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September 22, 2006

Council briefs for 9/11

Mariemont village council convened Sept. 11 at council chambers.

Mayor Policastro called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. The following Council members answered present to roll call: Mr. Adams, Mr. Bevis, Mr. Ebelhar, and Ms. Sullivan.

Mr. Ebelhar moved, seconded by Ms. Sullivan to excuse the absences of Mr. Thomas and Mrs. Schmit. On roll call; four ayes, no nays.

9-11 remembered
Mayor Policastro said this evening is the 5th anniversary of the terrorist’s attacks, where many brave people died.
Bevis said 5 years ago today 2,779 people died at the World Trade Center in New York, 189 at the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and 40 in Shanksville, Pa.

Seven victims had ties in the local area: Wendy R. Faulkner, 47, of Mason was a Vice-President of information technology for Aon Insurance Group. She was at a meeting in the south tower of the World Trade Center when the planes hit. Douglas M. Cherry, 38, of Maplewood, N.J., was Vice-President of the professional services group for Aon Insurance Group. Mr. Cherry, who grew up in Terrace Park, also was in the south tower of the World Trade Center. Kelly Booms, 24, of Brookline Mass., was a passenger on American Flight 11, which struck the World Trade Center’s north tower. She grew up in Blue Ash and graduated from Miami University. When she died, she was an accountant for PriceWaterhouse Coopers. Robert D. Peraza, 30, of New York City, was a bond trader at Cantor Fitzgerald, which had offices on the 104th floor of the north tower of the world Trade Center. His parents live in Mason. Cathy Salter, 37, a University of Cincinnati graduate, was a claims manager at Aon Insurance Group in Cincinnati before transferring to the company’s New York office. She was last seen on the 98th floor of the south tower of the World Trade Center. Brian P. Williams, 29, of New York, lived previously in Edgewood, Kentucky, and graduated from Covington Catholic High School. He was a broker for Cantor Fitzgerald and died in the World Trade Center attack. Martha Rezke, 56, was a Pentagon accountant whose brother-in-law, John Rezke, lives in Liberty Township.

Bevis asked for a moment of silence for all the victims of the 9/11 tragedy.

A raise in sales tax
It is Hamilton County Commissioner Phil Heimlich’s opinion that a new sales tax is imperative to reducing crime on the streets. The money will be used to improve the jail accommodations.

“It is a $225 million project and I do not feel it is fair to ask police officers to do their jobs by arresting people who are committing the crimes and acts of violence, and then releasing these same individuals the next day ... it is not a situation we can tolerate,” Heimlich said, who presented village council with handouts about the Campaign for a Safer Hamilton County, which is being chaired by Heimlich, Sheriff Simon Leis, Jr., Prosecutor Joseph T. Deters, and Carl H. Linder, Jr.

This campaign addresses the issue of the need for a new jail in Hamilton County. He thinks everyone recognizes that this business of arresting people one day and letting them out the next simply cannot continue.

Over the course of 20 years, approximately 70,000 criminals have been released early from jail short of serving their time. When talking with judges, they all say they have to give out a shorter sentence because they know there is never enough space.

“If you go back to when the jail was built, it was told to County Commissioners that the jail was too small. In 1991 a place called Queensgate was rented for what was to be three years at $2 million dollars per year,” Heimlich said. “ The new jail was never built and so far the County has spent over $25 million dollars in rent for a run down building.”

Last year the county hired one of the top corrections planning firms to look into a new solution. After a 5 month study, they determined that we need a new jail and we have to get rid of the older facilities. The consultant recommended building the new jail within 5 minutes of the Justice Center. According to the consultant, that should give county enough room until 2020.

“We want to build the new facility in a way so that it can be expanded. The big question is how we are going to pay for it,” Heimlich said.

The plan is to put a $.25 sales tax on the ballot. He believes a sales tax would be better than a property tax.
“We have control over the sales tax as opposed to property taxes. Forty-five percent of sales tax comes from outside of Hamilton County, therefore those who come to the professional games etc., are essentially helping to pay for the new jail,” he said. The tax will go for 10 years at the most. If it is paid off before 10 years, the tax will go away.

There is a possibility that we will receive $15 million to $25 million from the state, but commissioners are not including that in their figures.

As soon as the jail is paid off, the sales tax will go away. Even with the new tax, taxes will not go up over the rate of inflation.

Most of the County leaders and law officials are supportive and have endorsed this levy. The issue should not be how much it will cost to build the new jail, but how much will it cost if we do not. He asked the mayor and members of council to show their support by passing a resolution.

Adams moved, seconded by Ms. Sullivan that the minutes of August 28, 2006 be accepted as written. On roll call; four ayes, no nays.

The following communications were read:

Please park on the correct side of the road
Bevis said he has observed that people are parking on the wrong side of the road. To him this appears to be a safety issue as when people pull out, they will be crossing a lane of travel.

There is an ordinance in place prohibiting this type of parking. Chief Rick Hines said he has been working in the village for 19 years and people were parking that way when he came here.

“We are looking at something that people have been accustomed to doing for 40-plus years. The majority of the people who park in the Historic District park the opposite way,” Hines said.

Bevis asked if council should take a look at the ordinance. Hines said that was up to council, but as far as enforcement, it is something the department has not enforced for years.

Mayor Policastro said it is hard to park in the Historic area. Clerk Stan Bahler said the harder it is to park, the more dangerous it is to park on the wrong side of the street. Hines said if council decides to make changes, it will be a major job educating the residents. Bevis disagreed saying it would take one warning ticket - people are a little smarter than that.

Sullivan disagreed saying finding a good parking spot in the Historic District is like winning the lottery. “It will be a grave inconvenience to residents ... and a waste of time for the police department,” she said.

It was suggested to make a friendly reminder in the Mayor’s Bulletin. Clerk Stan Bahler said if the village is going to remind them and then not enforce it, what’s the point? “If we are not going to enforce the ordinance, then remove it from the books. We can’t selectively enforce some ordinances and not enforce others,” he said.

Resurfacing issues at Park Lane
Residents of Park Lane made a request to have Park Lane resurfaced. Mayor Policastro said he has been looking into this with Ebelhar and it seems Metropolitan Sewer District only wants to resurface 75 percent of the “U” area on Park Lane.

He is meeting with MSD and it is Mayor Policastro’s opinion that once you get over 50 percent and you have a unit like that, you should do the whole thing.

He has asked the Engineer to give him an estimate of what it will cost. If they do not agree to finish it, council should look into finishing it themselves, especially after what those people have been through, and perhaps compromising with MSD.

Public forumDuring public forum, village residents are given the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns, ask questions from council, make suggestions and share any other thoughts concerning village decisions, projects and expenditures.

Ms. Denise McCarthy, 6722 Chestnut Street, presented Mayor Policastro with a petition list of 103 names against the selling of the green space at Chestnut and Plainville. She plans on having an additional 75-80 names by tomorrow. Mayor Policastro said we are going to do this the democratic way. The Mayor’s Bulletin will come out with a “tear off’. It will explain everything - the benefits etc. It will be up to the people. After the people have spoken, he will either turn it over to Council, or if they don’t want it - it will just die. Whatever money comes from the sale of the piece of property will go directly back into the Parks Fund, especially for bathrooms and the tee ball park. He said all the facts are not out, and people need to have all the facts in order to make a decision.

Ms. Mary Alice Maze, 6734 Chestnut Street, said she has been a resident for almost 19 years and she just found out about this proposal last week. She usually reads the Council minutes and she was real surprised that was the first mention of something going on. She has heard that talks have been going on since May. She finds it very disconcerting that this is more of a behind the scenes proposal. Nothing has been mentioned in the Eastern Hills Journal or the Town Crier which are the two large mass medias for the Village. She believes if this is going to be a true democratic process, it should be put on the ballot for the November elections. Mayor Policastro said there have been no talks, no behind the scenes activity. He does not know where everyone is getting this information. Frank Raeon, a City Planner, approached the Mayor with this plan. The Mayor wrote a letter to the Emery Memorial about selling the property. They gave their permission but, said it had to be okay with the people. Ms. Maze said one member of the Parks Advisory Group told her that it had been in discussion since May. Mayor Policastro said that is when Mr. Raeon made the suggestion and the letter was sent to the Emery Memorial. It has taken them this long to respond. He told the Parks Advisory Board that this was suggested by Mr. Raeon. He is going to do a survey similar to that of Resthaven Barn. In his bulletin also, he is going to mention the possible sale of property behind the library and the sale of the Steam Plant. He wants the residents to be aware of potential income streams coming into the Village. One of the promises he made when he ran for Mayor was to find ways to finance the Village by bringing in new business for payroll taxes, because a future operational levy is the last thing he would want to do.

Ms. McCarthy said she is not against new businesses coming into the Village. She believes we need more businesses. However, she feels there are more appropriate places in the Village than in between two schools. Mayor Policastro said all we are doing right now is looking into a suggestion.

CouncilmanEbelhar said the first he heard about this proposal was at the last Council meeting. He said it has not been in front of Council for a long period of time. Mayor Policastro said it will not be referred to a Committee of Council until he hears from the people.

Solicitor McTigue said the very first step in the process in selling a piece of property is for Council to first make a determination that the Village no longer has a use for the property. If Council makes that determination, then there is a whole process that we need to go through. He certainly believes that the Village residents will have an opportunity to let their feelings be known.

Mr. John Swisher, 6624 Wooster Pike, said in the Historic District we do not have the luxury of having streets wide enough to accommodate a lot of vehicle turnaround. A lot of streets are not marked that there is no parking on one side. There are times when he can not get his trucks through without having to make a lot of extra turns. Forcing people to park in one direction will force them to find places to turn around which can be a real challenge. He respectfully asked that the issue not be pushed.

Ms. Karen Koetzel, 3865 Beech Street, said the lanes in the Historic District were built in the 1920’s and are not built for the size trucks Rumpke feels they have to use now that they are down to pick up once a week. There has been a lot of property damage on Lane A. Large truck drivers run into fences, hedges etc. She suggested the Safety Committee look into posting signs limiting the size of through trucks. Mayor Policastro referred the matter to the Safety Committee.

Ms. Maze said she has witnessed Rumpke dumping the recycling in the trash truck. People take the time to separate the recycling and it can be very frustrating to see it tossed in with the garbage. Mr. Ebelhar said they have a huge recycling center where the recycling is sorted out from the garbage. They may have to send one truck for whatever reason, but it gets sorted out on their end.

Mr. Nowlin asked when the curb will be replaced on the western end of Wooster Pike. Mayor Policastro said that is obvious damage and he has been told that it will be replaced.

Posted by johnston at 03:36 PM

September 20, 2006

Council briefs for Aug. 14

Village of Mariemont council meeting convened Aug. 14, 2006.

Mayor Policastro called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. The following Council members answered present to roll call: Mr. Adams, Mr. Bevis, Mr. Ebelhar, Mrs. Schmit, Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Thomas.

Over budget?
Councilman Adams asked about the paramedic budget and was informed the annual budget is $300,000 for paramedics but if that pace continues there will be an over expenditure of $57,000 in salaries.

Fire Chief Jack Phifer said the figures were known by council when the paramedic program began.
“We knew that the levy was not going to be enough to handle that,” Phifer said, adding it would cost about $240,000 - $250,000 and it would be supplemented by the billing service.

Adams said the budget for salaries is $273,000 and right now the Fire Department is on track to overspend $57,000 and he wanted to know what the department was going to do to try to stay within budget. Clerk Stan Bahler said part of the issue is that all paramedic salaries go through the paramedic budget now.

“That was not how it was initially planned. We had calculated the additional amount and put it in that budget, but when we set it up, we charged it all to the paramedics, so the actual fire budget is under budget,” Bahler said.

Update on possible bike trail?
Councilman Rex Bevis said he has had several people approach him regarding the bike path.
“One area we might want to look at in the future for a possible bike path is the extension to the existing path behind Krogers and the school property,” he said. Mayor Policastro said the problem he has with it is OKI wanted $150,000. Councilwoman Schmit said we did not say no to the bike path, just give us some other options that are not as expensive. Councilman Thomas said it might be worthwhile to have an informal meeting with those individuals who have contacted Bevis to go over a little bit with them.

Street repairs
Engineer Ertel said he got the proposal for the additional work for the street repair work. The work would include two curb ramps, one at Pleasant and Wooster and the other at Pocahontas and Wooster. The additional work is $9,000, which will include paving the cut through that the emergency vehicles use. The project was $14,000 under budget when bids came in so this will still keep us in budget.

Bevis asked how these additions came about. Police Chief Rick Hines said he asked for the paving of the cut through. When it snows, it is impossible for the Maintenance Department to clear the area. It will make it a lot easier for both the fire and police departments to respond from the station if the area was paved.

Schmit asked why those two places were selected for the ramps.Engineer Ertel said it came from resident input. Mayor Policastro said there are a lot of mothers who want to cross Wooster to go to the Tot Lot and they have to run and try to lift the buggy up over the curb on Wooster. It is also difficult for kids on bikes.

Bevis said the thing that bothers him is the process. The Committee worked together to identify all the projects and now all of a sudden things come out of the woodwork and we add to the work order. Mayor Policastro said the bids came in low and we had several important safety projects that we missed. He thinks it is important that we try to get these done.

Bevis said it is like the squeaky wheel gets oiled. Mayor Policastro said he believes these are good projects and not a case of the squeaky wheel getting oiled. Thomas said he believes Mr. Bevis’s point is that there are several places along Wooster Pike to get to Pleasant Street where you can cross safely.

Ebelhar said the Committee spent a lot of time setting the priorities according to the budget. Mayor Policastro said the Committee did a good job and we got a great price. Schmit said the Committee got a similar request for residents along Murray Avenue and Grove to put in ramps. At the time we said it was too expensive. Mayor Policastro said we are still under budget if Council wants to add it, the Engineer can get a price to have that work done as well. The work is scheduled to be done, but if Council wants to wait another year, it’s fine with him.

Adams moved, second by Ms. Sullivan to proceed with the expenditure that the Engineer has outlined for the curb cuts and the cut through to improve safety crossing Wooster Pike.

On roll call; six ayes, no nays.

Open Forum
During open forum, villagers present at the meeting may ask council questions, or intimate to council any problems or issues they have with any projects or decisions, or they may just voice an opinion.

Ms. Julie Curran, 3809 Simpson, Village of Fairfax, asked for an update on the West Street situation, as she missed the last meeting and the minutes had not yet been posted. She would like to know what new plans might take place as school is starting next week and she wants to know what the Village is doing to make sure her kids are safe.

Ms. Karen Hollyday, 6607 Mariemont Avenue, restated her appreciation for Council trying to work on the West Street issue to find a safe solution. She is still concerned about the pick up situation. The Mayor said that is in the plan.

Ms. Laura Dolle, 6927 Mt. Vernon, said her concern is lunch time. If she wants to pick her kids up for lunch, can she stop on West Street to get her kids?

Ms. Jenny Ferguson, 2 Emery Lane, said she was inspired by the spirit of collaboration between the School Board and the Village Council by trying to accommodate everybody’s needs - the children’s, retail merchants etc. She finds it refreshing to see this approach being taken. She would encourage the School Board and Council to continue to work together with this spirit in mind.

Mr. Ken White, 3829 Settle Road, is a member of the School Board and he too said he appreciates the cooperation between the Board and Council. The School Board wants to formalize a joint letter or statement. He asked that a yellow center line be placed down the middle of the street. He thinks it will help identify that you can not cross the line. He also wanted to make sure that the intent is to have a right turn only from West Street onto Wooster Pike. Mayor Policastro said yes because if it was not, it would clog the traffic.

Ms. Curran said there are several families that are not Mariemont residents and how are they going to be notified. Discussion ensued regarding notification to all parents of the change. Mr. White said the School Board plans to electronically notify everyone along with paper notification. Mayor Policastro asked if the Eastern Hills Journal could print an article. He also said he will put it on the front page of his Mayor’s Bulletin which will go out this week. It will also be placed on the Village website.

Ebelhar recapped the issues at West Street and he said until the School Board finalizes its plan, the construction will not begin until June 2007. In the interest of trying to create a safe environment and still accommodate some of the parental concerns, after the Ordinance is passed tonight, there will be no parking on West Street at all. It will be two way traffic at all times of day. There will be a special safe zone that will be approximately 60’ long where parents can discharge their passengers on the school side of the street. We will have police and other individuals who will strictly enforce that parents do not discharge students into the street. Buses will continue to load and unload in the parking lot. Individuals will not be permitted to stand or park their car and escort their children to the school. They will only be able to drop off the child within the 60’ foot radius. The process is known as ‘Stop, Drop, Go’. There will be a ½ hour window in the morning and the afternoon for the discharge of students in the safe zone only. For parents who need to sign their children out for whatever reason, will have to park in the lot and physically enter the school to retrieve their student. The point is to use the street for traffic, not for parking and idle chatter.

Village insured
Mr. Ebelhar moved, seconded by Ms. Sullivan to accept the recommendation of the Finance Committee to re-new the Village Liability Insurance. The Finance Committee met on Thursday August 10, 2006 to discuss the renewal of the village’s liability insurance, which includes “Comprehensive General Liability”, “Real and Personal Property”, “Business and Vehicle coverage.”

Upon review, the Committee recommended the renewal of coverage through “The Ohio Plan” prepared through the Hylant Group with an annual cost of $39,581. The Committee requested that the appropriate ordinance be created with the emergency clause due to expiration of coverage dated 8-25-06. Ebelhar said this is the same company we have used for the past 7-8 years.

“We could have done a three year contract, but we have had good luck with a competitor that wants the Village’s business. This is less than what we paid last year, even though we have added some equipment. We feel good with the service we have gotten with them in the past and the Department Heads have done a good job making sure we have been safe and taking the risks out of the daily work load,” he said.

On roll call; six ayes, no nays.

Village receiving consultation
Council accepted the recommendation of the Finance Committee to discuss the Mayor’s recommendation to hire a consultant to assist in evaluation of the Village compensation program.

nvestment in this human resource study will provide professional benchmarks with similar municipalities for continued fiscal integrity and planning.

Upon review, the Committee recommends hiring Educational Services Institute Inc. for this analysis. Fees for this study shall not exceed $10,000. Ebelhar said the Finance Committee continues to struggle to see how we compare with the best of the best service.

Dr. Ann Grooms, a Village resident, has a Educational Service Company that will compliment the human resource manual to really look at job duties, job descriptions and what is a fair compensation. It will compare Mariemont to other municipalities our size. It will help council create a benchmark of where it is in relation to the rest of the state and country.

“We are looking at beefing up our human resource capability by getting some professional assistance. This will put us in good shape in moving us toward trying to look at our total financial picture by looking at our salary grades and wages,” Ebelhar said.

Adams asked what Grooms will do exactly. Ebelhar said she has a self study where the employees will fill out what they do. After that has been processed, Grooms will weigh that to standards. She will also help write job descriptions, look at salary wages for those comparables and give the village an analysis and suggestions for pay bands.
On roll call; six ayes, no nays.

Posted by johnston at 01:08 PM

September 19, 2006

July 24 council meeting

Minutes of Mariemont's council meeting, behing held July 24, 2006.

Mayor Dan Policastro called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. The following Council members answered present to roll call: Mr. Adams, Mr. Bevis, Mr. Ebelhar, Mrs. Schmit, Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Thomas.

No Early Postings
Councilman Rex Bevis suggested that the minutes not be posted until after they have been approved by Council. Mayor Policastro said we have been posting the minutes as soon as they are available so people can review what happened at the meeting prior to the next meeting. Council agreed they would prefer the minutes be posted after they have had an opportunity to review them.

Mr. Bevis said he would like to address the meeting of June 26, 2006. On Friday June 23, 2006 the Solicitor sent out an ordinance on West Street which was erroneously marked as an emergency. Solicitor McTigue has subsequently told everyone the same.

Later Friday afternoon, he received an e-mail from Adams asking what the emergency was about. Bevis said he informed Adams that the ordinance would only have a first reading and that Bevis would not be voting for it as an emergency. Ebelhar also said that the emergency clause was simply an error and the ordinance would only have a first reading.

There was no doubt that this was not to have been an emergency. The reason he brought it up was because it changed the whole entire tenor of that meeting. On Monday June 26, 2006, Adams sent out the following e-mail: ‘It has been listed as an emergency Ordinance, as you can see in the attached copy that Joanee originally sent. However, they are now trying to not make it an emergency because they don’t have the votes to get it passed with Bill Ebelhar being out of town. As it stands now, if Bill were in town, the vote would be 3 to 3, with the Mayor then casting the tie- breaking vote. And, he is firmly in favor of it moving forward. Melissa, Kim and I do not want this to go forward until the School Board gets back to us with their plan, and we will try to get it stopped tonight. It’s always good to have community representation at these meetings, especially when we have such a volatile issue like this. Thank you for your support’.

It suffices to say that one resident came to that meeting and referred to Council as being sneaky. Adams knows Bevis did not intend it to be an emergency as he knows neither did Ebelhar. Bevis believes Adams deceived the public. He believes the meeting of June 26, 2006, was flawed because of some misrepresentation.

Sullivan said she did not think it was misrepresentation because there were some valid questions. She does not think they were trying to skew the meeting one way or another. She had valid questions about how things fell into place and simply wanted more information. Mayor Policastro said it was an honest mistake by the Solicitor. Ebelhar did not call for an emergency. The only thing Bevis was addressing was the emergency clause.

Sullivan moved seconded by Ebelhar to accept the minutes as written for June 26, 2006, Budget Hearing June 26, 2006 and July 10, 2006. On roll call; five ayes, Ebelhar abstained due to his absence from the meeting.

School Board gives thanks
Mayor Policastro asked that the e-mail be read from Mariemont School Board President Rick Koehler into the permanent minutes:

‘Dear Mr. Mayor: As I will be out of town next week, I wanted to express to you and the Council Members, the thinking of the Mariemont School Board relative to the West Street reconfigurations being anticipated at this time. To begin, I would like to say what a pleasure it has been to work with Bill Ebelhar on this project. The invited dialogue between Mariemont Village Council (MVC) and the Mariemont Board of Education (MBOE) has been terrific. Indeed, this project has opened our eyes to a better solution for our parents and the children of our school district. At the June MBOE meeting, we authorized Gerry Harris to have Ron Roberts Engineering proceed with the drawings necessary to execute a drop-off area on school property. We envision these drawings being completed this fall. Late this year, or early next year, we will put those drawings out for bid. Our intention is to award the contract so that work can begin on this endeavor the day after school is out, next summer. When the kids return in the fall, the work will be completed and ready to be used by the parents. If MVC is going to eliminate the parking on West Street, prior to us having our work completed, we would ask that you consider allowing drop-off at certain times of the day, for parents and their children. This would alleviate the need for parents to park their cars in the lot and then walk their children to the school from there. Next year, when our work is completed, this will not be an issue. I am certain that Dr. Harris and Steve Brokamp (the new Mariemont Elementary Principal) would be happy to work with the Village, to establish what times of the day this plan would need to properly function. Thank you in advance for your consideration. Sincerely, Rick Koehler, President MBOE.’

Open Forum
During Open Forum, members of the audience may address council regarding concerns, questions, or just to make a statement. Here were the comments issued by those who requested to speak to council.

Ms. Karen Hollyday, 6607 Mariemont Avenue, said she is concerned that if we go ahead and make West Street no parking for one year until the new drop off is completed that it will become a more hazardous situation for the children for this year. It is a nightmare as it is for parents and a safety issue for parents. She suggested having a limited time drop of for the next year.

Ms. Jamie Keyes, 6825 Hammerstone Way, said she appreciates our police. She thinks our police department goes beyond the call of duty for a Village our size. She would encourage the police to do occasional surprise visits on West Street during school drop off. Rather than continue their niceness, perhaps the police need to start issuing some citations, we will not have people parking along West Street. Mayor Policastro said once we get this on paper, he is going to ask the Police Chief to have an officer there for at least the first 30 days of school to make sure the chaos and problems are ironed out. She thinks it will take more than 30 days. Mayor Policastro said he will leave that up to the Police Chief.

Ms. Marie Huenefeld, 7 Denny Place, thanked Council for working the Mariemont Board of Education. These problems are not easily solved and she appreciates that Council will continue to work cooperatively with the Board of Education.

Ms. Geneva Jokich, 6620 Wooster Pike, asked Council for a handicap parking spot in the back of her house to park. Mayor Policastro referred the matter to the Safety Committee.

Ms. Jenny Ferguson, 2 Emery Lane, thanked Council and the School Board for working hand in hand and trying to work together to resolve a prickly situation. The whole point of the matter is safety and serving the need of all community members - residents, students and businesses. She thinks it is wonderful to see everyone working together to serve everyone’s needs.

Ms. Ferguson said the City of Montgomery has been experiencing a surge of residential teardowns and new residences being built. The City recently passed an Ordinance to prevent new construction from towering over existing construction. She was curious if the Village had a similar Ordinance that would protect our older homes from being dwarfed by new homes. Mr. Ebelhar said the Village has in place standards and guidelines, which in not an Ordinance, but recommendations for building. It was put into place several years ago. The Solicitor said the Standards and Guideline have some teeth, but not as much as it would if there was an Ordinance in place. He suggested the Mayor refer it to a Committee if Council wishes to address the issue further. Mrs. Bartlett said time if of the essence because she believes another new home is to be constructed on Center Street. The Mayor referred the matter to the Planning and Zoning Committee.

Ms. Ferguson said another matter of concern to her is non-members using the tennis courts. Because we are limited on funding and personnel to monitor the area, she was curious if it would be a possibility to incorporate the tennis courts into the Parks system, which could be utilized by all residents for a nominal fee. It might bring in more money than what is currently being paid. Mr. Bevis said it would be best to bring it up at the next Recreation Board Meeting. He said we have people come to Council meetings periodically who complain about the waste collection fee, so he would be hesitant to impose a fee on every family when so few participate. Mayor Policastro said he also would have a problem with that because a lot of people would be upset. Ms. Ferguson said it could be made a general fee to support all of our parks. It is important to remember that having the tennis courts in our community available to those who want to play, is a property value.

On top of Rowan Hill
Mr. Bevis said the work has commenced on the residents and Mercy St. Theresa on Rowan Hill. All the plantings have been removed. He wanted to know if there was a landscaping plan. Mayor Policastro said he has the plan, but he does not think a whole lot will be done until September. The Mayor has trees at the tree farm that will be planted in the Village right-of-way. Mr. Bevis said in the old agreement, Mercy St. Theresa was required to put up a fence at the top of the hill. The concern is the automobiles that are parked in the lot and the headlights shine directly into the residences on Rowan Hill. Mayor Policastro said he would rather see a softer type barrier than a privacy fence.

Fire coverage discussed
Mr. Bevis said the Village of Terrace Park, as part of a 2.1 million tax funding, is building a new fire department building as well as adding a new fire truck. Yet, we continue to provide daytime fire coverage for them for $10,000. He suggested we renegotiate the contract at the end of the year. We have a $600,000 Fire Department and they are paying $10,000 a year for primary support during the day.

Resolutions
Resolutions receive three readings, so as to give the public a more thorough chance to learning what changes could be made.

“A Resolution to Transfer Funds from the General Fund to the Paramedic Fund” had a first reading.

“A Resolution to Advance Funds from the Permanent Improvement Fund to the General Fund” had a first reading.

“To Amend Section 79.01, Schedule II and Schedule III of the Mariemont Code of Ordinances Regarding Parking on West Street; To Repeal Ordinance No. O-12-00; and To Declare Emergency: had a second reading. Mr. Ebelhar moved, seconded by Mr. Adams to remove the emergency clause and to remove Section V. On roll call; six ayes, no nays. Mr. Ebelhar said we are primarily working off the plans by Roberts Engineering that were presented at the Committee of the Whole meeting. As indicated in the e-mail from Mr. Koehler, the School Board has approved the go ahead for the drop off area. In looking at the turn off lane that we talked about participating in, it makes sense from the standpoint of the Engineer that he work off their elevation and wait for Mr. Roberts drawings to be completed. We would then have a better document to assist us. As the School Board has indicated, everyone knows how dangerous it is presently and with construction slated for June 2007, the idea was what kind of intern plan we want to have in place to move cars and discharge kids safely. The original Ordinance calls for no stopping, standing or parking. To discharge someone in a drop off zone would require stopping, so we would have to eliminate that term. It seems to him we would need to eliminate standing and parking at all times in the area. There were some preliminary ideas about where the drop off area would be. West Street would have a designated drop off area which would be a safe zone. The parents could come in, drop off their students and keep going. This would allow for continuous traffic flow with the children being discharged on the school side of the building. It would eliminate people stopping and parking.

Mr. Adams said he commended Mr. Ebelhar for working with the School Board to come to that resolution. He believes it truly answers several different issues. One being working with the School Board and it also addresses the safety issue. He feels this is a good resolution.

Ms. Sullivan asked how afternoon pick up would be handled. Mr. Ebelhar said cars control discharge of the students and in the afternoon when students leave, they may stop at their lockers, talk to friends. He thinks it would be best to have the parents meet their children at a designated location. Ms. Sullivan said her concern is communication and we need to be very proactive. As soon as a decision is made, the more communication we have with everyone the better.

Mayor Policastro said another thing that is very important is the right turn onto Wooster Pike. Once we get the plas from the school, we will have our Engineer review the plans. It would be great thing to happen so people can get out even faster with the right turn lane.

Mrs. Schmit asked if this procedure is successful, can it be considered for the future. Mr. Ebelhar agreed that it would be a nice testing phase, but he would be concerned about the impact on the additional parking lot and how that would play out.

Mr. Ebelhar moved, seconded by Mr. Bevis to amend the Ordinance to read ‘there shall be no parking at all times on both sides of West Street between Wooster Pike and Madisonville Road with the exception of the designated drop off area which shall only be utilized for the imminent discharge of passengers for school purposes at that location’. On roll call; six ayes, no nays.

“To Accept Bid of Barrett Paving Materials Inc. for the 2006 Street Rehabilitation Project; To Authorize Contract and To Declare Emergency” had a first reading. Ms. Sullivan moved, seconded by Mrs. Schmit to suspend the rules to allow for the second and third readings. On roll call; six ayes, no nays. The Ordinance had a second reading. Mr. Bahler said in Section III needed to be amended to read ‘the Permanent Improvement Fund and the Street Restoration Fund and to charge Account No. 403.703.52409 $50,000 with the balance to Account No. 201.701.52409’. Mrs. Schmit moved, seconded by Mr. Bevis to amend the Ordinance. On roll call; six ayes, no nays. The Ordinance had a third reading. Mr. Thomas moved, seconded by Mrs. Schmit to adopt the Ordinance. On roll call; six ayes, no nays. Mr. Ebelhar moved, seconded by Mr. Thomas to invoke the emergency clause. On roll call; six ayes, no nays. Ordinance No. O-6-06 was adopted.

Posted by johnston at 03:15 PM