CITY OF PICKERINGTON

SAFETY COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2004

7:30 P.M.

REGULAR MEETING AGENDA

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Wisniewski called the meeting to order at 8:00 P.M. with Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Riggs present. No members were absent. Others present were: Frank Wiseman, Lynda Yartin, Chief Mike Taylor, Mitch O’Brien, and others.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF January 12, 2004, Regular Meeting. Mr. Sabatino moved to approve; Mrs. Riggs seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino, Mr. Wisniewski, and Mrs. Riggs voting "Yea." Motion passed, 3-0.

3. DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

A. Parks and Recreation.

(1) Director’s Report. Mr. Wiseman stated Mr. Carr had provided a written report to the Committee. He stated Mr. Carr was not present as he was taking our Handicap Garden grant application to the airport for mailing so we could meet the deadline.

a. Parks Master Plan Survey - Update. Mr. Wiseman stated the Committee had been provided survey results, however, the analysis is not complete as yet.

b. Skate Park Project – Update. Mr. Wiseman stated there was no report on this issue.

c. Handicap Garden – Update. Mr. Wiseman stated this is the grant application Mr. Carr was mailing this evening.

d. ODNR/NatureWorks Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant Projects

1. NatureWorks Grant Project (Sycamore Park Dam Repair) – Update. Mr. Wiseman stated we are still waiting for the dam evaluation.

2. Land & Water Conservation Fund Project (Sycamore Park Renovation) – Update. Mr. Wiseman stated the grant awards have not been announced as yet.

3. Clean Ohio Conservation Grant Project – DeWolfe Property) – Update. Mr. Wiseman stated the administration has presented an offer on this property per Council’s instructions and we are waiting for a response. Mrs. Yartin stated the background information requested by the Committee was included in their packets.

(2) Parks & Recreation Board Council Representative Report – Mrs. Riggs stated Parks Board did not meet this month due to weather conditions.

Mr. Wiseman stated with relation to the Diley Road Widening project, part of the right-of-way involves the City’s ballparks at the water plant field. He stated since it is a federal project they require we sign off on it. He stated the schools will also need to sign off and we will be sending them correspondence on this.

Mr. Mitch O’Brien stated with the renovations being proposed for Sycamore Park he would like to know if anything is being planned for the re-surfacing of the tennis courts. He stated the pavement is cracked and weeds are growing up. Mr. Wiseman stated the tennis courts were not a part of this project, however, he would get with Mr. Carr and see if there are any plans to refurbish the tennis courts.

B. Community Outreach:

(1) Violet Festival Board Report. No report.

(2) Olde Pickerington Village Business Association Report. No report.

C. Building Operations: No report.

D. Service Department:

(1) Tree Commission. Mr. Wiseman stated the Commission is continuing to work on the Tree Brochure. Mr. Wiseman stated the trees in the Windmiller subdivision that Mr. Wisniewski had expressed concern over at the last meeting were looked at, however, he has not received the report as yet.

(2) Tree Commission Council Representative Report – (Mr. Sabatino) Mr. Sabatino stated the Tree Commission had also discussed expanding the tree lawns to accommodate a bigger variety of trees and to offer more room for growth. Mr. Sabatino stated Mr. Wiseman was going to get with our Planning and Zoning Director to see what the impact would be going from the typical four to five foot tree lawn to possibly seven feet. Mr. Wiseman stated another option they were looking at was putting the trees behind the sidewalk instead of in the tree lawn. He stated there is a larger variety of trees that can go in the lawn, and the larger tree lawn would make it so you don’t have branches hanging over the sidewalks that need to be cut back. Mr. Wiseman stated he will have more information after he has talked to the Planning and Zoning Director.

E. Code Enforcement:

(1) Nuisance Abatement Board.

a. Nuisance Abatement procedures regarding sign at 18 E. Columbus Street – Update. Mr. Wisniewski stated Mr. Mapes had informed him that he was in conversation with Mr. McMillen and he hoped to have something for the Committee next month.

4. POLICE:

A. Chief’s Report. Chief Taylor stated his report had been distributed and he would answer any questions. Mr. Wisniewski clarified that Chief Taylor was not in favor of letting the NRA (National Rifle Association) use our firing range for the qualification portion of the course that is needed to be licensed to carry a concealed weapon. Chief Taylor stated the NRA course is very lenient and only requires eight rounds to be shot. He stated he is hoping the Ohio Peace Officer’s Training Academy will approve a training course to use, and until a decision is made on that he will hold off on letting our range be used for a course that he did not feel was sufficient. The Committee members concurred with Chief Taylor’s comments.

5. CHAIRMAN.

A. Review and discussion regarding safety issues around detention ponds in the City. Mr. Wisniewski stated the Committee had received a report from Mr. Schultz stating what some other communities have done in this area. Mr. Sabatino stated if we do nothing on this, it is only a matter of time before we have an accident. He stated he feels strongly that we need to do something more than what we have. Mr. Wiseman stated we will continue to research to see if there is any community that has dealt with this issue and what they have done. Mr. Wisniewski stated this will remain on the agenda.

B. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance removing Council Representatives as voting members of the Tree Commission and Parks and Recreation Board. Mr. Sabatino moved to forward to Council; Mrs. Riggs seconded the motion. Mr. Sabatino stated he felt this is something we should move forward as the Council Representative does not serve a real function on these boards. Roll call was taken with Mr. Wisniewski, Mrs. Riggs, and Mr. Sabatino voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

6. OTHER BUSINESS. Mr. O’Brien stated he had spoken to Council and to Safety Committee in the past regarding the traffic problems on East Street. Mr. O’Brien stated we have had enough snow that we could justify no parking on the street where the signs are posted, however, cars are still parked there. He stated the snow plows have had to plow around those cars and it has narrowed the road considerably. Mr. O’Brien stated he has addressed the school board on this issue as they need to provide more parking for their employees at the school and it is not just the city’s problem. Mr. O’Brien stated he knew the City has looked at this in the past, but it is only getting worse. Mr. Wiseman stated he and Chief Taylor did look at this in the past, and the option of making East Street one way is not viable. Chief Taylor stated the largest concern in making this street one way was emergency response vehicles not being able to get through there. Mr. Wiseman stated in speaking with the Principal of Heritage Elementary it was his understanding the schools have a potential spot, the field just north of the school, to expand their parking and their biggest concern was finding the funding to do that. Mr. Wisniewski stated the problem was caused by there not being enough space because of vehicles parked on the street. Mrs. Riggs stated there was also a problem at the junior high because traffic waiting to pick up or drop off just bottlenecks and backs traffic up all the way down Hill Road. Mr. Sabatino inquired if we could ban parking on East Street and Chief Taylor stated residents there park in front of their houses so that would be difficult to do. Mr. O’Brien stated he agreed this was not an easy problem, but teachers, parents, and staff also park on the street. He stated even if parking was banned on one side of the street, right now starting at about 3:00 P.M. parents waiting to pick up their children are lined up all the way down the street, and they are starting to line up two wide. Mrs. Riggs inquired if we had a potential solution that we could take to the school board. Mr. Wiseman stated he would like the opportunity to speak with the principal at the school again and try to work with him and see if we can jointly come up with a solution. Mr. Wiseman stated he and Chief Taylor would also look at the problem on Hill Road at the junior high location to see what could be done there. Mr. Wisniewski stated he would like to have this issue added to the agenda for the next meeting and Mr. Wiseman can let them know if he has been able to come up with anything.

7. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Sabatino moved to adjourn; Mrs. Riggs seconded the motion. Mrs. Riggs, Mr. Sabatino, and Mr. Wisniewski voted “Aye.” Motion carried, 3-0. The Safety Committee meeting adjourned at 8:35 P.M., February 2, 2004.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk