MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2007

REGULAR MEETING

7:30 P.M.

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Sabatino called the meeting to order at 7:34 P.M., with roll call as follows: Mrs. Riggs, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Sabatino, and Mrs. Hammond were present. No members were absent. Others present were Lynda Yartin, Chief Mike Taylor, Brenda VanCleave, Paul Lane, Steve Carr, Mike Stacy, Greg Wilhelm, Jodie Wilhelm, and others.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF May 7, 2007, Regular Meeting. Mrs. Riggs moved to approve; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Riggs, and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.

3. COMMUNITY COMMENTS: There were no community comments.

4. COMMUNITY SAFETY CONCERNS:

A. Review of speeding issues on Fox Glen Drive West. Chief Taylor stated he had researched the use of a SMART trailer that could photograph vehicles and found that it cannot do that. It can count cars, monitor speed, and that type of thing, but it cannot take photographs. Mr. Wisniewski stated that we would basically, then, have to park an officer there and issue citations. Chief Taylor stated that would be the best route to use. Mrs. Hammond stated she felt speeding in subdivisions in general was an issue and perhaps we could have an article in the newspaper or something reminding residents that the speed limit in residential neighborhoods is 25 MPH and with it being summer we need to watch out for children, bicycles, etc. Chief Taylor stated that was a good idea and he would see about getting that done. Mr. Sabatino stated he agreed with Mrs. Hammond that speeding is an issue in all subdivisions and a lot of times are due to people just not paying attention. He stated if we could do something that creates a little more self-awareness it might be a step in the right direction.

B. Review of 2-hour parking in the Olde Downtown District. Mr. Sabatino stated he had spoken with Mr. Drobina and the new signs designating two hour parking during business hours are in, he just needs to get them installed.

3. DEPARTMENT REPORTS: Mr. Carr stated he had provided a written report to the Committee and he would be happy to answer any questions.

A. Parks and Recreation:

(1) Director’s Report. Mr. Carr stated he would like to mention that he had the opportunity to meet with school officials and their architects to discuss the possibility of developing a school park at the new elementary school being building in the Villages of Sycamore Creek. He stated he would like to get some input from the Committee as to whether or not that is something the City would like to pursue. Mr. Carr stated it is unlikely that we will be putting an actual city park in that area any time soon, and the school will have some recreation, phys ed, recess facilities there. Mr. Carr stated to date we have collected $67,000 in impact fees from the Villages of Sycamore Creek so it might make sense to do some enhancement to playground areas or sports fields so we would have a kind of school park in the southern part of the City. He stated he would like to know if this is something the Committee would like him to pursue with the school district. Mr. Sabatino stated he would like to have more information to look at, and Mr. Wisniewski questioned what we were looking at; partnering with the school district and sharing the costs or what. Mr. Carr stated it would be cost sharing as they are working with a tight budget and they have some restrictions on how they can use the money they are receiving from Ohio Schools Facilities Commission on outdoor facilities. Mr. Carr continued we may be pursuing an increased playground size, additional funds for playground equipment, adding equipment to sports fields, and things of that nature. He stated these would then, in turn, be facilities the community could use in the evenings, on weekends, and during the summer months. Mrs. Hammond stated she would be in favor of helping them out as long as it is well stipulated that it would be open to the community because in the past things that were supposed to be open to the community at the schools have not resulted in that. She stated she would not want to spend city money and then not have the citizens able to use it. Mr. Carr stated he understood that concern, however, these would be outdoor facilities and would not tend to be fenced in. Mr. Wisniewski stated PASA has had problems with the schools regarding using an empty field in off hours, so he would agree with Mrs. Hammond that he would like to see any agreement with the school specifically spelled out, in writing. Mrs. Riggs ascertained that grant monies we could apply for jointly with the school are rather limited. Mrs. Riggs stated she felt this was worth exploring and Mr. Wisniewski stated he agreed, but would like to see some sort of breakdown as to the cost and where it would impact the plans for the Parks Master Plan. Mr. Carr stated he did not feel the construction of the school would take place until some time in 2008 so we do have some time to gather more information on the project. He stated further one of the restrictions for using impact fees are that the project must be in the CIP, so when we update our CIP this would have to be included.

Mr. Carr stated he would also like to point out that the Giant Eagle Summer Concert Series starts on Sunday, June 10^th, and we plan to honor community groups that Parks and Recreation work with in various capacities at each concert. He stated on June 10^th we will honor the Kiwanis; June 17^th Relay for Life; and, on June 24^th the Senior Center. He stated the plan is to honor Giant Eagle at the last concert of the summer.

(2) Skate Park Noise Complaint – Update. Mr. Sabatino stated, as everyone is aware we were served with a lawsuit concerning this and it has been forwarded on to the City’s insurance company to deal with. He stated we should have more information on this at a later date.

(3) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance awarding contract for the Simsbury Park Entrance and Parking Lot project. Mr. Carr stated the bid opening on this project was held on May 30^th and B&C Blacktop Sealing, Inc., was the law bid. He stated our engineer has reviewed the bids and forwarded a letter to the Committee with his recommendation to award the contract to B&C Blacktop Sealing. The Committee also received a draft ordinance and contract for review. Mrs. Riggs clarified that we have not worked with this company in the past, however, the engineer checked out their references and they had all indicated their projects went well and they would award additional work to this company. Mr. Wisniewski moved to approve the ordinance awarding the contract to B&C Blacktop Sealing, Inc., and forward to Council; Mrs. Riggs seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Riggs, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.

B. Building Regulations Department:

(1) Building Department Report (Mr. Lane) Mr. Lane stated his report had been distributed, and residential impact fees total $173,500 to date this year, and Commercial impact fees total $14,473.32 to date this year. Mr. Lane stated, as the Committee is aware the Building Department regressed from a Class 3 to a Class 4 in our last survey and the ISO has accepted our action plan to enable us to regain the Class 3 classification. Mrs. Hammond clarified this does not mean our insurance rates are lower; it is just a classification by the ISO.

(2) Chief Building Official’s Report (Mr. Stacy) Mr. Stacy stated he had provided a written report and he would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Sabatino stated at the last meeting Mr. Stacy had reported some issues with businesses that moved into commercial space without getting the proper occupancy permits and questioned if that has been rectified. Mr. Stacy stated three of the four tenants in the Luse office building have received Certificates of Occupancy and there was some construction work done in the fourth tenant space and they have not yet submitted plans for the work that was done. Mrs. Hammond stated the cost for their permit is higher when they apply for it after-the-fact, and Mr. Stacy stated that was correct and we will continue to monitor them to ensure everything is done. Mrs. Riggs questioned how this can happen, and Mr. Stacy stated sometimes real estate agents marketing a space tell perspective tenants they don’t have to do anything, just move in, and sometimes the building owner may do the same thing. Mr. Stacy stated it is an education process to make sure everyone knows what they have to do.

Mrs. Hammond stated she has noticed a lot of activity with people coming into Planning and Zoning requesting outdoor patios and we don’t seem to have any hard and fast rules about them. She stated some of the places requesting outdoor patios do not have a lot of space and she was just wondering if there were some kind guidelines for patios. Mr. Stacy stated there is not a lot in the Code that permits him to cite these patios; it is more of a zoning issue. Mrs. Yartin stated Service Committee had requested the Planning and Zoning Director, Lance Schultz, research the guidelines for outdoor patios at commercial locations to see what can be done. Mr. Sabatino stated he agreed this was an item for Service Committee to look into.

C. Service Department:

(1) Traffic Engineer.

a. Review and discussion regarding Drug Mart Access issues. Ms VanCleave stated she had provided a written report and she would be happy to answer any questions. She stated the work is almost complete and the pylons have been put up to prevent left hand turns into the Center from Diley Road. Mr. Sabatino ascertained we have had some positive comments about the new configuration and Mrs. Riggs stated she has also heard positive comments. Ms VanCleave stated we have posted a no turn on red sign for traffic turning right onto Diley off of S.R. 256, so it gives people trying to turn onto Diley Road more time to do so. Mr. Sabatino stated he has seen some drivers continue on Diley Road to the end of the pylons and then make a U-turn to go back to Drug Mart. Chief Taylor stated he has seen that as well and the department will be monitoring the traffic in this area. He stated additional signage will be posted as well to notify drivers that left turns into the Drug Mart Center are not allowed.

6. POLICE:

A. Chief’s Report. Chief Taylor stated he had provided his report to the Committee and he would be happy to answer any questions. Chief Taylor stated they do have a suspect in custody after the recent bank robberies. He also stated there has been a rash of expensive golf clubs being stolen from open garages, and although they have not recovered the items they do have a suspect. Chief Taylor stated they are encouraging everyone to keep their garage doors closed. Mr. Sabatino stated from Chief Taylor’s report it appears that we are having more incidents involving weapons and Chief Taylor stated guns are becoming more of an issue every day. Mr. Wisniewski stated a number of residents in the Township are concerned about a possible 24-hour gas station going in at the corner of Refugee and Milnor Roads. He questioned what type of problems or number of incidents this might result in. Chief Taylor stated he does not see anything positive as these types of businesses seem to get robbed more often. Chief Taylor stated in the City, the Speedway at 256 and 204 has been robbed a few times, but it is located right off of the interstate.

7. CODE ENFORCEMENT:

A. Review and discussion regarding Litter Control Project. Mr. Sabatino stated the Committee had been provided with samples of signage to consider in promoting a Litter Control project. Mr. Sabatino stated his personal preference were the signs that reference Pickerington rather than the generic signs, and Mrs. Hammond stated her concern with those signs were they had to many words for people to read while driving. Mrs. Riggs stated she agreed with Mrs. Hammond and if we could have a sign that read “Keep Pickerington Clean” rather than “Keep our community clean” that would be ideal. Mr. Wisniewski stated he agreed with Mrs. Riggs and Mrs. Hammond. Mr. Sabatino stated he would request the City Manager find out the cost of having the sign read “Keep Pickerington Clean” instead of the generic version. Mrs. Riggs stated if the cost is prohibitive she would prefer the “Keep our community clean” over the other samples. Mrs. Hammond stated she agreed with Mrs. Riggs. Mrs. Riggs stated she would like to find out if the Magistrate can use participation in picking up litter for kids who are before him rather than writing an essay or whatever. Mr. Wisniewski stated he thought that would be a great idea. Mrs. Yartin stated she would check with the City Manager and see if something like this can be done.

8. CHAIRMAN:

A. Review and discussion regarding proposed amendments to Ordinance 89-20 regarding Hotel and Motel Excise Tax. Mr. Sabatino stated he was continuing to work with Mr. Hansley on this and he does not have anything ready to bring forward at this point. He stated he would like to have this item remain on the agenda.

9. OTHER BUSINESS:

Mr. Sabatino stated he had distributed an e-mail from our engineer regarding the situation with the traffic signal at CrossCreeks. Mr. Sabatino stated there is an issue with northbound traffic turning left into CrossCreeks. He stated initially it was thought that it took three vehicles to activate the turn arrow, but upon further review it was found it takes more than three and the sensors may not be functioning properly. Mrs. Hammond stated this was discussed at Service Committee and she has been observing this because she goes to the bank there all the time. She stated that she felt the basic problem was that people were waiting for the turn arrow, but it is not absolutely mandatory that you wait for that arrow. Ms VanCleave stated the signal does have a three-car length vehicle detection to make the signal work. She stated, however, the loop detector was not functioning properly. Ms VanCleave stated she has discussed this with our traffic engineer and he stated the City can move the loop to another location, however, he did not recommend that because it would take time away from S.R. 256 traffic. Ms VanCleave stated she does understand the frustration for people making that left turn, however, we must consider the traffic on S.R. 256, and we also need to consider setting a precedent. If we do this for one light, will we have to do it for other signals on 256. Mr. Sabatino stated since we have to replace the loop anyway, and if we place the detector so that one car triggers the arrow it would 14 seconds away from 256 traffic and he didn’t feel there was enough of a volume that this would cause a problem. Mrs. Hammond stated there is a lot of traffic making that turn because there are three restaurants there as well as other businesses. Ms VanCleave stated the traffic engineer’s recommendation is to do a study with the first car detection. She stated loops are not expensive, but if we have to go back to the third car detection that would be money lost. She stated she would also look at traffic information we have, traffic accident impacts, etc. Mrs. Riggs stated she felt getting the data was very important so we know how bad it actually is. Mr. Wisniewski clarified all of our signals are on the three car detection except for the Refugee, S.R. 256 intersection. Mr. Wisniewski stated he agrees we can’t just change one location without having all the information, and Mr. Sabatino stated he did not feel we needed to change more than one location. Mrs. Hammond stated we would, because we have had other people complain regarding other signals, and Mr. Sabatino stated this was the first one he had heard from at Safety. Mrs. Hammond stated that was because these have been handled by Service and Mrs. Riggs stated this was more a Service issue than a Safety issue. Mr. Sabatino stated when it got to where it involved people’s safety, then it was a Safety issue. Mr. Wisniewski stated he would like to have more information before making any decision. Mr. Sabatino clarified that Ms VanCleave would look at the traffic counts and accident records over the last three years, not just at CrossCreeks but the other signals as well, and she would provide more information to the Committee for their next meeting.

Mrs. Yartin stated the regular July Safety Committee meeting will fall on July 3^rd, and as that is the holiday weekend did the Committee wish to reschedule the July meeting. Mr. Wisniewski stated Council is also considering not having the first meeting in July because several members will be out of town. Mr. Sabatino stated if everyone concurred, the Safety Committee meeting could be moved one week with the Regular Safety Committee meeting for July being scheduled for July 9^th, at 7:30 P.M. All Committee members stated they concurred with that.

Mrs. Hammond stated the Committee had requested more information on what constituted a public or a private parking lot based on the discussion at the last meeting regarding the individual who received a ticket for having a “For Sale” sign on his vehicle while he was parked in a shopping center parking lot. Chief Taylor stated he understood Ms Gilleland was getting a determination on that from the law director and he did not know if she had received it as yet.

10. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Wisniewski moved to adjourn; Mrs. Riggs seconded the motion. Mrs. Riggs, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, and Mr. Sabatino voted "Aye." Motion carried, 4-0. The Safety Committee adjourned at 8:40 P.M., June 4, 2007.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk