CITY OF PICKERINGTON

SAFETY COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

MONDAY, MARCH 3, 2008

7:30 P.M.

REGULAR MEETING

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Smith called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. with Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Smith present. There were no members absent. Others present were: Jeff Fix, Tim Hansley, Chief Taylor, Ed Drobina, Paul Lane, Don Phillips, Stacey Bashore, and others.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF February 4, 2008, Regular Meeting. Mr. Sabatino moved to approve; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino abstaining and Mrs. Sanders and Mr. Smith voting "Yea." Motion passed, 2-0.

3. COMMUNITY COMMENTS. There were none.

4. COMMUNITY SAFETY CONCERNS: Mr. Smith reported that the residents in Ra-mar Acres appreciated the new pedestrian warning signs on Lockville Road. Mr. Hansley reported that the City is working with the Violet Festival and the schools on putting a street light in Victory Park for the kids walking to school.

5. DEPARTMENT REPORTS

A. Parks and Recreation:

(1) Director's Report- Mr. Hansley stated that in Mr. Carr's absence he could answer any questions. Mr. Sabatino asked why the dates for selling pool passes were changed and Mrs. Sanders stated it was because that will be the first week of Spring Break and they thought too many people would be out of town. Mr. Hansley stated that the passes will be offered to City residents and previous pass holders first so we needed to have a period of time before we opened it to others. He stated that we are doing aggressive marketing and should accomplish our goal.

B. Code Enforcement: No report.

C. Building Regulations Department:

(1) Building Department Report (Mr. Lane) Mr. Lane stated that he had provided a written report and would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Sabatino asked what February's assessment was for commercial and residential impact fees and Mr. Lane stated that residential was approximately $18,000 and commercial was approximately $6,000. Mr. Lane stated he would continue to report those numbers. Mr. Sabatino stated he attended a BIA seminar with Mr. Lane that discussed housing trends and the economy and asked Mr. Lane to give an overview of it. Mr. Lane stated that the City of Columbus got a opinion from the Board of Building Standards and the opinion states that under our residential code we need to be issuing permits for replacing windows, shingles, siding, and hot water heaters. Mr. Lane stated that the BIA is looking at the economic downturn to last another twelve months and because so many homes were sold at lower interest rates it will take some time to catch up. Mr. Smith stated that during the fee reviews we discussed linking the permit fees with the finance director so we can tell which contractors work in the City so we can make sure they are paying their income taxes. Mrs. Sanders asked how people would know that they need to get a permit for installing a new hot water heater or roof and Mr. Lane stated that we can educate the public as much as possible through the website or on water bills. Mr. Smith stated that if there is a permit pulled the City will verify they are paying fair wages and paying worker's compensation. Mr. Fix stated he felt it was excessive to be going after homeowners to pay permit fees on improvements and what defines putting a new roof on. Mr. Smith stated we had the same discussion for the hot water heaters. Mr. Lane stated we get a lot of people calling in asking if we inspect installation of hot water heaters. Mr. Lane stated that we need to decide whether or not we charge for it. Mr. Smith clarified that based on interpretation of the State Code we are required to issue permits for these projects. Mr. Phillips stated that not every jurisdiction in the State of Ohio has been interpreting the Building Code the same. He stated when he worked in City of Worthington they did not require re-roofing permits unless the entire sheathing material was being replaced. He continued that permits would not be required for siding or windows, unless the window size changed. Mr. Phillips stated that they did require permits for water heater replacements to make sure it was plumbed correctly and that it meets the energy code and is properly installed. He stated he felt that the State's interpretation of the Code was correct and other jurisdictions have similarly interpreted it the same way. Mr. Sabatino asked if this was something that we have to do or can we choose not to and Mr. Phillips stated that his understanding was we have no choice as far as not issuing permits, but we do have a choice as to whether we charge for those services. Mr. Smith requested that staff continue to work on it and come back with a recommendation for Council. Mr. Fix asked what the process would be if someone is having a roof replaced and doesn’t have a permit and Mr. Phillips stated it could be a stop work order if we had a permit process in place. Mr. Lane stated that if we pass a homeowner that is having work done we would stop by and introduce ourselves and explain the permit process to them. He stated that we will be more lenient as we are getting this program started. Mr. Fix asked what would we do if someone refused to get a permit and Mr. Phillips stated that the Code does allow us to pursue that, but that is the case in any building code violation. Mr. Sabatino asked how the process would affect the turnaround time for the job and Mr. Lane stated that typically it is a two to three day turnaround. Mr. Sabatino further inquired about the inspection process and Mr. Phillips stated that there may be several inspections depending on the job and we currently have hundreds of inspections a month and we try not to disrupt the overall construction schedule. He further stated that the property owners will also have to work with us to work into their schedule.

(2) Chief Building Official's Report (Mr. Phillips) Mr. Phillips stated he had provided a written report and was open to any suggestions or questions. Mr. Sabatino requested that the font be made bigger. Mr. Smith stated he appreciated the additional information that was provided. Mr. Sabatino asked how the permit process would affect the department and Mr. Lane stated that local permits would be reviewed by Mr. Parker.

D. Service Department:

(1) Refuse collection contract bidding - Update. Mr. Drobina stated that the Mayor has requested that the citizens be surveyed regarding recycling so we are working on putting some questions together. Mr. Smith stated that he also spoke with the Mayor and with all due respect to the Mayor he felt that the surveys that we received gave us enough information. Mr. Hansley stated that we would include them in with the water bills and have them return them with their bill. Mr. Sabatino suggested putting something on the website to have people give input. Mr. Smith stated he felt that Safety Committee was fairly satisfied with the data that was already presented to them. Mr. Sabatino stated he felt that the results from the people who actually participated in the program have far more value than people who haven't participated. Mr. Smith clarified that the Safety Committee does not feel that the additional surveys are necessary. Mr. Hansley stated that the bid specifications we put together will allow the vendors to bid with recycling and without. Mr. Sabatino asked if the Mayor was asking the staff not to proceed with the bid process until we get the surveys back and Mr. Hansley stated that he made him aware the process would be held up until we got the surveys back. Mr. Smith suggested holding a public information meeting after the bids were received. Mr. Sabatino moved to proceed with bidding the Refuse Contract with as many options as necessary without delay; Mr. Smith seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Smith, Mr. Sabatino and Mrs. Sanders voting "Yea." Motion passed, 3-0.

Mr. Smith asked about road paving for spring and summer and Mr. Drobina stated the budget was cut to zero for paving. Mr. Sabatino stated that maybe once we get the first quarter numbers in we may be able to re-look at it. Mr. Fix suggested that a list of streets that need to be repaved be compiled and then we could prioritize them in the case that later on in the year there would be money for it.

6. POLICE:

A. Chief's Report- Chief Taylor stated he had provided a written report as well as their Annual Report and would be happy to answer any questions. Chief Taylor requested that everyone attend the Finance Committee Work Session regarding Redflex Traffic Systems on March 19th. Mr. Sanders clarified that the DARE Grant application was for 2008-2009. Chief Taylor stated that it takes awhile for it to come through. Mr. Sabatino asked what is considered a criminal report and Chief Taylor stated it would be any type of theft or assault. Mr. Sabatino asked about the traffic light system and how it worked and Mr. Drobina stated that the ACS lighting will start changing the sequence of the timing as it sees cars approaching.

7. CHAIRMAN: No report.

8. OTHER BUSINESS: No other business was discussed.

9. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Sabatino moved to adjourn; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Smith and Mr. Sabatino voted "Aye." Motion carried 3-0. The Safety Committee adjourned at 8:10 P.M on March 3, 2008.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

Stacey L. Bashore, Deputy Municipal Clerk