WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2011

REGULAR MEETING

6:30 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, Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Wisniewski were present. Mr. Fix was absent. Others present were Bill Vance, Lynda Yartin, Chris Schornack, Ed Drobina, Greg Bachman, Carrie Woody, and others.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF July 19, 2011, Regular Meeting. Mr. Wisniewski moved to approve; Mrs. Sanders seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Blair abstaining and Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Sanders voting “Yes.” Motion passed, 5-0.

3. FINANCE DEPARTMENT.

A. Finance Director’s Report. Mr. Schornack stated he had provided a written report and would be happy to answer any questions anyone might have.

B. Lancaster Public Transit 2012 Pledge Request. Ms Carrie Woody stated she had submitted a formal request for assistance for calendar year 2012 to continue the current service in the Pickerington/Violet Township area, as well as, all of Fairfield County. Ms Woody stated in 2010 they started with one vehicle and currently they are running three to four vehicles and sometimes five vehicles in Violet Township alone, mostly in the Pickerington area. Ms Woody stated she was requesting $10,000 again for next year and it would be for calendar year January1 through December 31, 2012. Ms Woody stated she would be happy to answer any questions or address any concerns anyone might have. Mr. Wisniewski clarified Ms Woody was requesting $10,000 from Violet Township as well. Mrs. Hammond stated obviously user ship is up and she is glad we are able to help our residents. Mr. Sauer stated he appreciates the service they provide and he was sure Council would be happy to discuss this in the upcoming budget season. Ms Woody stated if any questions arise; please feel free to contact her. Mr. Sauer further clarified that Ms Woody applies for a grant each year and she needs to submit the application in September. Ms Woody stated last year because she had to submit the grant application prior to the City’s budget being approved, she received a letter on City letterhead that it was intended to be voted on in the budget. She stated that way she could provide documentation that she had the commitment even though the budget had not been passed. Mr. Sauer asked Mr. Schornack to keep in contact with Ms Woody and let Council know when the deadline is approaching se they can do whatever they need to do.

C. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance amending the 2011 appropriation, Ordinance 2010-91. Mr. Schornack stated we will be hiring a Planner II in the Planning and Zoning Department and in order to fill the position he needs an additional $17,000 which includes the benefits and salary for the remainder of the year and he would decrease Contractual Services in the Development Department by that same amount. Mr. Schornack continued that Violet Township and the Historical Society have both chipped in to help with some of the repairs on the Carnegie Building so he is increasing the Contractual Services in the Land and Buildings Department so we can make payment for those repair. He continued that Mr. Bachman is going to begin the design work for the S.R. 256 Safety Grant and he needs to move $20,000 from the Contractual Services to Capital so he can track it properly. In the Sewer Fund he was decreasing Contractual Services and increasing Capital by $29,705 for the purpose of clarifiers at the wastewater treatment plant. Mr. Drobina stated he would be repairing the old clarifiers. Mrs. Sanders moved to approve and forward to Council; Mr. Blair seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Sanders, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mr. Blair voting “Yes.” Motion passed, 6-0.

D. Review and request for motion to approve draft resolution accepting the amounts and rates as determined by the Fairfield County Budget Commission and authorizing the necessary tax levies and certifying them to the County Auditor. Mr. Schornack stated the County Budget Commission met on Monday and we received our inside millage and outside millage the same as previously received, 2.3 mill, 1.9 mill inside and 5.5 on our police operating levy. He stated the resolution will be forwarded from the County Auditor’s office. Mrs. Sanders moved to approve; Mr. Sauer seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Sanders, Mr. Sauer, Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Wisniewski, Mr. Blair, and Mr. Barletta voting “Yes.” Motion passed, 6-0.

4. CHAIRMAN:

A. 2012 Budget Issues/Concerns.

(1) Revenue Enhancement Timeline - Update. Mr. Sauer stated basically we are still waiting to hear back from the Auditor on the Police Audit before we move on to the next step of the process.

B. Strategic Goals – Update. Mr. Sauer stated he felt we were moving in the direction we want with regard to our strategic goals.

C. Discussion regarding additional crack sealing in the amount of $50,000. Mr. Bachman stated in the fall there was discussion of pavement resurfacing and what the budget would be and it was set at $20,000. Mr. Bachman stated now at the second half of the year he was recommending the possibility of an increase to that amount because in the long run it would save the City money by saving some of the pavement from deteriorating any further. Mr. Bachman stated crack sealing will seal the road from some of the water that gets in during the winter and then freezes and thaws and creates pot holes, etc. Mr. Bachman stated if there is additional money he felt it would be well spent because his theory is that the roads will get to a certain point that it will be very expensive to do anything with. Mr. Schornack stated he understood Mr. Bachman’s recommendation is that with the $200,000 that was previously put in there for the S.R. 256 Safety Grant, he was not going to use that this year, so you would just be using a portion that is already appropriated. Mr. Bachman stated the maximum he would be using from that $200,000 would be about $20,000 this year. Mr. Bachman stated he felt strongly enough that we do something this fall that in the five year plan we have $350,000 each year for paving and if the money is really tight that we somehow do $50,000 more this year and we do $300,000 next year. Mr. Wisniewski clarified we are not doing any street paving this year, only crack sealing. Mr. Bachman stated he has not prepared anything showing what streets would be done as yet. Mr. Wisniewski questioned if the $200,000 should be used now this year as Mr. Bachman deemed necessary as we would just need to move the money. Mr. Schornack stated if Council wants to go forward with that, the money is there, there would be no appropriation changes necessary. Mr. Schornack stated he would caution that if Mr. Bachman needs $200,000 to do the safety grant that will be additional funds we would need. Mr. Wisniewski stated he will not need it this year for sure and next year we are planning to budget $350,000 for streets that we can use for the safety grant if we have to. Mr. Blair clarified that it would be difficult to get any paving done this year because it is late in the season. Mr. Sauer stated as he understood it then there were two options tonight, one is the additional $50,000 being proposed on the agenda and the second is basically using the remainder of the $200,000 to do as much as we can. Mr. Wisniewski stated it would be his recommendation to authorize Mr. Bachman to use up to the $200,000. Mr. Schornack stated this would probably reduce the amount in future years by the portion used this year. Mr. Sauer stated then it is understood that if we dip into this it will affect what we do with the street budget in coming years. Mr. Schornack stated also that Mr. Bachman has the ability to contract directly with the County to do this and Mr. Bachman stated that was correct. Mr. Sauer moved to authorize Mr. Bachman to expend not to exceed $200,000 for additional crack sealing in 2011; Mr. Wisniewski seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Blair, Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Sanders, and Mr. Sauer voting “Yes.” Motion passed, 6-0.

5. OTHER BUSINESS:

A. Equity request for amendment to Guaranteed Maximum Amount Construction Contract for the extension of Stonecreek Drive in the City – Update. Mr. Vance stated a letter denying the extension request is going out on Monday.

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.

Mr. Wisniewski stated with regard to the upcoming budget season would it be possible to take the 2011 budget, copy it to 2012, and let Council know what the differences are between the two. He stated then they could schedule a budget meeting to discuss what the net effect is on the various categories instead of going through it line item by line item. Mr. Sauer stated he has a meeting scheduled later this month with Mr. Schornack and if that is something this body as a whole wants to do he can certainly discuss it at that time. Mr. Sauer clarified Mr. Wisniewski would like something that highlights what is different from last year to this year. Mrs. Hammond stated in doing that if there were questions the City Manager would be able to get the answers needed. Mr. Schornack stated he would have a budget calendar prepared by next month and then Council could determine what they would like to do.

7. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Wisniewski moved to adjourn; Mrs. Hammond seconded the motion. Mrs. Hammond, Mr. Sauer, Mr. Blair, Mr. Barletta, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Sanders voted "Aye." Motion carried, 6-0. The Finance Committee adjourned at 7:25 P.M., August 3, 2011.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, City Clerk