Regular Council Meeting Thursday, April 1, 2004 Mayor Dave France called the Meeting to order at 7:02 P.M. Roll Call: John Synodinos present, Dr. Robert Price present, Dave Smith present, Robert Martin Sr. present, Matt Parise absent (arrived later in meeting), Thomas Bottorf present. Mike Payne read a statement prepared by Council Person Matt Parise explaining why he would be late for the meeting. Officials: Mayor Dave France present, Solicitor Christopher D. Becker absent, Clerk Treasurer Mike Payne present, Administrator none. Moment of Silence: Pledge of Allegiance Reading of Minutes Motion by Thomas Bottorf, second by Dr. Price to approve the minutes from the regular Council Meeting held on March 4, 2004. Vote: John Synodinos nay, Dr. Robert Price yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. nay, Thomas Bottorf yea. Motion passed 3-2. Motion by Thomas Bottorf, second by Dave Smith to approve the minutes from the Special Council meeting held March 22, 2004. Vote: John Synodinos abstain, Dr, Robert Price yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Thomas Bottorf yea. Motion passed 4-0 with one abstention. Persons Appearing Before Council Lloyd McAdams, representing ODOT, introduced Myron Pakush ODOT District Manager and Rod Wilson District Traffic Manager. Lloyd McAdams explained that after ODOT had received the letter from Council asking that ODOT take the Sabina Drive option off the table, his department had looked at other alternatives that might meet the purpose and needs of the project. He then explained the definition of purpose and need to Council. He said that in looking at alternatives ODOT studied the traffic volume for the section of road near Sabina Drive, which had grown from 900 vehicles per day to 13,000 in 2002 in just 6 years. He said that 17.7% of these vehicles will be trucks by the year 2006. He also said that by the year 2026 the volume on this road will be 22,400 per day and that is what ODOT used in making decisions on this project. He said that currently the Sabina Drive intersection is very dangerous and will become more so with the increased traffic volume and that stretch of road increasing to 5 lanes. He said that not doing anything with Sabina Drive would not meet ODOT's needs. Lloyd McAdams said that one option looked at was to close off Sabina Drive and that would adversely affect the Frosty Treat and the CITGO gas station. He said this would also damage the McKitrick Harms car business and would devalue the property on Sabina Drive. He said the only positive impact with this option would be to reduce traffic on Sabina Drive. He said that the best plan that would have the least impact to Sabina Drive would be to widen the North (left Side) end. He said this would also require relocating the Gerber residence. He said the homes on the South end would be impacted only slightly and would only require taking 1 or 2 feet of those owners property. Lloyd McAdams said that ODOT is calling this option alternative 2B and needs to have Council approve this alternative. He said this would require Council to rescind the previous action of removing Sabina Drive from being affected. He said that this alternative would involve no additional costs for the Village. He said that 4.4 million was in place for the design stage of this alternative. He said that as soon as Wintersville's Council approves this ODOT would begin the design phase, which would take 12-18 months to complete. He said that construction would begin approximately July, 2006. Robert Martin Sr. said that ODOT did not seem to look any other option other than Sabina Drive over that the last few months even though Council told them that Sabina Drive was "off the table". He said that he felt this process would devalue the property for Sabina Drive residents. Lloyd McAdams again stated that the Sabina Drive was the only option that met the purpose and need of the project. Robert Martin Sr. asked about the possibility of building a road behind Sabina Drive. Lloyd McAdams said this option would not be possible based on existing Federal regulations. Robert Martin Sr. asked about an option going next to McKitrick Harms and Kings Restaurant. Lloyd McAdams said that type of option was looked at earlier and was not feasible without affecting the two businesses. Lloyd McAdams said that the alternative that he presented tonight would involve Featheringham Reality, 2 rental homes on each side of the realtor as well as the Featheringham residence and the Gerber residence on Sabina Drive. John Synodinos asked Mr. McAdams how he planned to compensate the people who they were relocating. Mr. McAdams said that ODOT would do a detailed appraisal and determine a Fair Market Value for the property. He said they would then attempt to find a similar home that is for sale in the area (preferably in the same school district). He said they would purchase the new home for the person including any additional costs involved and pay any moving costs incurred. He said that they had recently sent out a preliminary letter to the Gerber residence indicating the process involved. John Synodinos asked if other owners who had property damage would be compensated. Lloyd McAdams said that any property owners who had damages would be fairly compensated. He said he anticipated several claims in this project. He said that ODOT knew much more now about compensation needs on the project than they did last fall. Dr. Robert Price asked what recourse property owners had if they were dissatisfied with the compensation offered by ODOT. Lloyd McAdams said that there is a process people can go through (Called the appropriation process) to dispute the offer made by ODOT. He said that