PICKERINGTON CITY COUNCIL

TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 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, August 3, 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. Wisniewski, Mr. Sauer, and Mayor O’Brien were present.  No members were absent.  Others present were: Bill Vance, Chief Mike Taylor, Lynda Yartin, Phil Hartmann, Chris Schornack, Ed Drobina, Greg Bachman, Susan Crotty, Gary Weltlich, Tory Kramer, Nate Ellis, Rachel Schofeld, Kellie O’Brien, Pastor Robert Heinlein, Robert Sewell, Karen Risher, Commander Delp, Commander Annetts, Carol Carter, Ralph Bartek, and others.  Pastor Heinlein delivered the invocation. 

 

2.         A.        APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JULY 20, 2010, WORK SESSION REGARDING CHARTER REVIEW.  Mrs. Sanders moved to approve; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski and Mr. Fix abstaining, and Mr. Barletta, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Blair, Mr. Sauer, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 5-0. 

 

B.         APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JULY 20, 2010, PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING DAY CARE REGULATIONS.  Mrs. Sanders moved to approve; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix and Mr. Wisniewski abstaining, and Mr. Barletta, Mr. Blair, Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Hammond, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 5-0. 

 

C.        APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JULY 20, 2010, PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING SANDWICH BOARD SIGN REGULATIONS.  Mrs. Sanders moved to approve; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski and Mr. Fix abstaining, and Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Blair, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Barletta voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 5-0. 

 

D.        APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF JULY 20, 2010, REGULAR MEETING.  Mrs. Sanders moved to approve; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix and Mr. Wisniewski abstaining, and Mr. Barletta, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Blair, Mrs. Hammond, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 5-0. 

 

3.         COMMUNITY COMMENTS. 

 

A.        Mr. Robert Sewell of Pickerington High School Central stated last year Council and Violet Township were kind enough to help the band with their trips to New York and California for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Rose Parade.  He stated the kids did quite well in both events and were quite well received.  Mr. Sewell presented a plaque containing photos of the band at both events that he hoped a place could be found for display in City Hall.  Mr. Sewell stated on behalf of the kids in the band he would like to thank Council for all of their support because they could not have done this without it. 

 

4.         COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS.  There were no comments.       

 

5.         APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA.  Mayor O’Brien stated there was one consent agenda item this evening.  Ordinance 2010-45, an ordinance authorizing the City Manager to execute an agreement with the Board of Trustees of Violet Township to facilitate economic development within the City and the Township.  Mr. Fix moved to adopt; Mrs. Sanders 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. 

 

6.         APPROVAL OF AGENDA.  Mr. Fix moved to approve; Mrs. Sanders seconded 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. 

 

7.         REPORTS:   

 

A.        MAYOR.  Mayor O’Brien stated Chief Taylor would like to make a few comments this evening.   

 

            Chief Taylor stated he would just like to thank everyone who participated in any way with getting the K-9 program back in service.  He stated as everyone had probably heard we recently had a large drug bust in the City and if it were not for having the dog alert on the vehicles they would not have been able to take the 40 pounds of marijuana.  He stated this also allowed for a search warrant to be issued for two houses and from those houses they secured over 1,200 pounds of marijuana.  Chief Taylor stated he just wanted to let everyone know that the dog is being put to good use and he more than paid for himself in one traffic stop.  Chief Taylor stated he just wanted again to thank everyone who donated to the purchase of the dog, Shadow.  Mayor O’Brien administered the oath of office to Shadow.  Mayor O’Brien stated he had also received a letter from the Joint Task Force citing two of our police officers for their help in this large drug operation, and he Certificates of Recognition to Detective Bartek and Commander Annetts.   

 

B.         LAW DIRECTOR.  Mr. Hartmann stated as Council is aware Ordinance 2010-43 is the ordinance to put the replacement Charter from the Charter Review Board on the ballot and we need the final two readings and the declaration of emergency this evening so the Clerk can file this with the Board of Elections tomorrow.  Mr. Hartmann stated Council had received an amended ordinance because there was a date issue in the ordinance and language had been added to allow the law director to coordinate the ballot language with the Board of Elections. 

 

C.        FINANCE DIRECTOR.  Mr. Schornack stated we continue to remain flat as far as revenues go and our General Fund revenues are up slightly over the previous year.  He stated so far we are where we need to be. 

 

            D.         SERVICE MANAGER.  Mr. Drobina stated he had no report this evening but would be happy to answer any questions. 

 

E.         CITY ENGINEER.  Mr. Bachman stated our construction projects are continuing and he would be happy to answer any questions. 

 

F.         CITY MANAGER.  Mr. Vance stated he would like to thank the Service Department and Director and the Police Department and Police Chief for getting us through the Violet Festival safely. 

 

            G.        SAFETY COMMITTEE.  Mrs. Hammond stated Safety Committee met on July 21st and the two pieces of legislation for the DARE and the COPS grant on tonight’s agenda came out of that meeting.  She stated Safety Committee also continues to discuss the bicycle ordinances and that will remain on the agenda for at least another month. 

 

            H.        SERVICE COMMITTEE.  Mr. Sauer stated the ordinance just adopted on the Consent Agenda came out of the Service Committee meeting on July 28th and he would answer any questions. 

 

8.         PROCEDURAL READINGS: 

 

            A.        ORDINANCE 2010-44, “AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO APPLY FOR A GRANT FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE THROUGH THE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING SERVICES (“COPS”) FOR ONE ADDITIONAL POLICE OFFICER,” First Reading, Safety Committee.  Mrs. Hammond stated this is the same grant we applied for last year and did not receive.  She stated the terms are the same and we are going to try again and hope for the best.  Mrs. Hammond moved to adopt; Mr. Blair 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 2010-45, “AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF VIOLET TOWNSHIP TO FACILITATE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE CITY AND THE TOWNSHIP,” First Reading, Service Committee.  Mr. Fix moved to adopt; Mrs. Sanders 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.  (CONSENT AGENDA ITEM)

 

            C.        RESOLUTION 2010-09R, “A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO APPLY FOR THE 2010-2011 SCHOOL YEAR DRUG USE PREVENTION PROGRAM GRANT (FORMERLY DARE GRANT),” First Reading, Safety Committee.  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 2010-39, “AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2010 APPROPRIATION, ORDINANCE 2009-91,” Second Reading, Finance Committee.  Mrs. Sanders 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. Sauer, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Blair, Mr. Fix, Mr. Barletta, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.”  Suspension of Rules passed, 7-0.  Mrs. Sanders moved to adopt; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Blair abstaining, and Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Hammond, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 6-0. 

 

            E.         ORDINANCE 2010-40, “AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 1276.10 ACCESSORY AND CONDITIONAL USES, CHAPTER 1286.15, DAY CARE REGULATIONS, AND APPENDIX I:  TABLE 1, PERMITTED USES (P), ACCESSORY USES (A), AND CONDITIONAL USES (C) REGULATIONS,” Second Reading, Service Committee.  Mr. Sauer moved to adopt; Mr. Fix 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. 

 

            F.         ORDINANCE 2010-41, “AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 1292.09 OLDE DOWNTOWN PICKERINGTON VILLAGE AREA PORTABLE (SANDWICH BOARD) SIGN REGULATIONS,” Second Reading, Service Committee.  Mr. Wisniewski moved to adopt; Mr. Sauer 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. 

 

            G.        ORDINANCE 2010-43, “AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE SUBMISSION TO THE ELECTORATE OF A REPLACEMENT CHARTER FOR THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF PICKERINGTON, ON NOVEMBER 9, 2010, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY,” Second Reading, Council.  Mr. Fix moved to amend by substitution; Mr. Sauer 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.”  Motion to amend passed, 7-0.  Mr. Fix stated he would like to thank the Charter Review Board members for putting in a lot of time and effort in reviewing this document.  Mrs. Sanders 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. Fix, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, and Mr. Blair voting “Yea.”  Suspension of Rules passed, 7-0.  Mrs. Sanders moved to adopt; Mr. Blair 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, with emergency, 7-0. 

 

9.         LEGISLATIVE READINGS:

 

            A.        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,” Third Reading, Service Committee.  (TABLED, 05/18/10)  Mayor O’Brien stated he would like to request this be removed from the Table and he would refer it back to Finance Committee.  He stated there is no action on this so it does not need to remain on the agenda, and the next move would be regarding financial decisions.  Mr. Wisniewski moved to remove from the Table; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Fix, and Mr. Blair voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            B.         ORDINANCE 2010-35, “AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT WITH THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATIONS REGARDING UTILITY RATES,” Third Reading, Service Committee.  Mr. Wisniewski moved to adopt; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Sauer, Mr. Blair, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Barletta, Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

            C.        ORDINANCE 2010-36, “AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING A PROFESSIONAL OFFICE USER DEVELOPMENT POLICY,” Third Reading, Service Committee.  Mr. Wisniewski moved to adopt; Mr. Fix seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, and Mr. Blair voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

10.       DISCUSSION.  Mr. Fix stated Service Committee has been reviewing the growth management program and Ms Crotty put together a comprehensive marketing plan that is available for everyone to review.  He stated Ms Crotty is asking for feedback and he would encourage all council members to spend some time reviewing this program and provide Ms Crotty with their comments.  Mr. Fix stated he felt this was a great effort and worthy of council’s time and consideration. 

 

            Mayor O’Brien stated the last Saturday in August we will have a Volunteer Day and some staff time would be scheduled for assistance.  He stated if anyone would like to volunteer to help out there is a contact for our Volunteer Coordinator on our web site and just let him know what you would like to help out with or any ideas you may have. 

 

11.       REFERRAL TO COMMITTEE.  Mayor O’Brien stated he would like to refer a few items to Committee this evening.  He stated the first item would be Ordinance 2010-19 that was removed from the Table this evening regarding the development on the Ebright/Homestead property.  Mayor O’Brien stated he was referring this item back to Finance Committee.  Mayor O’Brien stated he had attended a presentation from MORPC on the balanced growth planning process in the Walnut Creek Watershed.  He stated MORPC was requesting an indication as to whether we would like to participate in the Walnut Creek Watershed Planning Partnership, and he would refer this issue to Service Committee for a recommendation.  Mayor O’Brien stated the final item was a letter from the Ohio Senate regarding Senate Bill 131 giving purchasing preference to bio-based products when they are readily available at a reasonable price, and he would also like to refer this to Service Committee for their review, discussion, coordination, and recommendation. 

 

12.       OTHER BUSINESS.  Mr. Vance stated a letter was discussed at Service Committee in support of the MORPC grant initiative to secure regional planning grants.  He stated a letter had been provided to Council for consideration that maintains the City’s flexibility and it is before Council to support or not support.  Mr. Vance stated staff recommends endorsement by Council.  Mr. Sauer stated he just wanted to clarify for the record that the City is not being tied in to being committed to anything without coming back before Council.  Mayor O’Brien stated the last paragraph in this letter indicates that it does not constitution adoption of a partnership agreement, but merely states a commitment to work in good faith towards such adoption.  Mr. Fix moved to authorize the City Manager to forward this letter to MORPC; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion.  Roll call was taken with Mr. Barletta, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Blair, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Fix, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yea.”  Motion passed, 7-0. 

 

13.       MOTIONS: 

 

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

 

Council adjourned into Executive Session at 8:08 P.M, and reconvened in open session at 8:38 P.M.

 

14.       ADJOURNMENT.  There being nothing further, Mr. Fix moved to adjourn; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion.  Mr. Barletta, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Fix, Mr. Blair, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Sanders voted “Aye.”  Motion carried, 7-0.  The meeting adjourned at 8:40 P.M., August 3, 2010. 

 

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: 

 

 

_______________________________

Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk

 

ATTEST:

 

 

_______________________________

Mitch O’Brien, Mayor