WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2011

REGULAR MEETING

7:00 P.M.

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Sauer called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M., with roll call as follows: Mr. Blair, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, and Mr. Sauer were present. Mr. Fix, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Sanders were absent. Others present were Bill Vance, Lynda Yartin, Chris Schornack, Ed Drobina, Greg Bachman, and others.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF February 2, 2011, Regular Meeting. Mr. Barletta moved to approve; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Blair abstaining and Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, and Mr. Barletta voting “Yes.” Motion passed, 3-0.

3. FINANCE DEPARTMENT.

A. Finance Director’s Report. Mr. Schornack stated he had provided a written report and he had provided information on an opportunity to have our portfolio actively managed by Robert W. Baird & Co. Mr. Schornack stated he is recommending we move forward on that and he would request a motion from the Committee this evening to approve that. Mr. Schornack stated the cost would be .15 basis points per $1,000 of securities or $4,600 annually for the securities we currently have and we are currently paying $4,800 with Productive Portfolio. Mr. Schornack stated he felt this would be a wise investment and we could be on top of changing markets in a quicker manner. He further stated they would follow our investment policy and we would still have an active say in what is purchased and what is not, but at the same time we are not missing out on something in the market that might provide more interest earnings for us. Mr. Schornack stated at this point in time we have approximately $3.1 million in our portfolio that would be actively managed by them and we have a little over $5 million in our CDs. Mr. Sauer clarified this would give more flexibility for the company to actively make a decision should market trends change quickly. Mrs. Hammond moved to authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement with Robert W. Baird & Co., for management of our portfolio investments; Mr. Blair seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, and Mr. Blair voting “Yes.” Motion passed, 4-0.

Mr. Schornack stated he would answer any questions anyone might have on his written report. Mr. Sauer clarified that the 316 shut off notices sent by the Utility Billing office in January is a fairly typical number and most people do pay their bill when they receive that notice. Mr. Vance clarified that if you are delinquent on you bill there is a ten percent penalty on your current bill and there is a $50 charge to have your water turned back on if it is shut off.

B. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance amending the 2010 appropriation, Ordinance 2009-91. Mr. Schornack stated the Committee had received a draft appropriation ordinance and reviewed all of the appropriation requests. Mr. Sauer moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Blair seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Blair, and Mr. Barletta voting “Yes.” Motion passed, 4-0.

C. Review and discussion regarding excess carryover funds. Mr. Sauer stated this was with regard to the excess funds that were anticipated when the budget was prepared and he felt at the last meeting it was determined we would wait a little longer this year to see how circumstances played out. Mr. Sauer stated this could be removed from the agenda and it could be revisited later in the year.

D. Five-Year Plan. Mr. Sauer stated all the Committee members had received the five-year plan in their packet and the idea was to give everyone a month to look it over and then get into more detail and suggestions at the Council Retreat in April. Mr. Schornack stated he would like to clarify that the reason for two versions was that Mr. Wisniewski requested a five-year forecast based on budget as well as the actual basis figures that were first provided. Mr. Schornack stated in order to do this he had used our 2011 budget and that is where you will see all of the negatives going wrong. Mr. Schornack stated all entities that file a five-year forecast do have to show it on an actual basis, and he would recommend the actual basis numbers be used when looking at this a little further. Mr. Blair clarified that we should have a final product on the Performance Audit by July or August and that project is currently moving forward. Mr. Sauer clarified that Mr. Bachman was working on a rating system for the roads and he asked if Council could get some kind of a plan on getting us on par. Mr. Bachman stated he had backed off of that project since we did not have funding, however, since we have some funding he is working on that and hoped to have some projections for Council within the next couple of months. Mr. Vance stated the most important thing we need to continue to work on is obtaining $3 to $5 million from ODOT for the Safety Grant on S.R. 256 as that will have a tremendous effect on the success or failure of that commercial corridor for the next ten to twenty years.

E. Discussion regarding Volunteer Energy donation. Mr. Vance stated we have another commercial area that he felt also demands a lot of attention as we move forward, and that is the old village area. He stated in his experience he has seen a lot of success with a minimal amount of funding being used for a matching grant program initially concentrating on exterior improvements. Mr. Vance stated for consideration purposes he would recommend the $13,000 the City received from Volunteer Energy be dedicated to a matching exterior maintenance grant program for the old village area. He stated Council could qualify that area by setting the boundaries, etc. He stated this program could be a grant not to exceed $1,000 so if a property owner put $1,000 into exterior improvements to their property, the City would match that $1,000 so you could get $2,000 worth of work. He stated $13,000 could hopefully generate $26,000 worth of exterior improvements in a relatively modest area and he thought that would be very positive and very noticeable in a positive way for the City. Mr. Blair clarified those funds did not have any restrictions and went into the General Fund. Mrs. Hammond stated she thought this type of program might be a good idea, however, she felt before we did anything we should define exactly what area we would be talking about. Mrs. Hammond further stated it is to the City’s benefit to improve the whole area, but the old village is actually very narrow. Mr. Barletta stated he felt we would need specific rules and questioned if any properties would be excluded. Mr. Barletta also stated we might look at a general project, such as sidewalk replacement in that district, as that would also achieve a positive result and could be done on a matching basis. Mr. Vance stated if this Committee has no objection staff could work on some possibilities with the Chamber and the Olde Pickerington Village Business Association in this regard to come up with some recommendations to be considered at the next meeting. Mr. Sauer stated he would request staff work on trying to define an area and the criteria and rules for the grant program and that this issue be added to the next Finance Committee agenda.

4. CHAIRMAN:

A. 2012 Budget Issues/Concerns.

(1) Blue Ribbon Panel – Update. Mr. Sauer stated some names have been forwarded to Mr. Vance, Mayor O’Brien, and himself for this panel, however, the idea right now is to hold off until Council has had an opportunity to go through the Five-Year plan to deem its necessity before we get too deep into it. Mrs. Hammond stated she felt that was wise and Mr. Barletta and Mr. Blair concurred.

(2) Revenue Enhancement Timeline - Update. Mr. Sauer stated it did not appear that there would be any changes to the timeline.

5. OTHER BUSINESS:

A. Discussion regarding Impact Fee Study and potential revisions. Mr. Vance stated staff has verified that we have no existing business who paid more than they should have as far as impact fees so we do not have to coordinate any kind of reimbursement. He stated he and Ms Crotty have discussed a potential impact fee study and they would like to have this discussion and consideration during the next budget process. Mr. Sauer stated he agreed with that recommendation and requested this item be removed from the agenda.

Mr. Schornack stated he had provided a draft ordinance to the Committee to amend the State Infrastructure Bank (SIB) loan. Mr. Schornack stated this would change our project completion date to 12-31-11, where it was 12-31-08, and an amendment because some sewer lines were a part of the Diley Road project and we needed an amendment to have the sewer fund be a part of the document in order to use sewer monies. He stated this would allow us to pay off the sewer portion of the project with those monies. Mr. Blair moved to approve and forward to Council; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Blair, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yes.” Motion passed, 4-0.

Mr. Schornack stated a fleet inventory had also been provided to the Committee and Mr. Drobina is present this evening in case anyone has any questions on that report. Mr. Schornack stated Mr. Wisniewski had also requested a report showing the allocation of where all employees are paid from as far as their relation to the utility fund, and that was also included in your packets.

Mr. Sauer requested Mr. Drobina provide an overview of what he felt was the most pressing need with regard to vehicles. Mr. Drobina stated everyone had received a copy of the report on the bucket truck and he would not suggest that we purchase a bucket truck. Mr. Drobina stated we rarely use that vehicle and in his opinion it would be more cost effective to hire someone with that equipment for a day or two when we need it. Mr. Sauer stated he thought this information would be useful when Council is making decisions on future vehicle purchases. Mr. Sauer further questioned if it would be possible to refine this report to indicate which funds each of these vehicles were purchased out of and Mr. Schornack stated that would not be difficult. Mrs. Hammond stated the report did not indicate any mileage for the motorcycle and Mr. Schornack stated it has very low mileage. Mr. Vance stated it is his understanding that Chief Taylor is looking to sell the motorcycle and put that money toward cars. Mr. Sauer stated what he would request would be an annual master list of vehicles that shows the mileage and what funds they would be purchased out of if they had to be replaced. Mr. Drobina stated he and Mr. Schornack could prepare that listing.

6. 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. Mr. Sauer stated an Executive Session was not necessary this evening.

7. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Blair moved to adjourn; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Blair, and Mr. Barletta voted "Aye." Motion carried, 4-0. The Finance Committee adjourned at 7:35 P.M., March 2, 2011.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, City Clerk