MONDAY, JULY 20, 2009

REGULAR MEETING

7:00 P.M.

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Sabatino called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M., with roll call as follows: Mr. Sabatino and Mr. Sauer were present. Mrs. Sanders was absent as she was on vacation. Others present were Mayor O’Brien, Jeff Fix, Cristie Hammond, Brian Wisniewski, Tim Hansley, Lynda Yartin, Chief Mike Taylor, Don Phillips, Paul Lane, Lance Schultz, Ed Drobina, Brenda VanCleave, Greg Bachman, Danny Mahaffey, Larry Jones, Carol Carter, Doug Blake, Rachel Blake, and others.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF June 17, 2009, Regular Meeting. Mr. Sauer moved to approve; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.

3. COMMUNITY COMMENTS: There were no comments.

4. COMMUNITY SAFETY CONCERNS: There were no safety concerns.

5. DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

A. Parks and Recreation:

(1) Director’s Report. Mr. Hansley stated Mr. Carr was not present due to the change in the meeting date, but he had presented a written report for the Committee. Mr. Sabatino stated Mr. Carr’s report contained information about the July 4^th celebration and questioned if these were the final numbers and Mr. Hansley stated he thought they were. Mr. Sabatino stated as this was a joint celebration with the Township and it looked like we made a little money. He stated he wondered if the City considered sharing the money with the other participant. Mr. Hansley stated the only thing that was not included in the report was the cost of the $700 staffing costs. Mr. Sabatino questioned why that cost was not included and Mr. Hansley stated it was just that in the past we have never shown that as a cost of the festival. Mr. Hansley stated Mr. Carr had two full time and two part time people that worked a total of 40 hours at a cost of $700. Mr. Sauer stated perhaps they could make a motion that any amount of money that exceeded our expenses that would show as a profit be split 50-50 with the township. Mr. Sabatino stated it was presented as a joint celebration with the Township and with the small amount of money involved he thought it would be a good gesture. Mr. Sauer moved to recommend to Council that anything that exceeded the actual expense of the complete July 4^th event be split down the middle and reimbursed to the Township, with the Township receiving 50 percent and the City retaining 50 percent; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sauer and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.

B. Code Enforcement:

(1) Code Enforcement Officer’s Report. Mr. Sabatino stated the Committee had received a written report from the Code Enforcement Officer and ascertained there were no questions regarding this report. Mr. Sauer questioned if the report could contain geographically in the City where most of the complaints were occurring so problem areas could be identified. He stated with that information Council could see if there was anything they could do “policy-wise” to help with that effort. Mr. Mahaffey stated he could start doing something similar to a map with pins only mark it and code it for the different type of violations. Mr. Mahaffey stated he does receive calls about issues that do not turn into violations and questioned if the Committee would like to have the number of calls for the different areas, and Mr. Sauer stated he thought that would be good information because it would indicate areas where residents are getting sensitive to issues.

a. Review and discussion regarding Code Enforcement Procedures. Mr. Sabatino stated after the last Safety meeting he had the opportunity to speak with Mr. Hansley and agreed that Mr. Mahaffey would attend tonight’s meeting to explain his process to the Committee and also provide a copy of his log and his last three month’s of activity. Mr. Mahaffey stated he had a listing of the vacant homes in the City, and he did not bring a copy of every call he had received in the past three months. Mr. Sabatino questioned if Mr. Mahaffey had a copy of his log, and Mr. Hansley stated he thought what the Committee was looking for was the number of complaints, where they were, the status of all the complaints for the last three months indicating the activity level for the last three months. Mr. Sabatino stated also what the Committee was trying to get a handle on was the process used so they could follow complaints along through the system. Mr. Mahaffey provided an information sheet on the complaint driven system to the Committee and stated he was prepared to go over how many calls and what type of calls he receives. He stated he had misunderstood about bringing the paperwork to the meeting this evening. Mr. Sabatino stated he wanted to make it clear what this Committee would like to have, and this is:

1. To see the call log; how things are logged into the system of Code Enforcement for the City, and

2. The activity that has happened during April, May, and June so they can see how something is dealt with once it comes in.

Mr. Sabatino stated obviously Mr. Mahaffey was not prepared to deal with that this evening so he would ask that he bring it to next month’s meeting. Mr. Mahaffey stated the log is an excel program and the phone log is handwritten and note the name and what the call concerns. Mr. Sauer questioned if there were a status attached with the log as well. Mr. Sabatino stated what they wanted to see was when things came into the system, and how it progresses through the system. Mr. Mahaffey stated he understood they wanted the tracking and he would have that at the next meeting. Mr. Sabatino questioned if a specific program was used for this system, and Mr. Mahaffey stated it was the regular Excel program. Mr. Sabatino stated an example of what he was looking for was if someone called in on April 14^th with a complaint on grass, then on April 16^th the complaint was acknowledged, April 20^th a sticker was posted on the door, April 26^th we cut the grass, and April 28^th we billed the property owner. Mr. Sabatino questioned if that was something that would be readily available and Mr. Mahaffey stated he has it in his files, but it is not in a database. Mr. Mahaffey stated he keeps the information in files by address so he can see if the problem continues from year to year. Mr. Hansley questioned what documents Mr. Mahaffey could give the Committee to assess the volume of activity for a three-month period; would he give them 50 files? Mr. Sabatino stated they wanted to see the process the complaints go through. Mr. Fix stated he thought the question was were we successful and how we manage that, how do we track it and how do we measure it. He stated if there is a process in place to do that, that’s great they want to understand it, and if there is not a process in place then one should be created. Mr. Sabatino stated we need to identify what we need to get us to where we should be. Mr. Sauer stated it seemed there would be some sort of software out there for a City to operate a Code Enforcement Program that would schedule it, that would track it, etc. Mr. Hansley stated there is software out there for not just this type of complaint but for any complaint the City receives, but the cost is about $14,000 for a city our size. Mr. Sabatino stated this Committee is just trying to figure out what we are doing now and what the next logical step would be because we do want to have accountability in our system so that if someone has an issue with how we are doing something then we can demonstrate the flow of how things are dealt with. Mr. Hansley stated in the three years he has been in charge of code enforcement/property maintenance, he has received no complaints about our ability to track complaints as far as someone complaining about the system of complaints. He stated we have focused on getting grass mowed, trash picked up, and things like that. He stated he has had no complaints nor has anyone shown up at Council saying the system of how we get compliance isn’t working. He stated he was not sure that would be the next thing he would spend $14,000 on. He stated he would rather hire a couple of part-time people in the summer time to actually enforce the complaints. Mr. Sabatino stated Mr. Hansley may not have received complaints, but he has and he was sure other council members have. Mr. Sauer stated he still wanted to know the process. Mr. Mahaffey stated when a complaint comes in, he goes and views it to see if it is a violation, then as the process goes through for posting notification, giving an adequate amount of time, sending it to Service for grass cutting, etc. Mr. Sauer stated then somewhere in the records Mr. Mahaffey was keeping track of when something is resolved so something isn’t slipping through the cracks. Mr. Mahaffey stated that was correct. Mr. Sauer stated what he did not want to receive 500 folders on complaints, but what he would be interested in would be getting something that lays out what the process is, what complaints we have received in total, how many are still outstanding, and how many have been resolved for the last three months, and of the ones that are outstanding how long they have been outstanding. Mr. Hansley stated where the public can get frustrated is that a lot of complaints do not result in a violation because they are complaining about something for which we do not have a code that makes it a violation. He stated, for instance, this afternoon someone complained because their neighbor had 50 bags of mulch in their driveway, and we have no code that says you can’t do that. Mr. Hansley stated all complaints get to Mr. Mahaffey and he will do a drive-by to see if there is a violation. Mr. Sauer stated he would still keep track of that as a call that is resolved because it is unfounded. Mr. Sabatino stated if there is no violation the complainant is contacted and informed of that. Mr. Hansley stated very seldom do we go back to the person who complained to give them the status because that status could change and we don’t have the staffing to go back to let them know the five or six places it may be in the process. Mr. Mahaffey stated there are times that he does contact the complainant and let them know if there are extenuating circumstances or whatever. Mr. Hansley stated when the complaint comes in by e-mail we have started sending an acknowledgement of the receipt of their complaint. Mr. Mahaffey stated he during this time of year it is not unusual for him to get six to eight calls a day.

Mayor O’Brien stated we think we have a process, we think it is on a spreadsheet, and we think it works. He stated we have no way to measure that and we have no accountability. Mayor O’Brien stated we are accountable to the people and we have to come up with a way to close the loop on that, to offer back some accountability and tell that person we got their complaint other than that they notice to grass got cut. He stated what about the car sitting there with no license plate and four flat tires that has been there since last year. Mayor O’Brien stated he felt the people that paid our salaries certainly deserve some sort of feedback to say it is not a code violation or it is and here’s what we’ve done. He stated whatever it takes we need to come up with some accountability to the residents that made these complaints and anything less than that is just shirking our duties. Mayor O’Brien stated this must be a transparent process that is very easy to understand, the residents have to be able to find out the status and we need to explore all of our options.

Mr. Doug Blake stated he is a little confused and he assumed by what was said tonight that there is a pretty simple process from a call to completion that might be four or five steps. He stated he felt Mr. Mahaffey should be able to say the call comes in, it is logged, he contacts the violation, etc. Mr. Blake stated he would question what a violation is, is it what is in the code book or is it what someone deems is a violation. Mr. Blake stated he believed it was what was in the code book. Mr. Hansley stated if we went out and wrote a violation for everything that is in the code, if we enforced the code to the letter, we would fill this room every Tuesday night from now until the end of time. Mr. Sabatino stated if we do not have a written policy on how we handle complaints perhaps Mr. Mahaffey could create one in the winter season when things are slower, but we still need to acknowledge a complaint when we receive it, no matter what form it comes in. Mr. Hansley stated he did not disagree with that, but the problem would be that a response is not usually one phone call. Mr. Sabatino stated he felt it would be reasonable to have a policy that every complaint is acknowledged within 48 hours, and Mr. Hansley stated he did not disagree with that. Mr. Sabatino also stated he felt it would be easy to put three or four typical types of complaints on the web site and do an illustrated example of the steps these complaints go through. He stated with that general information people would have an idea of what happened and give them an idea that if they made a call today how long it would take to deal with it. Mr. Blake stated he agreed that he did not feel anyone was advocating holding the hand all the way through the process on every complaint there is. Mr. Blake stated he cares about this City as much as anyone in this room, he is on Planning and Zoning, and he does whatever he can for the good of the community. He stated by no means was he trying to front anyone out on what they are doing with their job, but it just seems there is no clear, defined process and procedure, a check and balance, from a code enforcement standpoint to know what starts with a call or an e-mail to the end result. Mr. Blake stated he felt if the residents could just know the process and procedure, a flow chart from front to back, he felt it would be a lot easier for everyone including the members of this Committee. Mr. Fix stated if he understood it correctly, Mr. Hansley’s definition of success is that the issues get resolved one way or another. He further stated he thought Safety Committee’s definition of success is that the person who made the complaint knows it gets done or knows where it is in the process. Mr. Fix stated if Council can define their definition of success then they could charge the City Manager, Code Enforcement Officer or whoever else, with reporting to Council on a regular basis how successful they are against how Council has defined success and how it is to be measured. Mr. Sabatino stated he felt this was an issue that needed to be dealt with in Safety Committee and any recommendations from Safety Committee go on to Council. Mr. Fix stated that is what he meant; however Safety Committee defined success. Mr. Hansley stated he felt that at a minimum the complaints that came in and resulted in a process not being started because it was not a violation should be contacted and notified of that. Mr. Sabatino stated he would still like to see the information he had requested earlier and that would be a good place to start. He stated he would also like to see a chart of expectations or something on two or three different types of complaints that show the process the complaints go through. He stated he wanted it reflected that he was not advocating that we hold everyone’s hand through every complaint and call them every time that something happens. Mr. Hansley stated he was also assuming Mr. Sabatino was not advocating that we go out and write up every violation that we can possibly find that does not meet our code book. Mr. Sabatino stated that is correct. Mr. Sauer stated as he understood it we would respond with a phone call if it is not a violation and basically when a complaint comes in if they send it by e-mail they get a response by e-mail and if they call it in we could have a short form letter mailed out that briefly lays out what the process is and what to expect. Mr. Hansley stated that is almost exactly the notes he has taken based on the conversation tonight. Mr. Sauer stated further we would be updating the web site to give a flow chart of how the process goes, and Mr. Hansley stated he agreed with Mr. Sabatino’s suggestion of taking the typical ones and saying how those are handled. Mr. Sauer stated if something does not get taken care of, falls through the cracks for instance, who would be the ultimate accountable person for that, would it be the Code Enforcement Officer or what. Mr. Hansley stated it would depend on where the ball got dropped. Mr. Sauer ascertained that the process he had just laid out would help alleviate some of the concerns they have. Mr. Blake stated it definitely would. Mr. Blake stated his concern was there were very definite code violations that have been reported and have not been addressed. Mr. Hansley stated he would request Mr. Blake come and meet with him and show him these violations and if they are a violation and have been there for a year then we’ll take care of it. Mr. Blake stated further the question tonight was what is the process, and even after all of the conversation he still does not know what that process is. Mr. Hansley stated Mr. Mahaffey will do the best he can to provide the committee with what they are asking for at the next meeting.

C. Building Regulations Department:

(1) Building Department Report (Mr. Lane) Mr. Lane stated he had provided a written report and he would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Sabatino stated the report used to show the activity for the month as well as the year to date numbers and the monthly numbers were no longer included. Mr. Lane stated he could include that information in his report.

(2) Chief Building Official’s Report (Mr. Phillips) Mr. Phillips stated he had provided a written report and he would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Sabatino stated he did like the 18-month charts better than the 12-month charts.

a. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance amending the Pickerington Codified Ordinances, Chapter 1444, entitled “Registration of Contractors.” Mr. Sabatino stated he felt we should deal with registration of activity that requires a permit from the City. He stated he would question if there were some reason for requiring registration for items that do not require intervention from the City by a permit. Mr. Phillips stated they were just looking for a way to increase the number of registrants as this Committee requested to increase the amount of revenue being generated by registration of contractors. Mr. Sabatino stated the idea there was to put some of the burden on the people who would be benefiting from doing the work. Mr. Sabatino further stated he would like to see us deal with this on the basis of requiring a contractor that needs to get a permit to register and those that do not require a permit would not be required to register. He stated an example that he didn’t feel should have to register with the City would be the individual doing the asphalt sealing on driveways, but he would be defined as an asphalt contractor. He further stated he had a question where it required general liability and property damage insurance with a minimum coverage of $300,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 for property damage. He stated he contacted his insurance agent and there is no such thing as bodily injury for general liability. Mr. Hansley stated that is not a proposed change so that might be a question for our law director and we would have him check that. Mr. Lane stated he felt Mr. Sabatino was correct and it should read only general liability, but he thought the $50,000 figure was incorrect and that should be $500,000. Mr. Sabatino stated he would propose that in Section 1444.02 in lieu of “performing” the wording be “whose work requires a permit issued by the City of Pickerington to perform….” He stated he would propose that same language be included in the section 5 defining a general contractor and Section (c)(1), and delete the bold print language Examples. Mr. Sabatino further stated he felt section (3) should be deleted and in (f) regarding revocation of registration certificate it should be clear as to who the Inspector is. Mr. Sabatino stated he would like to see a new draft of the ordinance for the next Safety Committee meeting. Mr. Blake inquired how the contractors would know they had to register with the City and Mr. Lane stated this information is on the City’s website, and as people come in for permits they are informed of the requirement for registration. Mr. Hansley stated we would also try to get the word out through trade associations, etc. Mr. Phillips clarified this is for registration only, and Mr. Sabatino stated he was just looking for consistency between registration and inspections. Mr. Phillips stated to summarize the Committee was requesting that Section 1444.02 be left as it is on the draft; page 2 (5) leave as it is in the draft, leave the expanded definition of plumbing contractors to include hydronics contractors, add the fire protection contractor, restore (c)(1) to the way it was in the original ordinance; (3) examples of people who are not required to be registered should remain; page 3, work on the general liability and property insurance paragraph, leave the three new paragraphs C., D., and E as shown in the draft ordinance, and in (f) change “the Inspector” to read “Chief Building Official.” Mr. Sabatino stated that did summarize what they wanted.

D. Service Department:

(1) Review and discussion regarding restricting right turns on red at S.R. 256 and S.R. 204. Mr. Bachman stated he would be in favor of a no turn on red during restricted hours and he would recommend those hours be 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. Mr. Sabatino stated the Committee had received a copy of ODOT’s letter on this issue as well. Mr. Hansley stated a motion from Safety Committee to amend the traffic control map would be the required action on this. Mr. Sabatino moved to authorize installation of signage for no right turn on red for southbound S.R. 256 onto Tussing Road during the hours of 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M., Monday through Friday, and to amend the Traffic Control Map to reflect this signage; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.

(2) Review and discussion regarding traffic signage at Sycamore Creek and Fairfield Drive intersection. Mr. Bachman stated we have a situation with a three-legged intersection with Sycamore Creek being the throughway. He stated there are currently stop signs both ways on Sycamore Creek, but Fairfield Drive that Ts into it does not have a stop sign. He stated he would recommend we make all three legs of that stop, so he would recommend adding a “Stop” sign on westbound Fairfield Drive at the intersection with Sycamore Creek, and to add “All Way” signs to the bottom of all the stop signs at the intersection. Mr. Sauer moved to authorize the addition of a “Stop” sign on westbound Fairfield Drive and to add “All Way” signs to the bottom of all the stops signs at that intersection and to amend the Traffic Control Map to reflect this signage; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sauer and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.

6. POLICE:

A. Chief’s Report. Chief Taylor stated he had provided his report to the Committee and he would be happy to answer any questions.

(1) Review and discussion regarding request for No Parking signs on East Church Street. Mr. Bachman stated at the request of this Committee last month he had looked at this and the road is fairly narrow. He stated his recommendation would be to restrict parking to just one side of the road and since there are no residences on the north side of the road his recommendation would be to install no parking signs on the south side of East Church Street from Center Street to East Street. Chief Taylor stated he concurred with Mr. Bachman’s recommendation. Mr. Sauer moved to authorize the installation of “No Parking” signs on the south side of Each Church Street from Center Street to East Street, and to amend the Traffic Control Map to reflect this signage; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sauer and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.

Mr. Hansley stated he and Mayor O’Brien had met with the Olde Pickerington Village Business Association and they asked that we look into the stripping in front of the new Park Alley Tavern, and he had asked Mr. Bachman to look into this situation. Mr. Bachman stated he had reviewed this area and he would be recommending approximately 50 to 60 feet back from the intersection to not allow parking and then have stripped off parking spaces in front of the restaurant. He stated he would also like to create a 50 to 60 foot long left turn lane and right turn lane if you are southbound on Center Street. Mr. Hansley stated if everyone is in agreement with the changes it will be on the agenda for the next Safety Committee meeting.

7. CHAIRMAN:

A. Mr. Sabatino stated he had nothing further for discussion.

8. OTHER BUSINESS. No other business was brought forward.

9. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Sabatino moved to adjourn; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Mr. Sabatino and Mr. Sauer voted "Aye." Motion carried, 2-0. The Safety Committee adjourned at 9:20 P.M., July 20, 2009.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk