Regular Council Meeting Thursday, April 19, 2007 Mayor Dave France called the meeting to order. Roll Call: Robert Cochrun present, Jason Mattern present, Robert Martin Sr. present, Bob Gale present, Matt Parise present, Thomas Bottorf present. Officials: Mayor Dave France present, Solicitor Christopher D. Becker present, Clerk Treasurer Mike Payne present, Administrator Walt Ziemba present. Moment of Silence Pledge of Allegiance Reading of Minutes Motion by Robert Martin Sr., second by Jason Mattern to approve the minutes from the April 5, 2007 Regular Council Meeting. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Jason Mattern yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Bob Gale yea, Matt Parise yea, Thomas Bottorf yea. Motion passed 6-0. Persons Appearing Before Council Mona Chandler, Garden Drive, asked Council members if they could fill in the ruts in the road caused by the Construction in Sunset Gardens. Robert Cochrun said that he had talked to the son of the contractor about this problem. He said that the recent rains had made it difficult to keep the ruts from forming on the road. Robert Martin Sr. asked if the Village had anyone monitoring the project or if signs had been put up to warn drivers to drive at a lower speed. Walt Ziemba said that there was a full time inspector (Dale Russell who works for Mr. McDevitt) who worked with the contractor daily to make sure the road was taken care of. He said that residents need to call in to the Administrator's office to report any problems with the roads. Matt Parise said that Council was getting a lot of complaints about the roads in that area. He asked if the Village could put down metal plates to help the situation. He also asked if the Village engineer (McDevitt) and the contractor could meet to discuss the situation. Walt Ziemba said that putting down metal plates would not help the situation. He said that the Village could spend additional funds for more gravel that might help the situation if Council wanted to approve this expenditure. Jason Mattern said that the roads seem to be in worse shape on the weekend and that maybe something could be done to help at this time of the week. He reminded the residents that this is a construction project and that there would have to be some short term inconvenience. Mona Chandler asked Council some additional questions including whether signs asking for residents to slow down could be installed, what the cost for the residents would be, if the residents would have to pay to have their water meters hooked up, and whether more notice could be given for meeting like the one that took place last Saturday regarding the pool. Walt Ziemba said that residents would not have to pay to have their water meters hooked back up. He said that all the residents had received a schedule of the project dates and that the project was running on schedule. He said that the initial estimate for the project was that residents would have to pay approximately $250.00 per year for 10 years and that because of the additional grant funds that the Village received the residents would now only have to pay around $100.00 per year depending on the amount of the bids for the second phase of the project. He said that these bids would be presented at the second meeting in May. He also said that he would talk to the contractors about slowing down when they were driving their equipment in the construction area and what the cost might be to place additional stone down to help reduce the amount of ruts. Matt Parise and Robert Cochrun complimented Chief Laman on the work his officers had done in monitoring the traffic in the area of the Sunset Garden Construction. Reports, Announcements and Communications Mayor Dave France said that there was an economic development meeting for Jefferson county scheduled on April 25, 2007. He said that this meeting would be followed by another economic meeting in Cambridge on May 1, 2007. He asked Council to let him know if they had any input for these meetings. Mayor Dave France told Council about the banner project that the Wintersville Betterment Committee was currently taking on. Robert Martin Sr. said that the recreation Committee met at Meridian Greene last Saturday to discuss the upcoming pool levy. He said that additional meetings were planned at the Cross Creek Township building and at the Village Municipal Building Chris Becker said that the Village did not have to advertise the annexation of the daycare center on Fernwood Road but that to keep the process moving he suggested that the Village place a notice in the paper to publicize it. Bob Gale said that when Council members contact the administrator about problems that this should be enough reason for the Administrator to review the situation without the residents themselves contacting the Administrator. Bob Gale asked why the Village should have to pay for additional gravel to be used on the Sunset Garden project when this should have been part of the bid. Bob Gale said that the recreation meeting concerning the pool was placed in the newspaper twice and also was posted on the Village website. He said that the Village needed to consider a public notice type of sign on Main Street that could also inform residents about future meetings. Reading of Ordinances and/or Resolutions Ordinance 2007-07: An Ordinance regarding licensing gambling machines was read for the first time. Administrator's Report Walt Ziemba gave Council an update on the Garden Drive project. Walt Ziemba said that Chief Laman, Mr. McDevitt and he attended a roadway safety workshop that discussed ideas to help obtain future grants. Walt Ziemba told Council that he had a proposal regarding the sodium Hypo System in their packets. Walt Ziemba told Council that OSHA had conducted a second walk through of the Village Municipal Building and the water plant and that some minor electrical items had been brought up by the OSHA representative. He said that a detailed report would follow. Walt Ziemba said that the Village had been recognized at the Jefferson County annual safety meeting by the Bureau of Workers Comp for having the best record of lost time hours ( The Village had a 100% record for no lost time work hours). Walt Ziemba said that Council members had a copy of the minutes from the recent meeting regarding the proposed acute care facility. He said that a procedure had been set up between the group that was going to be opening the facility and the Village to keep communications between the two informed of the project. He said that the doctor group hoped to begin construction in the fall and open by the end of 2008. Mayor Dave France said that he wanted to correct a few statements he had previously made concerning the acute care facility. He said that the property had not yet been purchased and that the purchase was contingent on whether a 2 story (not 3 story) building could be constructed on the property. Jason Mattern said that the engineering firm that was involved with the acute care facility would be presenting their plans to the Village in the near future. Mayor Dave France said that the drainage problem (caused by the parking lot) that had previously thought to be a problem is the area that the hospital would be built had been resolved. Unfinished Business Chris Becker said that he would look at the Wage Tax Ordinance to determine what the Board of Review powers were in regards to changes in the Ordinance. Matt Parise suggested that due dates be placed on Unfinished business items. Robert Cochrun said that the odor issue in Sunset Gardens was still a problem and needed to be addressed. Walt Ziemba said that residents needed to call into the Village when the odor first occurs to help isolate and determine the source of the problem. He said that the Village had worked with the County on flushing the lines. He also added that a device had been ordered that would help track the odor. He said that Council may need to consider what options were available to force the county to deal with their part of the problem. Robert Martin Sr. said that the odor problem in Sunset Gardens rest with the County and that the Village Administration could not take care of the problem. Walt Ziemba said that the lift stations were not being treated and that the long distance of the sewage being pumped allowed it to become septic and that is when it becomes very difficult to treat. Jason Mattern said that a plan to tackle this issue had been discussed over 8 months ago, and he would like to make sure the Village had done everything that it could to address the problem on Wintersville's end. Bob Gale said that the residents were tired of complaining about this odor issue because nothing was being done. He said that a water and sewer committee meeting needed to be held with Jack Gilmore to let him know the seriousness of the situation. Matt Parise said that this issue had been discussed for the last 3 ½ years and something needed to be done on this matter. He said that the County Commissioners should be invited to attend as well. Jason Mattern said that the residents of Sunset Gardens needed to be invited to come to the Committee Meeting by putting out a flyer in the doors of their homes. Council Members discussed briefly the issue of charging for replacing water taps. This Discussion lead to a discussion on whether the Administrator had the authority to establish these types of charges. Chris Becker said he would review the revised code section on this matter and get back to Council at the next meeting on this issue. Thomas Bottorf said that he would have a Water and Sewer Meeting at 6:00 PM before the next regular meeting on May 3, 2007, to discuss the water meter replacement and odor issue in (Sunset Gardens) with Jack Gilmore. New Business Bob Gale said that he thought that it would be a professional courtesy if Council Members could be notified whenever a Village Employee resigned. Bob Gale asked that flyers for recycling reminders not be placed in resident's mailboxes. Bob Gale asked that a notice be placed on the residents water bill that reminded them to be careful and slow down when drving this summer after school was out. Jason Matter said that nothing is set in stone regarding the pool proposal. He said that resident's input is needed. He said that if the pool levy failed then the idea for a Senior Citizen Center would be an alternative. Dave France said that he had some legal concerns regarding the joint project to construct a pool in the Village. Chris Becker asked what agreements did the Village have with Cross Creek or the Indian Creek School district regarding the pool project? He said that the parties need to meet with him to discuss the details of any arrangement. He said that the Village could not wait until July to ask him to work out any details on this project at the last second. Robert Martin Sr. said that he would discuss with Cross Creek Township Trustee, Lou Vandeborne, about getting a binding agreement. Thomas Bottorf said that a tire collection would take place at the Village garage on June 11 and June 12 that would be sponsored by the Jefferson County Solid Waste Authority. Thomas Bottorf suggested that the water lines near Krogers be addressed prior to the paving of Main Street. Motion by Thomas Bottorf, second by Matt Parise to approve the transfers prepared by the Clerk Treasurer. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Jason Mattern yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Bob Gale yea, Matt Parise yea, Thomas Bottorf yea. Motion passed 6-0. Motion by Robert Martin Sr., second by Robert Cochrun to pay bills approved by Council as funds become available. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Jason Mattern yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Bob Gale yea, Matt Parise yea, Thomas Bottorf yea. Motion passed 6-0. For the Good of the Village Chris France said that she thought is was very disrespectful for some of Council to treat the Administrator the way they did at the meeting this evening. She said he does a great job for the Village. Motion by Robert Martin Sr., second by Matt Parise to adjourn. Vote: Robert Cochrun yea, Jason Mattern yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Bob Gale yea, Matt Parise yea, Thomas Bottorf yea. Motion passed 6-0. Next scheduled meeting is May 3, 2007 at 7:00 PM.