CITY OF PICKERINGTON

SERVICE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

THURSDAY, JULY 10, 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, Mr. Maxey, and Mr. Shaver present.  No members were absent.  Others present were:  Bill Wright, Joyce Bushman, Frank Wiseman, Lynda Yartin, Jerry Dailey, Jeff Kraus, Tony Barletta, Ted Hackworth, Rick Palsgrove, Brian Bosch, Julie Gwinn, Barney Kemper, Carol Carter, Ira Weiss, Doyle Hartman, Jim Breitinger, and others.

 

2.         APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF June 19, 2003, Regular Meeting.  Mr. Maxey moved to approve; Mr. Parker seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Shaver, Mr. Parker and Mr. Maxey voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 3-0.

 

Mr. Parker stated if there were no objections he would take the items regarding the I-70/S.R. 256 joint improvements project at this time. 

 

Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance to provide preliminary consent for the ODOT (PID No. 75901) widening of S.R. 256 and the declaration of immediate necessity and emergency, as ODOT is to bid the project for managing traffic flow and safety on S.R. 256 by August 13, 2003, and the city’s consent is necessary prior to such date and can only be timely accomplished by the emergency passage.  Mrs. Bushman stated ODOT had conducted an open house earlier this evening for anyone interested in looking at the proposed plans for the joint improvements that would facilitate better traffic movement due to the development on the other side of the freeway at Taylor Square.  Mrs. Bushman stated representatives of ODOT are present to answer any questions, and ODOT has committed $1.8 million to the project and it is on a fast track.  Mrs. Bushman stated the Committee received a letter dated July 8th requesting the City pass the necessary legislation by emergency in order to meet the bid award date of August 13th.  She continued stating ODOT needs to have the preliminary legislation approved by Council in order to facilitate the bidding and construction of these improvements.  She further stated there is another companion piece of legislation that is an agreement that ODOT would be taking over the S.R. 204 traffic signal and would then be responsible for the timing and movement of the S.R. 204 and the I-70 signal.  She stated the intention is these signals will be linked into the Reynoldsburg signals so traffic can be moved in a coordinated approach as, right now, the signals are on three separate systems and controlled by three different entities.  Mrs. Bushman stated the initial estimate for the preliminary legislation to allow ODOT to bid and award the project is a cost to the City of $236,500, however, after meeting with representatives of MORPC and later ODOT, MORPC has made available to the City a grant or additional funds of $150,000 towards the City’s share.  She stated she would be requesting preliminary legislation for $136,500 and she would like to thank MORPC and ODOT for helping out on that.  Mrs. Bushman stated she would also request some contingency funds, so she would request a commitment of up to $150,000.  Mrs. Bushman stated the funds are available through existing funds in the budget and no borrowing is required.  Mrs. Bushman stated after the preliminary legislation is passed, ODOT will then require Council to come back and pass final legislation which commits the actual bid amount, based on the bid award. 

 

Ms. Gwinn, a representative of ODOT, stated she would like to make it clear to everyone on what would be required in the future as far as legislation.  She stated the preliminary legislation is based upon preliminary information, then after the plans are completed and sent to Central Office they will perform an estimate and provide final legislation.  She stated the City may have to adjust funds up or down as it may be at that time, and that is prior to bid.  She stated after the bid, there is another adjustment based on the bid amount.   Ms. Gwinn stated ODOT Central Office has not yet performed their final estimate and she hoped they would do that on a fast track and that she would have it in a couple of weeks.  She stated once that is complete, it will be sent to the City, and the City will have a very limited time to get it back to ODOT. 

 

Mr. Hackworth stated the City’s share after the $150,000 from MORPC should be $86,000, and Mrs. Bushman stated she was recommending that in the ordinance we allow up to $150,000 based on how the final bids come back since the project can range from $236,000 to $300,000 total for the City, of which $150,000 is being covered by MORPC.  Mr. Hackworth clarified that Reynoldsburg’s share is about $300,000 right now.  Mrs. Bushman stated the municipalities are paying basically for the improvements that are in their corporate boundaries. 

 

Mr. Maxey stated in the legislation with the agreement, he noted that ODOT wanted the City to give up control of the traffic signal at S.R. 204 and S.R. 256.  He stated he was not thrilled about doing that because we have worked very hard to synchronize all of our lights on S.R. 256, and it seems we keep getting more and more lights.  He stated to give up that control he could see it causing Pickerington problems.  Mr. Bosch stated the reason ODOT needed operational control of that signal is because they have to have the two largest traffic generators on either side of the interstate in order to be able to funnel and control that traffic as it comes through.  He stated that would be Taylor Road on the north side and S.R. 204 on the south side.  Mr. Bosch stated this has been analyzed through all of the preliminary engineering and they have analyzed one signal outside of that system, and the analysis shows they are not hindering any of that traffic any worse than it is today.  He stated this will really not improve the morning peak traffic as this project will not allow more traffic to be put on the interstate.  He stated this project is mainly to address the P.M. and Saturday and Sunday traffic that wants to go north and south through the interchange area.  Mr. Maxey stated an additional traffic light is also being proposed at the eastbound I-70 ramp, so there will be another light going northbound on S.R. 256 between S.R. 204 and the on-ramp to I-70 west.  He stated further one turn lane onto S.R. 204 going southbound on S.R. 256 has been eliminated and he felt that would back traffic up and we will end up with more traffic on 70.  Mr. Bosch stated the traffic count since the Taylor Road off ramp has opened can easily be handled by one left turn lane.  Mr. Maxey stated further going northbound on S.R. 256 the left turn into the Shoppes at Turnberry is being eliminated. Mrs. Bushman stated the engineering drawings for the access road have been completed and the owner of the shopping center knows he has to get this done and would like to get it done while the bridge is closed.   Mr. Bosch stated that left turn was being eliminated as it would be an unsafe condition to have vehicles trying to turn left across three lanes of oncoming traffic, however, it will remain a right in/right out for southbound traffic.  Mr. Maxey stated just south of that it then bottlenecks back down into two lanes and he felt that would cause a problem.  Mr. Hackworth clarified that the access from Turnberry onto Tussing Road would be closed and the access road would be aligned with the traffic signal at Winderly.  Mr. Maxey clarified that was correct, but that access road was not a part of this project. 

 

Mr. Shaver stated he could not figure out how this project would solve the congestion problems.  Mr. Bosch stated it would not solve the problems, it was a stop gap measure to hold us through now and about five to seven years.  Mr. Bosch stated District 6 has made application for funding for an interchange study to do the ultimate or 20 year fix.  He stated they were hoping this short term project would get us through until that project can be done.  Mr. Maxey clarified the widening would occur from the existing right-of-way ODOT has now. 

 

Mr. Shaver stated he was offended that this information was presented at the last minute and asked to be passed as an emergency without time for public hearings, without time for comment, etc. Mr. Bosch stated ODOT has worked over a long period of time with the City engineer and representatives just as they worked with the City of Reynoldsburg’s engineer.  He stated until they had final plans and had the lane configurations and technical portion finalized they could not proceed, and both communities felt it should be done yet this year, and as there is a limited construction season, that put everyone into a real tight timeframe.  

 

Mr. Maxey stated as he understood it, the road was not being widened, it was a reworking of the pavement that we already have.  Mr. Bosch stated for the most part that was correct, it would go from about 12 foot existing lanes now to 11 foot lanes.  Mr. Bosch stated the minimum is 10 foot lanes. 

 

Mr. Hackworth stated south of Tussing Road where three lanes merge to two, as Mr. Maxey pointed out, he did not see how that would help us at all.  Mr. Bosch stated they were trying to get a little more lane continuity after coming through the interchange intersection.  Mr. Bosch stated again, this would not fix all the problems they were just trying to address and give as many options and alternates as they could. 

 

Mr. Parker clarified there would be one government entity taking over the traffic signals from S.R. 204 on S.R. 256 through to Farmsbury in Reynoldsburg.  Mr. Shaver inquired if ODOT would consider a revision to the plan to allow Pickerington to retain control of the S.R.204/S.R. 256 light, and Ms. Gwinn stated the coordination of the signals was a major part of getting traffic to move north and south.  She stated without them being controlled by one system they would lose the effectiveness, so, no, they would not consider letting Pickerington retain control of that light.  Mr. Shaver stated it appeared that Pickerington would be giving up a lot to solve the problems at the Wal Mart area.  Mr. Bosch stated there was a lot of northbound traffic coming out of Pickerington, and all the southbound traffic coming back to Pickerington.  He stated that is why they considered this project a win-win. 

