SERVICE COMMITTEE
OF COUNCIL
CITY HALL, 100
LOCKVILLE ROAD
REGULAR MEETING
7:30 P.M.
1. ROLL CALL. Mrs. Hammond called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M., with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Hackworth, and Mr. Fix present. No members were absent. Others present were: Tricia Sanders, Lynda Yartin, Lance Schultz, Ed Drobina, Jennifer Frommer, Tim Hansley, Jim Watkins, Craig Vandervort, Scott Bechert, Gerard Wilcox, and others.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF November 19, 2007, Regular Meeting. Mr. Hackworth moved to approve; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mr. Hackworth, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.
3. COMMUNITY COMMENTS: There were no community comments.
4. PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT:
A. Planning and Zoning Director’s Report. Mr. Schultz stated he had provided a written report to the Committee and he would be happy to answer any questions.
(1) Planning and Zoning Representative Report (Mr. Hackworth) Mr. Hackworth stated the Non-Residential Design Standards were approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission and are on tonight’s agenda.
(2) Review and discussion of development process. Mr. Schultz stated he is still receiving information from other communities and he hoped to have something for the Committee at the next meeting.
B. ACTION ITEMS:
(1) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance accepting the development agreement for the Zane Tract Commercial Subdivision. Mr. Schultz stated this item is related to the next item, however, they must be considered separately. Mr. Schultz stated the development agreement addresses two issues; the eminent domain procedures and costs and the traffic signal requirements and activation date. He stated the developer is extending a road through their property that stubs at their property line, and an Old S.R. 256 easement is located on another person’s property. He stated to make that connection we need to go through the eminent domain proceedings as the developer tried to purchase that property and was not successful. Mr. Fix clarified that the City agreed to share the costs with the developer on the cost of the services and the acquisition of the land. Mrs. Hammond moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Hackworth, Mrs. Hammond, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.
(2) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance accepting the final plat for Zane Property Commercial Subdivision. Mr. Schultz stated the final plat was approved by Planning and Zoning Commission in October with 19 conditions. He stated staff recommends approval of Service Committee with the 18 conditions listed in Exhibit “A” as the development agreement just approved consolidated two conditions into one. Mr. Fix moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Hackworth seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mrs. Hammond, and Mr. Hackworth voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.
(3) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance to amend Chapters 1270.07, 1272.07, 1278.08, 1280.06, 1290, 1296.01, and 1296.08, and Appendices I and IV for the purpose of implementing the revised Non-Residential Design Guidelines reflected in the growth Management Assessment and Strategy adopted in November 2005. Mr. Schultz stated the Non-Residential Design Standards are essentially Appendix IV, and the other revisions were required to reflect the changes in Appendix IV. Mr. Fix stated this is a very good document and he appreciated all of the work that staff has put into this project. Mr. Schultz stated Planning and Zoning Commission had approved the proposed standards and recommended Service Committee approve them and forward them to Council. Mr. Fix stated he felt that anyone wanting to develop a project in Pickerington would appreciate having it clearly defined, as it is in the Standards, so they did not have to keep coming back and redoing things. Mr. Hackworth stated he concurred, and businesses would appreciate knowing that other buildings will have to be of the same quality as theirs and that will be good for their business. Mr. Fix moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Hackworth seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Hackworth, Mr. Fix, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.
(4) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance authorizing the City Manager to enter into a contract with Fairfield County regarding the provision of utility lines in and around the Stonecreek Development. Mr. Hansley stated he had provided a memorandum dated November 29, 2007, to the Committee members summarizing this issue. He stated he would be happy to answer any questions the members may have. Mr. Fix moved to approve and forward to Council; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Hackworth, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.
5. SERVICE DEPARTMENT
A. REPORTS:
(1) Service Manager’s Report. Mr. Drobina stated he had provided a written report and he would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Hackworth clarified the NPDES permit was for the 3.2 MGD. Mr. Fix further clarified that our contract for refuse collection expires this year, and recycling is an item that we will want to discuss when bidding out the contract.
B. ACTION ITEMS:
(1) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance authorizing the City Manager to enter into a contract with G&G Enterprises for the Hill Road South sanitary sewer extension. (TABLED, 11/19/07)
(2) Review and discussion regarding amending Section 1050.04 of the Pickerington Codified Ordinances regarding nonpayment of water services. Mr. Drobina stated this ordinance would remove the language that water may be reconnected after hours for an additional fee. Mr. Fix stated he would recommend language to clarify that a fee would be charged for reconnection of services during business hours. Mr. Hackworth further stated he felt the amount of a reconnection deposit should that the City Manager may require should be increased to an amount not to exceed $150.00. Mr. Fix moved to forward to Council with those two changes; Mr. Hackworth seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mr. Hackworth, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.
6. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT CAPITAL PROJECTS.
A. WASTEWATER
(1) Wastewater Plant Expansion - Update. Ms Frommer stated she had provided a report to the Committee members and she would be happy to answer any questions. Ms Frommer stated the design consultant has submitted a set of plans they termed 70-75 percent complete. She stated they are planning to submit to EPA after the first of the year, and she received an updated cost estimate from them that is right around $9.17 million for the construction.
(2) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance authorizing the City Manager to enter into a contract with URS Corporation for construction management of the City of Pickerington Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion project. Ms Frommer stated the Committee had received an agreement for consulting services provided by URS. She stated the fee included in the project is broken out in Section 5, with the base being construction administration and construction observation for a total of $689,100 and then three optional tasks were provided that could be added to their contract. These tasks are: (1) plan review while the project is in design or permit phase, (2) record drawings, which is after everything is done, recording the information on a set of plans the City can keep, and (3) preparation of an operation and maintenance manual that you can provide your operators. She stated these optional services total and additional $51,300. Mr. Fix stated he felt $30,000 to prepare an operation and maintenance manual was quite a bit of money. Ms Frommer stated to prepare the manual was estimated at 280 hours by various persons. Mr. Hackworth stated this included a full time on-site project representative for two full years at 40 hours per week. He stated during the interviews the City was told that they were not on site for two weeks at a time, and he questioned if there was bad weather or whatever, what would this person be doing. Ms Frommer stated that was an item she expected the Committee to question, and at this point the design consultant is stating it will be a two-year contract duration. She stated she thought there was a way to position the contract so that you get the benefit of times they are not out there, and she can certainly request that the contract become a cost plus contract so we can have the benefit of that. Mr. Fix stated then, if it were a lump sum contract and it was completed in 18-months, we would still be paying for the full two years. Ms Frommer stated that was correct. Mr. Fix stated, in that case, he felt we would want to do the cost-plus contract. Ms Frommer stated she felt she could get the revisions to the contract from the consultant before the next Council meeting. Mr. Hackworth stated although he will not be a member of this Committee next year, he still felt we could do better making some other arrangement. Mr. Fix stated as he understood it, the cost of construction observation could be cut down considerably on a cost plus contract. Mr. Fix stated as time is running, he hesitated to leave this contract on the table for another month. Mrs. Hammond stated she was not certain it would hurt to delay this contract for another month so we can get answers to some of the questions the Committee members have on this contract. Ms Frommer stated if the Committee would like to have the cost plus contract come back to the Committee, there was also the option of the City Manager entering into a professional services contract for the plans review only at a cost of $6,500, so they can proceed with the work that is most critical right now. Mr. Hackworth stated he would not have a problem with that and Mr. Fix and Mrs. Hammond stated they agreed they would like to see the plans review move forward. Mr. Fix moved to authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement not to exceed $7,000 with URS for the review of plans and contract documents for the wastewater treatment plant expansion project; Mr. Hackworth seconded the motion. Mr. Fix stated he would like to see the revised URS contract at the next Service Committee meeting. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Hackworth, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.
(3) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance to authorize the City Manager to enter into a sponsorship agreement with Ohio Department of Natural Resources for their Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program (WRRSP) Project as part of the City’s Water Pollution Control Loan Funds (WPCLF) for the wastewater treatment expansion project. Ms Frommer stated the City is obtaining a Water Pollution Control Loan Fund and this makes you eligible to sponsor either your own or another jurisdiction’s project for wetlands restoration and protection. Ms Frommer stated as the City does not have a project, you have chosen to sponsor the Little Darby Creek Corridor Protection project, and the City will receive a rate reduction of .01 percent on the interest rate on the WPCLF loan. Mr. Hackworth clarified this will save the City approximately $126,000 in interest over the life of the loan. Mrs. Hammond moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mr. Hackworth, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.
B. TRANSPORTATION:
(1) Diley Road Improvements Project:
a. MORPC/ODOT Project – Update. Ms Frommer stated due to an error made by ODOT’s Central Office, the bid opening has been delayed until next Wednesday. She stated she will definitely notify everyone as soon as the bids are opened.
D. STORMWATER. No Report.
7. CHAIRMAN. Mrs. Hammond stated she had nothing to bring forward this evening.
8. OTHER BUSINESS: No other business was brought forward.
9. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Fix moved to adjourn; Mr. Hackworth seconded the motion. Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, and Mr. Hackworth voted “Aye.” Motion carried, 3-0. The Service Committee adjourned at 8:55 P.M., December 17, 2007.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk