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.