CITY OF PICKERINGTON

SAFETY COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

MONDAY, JUNE 2, 2003

7:30 P.M.

REGULAR MEETING AGENDA

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Fox called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. with Mr. Sabatino and Mr. Fox present. Mrs. Riggs was absent. Others present were: Joyce Bushman, Lynda Yartin, Chief Mike Taylor, Steve Carr, Frank Wiseman, Bob Mapes, Leonard Lewis, Sandy Whittington, Keith Kristoff, Steve Malone, David Able, and others.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF May 5, 2003, Regular Meeting. Mr. Sabatino moved to approve; Mr. Fox seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fox, and Mr. Sabatino voting "Yea." Motion passed, 2-0.

Mr. Fox stated as Committee meetings are less formal than Council he would like to address issues any spectators would like to bring to the attention of the Committee at this time.

Mr. Keith Kristoff stated he was present representing the PYAA Traveling Baseball program. He stated they are hosting a Father’s Day National Invitational Baseball Tournament from Friday, June 13^th through Sunday, June 15^th. Mr. Kristoff stated there are 18 teams from 6 different states in the tournament and the players range in age from 9 to 12 years old. Mr. Kristoff stated they were requesting the lighting curfew on the fields be extended for one hour on these three days for emergency type situations, such as bad weather. He stated during the two past years this tournament has been held they have had to utilize the lighting extension only one day. Mr. Fox clarified the current curfew for the lights at the facility on Field 7 is 10:00 P.M., and on Fields 1, 2, 3, and 4 it is 11:00 P.M. Mr. Fox stated the one hour extension would allow the lights on Field 7 to remain on until 11:00 P.M. and on Fields 1, 2, 3, and 4 until midnight on these three days. Mr. Sabatino moved to approve the request for a one hour time extension for the lighting curfew at the PYAA facility for June 13^th through 15^th; Mr. Fox seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fox and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.

3. PRESENTATION BY MR. DAVID ABLE OF MID-OHIO REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION ON “RIDE SHARE SOLUTIONS.” Mr. Able gave a presentation on the Ride Share program sponsored by MORPC. Mr. Able stated the program helps commuters find car pool and van pool opportunities. Mr. Sabatino clarified that the commitment for a van pool could be terminated with a 30 day notice, however, the entire group would have to ask for the termination. Mr. Able stated they are operating in 11 counties, and they have 33 van pools operating in those counties. Mr. Fox clarified the funding for this program is through the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, and various State grants as well. Mrs. Bushman stated if Mr. Able would contact the City we could put a link on the City’s website to this program, and he stated that would be appreciated.

4. DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

A. Parks and Recreation.

(1) Reports

a. Parks and Recreation Board Council Representative Report (Mrs. Riggs). Mr. Carr stated Parks Board did not meet in May due to the Memorial Day holiday.

(2) Gazebo Park Landscaping Project - Update. Mr. Carr stated this project is complete now that the annuals have been planted. Mr. Fox stated this item could be removed from the agenda.

(3) Review and discussion regarding the Parks Master Plan. (TABLE, 7-01-02)

Mr. Carr stated the Committee had been provided a status report from the project team with an outline of the proposed master plan and a schedule showing the steps until the plan is completed. Mr. Carr stated they hope to have the Plan completed by February 2004, and the firm of R.D. Zande will be providing some consulting services for the Master Plan.

(4) Skate Park Project

a. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance to authorize the City Manager to accept the proposal of Service Supply Ltd., Inc. for modular skate park equipment. Mr. Carr stated the Committee had received the draft ordinance and synopsis of the proposal from Service Supply, as well as, a summary of the four proposals the City received. Mr. Carr stated Service Supply had provided 14 proposals and 7 of those were up to the budgeted amount of $62,500. He stated staff was still reviewing those 7 proposals and he did not have a recommendation for a specific one at this point. He stated his recommendation was for the vendor at an amount up to the budgeted amount of $62,500. Mr. Fox clarified Mr. Carr was requesting approval of purchasing equipment from Service Supply Ltd., Inc. at an amount not to exceed $62,500. Mr. Fox stated this company has worked with the city in the past on our parks equipment and have always done a good job. Mr. Sabatino clarified of all the proposals received, Service Supply would provide more equipment for the dollar. Mr. Fox moved to approve the recommendation of purchasing the skate park equipment from Service Supply, Ltd., Inc., for an amount not to exceed $62,500; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino and Mr. Fox voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.

(5) Handicap Garden – Update. Mr. Carr stated the City has met with R.D. Zande and they will be doing a survey of the upper portion of Sycamore Park. He stated that data is required for handicapped accessibility, and they will also meet with Mr. Bigus so they can do the bid specifications for the actual gardens.

Mr. Carr further stated the “Movies in the Park” program will begin on Friday, June 13^th, and the “Concerts in the Park” program will begin on Sunday, June 15^th. He further stated registration for all of the summer programs is very strong.

B. COMMUNITY OUTREACH:

(1) Violet Festival Board Report. Ms Whittington stated the Board met on May 27^th, and World Gym is sponsoring the parade this year. She further stated they will have a flyer at the Parade of Homes.

(2) Olde Pickerington Village Business Association Report. Ms. Whittington stated they are gearing up for the Farmer’s Market scheduled to start on June 20^th. She stated they will also have a presentation in the garage of the Homewood house at the Parade of Homes.

C. Building Operations: No Report.

D. Streets:

(1) Tree Commission.

a. Review and discussion regarding Tree Commission’s request for additional members. Mr. Wiseman stated the Tree Commission has requested the membership of the Commission be expanded. He stated they have also discussed the possibility of having a Council representative on the Commission as on Parks Board and Planning and Zoning. Mrs. Bushman stated she felt having a representative from Safety Committee appointed to the Tree Commission would be a very good idea. Mr. Malone stated he is the Chairman of the Tree Commission and he felt the idea of having a Council representative appointed to the Tree Commission would be very beneficial to the Commission. He stated the Commission has noted that other communities have anywhere from 5 to 10 members, and they felt their small size limited their ability to get more interest from the community. He stated, however, they did not want an expanded membership to be used in lieu of having a Council representative. Mr. Fox clarified the Tree Commission was requesting an additional two members. Mrs. Bushman stated this Committee should determine if they expanded the membership would one of the two additional members be a Council representative with full voting powers. Mrs. Bushman stated as Rules Committee is responsible for the Rules of Council and recommends amendments to the Administrative Code, would this Committee’s recommendation need to be referred to that Committee. Mr. Fox stated he felt this could be moved to Council from this Committee and if Rules Committee had questions they could handle it at that time. Mr. Fox moved to recommend the Administrative Code be amended to increase the membership of the Tree Commission from three to five members, and that one of those members be a council representative from Safety Committee as a voting member; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Mr. Sabatino stated he would be glad to be the Safety Committee Representative to the Tree Commission for the remainder of the year. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino and Mr. Fox voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.

b. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance amending Ordinance 2003-33 (an ordinance to enact standards for the preservation of trees and wooded areas). Mr. Wiseman stated the amendment basically changed the original ordinance to make the City Manager or her designee the approving authority. Mr. Mapes stated this amendment would allow the City Manager more flexibility in managing the staff. Mr. Malone stated the Tree Commission felt in many cases the City Arborist would be the best person to determine if trees should be cut down, removed, or whatever. Mr. Sabatino moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Fox seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fox and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.

E. Code Enforcement:

(1) Nuisance Abatement Board. Mr. Fox stated the Committee had received copies of the order to remove a nonconforming, abandoned sign at 18 E. Columbus Street. Mr. Lewis stated the owner has not been in touch with him since the notice was sent out. He stated the notice was sent both by certified and regular mail. Mr. Lewis stated the first order was issued in 1998 and since such an amount of time has passed, the law director recommended we start the process over again. Mr. Sabatino clarified if the owner does not remove the sign, the next step would be a hearing by the Nuisance Abatement Board. Mr. Mapes stated if the Nuisance Abatement Board determined the sign should be removed, the City could authorize the work to take it down and the cost of that would be placed on the tax duplicate for the property. Mr. Mapes stated the hearing could be held whether the owner attended or not. Mr. Sabatino clarified the membership of the Nuisance Abatement Board was comprised of the City Manager, the Chief of the Township Fire Department, and the Mayor or his representative. Mrs. Bushman clarified that the Mayor has designated a member of Safety Committee as his representative on this Board. She further stated Mr. Sabatino, as the Mayor’s representative, would be the Chairperson of the Board. Mr. Fox questioned why the Township Fire Chief was a member of the Board, and Mrs. Bushman stated she felt in the past the nuisances were old buildings and they needed to determine if they were a fire hazard. Mr. Fox stated he would like to have the law director and Manager review this section of the Code to see if the Township Fire Chief could be replaced by our Chief Building Official or whatever and provide a draft ordinance to this Committee at the next meeting. Mr. Lewis stated another option on how to handle this could be to file charges on a violation of code enforcement and bring the owner into court. He stated a violation of code enforcement is a misdemeanor and the owner could be fined. Mrs. Bushman stated the authority the Nuisance Abatement Board has is they can have the City remove the sign and the owner charged for it. Mr. Sabatino clarified filing charges under a code enforcement violation would not ensure the sign was removed, however, most people would not allow themselves to be charged over something like this. Mr. Sabatino stated he felt if filing charges for code enforcement violation did not accomplish getting the sign taken down, then the Nuisance Abatement Board could take action. Mr. Fox stated he concurred with Mr. Sabatino and requested we take action on the code enforcement violation. Mr. Fox further stated he would like an update on this issue at the next meeting.

(2) Tornado Sirens – Update. Chief Taylor stated he had provided a report to the Committee on this issue. He stated he had contacted Whelen Company, who specialize in emergency equipment. Chief Taylor stated they had completed a quick survey, based on computer generated maps, and determined the City would require four sirens and the report shows the locations of those sirens. Chief Taylor stated the price quoted by this company of approximately $69,000 included everything except the poles. He stated should the City decide to purchase sirens a more complete survey would need to be done. Mr. Fox clarified Chief Taylor had discussed this issue with the Violet Township Fire Chief and Dan Bolger of Fairfield County. Chief Taylor stated both of those individuals had opted not to purchase sirens due to the limitations and possible liability should the sirens not work when needed. Also, the sirens may not be heard from inside a building. He stated they felt the best option was to pursue weather alert monitors that could be put in homes. Mr. Fox ascertained these radios cost approximately $50, and they are available at the Violet Township Fire Department. Mr. Wiseman stated there are less expensive weather alert radios available. Mr. Sabatino clarified these weather alert radios do not go off until a signal is received from the National Weather Service. Mr. Fox stated this Committee had discussed requiring these radios be hard wired into new homes when they are constructed and found that not to be cost effective. Mrs. Bushman stated she questioned not being able to hear the siren inside a building. Mr. Wiseman stated he attends the Fairfield County Emergency Planning Commission and they are pushing to get weather alert monitors in homes because it depends on the way the wind is blowing and the topography around the siren as to weather you will be able to hear it or not. Mr. Sabatino clarified the weather alert monitor deals with any type of weather alert, like winter storm warnings, and not just tornados. Chief Taylor stated Mr. Belshe the representative of Whelen Company has stated he would be glad to come to a Safety meeting and provide a presentation to the members. Mr. Sabatino stated he would like to have that presentation. Mr. Fox stated he concurred and asked if Chief Taylor would arrange to have Mr. Belshe at the next Safety meeting. He stated he agreed with Mrs. Bushman in that he felt the sirens would be heard during the day, however, at night he could understand them not being heard. Mr. Fox asked if Chief Taylor would ask Mr. Belshe to bring samples of the monitors so the Committee could actually see what they were talking about and how they worked. Mr. Fox stated if the cost for four sirens was less than $70,000 he did not want to close the door on having them installed in the City. Mr. Fox stated he would look forward to the presentation at the next meeting.

(3) Containment of Developer Trash. Mr. Fox stated he was not aware of any new complaints on this. Mr. Lewis stated his department was continuing to monitor this issue.

4. POLICE:

A. Chief’s Report. Chief Taylor stated his report had been distributed and he would answer any questions. He stated the Department had a very nice turnout for their Open House held on May 18th. Chief Taylor further stated the changes the State required on the jail have been done and he hoped to have another inspection this week and to get final approval by the weekend. He stated the landscaping is also almost complete.

B. Police Facility – Update. Chief Taylor stated there were a few minor things to be taken care of on the building and he is in process of having that done.

C. Parade of Homes – Update. Chief Taylor stated the Department is ready for the Parade of Homes and traffic will be the biggest concern. Mr. Sabatino clarified parking will be available in the development itself and the BIA has people at the site to handle parking and security issues. Mr. Malone stated he would like to mention that as far as the Tree Commission is concerned, this development is probably the best example in Pickerington of a developer working diligently to preserve the trees throughout the development. He stated the Tree Commission certainly appreciates this cooperation and they hoped to see more developers cooperate in this manner.

5. CHAIRMAN.

A. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance enacting Section 1478.11 of the Pickerington Codified Ordinances to provide for the preservation of notable structures within the City. Mr. Fox stated if there were no objections, he would like to continue this on the agenda until the next meeting.

B. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance to enact Chapter 822 of the Pickerington Codified Ordinances to regulate massage services. Mr. Mapes stated he had provided a draft ordinance to the Committee that sets out certain criteria, and exempts certain persons if they are licensed by the State. He stated most massage therapists that work for chiropractors or doctors are licensed by the State. Mr. Mapes stated the intent of this legislation is meant to pick up the people who just hang up a sign thinking they can make a quick buck or have other purposes in mind. He further stated it sets out a fee schedule that is not exorbitant but allows the City to recover the costs. Mr. Mapes stated this statute will require 160 hours of training with a licensed massage school, and is modeled after other ordinances that are in place in the Central Ohio area. Mr. Fox clarified that if someone is licensed by the State of Ohio, they will not be subject to this ordinance. He further clarified the license issued under this ordinance must be renewed annually with a fee on each renewal. Mr. Sabatino moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Fox seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fox and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.

C. Review and discussion regarding tattoo and/or body piercing businesses. Mr. Mapes stated Mr. Feyko had provided a memorandum to this Committee. He stated Mr. Feyko had done a review trying to find other jurisdictions that might have some sort of regulations on these businesses. He stated there is regulation by the State and they have been provided to the Committee. Mr. Mapes stated it would be up to Council to determine if they wanted to create regulations for the City or if they wanted to rely on the State regulations that are already in place. Mr. Fox clarified that if someone wanted to establish one of these businesses they could do so in any location that allows a business as they are the same as any other business. Mr. Sabatino stated as he understood what Mr. Mapes was saying, these should be treated the same as a retail business. Mr. Mapes stated the regulations that he found were more concerned with the health and safety of the customers than it was in terms of prohibiting or not prohibiting the business. Mr. Fox stated Mr. Wright was a proponent of this legislation while a member of Safety Committee and he would like to have his input prior to the legislation being drafted. Mr. Mapes stated he would ensure a copy of the memorandum was provided to Mr. Wright. Mrs. Bushman stated we do not have to allow these businesses in all commercial zoning districts, we can limit them to industrial districts. Mr. Fox stated he felt that should be done at a minimum. Mr. Mapes stated we could also make them a conditional use and they would have to go before Planning and Zoning, just as auto repair stores, drive in facilities, etc., to meet the criteria set forth. Mrs. Bushman stated she would suggest making them a conditional use in zoning districts above C-3. Mr. Sabatino stated he felt there should be a much higher threshold than retail. Mr. Mapes stated body piercing, tattoo, and ear piercing are all lumped in together. He stated jewelry stores do ear piercing and you may want to distinguish between ear piercing, body piercing and tattooing in terms of how you regulate things by zoning. Mr. Fox stated he would like to distinguish between traditional earrings and what we are talking about here. Mr. Mapes clarified the Committee agreed with Mrs. Bushman’s suggestion of allowing these businesses as a conditional use in the zoning district where we used to allow sexually oriented businesses. Mr. Fox stated he would like Mr. Mapes to get with the staff and provide a draft ordinance for the next meeting.

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

7. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Sabatino moved to adjourn; Mr. Fox seconded the motion. Mr. Sabatino and Mr. Fox voted “Aye.” Motion carried, 2-0. The Safety Committee meeting adjourned at 9:05 P.M., June 2, 2003.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk