McDONALD VILLAGE COUNCIL WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2014 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Visitors: Samantha Stitt, Josh Lang, Brad Lang, Bill Luzar, Cheryl Miller, Jarred Miller, Albert Yates, Shawn Booty Staff: Fire Chief Nick Kish, Police Chief Lou Ronghi, Solicitor Douglas W. Ross, Village Administrator Thomas Domitrovich, and Office Manager Char McCracken 1. The meeting of was called to order by Mayor Glenn W. Holmes at 6:15 p.m. *In the absence of the Fiscal Officer, who is at a state mandated training seminar, Office Manager Char McCracken called the roll. Mr. O Brien absent * Mr. Fisher present Mr. Puckett present Mr. Harvey present Mr. Seitz present Mr. Stitt present *Mr. O Brien was absent due to illness 2. Pledge of allegiance One minute of silence in remembrance of American troops serving throughout the world and the people of Crimea 3. Approval of the February 19, 2014 council minutes. It was moved by Mr. Fisher, seconded by Mr. Seitz to approve the February 19, 2014 minutes as mailed:
Page 2 4. Adoption of agenda: It was moved by Mr. Fisher, seconded by Mr. Harvey to accept the agenda as presented: 5. Mayor s report - Mayor Holmes read the Mayor s Court reports as follows: For the month of January, 2014, we collected computer fund I $9, court costs $23, overpayment on fines $1, fines $70, Niles Municipal court fines $979.30, parking tickets $15, drug fund $420 for a grand total to the Village of $1517.30 For the month of February, 2014 we collected computer fund I $30, computer fund II $3, costs $76, fines $305, Niles Municipal court fines $1,427.60, law enforcement fund $26, drug fund $20 for a grand total to the Village of $1887.60 Mayor Holmes stated that we are sending all our cases to Niles Municipal Court to try it out for a while and to see how it affects our residents. Mayor asked for a motion to allow SCOPE to apply for grant funds on behalf of the Village. It was moved by Mr. Stitt, seconded by Mr. Fisher to submit for funding through SCOPE. Discussion: Mayor Holmes stated this is long overdue. I know we wanted to have it ready by last summer but here again there is a snag with the state and hopefully that dysfunction will be eliminated. Seitz aye
Page 3 5. Mayor s report cont d. Mayor stated he has attended a lot of meetings regarding Halcon. There is conversation surrounding their non-activity. They were going to put a gathering line through the Village. That is on hold as well. They need to move forward to get an easement down Route 11. They are waiting for the Kibler well and another well in south Trumbull County to come back when those levels are set. Mayor asked for confirmation of the appointments of Kris Kubacko, Joshua Kisch, and Justin Perry to the Volunteer Fire Department per Chief Kish s recommendation. It was moved by Mr. Puckett, seconded by Mr. Stitt to confirm the appointments of Kris Kubacko, Joshua Kisch, and Justin Perry. Discussion: Mayor Holmes stated Chief Kish has interviewed the gentlemen and has checked their credentials. 6. Report of Village Officials: Village Administrator Thomas Domitrovich reported he attended a meeting with representative of the Norfolk and Southern, ODOT, and A.P. O Horo regarding the Olive Street Bridge Project. He has also spoken with the inspector of the project and the boring machine is to be brought in and they expect to start boring next week. He commented on the community room project. We have answered the questions from the state and the additional information will be sent to them. Police Chief Lou Ronghi stated he will distribute his end of the month report for February to the Council following the meeting. Fire Chief Nick Kish thanked Mayor and Council for the appointments. He also stated that the tornado siren has been tested and is in operation. There was a statewide test this morning and our siren worked perfectly.
Page 4 6. Report of Village Officials cont d. Mayor Holmes asked Chief Kish to comment on the 1916 fire truck. Chief Kish replied that has been trailered to Michigan to be worked on by a former McDonald resident to be restored and it should be in working order for the festival this year. He also stated that he has been in contact with a gentleman that purchased our 1921 LaFrance fire truck. He is going to restore it and if it is done in time he would like to drive it in our parade. Mr. Harvey commented that he is pleased to see that the 1916 will be restored. He has turned that crank many of times. You don t see many 1916 fire trucks and we are fortunate to have it. There are many stories regarding that truck. Solicitor Douglas W. Ross no report. 7. Committee reports: Mayor Holmes reported on tonight s Caucus where the following items were discussed: agenda, Fiscal Officer s report, Council minutes, Tribune advertisement, county building department, S.C.O.P.E., Mr. Luzar s concerns, committee meetings, and the Fire Department appointments. Park & Buildings Mr. Stitt stated there was a water break at the water fountain. There was some damage and loss of Village supplies. Mr. Stitt thanked Mr. Domitrovich and Mr. Border for their work on the community room plans and getting it resubmitted to the state. It was moved by Mr. Stitt, seconded by Mr. Puckett to hold the committee meetings on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. Safety Committee Mr. Puckett stated we did hire three new volunteer firefighter/emts. Safety will meet March 18, at 6:00 p.m.
Page 5 7. Committee reports cont d. Finance & Capital Improvement Mr. Fisher stated they will meet on March 18 between 6:30 7:00. Service Committee Mr. Harvey stated Service will meet on the 18 th of March following Finance. Planning Commission Mr. Fisher stated Planning will meet next Wednesday, March 12, at 7:00 p.m. Community Chest Mr. O Brien Mayor Holmes stated there was no report. 8. Remarks from persons or groups present: Bill Luzar, 503 Iowa Avenue. I m here tonight because I have some concerns about the sidewalk project that is going to impact my property. I oppose the sidewalk because I am on the corner lot. The sidewalk is going to destroy my structure of the front of my yard. I m going to lose all my trees. I know that one tree on the corner is going to go as Tom [Domitrovich] mentioned. It is a city tree but I have two trees that the roots are going to be in that area and it will damage those roots. I have water drainpipes in the front of the yard. I m going to have to tie a sidewalk into the yard to make it look appropriate. It is going to be awful costly for me and I extremely oppose this idea for this sidewalk because it is going to be a financial change. Our house on Iowa Avenue is not designed, everybody else you put a sidewalk in it is not going to be a real impact. For me it is going to be a major impact for me. I bought the house from Mr. Leskovac in 2008. He told me that it didn t have the proper footage to even put a sidewalk in there. When he was Mayor he said he couldn t do that. There are a lot of sentimental reasons as well but it s that tree that I have concerns about. We bought the house, the house is beautiful with those trees up there and it is a beautiful tree. It is going to take a lifetime to grow back but you are going to insist on putting a sidewalk there. I don t oppose the sidewalk in the entire village but there are other safety ways you could have done that. You could have just put the sidewalk on Danny O Donnell s side of the street down from the school. The kids can get out of school and stay on one side of the street and then cut over Fifth St. to Mrs. Cox s house across the street and then over to the parking lot. On my side of the block there are people that have lots that don t even have a house there and you are going to put a sidewalk there. I really don t see any reason for a sidewalk alone even on that whole block. You are going to make people in their back yards shovel their sidewalk? That s another thing but my main concern is my property and the impact it is going to cost me. If you put the sidewalk in is it going to kill my trees on my side and get the roots? I m in the process of doing a variance request for a shed and I m going to get the property
Page 6 8. Remarks from persons or groups present cont d. surveyed and the surveyor told me I need to check the legal guidelines if they put the sidewalk in. If they pull the pins out he said I m going to pay another $500 to get them put back in. That is something I m concerned about. And the drainage, I just put $25,000 in my house a couple years ago for flooding. We have flood problems around there. The neighbor with the lot between us, it floods all the time and that drainpipe is there so I m very concerned. Even with the grade when you start digging to change that grade, I m going to have water coming into my house. That is the only reason I am here tonight because this could have a major impact on me and this is being overlooked. I think there could be a way to modify this plan to keep your safety in place but to protect my property and the value of my house at the time. Mayor Holmes responded I understand. We have talked at length on the phone you and I personally. I know you ve talked with the Village Administrator at length. I m not going to refute what you said. There is one city tree that is going to be removed. Your trees, I don t know if it is going to get into the root system or not. That root system as we discussed is probably deeper than a shallow root system. I don t know if it will directly impact the aesthetics there. That could be a judgment call. You keep your property very, very nice. It has been my history that typically a sidewalk especially on a corner lot enhances the property values and enhances the corner lot. I do appreciate your concerns and I m asking Council to take that into consideration at the committee meetings moving forward with the scope of the project with the primary concern, especially during events and day to day activities, the kids are in the street. We would like them to move to the sidewalks. That is going to take some coaching to make sure they understand in that area they need to be on the sidewalk. We are a pedestrian heavy town, twelve hundred residences in a mile square. It is incumbent upon us to create a safe environment. I wish there was a utopian plan but there has been no perfect plan yet. Mr. Luzar said on that tree that you are talking about cutting if you could do that for a telephone pole that make a curve like they done in other places you re telling me that you can t have that sidewalk go around that tree to save it. Mayor Holmes answered I m not telling you that but I do appreciate your concerns. This is not a debate. I m going to ask Council to consider it and move forward. Mr. Domitrovich stated he will bring the maps of the project to the committee meetings on the March 18 for all to review.
Page 7 9. Old Business: none 10. New Business: none 11. Legislation: A Third reading of an Ordinance No. 3152-14 For The Purpose Of Approving And Adopting An Investment Policy It was moved by Mr. Fisher, seconded by Mr. Harvey that Ordinance No. 3152-14 be passed as read. Discussion: Mr. Fisher stated we do have a little bit of a carryover from time to time and we take a look at how our money can better serve us. B Third reading of a Resolution No. 1729-14 Adopting A Statement Of Policy Affirmative Action Program (A.A.P.) And Equal Employment Opportunity Policy (E.E.O.P.) For The Benefit Of The Village Of McDonald, Ohio. It was moved by Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Seitz that Resolution No. 1729-14 be passed as read. C Third reading of an Ordinance No. 3153-14 Amending Previous Village Ordinance No. 3131-13 Regarding The Salaries Of The Part-Time Firefighter/ Emts/ Paramedics.
Page 8 11. Legislation cont d. It was moved by Mr. Fisher, seconded by Mr. Puckett that Ordinance No. 3153-14 be passed as read. Discussion: Mr. Fisher stated a few years back we took a look at our permanent part-time employees and did compensate them accordingly. The Fire Chief didn t fall into that category but we do have occasions where we have a Fire Chief that does that duty and also participates in the EMS program at about 28 hours a week. Between the combined duties we thought it would be appropriate to give 45 paid hours of absence so he if he has some family issues he can take care of it. D Third reading of an Ordinance No. 3154-14 For The Purpose Of Authorizing A One-Time Lump Sum Payment To Listed Full-Time And Part- Time Village Employees. It was moved by Mr. Fisher, seconded by Mr. Seitz that Ordinance No. 3154-14 be passed as read. Discussion: Mr. Fisher stated we have done this in the past. It is a way of compensating our employees and helps control the cost of pay raises every year. Mayor Holmes stated he appreciates Council doing that and he also stated that he appreciates all the employees and their dedication and their work.
Page 9 11. Legislation cont d. E Second reading of a Resolution Declaring The Amount Of Taxes That May Be Raised By Levy At The Maximum Rate Authorized By Law Without A Vote Of The Electors To Be Insufficient For Current Operating Expenses, and declaring the necessity of a levy in excess of such rate. It was moved by Mr. Fisher, seconded by Mr. Seitz that the resolution pass second reading as read. Discussion: Mr. Fisher stated that looking at the lofty list of projects that we have on tap for this year and in the next few years, we decided that it would probably be in our best interest to give it to the voters to determine if they want to renew our levy that we have had in place for quite some time so that we could further enhance the Village. F Second reading of an Ordinance To Make Appropriations For 2014 To Various Divisions Of The Village Government For Each Of The Several Objects For Which The Village Of McDonald, Ohio, Has To Provide Out Of The Monies Known To Be In The Treasury Of Said Village During The Year From the Collection Of All The Taxes And From All Other Sources Of Revenue For 2014. It was moved by Mr. Fisher, seconded by Mr. Harvey that the ordinance pass second reading as read. Discussion: Mr. Fisher stated if you take a look at the 2014 budget ordinance it is proof positive of the amount of work that we are doing here in the Village. It is an extremely large amount, probably larger than most people would understand that we have because our budget doesn t reflect that. The reporting requirements have been changed so that we now have to add in the pass through money that we receive from grants. It is a larger budget than we ever have had before because of the reporting requirements. I think every bit of what we have in there does justify the work that we do here.
Page 10 11. Legislation cont d. 12. Fiscal Officer s report: Mr. Fisher reported that the bills for the Fiscal Officer s report total $34,201.52. I, Brian Fisher, Chairman of the Finance and Capital Improvement Committee of the Village of McDonald, Ohio do hereby declare that the bills are true and correct. It was moved by Mr. Fisher, seconded by Mr. Harvey to accept the Fiscal Officer s report and pay all bills. 13. Miscellaneous: Mayor stated it was nice to see folks concerned about Village business and presenting themselves here. 14. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned on a motion by Mr. Harvey, seconded by Mr. Puckett at 6:47 p.m. All voted aye. Mayor Attest to: Fiscal Officer