PICKERINGTON CITY COUNCIL

TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2008

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

 

REGULAR MEETING AGENDA

7:30 P.M.

 

1.         ROLL CALL, PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, AND INVOCATION. Council for the City of Pickerington met for a regular session Tuesday, June 17, 2008, at City Hall.  Mayor O’Brien called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M.  Roll call was taken as follows:  Mr. Fix, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Sabatino, Mrs. Sanders, and Mayor O’Brien were present.  No members were absent.  Others present were: Tim Hansley, Lynda Yartin, Linda Fersch, Ed Drobina, Chief Mike Taylor, Phil Hartmann, Pastor John Moriarty, Larry Jones, Harry Myer, Carol Carter, Susan Lent, Von Smith, Norm Hopkins, Nick LaTorre, Miriam Segaloff, and others.  Pastor Moriarty, of Eastside Vineyard Church, delivered the invocation. 

 

2.         APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JUNE 3, 2008, REGULAR MEETING.  Mr. Sabatino moved to approve; Mr. Smith seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Smith, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Fix, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

3.         APPROVAL OF AGENDA.  Mrs. Sanders moved to approve; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Smith, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

4.      COMMUNITY COMMENTS: 

 

A.        Susan Lent, Waste Management.  Ms Lent stated she would like Council to know they appreciate the past opportunity to service this community and they look forward to continuing that relationship into the future and providing the best service available.  She stated they would continue to work with Mr. Hansley and Mr. Drobina to work out the details of the final contract to make sure the service and the needs of the community are met with no problems or issues. 

 

5.         APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA:  Mayor O’Brien stated there were no consent agenda items this evening. 

 

6.         COMMITTEE REPORTS:   

 

A.        FINANCE COMMITTEE.  Mrs. Hammond stated Finance Committee met for a Special Meeting on Wednesday, June 11th, and out of that meeting the two pieces of legislation dealing with income tax are on tonight’s agenda.  She stated Finance Committee and the Expense Subcommittee will meet on June 18th. 

 

7.         REPORTS:

 

A.        MAYOR.  Mayor O’Brien stated he attended the Cruise In in the old downtown area and the Bicentennial 5K, and they were both very well attended.  

 

B.         LAW DIRECTOR.  Mr. Hartmann stated the income tax legislation are reintroductions of the legislation and, again, there are two items because the resolution is required by Ohio Revised Code to put it on the ballot.  Mr. Hartmann stated he would be happy to answer any questions. 

 

C.        FINANCE DIRECTOR.  Mrs. Fersch stated she would answer any questions anyone might have.   

 

D.        SERVICE MANAGER.  Mr. Drobina stated he had several items on tonight’s agenda that included legislation authorizing the contract with Waste Management and the final contract will be complete prior to the third reading; the ordinance authorizing the contract with Robinson Pipe Cleaning Company was to complete repairs on the sanitary sewer lines in the old downtown area; and, the resolution amending the solid waste management plan by the Coshocton Fairfield Licking Perry Solid Waste District that states the rates will not be raised by the District.  Mr. Drobina further stated Diley Road reopened at the railroad crossing this afternoon.  He stated he would be happy to answer any questions. 

 

E.         CITY MANAGER.  Mr. Hansley stated his written report had been distributed and he would be happy to answer any questions.  Mr. Hansley stated he would like to clarify that in reference to the Stilson Contract that is a draft contract that was discussed at Service Committee and the appropriation was included on tonight’s appropriation.  He stated the final contract will be provided to Council when it is completed.   

 

8.         PROCEDURAL READINGS:

 

            A.        ORDINANCE 2008-39, “AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE DISPOSITION OF A VEHICLE IN THE POSSESSION OF THE CITY OF PICKERINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT PURSUANT TO COURT ORDER,” First Reading, Safety Committee.  Mr. Smith moved to adopt; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion.  Mr. Smith stated Safety Committee had discussed this in detail and was recommending this vehicle be auctioned.  He stated the Safety Committee could not see a good use within the City for this type of vehicle, and he would be happy to answer any questions.  Mr. Hansley stated he would like to point out that when the auction of the vehicle is advertised it will be by an open auction or a sealed bid and staff would set specific minimums such as the bidder must have a drivers’ license, minimum insurance, etc.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            B.         ORDINANCE 2008-40, “AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH WASTE MANAGEMENT OF OHIO, INC., TO GRANT AN EXCLUSIVE RESIDENTIAL LICENSE FOR GARBAGE COLLECTION,” First Reading, Safety Committee.  Mr. Smith moved to adopt; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Mr. Smith stated the City received three viable bid packages from four vendors.  He stated the bidders all recommended basic trash pick-up, but we had also requested they recommend something else with recycling.  Mr. Smith stated Safety Committee discussed each proposal at length and decided they would make a statement for the City to begin embracing recycling.  He stated they realized that no matter what happened the cost would be increasing, and if they were able to implement a city-wide recycling program it would add $4.00 per month for each resident.  Mr. Smith continued that Safety Committee did recommend the proposal from Waste Management that is on tonight’s agenda.  He stated further the contract provided to Council is a draft and will change as the result of negotiations.  Mr. Sabatino clarified Council will have the final contract prior to the third reading. 

 

                        Mr. Sauer stated with regard to the recycling option, he does have a problem mandating it.  He stated he felt the decisions we make in our personal lives are our own decisions and he has a hard time passing that fee along to residents along with other increases they are seeing this year in all aspects of their lives.  Mr. Sauer stated with regards to recycling he had done some brief research and he has a difficult time supporting passing along these costs to the residents.  He stated he would like to see an option where the recycling is something that residents can make their own decision as to whether or not they want to utilize a program such as this.  Mr. Smith stated Safety Committee did look at and discuss and opt in/opt out option.  He stated recycling will not be mandated, but the cost will be spread among everyone.  Mr. Wisniewski stated there seems to be a good desire to recycle and he felt if it were convenient by having the container in his garage more people would do it.  Mrs. Hammond stated, however, we would not only be charging extra each month to recycle, but we would be charging extra for the large trash can for people to recycle in.  Mr. Smith stated the cost of the container included in the monthly fee is for the trash container not the recycling container.  Mrs. Hammond stated she is perfectly willing to recycle, but she is not willing to have a 65-gallon trashcan anywhere in her yard.  She stated it would take her months to fill that and she imagined that most senior citizens probably do not generate that much recycling.  Mrs. Hammond stated further this is a cost that people see every time the bill comes in.  Mrs. Sanders stated if we were to continue on with Waste Management as is, where they are pulling out about 10 percent of the recyclables on their own, without a cost to us, the increase would go up to $13.50 and with doing the recycling it will be going up to about $16.00.  She further stated it appeared that residents were more in favor of the bigger bin with the lid versus the smaller bin that is not covered.  Mrs. Hammond stated her point was she did not want to pay for something she will not use and for residents that live on incomes that don’t go up every year this will be an increase.  Mr. Sabatino stated a pilot program was conducted in two subdivisions last year, and the majority of the surveys that were completed after the project ended indicated they were in favor of recycling as long as it was a minimal cost associated with it.  Mr. Smith stated with the recycling being picked up every other week that would remove half the trucks on the road during the year for recycling.  Mr. Sauer stated while he appreciated recycling, it doesn’t seem to be everything that everyone makes it out to be.  He stated, for example, a second vehicle going through a community to pick up recyclables burns fuel, the recyclables must be washed and sorted and that uses water, water and energy are used to drive the sorting apparatus, there is the environmental cost of transporting the recyclables to the reprocessing plant and the subsequent shipping of the reprocessed materials to new manufactures and finally the reprocessing itself must be considered as this stage can require large amounts of energy and water and may result in significant air pollution, and all the while we are paying an extra fee for this.  He stated he had read that if recycling is more expensive than using new materials it cannot be more efficient, and there is a simple test for determining whether something is a resource or just garbage – if someone will pay you for the item it is a resource, but if you have to pay someone to take the item away, then it is garbage.  Mr. Sauer stated from his point of view it seemed we are paying for something that really doesn’t get us further ahead.  Mr. Sabatino stated he was sure that Waste Management generates some type of an income stream from what they collect and he would think that would be the reason they were able to do this so cost effectively.  Mr. Sauer stated he understood that, but if it were so cost effective it would not cost us more in our rates to pay for the collection.  Mayor O’Brien stated with regard to the surveys Mr. Sabatino had mentioned, after reading those surveys it was his impression that people were very interested in recycling if there was no cost to recycle as opposed to minimal cost.  Mayor O’Brien further clarified that Waste Management was not the low bid.  Mr. Smith stated staff did an analysis of the four proposals and Waste Management was not the low bidder with the proposal to pick up recyclables every week.  He stated, however, Waste Management was the only vendor that put forth the proposal for recycling pick up every other week with the larger container with a lid.  He stated that particular proposal was attractive to the Safety Committee and staff made it clear their recommendation was based on cost only, not on any other criteria.  Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond and Mr. Sauer voting “Nay,” and Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Smith voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 5-2. 

 

            C.        ORDINANCE 2008-41, “AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH ROBINSON PIPE CLEANING COMPANY FOR THE SANITARY SEWER MAINTENANCE/REPAIR PROJECT IN THE OLDE PICKERINGTON VILLAGE,” First Reading, Service Committee.  Mr. Wisniewski moved to adopt; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Mr. Wisniewski stated Mr. Drobina referenced this contract earlier and the project will repair sanitary sewer lines in the old downtown area.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Smith, Mr. Sauer, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            D.        ORDINANCE 2008-42, “AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO APPLY FOR, ACCEPT, AND ENTER INTO A WATER POLLUTION CONTROL LOAN FUND AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF PICKERINGTON, OHIO, FOR PLANNING, DESIGN AND/OR CONSTRUCTION OF WASTEWATER FACILITIES; AND DESIGNATING A DEDICATED REPAYMENT SOURCE FOR THE LOAN,” First Reading, Service Committee.  Mr. Wisniewski moved to adopt; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Mr. Wisniewski stated this will authorize the City Manager to actually apply for the loan, accept the funds, and enter into the agreement on behalf of the City.  Mr. Wisniewski stated if he recalled we will be putting the project out for bid the first part of July and hopefully will have a contractor selected by the first part of September.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            E.         ORDINANCE 2008-43 (Re-Introduced), “AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 882.03 OF THE PICKERINGTON CODIFIED ORDINANCES TO INCREASE THE INCOME TAX RATE FROM ONE PERCENT (1%) TO TWO PERCENT (2%) PER ANNUM AND TO PLACE THIS AMENDMENT BEFORE THE ELECTORS AT THE GENERAL ELECTION ON NOVEMBER 4, 2008,” First Reading, Finance Committee.  Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Smith seconded the motion.  Mr. Wisniewski stated we are in desperate need for additional finances and this seems to be the best way to go about it.  Mr. Sabatino stated he will abstain from this vote this evening because at the Finance Committee meeting there will be discussion regarding the credit issue and he would like to know the totality of the issue before he votes either way on this issue.  Mr. Sauer stated he will support this legislation this evening and he also is awaiting the discussion regarding the credit issue, and his vote on the next two readings will hinge on what is decided at the next Finance Committee meeting.  Mr. Smith stated there is no way we can avoid trying to find additional revenue and he was originally against this income tax.  He stated in looking around the area and what other communities are paying, he felt this is the fairest way to address incremental revenue to be fair to our residents.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino abstaining, and Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Sauer, and Mr. Smith voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 6-0. 

 

            F.         RESOLUTION 2008-08R, “A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE AMENDMENT TO THE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN BY THE COSHOCTON FAIRFIELD LICKING PERRY SOLID WASTE DISTRICT,” First Reading, Safety Committee.  Mr. Smith moved to adopt; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Mr. Smith stated this resolution states that disposal fees will remain at the current level and will not increase in 2009.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Smith, Mr. Sauer, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            G.        RESOLUTION 2008-09R (Re-Introduced), “A RESOLUTION TO PLACE THE ISSUE OF INCREASING THE MUNICIPAL INCOME TAX BY ONE PERCENT (1%) PER ANNUM AS PROVIDED BY ORDINANCE NO. 2008-37, ON THE BALLOT AT THE GENERAL ELECTION ON NOVEMBER 4, 2008, AND DIRECTING THE BOARDS OF ELECTIONS FOR FAIRFIELD AND FRANKLIN COUNTIES TO CONDUCT SUCH ELECTIONS,” First Reading, Finance Committee.  Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Smith seconded the motion.  Mr. Sabatino stated he will abstain on this resolution for the same reason as the previous ordinance.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino abstaining, and Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 6-0. 

 

            H.        ORDINANCE 2008-31, “AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2008 APPROPRIATION, ORDINANCE 2007-85,” Second Reading, Finance Committee.  Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Smith seconded the motion.  Mr. Fix moved to amend by substitution with the amended ordinance distributed to Council that now includes the funds for the engineering of the Diley Road project; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken on the amendment with Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.”  Motion to amend passed, 7-0.  Roll call was taken on the ordinance as amended with Mr. Smith, Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, as amended, 7-0.  Mrs. Hammond moved to suspend the rules for the purpose of a third reading; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Smith, Mr. Sabatino, Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Fix, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.”  Suspension of Rules passed, 7-0.  Third Reading.  Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Smith seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Smith voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            I.          ORDINANCE 2008-32, “AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2008 APPROPRIATION, ORDINANCE 2007-85,” Second Reading, Finance Committee.  Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Smith seconded the motion.  Mr. Sabatino clarified this appropriated the funds in advance for the eminent domain.  Mrs. Fersch stated this is just in case it is needed because of the timing period the State has to refund the 80 percent to us.  She stated the money would then go back into the General Fund once we receive the State’s money.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino voting “Nay,” and Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Smith, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 6-1.   Mrs. Hammond moved to suspend the rules for the purpose of a third reading; Mr. Smith seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino voting “Nay,” and Mr. Smith, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Fix, and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.”  Suspension of Rules passed, 6-1.  Third Reading.  Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Smith seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino voting “Nay,” and Mr. Sauer, Mr. Smith, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 6-1.  

 

            J.          ORDINANCE 2008-33, “AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE OF NOT TO EXCEED $371,000 OF REVENUE NOTES BY THE CITY OF PICKERINGTON, OHIO, FOR THE PURPOSE OF RENEWING REVENUE NOTES PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FOR THE PURPOSE OF PAYING PART OF THE COSTS OF CONSTRUCTING (1) STREET IMPROVEMENTS ON HILL ROAD AND BLACKLICK-EASTERN ROAD, INCLUDING WIDENING STREETS, CONSTRUCTING SIDEWALKS, CURBS AND GUTTERS AND INSTALLING TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICES, AND (II) STREET IMPROVEMENTS KNOWN AS THE HILL ROAD CONNECTOR, INCLUDING CONSTRUCTING STREETS, SIDEWALKS, CURBS AND GUTTERS,” Second Reading, Finance Committee.  Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Smith, Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            K.        ORDINANCE 2008-34, “AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE OF NOT TO EXCEED $290,000 OF REVENUE NOTES BY THE CITY OF PICKERINGTON, OHIO, FOR THE PURPOSE OF RENEWING REVENUE NOTES PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FOR THE PURPOSE OF PAYING PART OF THE COST OF CONSTRUCTING STREET IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CYCLE WAY AREA,” Second Reading, Finance Committee.  Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Smith, Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            L.         ORDINANCE 2008-35, “AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE OF NOT TO EXCEED $175,000 OF REVENUE NOTES BY THE CITY OF PICKERINGTON, OHIO, FOR THE PURPOSE OF RENEWING REVENUE NOTES PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FOR THE PURPOSE OF PAYING PART OF THE COST OF CONSTRUCTING STREET AND TRAFFIC SIGNAL IMPROVEMENTS IN THE STATE ROUTE 256/STONECREEK DRIVE AREA,” Second Reading, Finance Committee.  Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Smith, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            M.        ORDINANCE 2008-36, “AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE OF NOT TO EXCEED $2,100,000 OF REVENUE NOTES BY THE CITY OF PICKERINGTON, OHIO, FOR THE PURPOSE OF RENEWING REVENUE NOTES PREVIOUSLY ISSUED FOR THE PURPOSE OF PAYING PART OF THE COST OF CONSTRUCTING STREET IMPROVEMENTS IN THE WINDMILLER/DILEY AREAS, INCLUDING CONSTRUCTING WIDENING AND TURN LANE IMPROVEMENTS FOR STATE ROUTE 256 TO ESTABLISH AN EXIT POINT FOR THE REALIGNMENT OF DILEY ROAD,” Second Reading, Finance Committee.  Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Smith, Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

9.         LEGISLATIVE READINGS:

 

            A.        ORDINANCE 2008-29, “AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 1254.10 (PLATTING PROCEDURES), CHAPTER 1256.05 (DESIGN STANDARDS), AND CHAPTER 1258.30 (CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS) OF THE PICKERINGTON CODIFIED ORDINANCES,” Third Reading, Service Committee.  Mr. Wisniewski moved to adopt; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Smith voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            B.         ORDINANCE 2008-30, “AN ORDINANCE TO AUTHORIZE ALL ACTION NECESSARY TO AFFECT AN OPT-OUT NATURAL GAS AGGREGATION PROGRAM PURSUANT TO SECTION 4929.26 OF THE REVISED CODE,” Third Reading, Service Committee.  Mr. Wisniewski moved to adopt; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Sauer, Mr. Smith, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Sabatino, Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

 

10.       OTHER BUSINESS:  No other business was brought forward. 

 

11.       MOTIONS:  None.

 

12.       ADJOURNMENT.  There being nothing further, Mr. Smith moved to adjourn; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Sanders voted “Aye.”  Motion carried, 7-0.  The meeting adjourned at 8:25 P.M., June 17, 2008. 

 

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: 

 

 

_______________________________

Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk

 

 

ATTEST:

 

 

 

_______________________________

Mitch O’Brien, Mayor