Sabatino clarified that these would be used sirens.

5. CHAIRMAN:

A. Peddlers and Solicitors Regulations Revisions-Update Mr. Sabatino stated he had some questions, which he had contacted Schottenstein, Zox and Dunn about, regarding the revisions. Ms. Gilleland stated Mr. Wisniewski asked about this item several months ago and gave us several points he wanted us to look at in terms of making our Solicitation Ordinance more restrictive and she also had some thoughts and intentions of writing a new ordinance to make it more restrictive. She further stated we found out from working with Schottenstein, that we could only make a few changes to our current ordinance, because 1st Amendment rights play into it. Ms. Gilleland introduced Officer Matt Delp from the Police Department and stated he could answer some questions. Officer Delp passed out stickers that could be put by the residents' doors to make it illegal to knock on those doors. Ms. Gilleland stated in talking with other communities we found that you can put one of these stickers by your door and any door that displays the sticker makes it, in essence, illegal for the peddlers or solicitors to knock on that door. She further stated that is one way people can prohibit it on an individual basis where we can't do that Citywide. Mr. Wisniewski asked if it was specifically for people selling services or for anyone going door to door and Officer Delp stated the Ordinance exempts certain charitable and non profit organizations from that section, so it is basically written to keep aggressive sales people away. Mr. Wisniewski clarified that the sticker would not exclude everyone it was just in conjunction with the Ordinance. Officer Delp stated the Ordinance already states that if anyone has a No Solicitors or Peddlers sign they are not permitted to go to that home and the idea of the sticker was to provide a service to the City to prohibit sales people from going to those homes that display it. Ms. Gilleland added charitable organizations, such as the Girl Scouts, Social Services or Educational, etc. would not necessarily fall under the peddler or solicitor definition, so they would be exempt. Mr. Sabatino asked what the term of an issued license would be and Officer Delp stated we have come up with a license that would have a photo ID attached to it so that each solicitor would be licensed with the City. He further stated that on the license there would be an expiration date and it would also be a part of the application process to show what dates they would be soliciting. Mr. Sabatino asked what the fee would be for someone soliciting for a year versus someone soliciting for a week. Officer Delp stated it went by the fee schedule and it would also be up to the City Manager's Office to approve that type of permit. Mr. Sabatino clarified that the Finance Committee could look at the amount of time and the fees we would grant a permit for and Ms. Gilleland stated we could. Mr. Sabatino stated in his opinion someone who would only be soliciting for a week should not have the same rate as someone soliciting for a period of a year. Mr. Sabatino clarified that the permit would be per solicitor as opposed to a group of solicitors. Mr. Sabatino asked about the section on school districts and whether it could specifically say Pickerington Local School District as opposed to any district. Officer Delp stated it may be eliminating other schools such as daycares and private schools in town. Mr. Sabatino suggested the wording "Pickerington Local School District or any other schools located within the City of Pickerington," because most people tend to support their local community. Mr. Sabatino asked about section 852.06 and if that precluded the ice cream truck music and Officer Delp stated that would exclude the ice cream trucks from playing the music, so they would need some type of variance on the ordinance in order to do that. Mr. Sabatino asked about Section 852.10 and whether they are also required to have County Permits specifically for sales tax for vendors at festivals and Ms. Gilleland stated she would interpret it more to be temporary stores where they open up out of their cars and then move on and normally we don't permit those, so we would need to research it more. Mr. Sabatino stated he was not trying to say it should be either way, but if we have this Ordinance and we don't enforce it then now is the time to do away with that portion. Mr. Wisniewski stated we needed to be careful about the exclusion category on the schools, because we have a lot of kids that go to schools outside of the City that still pay City school tax. Ms. Gilleland stated we will check with our attorney on that issue.

B. Review and discussion regarding proposed amendments to Ordinance 89-20 regarding Hotel and Motel Excise Tax - Mr. Sabatino requested that this item be continued on the agenda.

C. Review and discussion regarding Lakes Edge Apartment Gate- Mr. Sabatino stated this was discussed earlier in the meeting.

D. Review and discussion regarding Council Packet delivery procedures- Mr. Sabatino stated that this was brought up at his request after talking with Chief Taylor. Mr. Sabatino stated he thought it might be a good idea if Council Packets were picked up at the Police Department rather than having them delivered to Council homes, and he would like to have some discussion on it. Mr. Wisniewski stated he thought it should all be electronic and we need to look at a totally different way of doing it outside of someone picking it up at the Police Station, but as far as immediate needs, if there is an issue where the Police cannot deliver them they could contact Council members to pick them up. Mr. Wisniewski further stated the officers are in the neighborhoods 24-7 as it is, but if this is something the Chief feels is impacting the police, that is something else. Mr. Sabatino stated his concern was if the Police had activity on the weekends where they were attempting to deliver the packets and they needed to come to the aid of the citizens it was something to think about. Mrs. Riggs stated she has had some conversations regarding this matter with the Chief. She continued that we have additional officers now, however in the past when we were limited in our officers it was more of an issue. Mrs. Riggs stated we are only talking about seven packets to be delivered on a Friday evening, and from her understanding there wasn't an impact on the Police. She further stated she appreciated the service, because this is a part time position for Council, and they all work and have other responsibilities, so it is helpful to her. Mrs. Riggs stated that right now she didn't think there was a reason to change it, but if the Police would have an emergency, we could be notified to pick them up. Mrs. Hammond stated she hoped that if a call came in for the Police that they needed to take care of, they would take care of that before they would drop the packet off. Mr. Sabatino requested this item be left on the agenda for next month and asked for further information from Chief Taylor

6. OTHER BUSINESS: No other business was brought forward.

7. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mrs. Hammond moved to adjourn; Mrs. Riggs seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Riggs, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Wisniewski voting "Yea." Motion carried 4-0. The Safety Committee adjourned at 8:24 P.M.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

Stacey L. Bashore, Deputy Municipal Clerk