Regular Council Meeting Thursday, October 3, 2002 Meeting called to order by Mayor Robert E. Cochrun. Roll Call: John Synodinos present, Dave France present, Dave Smith present, Robert Martin Sr. present, Beth Rupert present, Gene Pool absent. Officials: Mayor Robert E. Cochrun present, Solicitor Christopher D. Becker present, Clerk Treasurer Mike Payne present, Administrator Gary R. Folden present. Moment of Silence Pledge of Allegiance Reading of Minutes Motion by John Synodinos, second by Dave France to approve the minutes from the September Regular Council Meeting. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 5-0. Persons Appearing Before Council Mayor Cochrun presented a proclamation to Robert W. Cooper for his recent high finishes in various "Strong Man" competitions around the country. Pat Davis, Sunset Gardens, said that he and his wife had wrapped up their project of planting flowers around the building. He noted that a truckload of mulch had to be removed from the area where they had planted the flowers. Pat Davis asked if the building inspector could drive by his home the next day to approve the driveway project he was starting. He told Council that his contractor had tried twice to get a building permit but the building inspector had not been available. Mayor Cochrun told him that the building inspector would not be in on Friday. Dave France thanked the Davis's for their time in planting flowers around the Municipal Building. Jane Keenan representing Jeff and Kelly Petrelle brought copies of an easement and settlement agreement relating to the installation of a sewer line to connect to the Petrelle property. She explained that the agreements would hold the village harmless. She also stated that because of the situation with her client's driveway being torn up she had asked that the village complete this project in the next 60 days. Motion by Robert Martin Sr., second by Dave Smith to authorized the Mayor to enter into a settlement agreement with Jeff and Kelly Petrelles per the agreement submitted by Attorney Jane Keenan. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 5-0. Motion by Dave Smith, second by Dave France to accept the easement agreement between Lonnie and Patsy Shaffer, residing at 108 Stardust Drive, (neighbor's of the Petrelles) and the Village as submitted by Attorney Jane Keenan that would allow the Village to connect the sewer line to the Petrelle property. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 5-0. Robert Laukert, Village Representative for BHJ Meeting, gave an update of recent BHJ Meeting held September 25, 2002. Some of the topics discussed at the meeting according to Mr. Laukert were road expansion or widening of current routes including Route 250, Route 36, and Route 22. He reported that a meeting would be held at the Village Municipal building on October 10th from 4:00 PM. To 7:00 PM to discuss the widening of Route 43 beginning at the 22-bypass exit. Robert Laukert also expressed his opinion that the Village needs to make sure that maintaining the roads and streets in the Village remain a high priority. Bryan James, resident, complained about the noise created by sound systems of cars driving by his house. Council discussed the issue and how it should be addressed. Detective Lou Vandeborne said that Chief Ed Laman would address Council on this issue at the next meeting. Chris Becker said that he would do some research on the issue and try to bring some sample ordinances that addressed a decibel level allowed in this situation. Reading of Ordinances and/or Resolutions Ordinance 2002-18: An Ordinance approving the Village to sell the 1993 International Packer Truck was read for the 2nd time. Ordinance 2002-20: An Ordinance increasing sanitation rates was read for the 2nd time. Ordinance 2002-21: An Ordinance increasing water rates was read for the 2nd time. Ordinance 2002-22: An Ordinance decreasing sewer rates was read for the 2nd time. Resolution 2002-23: A Resolution that accepts the easement and settlement agreements in the matter of Jeff and Kelly Petrelle was read for the 1st time. Motion by John Synodinos, second by Robert Martin Sr. to approve Resolution 2002-23. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 5-0. Chris Becker told Council Members that all they needed to do concerning the accrued time situation involving the Police Department was to make a motion to eliminate the requirement for police officers to wait one year before being allowed to use their accrued time. Motion by Beth Rupert second by Robert Martin Sr. to eliminate the accrued leave requirement for Police Officers until the beginning of their 2nd year of employment. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 5-0. Reports, Announcements and Communications Mayor Cochrun read the Magistrate's Report for September 2002. Mayor Cochrun read the Police report for the month of September 2002. Mayor Cochrun read the building inspector's report for the month of September 2002. Council decided to wait until next meeting to set the time and date for Trick or Treating for Halloween until Steubenville had set their date. Mayor Cochrun announced that Village Offices would be closed on Monday October 14, 2002 in observance of Columbus Day. Mayor Cochrun said that he had been approached by a Council Person to recognize the accomplishments of Lester Carney in the form of a sign near a Village entrance. He then read all of the accomplishments of Mr. Carney, which included winning a silver medal at the 1960 Olympics. Motion by Robert Martin Sr., second by Dave Smith to recognize Lester N. Carney in the form of a sign to be put in the Village. Vote: John Synodinos nay, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 4-1. Mayor Cochrun announced that there would be a Planning Commission Meeting on Tuesday, October 8, 2002 at 6:00 PM. Committee Reports Motion by Dave France, second by Robert Martin Sr. to make the list of budget transfers submitted by Clerk/Treasurer Mike Payne. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 5-0. Mike Payne explained that one of the transfers needed was putting more money in the water purchase line item because the Village had recently purchased more water from Steubenville, which charges a higher rate that the County. He said that the Administrator had to make this switch because of a water pressure problem. Council Members discussed briefly the current water situation with Chris Becker, who updated them on his most recent meeting and correspondence. He said that the County had given the Village a proposal but they were still waiting on a proposal from Steubenville to show a comparison of the two. Dave France said that he was going to schedule a Finance Committee Meeting for Tuesday, October 8, 2002 at 6:00 PM to discuss next years budget issues. Robert Martin Sr. said that he would like the Village to help sponsor a Halloween party that would include a costume judging and handing out treats on Halloween. Administrator's Report None. Old Business John Synodinos said that he did not believe he had done anything incorrect in conjunction with the discussion he had with Dan Wood. He said that the talk of censure for him in this matter was just vindictive politics. He said that he had hoped that the conduct committee would have met again to decide the matter. He said that unless someone on Council made a motion to censure him he would feel vindicated on this matter. Dave France said the conduct committee did not meet again because they felt there was no need to, since censorship is the only action available. Motion by Dave France, second by Beth Rupert to censure John Synodinos for his actions towards Dan Wood. Responding to a question about what a censure was exactly, Chris Becker said that the only type of recourse provided by Village Rules for matters like these was censorship. He said that a censure in this context was essentially a public reprimand, by fellow Council Persons. Dave Smith said that he had attempted to explain to John Synodinos that it was not so much his conversation with Mr. Wood but more of how the message was put across. Vote: John Synodinos no vote, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. nay, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 3-1. John Synodinos then responded to Council's vote by saying that he did not agree with their decision. He then proceeded to speak about situations he thought other members of Council and the Mayor should have been censured. New Business Dave Smith passed out a suggestion on collection of passed due water bills. Chris Becker then explained his opinion letter regarding the collection of past due water bills. His letter explained why the Village should not use an Individual contractual agreement to pay prior bills. He then explained Council's three options in dealing with unpaid bills. 1.) Leave the current Ordinance as it is and continue to enforce it. 2.) Change the number of days prior to shutting residences' water off in the current Ordinance. 3.) Repeal the existing Ordinance and permit the Village Administrator to create bylaws and regulations as he sees fit to address this issue pursuant to Section 735.273 of the Revised Code. Robert Martin Sr. said he had checked with other Communities and the Administrator's of those entities created the necessary bylaws for running the water operations. Motion by Robert Martin Sr., second by Dave Smith to repeal the existing Ordinance relating to water shutoffs and allow the Village Administrator to establish bylaws and regulations to address this issue pursuant to section 735.273 of the Revised Code. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France nay, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 4-1. Motion by Dave France, second by John Synodinos to permit the Administrator to go out to bid to purchase a new front loader for the water and sewer department. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 5-0. Beth Rupert said that Council Members need to decided what to do with the Building owned by the Village on Woodridge and Leonard Avenue. She said that the Village would need to address maintenance issues with both buildings if they were not going to sell them. She suggested that the Village get out of the Landlord business. Chris Becker agreed to review the current lease time frame with the Woodridge Building tenant. John Synodinos said that the Woodridge property may be in need of some minor repairs, but the current rental arrangement is a good return for the Village. He said that the Leonard Ave. building would cost approximately $5000.00 to tear down and that the lot would only be worth about $15,000, giving the Village a net return of only about $10,000. He said the Village would be better off keeping the building for storage space, since storage space was such a premium for the Village. Chris Becker said that the records retention committee would be looking into the records that could be disposed of to help alleviate some of the storage problem. Motion by Robert Martin Sr., second by John Synodinos to pay bills as funds become available. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 5-0. Motion by John Synodinos, second by Robert Martin Sr. to adjourn. Vote: John Synodinos yea, Dave France yea, Dave Smith yea, Robert Martin Sr. yea, Beth Rupert yea. Motion passed 5-0. Next regular scheduled meeting is Thursday October 17, 2002 at 7:00 PM. C. Michael Payne Clerk/Treasurer Robert E. Cochrun Mayor