SERVICE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2004

WORK SESSION

DISCUSSION OF TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENTS PLAN

6:30 P.M.

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Hackworth called the Service Committee Work Session to order at 6:30 P.M., with Mr. Hackworth, Mr. Parker, and Mr. O’Brien present. Others present were Judy Gilleland, Lynda Yartin, Lance Schultz, Frank Wiseman, Jerry Dailey, John Gallagher, and others.

Mr. Gallagher stated he had several topics he would like to discuss with the Committee this evening. He stated he had provided a memorandum summarizing the items and decisions that came out of the November 11, 2004, work session

Mr. Gallagher stated there are a lot of minor arterials show on the plan that are through residential neighborhoods. He stated in order for Service Committee to present a Thoroughfare Plan to Council that everyone can support, he felt that is something that should continue to be shown. He stated as we get the opportunity for connectivity between the major routes, the more important that will become. He stated the flip side is traffic in residential areas. Mr. Gallagher stated Safety Committee had been presented with some criteria to determine where traffic calming devices should be put in. Mr. Gallagher stated eventually the City will need to make decisions on the issue of traffic calming devices, however, he is now looking for direction from the Service Committee on the minor collectors. Mr. Hackworth stated he has received phone calls from residents in those neighborhoods, but he would like to get with the Chairman of the Safety Committee and some City staff to see what other options we might have. He stated, for the time being, he felt the only option was to leave those as minor collectors. Mr. Dailey stated if these are left as minor collectors on the Thoroughfare Plan, one of the items on the Traffic Improvement Plan will be to continue to try to work on that. Mr. O’Brien stated he would like to see if there was an opportunity where Opportunity Way hits Hill Road as the only thing on the other side of Hill Road is right-of-way for the power company. He stated we could put a road in there all the way to Fox Glen and it would be a good connector for Diley Road. He questioned if there was the opportunity to put a street in there. Mr. Schultz stated Fox Glen has been platted and Sections 5 and 6 are currently being built. He stated he would look into it to see if anything could be done in that area.

Mr. Gallagher stated the next issue he would like to discuss would be the downtown street classifications. Mr. Gallagher stated in the immediate downtown area he would recommend those be reclassified as local. Mr. Hackworth ascertained the Committee concurred with the local classification for the downtown streets.

Mr. Gallagher stated the final item for discussion this evening was the Hill Road Connector/Downtown By-Pass. Mr. Hackworth inquired if there had ever been any plans drawn up to show where it would go or had it been designed. Mr. Dailey stated three scenarios had been prepared several years ago and he did have those drawings with him this evening. Mr. Gallagher reviewed the three drawings with the Committee. Mr. Parker pointed out that since the time these drawings were prepared, East Street has been realigned. He stated he felt this was more of a traffic reduction plan rather than a by-pass because the purpose was to try and get rid of transient traffic that would not be stopping in the downtown area. Mr. Parker stated the eastern part of the community is going to continue to grow and the purpose is to get that traffic moving. Mr. O’Brien stated he agreed with Mr. Parker that we cannot ignore a connector. He stated it is just a matter of working with what is there to get it done. Mr. Parker stated the end parts have been done and we need to figure out what to do in the middle. Mr. Dailey stated the alignment of this would require an entirely separate meeting, and he would like to have the Committee think about the east end and what they would like to see happen in that area. Mr. Dailey stated the point here is does the Committee think this is something we should try to reserve space for. Mr. Hackworth clarified the Committee, at this time, felt the connector should be included in the Thoroughfare Plan.

2. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. Hackworth closed the work session at 7:37 P.M., December 9, 2004.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

________________________________

Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk

CITY OF PICKERINGTON

SERVICE COMMITTEE OF COUNCIL

CITY HALL, 100 LOCKVILLE ROAD

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2004

REGULAR MEETING

7:30 P.M.

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Hackworth called the meeting to order at 7:38 P.M., with Mr. Hackworth, Mr. Parker, and Mr. O’Brien present. No members were absent. Others present were: Judy Gilleland, Lynda Yartin, Frank Wiseman, Jerry Dailey, Bill Solomon, John Gallagher, and others.

2. A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF November 11, 2004, Work Session. Mr. Parker moved to approve; Mr. O’Brien seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Hackworth, Mr. Parker, and Mr. O’Brien voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF November 11, 2004, Regular Meeting. Mr. O’Brien moved to approve; Mr. Parker seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. O’Brien, Mr. Parker, and Mr. Hackworth voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

3. COMMUNITY COMMENTS:

Mr. Bill Solomon stated he was present this evening to address the Service Committee regarding the sign for his business, Solomon’s Carpets, in the old downtown area. Mr. Solomon stated when they were doing the downtown revitalization they took both of his signs down. He stated they did replace the one you can see from Lockville Road, but unfortunately you cannot see that sign from east to west. Mr. Solomon stated he would like to have a small perpendicular sign that can be seen when you are driving on Columbus Street. Mr. Solomon further stated he realized this took place under the old administration, but they had said they would look into getting him a small sign and that never transpired. Ms Gilleland stated her first question would be if two signs would be allowed on one building. Mr. Parker stated he did not feel Mr. Solomon was at the proper meeting, that Planning and Zoning Commission handles signage approval. Ms Gilleland stated that is correct they do handle approval, however, Mr. Solomon is requesting the City pay for the sign so she had asked him to come to this meeting. Mr. Solomon stated he is the third oldest business in the old downtown. Ms Gilleland stated she would like the opportunity to check and see if two signs are allowed, and, if so, her recommendation would be that the City not get involved in private ventures like this unless there are extraordinary circumstances. She stated since she was not here when this occurred, she wanted Service Committee to review this request. Mr. Parker stated as he recalled the request for the sign to be taken down was to bring Mr. Solomon up to Code, but there were certain things that were grandfathered in as far as the east/west signs. Mr. Parker stated he did feel that Mr. Solomon had been given a commitment as far as being allowed to put the east/west sign up, but, as far as the cost of the sign, he did not recall anything about the City paying for it. Ms Gilleland stated even if the cost of the sign is a negligible amount, she did not want to go down that road and set any precedent without having a thorough and conscious discussion. Mr. Hackworth stated he would like to have Ms Gilleland work on this and continue it on the agenda for the next meeting.

4. PLANNING AND ZONING

A. REPORTS:

(1) BZA Report. Ms Gilleland stated there were no cases in November and there are none scheduled for December.

(2) Planning and Zoning Representative Report (Mr. O’Brien) Mr. O’Brien stated Planning and Zoning will meet next week.

B. ACTION ITEMS:

(1) Review and of draft fee schedule analysis and recommendations, Part II – Stormwater, Building Regulations, Planning and Zoning fees. Mr. Hackworth stated he would request this be continued on the agenda for the next meeting as Mr. Plunkett will brief the Committee on his analysis at that time.

5. SERVICE DEPARTMENT

A. WATER UTILITY MAINTENANCE.

(1) Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance to provide for certain water service connection conditions and options. Mr. Hackworth clarified there were 51 potential customers that would be affected by this ordinance, and it would provide them the option, from the date this passes, six months to enter into a voluntary assessment agreement for water service. He further clarified the resident would be required to pay the front footage fee and the capacity fee that is in place at the time they sign up, so it would be the 2005 capacity fee rate. Mr. Wiseman stated the difference in this from the offer to the Pearl Lane and Florence Drive residents is these residents would pay the 2005 capacity fee and they would pay the front footage fee, however, they can have the voluntary assessment over a ten year period. Mr. Wiseman stated people who have already tapped into the water lines these people are on have already paid the front footage fee. Mr. Hackworth moved to approve the draft ordinance and forward to Council; Mr. Parker seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Parker, Mr. Hackworth, and Mr. O’Brien voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

B. WASTEWATER UTILITY MAINTENANCE.

(1) Review and discussion regarding tertiary sand filter replacement. Mr. Wiseman stated the east side filter is back in service and it is doing a very good job. He stated the west side is currently under repair. Mr. Wiseman stated we would bring them both up to standard and we have a revised maintenance plan that we will follow from this point on.

C. STREET MAINTENANCE. Mr. Wiseman stated we are doing one final pass around town for leaf pick-up by Friday and then we will be converting our equipment over for snow removal.

D. STORM WATER UTILITY MAINTENANCE.

(1) Long Road/Bowen Road Stormwater – Update. Mr. Wiseman stated we are currently working on some of the minor repairs and it does appear what we are doing will be beneficial and will help in the short term. Mr. Wiseman stated another letter will be sent to the Army Corps of Engineers encompassing some of the things they would like to see to make it more attractive to them. Mr. Wiseman stated our consultant and our engineer have reviewed this letter and we hope to hear something from the Corps of Engineers early next year.

E. TREE COMMISSION. Update. Mr. Wiseman stated Tree Commission did not meet this month.

F. SCIP (Formerly Issue II Program) – Application Submitted. Mr. Wiseman stated we will not hear anything on our application until January or February.

6. ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT CAPITAL PROJECTS

A. WASTEWATER

(1) Wastewater Plant Expansion (CIP# 02-03-005) – Update. Mr. Wiseman stated the stress test has been completed and our consultant will have a report ready before the next Service Committee meeting.

B. TRANSPORTATION:

(1) Courtright Road.

(A) Courtright Road Extension Project, Phase III (CIP#s 03-03-011 and 03-03-012) – Update. Mr. Wiseman stated he had no update at this time.

(2) Diley Road Realignment:

(A) Diley Road/256 Intersection Improvement Project, Phase II – Update. Mr. Wiseman stated the paving is done and they started striping today but were rained out. He stated they still need to do concrete work for the approaches to driveways, they have sidewalks to put in, and they have some asphalt to put in for customer’s driveways, but it will probably be spring before they do that. Ms Gilleland stated there are some rough sections in the paving. Mr. O’Brien stated the paving is not what he would expect, and Ms Gilleland stated we are working with the contractor on that. Mr. O’Brien stated he is not very impressed with the timeliness or the quality on this project.

(B) Diley Road/S.R. 256 Intersection Improvement Project, Phase III – Update. Mr. Hackworth clarified the contractor on this project is Kokosing and they should be able to construct the southbound lanes without interfering with traffic. Mr. Wiseman stated he felt that was correct, however, he has not spoken to them about their construction schedule as yet. Mr. Wiseman stated there will be an impact on Diley Road when they start the work to bring Windmiller in and connecting it to Diley and doing the Diley Road improvements. Mr. Wiseman stated we are looking at a different alignment for old Diley Road and we are working with property owners in that area and some commercial interests that we might be able to incorporate into this project. He stated if something works out, he will bring that to Service Committee at that time.

(3) Diley Road Improvements Project:

(A) MORPC/ODOT Project (CIP#98-03-005 and 03-03-005) – Update. Mr. Wiseman stated he met for an update with ODOT and MORPC and our engineers yesterday for an update. He stated everything is still proceeding as if the project will happen until there is any other decision.

(4) Cover/Ebright Connector (CIP#02-03-010)

(A) Pickerington Health Care Access Road – Update. Mr. Dailey stated he is working on this project and he will try to get this moving as soon as possible. Mr. Hackworth clarified the doctor has not signed off as yet.

(5) I-70/S.R. 256 Joint Improvements Project with Reynoldsburg and ODOT – Update. Mr. Wiseman stated Mr. Gallagher is working with ODOT to try and come up with some better signage. He stated we are trying to get ODOT to pay for the signage, but if that does not happen we will pay for it. Ms Gilleland stated Safety Committee has also had questions regarding signage, and she would like to approach ODOT with some signage suggestions and some cost sharing. She further stated she would like to try this before asking ODOT to come to a work session or whatever. Mr. Hackworth and Mr. O’Brien stated if Ms Gilleland can work it out with ODOT that would be a better approach. Mr. O’Brien stated he would recommend staff discuss this issue with Mr. Wisniewski as he is Chairman of the Safety Committee and coordinate with them.

(6) Traffic Signal Update. Mr. O’Brien stated the signal on S.R. 256 at Marcus Theater is a little off. He stated at 6:00 A.M. it tends to default green to Marcus and perhaps Mr. Gallagher can talk with ODOT on that. Mr. Gallagher stated he would follow up on that. Mr. Hackworth stated along these lines, the intersection along S.R. 256 by Birchwood is not lit very well and questioned if we could get more light in there. Mr. Dailey stated there are some potential plans to light S.R. 256 from Kohl’s south to Kroger as part of Diley Phase II, but it was taken out for funding reasons. He stated they could still be included as part of the Stonecreek extension if it is ever built. Mr. Wiseman stated the street lights that are on the poles at the intersections are South Central Power lights and all the City does is pay for the electric. Ms Gilleland stated we could contact South Central Power and ask them to install a regular street light at that intersection.

(7) Traffic Improvement Plan (TIP) – Update. Mr. Hackworth stated this was discussed at the work session earlier this evening.

C. WATER:

(1) Wellfield Investigation – Update. Mr. Wiseman he had nothing new to report this evening. He stated he is checking to see what the Township has planned for the eastern part of the township, what they are looking at for zoning, etc. He stated he is also still talking with Canal Winchester about whether we can get some capacity out of their wellfield at U.S. 33. Mr. Wiseman stated we are having our pizometer readings evaluated in correlation with what Burgess & Niple has done with Pickerington Ponds. He stated we will keep on top of it as we get more data and information to show that we do not have any interconnection between our wellfield and Pickerington Ponds.

D. STORMWATER. No Report.

7. CHAIRMAN. Mr. Hackworth stated he had nothing to bring forward.

8. OTHER BUSINESS.

A. Review and request for motion to approve draft ordinance to amend Chapter 1422 relative to the Residential Code of Ohio. Ms Gilleland stated this was being brought forward from our building department. She stated we have adopted the Ohio Residential Code (ORC) and it has created confusion for many entities as it gets confused with the Ohio Revised Code (ORC). She stated the name of the Code is being changed to Residential Code of Ohio (RCO) in order to avoid this confusion. Mr. O’Brien moved to forward to Council; Mr. Parker seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. O’Brien, Mr. Hackworth, and Mr. Parker voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 3-0.

9. ADJOURNMENT. There being nothing further, Mr. O’Brien moved to adjourn; Mr. Parker seconded the motion. Mr. Hackworth, Mr. Parker, and Mr. O’Brien voted “Aye.” Motion carried, 3-0. The Service Committee adjourned at 8:35 P.M., December 9, 2004.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

________________________________

Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk