Minutes
West Carrollton City Council Meeting
January 27, 1998
PRESENT: Mayor Maxine Gilman; Council members Bill Ennis, Daryl Garrison, William Gordon, Jack Jensen, Linda Lotspaih and Jeff Sanner; City Manager Tracy Williams; Assistant City Manager David W. Rowlands; Law Director Patrick Carney; Service Director Don Hill; Director of Planning and Economic Development David Humphreys; Parks and Recreation Director Rick Bolton; and Assistant Clerk of Council Patricia Replogle.
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Gilman. Pastor Mark Pierce of First Presbyterian Church gave the invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call followed.
MINUTES
A motion was made by Mr. Ennis to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 13, 1998. Mr. Sanner seconded the motion. A Roll Call vote was taken, all members voted yes and the motion carried.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Ord. No 3080-Change Churches & Private Schools to Conditionally Permitted Uses
Ordinance No. 3080-An ordinance amending Chapter 154 of the Code of Ordinances of West Carrollton known as the "Zoning Code", amending Sections 154.89, 154.90, 154.100, 154.101, 154.110, 154.111, 154.120, 154.121, 154.130, 154.131, 154.140, 154.141, 154.150, 154.151, 154.181(C)(1) and 154.181(C)(2) to change churches and private schools in residential districts from principally permitted uses to conditionally permitted uses.
Mr. Humphreys presented a brief staff report to Council. Mr. Humphreys stated that the changes contained in Ordinance No. 3080 came about as a result of an incident in which a local church wished to expand its parking lot. Some of the residents in that area were concerned that the expansion would have a negative impact to the neighborhood as a result of the appearance and traffic problems. Mr. Humphreys noted that although that incident was resolved satisfactorily, there have been no changes in the zoning regulations for churches since 1963 and times necessitate a need to make adjustments to the zoning code in this area. The Planning Commission checked into the zoning codes of some of the neighboring communities. The Planning Commission recommends changing the Code to make churches and private schools conditionally permitted use so that a public hearing would be held along with the other requirements for conditionally permitted use areas. This would enable the residents in those areas to express any concerns. Mr. Garrison asked Mr. Humphreys how this change to the Code would affect the churches’ need for additional parking. Mr. Humphreys stated that it changes the requirements in
the screening between the lot and the neighbors and some landscaping would be
required. Mr. Garrison wanted to know if the parking lot would be allowed to go into the set-back in the front yard. Mr. Humphreys responded that this would not be the case, generally speaking. Mr. Gordon stated that the retention of water was not noted as being changed. Mr. Humphreys stated that there would be no change in those requirements.
Mayor Gilman asked if there were any comments from the audience in favor of the Ordinance. There were none. Mayor Gilman asked if there were any comments from the audience opposed to the Ordinance. Pastor Shihady of Bethel Baptist Church at 454 Wilson Park Drive addressed Council. Pastor Shihady feels that the Ordinance itself is negative and appears to be overkill as a result of an isolated incident that has been resolved. He stated that his church hopes to expand someday and wonders if it will be a problem to do so. Pastor Shihady feels the current Ordinance is fine and any expansions by churches would only have positive affects for the community.
This is the first reading of Ordinance No. 3080.
COMMUNICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
Resolution No. 1-98: Donald Mounce
Resolution No. 1-98: A resolution acknowledging the appreciation of the citizens and public officials of the City of West Carrollton for services rendered unto said City by Donald A. Mounce.
Mayor Gilman read the resolution and presented it to Mr. Mounce. Mayor Gilman expressed her appreciation of all of the time Mr. Mounce has devoted to the City. Mr. Mounce wished to thank all of the citizens for their support and stated that he would still be staying in service to the community. Mr. Mounce thanked Sue Collinsworth, his campaign manager who was present, Mr. Williams and his staff, along with Mr. Carney and Mrs. Replogle. Mr. Mounce announced that he has been approached by the Miamisburg -West Carrollton News about doing a monthly political column which he is strongly considering. Mr. Mounce ended with a quote about being involved.
Resolution No. 2-98: Stan Brookins
Resolution No. 2-98: A resolution acknowledging the appreciation of the citizens and public officials of the City of West Carrollton for services rendered unto said City by Stan Brookins.
Mayor Gilman read the resolution and presented it to Mr. Brookins, thanking him for his work on the Business Advisory Council. Mr. Brookins said it was a delight working with the City but work with his company forces him to withdraw. Mr. Brookins encouraged the citizens to use the Business Advisory Council to help build a stronger community.
Resolution No. 3-98: Heather Hensley
Resolution No. 3-98: A resolution acknowledging the appreciation of the citizens and public officials of the City of West Carrollton for services rendered unto said City by Heather Hensley
Mayor Gilman read the resolution and presented it to Mrs. Hensley. Mayor Gilman thanked her for all of her hard work on the City Beautiful Commission during the last three years. Mrs. Hensley thanked Council, the Mayor and Rick Bolton and his staff. She said that she since she had her son, who accompanied her, she wasn’t able to contribute to the Commission as she would like to, but hopes to do so in the future.
Resolution No. 4-98: Kathy Rankey
Resolution No. 4-98: A resolution acknowledging the appreciation of the citizens and public officials of the City of West Carrollton for services rendered unto said City by Kathy Rankey.
The Mayor noted that Mrs. Rankey was not able to be at the meeting but would be presented with her resolution. Mayor Gilman thanked Mrs. Rankey for her 13 years on the City Beautiful Commission. The Mayor said Mrs. Rankey has been very dedicated and will be missed.
Resolution No. 5-98: Julie Ziemkowski
Resolution No. 5-98: A resolution acknowledging the appreciation of the citizens and public officials of the City of West Carrollton for services rendered unto said City by Julie Ziemkowski.
Mayor Gilman read the resolution and presented it to Mrs. Ziemkowski. The Mayor thanked Mrs. Ziemkowski for all of her time operating the cameras during the Council meetings. Mrs. Ziemkowski said that she has a busy schedule right now but plans to be back in the future.
Mayor Gilman noted that there is a certificate of recognition not on the agenda but that it would be presented later to Mr. Robert Nadolsky for his work with the West Carrollton Historical Society.
COMMENTS BY THE AUDIENCE
There were no comments by the audience.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Ordinance No. 3079: Zoning Code Expiration Time Amendments (second reading)
Ordinance No. 3079: An ordinance amending Chapter 154 of the Code of Ordinances of West Carrollton known as the "Zoning Code" amending Sections 154.98 and 154.178-5 to establish expiration times for final SPI and R-PUD development plans.
A motion was made by Mr. Garrison, seconded by Mr. Sanner, to approve Ordinance No. 3079. A roll call vote was taken. All members voted yes and the motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
Ord. No. 3081:Grounds Maintenance Specialist/ Maintenance Repair Person II Changes
Ordinance No. 3081: An ordinance amending Ordinance No. 3035 to provide for changes related to the positions of Grounds Maintenance Specialist and Maintenance Repair Person II, and declaring an emergency.
Mayor Gilman noted that this ordinance is merely to correct a technicality in the original ordinance. A motion was made by Mr. Jensen, seconded by Mr. Ennis to approve Ordinance No. 3081. A unanimous roll call vote carried the motion.
Resolution No. 7-98: Bypass/Isolation Transfer Switch Purchase Authorization
Resolution No. 7-98: A resolution authorizing the city Manager to purchase a bypass/isolation transfer switch for the Wastewater Treatment Plant’s electrical power feed without taking formal bids.
Mr. Hill addressed Council regarding this purchase. Mr. Jensen asked what makes this a sole source item? Mr. Hill responded that there are other companies that make the switch but they would have to replace the entire switch assembly instead of just replacing the bad portion. Mr. Sanner asked how much it would cost for a whole new switch. Mr. Hill stated that they did not know for sure. They have checked on purchasing components to repair the bad portion of the switch but it would be more expensive to do that. There being no further questions, Mr. Sanner made a motion to approve Resolution No. 7-98. Mr. Garrison seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken, all members voted yes and the motion carried.
Resolution No. 8-98: Jack McNabb
Resolution No. 8-98: A resolution acknowledging the appreciation of the citizens and public officials of the City of West Carrollton for services to the West Carrollton School District by Jack McNabb.
A motion was made by Mr. Gordon and seconded by Mrs. Lotspaih to adopt Resolution No. 8-98. All members voted yes to a roll call vote and the motion carried.
REPORTS BY OFFICERS
Mr. Williams thanked Charles Curran and Council for their participation in the last Citizens Academy meeting. The next Citizens Academy will be on Monday, February 16, 1998 at 7:00 p.m. The focus will be on the West Carrollton School District.
Mr. Hill wished to officially welcome and introduce Richard Norton, the new civil engineer for the City.
UNSCHEDULED BUSINESS
COMMENTS BY COUNCIL
Mr. Garrison, Mr. Sanner, Mr. Gordon, Mr. Ennis and Mr. Jensen each thanked and commended Mr. Mounce and the rest of the evening’s resolution recipients. Mr. Garrison said Mr. Mounce brought a lot to the city. Mr. Sanner stated that he will be looking forward to reading Mr. Mounce’s articles. Mr. Ennis also told Mr. Mounce that he appreciated his friendship even during the times that they did not agree. Mr. Jensen said that they will miss Mr. Mounce, that they already do and is glad to hear he’ll still be around. Mr. Jensen also welcomed Mr. Norton to the City’s staff. Mr. Jensen also stated that many good comments had been received regarding the refurbishing of El Meson and El Meson wished to thank the City for their support. During his comments, Mr. Gordon also noted that the Rotary Spaghetti Dinner will be on February 21st at the High School from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Mayor Gilman thanked Ron Ziemkowski on cameras and hoped Julie would be back too. She also thanked Mr. Mounce and wished him well.
A motion was made by Mayor Gilman, seconded by Mr. Gordon, to recess to a work session to discuss the items on the agenda. A unanimous roll call vote carried the motion.
Council recessed to a work session.
WORK SESSION
In addition to City Council, City Manager, G. Tracy Williams; Assistant City Manager, Dave Rowlands; Service Director, Don Hill, Planning & Economic Development Director, David Humphreys; Utility Superintendent, Tom Scherack; Civil Engineer, Rich Norton; Guests, Heather Saxe, CH2M Hill; Brandon Carpenter, member Groundwater Protection Plan Committee, representing West Carrollton Parchment; and Ray Snider.
WELLFIELD PROTECTION PLAN
Service Director Don Hill introduced members of the Groundwater Protection Plan Committee and gave an overview of the plan which is required by the Ohio EPA. He also mentioned that the city worked with the City of Miamisburg on the Groundwater Protection Plan.
Councilmember Jack Jensen asked if there are Montgomery County wells in the area and if we were working with the county in the overlap area.
Mr. Hill informed council that the city was working with the county and that the monitoring of the wells was the county’s responsibility.
Ms. Saxe gave a presentation on the Groundwater Protection Plan.
Councilmember Jensen asked if the urban design plan was coordinated with the Groundwater Protection Plan.
Planning & Economic Development Director David Humphreys mentioned that the performance standards will not prevent development in the Groundwater Protection Plan area. However, some uses may not be allowed.
Mr. Hill asked for City Council’s approval to submit the Groundwater Protection Plan to the EPA for their review.
City Council asked Mr. Hill to submit the plan to the EPA.
Don Hill, Tom Scherack, Rich Norton, Heather Saxe, Brandon Carpenter, and Ray Snider left the meeting
BUILDING CODE & PROPERTY MAINTENANCE CODE
Chief Building Inspector, Bob Reynolds joined the meeting.
Mr. Reynolds recommended changing from the Council of American Building Officials (CABO) Code to the Ohio Building Officials Association (OBOA) Code. The reason for the proposed change is to stay in line with other jurisdictions in the Miami Valley and to maintain an adopted standard throughout the area. All members of the Miami Valley Building Officials Council are recommending to their jurisdiction the adoption of the OBOA Code.
City Council informed staff to prepare an Ordinance for adoption.
SCOPE
City Manager Williams discussed the various programs offered to low-to-moderate income families and added that Deborah Ferguson, Manager of SCOPE, is preparing a newsletter article for the city newsletter.
David Humphreys left the meeting.
COUNCIL COMMENTS
Councilmember Bill Ennis mentioned that circulars are all over the streets, and inquired about the status of the Police Dispatcher position. Assistant City Manager Rowlands informed council that testing will be conducted February 5, with the top candidates.
Councilmember Jensen asked about the status of the Assistant Finance Director and wanted to make sure we make the necessary changes to process income tax records.
Councilmember Jensen mentioned the vacancies on the various Boards & Commissions.
Councilmember Bill Gordon mentioned that individuals are driving through corner lots in the city.
Councilmember Daryl Garrison asked about the resolution for the transfer switch and voiced his concern in the event an emergency had arisen. Mr. Williams stated that staff had time to get the resolution to city council. However, if there would have been an emergency the switch would have been replaced immediately.
Councilmember Jensen asked staff to prepare a report on how the backup devices work throughout the city.
Councilmember Linda Lotspaih mentioned she received several positive comments on the newsletter, asked if staff considered collecting ambulance service fees in-house, and gave staff some information on the use of credit cards.
Mayor Gilman reminded council of several upcoming events in the area.
ADJOURNMENT
Having no further business, Councilmember Gordon moved to adjourn. Councilmember Jensen seconded the motion. All members present voting Yes, the motion carried.
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MAYOR CLERK OF COUNCIL