MONDAY, AUGUST 4, 2008

 

 

The regular meeting of the Bowling Green City Council, held in the Council Chamber, 304 North Church Street, Bowling Green, Ohio was called to order at 8:00 p.m. by Council President Newlove.  The meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

On roll call, Council Members Frost, Heminger, McOmber, Newlove, Sorrells, and Zanfardino responded.  Council Member Dunn was not present.  Also present were Municipal Administrator John Fawcett, City Attorney Michael Marsh, Parks and Recreation Director Michelle Grigore, Public Works Director Brian Craft, and Utilities Director Kevin Maynard.  Mayor John Quinn and Planning Director Rick Ketzenbarger were not present.

 

Council President Newlove declared the minutes of the meeting held July 21, 2008 approved as distributed.

 

 

CORRESPONDENCE

 

            Clerk noted that an application for a new Class D5A liquor permit was received from the Ohio Division of Liquor Control for Los Compadres Mexican Restaurant, located at 1544 E Wooster Street, Bowling Green, Ohio.  Clerk reported that a check of the records was requested but not yet received.

 

 

OFFICIAL REPORTS

 

            Mayor John Quinn was not present.

 

            On behalf of the Mayor, Municipal Administrator John Fawcett requested confirmation of the appointment of Leonardo Fonseca Almeida as the BGSU representative to the Human Relations Commission for a one year term expiring May 31, 2009.  Council Member Heminger moved, Zanfardino seconded, to approve the appointment as presented by Fawcett.  On unanimous voice vote, Council President Newlove declared motion carried.

 

            Also on behalf of the Mayor, Fawcett presented a proclamation to Police Officer Scott Franks proclaiming Tuesday, August 5, “National Night Out”.  Fawcett explained that the event will be held from 6 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. in downtown Bowling Green and reviewed necessary street closures for the event.

 

            Planning Director Rick Ketzenbarger was not present.

 

            Parks and Recreation Director Michelle Grigore reported that the Parks & Recreation Foundation recently made a payment of $120,000 towards the debt on the addition to the Wintergarden/St. John’s Woods Nature Preserve.  Grigore also noted that the annual maintenance shut-down of the Community Center will occur from August 11 thru August 15.

 

            City Attorney Michael Marsh had no report.

 

            Utilities Director Kevin Maynard had no report.

 

            Public Works Director Brian Craft updated Council on the Mercer Road repaving project and noted that heavy item pickup will be performed the week of August 11.

 

 

NEW LEGISLATION

 

            The following new legislation was recommended by the Administration and presented to Council for introduction:

 

 

 

            Council Member McOmber, for the Public Utilities Committee, introduced an ordinance authorizing the Utilities Director to execute an agreement for the purchase of long-term power resources by American Municipal Power-Ohio, Inc., for the Northwestern AMP-Ohio Service Group power pool, and declaring an emergency.

 

            Council Member Frost, for the Planning, Zoning and Economic Development Committee, introduced an ordinance rescinding Ordinance #7172.

 

 

COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

            Council President Newlove announced that a meeting of the Committee-of-the-Whole will be held on Monday, September 15, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. to discuss proposed legislation regarding cell phone usage while driving.

 

 

LOBBY VISITATIONS

 

            There were no lobby visitations.

 

 

READING OF LEGISLATION

 

            Clerk read Ordinance #7812 authorizing the Utilities Director to execute an agreement for the purchase of long-term power resources by American Municipal Power-Ohio, Inc., for the Northwestern AMP-Ohio Service Group power pool, and declaring an emergency, for first reading.

 

            Council Member McOmber moved, Heminger seconded, to suspend the rules and give Ordinance #7812 its second and third reading.  On roll call vote, Council Members  Frost, Heminger, McOmber, Newlove, Sorrells, and Zanfardino voted yes.  Council President Newlove declared motion carried, and rules suspended.

 

            Clerk read Ordinance #7812 for second and third reading by number and title only.

 

            Council Member McOmber moved, Frost seconded, to adopt the emergency clause for Ordinance #7812.  On roll call vote, Council Members Heminger, McOmber, Newlove, Sorrells, Zanfardino, and Frost voted yes.  Council President Newlove declared motion carried, and the emergency clause adopted.

 

            Council Member McOmber moved, Sorrells seconded, to adopt Ordinance #7812.  On roll call vote, Council Members McOmber, Newlove, Sorrells, Zanfardino, Frost, and Heminger voted yes.  Council President Newlove declared motion carried, and Ordinance #7812 adopted.

 

            Clerk read Ordinance #7813 rescinding Ordinance #7172, for first reading.

 

            Clerk read Resolution #3367 adopting and authorizing an amended B.G. Transit Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy, for second reading.

 

            Clerk read Ordinance #7806 authorizing the Utilities Director to enter into a contract or contracts with Corrpro Companies for the installation of additional sacrificial anodes on the 36-inch water transmission main, for second reading.

 

            Clerk read Ordinance #7807 accepting easements from Bowling Green Senior Community, LLC, for utility and right-of-way purposes, for second reading.

 

            Clerk read Ordinance #7808 authorizing the Utilities Director to advertise for bids and enter into a contract or contracts for the supplying of annual inventory requirements, vehicle fuel, underground sewer lines and overhead insurance, and the sale of scrap materials for calendar year 2009 for the Municipal Utilities Department, for second reading.

 

            Clerk read Ordinance #7809 authorizing the Utilities Director to advertise for bids and enter into a contract or contracts for the 2008 Conneaut Avenue sewer replacement project, for second reading.

 

 

 

            Clerk read Ordinance #7811 accepting an easement from Jean L. West and William H. Oswald and Leslie B. Oswald for municipal purposes, for second reading.

 

            Clerk read Resolution #3366  authorizing the filing of (a) proposal(s) and/or (an) application(s) with the Ohio Department of Transportation for grants through the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration (FTA), as authorized under Federal Transit Laws, as codified, 49 USC Section 5311 financial assistance for other than urbanized areas and funds available from the Ohio Public Transportation Grant Program, executing a contract/grant for the FY 2009 Ohio Elderly and Disabled Transit Fare Assistance Program, and executing a contract with the Ohio Department of Transportation upon grant proposal and/or application approval, for third reading.

 

            Council Member Zanfardino moved, McOmber seconded, to adopt Resolution #3366.  On roll call vote, Council Members Newlove, Sorrells, Zanfardino, Frost, Heminger, and McOmber voted yes.  Council President Newlove declared motion carried, and Resolution #3366 adopted.

 

            Clerk read Ordinance #7801 for cleaning of streets by special assessment, for third reading.

 

            Council Member Newlove moved, Zanfardino seconded, to adopt Ordinance #7801.  On roll call vote, Council Members Sorrells, Zanfardino, Frost, Heminger, McOmber, and Newlove voted yes.  Council President Newlove declared motion carried, and Ordinance #7801 adopted.

 

            Clerk read Ordinance #7803 amending and adopting Section 33.03(A) of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Bowling Green, Ohio, relating to pay for school police, interns, and civil infractions hearing officer, for third reading.

 

            Council Member Newlove moved, Frost seconded, to adopt Ordinance #7803.  On roll call vote, Council Members Zanfardino, Frost, Heminger, McOmber, Newlove, and Sorrells voted yes.  Council President Newlove declared motion carried, and Ordinance #7803 adopted.

 

            Clerk read Ordinance #7804 amending the Zoning District Map of the City of Bowling Green, Ohio, for approximately 26.3135 acres of land on East Wooster Street, east of the Meijer Store, from A-1 Agricultural to B-2 General Commercial zoning, for third reading.

 

            Council Member Frost moved, Heminger seconded, to table Ordinance #7804 until August 18, 2008.  On roll call vote, Council Members  Frost, Heminger, McOmber, Newlove, Sorrells, and Zanfardino voted yes.  Council President Newlove declared motion carried, and Ordinance #7804 tabled until August 18, 2008.

 

            Clerk read Ordinance #7805 amending and adopting Section 94.02(A) of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Bowling Green, Ohio, concerning collection of refuse by city, for third reading.

 

            Council Member McOmber moved, Heminger seconded, to adopt Ordinance #7805.  Council Member McOmber commented that the origin of this proposed ordinance started with Council receiving a petition from the Larch Landing Homeowners Association asking the city to accept their private streets as public and to provide full city services.  McOmber noted that a vote was taken on that petition at the beginning of the year and the petition was denied on a vote of 5-2.  Council then asked the Administration to develop criteria under which the City would accept private streets as public.  The Administration came back with the position that a private street could only become public if they complied with all the current standards for public streets.  McOmber noted that Council ultimately decided not to vote on whether to accept the Administration’s position and determined that no vote was necessary because that was already the City’s current practice.  McOmber indicated that the City’s current section of the code dealing with refuse pickup does not state that service is only provided on public streets.  McOmber stated that the change he is proposing to Section 94.02(A) would allow the City at its discretion to provide refuse pickup on private streets taking into consideration factors such as cost, potential liability and safety.  McOmber also stated that he feels strongly that the City should be providing refuse pickup on the private streets in Larch Landing.  He noted that not all of the private streets in the City are alike and each could be considered on a case by case basis.  Questions remain about liability and costs.  McOmber noted that according to information received from John Fawcett, the cost to provide refuse service to those one and two family dwellings on private streets who don’t currently receive it is approximately $82,000 annually.  If the mobile home parks are excluded and viewed as a separate issue, the cost is reduced to $21,000 for the developments of Fore Meadows, Ashbury Hills and Larch Landing. McOmber further stated that Council is not voting tonight to provide the service to these developments, they are voting on leaving the possibility open and allowing the Administration the discretion to provide refuse service to private streets in the City.  McOmber also stated that if this ordinance does not pass tonight, he will introduce legislation at the next Council meeting that would clearly state that the City will pickup refuse on public streets only.  He indicated that he felt it was time to bring this issue to some sort of conclusion and decided to introduce the ordinance before Council tonight as his preferred alternative.  McOmber asked City Attorney Michael Marsh to comment to Council regarding liability issues and questions.

 

            Marsh indicated that the City has been encouraged to avoid doing anything that could subject its insurance pool to risks that are not normal.  Marsh noted that employees who are injured on private property could subject the City to damages that the City is not normally susceptible to because of the City’s immunities.  The other side of the liability issue is property damages and how those incidents would be resolved.  The counsel for the City’s insurance pool has said that if the City does engage in picking up refuse on private property, then the City is subjecting the rest of the cities in the pool to the liabilities and uncertainties involved.

 

            Council Member Sorrells expressed concern over liability issues involving damage to the private streets by city vehicles.  McOmber saw that as a far-fetched claim and didn’t see that as a deterrent to providing services and could be covered by a separate agreement with the homeowner’s association.  Sorrells replied that some roads in some of the developments are in better condition than others.  McOmber used Fore Meadows as an example of roads that would more than likely not meet the city’s standards and indicated that he did not think that the residents of that development think the City would be providing services to them.

 

            Council Member Frost took issue with McOmber’s statement saying that how can Council say that one neighborhood is better than another and that services can be provided for one and not the other.  Sorrells agreed and indicated that the way the ordinance is written it is vague which gives the City the discretion to whom they provide services.  Sorrells also said that if the City agrees and grants services to Larch Landing, he would be shocked if the other developments did not line up and say they want the same services, that’s human nature. 

 

            Council President Newlove agreed and expressed her concern for the subjectivity of saying yes to one or some and no to others.  McOmber commented that the position then becomes that the City either says yes to all or no to all.  Newlove indicated that she feels that that is a more fair way to address it.  McOmber stated that that will be the proposal at the next meeting if this ordinance does not pass.  Frost agreed with Sorrells that if you give the services to one, the others are going to line up and it puts the Administration in the position of deciding which developments meet the guidelines and which do not.

 

            Council Member Heminger indicated that he didn’t have a problem with the ordinance being intentionally vague to give the Administration maximum flexibility in making the decisions.  Heminger also indicated that he supports McOmber in thinking that each situation could be judged on a case by case basis and is more open than others to extending services to the mobile home parks since he views them more like a single family home than an apartment complex.

 

            Council Member Frost stated that you can’t tell one neighborhood that theirs isn’t as good as the other if they both meet the basic criteria.  Heminger agreed with that statement.

 

            On roll call vote, Council Members Heminger, McOmber, and Zanfardino voted yes.  Council Members Newlove, Sorrells, and Frost voted no.  Prior to voting, Council Member Frost commented that there is an easy thing to do and a right thing to do and the easy thing would be to put the decision making onto the Administration.  Frost said that this decision has created a lot of stress and it has not been an easy decision.  He went on to say that those who live on private streets in this town made a conscious decision to make an investment in a piece of property and the restrictions and/or privileges that come along with that property.  There are association fees that need to be paid that the buyer should have been aware of prior to buying the property and if they weren’t then that should not be something that the City has to rectify.  Council President Newlove declared the vote a tie, therefore, the ordinance is defeated.

 

            Council Member Sorrells moved, Zanfardino seconded, to excuse Council Member Dunn from this evening’s meeting.  On unanimous voice vote, Council President Newlove declared motion carried.

 

Council Member Sorrells moved, Heminger seconded, to adjourn.  On unanimous voice vote, Council President Newlove adjourned the August 4, 2008 regular meeting of the City Council at 9:05 p.m., subject to call.