Minutes

West Carrollton City Council Meeting

November 23, 1999

PRESENT: Mayor Maxine Gilman; Council Members Bill Ennis; William Gordon; Jack Jensen, Linda Lotspaih and Donald Mounce; City Manager G. Tracy Williams; Assistant City Manager David Watson; Law Director Patrick Carney; Finance Director Tom Reilly; Police Chief Don Rice; Director of Planning and Economic Development David Humphreys and Assistant Clerk of Council Patricia Replogle.

EXCUSED: Councilmember Jeff Sanner.

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Gilman. Mitch Pollic, Youth Pastor at the West Carrollton Church of the Nazarene, gave the invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance followed.

MINUTES

A motion was made by Mr. Gordon, seconded by Mrs. Lotspaih, to approve the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of November 9, 1999 and the Work Session of November 11, 1999. A roll call vote was taken, all members voted yes and the motion carried.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

There were no Public Hearings.

COMMUNICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

OATH OF OFFICE - OFFICER JAMIL M. BAZZY

Chief Rice introduced Jamil Bazzy, the newest officer of the West Carrollton Police Department, to Council. Chief Rice said that Officer Bazzy was hired November 11, 1999 and spoke of the officer's background. Mayor Gilman administered the Oath of Office to Officer Bazzy. She congratulated the officer and said that he will be working with a fine group of men and women.

COMMENTS BY THE AUDIENCE

There were no Comments by the Audience.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

There was no Unfinished Business.

Resolution No. 23-99: A resolution authorizing the City Manager to enter into the "Enterprise Zone Agreement" with Findlay Industries, Inc.

Mayor Gilman noted that representatives of Findlay Industries, Inc. were present and available for questions. She thanked them for coming to the meeting.

A motion was made by Mr. Mounce, seconded by Mr. Gordon, to approve Resolution No. 23-99. All members present voted yes to a roll call vote and the motion carried.

Mr. Carney said that he had reviewed the contract and everything is in order. Mayor Gilman noted that the hourly rate remains the same as last year.

Mr. Mounce made a motion to authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement with Philip Wertz, architect, for professional services as plans examiner for the year 2000. Mrs. Lotspaih seconded the motion. A unanimous roll call vote carried the motion.

Mr. Carney stated that the contract is the same as the prior year and Mayor Gilman noted that the hourly rate also remained the same.

Mr. Ennis made a motion, seconded by Mr. Jensen, to authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement with John W. Price, architect, for professional services as a back-up plans examiner for the year 2000. All members voted yes to a roll call vote and the motion carried.

Resolution No. 24-99: A resolution declaring the intent of the City of West Carrollton to appropriate property necessary for improvement of the Miami and Erie Canal Park in the city of West Carrollton.

Mr. Jensen introduced and made a motion to approve Resolution No. 24-99. Mr. Gordon seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken, all members voted yes and the motion carried.

Resolution No. 25-99: A resolution declaring the intent of the City of West Carrollton to appropriate property necessary for construction of a new fire station in the city of West Carrollton.

Mr. Gordon introduced and made a motion to approve Resolution No. 25-99. Mr. Jensen seconded the motion. All members voted yes to a roll call vote and the motion carried.

Mr. Williams wished to recognize the presence of Bob Schommer and Randy Verhoff of Findlay Industries at the meeting. He also informed Council that ten bids had been received for the library expansion project. The low bid was received from I. F. Weber in the amount of $574,810.00. He noted that the project has already started with some clearing done yesterday by I. F. Weber. Mr. Williams also informed Council that bids had been received for the collection and disposal of recyclables. The low bid was awarded to Rumpke and will be in effect for three years. This new contract consists of charges of $1.75 per home for the first year, $1.79 per home for the second year and $1.84 per home for the third year. In addition, many items will be picked up which are not currently being collected in the current contract. Mayor Gilman noted that residents will be notified.

Randy Verhoff, President of Findlay Industries, addressed Council to express the company's gratitude to the city for making the Enterprise Zone Agreement possible. He said that their company is proud to be the first applicant of this agreement. Mr. Verhoff noted that Phil Gardner had started Findlay Industries in 1959 in Findlay, Ohio in the garage at his home. Since then, the company has grown tremendously. He said that the West Carrollton facility is the single most important facility in the company with projected sales of $500 million. Mr. Verhoff said that the Enterprise Zone Agreement will help them be competitive in the automotive industry. Mayor Gilman thanked him for attending the meeting and said that the city is pleased to be working with Findlay Industries.

Mr. Mounce thanked the representatives of Findlay Industries for attending the meeting and welcomed Officer Bazzy to the city. He also noted that the Lions Club Pancake Breakfast, held last Saturday, was a success. He informed everyone that the West Carrollton Historical Society Home Tour will be held on December 4^th. He also wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving.

Mrs. Lotspaih welcomed Officer Bazzy. She said that the Christmas tree lighting will be held on November 29^th at 5:30 p.m. and will also include many other activities such as crafts, baked goods, carriage rides and, of course, Santa. She wished everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Mr. Ennis thanked Findlay Industries and welcomed Officer Bazzy.

Mayor Gilman said that the Health Fair sponsored by the Parks & Recreation Department will be offering free health screenings to Montgomery County residents 65 years of age and older. Information may be obtained by calling the city offices. The Mayor thanked West Carrollton Parchment for its donation for the tree planting. She wished everyone a safe Thanksgiving.

Mayor Gilman made a motion, seconded by Mr. Gordon, to recess to a Work Session to discuss the items on the agenda and to an Executive Session to discuss a personnel matter. All members voted yes to a roll call vote and the motion carried.

Council recessed.

In addition to City Council, those present for the work session included: Rick Bolton, Parks and Recreation Director; Tom Reilly, Finance Director; G. Tracy Williams, City Manager; and David Watson, Assistant City Manager.

The work session began with a presentation by Rick Bolton on the conditions of the Weidner Park ballfield lights. Mr. Bolton reviewed the cost of replacing the lightpoles at $45,000. He further related that staff had met with various groups including the Moraine-West Carrollton Little League Association and other baseball organizations in the area, about the future of Weidner Park. It was the conclusion of those local organizations to support the idea of taking down the lights at Weidner Park, and that any lights to be installed would be better used at Harmon Field vs. Weidner Park. Harmon Field is further away from residential areas and has more parking spaces with a larger parking lot to support the park and ballfield.

Council briefly discussed the item. Council thanked Mr. Bolton for coming to the work session and for his presentation on the conditions of the Weidner Park ballfield.

Mr. Bolton left the meeting.

BUDGET REVIEW

Following a brief discussion of the budget, several council members expressed their support of the budget as proposed by City Manager Williams, as being a good and reasonable document. However, there is still concern over the issue of revenues vs. expenditures; in that proposed expenditures were to exceed the projected revenues. It was also recognized by Council that the budget is at least minimal to provide a quality service level to the community that Council has felt necessary.

Councilmember Jack Jensen presented a proposal to adjust the budget. He distributed a hand-out showing proposed cuts within various departments and positions.

After some discussion, Mayor Gilman outlined what she believed were two budget approaches: 1) approve budget as proposed; 2) approve a budget with a 1% to 2% decrease, thereby approving a budget which is balanced. Following Mayor Gilman's presentation, there was considerable discussion over those budget approaches.

City Manager Williams then reviewed the November 17 memo for direction as to what items should be considered for cutting from the budget. At the completion of this discussion, Council gave final direction to City Manager Williams to prepare a budget, outlining two alternatives for Mr. Williams to consider. One is to prepare a budget for final approval as proposed. The other approach is as Mayor Gilman had proposed, with a budget which was balanced through budget cuts to achieve a balanced budget. It was agreed that the city would strive toward a balanced budget for 2000, and would monitor the situation during 2000.

Budget review concluded.

Deputy Mayor Bill Gordon expressed concern with fences and play equipment in front yards. After some discussion, City Manager Williams responded that staff would look into those issues and report findings to Council.

Councilmember Don Mounce asked a question about recyclable items being removed from recycling bins on refuse pick-up days, expressing his concern. City Manager Williams advised that such actions would be a violation of the law and considered theft. Persons should call the police department to report such illegal actions. Mr. Mounce then asked about scheduling quarterly meetings of a finance committee, so that the budget and the financial well-being of the community can be reviewed with a quarterly report and meeting. In this way a budget such as that proposed, which is very tight, can be monitored to see whether or not changes in revenues are expected.

Councilmember Mounce continued, asking a question about legislation proposed at the state level to require that income taxes be paid where a person lives. Tom Reilly was asked his position, thoughts on that proposal. Mr. Reilly responded that would mean an approximate loss of close to $1 million in revenue based on the fact that many West Carrollton citizens are on fixed incomes and not part of the workforce.

Council members had no additional comments.

Mayor Gilman moved the Council into an executive session to discuss a personnel matter, excusing Mr. Williams, Mr. Watson and Mr. Reilly.

Following a brief discussion, Councilmember Mounce moved and it was seconded by Councilmember Ennis, to reconvene into the regular work session. There being no further business, it was moved by Mr. Ennis, seconded by Councilmember Jensen to adjourn. Motion approved. Meeting adjourned.

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