residents are given a 90-day period to move and then a court hearing is held. He said that although eminent domain could be used most of the time ODOT was able to settle with property owners. John Synodinos asked if residents at the meeting from Sabina Drive could ask questions on this issue. Mayor France said that he would like to keep the question period to 5 minutes and have only 1 representative ask questions on this issue, to keep the meeting moving forward. He said that anyone who had additional questions could come in front of Council at the end of the meeting. He also asked Mr. McAdams if ODOT officials would be willing to meet with Council Members and Sabina Drive residents at Sabina Drive to walk through the street and have ODOT show everyone what would actually take place with this alternative. Mayor Dave France said that the motion to remove Sabina Drive from the table would be considered at the next meeting. Lloyd McAdams said that ODOT would be willing to meet at Sabina Drive with Council and the residents at Sabina Drive. Lori Rogers, 113 Sabina Drive, told Mr. McAdams that ODOT had not solved the problem of creating a busy highway close to the front doors of the residents of Sabina Drive. She said the option of being blocked off did not bother her. She said the residents were there before the businesses, yet the plan, catered more for the businesses and less for the residents. Lori Rogers said that this roadway would create a dangerous situation for children on the street. She also asked why ODOT could not come up with other options, and why did it seem that the residents of Sabina Drive were going to be adversely affected just because of Wal-Mart going in. Lloyd McAdams said that Council initiated this project prior to Wal-Mart going in and that Wal-Mart only speeded up the need to complete this project. He said that this project would increase the value of the properties on Sabina Drive. Lori Rogers said that Council had already voted on Sabina Drive being removed from the table as an option, and she questioned why ODOT was still considering this option. Lloyd McAdams said that the traffic in this area would only be getting worse and that ODOT could not do want Council wanted to make the project work. He said the project could not be completed if Sabina Drive was not involved. Lori Rogers asked why ODOT was not considering alternatives around McKitrick Harms. Lloyd McAdams said that there was no alternative that was possible in that area. Lloyd McAdams said he was confident that Council would open up the Sabina Drive option again after they weighed all the factors involved. Robert Martin Sr. said he was no for rescinding the motion on Sabina Drive. He said that Council had not asked for ODOT to keep looking at the Sabina Drive options. Lloyd McAdams said that this option was the only one available. Robert Martin Sr. asked if there were other options even if they were more expensive. Lloyd McAdams said that this option he presented tonight was the least expensive because it had the fewest impacts on residents and businesses. John Synodinos asked if someone at ODOT was told that Council had decided to rescind their motion to take Sabina Drive off the table. Lloyd McAdams answered no to this question. John Synodinos asked if ODOT would pull the project if Council did not rescind the motion concerning Sabina Drive. Lloyd McAdams said that pulling the project would be one option in this scenario. He said ODOT would go back and discuss their options if Council did not approve this alternative. Lori Rogers asked about putting in an exit off of Route 22 before the Wintersville exit. Lloyd McAdams explained that another exit was not permitted this close in a rural setting. He said that the exit would need to be back 3 miles from the Wintersville exit and the cost would be much too high. Lori Rogers said that putting in another exit would only help prepare better for the Wal-Mart expansion. Lloyd McAdams said that putting in an exit at Alikanna would not meet the purpose and need of the project and would also be out of the scope of what they were trying to accomplish. Matt Parise arrived at the meeting at this time. Matt Parise said that he supported the position that Council had already taken on this project (taking Sabina Drive off the table), but he would be willing to discuss the matter. Chief Ed Laman asked Council's approval to auction off or put out for bid two of his cruiser's (93 and 96 Crown Victoria's) John Synodinos asked if this was in preparation to purchase new vehicles. Chief Laman said that he had already purchased two vehicles this year and would not be purchasing any more until 2005. Motion by John Synodinos, second by Robert Martin Sr. to auction off or require sealed bids to dispose of the 1993 and 1996 police cruisers. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dr. Robert Price yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Matt Parise yea, Thomas Bottorf yea. Motion passed 6-0. Kurt Vandeborne, representing Freshwater Homes, addressed Council on the proposed new sanitation Ordinance. He said he was opposed to apartment residents paying $10 per month for sanitation because he had performed a time study that showed that Village employees spent much less time picking up apartment owners trash compared to the same number of home owners. Reading of Ordinances and/or Resolutions 2004-04: An Ordinance providing up to $1500 in fringe benefits for supplies for employees was read for the 3rd time. Motion by Dr. Price, second by John Synodinos to approve Ordinance 2004-04. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dr. Robert Price yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Matt Parise yea, Thomas Bottorf yea. Motion passed 6-0. Ordinance 2004-05: An Ordinance to amend Chapter 955 of the revised Code regarding Garbage and rubbish disposal. Matt Parise questioned why the Committee in developing the Ordinance developed 3 categories instead of 2 categories for businesses that don't have dumpsters. He suggested that the largest classification should have a maximum range up to 18 bags of trash instead of 12 before paying a per bag fee. Thomas Bottorf said that the Sanitation Committee was trying to encourage these businesses to convert to using dumpsters, especially since employees were more susceptible to injuries when large number of heavy bags of trash were involved. Matt Parise said that the Ordinance language also needed to be changed to say that the Administrator would decide on matters discussed in the Ordinance instead of the Sanitation Committee. Mayor France said that he would have the Solicitor check this language. Resolution 2004-06: A Resolution to place an additional fire levy on the ballot was read for the 2nd time. Reports, Announcements and Communications Mayor France nominated Walt Ziemba, as the new part time Administrator for the Village. Mayor France read Mr. Ziemba's resume as well as 3 letters of recommendations supporting him. John Synodinos congratulated Mayor France for his selection of Mr. Ziemba and said that his resume was very impressive. He asked Mr. Ziemba about his grant writing experience. Walt Ziemba described his experience in working with Issue 2 Funds including 3 specific allocations he was able to help obtain concerning millions of dollars for roads, bridges and small government funding. He also said that he had worked on projects with OWDA, EPA, and Natural Resources. He said that he traveled to Columbus twice a month to keep current on project funding. Robert Martin Sr. also commended Mayor France on recruiting Mr. Ziemba. He asked Mr. Ziemba how soon he could start. Mr. Ziemba said that he could begin work on Monday, April 5th 2004. Matt Parise asked Mr. Ziemba what type of experience he had as an employee supervisor. Walt Ziemba said that over the past 8 years he had spent more time in a supervisory rule than his experience prior to that period. He described his role in dealing with employee disputes as an intermediary type role. He said that he was responsible for giving out assignments and dealing with any disciplinary action needed. Matt Parise suggested that a background check be done on Mr. Ziemba. Mayor France said that he had learned that before a background check could be done the Village needed to have a policy in place that called for background checks. Matt Parise said that he would still like to see a background check done as soon as possible. Dr. Robert Price said that Mr. Ziemba's resume was quite impressive. Motion by John Synodinos, second by Thomas Bottorf to accept Mayor France's recommendation of Walt Ziemba as a part time administrator for the Village beginning April 5, 2004. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dr. Robert Price yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Matt Parise yea, Thomas Bottorf yea. Motion passed 6-0. Thomas Bottorf said that the hiring of Walt Ziemba would give the Village an opportunity to have someone look at the road situation in the Village and to look at the water and sewer issues. Mayor Dave France said that Village would be saving the cost of health insurance with the New Administrator. Motion by Thomas Bottorf, second by Matt Parise to approve the salary for the new administrator at 31,200 based on 4 days per week, a $200 per month travel allowance for local travel within 25 miles of the Municipal building and 1 week sick and 2 weeks vacation time. Matt Parise asked that the sick and vacation be combined as 13 days of accrued time annually as an amendment to the motion to coincide with other new employees. Thomas Bottorf agreed to the amendment made by Matt Parise Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dr. Robert Price yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Matt Parise yea, Thomas Bottorf yea. Motion passed as amended 6-0. Mayor Dave France commended the sanitation and Finance Committee for their work on current issues and thanked all Council persons who attended these meeting. He said that Villages are finding out that it is tougher to survive on their own and that one way to help financially is to share services and equipment with other entities. He said that recently he met with County officials who were very helpful in working on the odor problem in Sunset Gardens. Mayor France read the Magistrate and Building Inspector's reports for March 2004. Mayor France said that Village offices would be closed on Good Friday on April 9th 2004. Mayor France read the revised sanitation schedule for the week of April 5th. Committee Reports Dave Smith said that the Rules and Ordinances Committee had submitted a revised draft of Council Rules to Chris Becker who would be working on those changes to bring to the next meeting. John Synodinos asked to have a draft of those rules before the next meeting. Mayor France said that it was no problem getting a draft to all Council of the revised rules prior to the next meeting. Thomas Bottorf reported that the Finance Committee had met with Rocco Boniey to discuss possible changes in the employee Health Insurance to keep the premium rates down. Thomas Bottorf said that the Sanitation Committee had also met to review the current Ordinance being read. Thomas Bottorf said the Water and Sewer Committee would be meeting next week to discuss the I & I study, the Quick Sal report and water contract issues. Robert Martin Sr. discussed the work he was doing to improve the playground equipment on Walnut. He said he would be holding a Recreation Committee meeting prior to the next Council Meeting. Unfinished Business Mayor Dave France explained that this part of the Meeting would be for unfinished business instead of old business. He said that anything that needed to be discussed under unfinished business should be submitted to him to be put on the Council Meeting agenda. Matt Parise said that the Public or Council should be able to bring forward any business that they need to talk about. John Synodinos said that any discussion under old business would not be a surprise to anyone since it had been previously discussed. Matt Parise suggested that Chris Becker should give an opinion on how this issue should be handled. Mayor Dave France agreed to have the Solicitor review this matter. New Business Thomas Bottorf said that he had requested Chris Becker to revise the fencing Ordinance, regarding the good and bad side of the fence. Motion by Matt Parise, second by Dr, Robert Price to pay bills as funds become available. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dr. Robert Price yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Matt Parise yea, Thomas Bottorf yea. Motion passed 6-0. Dave Smith said that although seminars are important Council members needed to be careful on the amount spent to attend these seminars. Robert Martin Sr. said that Council Members could learn a great deal at seminars. He said that everyone knew about the seminars they had recently attended. Mayor France said that John Synodinos has complained previously about the cost of the Village Administrator attending seminars. Matt Parise said that the leadership course that the Mayor went through was a great program. For the Good of the Village Pat Davis, 167 Meadow Road, said that the streetlights purchased by the Village for Grove Street need to be installed. He also questioned why the meetings at the Village were not being taped. Mayor France said that he had contacted a Comcast official who said that the Village's agreement with Comcast did not state that the meeting would be broadcast for free. The Mayor said he would be following up on this development. Robert Martin Sr. said that the school is ready to tape the meetings. Matt Parise said that the Council Meetings should have been taped since January 1 of this year and he would be making it one of his top priorities to see that the meetings begin to get taped. Perry Pool said that a snag in the installation of the lights had arisen because the contractor wanted to tie into the electric of the building. Robert Martin Sr. said he would contact Cattrell Electric on Monday about this project. Lee Tobias, 301 Leonard Ave, asked about the $600,000 the Village owed to Steubenville. Mayor France said that Steubenville wanted the Village to pay for their capital improvements up to $600,000. He said the question is whether the Village has received any benefits from these capital improvements. He said the Village has been collecting these funds to pay this debt but the Village's attorney has been handling this for Wintersville. Lee Tobias asked if the Village residents would be paying $50-$60 more for water if the Village started getting their water from the County. Mayor France said Council would be looking down the road to see what alternatives would be best for the Village on this issue. Matt Parise said that the Village had collected most of the $600,000 to pay Steubenville if needed, but that the Village's attorney told Council he did not think they owed this money. Matt Parise said that the Village currently has a contract with the County to buy water from them. He said that this contract has 8 years remaining plus a 10-year renewal based on a rate negotiated. He said the alternative to staying under this contract would be to give the water and sewer system to the County under a 40 year contract that would involved a blended rate for residents. John Synodinos said that currently we are buying water cheaper from the County than Steubenville. He said that one reason the Village has a good rate with the County to buy water was because of the sewage contract the Village has with the County. Lori Rogers asked what would happen to the $600,000 the Village is collecting if it does not have to be repaid to Steubenville. Mayor France said that one possibility is to use the money to pay part of the 1.5 million that the EPA may force the Village to spend on upgrades. Matt Parise said that he would move to refund the money to the customers. Dave France said that one of the reasons the Village is having to address so many water and sewer issues is that previous Council ignored the problems. Robert Martin Sr. said he would be in favor of giving the money back to the people. John Synodinos said that it was the Board of Public Utilities not Council that ignored the water issues. Mayor France agreed with Mr. Synodinos on his statement. Diane Denny questioned why the issue of the sanitation rates had come about. Thomas Bottorf said that because the Village was running in the red in the Sanitation fund which was why they were looking at adjusting rates. Mayor France said that this meeting had been very productive and he thanked everyone for coming. Matt Parise invited everyone to come back to future meeting. Motion by John Synodinos, second by Robert Martin Sr. to adjourn. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dr. Robert Price yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Matt Parise yea, Thomas Bottorf yea. Motion passed 6-0. Meeting adjourned at 9:45 PM. Next scheduled meeting is April 15, 2004 at 7:00 PM. Mike Payne, Clerk/Treasurer Dave France, Mayor