PICKERINGTON CITY COUNCIL

TUESDAY, MAY 4, 2010

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

 

REGULAR MEETING

 

7:30 P.M.

 

 

1.         ROLL CALL, INVOCATION, AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. Council for the City of Pickerington met for a regular session Tuesday, May 4, 2010, at City Hall.  Mayor O’Brien called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M.  Roll call was taken as follows:  Mr. Barletta, Mr. Blair, Mr. Fix, Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mayor O’Brien were present.  No members were absent.   Others present were: Lynda Yartin, Chief Mike Taylor, Phil Hartmann, Chris Schornack, Ed Drobina, Greg Bachman, Linda Fersch, Chet Hopper, Nate Ellis, Rachel Schofeld, Pastor Barbara Parrot, Carol Carter, Jim Ebright, Gary Weltlich, Lucy Buzzee, Amy Pulles, and others.  Pastor Parrot of Peace United Methodist Church delivered the invocation. 

 

2.         A.        APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF APRIL 20, PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING PROPOSED REZONING OF LOT 1, WILLOW POND SUBDIVISION.  Mr. Fix moved to approve; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski abstaining and Mr. Barletta, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Blair, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Fix, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 6-0. 

 

B.         APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF APRIL 20, 2010, PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING PROPOSED REZONING AND FINAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN OF EBRIGHT/HOMESTEAD PROPERTIES.  Mr. Fix moved to approve; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski abstaining, and Mr. Barletta, Mr. Blair, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Hammond, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 6-0. 

 

C.        APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF APRIL 20, 2010, REGULAR MEETING.  Mr. Fix moved to approve; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski abstaining, and Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Blair, Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Barletta voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 6-0. 

 

3.         COMMUNITY COMMENTS.  None.

 

4.         COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS.  None.

 

5.         APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA.  Mayor O’Brien stated there were no consent agenda items this evening. 

 

6.         APPROVAL OF AGENDA.  Mr. Fix moved to approve; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Barletta, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Fix, Mr. Blair, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

7.         REPORTS:   

 

A.        MAYOR.  Mayor O’Brien stated he would like to point out that the start date for the City Manager’s contract that is attached to Ordinance 2010-21 has been changed from June 1st to July 1st.  Mayor O’Brien stated he had attended the Arbor Day celebration and it was a very well attended event.  He further stated the Monthly Mayor’s Court Report has been distributed, and he would request Council consider the final two readings on Ordinance 2010-21.  Mayor O’Brien presented a proclamation to Lucy Buzzee and Amy Pulles of the League of Women Voters in honor of the 90th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment that gave women the right to vote. 

 

B.         LAW DIRECTOR.  Mr. Hartmann stated he had no report this evening.     

 

C.        FINANCE DIRECTOR.  Mr. Schornack stated he had provided an income tax report through April and our income tax collection is up .6 percent.  He stated it is good to see we are moving in a positive direction.  Mr. Schornack further stated he had distributed the 2011 Tax Budget and that would be discussed at the Finance Committee meeting tomorrow. 

 

            D.         SERVICE MANAGER.  Mr. Drobina stated the wastewater plant construction is going well and it appears final completion will be approximately June 12th.  Mr. Drobina further stated ODOT had completed a walk through on the Diley Road project and there are several little areas that need repaired and the contractor will come back and take care of those items.  Mr. Drobina further stated he will be meeting with residents of the Manchester subdivision regarding their entranceway and he would try to address their concerns.  Mr. Drobina stated it appeared the Lancaster Public Transit service is being utilized very well.  He stated when this service began in January they had 95 customers and in March they had 247.    Mr. Drobina also stated the swimming pool should be ready to open the end of May. 

 

E.         CITY ENGINEER.  Mr. Bachman stated MORPC will be doing a “Bicycle Count Day” on Wednesday, May 12, 2010, throughout central Ohio, where they will be counting the number of bicycles and pedestrians on certain trails.  He stated we will participate in that along the Diley Road trail. 

 

F.         CITY MANAGER.  Chief Taylor stated he had provided a written report and he would be happy to answer any questions. 

 

            G.        SERVICE COMMITTEE.  Mr. Sauer stated Service Committee met on April 21st and had forwarded two ordinances on tonight’s agenda.  Mr. Sauer stated they had a discussion regarding water rates for the Villas at Milnor Crossing and Mr. Drobina would be bringing a proposal on that back to Service at the next meeting.   

 

            H.        SAFETY COMMITTEE.  Mrs. Hammond stated Safety Committee also met on April 21st, and some revisions to our bicycle ordinances came out of that meeting that are on tonight’s agenda.  She stated they had also requested a motion to approve sending a letter to Senator Schaffer on the texting while driving issue and that is on tonight’s agenda.  Mrs. Hammond stated further a resident had attended Safety Committee with concerns regarding speeding in our subdivisions.  She stated she would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that the speed limit in all of our subdivisions is 25 MPH, and with the weather becoming nicer and school letting out soon, we will be having an increase in young people on the roads, and she would encourage everyone to follow the speed limit. 

 

8.         PROCEDURAL READINGS: 

 

            A.        ORDINANCE 2010-22, “AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE OHIO DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION TO PROCEED WITH A PROJECT CONSTRUCTING CERTAIN NEW SIDEWALKS AND NEW BIKE PATHS IN PICKERINGTON,” First Reading, Service Committee.  Mr. Bachman stated this and the next ordinance are both in the Safe Routes to Schools program.  He stated the first is a standard agreement for cooperating with ODOT on the project.  He stated the next ordinance is basically that the majority of the project is actually in the Township and the agreement would be that any cost over the $250,000 grant would be paid by the Township.  Mr. Wisniewski inquired if there was a map showing what the path would look like and Mr. Bachman stated he would get that to Council.  He stated at Diley Road Middle School it is basically a ten foot asphalt path around the back side of the school as a connection to Manchester subdivision.  He stated at Fairfield Elementary School it will be a concrete sidewalk.  Mr. Wisniewski inquired how these locations were determined and Mr. Bachman stated that determination was made prior to his coming to work for the City so he will get that information and forward it to Council along with the map.  Mr. Bachman stated, however, he did know there was a committee with representatives from the Township, the City, and the schools that made the determination.  Mr. Fix moved to adopt; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Barletta, Mr. Fix, Mr. Blair, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            B.         ORDINANCE 2010-23, “AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AN AGREEMENT WITH VIOLET TOWNSHIP TO ADDRESS COST OVERRUNS FOR A PROJECT CONSTRUCTING CERTAIN NEW SIDEWALKS AND NEW BIKE PATHS IN PICKERINGTON AND VIOLET TOWNSHIP,” First Reading, Service Committee.  Mr. Fix moved to adopt; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Sauer, and Mr. Blair voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            C.        ORDINANCE 2010-24, “AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 444.06, 444.07, AND 444.02 OF THE PICKERINGTON CODIFIED ORDINANCES RELATING TO RIDING BICYCLES WITHIN THE CITY,” First Reading, Safety Committee.  Mrs. Hammond stated Safety Committee had been contacted by an individual who had some issues with our bicycle code and we have tried to bring it more in line with the Ohio Revised Code.  She stated after discussion in Committee, it was decided that the age 11 would be left for children riding bicycles in the street.  She stated she would also like to stress that people riding their bicycles on S.R. 256 can ride on the sidewalk, they do not have to ride their bicycles in the streets.  Mr. Wisniewski inquired what the penalty would be for violating this and how it would be enforced.  Mr. Hartmann stated the penalty section has not been changed from the current regulations and as he recalled it was a minor misdemeanor, but he would check on that.  Mr. Wisniewski clarified that State law prohibits riding on sidewalks so it was appropriate to alter it to a certain extent by this ordinance.  Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Blair seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Blair, Mr. Sauer, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            D.        ORDINANCE 2010-18, “AN ORDINANCE APPROVING THE REZONING OF LOT 1 OF THE WILLOW POND SUBDIVISION FROM C-3 (COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL) TO R-4 (RESIDENTIAL),” Second Reading, Service Committee.  Mr. Wisniewski moved to adopt; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Blair voting “Nay,” and Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 6-1. 

 

            E.         ORDINANCE 2010-19, “AN 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,” Second Reading, Service Committee.  Mr. Wisniewski moved to adopt; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Blair, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            F.         ORDINANCE 2010-21, “AN ORDINANCE CONCURRING IN THE MAYOR’S APPOINTMENT OF WILLIAM VANCE AS THE PICKERINGTON CITY MANAGER AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AN EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT WITH WILLIAM VANCE,” Second Reading, Finance Committee.  Mayor O’Brien stated he would clarify once more that the start date of the contract has been changed from June 1, 2010, to July 1, 2010.  Mr. Wisniewski moved to waive the requirement in Charter Section 2.06 that the ordinance be read on three separate meeting days; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Barletta, Mr. Fix, Mr. Blair, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.”  Suspension of Rules passed, 7-0.  Final Reading.  Mr. Fix moved to adopt; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Blair, Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

9.         LEGISLATIVE READINGS:  NONE.

 

10.       DISCUSSION.  Mr. Wisniewski stated he would like to discuss some possible amendments to the bicycle ordinance.  He stated he did not see anything in the ordinance about wearing helmets and as headgear is encouraged by our police department and others he would like to have that given some consideration.  He also stated with regard to the age limit of 11 for riding on the street, he would like to see if that could have language added such as “accompanied by a parent or guardian.”  Mrs. Sanders stated she concurred with those suggestions and Mr. Barletta stated he felt the helmet requirement was a very good idea.  Mrs. Hammond stated she agreed with the language regarding being accompanied by an adult, and she felt an age limit for the requirement of wearing a helmet could be added.  Mr. Hartmann stated he would amend this ordinance to include both of those items and submit it for Council at their next meeting. 

 

11.       REFERRAL TO COMMITTEE.  Mayor O’Brien stated we have had correspondence from a business who is interested in sponsoring our disc golf course and he would request Rules Committee look into that.  Mr. Fix stated they would discuss that at Rules and Mr. Hartmann stated he would have some information for Rules Committee to review at their meeting tomorrow night. 

 

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

 

13.       MOTIONS: 

 

            A.        MOTION TO APPROVE LETTER TO SENATOR SCHAFFER REGARDING TEXTING ISSUE.  Mrs. Hammond moved to approve sending a letter on the texting while driving issue to Senator Tim Schaffer; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Fix, Mr. Blair, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Barletta, and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0.  (Attachment 1 to these minutes.)

 

            B.         MOTION TO SCHEDULE PUBLIC HEARING FOR OPEN DISCUSSION REGARDING THE 2011 TAX BUDGET FOR MAY 18, 2010, AT 7:20 P.M.  Mrs. Sanders moved to schedule the public hearing regarding the 2011 Tax budget for May 18, 2010, at 7:20 P.M.; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Fix, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Blair, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Barletta, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            C.        MOTION FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION UNDER SECTION 121.22(G)(3), CONFERENCE WITH LAW DIRECTOR ON PENDING OR IMMINENT COURT ACTION.  Mrs. Sanders moved for Executive Session under Section 121.22(G)(3); Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Barletta, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Blair, Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

Council adjourned into Executive Session at 8:05 P.M., and reconvened in open session at 8:29 P.M.

 

14.       ADJOURNMENT.  There being nothing further, Mr. Fix moved to adjourn; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion.  Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Blair, Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Barletta voted “Aye.”  Motion carried, 7-0.  The meeting adjourned at 8:30 P.M., May 4, 2010. 

 

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: 

 

 

_______________________________

Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk

 

 

ATTEST:

 

 

_______________________________

Mitch O’Brien, Mayor