CITY OF PICKERINGTON

SAFETY COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2004

7:30 P.M.

REGULAR MEETING AGENDA

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Wisniewski called the meeting to order at 7:30 P.M. with Mr. Wisniewski and Mr. Sabatino present. Mrs. Riggs was absent. Others present were: Judy Gilleland, Lynda Yartin, Chief Mike Taylor, Steve Carr, Ed Drobina, Jenna Pellirdi, Deanna Hild, Cindy Darby, and others.

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

3. DEPARTMENT REPORTS:

A. Parks and Recreation.

(1) Director’s Report. Mr. Carr stated he had provided a written report and he would answer any questions anyone might have.

a. Parks Master Plan Survey - Update. Mr. Carr stated he had no update this evening.

b. Skate Park Project – Update.

c. Handicap Garden – Update.

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

1. NatureWorks Grant Project (Sycamore Park Dam Repair) – Update.

2. Land & Water Conservation Fund Project (Sycamore Park Renovation) – Update. Mr. Carr stated he had received notification that we will not be funded for this project. Mr. Wisniewski stated this can be removed from the agenda.

3. Clean Ohio Conservation Grant Project – DeWolfe Property) – Update. Mr. Carr stated he understood we will not be purchasing this property. Mr. Wisniewski stated this could be removed from the agenda. Mr. Sabatino ascertained that if we do not receive the funds, we are not obligated to proceed with this purchase.

e. Sycamore Park Tennis Court Repair Project – Update. Mr. Carr stated he had visited Wright State University where they have the synthetic surfaces, and he has received very favorable comments on that surface. He stated he has some additional research to do and plans to put a proposal for the tennis court repair in the next year’s budget.

f. Violet Festival Board Report. Mr. Carr stated they do not have their final financial report as yet, however, they plan to give their final report at the October meeting. Ms Gilleland ascertained the members had received a copy of Helen Mayle’s resignation from the Violet Festival Board. She stated as Ms Mayle is Council’s representative on the Board, and Council will need to appoint a new representative by motion or the Board will do it amongst themselves.

B. Building Operations: No Report.

C. Service Department: No. Report.

D. Code Enforcement: Update.

(1) Nuisance Abatement Board. No Report.

Mr. Sabatino stated as there are no nuisance abatement issues at this time, he wondered if this item should be removed from the agenda. Mr. Wisniewski stated he concurred, and it could be removed from the agenda.

4. POLICE:

A. Chief’s Report. Chief Taylor stated his report had been distributed and he would answer any questions.

5. CHAIRMAN.

A. Review and discussion regarding safety issues on East Street. Ms Gilleland stated she had no update this evening other than that the City had stripped parking spaces on the west side of East Street, as well as, the parking lot along the north side of the building.

B. Review and discussion regarding stop signs on Diley Road. Mr. Wisniewski stated he has received several complaints about people running the stop signs on Diley, mostly from north and south bound. He stated he would like to know if it would be possible to put warning signs up. Mr. Sabatino stated he has received comments about the same thing, and it seems people just do not see that stop sign. Mrs. Darby stated she lives in that area and she sees this happening quite often. Mr. Wisniewski moved to amend the Traffic Control Map to authorize the installation of “Stop Ahead” signs at the appropriate locations at the Diley Road and Wright Road intersection and at the Diley Road and Long Road intersection, on northbound and southbound; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Sabatino and Mr. Wisniewski voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 2-0.

C. Review and discussion regarding traffic calming devices. Mr. Wisniewski stated he had requested this be added to the agenda as he has received several complaints regarding speeding in subdivisions. Mr. Wisniewski stated he would like to know any suggestions for ways to slow down some of this traffic. Ms Gilleland stated people always think about speed bumps, but they cause more problems with snow removal and noise. Mr. Wisniewski stated he had read about a program where citizens are given radar guns and if there were specific people known to continually speed or run stop signs, their license numbers were given to the police department so letters could be sent to them. He stated he is not necessarily advocating this, it is just something that he had read about. Mr. Sabatino stated he did not think getting citizens involved is a good idea, and he felt what we need is more policemen on the streets. Mr. Wisniewski stated he agreed with Mr. Sabatino, however, it is unrealistic to have police officers monitoring subdivisions on a 24-hour basis. He stated he is just looking for ideas on how to calm the traffic and come up with ideas of slowing it down in subdivisions. Ms Gilleland stated we have the speed monitor we put in various areas, and there is also the motorcycle that is sitting in the garage and motorcycles are highly effective when it comes to speed enforcement. Ms Gilleland stated we can look into things that can be done. Mrs. Darby stated she has seen police departments who put officers on bicycles with a speed gun and they seem to be very effective. Chief Taylor stated we have identified patterns and our biggest problem with speeding in subdivisions does occur mainly in the morning before school and in the afternoon when school lets out. Chief Taylor stated he agreed with Mr. Sabatino that the only way to combat it is to have manpower trained in radar working different locations from time to time to surprise the drivers. Chief Taylor stated he is also against speed bumps, and as far as citizens notifying the police of speeders unless the police officer clocks the speed it cannot be enforced. Ms Gilleland stated she would check into the cost of some of the cameras that are used in different areas and get back with the Committee.

Mrs. Yartin stated she had forwarded three items to the Committee regarding traffic issues. The first was a letter from Mrs. Heaney at 196 Colony Park Drive. Mrs. Heaney is requesting “Children at Play” signs be posted on Colony Park Drive and Elmwood Street and one on Colony Park Drive as you approach Oak Tree Avenue in the opposite direction. Mr. Drobina stated those signs have been installed. Mrs. Yartin stated the second item was from Mr. Dan Leadingham who is requesting a traffic signal be installed at the Windmiller Boulevard and Refugee Road intersection. Mrs. Yartin continued the third item was a request from Shawna Slovina for stop signs on the corner of Fox Glen Drive West and Longleaf Drive. Chief Taylor clarified Longleaf is the first cross street as you drive down Fox Glen Drive. Chief Taylor stated if stop signs were installed at that intersection, then they will be requested at the other cross streets. Mr. Wisniewski stated we did put stop signs in Stonebridge and in speaking to residents there it seems like they are pretty much ignored. Mr. Wisniewski stated he was not sure if stop signs would be the best solution. Mr. Wisniewski stated he would like to have the Chief of Police and the Service Director look into this request and the Committee would review it at the next meeting. Mr. Drobina stated as far as the request for a traffic signal, that is scheduled for discussion for the 2005 budget. Mr. Drobina stated we have received several requests for a signal at that location. Mr. Wisniewski requested Mrs. Yartin notify Mr. Leadingham that this will be reviewed during the budget process.

D. Review and request to approve draft ordinance to amend Section 1080.03 of the Pickerington codified Ordinances relative to proper disposal practices for garbage containers. Mr. Wisniewski stated he has received numerous comments from residents regarding their neighbors who put their garbage out a week before the pick up date. Ms Gilleland stated a draft ordinance had been prepared for the Committee’s review. She stated she felt it would be appropriate to add a couple of things to the draft such as “Containers shall not be located or stored in the front yard and/or visible from the street.” Ms Gilleland stated that could be problematic as some people do store their trash containers in their side yard and may not have the depth of the house to take it back and get it away from the street. Mr. Sabatino inquired if we had to specify where you are allowed to set your garbage can and Ms Gilleland stated we want to at least state they should not be stored in the front yard. Mr. Sabatino stated there would be a problem when people set their trash out on Friday and they go away for the weekend because they would not be able to remove the trash can by midnight on the day of pick up. Ms Gilleland stated she did not feel there would be complaints if that happened occasionally, however, if there are people that are problematic and do that every week we will have an ordinance we can enforce. Mr. Wisniewski stated this was not to try and catch the person who did it once a year or took a long weekend, it was to cut down on the people who put the trash out on Tuesday when pick-up is Friday, and just continually throw trash out and make it an eye sore for all of the neighbors. Mr. Sabatino inquired what the penalty would be if you violated this ordinance. Ms Gilleland stated she could not answer that right now, but she would assume we would send our zoning inspector out to speak with them and give them a warning, then we could cite them into court for violation of our zoning law. Mr. Sabatino stated he also felt this should specify something about holidays because sometimes the trash pick-up is moved due to the holiday. Mr. Sabatino clarified we do not currently have an ordinance that deals with this. Ms Gilleland stated this is an ordinance that most cities have and they do enforce not storing garbage containers in the front yard. Mr. Sabatino stated he would not vote for this as it is this evening. Mr. Wisniewski clarified Mr. Sabatino would like to see something in the ordinance that gave flexibility. Ms Gilleland stated she could add a sentence regarding certain allowances for holiday pick-up and other exceptions. Mr. Wisniewski stated that would be good, and also for the next meeting if they could get information on how it will be enforced, what the penalties would be, and what the procedures would be. He stated that did not necessarily have to be in the ordinance but for discussion by the Committee. Mr. Sabatino stated he would also like to know the source of follow-up, would it be citizen complaint driven, or what. Mr. Wisniewski stated this came about because of numerous citizen’s complaints regarding trash being left out for several days. Ms Gilleland stated she has spoken with our code enforcement official and the Planning and Zoning Director and they both feel this ordinance is a good idea. Mr. Wisniewski stated he would like this to remain on the agenda for next month.

6. OTHER BUSINESS.

A. Review and discussion regarding speed limit on Hill Road South. Mr. Wisniewski stated this was with regard to an e-mail received from Mr. John Wieczorek regarding the speed limit change from 50 MPH to 25 MPH. Mr. Drobina stated 25 MPH speed limit signs have been posted on Hill Road South in areas that are within the city limits. Mr. Drobina stated some of the area out there is still in the Township. Mrs. Yartin clarified this is the area that was annexed to the City. Mr. Sabatino clarified the speed limit has not been enforced without the signs being there. Chief Taylor stated it was being enforced by the signs posted. Mr. Wisniewski stated this Committee did request the speed limit signs be posted at the outer edges of the City. Mr. Drobina clarified this was the area down by the wastewater plant going out towards Busey Road. Mr. Sabatino clarified the complaint is that the speed limit has been 50 MPH for the past several years and now it has been posted at 25 MPH. Mr. Drobina stated he concurred with the individual that 25 seemed to low in that area, however, that is the City’s speed limit. Chief Taylor stated he felt 25 is a little slow for that area and before it was annexed to the City he did believe it was 50 MPH. He stated although 50 may be too fast, he felt 25 was to slow. Mr. Sabatino clarified there are a few residents in that area. Mr. Wisniewski stated he would like to continue this on the agenda to give him a chance to drive out in this area and see for himself if this speed limit seemed to slow.

B. Review and discussion regarding on street parking in the old village area. Mr. Sabatino stated one of the restaurant owners in the old downtown had come to him because he was having an issue on football Friday nights that he had no business because there was no place to park. Mr. Sabatino stated the business owner wanted to know if there was anything Council could do on these four or five times a year this happens to free up some parking spots. Ms Gilleland stated some options would be to set aside a couple of parking spots at random for downtown business parking, set aside parking permanently for downtown businesses, or that time limits be placed on parking spaces. She stated there is a two-hour time limit on some parking spaces now. Mr. Wisniewski stated he would continue this on the agenda to see if any further recommendations could be made.

Mr. Wisniewski stated with the expansion of Diley Road and some other areas, he would like to know if there are any restrictions on trees that are planted. He stated he was thinking mainly of trees that go along the road to provide a buffer between the road and residences. Mr. Wisniewski stated he would like to know if we have ever looked at any of the fast growing trees such as hybrid poplars or something of that type. Mr. Drobina stated he did not think any hybrid trees had been looked at. Ms Gilleland stated she would have the City Arborist look into these types of trees to see if they might be appropriate. Mr. Sabatino stated we do have a tree preservation ordinance and questioned if trees removed in highway construction have to be replaced. Mr. Carr stated there are certain exceptions to the preservation ordinance and he was not sure if a road widening was one of them. Mr. Carr stated it was something that could be easily checked. Ms Gilleland stated landscaping is included as part of the budget with any road widening.

7. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Wisniewski moved to adjourn; Mr. Sabatino seconded the motion. Mr. Sabatino and Mr. Wisniewski voted “Aye.” Motion carried, 2-0. The Safety Committee meeting adjourned at 8:39 P.M., September 13, 2004.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk