Minutes
September 26, 2000
PRESENT: Mayor Maxine Gilman; Council Members William Gordon; Vern Angerer, Jack Jensen, Linda Lotspaih; Donald Mounce and Jeff Sanner; City Manager G. Tracy Williams; Assistant City Manager David Watson; Law Director Patrick G. Carney; Chief of Police Richard Barnhart; Director of Planning and Economic Development David Humphreys and Assistant Clerk of Council Patricia L. Replogle.
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Gilman. City Manager Tracy Williams gave the Invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance and Roll Call followed.
MINUTES
A motion was made by Mr. Sanner, seconded by Mr. Gordon, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of September 12, 2000. A roll call vote was taken, all members voted yes with the exception of Mayor Gilman and Mr. Mounce who abstained. The motion carried.
A motion was made by Mr. Mounce and seconded by Mrs. Lotspaih to approve the minutes of the Joint Meeting of City Council with the Board of Zoning Appeals and the Planning Commission on September 19, 2000. All members voted yes to a roll call vote with the exception of Mr. Gordon who abstained. The motion carried.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
There were no Public Hearings.
COMMUNICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
ROBERT M CONNELLY - COX ARBORETUM & GARDENS CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
Robert M. Connelly, Chairperson for the Cox Arboretum & Gardens Campaign addressed Council. Mr. Connelly noted that he works for Hewlett-Packard, but volunteers at Cox Arboretum. He gave a brief history of Cox Arboretum which began in 1961 and now has half a million visitors a year. They are looking to expand in order to meet the needs of the community. Their plan is three-fold: to increase educational space; to increase access to all things and to be more intuitive; and to become a year-round facility. To accomplish this, they are raising $6 million in funds. One method of raising funds is through the sale of plaques at the observation tower. He asked Council to consider a contribution of $5,000 over five years toward the project. There being no questions from Council, Mayor Gilman thanked him for coming.
COMMENTS BY THE AUDIENCE
There were no Comments by the Audience.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
There was no Unfinished Business.
NEW BUSINESS
RES NO. 23-2000: ED/GE PROGRAM PARTICIPATION
Resolution No. 23-2000: A resolution approving the City of West Carrollton's participation in the 2001-2010 ED/GE Program and authorizing the City Manager to sign the attached Economic Development/Government Equity (ED/GE) Program Participation Agreement between Montgomery County, Ohio and the City of West Carrollton.
Erik Collins, Manager, and Judy Gum, Coordinator, of the ED/GE Program in Montgomery County, attended the meeting. Mr. Collins gave a brief history and overview of the program using a slide presentation. He noted that each member community must join before November 1, 2000 and will be a member for ten years. The only changes this cycle will be the elimination of the Special Research Project Fund and the use of more composite materials.
Mr. Sanner introduced and made a motion to approve Resolution No. 23-2000. Mr. Gordon seconded the motion. All members voted yes to a roll call vote and the motion carried.
Mayor Gilman noted that Mr. Collins may inform the County Commissioners that they have approved the resolution.
BACKUP PLANS EXAMINER
Mr. Mounce made a motion, seconded by Mr. Angerer, to authorize the City Manager to enter into a contract with Ellsworth Szkudlarek for services as a backup plans examiner. A roll call vote was taken, all members voted yes and the motion carried.
REPORTS BY OFFICERS
Mr. Humphreys noted that Reverend Hinger had called and apologized for not being at the meeting to offer the Invocation, due to his being caught in traffic.
UNSCHEDULED BUSINESS
Fred Peckolt addressed Council. He stated that he had received a very nice, large poster featuring a safety message to change the batteries in our smoke detectors. He wished to donate it to the Fire Department. He also reminded everyone to change their batteries in their smoke detectors when we change the clocks to Standard Time the last Sunday in October.
COMMENTS BY THE AUDIENCE
There were no Comments by the Audience.
COMMENTS BY COUNCIL
Mr. Sanner said that a relative of Mr. Carney's had reminded him that today is Mr. Carney's birthday.
Mr. Gordon reminded everyone that the Homecoming Parade is Thursday at 6:30 p.m. He also invited anyone interested to attend the Festival Planning Meeting being held on October 5th at 7:00 p.m. at the Lions Club building.
Mr. Angerer urged everyone to attend the parade.
Mayor Gilman thanked Ron Ziemkowski on cameras. She reminded everyone that the deadline for voter registration is October 10th. She noted that Beggar's Night will be October 31st from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Old-Fashioned Days will be on October 28th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with the Parade being held at 1:00 p.m. The Mayor also said that the large trash pickup will be the week of October 9th. She also thanked Mr. Gordon for presiding in her absence at the last meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Gilman made a motion, 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.
WORK SESSION
Present: Mayor Gilman; Council Members Linda Lotspaih, Don Mounce, Bill Gordon, Jack Jensen, Vern Angerer, and Jeff Sanner. Also present were David Humphreys, Planning & Economic Development Director; Police Chief Rick Barnhart; G. Tracy Williams, City Manager and David Watson, Assistant City Manager.
DISCUSSION - JOINT MEETING
CITY COUNCIL, PLANNING COMMISSION, BOARD of ZONING APPEALS
During the joint meeting there were three main topics of discussion: Urban Design Plan; parking regulations enforcement; and recreational vehicle parking regulations.
RV parking regulations
Mayor Gilman emphasized to Council that the Planning Commission will accept the amended regulations. Discussion was then held on all aspects of both the first draft of regulations and the alternative regulations. Following discussion, it was decided to place the amended version of RV parking regulations on the agenda. Public hearing and a first reading is set for November 28th, 2000.
Urban Design Plan
There was some discussion as to whether the Urban Design Plan had been adopted or accepted. After some discussion Council agreed that the Plan had been accepted, but not adopted. Council then reviewed the memo prepared by David Humphreys indicating the current status of implementation of the Urban Design Plan, including all items involving zoning, overlay districts, and landscaping. Council continued to discuss the Urban Design Plan, including the adoption of additional regulations as shown in the Plan. After some discussion it was decided that Council liaisons and staff will visit with the Planning Commission. Council will await recommendations from the Planning Commission with regard to further adoption of zoning regulations.
Parking Regulation Enforcement
Different aspects of, and conditions for enforcement were discussed with staff members present. Council continued to emphasize that enforcement of parking regulations is in their Vision Statement. Staff is aware of this emphasis and has been conducting discussions with officers as to how and where enforcement of the regulations should be taken. It is agreed that strict enforcement of parking regulations will be applied in compliance with the Vision Statement.
FIRE STATION NO. 1
Mayor Gilman introduced the discussion concerning future plans for use of the old firehouse No. 1. After some discussion Council agreed to the idea of an appraisal being made of the property, and then a decision made as to whether to put the property up for sale. There was no public use felt appropriate for the property, but better suited to be put into private use.
BIKE PATROL
Chief Barnhart made a brief presentation about adding a bike patrol to the Police Department with the use of federal money that the city has been receiving over the past several years, in combination with federal money expected in 2001. A Bike Patrol would provide better park patrol. Duties would be added to those of officers already on patrol. Cost will be added to the budget as an expenditure. After some additional discussion on the implementation, including sending officers to school in April, Council agreed that the program is worthwhile and would like to see its early implementation.
Chief Barnhart and David Humphreys left the meeting.
City Manager Williams reported to Council that several city personnel from the various divisions of the Service and the Parks Departments had assisted with the recovery and cleanup efforts following the recent Xenia tornado. Destruction had been extensive. Citizens from various area jurisdictions had come together collectively to help those affected by the storm. Mr. Williams felt that the efforts of the work crews from city of West Carrollton were well received in an example of good neighborliness.
Mayor Gilman asked for any additional discussion from Council. There was none.
Mayor Gilman asked for nominations for delegate attendance to the National League of Cities. After some discussion Council appointed Vern Angerer as a delegate and Linda Lotspaih as an alternate.
Regarding Council Rules, Mayor Gilman asked the Special Studies Committee if there had been any progress. Committee members responded that there was some additional work to be done; a report will be forthcoming.
There being no further items, Councilmember Jensen moved and it was seconded by Deputy Mayor Gordon to adjourn the meeting. All present in favor, meeting adjourned.
MAYOR CLERK OF COUNCIL