 

Mr. Jim Breitinger stated traffic has been bad in this area for quite some time, and he wondered what made this an emergency project now.  Ms. Gwinn stated there were a variety of reasons.  She stated ODOT had a safety initiative and they were looking at all the locations in the state that have high congestion and/or accidents.  She stated this particular location showed up on that survey and so they immediately wanted to look at it and see if they could do something to address it.  She stated they were mainly looking at something low cost for the short term and also the long term, however, there are usually higher cost solutions to try and address that.  Ms. Gwinn stated ODOT is trying to address any congestion locations and safety locations as fast as they can, and that is why ODOT wants to do this project quickly.  She stated, again, this will not solve all the problems on 256, they are just trying to do something that will help alleviate some of the problems.  Mr. Shaver clarified the developer of the commercial property in that area is not contributing any funds to the construction of this project.  Mr. Shaver inquired if the developers have been asked to contribute any funds and Ms. Gwinn stated she had not asked them.  Mr. Parker ascertained the plan as presented to the Committee is final and at this point in time it has been sent to ODOT Central Office who is pushing it through the system in order to get the August 13th sale.  Ms. Gwinn stated for the most part the plans are pretty much set.  Mr. Parker further clarified the traffic light being added between S.R. 204 and I-70 would basically separate the northbound traffic from the ramp traffic.  Mr. Bosch further clarified that ODOT has a signal agreement with Reynoldsburg for their lights to have them on one system, and it makes sense to connect Pickerington’s with that system. 

 

Mr. Maxey stated if we did give ODOT control of the 256 and 204 light, and it did not work out well for Pickerington, what measure did we have to change that.  Mr. Bosch stated ODOT will still have to match their system with Pickerington’s to get it all working.   He stated as traffic changes, new businesses open up, changes occur, they will have to be out there.  He stated if there is a problem just give ODOT a call and they will get out there to get it taken care of.  Ms. Gwinn stated ODOT’s  highest priority is not to back traffic up on the interstate as that is a terribly dangerous situation.  She stated in order to ensure that does not happen they need to flush traffic out on 256, and that is their main concern, and to get the southbound 256 traffic moving is extremely important to them.  Mr. Maxey stated his concern was that in this agreement there was no way for the City to get out of the agreement.  Mr. Bosch stated that was correct.  Mr. Maxey further clarified that ODOT will control every light on 256 in Reynoldsburg, with the exception of Livingston Avenue. 

 

Mr. Hackworth stated he did not see where Pickerington would gain anything from this project, and if we lose control of the signal at Tussing Road it will slow things down even further.  He stated he felt this entire plan was basically to accommodate the Taylor Square shopping center in Reynoldsburg. 

 

Mr. Maxey moved to approve the draft ordinance to provide preliminary consent and move it to Council; Mr. Parker seconded the motion.  Mr. Maxey stated he was making this motion for the purpose of a vote only.  Mr. Mapes stated he had noted on the draft legislation that $150, 000 would be provided by MORPC and the City’s share would not exceed $150,000.  Mr. Mapes stated he had put that amount in because we did not know what the actual amount was at this time.  Mr. Parker stated he did not like the idea of giving up control of the signal.  Mr. Shaver stated he would vote to move this legislation from Committee simply for the purposes of further consideration.  He stated he had the same concerns as Mr. Parker and Mr. Maxey, and he was also irritated at being asked to analyze data under the gun.  He stated he would vote to pass it forward simply to allow Council to review it.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Maxey voting “Nay,” and Mr. Shaver and Mr. Parker voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 2-1. 

 

Mr. Shaver moved to Table the draft ordinance to authorize the City Manager to execute a state controlled closed loop system agreement with ODOT for the traffic signals at Tussing Road, S.R. 204, and S.R. 256; Mr. Maxey seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Shaver, Mr. Parker, and Mr. Maxey voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 3-0.  (TABLED)

 

Service Committee recessed at 8:30 P.M., and reconvened in open session at 8:45 P.M.

 

Mr. Parker stated he would now address Item 4.D.(1), Janice Lane/Long Road/Diley Road Stormwater Study.  Mr. Hartman stated he has done some surveys and tried to determine where the grade boundaries are for the different areas in the study.  He stated the area at the corner of Diley and Long Road has an 8 inch pipe and it should probably be around a 24 inch pipe to handle the flow coming into that area.  He stated further the Georges Creek subdivision has a 30 inch pipe, and they have assumed that about 28 acres will be coming in from the east side of Diley Road.  Mr. Shaver inquired if Mr. Hartman was suggesting a continuous 30 inch pipe in that area, and Mr. Hartman stated he was not making any recommendations as yet.  Mr. Hartman further stated on the north side there can be some improvements to the drainage ditches as they are right up along the road in that area.  Mr. Parker stated he would like to have a meeting set up with Mr. Dailey, Mr. Wiseman, Mr. Hartman, and himself so some type of plan can be brought back to Service.  Mr. Hartman stated he would make some recommendations when he has completed the study and knows what is planned in the area.  Mr. Dailey stated the next Service meeting is August 21st and he would see if they could set up a meeting prior to that time. 

 

3.         PLANNING AND ZONING

 

A.        REPORTS:

 

                       (1)         BZA Report.  No report. 

 

                       (2)         Planning and Zoning Representative Report (Mr. Maxey).  Mr. Maxey stated he had no report.     

 

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 – Open House planned for August 21, 2003.  Mr. Wiseman stated he was planning on getting the open house set for August 21st, just prior to the next Service Committee meeting.  

 

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

C.        STREET MAINTENANCE. 

            (1)        Annual Street Repaving Program – Update.  Mr. Wiseman stated the contract is on Council floor for a third reading.  

 

D.        STORM WATER UTILITY MAINTENANCE. 

 

            (1)        Janice Lane/Long Road/Diley Road Stormwater Study – Presentation by Doyle Hartman.  Mr. Wiseman stated the Committee had just discussed this item.    

 

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.                  

 

B.         TRANSPORTATION

 

                        (1)        Cycle Way/Freedom Way (CIP# 02-03-013) – Update.  Mr. Dailey stated this project is in full swing and should be almost done by the next meeting.   

 

            (2)        Courtright Road. 

 

                        (A)       Courtright Road Extension Project (CIP# 02-03-011)  Mr. Dailey stated they are in the punch list items on this project and it should be finished within the next few weeks.     

 

            (3)        Diley Road Improvements Project

 

                        (A)       256 Realignment Phase (CIP#98-03-005) 

 

                                                a.         Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance to authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement with the McDaniels Construction Co. for installation of a stormwater sewer line and the declaration of immediate necessity and emergency to correct a flooding problem, wherein the city solicited bids and none were received, and the flood problem creates a safety and liability situation for the city and its citizens.  Mr. Dailey stated every time we get a hard rain we have flooding problems in the vicinity of Grandview.  He stated we need to put a storm sewer in that goes to the creek.  Mr. Dailey stated we bid this project and we received no bids.  He stated we have negotiated with a contractor who has provided a quote that is better than the engineer’s estimate to do the project.  Mr. Shaver clarified the design for this is complete and this work would be done when we do the widening phase, this portion will just be completed now.  Mr. Maxey moved to approve and forward to council; Mr. Parker seconded the motion.  Mr. Wiseman stated the money for this project is in the budget and we do not need any appropriation for it.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Shaver, Mr. Maxey, and Mr. Parker voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0. 

 

(B)       MORPC/ODOT Project (CIP#98-03-005 and 03-03-005)  Mr. Dailey stated an open house will be scheduled sometime in August.  Mr. Dailey stated a progress meeting was held this afternoon, and Mrs. Bushman stated the Committee had received a progress schedule that ODOT provided at that meeting.  Mr. Shaver inquired if Mr. Dailey could provide a summary of these meetings and Mr. Dailey stated there were minutes and they could be distributed to the Committee.  Mrs. Bushman asked Mr. Dailey to provide the minutes to the Clerk and she would distribute them to the Committee. 

 

            (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 starting and providing the weather cooperates they should be installing some new curb early next week on the north side.    He stated further the project should be cleaned up before the Violet Festival. 

 

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

 

                        (A)       Mt. Carmel Signal – Became operational 06/23/03.  Mr. Dailey stated the next phase will be working on the access road, and they are currently waiting on SBC to relocate a junction box.  He stated the weather has held them up, but that should be done next week.  Mr. Parker inquired if there were any more signals to be installed on S.R. 256, and Mrs. Bushman stated the signals were identified on the Access Plan and she thought there were still two more signals that are identified on the Access Plan that are not yet installed.   

 

            (6)        I-70/S.R. 256 Joint Improvements Project with Reynoldsburg and ODOT – Update. 

 

                        (A)       Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance to provide preliminary consent for the ODOT (PID No. 75901) widening of S.R. 256 and the declaration of immediate necessity and emergency, as ODOT is to bid the project for managing traffic flow and safety on S.R. 256 by August 13, 2003, and the city’s consent is necessary prior to such date and can only be timely accomplished by the emergency passage.  Mr. Parker stated this was dealt with earlier in the meeting. 

 

                        (B)       Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance to authorize the City Manager to execute a state controlled closed loop system agreement with ODOT for the traffic signals at Tussing Road, S.R. 204, and S.R. 256.  Mr. Parker stated this item was Tabled earlier in the meeting.  (TABLED)

 

C.        WATER

 

            (1)        Water Plant Expansion Project (CIP# 00-01-006) – Update.  Mr. Dailey stated the plant should be producing water very shortly. 

 

D.        WASTEWATER – No Report.

 

E.         STORMWATER.

 

                        (1)        East Street Outfall (CIP# 01-04-003) – Engineering completed. 

                        a.         Review and request for motion to authorize application to Clean Ohio Fund Round II(b) – Application Deadline August 1, 2003.  Mr. Wiseman stated he would request this be removed from the agenda. 

 

6.         CHAIRMAN.  Mr. Parker stated he had met with Mr. Kemper on some of the issues he is concerned about on his property.  Mr. Kemper stated he still has great concerns about what is happening on the city’s property next to his.  He stated his concerns were regarding both health and safety issues.  He stated in walking in the area he discovered the utility pole that takes electricity to his property and to the well field, the guide wires have been cut and removed during the building of the gravel parking lot.  He stated he is also very concerned because the dead trees on the property seem to be migrating and he would like to know what is going on environmentally in that area since the barn was constructed.  Mr. Parker asked Mr. Wiseman if we can do some soil testing to see if there is salt or brine causing the problem.  Mr. Dailey stated he would check into this issue and get back with the Service Committee.  Mr. Kemper stated he just wanted to go on record with the Service Committee that he has some grave concerns environmentally since that is a protected watershed.  Mr. Parker stated he appreciated Mr. Kemper coming to the Committee and he would be getting with Mr. Dailey and Mr. Wiseman to see if something needed to be done. 

 

A.        Review and discussion regarding traffic study.  Mr. Parker stated he understood Mr. Barletta had discussed some of his concerns with the Mayor and also with the ODOT people here earlier this evening.  He stated he would ask this to remain on the agenda. 

 

7.         OTHER BUSINESS. 

 

A.                 ISSUE II:

 

            (1)        Application Deadline for Round 18 is October 3, 2003.  Mr. Wiseman stated he would request authorization to submit the Diley Road/Long Road intersection improvements project which would incorporate some of the concerns Mr. Hartman is identifying in his study.  Mr. Maxey stated we had applied for this project in the past, and it was not funded.  Mr. Wiseman stated that was correct, however, one of the criteria they look at is safety.  He stated he hoped the study being done by Mr. Hartman would help show the stormwater issue in that area.  Mr. Maxey moved to approve submitting the Diley Road/Long Road intersection improvements project for the Issue II, Round 18, funds; Mr. Parker seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Parker, Mr. Maxey, and Mr. Shaver voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 3-0. 

 

B.         Review of Capital Improvements Plan.  Mrs. Bushman stated ultimately she will need a motion to move this to Council for approval so it can proceed with the budget.  Mr. Parker stated he would continue this on the agenda until the next meeting. 

 

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 9:25 P.M., July 10, 2003.

 

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

 

 

 

________________________________

Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk