WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010

REGULAR MEETING

8:20 P.M.

1. ROLL CALL. Mrs. Hammond called the meeting to order at 8:20 P.M., with roll call as follows: Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, and Mr. Blair were present. No members were absent. Others present were Chief Mike Taylor, Lynda Yartin, Brian Sauer, Tricia Sanders, Brian Wisniewski, Ed Drobina, Lance Schultz, Chet Hopper, Steve Carr, Greg Bachman, and others.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF December 16, 2009, Regular Meeting. Mr. Blair moved to approve; Mr. Barletta seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond abstaining, and Mr. Blair and Mr. Barletta voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.

3. COMMUNITY COMMENTS: There were no comments.

4. COMMUNITY SAFETY CONCERNS: None.

Mrs. Hammond stated if there were no objections, she would skip to the Parks and Recreation Director’s Report at this time.

Mr. Carr stated he had provided a written report to the Committee and he would answer any questions anyone might have. Mr. Carr stated pending Council’s approval he would like to explore securing major sponsorship for the disc golf course, naming rights, in exchange for perhaps a landscape company providing the course maintenance. He stated what he had in mind would be “Company X Disc Golf Course at Simsbury Park...” He stated this would obviously be something he would want Safety Committee and full Council’s blessing on, but it would save major dollars in the budget and provide for a higher level of maintenance for the facility. Mr. Wisniewski inquired if this is something that is typically done outside of sports arenas, and Mr. Carr stated he felt cities and counties were getting more and more into this with tight budgets. Mr. Wisniewski stated he would not say he is opposed to this, but he would be a little concerned as to the process of choosing a sponsor without getting into problems such as discriminating against certain businesses, such as bars or whatever. Mr. Carr stated that was correct and we would probably do some sort of RFP to open it up for companies to give us proposals. He stated we would also need to develop criteria to have an appropriate business to sponsor this. Mr. Carr stated he would keep Safety informed on the progress of this issue.

5. POLICE:

A. Chief’s Report. Chief Taylor stated he had provided a written report and he would answer any questions.

(1) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance to accept a donation from Key Bank to be used for the City’s K-9 Program. Mrs. Hammond stated Key Bank has indicated they would like to donate $1,000 to the City’s K-9 Program. Mr. Barletta moved to adopt; Mr. Blair seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Barletta, Mrs. Hammond, and Mr. Blair voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

6. DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

A. Parks and Recreation:

(1) Director’s Report. Mrs. Hammond stated this was covered earlier in the meeting.

B. Code Enforcement:

(1) Code Enforcement Officer’s Report. Mr. Schultz stated a written report had been provided and he would be happy to answer any questions.

a. Code Enforcement Technology Update. Mrs. Hammond stated it appeared the new software was able to produce various types of reports and spreadsheets. Mr. Schultz stated as they become more familiar with the software and its abilities they will be able to produce tailored spreadsheets for code enforcement.

b. Review and discussion of Long Term Code Complaint Report. Mrs. Hammond stated with this report she did not see the necessity of continuing to have the Code Enforcement Officer attend Safety Committee meetings at this time. Mr. Schultz stated he would answer any questions anyone might have on the report.

C. Building Regulations Department:

(1) Building Department Report. Mrs. Hammond stated she would like to welcome Mr. Hopper, the City’s new Chief Building Official. Mr. Hopper stated he understood the Committee had received the monthly report for the Building Department.

(2) Chief Building Official’s Report (Mr. Hopper) Mrs. Hammond stated the report that has been provided to the Safety Committee contains a lot of graphs, etc., and she would like to see more of a narrative report that gives the information of how many permits have been issued, etc. Mr. Hopper stated he is still getting used to things having only been here a couple of weeks, but he would like to look into making some changes to provide more efficient customer service to the residents when they are getting residential replacement permits for items such as furnace replacement, hot water tanks, roofs, etc. Mrs. Hammond stated Council has been trying to shorten these processes and if Mr. Hopper needs anything from this Committee as far as Code amendments or whatever, please bring it to their attention. Mr. Wisniewski stated he agreed with Mrs. Hammond that Council would like staff to be proactive if they see issues in the City that slows down the process, or amendments to the Code, that they bring it forward so it can be dealt with.

D. Service Department:

(1) Diley Road speed limit survey – Update. Mr. Bachman stated he has not had a chance to do the speed study as yet due to the weather, but he hoped to have something by next month.

Mr. Bachman stated he has been working on issues with the traffic signal at S.R. 256 and Stonecreek and that should be taken care of shortly. He stated there was also an equipment problem at S.R. 256 and Refugee and the amplifier for the loop detector was replaced.

(2) Review and request for motion to approve draft resolution approving the update to the Coshocton, Fairfield, Licking, and Perry County Solid Waste District Management Plan. Mr. Drobina stated by law the Plan must be updated every five years and in order for it to be ratified it must be passed by townships or municipalities representing 60 percent of the population. Mr. Drobina stated this update will increase the disposal fees from $1.00 to $1.25 per ton and it will also generate a new fee called a “generation fee” of $2.00 per ton. He stated if this passes effective January 21, 2011, the trash rates will go up $.23 per month per customer. Mr. Fix stated the increase is actually from $1.00 per ton to $3.25 per ton. Mr. Drobina stated with the new generation fee that is correct. Mr. Drobina stated the generation fee is the result of waste flows from Franklin County decreasing in 2010 and ceasing completely in subsequent years. Mr. Drobina stated if any council member would like a copy of the complete Plan he will provide it to them on disc. Mr. Fix stated he could not see the justification for a 325 percent increase without someone from the district at least coming to explain it to the Committee. Mr. Blair moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Barletta seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Blair and Mr. Barletta voting “Nay,” and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.” Motion failed, 1-2. Mrs. Yartin stated this would be forwarded to Council as Not Recommended.

7. CHAIRMAN:

A. Mrs. Hammond stated it seems like it has become awkward to have meetings scheduled back to back. She stated it did not seem fair to staff members who have to wait through meetings for the next meeting, or to the people who want to come in and address the Committees because they do not know what time to show up. She stated she would like to know if the Committee members would like to find another time for Safety Committee. Mr. Blair stated currently Safety follows Service and Service begins at 6:30 P.M. Mr. Blair stated he liked the schedule the way it was and Mr. Barletta stated he liked the stacked meetings as well, although he agreed it was inconvenient if someone wants to address Safety Committee. Mr. Wisniewski stated he did not foresee the Service Committee lasting more than an hour very often and if Safety Committee wanted to set their time at 7:30 P.M. if Service has not been completed they could adjourn and reassemble after the Safety Committee. Mr. Blair and Mr. Barletta stated they would be fine with that.

8. OTHER BUSINESS:

A. Review and discussion regarding prohibiting texting while driving. Mrs. Hammond stated she would like to continue this on the agenda until the next meeting when Mr. Hartmann will attend and bring all of the latest updates on this issue.

9. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Blair moved to adjourn; Mr. Barletta seconded the motion. Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, and Mr. Blair voted "Aye." Motion carried, 3-0. The Safety Committee adjourned at 8:58 P.M., January 20, 2010.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk