WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010

REGULAR MEETING

6:00 P.M.

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Wisniewski called the meeting to order at 6:00 P.M., with roll call as follows: Mr. Blair, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sauer and Mr. Wisniewski were present. Mrs. Sanders arrived at 6:12 P.M. Others present were Mayor O’Brien, Chief Taylor, Lynda Yartin, Chris Schornack, Linda Fersch, Greg Bachman, Mark Matthews, Dan Heitmeyer, and others.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF December 2, 2009, Regular Meeting. Mr. Fix moved to approve; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Blair, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Sauer, and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 6-0.

3. FINANCE DEPARTMENT.

A. Finance Director’s Report. Mr. Schornack stated he had provided a written report and he would answer any questions. Mr. Schornack further stated our notes were sold today and the interest rate came in at .587 percent for the $8.562 million borrowing.

B. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance amending the 2010 appropriation, Ordinance 2009-91. Mr. Schornack reviewed the proposed appropriation ordinance and stated in the Public Information Department we had originally budgeted $20,000 for the year for the contract with Governing Dynamics and their contract came in at $23,500, so he needs an additional $3,500 for that. He further stated we were unaware that an agreement had been made with Pickerington Magazine for $6,900 and we had budgeted $2,300, which was our payment the previous year, so he was requesting an additional $4,600 for that. Mr. Fix inquired who had made that agreement, and Mr. Schornack stated as far as he was aware, there was not a signed agreement but Mr. Hansley, the former manager, had agreed to purchase six, two page articles. Mr. Wisniewski stated it might be a good idea to talk to Governing Dynamics to determine if that is an effective mechanism for distributing information to the community or not. Mr. Fix asked if Chief Taylor would have that conversation with Governing Dynamics and Chief Taylor stated he would. Mrs. Hammond questioned if we arbitrarily decided on Governing Dynamics or did we did a search of any kind. Mr. Fix and Mr. Wisniewski stated this had been discussed last year. Mr. Schornack stated the contract being discussed is for six months, so that would be the entire budget. Mr. Fix clarified that this was a six month contract for $23,500. Mr. Blair clarified the $20,000 budgeted was for the entire year. Mayor O’Brien stated we had asked them for a schedule for what they would do and when and to keep the cost down they stopped at 180 hours. Mrs. Hammond stated perhaps she was confused, but she thought we were hiring someone to be our public information officer, not full time, but on a yearly basis. Mr. Sauer stated he knew there were discussions, but he was expecting something a little more in-depth. He stated he had assumed Governing Dynamics would have been a player in this, but he would like to see some offers from some other organizations to see if this was even in the ballpark of what others would offer us as well. Mayor O’Brien stated Governing Dynamics is already performing work. Mr. Sauer further clarified this is a City Manager hire. Mr. Wisniewski requested Mrs. Yartin to distribute a copy of this contract to all Committee members. Mr. Schornack stated with regard to the remaining appropriations, in the Development Department $60,000 had been budgeted for this position and additional funds are needed based upon hiring that individual at $68,000. Mr. Wisniewski inquired where the $68,000 salary came from and Mrs. Fersch provided a listing of Director of Development salary ranges from Mid-Ohio Development. Mr. Wisniewski clarified that Mrs. Fersch understood it was Council’s desire to hire a Director of Development and this must be in place prior to hiring an individual. Mr. Sauer stated with regard to the Governing Dynamics contract it is probably safe to say we will need another $23,500 for the second half of the year. Mr. Wisniewski stated that would depend on what we needed the second half of the year to work off of the strategic plan. Mr. Fix stated we would probably need additional funds, but in looking through the contract timeline there were a lot of things that would be done at the beginning but would just be on-going through the year. Mr. Sauer stated he did not have a problem with them doing it; he would just like an idea of what it would cost for the second half of the year for them to continue working with us. He stated his assumption was that we would hire someone for the full year, and he understood there were a lot of things in this contract that are get-off-the-ground type things to get it started, but we would still need some sort of consultant for the rest of the year to tweak it or whatever. Mr. Fix stated he thought it made sense to allow them the opportunity to do all of the front-loaded work to get the structure in place, and then in June assess what the second half of the year will look like. He stated he agreed with Mr. Sauer that we would need some amount of money set aside for the second half of the year. Mr. Sauer stated he would suggest putting another $15,000 in the category just to be on the safe side, so we know it is there. Mr. Wisniewski clarified Mr. Sauer would rather earmark it now, and Mr. Sauer stated that was correct, and he would suggest an additional $12,500 be included. Mr. Schornack clarified that the Committee would like to increase the Public Information Contractual Services by an additional $12,500 to the requested $3,500. Mr. Wisniewski then stated with regard to the $4,600 for the Pickerington Magazine, he would recommend leaving the appropriation in until Chief Taylor has an opportunity to speak with Governing Dynamics to see if this is a good communication tool. He stated if it is determined we do not want to use the magazine the funds can be removed. Mr. Fix stated he would agree with that, however, he would like to ensure we would not spend the money until we got some word that it was a good communication tool. Mr. Sauer moved to approve the draft appropriation ordinance and forward to Council with the changes just agreed upon; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sauer, Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mr. Blair voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 7-0.

4. PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT.

A. Personnel Director’s Report. Mrs. Fersch stated she had provided a report to the Committee and she would answer any questions. Mrs. Fersch stated as the Committee had indicated earlier they would like to proceed with the Economic Development Director she would be bringing the pay plan forward to amend the hiring range. She stated she had provided the current position description for the Committee to review and she would be adding duties as assigned by the manager so they would be assisting the manager. She stated she had not completed that job description as yet and she would forward it out when it was completed.

B. Review and discussion of proposed revisions to the Employee Manual. Mrs. Fersch stated at the last meeting the Committee had asked her to research vacation pay out and carry over. She stated she had provided the Committee with the policies of surrounding communities. Mrs. Fersch stated allowing the carryover a large sum of vacation is a liability to the City and we need to go back to at least the 1.5 times annual accrual instead of 2 times the annual accrual. Mr. Fix clarified that this change was reflected in the amended Policy and Procedural Manual the Committee had received. Mrs. Fersch stated there are some communities that do pay out vacation, and currently we do have a section that allows an employee who cannot use their vacation to request council, with the concurrence of the City Manager, to pay out vacation that cannot be used. Mr. Fix clarified then that the Policy and Procedure Manual that would be going to Council has the change in the amount of vacation carry over and the ability of council to pay out vacation on a case by case basis. Mrs. Fersch stated this will result in several employees having quite a bit of vacation they will have to use this year. Mr. Fix stated it appeared there were three options for these employees; they will either take a great deal of time off, lose their vacation, or come before Council and request a payout because they cannot take a great deal of time. Mr. Sauer questioned what our liability on this would be and Mrs. Fersch stated she is working on that now. Mr. Fix stated he would recommend for this year instead of automatically letting someone take a great deal of time off, they as their supervisor for time off, if the supervisor says no, they can come before council and request a payout. He stated he felt it would all be settled by the end of the year. Mr. Sauer stated he would still like to see the dollar figure of the City’s liability. Mr. Schornack stated it is generally the employees who have been with the city for a long period of time who can currently carryover 352 hours, and this would cut that down to 256. He stated we would be looking at roughly 90 to 100 hours that we would be paying out. Mr. Schornack stated he did not feel it would affect a lot of people, but there are a few who do not get to use their vacation. Mr. Fix stated he would like to get the real number before this is moved on to Council and asked if Mrs. Fersch could have that information by the next meeting. Mrs. Sanders stated she would like this continued on the agenda for the next meeting.

5. CHAIRMAN:

A. Strategic Plan Goals – Update. Mrs. Sanders stated she had a brief conversation with Governing Dynamics and it is time to start putting the Plan into action, and although we do not have a City Manager in place, there are several things that can be done to get it moving. She stated she would be meeting with the Mayor and Committee Chair people to align the Strategic Plan goals with the Committees and see how that can start moving forward. Mr. Fix stated one of the things mentioned was that other communities who have aligned their Committees to meet the Plan rather than having the Plan meet their Committees are more successful. He stated in Rules Committee he would like to begin discussion about amending the Administrative Code and possible restructuring our Committees.

B. Technology Assessment Subcommittee – Update. Mayor O’Brien stated two of the subcommittee members have been called to other duties with the City Manager search, so they have not met as yet.

6. OTHER BUSINESS:

A. Pickerington Local School District Board Meeting – Update. Mrs. Sanders stated she had met with the Superintendent and would be meeting with her again this week. She stated the last Board meeting was very brief.

B. Review and discussion regarding Violet Festival contribution request. Mrs. Sanders stated the Committee had received a copy of the request from the Violet Festival. Mr. Mark Matthews stated he is the representing the Violet Festival Board and they are looking for a partnership with the City. He stated they need monetary help to keep this entity going, and they feel the festival is a showcase for the City. He stated the Festival also contributes back to entities in the community such as the school board boosters, Boy Scouts, churches, the food pantry, and the DARE program. He stated they were asking for a contribution of $12,500 and they also need help with use of the gators, and other things to put on the event that the City has access to that they cannot get without your help. Mr. Fix inquired who else they were asking for donations from, and Mr. Matthews stated they have sponsorships from various businesses in the community. Mr. Matthews stated they have also requested a contribution from Violet Township and they have agreed to a contribution. Mr. Fix inquired if there was a financial statement on how the Festival did last year, and Mr. Matthews stated they did have a surplus going into last year but due to the lack of funding from the City and the economic times they ran a deficit. He stated they still have a very small surplus in their budget, under $5,000, and it is imperative that they get funds to move this event forward. Mr. Wisniewski clarified the deficit last year was approximately $19,800. Mr. Sauer inquired if the Board had ever considered charging admission to the Festival and Mr. Matthews stated that is on their agenda to consider. Mr. Fix stated if he recalled the City set aside $40,000 in the budget for all of these types of donations for the year. He stated he would advocate trying to get the word out so that everyone who was going to ask for money in 2010 make that request now so we know how much people will be asking for before a large portion of that amount is set aside for one group. Mr. Matthews stated within the next 30 days they have to book acts, pay for tents, arrange utilities, and these are a lot of contracts that require a deposit be put down. Mr. Wisniewski clarified Violet Township had agreed to a contribution of $5,000. Mr. Wisniewski further stated he felt it was important to keep the Festival going and he would suggest the City set aside $5,000 for this and next month when we get the requests from the other entities, we evaluate if that amount can be increased or not. Mr. Fix stated then by the February Finance meeting we should know what other groups were going to request contributions and in what amount. Mr. Wisniewski moved to amend the appropriation ordinance to allocate $5,000 for the Violet Festival; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Blair, Mr. Fix, and Mr. Barletta voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 7-0.

C. Notification of fee schedule change to reflect water and sewer rates for 2010. Mrs. Sanders clarified this was the required notification to Finance Committee of a change to the Fee Schedule

D. Request for motion to authorize the City Manager to sign an Engagement Letter with Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, LLP, regarding Homestead Development Company, LLC. Mrs. Sanders stated the Committee had received this from the law director. Mr. Fix stated there was a group requesting a TIF and they were informed they would pay our attorney fees if they want to do a TIF and Benesch Friedlander is our TIF attorney. Mr. Fix stated this basically acknowledges they will pay our attorney for TIF prep work. Mr. Schultz stated several months ago when the Ebright development of a soccer facility was discussed at P&Z they requested a TIF in the development agreement. He stated when this was submitted to P&Z it was determined the development agreement would be reviewed by our TIF attorney. Mr. Wisniewski stated then is strictly for them to review what the developer is proposing. Mr. Schultz stated that was correct and the attorney would provide their findings to staff and staff would present it to Finance Committee for any decisions. Mrs. Sanders moved to authorize the City Manager to sign the Engagement Letter as presented; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Fix, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Blair, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 7-0.

7. MOTIONS:

A. Motion for Executive Session under Section 121.22(G)(1)b, Matters involving an employee’s or public official’s employment, Section 121.22(G)(2), Purchase or sale of public property, Section 121.22(G)(3), Conference with law director regarding pending or imminent court action, and Section 121.22(G)(4), Matters involving bargaining sessions with public employees. Mrs. Sanders stated an executive session was not necessary this evening.

8. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Fix moved to adjourn; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Blair, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Sanders voted "Aye." Motion carried, 7-0. The Finance Committee adjourned at 6:55 P.M., January 20, 2010.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk