WEDNESDAY, JULY 20, 2011

REGULAR MEETING

6:30 P.M.

1. ROLL CALL. Mrs. Hammond called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M., with roll call as follows: Mrs. Hammond, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Fix were present. No members were absent. Others present were: Bill Vance, Lynda Yartin, Commander Steve Annetts, Mayor O’Brien, Tony Barletta, Becca Medinger, Greg Bachman, Joe Henderson, Ron Ebright, Nate Ellis, and others. Mr. Hopper arrived at 6:40 P.M.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF June 22, 2011, Regular Meeting. Mr. Fix moved to approve; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, and Mrs. Hammond voting “Yes.” Motion passed, 3-0.

3. COMMUNITY COMMENTS: There were no community comments.

4. POLICE:

A. Chief’s Report. Commander Annetts stated the Chief had provided a written report and he would be happy to answer any questions. Mrs. Hammond stated it does not appear that many neighborhoods are interested in the National Night Out and Commander Annetts stated as of today they have not received any e-mails or contacts by anyone. He stated next year we are going to try and have one large event instead of having neighborhoods have individual events. Mrs. Hammond stated perhaps something could be held at City Hall this year and Commander Annetts stated he would look into that.

5. DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

A. Building Regulations Department.

(1) Code Enforcement Report. Mr. Vance stated in Mr. Hopper’s absence he would try to answer any code enforcement questions. Mr. Vance stated we have been active with the temporary signage issues and we have been following up on those issues. Mrs. Hammond stated she had a question regarding the invisible fences for dogs. She stated she wondered if there were any regulations on how close to the sidewalk they can be, because when a dog comes running through the yard toward the sidewalk and you do not know there is an invisible fence, it can be frightening. Mr. Vance stated he was not aware of anything on this issue. Mrs. Hammond clarified the court date on the feral cat issue is set for August 2^nd.

B. Service/Parks Department

(1) Recreation Administrator’s Report. Ms Medinger stated she had provided a written report to the Committee and she would be happy to answer any questions. Mr. Fix stated he was wondering if there was something in the budget that could be used to put a better sign at the entrance to the disc golf course because the one there is not easily seen. Ms Medinger stated they are looking at getting new signs for all of the tees as well as one for the entrance and a sign with the rules.

a. Discussion regarding “After Hours Swimming Pool Rental Policy” Ms Medinger stated staff has discussed updating our policy, however, she would like input from the Committee as well. Ms Medinger stated currently the pool is open to non-season pass holders and you can rent the pool for two hours or three hours. She stated we do not have many of these parties and the question was if we wanted to allow them at all. Mrs. Hammond clarified that we do have a formula to determine how many life guards and managers are needed based upon the number of guests. Mr. Vance stated the initial purpose was to have a money-making opportunity with after hours events. He stated, however, he did not know if the pros outweighed the cons because the pool is adjacent to a residential area and after all the costs associated with providing this opportunity the surplus pretty minimal. Mrs. Sanders stated she understood that groups like the marching band, the football team, etc., have rented the pool in the past and she felt that it was not so much the money-making part, but the reaching out to the different groups in the community that was a good thing. Mrs. Hammond stated she agreed we might want to look into limiting it to the school district or groups like that. Mr. Fix stated the Committee had received a policy from the law director that was fairly lengthy, but perhaps staff could work with him to come up with a proposed policy for the Committee to review. Mr. Vance stated we would try and have some recommendations next month. Mrs. Sanders stated she understood there were residents who were planning birthday parties at the pool but they were waiting to hear if it was allowed or not. Ms Medinger stated that birthday and after hours parties are on hold. Mrs. Hammond clarified that birthday parties are during regular hours and Mr. Vance stated he felt we could proceed with those. Ms Medinger stated she did have contact information for the people waiting to hear about the birthday parties and she would let them know we would allow the birthday parties during regular hours.

Ms Medinger stated she had also heard from Mr. Paul Jay of the Columbus Flyers Disc Golf is putting on a tournament in August and one in November that have been approved. She stated for the August tournament is called the Pickerington Classic and Mr. Jay is asked if the City would allow him to use our logo on golf discs as a give away at the tournament. Mr. Fix moved to allow the Columbus Flyers to use the Pickerington City logo on the golf disc give away for their disc golf tournaments in August and November 2011; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, and Mr. Fix voting “Yes.” Motion passed, 3-0.

(2) Service/Parks Maintenance Report. Mrs. Hammond stated Mr. Drobina was on vacation this week.

(3) Parks Board Representative Report (Mrs. Sanders). Mrs. Sanders stated the Indian mound project is continuing and they are waiting for information to come back on some tests conducted.

Mrs. Hammond stated Mr. Hopper is now present determined there were no questions regarding his report. Mr. Hopper stated he is finding some businesses are putting in outside patios without proper permits and he is notifying them of the need for approval.

C. Engineering Department:

(1) City Engineer’s Report. Mr. Bachman stated he had provided a written report and would answer any questions.

a. Review and discussion regarding request for additional speed limit sign on W. Columbus Street. Mr. Bachman stated we currently have six speed limit signs on the one mile stretch from Hill Road to Diley Road, three in each direction. Mr. Bachman stated it would be his recommendation that another sign not be installed. Mr. Fix stated he has noticed certain areas in Violet Township have “25 MPH” painted in large lettering on the road and he questioned if that might be a solution in this area. Mr. Bachman stated we have also done that in approximately six places in town and he would have no objection to doing that in this location. He stated he would speak to Mr. Drobina to see about getting this done. Mrs. Hammond stated she felt that would be a suitable solution and clarified that the Committee concurred with the painting of the speed limit on the road and recommended an additional speed limit sign not be installed.

Mrs. Hammond stated she has been contacted by a resident regarding a sign for deaf children. She stated the resident had requested this sign in the past and after discussion this Committee had recommended a “Watch for Children” sign be installed, which was done. Mrs. Hammond stated the resident stated this was not what she had requested and Mrs. Hammond stated she would like to know if any Committee member had any other thoughts on this. Mr. Fix stated he felt we could overdue signage, especially on low traffic streets, but he would defer to the City Engineer. Mr. Bachman stated most national studies do not recommend the “Slow Children Signs” because it is just another sign that people don’t pay much attention to. He stated, obviously, everyone should watch for children no matter what area.

Mrs. Hammond stated everyone had received the request from a resident requesting sidewalks along W. Columbus Street. Mrs. Hammond stated it was obviously the wish of most of the people in the City that we had sidewalks there, however, the only way we might be able to put sidewalks in would be to receive some type of grant or there is the alternative where the homeowners would absorb the cost. She stated she does sympathize with the resident, but she did not know how we could do that project. Mr. Fix inquired if that could be included as a part of our “Safe Routes to Schools” and Mr. Bachman stated it was possible. Mr. Bachman stated one problem in this area is that it is an uncurbed street and we would be putting sidewalks close to where ditches are which would not improve drainage in that area. He stated it becomes difficult to fit everything in the exiting right-of-way because you would want to put the sidewalks on the back side of the ditch, not the street side, and that would be getting into residents yards. He stated we did submit a grant application last year, but that project would be very expensive. Mr. Bachman stated he will be discussing with the Planning, Projects & Services Committee the possibility to get funding just for the section from Hill Road to the first street west of that ditch and if he can put enough funding sources together with OPWC funding we may be able to do that for a fairly low cost out of the City’s General Fund. He stated he might be able to get some Safe Routes to Schools money, take some out of the storm water utility since it involves storm drainage, and the County Engineer’s Office may be willing to put in money to replace their culver underneath the road. He stated he would take a look at this, but it would be a couple of years away. Mr. Fix clarified Mr. Bachman had communicated these options with the resident who had made the request.

Mr. Bachman stated the Traffic Control Map has been updated and he would provide a copy to the Clerk’s Office. He also stated he has been working on the State Route 256 safety grant application and he planned on having that in to ODOT next month.

6. CHAIRMAN:

A. Strategic Plan Goals – Update.

(1) Drug Awareness Program. Mr. Fix stated he has not been able to attend any meetings recently due to work conflicts; however, Officer Simcox has been attending them. Mrs. Sanders ascertained that the schools will not be offering any program that would be similar to the DARE program.

7. OTHER BUSINESS:

A. Review and discussion regarding request to honor T. O. Ebright (Pickerington Mayor 1930-1950). Mr. Vance stated he had some discussions earlier this week with Mr. Jim Ebright who is developing the soccer complex and there is an Ebright Drive in that complex. Mr. Vance stated he had also spoken with Mr. Ron Ebright who is present this evening. Mr. Ron Ebright stated Town Square Drive comes out right in front of where T. O. Ebright used to live so he felt that would be an appropriate location. Mr. Vance clarified that Mr. Ebright would like him to have a conversation with Mr. Jim Ebright prior to making an official recommendation. Mr. Vance stated he hoped to have a final recommendation for this Committee at the next meeting.

B. Discussion regarding traffic calming on Street. Mr. Aaron Dean stated he was not looking for any action this evening, but he would like to get some ideas from the City Engineer on getting the speed reduced on East Street South. He stated the speed limit is 25 MPH there, but one car cannot pass another with one of them pulling over. Mr. Dean stated he was looking for some help or suggestions on ways to get the speed lowered. Mrs. Hammond stated she would request Mr. Bachman work with Mr. Dean, look at this area, and bring some recommendations back to this Committee next month. Mr. Dean stated he would appreciate that because he would like to know what was the best thing that could be done.

8. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Fix moved to adjourn; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Mr. Fix, Mrs. Sanders, and Mrs. Hammond voted "Aye." Motion carried, 3-0. The Public Safety & Community Affairs Committee adjourned at 7:08 P.M., July 20, 2011.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, City Clerk