Minutes

West Carrollton City Council Meeting

September 28, 1999

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

MINUTES

A motion was made by Mr. Sanner, seconded by Mr. Mounce, to approve the minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of September 14, 1999. A unanimous roll call vote carried the motion.

Mr. Gordon made a motion, seconded by Mr. Jensen, to approve the minutes of the Focus Group Meeting of September 21, 1999. A roll call vote was taken; Mr. Ennis, Mr. Mounce and Mr. Sanner abstained; all others voted yes. The motion carried.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

There were no Public Hearings.

COMMUNICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

RESOLUTION NO. 20-99: ROBERT L. ALEXANDER

Resolution No. 20-99: A resolution acknowledging the appreciation of the citizens and public officials of the City of West Carrollton for services rendered unto said City by Robert L. Alexander.

Mayor Gilman read the resolution in its entirety and presented it to Bob Alexander who was accompanied by his wife, Kim. The Mayor told Officer Alexander that she respected him greatly and thanked him for the fine job he has done for the City. Chief Rice also said that it gives him great pride and pleasure to celebrate Bob's retirement but he is very sorry to see him go. He reminded everyone that Bob has received awards from the Department, one of which was for entering and evacuating a burning building. Chief Rice said that Bob is a good friend and a good employee and will be greatly missed. He presented a plaque to Bob from the Police Department. Each Council Member wished Bob good luck and best wishes in his retirement. Chief Rice invited Council to attend the reception to be held in the lobby. Several officers from the West Carrollton Police Department and Miami Township Police Department were in attendance.

COMMENTS BY THE AUDIENCE

Florence Smith addressed Council with concerns over the tall weeds; vehicles with no license plates; animals with no tags; improper bags of grass not picked up; and trash in the areas of 39 Shannon Avenue, 575 Locust Street, 35 Shannon Avenue and some of the alleys in that area. Mayor Gilman said that the areas have been noted and someone will be checking on them. Mrs. Smith said that she would be at the next meeting to see what has been done.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

There was no Unfinished Business.

NEW BUSINESS

RESOLUTION NO. 21-99: RAY D. SNIDER

Resolution No. 21-99: A resolution acknowledging the appreciation of the citizens and public officials of the City of West Carrollton for services rendered unto said City by Ray D. Snider.

Mr. Sanner introduced and made a motion to approve Resolution No. 21-99. Mrs. Lotspaih seconded the motion. A unanimous roll call vote carried the motion.

Resolution No. 22-99: A resolution accepting the amounts and rates as determined by the Budget Commission and authorizing the necessary tax levies and certifying them to the County Auditor.

Mayor Gilman noted that these rates have been included in the Tax Budget. The rates are the same since 1989.

Mr. Mounce introduced and made a motion to approve Resolution No. 22-99. Mr. Gordon seconded the motion. All members voted yes to a roll call vote and the motion carried.

Mayor Gilman noted that Mr. Carney has reviewed the agreement. Mr. Gordon made a motion, seconded by Mr. Ennis, to authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement to retain the services of a Chief Building Official. A unanimous roll call vote carried the motion.

Mayor Gilman noted that this is a housekeeping measure. Mr. Watson said that in the last contract negotiations, certain areas were bargained in good faith. This ordinance brings closure to fulfill that agreement.

Mr. Sanner made a motion, seconded by Mr. Mounce, to approve Ordinance No. 3143. All members voted yes to a roll call vote and the motion carried.

REPORTS BY OFFICERS

Mr. Watson requested an Executive Session to discuss a personnel matter. Mr. Reilly offered best wishes to Bob Alexander in his retirement.

Mr. Smith addressed Council with concerns about the garbage, mattresses and junk lying around in the rear of some of the properties by the alley on Elm Street near the cemetery. He also said there are vehicles with expired or no license plates and that there is some very tall grass in that area. The Mayor said that those areas would be checked.

Mr. Jensen thanked Mr. and Mrs. Smith for coming to the meeting and asked them to stay after the meeting for a few minutes to give their phone number to the Service Director.

Mrs. Lotspaih also thanked the Smiths for attending the meeting.

Mr. Mounce said farewell to Bob Alexander, adding that he is a quality individual.

Mr. Gordon thanked the West Carrollton, Moraine and Miami Township Fire Departments for the Safety Fest. He said he had a great time and was sure everyone learned something.

Mayor Gilman said that she was proud of Leanne Nash and the Fire Department for their work. The Mayor thanked Ron Ziemkowski on cameras. She noted that there will be a big trash pickup the week of October 11^th, which is free to the residents. Also, Beggar's Night will be September 30^th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Olde Fashioned Days will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on September 30^th. The Dayton-Montgomery County Public Library Book Sale will be at the Convention Center on October 1^st from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and on October 2^nd from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Mayor noted that Motoman's 10^th anniversary and she had attended the ceremony. It was a very nice celebration and the city is pleased to have Motoman in West Carrollton. Mayor Gilman said that Anthony Whitmore, the governor's representative for economic development, was in town last week to discuss economic development in Ohio.

RECESS

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

Council recessed.

In addition to City Council, those present for the Work Session were: David Humphreys, Planning and Economic Development Director; Tom Reilly, Finance Director; and David Watson, Assistant City Manager.

Mayor Gilman began by reorganizing the Work Session to allow for the audit report and other items on the agenda, then to conclude with the pre-approved Executive Session for personnel matters.

Mayor Gilman asked Mr. Reilly for a brief report on the audit. Mr. Reilly began his report by noting that this year's report has significant amount of language and compliance with regard to Y2K. Mr. Reilly indicated that he enjoyed working with a private auditor, Blattenberg and Associates, versus working with the state for the last several years. He felt that the audit process went smoothly and was pleased with the results. He also is pleased that the city has a four year contract for the audit at a reasonable price, which is equal to or better than prices last quoted by the state.

Following Mr. Reilly's completion of his report on the audit, several council members asked questions about whether in future reports there could be a provision for an executive summary similar to members' experiences in the private sector, versus the current audit which had a summary report but not necessarily an executive summary. It was agreed to include such in next year's report.

Mr. Reilly then presented for discussion where he sees the future of audit reports for the city of West Carrollton. All indicators are that in the future cities and local governments will be providing audit reports that are more in line with private industry, or for-profit reports, as that is where the leading organizations with regard to audits feel that cities need to be moving toward.

This will cause additional work and may involve additional cost, but Mr. Reilly felt that it is probably more conducive for most people to view since the reports would be very similar in nature. Conclusion of audit report.

Mayor Gilman asked Mr. Watson if he had any additional information with regard to the Findlay Industries Enterprise Zone agreement. Mr. Watson gave all members present a copy of a spreadsheet that had been prepared by staff and Mr. Reilly. Mr. Reilly had taken the amount of information provided by Findlay Industries as far as the property values and income and revenue streams, and had then made a projection on how that would affect revenue streams for al l jurisdictions that were involved with the tax abatement.

After a brief discussion on the fundamental concepts of the Enterprise Zone, particularly with regard to income sharing, Council concluded that they were satisfied with the data and directed staff to proceed with negotiating the terms of the agreement.

Since Mr. Humphreys was present several council members brought up for discussion property maintenance complaints that they had received, and those voiced by Mrs. Florence Smith during the council meeting preceding the work session. All of these items were brought to the attention of Mr. Humphreys, who took notes and will proceed to look into the complaints. On a case-by-case basis, he will prepare additional information for Council so that they will learn of follow-up.

In council members' packets had been a couple of examples of ordinances for controlling engine brakes, such as equipment commonly known as jake brakes. A brief discussion was held among council members over items included in the packet. At the conclusion of the discussion, it was felt that an ordinance should be prepared for the next Council meeting that would allow for the control of engine brakes, commonly known as jake brakes throughout the city of West Carrollton, with a 24 hour restriction. In conjunction with this ordinance would be the requirement that signs be posted at prominent entry points into the city advising of the restriction.

Councilmember Don Mounce asked Mr. Watson if there was an update or status report with regard to a recreational vehicle ordinance. Mr. Watson responded that he was not aware of any change in the status. Staff was proceeding with those items that Council had agreed to several weeks ago in direction to City Manager Williams. However, Mr. Watson indicated that he would relay that question to Mr. Williams upon his return from the ICMA conference, and an update would be forthcoming.

In the additional information included in council members' packets, there was a notice from the South Metro Chamber of a membership renewal for the city of West Carrollton. This notice indicated a significant increase in the cost along with a pricing structure change from previous years. Following some comments from Councilmember Jack Jensen, it was felt that a comparison of costs should be prepared so that Council can see the difference in what was happening with regard to fees. Mr. Watson indicated that a report would be prepared and included in the next Council packet.

Councilmember Jensen left the meeting.

It was moved by Councilmember Linda Lotspaih, seconded by Councilmember Jeff Sanner to adjourn the meeting. Vote unanimous. Meeting adjourned.

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