PICKERINGTON CITY COUNCIL
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2008
CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD
PUBLIC HEARING
7:20 P.M.
OPEN DISCUSSION REGARDING FINAL DEVELOPMENT
PLAN FOR ANCHOR 204 BUSINESS PARK
Mayor O’Brien opened the public hearing at
7:20 P.M. with the following members present:
Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sabatino,
Mr. Wisniewski, and Mayor O’Brien.
Others present were: Tim Hansley,
Lynda Yartin, Lance Schultz, Chief Mike Taylor, Phil Hartmann, Ed Drobina,
Rachel Scofeld, Carol Carter, Nick LaTorre, Jim Woods, Kaitlin Satler, Jack
Reynolds, Todd Dillon, and others.
Mayor O’Brien stated this Public Hearing was
to hear any comments either for or against the proposed Final Development Plan
for Anchor 204 Business Park.
Mr.
Schultz stated the Anchor 204 Business Park is located on the north side of
S.R. 204 between the Holiday Inn Express and Freedom Way. He stated this was approved by the Planning
and Zoning Commission in August, and by Service Committee in September. He stated the approval was with the eight
conditions listed on the Exhibit attached to the Ordinance. Mr. Schultz stated the approximate 8.5 acre
parcel is zoned Planned Highway Commercial and was annexed into the City in
2001 without a development plan. He
stated the development is before Council this evening. Mr. Schultz further stated the Park would
contain an approximately 16,000 square foot strip center, an 8,100 square foot
gas station with a drive thru, and approximately 4,500 square feet in restaurants. Mr. Schultz stated he would be happy to
answer any questions.
Ms
Kaitlin Satler stated she was a resident in Park Place and she felt it was
great that the City was developing things.
She stated she just wanted to remind everyone that there are thousands
of homes off of Tussing Road and when you change the traffic pattern at the
S.R. 256 and S.R 204 intersection you are affecting a lot of people besides
just Pickerington people. Ms Satler
stated she has spoken to ODOT about the Kwik Kurb that is probably going to be
going in and for people wanting to turn onto Tussing Road coming from the
Reynoldsburg area they will have to make that weave across lanes. She stated if the kwik kurb is 650 feet, they
will have to cross not just one, but two lanes, to get onto Tussing Road. She stated she just wanted to remind Council
that the decision they made would impact a great deal of people. She stated she would question if doing
nothing was an option at this intersection as well.
Mr.
Jack Reynolds stated he was present on behalf of Anchor and they have been a
part of this process for the past four years.
He stated it was only after the preliminary development plan was
approved that the City staff asked that they get involved with Plaza Properties
and do more of a comprehensive look at the traffic patterns in that area. He stated their problem was that they were
basically the last people in in terms of development of that corner and they
had to examine a number of different issues that had arisen over a period of
time as Pickerington and Reynoldsburg grew.
He stated further that recently ODOT came forward and made the
recommendation for the mountable curbing.
Mr. Reynolds stated they do not control S.R. 256 or S.R. 204 and ODOT
basically told them what they were to do in terms of participating and trying
to alleviate some of the traffic issues at that intersection. Mr. Reynolds stated they are willing to work
with ODOT in making the intersection work properly, but the amount of traffic
they will be generating from their small development off of Freedom Way is not
necessarily going to negatively impact the intersection. Mr. Reynolds stated that is a much larger
problem and he felt ODOT would agree that in order to solve the problem they
will have to work on the interchange itself.
He stated ODOT has indicated they are willing to try to redirect a lot
of the traffic down to the Taylor Road exit instead of coming off on S.R. 256. Mr. Reynolds stated they were willing to work
with the City of Pickerington and with ODOT, and the plan before Council this
evening is the result of the large study that was done and the recommendations
that were made and approved by the City’s traffic engineer. He stated they were looking forward to
developing in the community, and he would be happy to answer any questions
about his development.
Mayor
O’Brien clarified that Mr. Drobina was familiar with the kwik kurb and for snow
removal our trucks would have to wait for ODOT to clear the exit ramp to a
point, and then part of it is ours so we will have to send our trucks down
Tussing Road, get on the interstate at Brice Road, and then clear part of that
off ramp. He stated that seemed like we
would be spending more in gas to send the trucks down and get them on the freeway
and that seemed like an additional cost to the City. Mr. Schultz stated as Mr. Reynolds had
indicated, we had requested a traffic impact study and at the eleventh hour
ODOT got involved in that with our City Engineer and indicated that they were
likely going to install this kwik kurb in their right-of-way. He stated after our City Engineer reviewed
this kwik kurb and the fact that ODOT will do a campaign and signage to have
traffic utilize the Taylor Road exit, it was determined the traffic improvements
required for this development would not be required with this ODOT
improvement. He stated the improvements
required by the original traffic impact study would be a significant financial
cost to the developer and if they were unable to do those improvements that
would leave that land vacant, and as this is in a TIF district we would then
not be getting any tax monies to pay for Freedom Way. Mayor O’Brien stated he was not saying he was
against any of this, he just wanted to make sure that our entire staff was
consulted in this because the time it takes for our snow plows to drive down
Tussing Road and get back on the freeway and drive back is time off our
roads. Mr. Schultz stated that was taken
into consideration. Mayor O’Brien stated
he would request Mr. Schultz talk to ODOT and make sure Mr. Drobina is in on
those conversations, and if there is some way to cooperate and make all of that
happen it would be great.
Mayor O’Brien ascertained there were no
further comments either for or against the proposed final development
plan.
There being nothing further, Mayor O’Brien
closed the public hearing at 7:30 P.M., October 21, 2008.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
_______________________________
Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk
ATTEST:
________________________________
Mitch O’Brien, Mayor
PICKERINGTON CITY COUNCIL
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 21, 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, October 21, 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, Chief Mike Taylor, Ed Drobina, Lance Schultz, Phil
Hartmann, Miriam Segaloff, Rachel Scofeld, Nick LaTorre, Carol Carter, Harry
Myers, Larry Jones, Pastor Hostutler, Jim Woods, Jack Reynolds, Todd Dillon,
Rick Curnutte, and others. Pastor
Hostutler delivered the invocation.
2. A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF OCTOBER 7, 2008,
WORK SESSION REGARDING TIFs. Mr.
Sabatino moved to approve; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski, Mr.
Sauer, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Smith, Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Sabatino voting
“Yea.” Motion passed, 7-0.
B. APPROVAL
OF MINUTES OF OCTOBER 7, 2008, REGULAR MEETING.
Mr. Fix moved to approve; Mr. Smith seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino, Mr.
Sauer, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Sanders
voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 7-0.
3. APPROVAL OF
AGENDA. Mr. Fix moved to approve; Mr.
Smith seconded the motion. Roll call
was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, Mr.
Sabatino, and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.”
Motion passed, 7-0.
4. COMMUNITY
COMMENTS: There were no Community
Comments.
5. APPROVAL OF
CONSENT AGENDA: Mayor O’Brien stated
there were no consent agenda items this evening.
6. COMMITTEE
REPORTS:
A. RULES
COMMITTEE. Mr. Fix stated Rules
Committee met on October 1, 2008, and they will be looking at the
Administrative Code at their next meeting on November 5, 2008.
B. SAFETY
COMMITTEE. Mr. Smith stated Safety
Committee met on October 6, 2008, and they had a work session to discuss the
current disturbing the peace ordinance and possible amendments to it. He stated there was lively discussion and they
would review the proposed draft at their next meeting. He stated during the regular meeting they had
discussion regarding the intersection of S.R. 256 and S.R. 204 and right turns
as you exit southbound on S.R. 256 from Interstate 70 and restricting the right
turn on red onto Tussing between the hours of 4:00 P.M and 7:00 P.M., and they
voted to direct the City Manager to erect that sign. Mr. Smith stated the City Manager had
informed them there was an error on the sign that was originally put up and a
new one will be procured and installed.
Mr. Smith further stated Mr. Wisniewski had inquired about a right turn
arrow, and that is only active when the through light is green so there is no
separate right turn arrow. Mr.
Wisniewski questioned what the intention was about putting up the no right turn
on red sign, would we go forward with putting up the new sign or are we holding
up until ODOT does the traffic count?
Mr. Hansley stated unless overruled by Council, staff is obligated to
install the sign per the direction of Safety Committee.
C. SERVICE
COMMITTEE. Mr. Wisniewski stated Service
Committee met on October 9th, and the ordinance on tonight’s agenda
regarding the final development plan that was discussed in the public hearing
is on tonight’s agenda. He stated they
are still working on red light timing and the sewer plant construction should
have started Monday.
D. FINANCE
COMMITTEE. Mrs. Hammond stated Finance
Committee met October 15th, and there are three items on tonight’s
agenda from that meeting. She stated we
are also continuing with the Budget Work Sessions and the next one will be
tomorrow evening at 6:00 P.M.
7. REPORTS:
A. MAYOR. Mayor O’Brien stated he had attended the
Violet Township Fire Department’s Open House and it was a very well attended
event.
B. LAW
DIRECTOR. Mr. Hartmann stated he had no
report this evening but would answer any questions.
C. FINANCE
DIRECTOR. Mrs. Fersch stated she had
spoken to Mr. Wolfe of the Franklin County Board of Health and he could give
Council a presentation on November 4th at 6:30 P.M. or 7:00 P.M. if
there are no other hearings scheduled.
Mrs. Yartin stated she would coordinate with Mrs. Fersch to schedule the
presentation. Mrs. Fersch stated further
she had provided Council with a memo requesting clarification on the note
issues that will be considered at the Special Finance Committee meeting on
October 29th, as to whether they would like to roll those utility
notes along with the larger issue or go through OWDA.
D. SERVICE
MANAGER. Mr. Drobina stated with regard
to the no right turn on red sign just discussed, he had received a request from
ODOT today requesting that not be installed until they have completed their
traffic count. Mr. Drobina stated the
contractor did start bringing in equipment yesterday for the construction of
the wastewater treatment plant and they did some minor excavating today. Mr. Drobina further stated the contractor is
planning to move the traffic on Diley Road to the west side the first week of
November if the weather holds out. He
stated during the winter months the west side will be open for two-way traffic,
and the east side will still be open for ingress and egress for properties that
abut the east side. He stated this might
be confusing for a little while and he will find out more at the progress
meeting scheduled for tomorrow.
E. CITY
MANAGER. Mr. Hansley stated he had
provided a written report and he would answer any questions.
8. PROCEDURAL READINGS:
A. ORDINANCE 2008-67, “AN ORDINANCE APPROVING THE FINAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR ANCHOR SR 204 BUSINESS PARK, AN APPROXIMATE 8.55 ACRE PARCEL, LOCATED ON THE NORTH SIDE OF SR 204 BETWEEN FREEDOM WAY AND HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS,” First Reading, Service Committee. Mr. Wisniewski moved to adopt; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Mr. Wisniewski stated this was covered in the public hearing earlier this evening. 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.
B. ORDINANCE 2008-68, “AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2008 APPROPRIATION, ORDINANCE 2007-85,” First Reading, Finance Committee. Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Smith seconded the motion. Mrs. Hammond stated this was self-explanatory but she would be happy to answer any questions. She stated she would be asking for three readings this evening. 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. Mrs. Hammond moved to suspend the rules for the purpose of three readings; Mr. Smith seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Smith, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Fix, and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Suspension of Rules passed, 7-0. Second Reading. Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Smith 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. Third Reading. Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Smith seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 7-0.
C. ORDINANCE 2008-69, “AN ORDINANCE RESCINDING ORDINANCE NUMBER 2000-139, WHICH PROVIDED FOR A REIMBURSEMENT TO VIOLET TOWNSHIP FOR ROAD AND BRIDGE LEVY REVENUES LOST UPON LAND BEING ANNEXED INTO THE CITY OF PICKERINGTON,” First Reading, Finance Committee. Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion. Mrs. Hammond stated she would like to clarify that this does not pertain to any agreements that are currently on going, but is for future annexations. Mr. Sauer stated he would also like to point out that Section 3 indicates this will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis moving forward. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Sauer, and Mr. Smith voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 7-0.
D. RESOLUTION 2008-13R, “A RESOLUTION ACKNOWLEGING THE ANNEXATION OF 67.298 ACRES, MORE OR LESS, IN VIOLET TOWNSHIP, FAIRFIELD COUNTY, TO THE CITY OF PICKERINGTON,” First Reading, Finance Committee. Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion. 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.
E. ORDINANCE 2008-65, “AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF AN AMENDMENT OF GUARANTEED MAXIMUM AMOUNT CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR THE EXTENSION OF STONECREEK DRIVE IN THE CITY,” Second Reading, Finance Committee. Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Smith seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix voting “Nay,” and Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Smith, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 6-1.
F. ORDINANCE
2008-66, “AN ORDINANCE TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO SUBMIT A GRANT
APPLICATION TO THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION’S SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL
PROGRAM,” Second Reading, Safety Committee. Mr. Smith moved to adopt; Mrs. Sanders
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.
9. LEGISLATIVE READINGS:
A. ORDINANCE 2008-60, “AN ORDINANCE DELETING CHAPTER 1254.02 “CONTENTS OF PRELIMINARY PLAN” AND CHAPTER 1254.03, “REVIEW OF PRELIMINARY PLAN” 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. Sauer, Mr. Smith, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Sabatino, Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 7-0.
B. ORDINANCE 2008-61, “AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 452.16 OF THE CITY’S CODIFIED ORDINANCES ENTITLED, “SNOW EMERGENCY, PARKING BAN,” Third Reading, Safety Committee. Mr. Smith moved to adopt; Mrs. Sanders 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.
C. ORDINANCE 2008-62, “AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND CHAPTER 618 OF THE PICKERINGTON CODIFIED ORDINANCES TO BETTER PROTECT THE CITY’S RESIDENTS FROM DANGEROUS ANIMALS,” Third Reading, Safety Committee. Mr. Smith moved to adopt; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 7-0.
10. OTHER BUSINESS:
Mayor O’Brien stated Mr. Rick Curnutte of Volunteer Energy was present to answer any questions anyone might have with regard to the issue of natural gas aggregation. He stated this is basically the opportunity for the City to choose, if it passes on the ballot on November 4th, to elect a natural gas supplier for all residents of the City. He stated many cities throughout Ohio have had both electric and natural gas aggregations pass and are participating and saving their constituents money. He stated being passed at the ballot did not mean that the City had to do a program; if you do not get a better deal than Columbia Gas of Ohio can provide then you do not have to move forward.
Mrs. Hammond stated she would like Mrs. Fersch to address the issue of the notes she had referred to during her report. Mrs. Fersch stated during the Budget Work Session the amounts we would pay as principal on the notes was discussed. She stated since we will need to have the first reading on the note renewals before the results of the tax issue are known we were going to use a not to exceed figure. She stated in doing this our bond counsel had asked what we were going to do with the two utility notes because at one time we talked about going to revenue issues in 2009 or 2010 in order to free up some capacity for borrowing if we have any major projects in the future. She continued that if we do this the best way would be through OWDA because it will cost less than going out for revenue issues. She stated, however, we could roll the notes for one more year and we are going out early, in January, so if we do not get bids we can come back and decide what to do. Mr. Wisniewski clarified that we would have to accept the full amount of the notes. Mrs. Fersch stated as she understood from our bond counsel if we put the offering out for $8 million worth of note issue, and they bid on that in good faith, you do have to accept that. Mr. Fix stated as he understood it the interest rate on notes is considerably lower than it would probably be on the OWDA loan, and based on that, he felt that for at least 2009 we should roll these into a note which gives us flexibility on how much we pay and also allows us to pay a lower interest rate until we have a better handle on our long term debt situation and we know more about our income situation. He stated he thought there were a few too many variables out there to have us lock ourselves in on a certain payment for so many years at a higher interest rate. Mrs. Fersch stated if that is how Council feels, she will relay that to our bond counsel. Mr. Hansley stated he would like a motion of Council on this issue. Mr. Fix moved to take the issues Mrs. Fersch had brought before Council this evening and continue them in notes for 2009; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Smith, Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 7-0.
Mayor O’Brien asked if the Victory Park playground status could be posted on our web site and Mr. Hansley stated it was supposed to be started yet this week, and we will put it on the web site.
11. MOTIONS:
Mr. Sabatino stated it was his understanding that it is a matter of weeks not months before the ODOT traffic count is complete. Mr. Sabatino moved that the question of right turn on red between 4:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M. at S.R. 256 and S.R. 204 be returned to Safety Committee for further consideration after receiving the input from the ODOT traffic count; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Fix, Mr. Smith, Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 7-0.
12. ADJOURNMENT. There
being nothing further, Mr. Fix moved to adjourn; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Mr.
Sabatino, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Smith, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Fix, and Mrs.
Sanders voted “Aye.” Motion carried,
7-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:05
P.M., October 21, 2008.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
_______________________________
Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk
ATTEST:
_______________________________
Mitch O’Brien, Mayor