SERVICE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL
CITY HALL,
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, Bill Vance, Lynda
Yartin,
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF July 28, 2010, Regular Meeting. Mr. Fix moved to approve; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski abstaining and Mr. Sauer and Mr. Fix voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.
3. COMMUNITY COMMENTS: None.
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 next week she would be working with a committee of the Columbus Board of Realtors. She stated Mr. Blair has been kind enough to coordinate a meeting with a group of experts from the Columbus Board of Realtors and they have agreed to look at our Diley Road Plan and help us come up with some ideas for implementation and business attraction to that area.
(1) Annexation – Update. Ms Crotty stated the law director is currently
working with Canal Winchester to establish an agreement for maintenance of
(2) Development Process – Update. Mr. Wisniewski stated Mr. Vance had sent a
note asking about ways for us to shorten our process and he would like to see
some ideas or thoughts or even examples from other communities as to how long their
process takes. Mr. Wisniewski stated he
would like to know if other communities are in the same boat as we are with
that process or if there is something we are doing that is not conducive to
businesses. Ms Crotty stated staff can
look at the process and update some research that was done in the past. Ms Crotty stated at the time Mr. Schultz
looked at this in 2008 we were right in the middle with other communities. She stated it is a long process and with the Skilken
project, they understood the time was due to their requirements. She stated they wanted to create separate
lots because of financing issues they have, but our planned unit development
process is really comparable to other communities. Ms Crotty stated one concern she had was that
if we move one meeting it throws everything off. She stated she had put together a time
schedule on this project that seemed to be acceptable, however, she might ask
for the waiver of a reading or something like that, but for the most part
Skilken did not have many concerns other than they would like to have it
completed by the end of the year. Ms
Crotty stated she felt we could achieve that.
Mr. Wisniewski stated he was speaking not only to the staff perspective
of getting things done, but if there were things that
(3) Economic Development Marketing Plan – Update. Ms Crotty stated she has not received any comments back on the Marketing Plan for any substantive changes so she is prepared to proceed at this point unless there were any objections, questions, or concerns. Ms Crotty stated she does have an agreement with Xceligent that our attorney is reviewing and she will contact Beckman XMO to start proceeding with the development of our marketing materials.
(4) Business Retention Project – Update. Ms Crotty stated she continues to meet with businesses informally, but she has no update as far as a formal survey at this time.
(5)
(6) Implementation of the
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. Mr. Fix stated the Board of Zoning Appeals did not meet in July due to the lack of a quorum and questioned what happened to the people who had something on the agenda for that meeting, were they just bumped back to the next month. Mr. Schultz stated unfortunately that was what happens. Mr. Fix questioned if there was a way we could do in that case because it seemed wrong to penalize someone an entire month because the members did not show up. Mr. Schultz stated unfortunately when this happens we must coordinate with the BZA members to see if they can schedule a meeting another day, and then by our code we are required to notify adjacent property owners ten days prior to the hearing, and advertise the hearing as well. Mr. Fix stated his concern was if someone was trying to build a deck and they needed a variance but there was no quorum at the meeting, then they would have to wait an entire month to start their deck. He stated he was interested in getting thoughts on how we might be able to approve that. Mr. Vance clarified that we do not have this problem with the Board often, and they also do not meet every month, only when it is necessary. Mr. Fix stated perhaps by the next meeting staff could discuss this and see if there was a way to handle this in the future.
(1) Planning and Zoning Representative Report (Mr. Sauer) Mr. Sauer stated P&Z had met on August 10th, and had approved the landscaping and signage for the hair salon going in on Hill Road, and signage for two other businesses.
B. ACTION ITEMS:
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 he would like to discuss the issue of they hydrant meter use. Mr. Wisniewski clarified that we do not charge a fee for this and Mr. Drobina stated we do not. Mr. Drobina stated we normally would sign out the hydrant meter to a developer or whatever and they would bring it back when they were done and we would bill them. Mr. Drobina stated in the past few years we have had several residents wanting hydrant meters for filling swimming pools, etc. Mr. Drobina stated sometimes they are only using 1,500 gallons or so and that would come out to $1.77, so by the time you spend the time getting them the meter and doing the billing, we are actually losing money. Mr. Wisniewski inquired if Mr. Drobina had a break down on the cost for staff to do this and Mr. Drobina stated he has not figured that out as yet. Mr. Drobina stated further that if we are going to continue with this, we should have at least a minimum cost. Mr. Wisniewski stated he agreed, and we should have a fee for the rental of the meter plus the cost of the water and staff time. He stated if this is something that is being utilized, he did not feel we should just discontinue it, but we should not lose money on it either. Mr. Wisniewski inquired if we have ever had any damage to a hydrant with this use and Mr. Drobina stated not to his knowledge, but staff should probably follow-up and go back to that hydrant to make sure it is off and there is no damage. Mr. Wisniewski clarified that the release form we use should have all of the appropriate language that they will be responsible for damages, etc. Mr. Wisniewski stated he felt Mr. Drobina should get with Mr. Hartmann to draft the appropriate release and we should formalize it with an appropriate fee, but it made sense to offer this as a service to our residents. Mr. Bachman stated from an engineering perspective he would like to see this continue as we do have developers who use this to flush lines, etc. Mr. Vance stated we do not want to take any chances that the hydrants are damaged and he did feel there were some private companies that offered this service and he did not know if we wanted to compete with these companies. Mr. Fix stated he understood we do not want people damaging the hydrants, but it seems that has not been an issue, so he did not see why that should prevent us from offering this service. Mr. Fix stated he would like to see Mr. Drobina come back with a fee that would more than compensate the City’s cost and ensure the individual would be liable for any damages to the hydrant. Mr. Sauer stated he also felt that procedures should be put in place to check the hydrant to make sure it is still in operating condition after it has been used.
Mr. Sauer stated the Mayor had sent an e-mail regarding the reflectivity on street signs and we had discussed putting street signs on the mast arms on S.R. 256 and he questioned if that would be a possibility on Diley Road as well. Mr. Bachman stated it would be a question of cost and he would have to get back with the Committee on what that cost might be. Mr. Bachman stated when signs have been replaced in the past few years they have been replaced with signs that have a higher reflectivity. Mr. Bachman stated signs, in general, have a lifespan of about ten years, and we periodically replace signs.
(1) Review and request for motion to approve
draft ordinance authorizing the City Manager to enter into an agreement for the
purchase of road salt. Mr. Drobina
stated we had the bid opening yesterday and Cargill Salt is our apparent low
bidder at $54.82 per ton, and this is a $2.09 per ton increase from what it was
two years ago. Mr. Fix clarified that
the dump price is for when they bring in a dump truck and just dump it, and the
piler price is when they have to use a machine to pile the salt into our salt
dome. Mr. Fix further clarified that we
use both methods because when we fill the dome we need to use the piler. Mr.
Wisniewski moved to approve and forward to
Mr. Blair inquired if we used the beet juice, and Mr. Drobina stated the beet juice is mixed with a brine and is put down prior to a snowfall as a pre-treatment, and we have done that in the past.
B. WASTEWATER
(1) Wastewater Plant Expansion – Update. Mr. Fix clarified that the wastewater plant is operating now and the project is complete other than some cosmetic issues. Mr. Drobina stated he and Mr. Vance would be meeting with the contractor at the end of the week to discuss any issues.
a. TDS – Update. Mr. Drobina stated as shown in his report we did have two high readings in July that put us over our limit and put us in violation for TDS. Mr. Drobina stated the three readings he has had in August so far have been over our limits, but he hoped the average would come down by the end of the month. Mr. Drobina stated the high results occurred after three consecutive days of treating over 2,000,000 gallons of water per day.
C. WATER. No report.
7. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
A. Engineer’s Report. Mr. Bachman stated when the contractor was backfilling the interior of the foundation of the water tower and in moving the backhoe it rotated and the power weight at the back of the backhoe hit two of the bolts that will eventually hold the water tower itself and bent them fairly severely. He stated we are discussing with the contractor what the next step is, and he does not have an answer for the committee this evening, he was just making them aware of what has happened. Mr. Wisniewski stated he would request Mr. Bachman keep the Committee informed on this and if any special meetings are necessary they will certainly do that. Mr. Fix clarified the design engineering for this project was done by URS and the City is inspecting it. Mr. Fix further clarified that the decision on how this would be handled would fall to Mr. Bachman as the City Engineer. Mr. Bachman stated this is not something that occurs very often and he would probably look to our soils, firm who has structural engineers on staff, to try to come up with the best solution and to ensure the tower is safe.
Mr.
Bachman stated our street resurfacing program is out to bid and bids will be
opened on Monday. He stated he had
provided a memo showing the work he was requesting and he would request that
once the bids are opened if Service Committee agrees he would ask for a Waiver
of Committee Action so it can go directly to
B. ACTION ITEMS:
(1) Water Master Plan and Sewer Master Plan - Update. Mr. Bachman stated these projects will be completed in the next few weeks. Mr. Bachman stated they are calibrating the water model right now, and we should have a meeting on that by the end of the month. He stated for the sewer they are working on the model for this and are waiting for some information from us. Mr. Fix clarified these projects should be completed before the end of this year.
a. S.R. 256 Safety Improvement Project - Update. Mr. Bachman stated he had a meeting scheduled next week with the new ODOT District safety engineer, and he will discuss this project and how to get the application in the pipeline for the next round which will be next spring.
(2) Review and request for motion to approve
ordinance authorizing City Manager to execute a contract with URS Corporation
for professional engineering services on the Water Treatment Plant Reverse Osmosis
Project. Mr. Bachman stated he and
Jennifer Readler have worked out details of the contract with URS and URS has
agreed to those changes from what they initially drafted and the contract is
basically ready to go. Mr. Bachman
stated the version the Committee has, has five parts to it. He stated he has asked that they do the first
two parts for the design and the bidding for the cost of $140,000, and the next
three parts would be only if authorized and would be at an hourly rate. Mr. Bachman stated the proposals we received
from the three firms were just based on design through the bidding phase. He stated he has also requested they provide
construction cost estimates at the 30 percent design point, the 90 percent
design point, which is what they would submit to the EPA, and the 100 percent
design point. Mr. Bachman stated the
contract has had one reading at
(3) Review and request for motion to approve
submitting a grant application for the Long Road Complete Street Project to the
Ohio Public Works Commission. Mr.
Bachman stated he had provided a memo to the Committee on this project. He stated there was an error in that memo for
the project funding and the amount from the General Fund should be $400,000 and
not $500,000 as reflected. Mr. Bachman
stated the funding breakdown he had provided is our best chance to get the
funding match for the project, if we limit the OPWC grant to $400,000 it looks
promising, but if we ask for more from the OPWC our chances go down quite a
bit. He stated we could ask for more
from OPWC and less from the General Fund, but that is a policy decision from
the
Mr.
Bachman stated he needs to submit final applications by September 3rd
for a MORPC funding round and the funds would not be available until fiscal
year 2016 through 2019. He stated the
three projects he was submitting included the
C. TRANSPORTATION
(1) Review and discussion regarding ODOT controlled traffic signals. Mr. Bachman stated he would discuss this when he has the meeting the new safety engineer next week.
(2) School Speed Zone Study – Update. Mr. Bachman stated he had received the times
that each individual school would be opening and letting out for this school
year, but he needs more time to work on this.
Mr. Wisniewski stated if more kids will be walking to school this will
be a critical safety concern, especially with kids crossing
Mr. Wisniewski stated he would again question the 10:00 P.M. time to set the traffic signals to flash was too early. He questioned what time and effort would be involved to change that time to 11:00 P.M. on Friday and Saturday nights. Mr. Bachman stated the cost would be fairly minimal; however, his observation has been that people have to wait longer to make left turns when the lights are not on flash. Mr. Wisniewski stated he would defer to the engineer on this issue.
Mr. Fix clarified the remainder
of the work on
8. CHAIRMAN. Mr. Wisniewski stated he had nothing to bring forward.
9. OTHER BUSINESS:
A. Review and discussion regarding Senate Bill 131, requiring giving purchasing preference to biobased products. Mr. Vance stated basically this was if something in this regard comes to staff’s attention and it appears to be of benefit to the City he could bring it back to Committee. Mayor O’Brien stated he has heard that the products are sometimes not as reliable as the non-biobased products so they may need a few more years of refinement to equal the quality. Mr. Wisniewski stated he concurred and Mr. Vance could bring any opportunities in this area back to Committee if necessary.
B. Review
and request for motion to approve participation in the Walnut Creek Watershed
Planning Partnership. Mr. Vance stated
MORPC is looking for preliminary information that we are interested in
participating in this so they can continue to work with us in this regard. Ms Crotty stated participation is not
mandatory and everything that comes out of this will not be mandates. She stated most of the City is in the Walnut
Creek Watershed and MORPC is doing this with all of the watersheds in the
region. Mr. Sauer clarified that nothing
that came out of there would affect resident’s ability to sell their property,
develop their property, or anything of that nature. Ms Crotty stated that was correct and we did
not want to identify priority development in priority conservation areas and we
would be providing input for our community on that. She stated this is a situation where she felt
we would benefit from being at the table.
She stated further she understood incentives would come out of this if
you participate in the plan and follow it as a guide, such as extra points on
grant applications, etc. Mr. Fix moved to forward the resolution to
10. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Wisniewski moved to adjourn; Mr. Fix seconded the motion. Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mr. Sauer voted “Aye.” Motion carried, 3-0. The Service Committee adjourned at 8:40 P.M, August 18, 2010.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:
________________________________
Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk