SERVICE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2010

REGULAR MEETING

6:30 P.M.

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Wisniewski called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M., with Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mr. Sauer present. No members were absent. Others present were: Mayor O’Brien, Lynda Yartin, Ed Drobina, Greg Bachman, Lance Schultz, Susan Crotty, Tony Barletta, Gavin Blair, Trisha Sanders, Chet Hopper, Aaron Underhill, Alexa Liebert, Doug Matty, Jim Ebright, Rachel Scofield, James Lipnos, Tory Kramer, Alan Cozmyk, and others.

Mr. Wisniewski moved to amend the agenda to remove Item 9.A., regarding extension of Marie Avenue; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Fix, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF February 17, 2010, Regular Meeting. Mr. Fix moved to approve; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sauer and Mr. Wisniewski, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

3. COMMUNITY COMMENTS: There were no comments.

4. DEVELOPMENT:

A. Development Director’s Report. Ms Crotty stated she had provided a written report and she would be glad to answer any questions. Ms Crotty stated she had also included in the report a few projects that she will be working on in the future. Mr. Wisniewski asked if Ms Crotty could explain a little about the grant application Violet Township was submitting for a fiber optic network and what they are requesting of us. Ms Crotty stated they are submitting an application for federal stimulus funds to build a fiber optic network, and they are just looking for a letter of support with no financial commitment or any promise of participation at this point. Mr. Fix stated there are some projects that have been on the Development report for quite awhile, some of which may have evaporated, and he questioned if there was a way to check in with those developers and see what their plans are, if the project is still in the works or whatever. Ms Crotty stated she would do that. Mr. Sauer stated he would like to have more information with regard to the Eichorn family property, and if there is an agreement he would like a copy of that. Ms Crotty stated she would provide that. Mr. Sauer stated he would also like to see when we start looking at the Diley Road corridor that we engage in some conversation with the communities around us so we can see if there is any common ground we can work on to avert any potential disasters. Ms Crotty stated she would be happy to participate in any way to coordinate or facilitate that. Mr. Wisniewski stated he would like to see it annexed as soon as possible and Mr. Fix stated if there was any way to do that amicably that would be awesome. Mr. Fix because there will be more of this coming in the future he felt it would be worth a conversation with the other government entities that would be affected to start talking about what we can do to work together so we are not fighting each other for land as has happened in the past. Mr. Wisniewski inquired when we plan to have something about the expansion of the CRA and Ms Crotty stated she has set up a meeting with Mr. Grassbaugh next week to see what our alternatives are. She stated she did not know if she would have more information by the next Service Committee meeting, but she will keep the Committee informed.

5. PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT:

A. Planning and Zoning Director’s Report. Mr. Schultz stated he had provided a written report and would be happy to try to answer any questions.

(1) Planning and Zoning Representative Report (Mr. Sauer) Mr. Sauer stated the first two action items on tonight’s agenda were approved at the last Planning and Zoning meeting.

B. ACTION ITEMS:

(1) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance approving the rezoning of Lot 1 of the Willow Pond Subdivision from C-3 (Community Commercial) to R-4 (Residential). Mr. Schultz stated Planning and Zoning approved this request at their March 9^th meeting. Mr. Schultz stated this site is located at the northwest corner of Hill Road and Pruden Drive, just south of the railroad tracks. Mr. Schultz stated he would answer any questions anyone might have. Mr. Fix stated he had attended the Planning and Zoning meeting and his questions were answered there. Mr. Wisniewski clarified the access for the two lots would be on Pruden Drive, and there is no access onto S.R. 256. Mr. Lipnos of Homewood stated they were able to comply with the engineer’s recommendation of a 100 foot setback from S.R. 256. Mr. Lipnos stated this is currently zoned commercial and they were requesting to down zone it to residential. He stated if it were to remain commercial the access would still be on Pruden Drive, so this will be two driveways versus a commercial lot existing on to Pruden Drive and from there on to S.R. 256. Mr. Fix moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski voting “Nay,” and Mr. Sauer and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-1.

Mrs. Yartin stated a public hearing before Council is required and the first date that can occur is April 20, 2010. Mr. Fix moved to schedule a public hearing before Council for open discussion on this issue for 7:00 P.M., April 20, 2010; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Sauer, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

(2) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance approving the rezoning and final development plan for the approximate 16.06 acre Ebright/Homestead parcels from R-4 (Residential) to PC-3 (Planned Community Commercial District) for a 4 Seasons Sports Complex, office, and retail development located at 1010 and 1040 Refugee Road. Mr. Schultz stated Planning and Zoning Commission approved this at their March 9^th meeting with 24 conditions. Mr. Schultz stated this site is just west of the Big Bear and the request is to rezone it from R-4 to PC-3. He further stated the development would be in two phases with the first phase being a 115,000 square foot sports complex and phase two would be approximately 65,000 square feet of office space and approximately 28,000 square feet of retail space. Mr. Bachman stated he had provided a memorandum showing what traffic improvements are needed at what stages of the development, and also what traffic improvements were needed even without the development, particularly for S.R. 256 and Refugee Road. Mr. Bachman stated for the first phase of this development, the soccer complex, no traffic improvements are needed, and for the retail phase a southbound right turn lane on S.R. 256 would be needed, and on S.R. 256 a second southbound left turn lane would be needed. Mr. Bachman stated at full build out on Refugee Road at S.R. 256 a second eastbound left turn lane would be needed. Mr. Bachman stated one of the concerns would be where we got the money to do these improvements and he was in favor of this development because it would help us get money to do some of the improvements that would be needed anyway. Mr. Bachman stated the normal growth of traffic is estimated at 1.5 percent per year. Mr. Wisniewski clarified the developer has had initial conversation with Violet Township Fire Department, and they will not know the actual requirements of Violet Township until the building permits are submitted. Mr. Fix stated he felt the Planning and Zoning Commission was more than thorough in reviewing this project. Mr. Fix moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sauer, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

Mrs. Yartin stated a public hearing before Council is required for this item as well and the first date that can occur is April 20, 2010. Mr. Fix moved to schedule a public hearing before Council for open discussion on this issue for 7:10 P.M., April 20, 2010; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

(1) Refugee Road Study – Update. Mr. Schultz stated he is working on preparing existing conditions maps for land use, transportation, and environmental characteristics and he hoped within the next month or so to have that ready for Planning and Zoning Commission.

6. SERVICE DEPARTMENT

A. REPORTS:

(1) Service Manager’s Report. Mr. Drobina stated he had provided a written report and he would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Drobina stated one disc filter was back in operation today so two out of three are working and the third is being cleaned at this time. Mr. Drobina further stated he had met with a contractor today and will be getting a price on the repair of the entrance sign to Manchester that was damaged in the Diley Road project. Mr. Wisniewski ascertained additional TDS samples have been sent in but we have not received the results as yet. He stated the last samples he had sent in were taken in February, a week after we increased the hardness. Mrs. Sanders clarified the TDS is tested three times a week. Mr. Sauer inquired who had taken down the fence at Manchester and Mr. Drobina stated he thought the gas contractor was the one who removed it, but we don’t know for sure who really did it. Mr. Drobina stated the fence is around our detention pond so we will put it back up. Mr. Wisniewski clarified that the water hardness was averaging 120 and it is now at 200. Mr. Drobina stated he has not received many complaints; he has received calls from people asking where they should set their water softener. Mr. Drobina stated the plan is to keep it at 200 through the summer until we get more data, as we want to see how quick we can change the TDS limits.

B. WASTEWATER

(1) Wastewater Plant Expansion – Update. Mr. Drobina stated he has nothing new to report.

a. Review and discussion regarding TDS options and costs. Mr. Wisniewski inquired what the facts were as we increase hardness on pipes in houses, water heaters, etc. Mr. Drobina stated it would be staining and corrosion of heating elements, you would get a build up in your water heaters.

C. WATER. No report.

7. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

A. Engineer’s Report. Mr. Bachman stated he had provided a written report and would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Bachman stated at the last meeting the Committee inquired how much water we would be supplying to the south end of Diley Road, and it is estimated that the Diley Road Medical Center will use about 30,000 gallons per day.

B. ACTION ITEMS:

(1) Water Master Plan and Sewer Master Plan - Update. Mr. Bachman stated he had no update this evening and both consultants are getting started on the projects.

a. Review and discussion regarding S.R. 256 Safety Project. Mr. Wisniewski stated he has received a number of complaints about the speed limit on S.R. 256 being too fast and questioned if Mr. Bachman felt this should be looked at. Mr. Bachman stated as far as the concept plan for the safety improvements to S.R. 256 is to extend the third southbound lane that currently ends at the Marcus Cinemas all the way down to Refugee Road. He stated currently there are four foot concrete shoulders on each side that are no longer required for speed limits of 45 MPH and above, so there are eight feet of pavement that really is not used on that road. He stated the lanes are currently 12-feet wide and if we reduce them to 11 feet wide we can actually stripe another lane on S.R. 256, thereby getting quite a bit more capacity for a fairly low cost. He stated he would prefer to do that when the road gets resurfaced at which time it needs restriped anyway. Mr. Bachman stated with that safety project he would propose lowering the speed limit from 50 to 45 MPH and if we go forward with the concept plan he would certainly do a speed study to confirm that number. He further stated one other consideration there is that the traffic signals that are timed on the ACS light system are timed for 45 MPH because that is basically the speed that traffic has been going during rush hour, at least before we had the ACS lights in there, however, with the ACS lights, traffic is probably travelling a little faster along there. Mr. Bachman stated he would appreciate comments on the concept plan from council members and he had given a very brief presentation on this project to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

c. Improvement Options for Long Road from Diley Road to Colony Park – Update. Mr. Bachman he had submitted the concept plan as a preliminary submittal for stimulus funding in the amount of $900,000. He stated the bill has not been passed as yet, and he will keep the Committee informed on this issue. He stated he had also submitted for resurfacing of Lockville Road for the stimulus funds from Opportunity Way to S.R. 256.

Mr. Wisniewski inquired if Mr. Bachman had come up with a recommendation regarding the flashing lights after 10:00 P.M., and Mr. Bachman stated he had looked at it several times and he did not feel traffic warranted changing that time. He stated leaving the signals on after 10:00 P.M. could actually cause more of a delay.

C. TRANSPORTATION

(1) Review and discussion regarding ODOT controlled traffic signals. Mr. Wisniewski stated he understood ODOT was still looking at putting ACS in up there and Mr. Bachman stated that was correct and he has been in communication with Mr. Bosch and he knows of our interest in moving this along, but he does not have an update.

8. CHAIRMAN. Mr. Wisniewski stated he had talked about having a baseline speed study done on Diley Road, and he questioned if anyone would be opposed to having a baseline so we know where the traffic is flowing now and what the net effect will be. Mr. Wisniewski moved to request the City Engineer to perform the baseline speed study; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

Mr. Wisniewski stated further he has received comments about the school zones on Diley Road and there appears to be some general confusion on this. He inquired who was responsible for the flashing lights or posting the 20 MPH speed limits in a school zone. Mr. Bachman stated there are no flashing lights on Diley, but there are some on Long Road. He stated right now the school has a switch and someone turns the switch on when they want the lights to flash and then has to turn it off, it is not on a timer. He stated he has met with the school where he proposed to look at all six schools that are located in the city as he has concerns on numerous of the traffic control devices that we have at those schools. Mr. Bachman stated he would like to do a detailed study on all six of those to make sure that we are consistent between schools and also with the Ohio Revised Code. He stated he would then address how to implement any recommendations. Mr. Wisniewski asked that this be added as an action item under Transportation on the Service Committee agenda.

9. OTHER BUSINESS:

A. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance extending Marie Avenue as exhibited on the final plat for Manchester, Section 3. Mr. Wisniewski stated this item had been removed from the agenda as an action item; however, Mr. Fix did want to address it briefly. Mr. Fix stated he stated having driven the Manchester neighborhood Marie Avenue comes to a stop and pine trees have been planted to stop traffic from going through. He stated he had asked Mr. Bachman just to look at it and see what he thought and he would like to know if Mr. Bachman had any recommendations. Mr. Bachman stated he did not know the whole background, but most communities he has worked for have had stub streets like Marie Avenue. He stated in general it is good to connect several streets from any subdivision so traffic is disbursed better throughout the community and there are more connections for emergency vehicles, mail carriers, etc. He stated, however, Marie Avenue is a very narrow street and he would take a closer look at it. Mr. Fix asked if Mr. Bachman would bring a recommendation to the next Service Committee and Mr. Wisniewski stated he would like an estimated cost with his recommendation as well. Mayor O’Brien stated there is a history with this and he felt if a public hearing were scheduled the residents from that area would be happy to tell you why this is how it is.

Mr. Alan Cozmyk stated he is a resident of Marie Avenue and he could tell this Committee that a councilman planted the trees at the end of the street. He stated their street is 15 to 16 feet wide and two cars cannot pass on their street. He stated that street was a dirt road in 1954 and it has been a tar and gravel street ever since, it has never been paved and there has never been anything done to that street. He stated it has only been in the past year or so that someone came down and did one pass for snow removal. Mr. Cozmyk stated he has lived there for 37 years and they have had no cooperation from the city on that street, they had to fight the city to get water and sewage on that street. Mr. Cozmyk stated the street is not wide enough for traffic and it is not safe the way it is today. He stated again his street is about 15 feet wide and the street across is 31 feet wide so opening up the street without completely rebuilding his street up to the standards of today is ridiculous. Mr. Fix inquired which he would advocate, leaving it closed or building it up to standard, and Mr. Cozmyk stated he would advocate putting up a gate and making it a gated community. Mr. Cozmyk stated there were 17 residents on that street and a few years ago all 17 residents signed a petition not to open it up. Mr. Cozmyk stated he would like to have the street left alone and he could not see the city spending money on it because they are all happy on the street. Mr. Fix stated he had simply asked the question of Mr. Bachman because in driving through Manchester with that street being cut off you basically have one exist to the east and one exit to the west for that entire subdivision. Mr. Fix stated he understood Mr. Cozmyk’s concerns about not opening it up unless we were going to fix it, and he was just trying to get to the bottom of what is the right thing to do. Mr. Cozmyk stated they have gone through this battle before and if the city hasn’t cared for 37 years, why should they care now. Mr. Sauer stated if all 17 residents on the street do not support this, he could not support it. Mr. Wisniewski stated while Mr. Bachman is looking at this street he would like him to look into what it would take to plant another 8 or 10 trees over there to prevent people from driving through yards. Mr. Bachman stated he would have to check to see if there was right-of-way or whatever over there.

10. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Fix moved to adjourn; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion. Mr. Sauer, Mr. Wisniewski and Mr. Fix voted “Aye.” Motion carried, 3-0. The Service Committee adjourned at 7:20 P.M., March 17, 2010.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk