CITY OF PICKERINGTON

SERVICE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2003

 

REGULAR MEETING

7:30 P.M.

 

1.         ROLL CALL.  Mr. Parker called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M., with Mr. Parker and Mr.

Shaver present.  Mr. Maxey arrived at 7:45 P.M.  Others present were Frank Wiseman, Lynda Yartin, Jerry Dailey, Jim Kinch, Tony Barletta, Stephanie Brobst, Katelyn Sattler, Frank Sattler, Jim Breitinger, Jim Keaton, and others.

 

Mr. Parker stated prior to continuing with the agenda he like to state he was unable to attend the last Council meeting as he had car trouble and was unable to get here.  He stated he has signed the Committee waiver on Mr. Shaver’s ordinance that was on the last Council agenda so it would not be discussed this evening.  Mr. Parker stated if any individuals in the audience would like to address any issues he would do that at this time. 

 

Mr. Tony Barletta stated his group was from Community First, and they have representatives from across the school district on their committee.  Mr. Barletta stated when Community First was forming they had formed a subcommittee to deal with traffic issues, and that is the committee present this evening.  Mr. Barletta stated they have met with Mayor Postage and the City Manager of Pickerington, as well as the Violet Township Trustees.  Mr. Breitinger stated he is a traffic engineer and they have prepared an action plan regarding traffic congestion.  He stated they have looked at traffic problems in the Pickerington area, and they are aware the problems are caused not by just the City of Pickerington, but also Violet Township, Reynoldsburg, and other surrounding areas.  He stated they feel an area wide traffic study should be done, and he distributed a Unified Action Plan for Traffic Congestion to the committee members.  Mr. Breitinger stated they would like to see a steering committee formed with one representative from the City of Pickerington, Violet Township, Fairfield County, Franklin County, the City of Columbus, and others, and this steering committee could set the scope for the traffic study.  He continued he felt a consulting engineer that is skilled in traffic should be hired, and they would like a well thought out engineered plan of where we are going in the future.  He stated they would suggest the engineer do traffic counts at intersections, driver’s surveys where they hand out flyers to get information on where people drive at what times, and that would allow them to develop a plan so that they model the existing roadway system and projects that need to be done to improve the situation.  He stated it would also give us a plan that plays in with development plans for the future, and if it is carried out 20 years, at the end of the study you would have a traffic model of the area, and each independent agency would have a list of projects that would need to be completed over the next 20 years.  Mr. Breitinger stated they would also have construction costs so the projects could be budgeted, and they could also be tied to development.  He stated he has been doing engineering for over twenty years, and this problem is not unique to this area, it happens to all areas that grow.  He stated this could also provide information on areas that might be developed and you could then assess impact fees to the developer.  He stated when they had spoken with the Violet Township Trustees they thought the study would be a good idea, and they wanted to see if the City also thought this was a good idea.  He stated they were not asking for any specific commitment right now, other than saying it was a good idea and we should proceed with it.  Mr. Keaton stated he felt it should be emphasized that they were not talking about a local study, they need to get the other entities involved.  Mr. Shaver clarified the Traffic Committee was asking if the City of Pickerington was interested in joining such a group, and Mr. Breitinger stated it would be a good first step if Council voiced they felt it was a good idea. 

 

Mr. Dailey stated this had been presented to the Mayor and City Manager and Mr. Breitinger stated at that meeting it seemed the focus went directly towards I-70, and the point he wanted to make was that they were not present to criticize what anyone has done in the past, they were present to see how they could help and look to the future to solve problems.  He stated while an I-70 corridor study definitely needs done, we still need to handle traffic in the rest of the area.  Mr. Dailey stated the next I-70 interchange would drive all the other auxiliary projects.  Mr. Dailey further stated a study had been put together by MORPC and the price of the study came back at $750,000, and at that point it sort of just sat there as ODOT and MORPC were not ready to fund that.   Mr. Dailey stated a new MORPC program came out for comment a few days ago.  Mr. Shaver inquired if a decision had been made between Pickerington and Allen Roads for the new interchange, and Mr. Dailey stated there would be a public meeting coming up on that for comment.  Mr. Dailey stated in speaking with Ms. Crotty, who is a member of the corridor commission for the access management portion of the 33 Alliance, everyone, including Carroll, Madison Township, Canal Winchester, Violet Township, the County Commissioners, and the City, all agree they want Allen Road for the interchange. 

 

Mr. Barletta stated although the Township Trustees seemed to think the study was a good thing, their main concern was funding for road projects, and they did not feel they could sign up because they might not be able to deliver on their portion of the projects.  Mr. Dailey stated the City does have a list of projects, that has been passed to the Township and MORPC.  He stated MORPC has received the same information from the Township and the County, who collated it all, and the projects are consistent among the City, Township, and County.  Mr. Breitinger stated he felt we should be proactive and be able to go to ODOT with a plan and tell them why they need a new interchange on I-70, why you need additional lanes, why we would like the interchange to be in a certain place, etc. He stated he felt having a plan would hold a lot of weight and he did not see the downfall to it.  Mr. Breitinger stated the plan provided to the Committee tonight was not final, it all had to be worked out, the funding breakdown suggestion is not final, but the biggest issue was to figure out if people wanted to do this.  Mr. Shaver stated as MORPC would be spearheading the project, was there an individual from there who would be willing to go out and speak to the different communities.  Mr. Breitinger stated he has spoken to individuals in MORPC and he did not know if that could be done, but he felt we needed to show MORPC and ODOT that we can work together and are looking at the benefit of everyone.  He stated if we could do that, he felt we would get more attention from those organizations.  Mr. Dailey stated if a Committee or Commission were created, they would have to think how to work with the I-70 corridor and the 33 people so they also incorporate into this.  Mr. Shaver stated he did not see any harm in trying, and if it cost to much, then we would know that. 

 

Mr. Parker stated he thought it would be important to have a representative from Community First committee also as a member of the steering committee.  He stated if the City took the lead, and we had our own studies about what would happen in the City of Pickerington, then we could have facts and information that would put us in a stronger position than some of the other surrounding communities.  He stated he felt this would be a good start and he would get together with Mr. Wiseman and Mrs. Bushman to make some determinations of what we could do.  Mr. Parker stated he would like to have this added to the Service Committee agenda for the next meeting so we could have an update on this issue. 

 

2.         APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF May 19, 2003, Regular Meeting.  Mr. Maxey moved to approve; Mr. Parker seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Shaver abstaining, and Mr. Parker and Mr. Maxey voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 2-0.

 

3.         PLANNING AND ZONING

 

A.        REPORTS:

 

                       (1)         BZA Report.  No report. 

 

                       (2)         Planning and Zoning Representative Report (Mr. Maxey).  Mr. Maxey stated the Commission had approved some signs and Certificates of Appropriateness.   

 

B.         ACTION ITEMS

 

            (1)        Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance to rezone 28.548 acres of land located south of Refugee Road and north of Long Road (Woodward property) from AG to R4.  (TABLED, 11/14/02)

 

            (2)        Review and request for motion to approve final development plan for a single-family development on approximately 79.912 acres located north of Long Road and south of the railroad tracks (formerly Lane property).  (TABLED, 11/14/02)

 

  4.       SERVICE DEPARTMENT

 

A.                 WATER UTILITY MAINTENANCE. 

 

            (1)        Water services to Pearl Lane and Florence Drive – Update.  Mr. Wiseman stated they are finalizing the plans and they will try and get to all of the customers by the end of the month so they could see the plans.  He stated they would like to get the project out for bid in July.  Mr. Wiseman stated a public meeting would be scheduled hopefully by the end of the month.   

 

B.         WASTEWATER UTILITY MAINTENANCE.  Mr. Wiseman stated he had no report. 

C.        STREET MAINTENANCE. 

            (1)        Annual Street Repaving Program – Update.  Mr. Wiseman stated the first reading on the contract was on the last Council agenda.  He stated the bids did come in under our estimate.  

 

D.        STORM WATER UTILITY MAINTENANCE.  

 

            (1)        Janice Lane/Long Road/Diley Road Stormwater Study – Update.  Mr. Wiseman stated he hoped Mr. Hartman could present a report at the next meeting.    

 

5.         ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT CAPITAL PROJECTS

 

A.        WASTEWATER – R. D. ZANDE

 

            (1)        Wastewater Plant Expansion (CIP# 02-03-005) – Update.  Mr. Wiseman stated there was no update this evening, we are still in the PTI phase of this project.                        

 

B.         TRANSPORTATION

 

                        (1)        Cycle Way (CIP# 02-03-013) – Update.  Mr. Dailey stated this was also called Freedom Way, and it will start again on Monday after the utilities have been relocated, and the schedule has been revised.  He stated the project is scheduled to be complete the end of September. 

 

            (2)        Courtright Road. 

 

                        (A)       Courtright Road Extension Project (CIP# 02-03-011)  Mr. Dailey stated the access to Spence Funeral Home on S.R. 256 were being eliminated today, and their access is now off of Courtright.  Mr. Dailey stated this project is scheduled to be completed the end of June. He stated the next step would be trying to work with PYSA to get their access to the back portion of this area.   

 

            (3)        Diley Road Improvements Project

 

                        (A)       256 Realignment Phase (CIP#98-03-005)  Mr. Dailey stated the design is complete and it is awaiting the City’s funding cycle. 

 

(B)       MORPC/ODOT Project (CIP#98-03-005 and 03-03-005)  Mr. Dailey stated this is on MORPC’s funding for July of next year.  He stated a public meeting date has been tentatively scheduled for July 10th, however, ODOT has not concurred with that date as yet.  Mr. Dailey stated this meeting will be an opportunity for comment on any environmental results and the preliminary engineering.  He stated it appears that the traffic counts will support five lanes.  

 

            (4)        Downtown Revitalization Project Phase III, IV, and V and West Columbus Street Public Parking Lot (CIP#s 02-06-001, 03-06-001, & 03-06-003) – Mr. Dailey stated this project is scheduled to begin on June 23rd. 

 

            (5)        Cover/Ebright Connector (CIP#02-03-010)

 

                        (A)       Mt. Carmel Signal – Becomes operational 06/23/03.  Mr. Dailey stated the signal activation was delayed until after the Parade of Homes.  He stated the access road portion of this project will result in the closing of the access on S.R. 256 to the Rehabilitation Center and should be complete around July 19th. 

 

            (6)        I-70/S.R. 256 Joint Improvements Project with Reynoldsburg and ODOT – Update.  Mr. Dailey stated the plans are complete and scheduled to be advertised by ODOT on June 24th.  He stated if all goes well the construction is scheduled to begin sometime in late August.  Mr. Dailey stated ODOT is estimating the project to be complete in six to eight weeks.   

 

C.        WATER

 

            (1)        Water Plant Expansion Project (CIP# 00-01-006) – Update.  Mr. Dailey stated they expected to be producing finished water by July 19th.  Mr. Shaver inquired if we need the Hickory Lakes area for the water plant expansion for watershed.  Mr. Dailey stated a member of his staff did help with some of the stormwater analysis.  He stated this has no impact on the water plant itself.  Mr. Wiseman stated the lakes there keep the stormwater from running straight down into the City and keeping it in its natural state is a definite benefit to the City of Pickerington. 

 

D.        WASTEWATER – No Report.

 

E.         STORMWATER.

 

                        (1)        East Street Outfall (CIP# 01-04-003) – Engineering completed.  Mr. Dailey stated he had nothing new to report on this item. 

 

6.         CHAIRMAN.  Mr. Parker stated he had nothing to discuss this evening. 

 

7.         OTHER BUSINESS. 

 

A.                 ISSUE II:

 

            (1)        Application Deadline for Round 18 will be established in June.  Mr. Wiseman stated he thought the application deadline will be in August and he hoped to have project recommendations for the next meeting. 

 

B.         Review of Capital Improvements Plan.  Mr. Shaver asked that this be continued on the agenda as he had not had a chance to completely review the document. 

 

8.         ADJOURNMENT.  There being nothing further, Mr. Shaver moved to adjourn; Mr. Maxey seconded the motion.  Mr. Maxey, Mr. Shaver, and Mr. Parker voted “Aye.”  Motion carried, 3-0.  The Service Committee adjourned at 8:30 P.M., June 19, 2003.

 

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

 

 

 

________________________________

Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk