EAST PALESTINE CITY COUNCIL-REGULAR MEETING-JULY 12, 2010-7PM-PARK COMMUNITY CENTER

Council met with Mayor Hull presiding & Elzer, McGuire, Rauch, Tyger, Wales & Zuch present. Minutes of 6-14 were approved as presented on a motion by Zuch, seconded by Wales. Carried. Elzer asked who minutes are sent to. Clark said that the OWDA requests these with quarterly reports. Rauch made a motion, seconded by McGuire to accept the June department reports. Carried. There were no agenda items or reports from the Clerk.

MAYOR Hull said he doesn't usually delve into Council matters but expressed concern that Council didn't pass legislation at the June meeting to advance money from the Electric Trust Fund which would have been paid back with street levy money so that pothole patching could be done this summer. He said the City has extra summer help right now through Job & Family Services & MCTA. He doesn't understand how Council members, in good conscience, can vote against advancing the $6000 for this pothole patching. The Mayor said he doesn't have a problem if Council members want to vote "no" but reminded them that if Council again refuses to pass this legislation as an emergency tonight because 2 members vote against it, & it goes to a 3^rd reading in Aug., it can pass on 3^rd reading with 4 "yes" votes & 2 still against it, but it will not go into effect for 30 additional days. By September, when the legislation would go into effect, the summer help would be gone. He feels Council should vote to get the asphalt to do the pothole patching now, while the City Manager still has the additional summer help.

CITY MANAGER Gary Clark said Crossley Economy, a local company, repaired the street sweeper for less than $3000, did a super job, & it is running well. Clark received notice that $419,000 has been appropriated for us by Ohio Public Works to do a paving project next year. This money will be combined with $750,000 from ODOT to repave 9200 ft. This paving will begin on Park Ave., go north over the Brookdale Bridge, which should have a new deck by then, east on Martin to Pleasant, south on Pleasant to Taggart. This will link our Taggart, Park Ave. & Martin projects & tie them all together. This $419,000 is the match the City needed. This will be a $1,100,000.00 paving project, tentatively scheduled for spring of '11. Clark also received a letter from ODOT that states an application we sent to the Small Cities Program was selected for funding for resurfacing Brookdale. This would begin at W. Martin & go north to the City limits. 80% of construction would be paid with ODOT funds. The City would pay for 20% of the construction & would provide the engineering. The repaving would be approximately $367,662. It was estimated that $21,900 would be for design with about $70,000 as our 20% share. The local share would be $91,052. The letter also states that the selection is pending final approval, as a scope meeting with ODOT representatives is needed. The scope meeting is necessary to establish final cost estimates & the program milestone dates. They are urging him to contact ODOT District 11 ASAP to have this scope meeting & get the project going. This small cities program was frozen for a few years, so he said many cities will be waiting in line. Clark said Brookdale is in critical condition. Since $296,200 in levy funds is anticipated next year, Clark said we could plan on using $96,000 as our local share & this would still leave $200,000 for City-organized paving projects next year. Since funds will be available, the need is critical, & competition for the money will be tense, he asked Council's permission to go with ODOT and fast track this. Zuch made a motion, to have Clark go ahead with this. Elzer asked if this means we will not borrow money. Clark explained levy money will be used, with the first of the levy money being received in April. Clark said legislation will be needed along the way. Clark said he wouldn't anticipate borrowing for this project but there is always a chance things could change. Rauch seconded the motion. Motion carried with no dissention. Rauch had questions regarding the fire department and rental inspections. Chief Todd said he needs to look some things up in the Fire Code. Rauch said these inspections need to be started as soon as possible. The Law Director will look into this also.

LAW DIRECTOR Allison said Traci Thompson, who was on vacation, had asked him to explain tonight's LGF (Local Government Funds) legislation. He explained LGF funds come from the State of OH & said litigation in Columbiana County regarding these funds probably lasted a decade. The original law allowed E. Liverpool, the largest City, to get the bulk of the funds. The law changed. If the majority of municipalities vote to exclude EL by resolution each year, EL does not have the veto. The second resolution sets an alternate way to distribute the funds. LGF resolutions have to be passed by Council each July. EP has been doing this for 8-10 yrs.

STREET: McGuire gave no street report.

SAFETY/PARK/REC/CEMETERY: Wales reported that the 4^th of July celebration in EP Park was a great success & thanked the Park Board, Chamber of Commerce & Alumni. She said the park & pool were packed with people & the fireworks were great. Tyger said the park looked nice.

DEVELOPMENT: Elzer praised police & firemen for the job they did on the 4^th with 2500/3000 people in the Park. Elser said Tub Parker is donating a foundation where the fence at Boatman Cemetery is missing due to him having the building there demolished recently & said the cemetery fence should be closed up during the next week or so. He said he's glad to see the street sweeper again. Elzer said as a member of the Chamber he feels Council should try to buy vehicles & other things locally, noting Brittain's has 30 employees who pay taxes here. He said he has info from the Sheriff about Impalas. Elzer asked the Manager how it was determined that the Park Drive Bridge needs to be replaced. Clark explained that they are inspected annually by the County Engineer's office & ODOT. Those in most urgent need of replacement/repair are the next ones to be funded. Elzer thinks the bridge in the alley behind the Moose should be on the list. Clark said he submitted it for funding but it is not yet at the top of the list. Elzer asked how many bridges we have & Clark said there are 7 structures defined by ODOT as bridges, & another dozen or so that are box culverts w/shorter spans. Elzer had prepared a memo listing his opinions on how the City should handle the Park facility rentals. He noted he had distributed this list of proposed changes to all Council members prior to the meeting. Elzer then spoke about the Community Center saying that if the military convoy had come through town on a Sunday instead of a Monday, the building would not have been available to use for the convoy because it was in use on Sunday. (A family had rented the Center a year in advance for a Sunday graduation party. ckc) Elzer again expressed his opinion that at no time should a single family be permitted to rent the Community Center when 2500 people might want to use the building for some other event. The way the City presently rents out the Center is, in Elzer's words, "a mistake". Wales attempted to explain that people rent the Center by "first Sunday of the month" etc. and this year the 4^th of July fell on a Sunday. He responded by saying, "My argument is that the community should take precedence over anything else." He said he doesn't think it was right that the "first Sunday of July" renters were allowed to use the Community Center in 2010. Elzer admitted he does not know a whole lot about the scheduling process but feels the Center should be used as a marketing tool for EP. Elzer then spoke about the legislation concerning the $6000 that he voted against at the June meeting. Zuch thought this should be discussed under Legislation but said if the Mayor allows Council to discuss this now under Development, it is fine with her. Mayor Hull opened the discussion to legislation. Elzer said his problem with this legislation is that he understands the street funds come from the State & nothing comes from the General Fund. The City Manager said that from time to time General Fund money has to be used for streets. Rauch agreed. He said a small amount of money goes to paint & patch. Elzer said we get about $23,000 per month for streets & estimates we spend $10,000 per year on patch and $10,000 per year on salt. Clark was not sure Elzer's figures were accurate. Zuch & Clark reminded Elzer that the City has to pay back about $100,000 per year from the Street Fund for resurfacing the streets by the schools because it was in the contract Council signed years ago to obtain the Captain Taggart Building. Clark said these $100,000 payments will go on until 2016. Elzer said the Street Fund is funded from the outside. Clark told him that wages come from the Street Fund. Clark said we're bringing in $23,000 per month & the wages, benefits & utilities come to $22,000 so it is pretty much a "wash". The street lights are paid from this fund. The Mayor told Elzer that this is his 15^th year on Council & he can't remember when the Street Dept. had enough money. Elzer said the license fees were increased. He said it concerns him that the Street Dept. gets "that much money" but such a small percentage is going where he thinks it should go. Tyger said Elzer's perception is not really accurate because we are still paying for the road in front of the high school at a cost of $100,000 per year. Elzer said that he feels buying patch should be a priority. Tyger said that is exactly why he can't understand why Council didn't pass legislation last month for $5000 to patch the roads when our citizens voted for this & told Council to fix the roads. Tyger said he doesn't understand why Council decided to let the roads get worse instead of passing the legislation in June when they had the chance. Tyger said, "I'm sorry. It doesn't make sense." Wales noted some money goes to alleys. Rauch said asphalt & salt prices go up along with other things. The Mayor reminded Elzer of the costs associated w/diesel fuel & equipment parts. The City Manager said the City does not have a storm sewer utility to pay for the 800 appurtenances or 15,000-16,000 ft. of pipe in our system. There are no funds dedicated to maintain this & no employees dedicated to take care of this, so this falls under the Street. He explained that sometimes 20% of what the Street crews do may be storm water system maintenance. Clark said this is a hidden thing that "sucks the Street Dept. dry". Elzer said he hates borrowing. Zuch feels the legislation allows taking out of one pocket & putting it in the other, not borrowing. Clark said next year the City should have nearly 3 miles of street done by the State at very little cost to the City. There should still be about $200,000 left for local projects. McGuire noted mandates are different when using City money. Rauch said to have a levy pass in EP is a "high five event" in his house. He said people are now reading the paper & seeing that 2 Council members voted against the patching legislation & are wondering why they even bothered to pass the levy if Council is not going to come together so the patching can be done. Rauch said what happened at the last meeting (concerning the legislation) did not sit well with him. Tyger & Zuch said they didn't feel a discussion was needed at the last meeting since the citizens voted for Council to get the roads fixed. Tyger felt it was a "black and white" issue. He said he didn't care about borrowing, just that the citizens want the roads fixed. Rauch said the fact that Council said, "No" to the people who gave the money was hard to swallow. The Mayor reminded everyone that the extra help is here now. Zuch said 3 readings could lead us to Sept. for patching. Elzer then said, "So for $5000 what do we gain?" Clark said, "Safety". Elzer said, "No, I mean, what do we actually get?" Again Clark said, "Safety," then added, "You don't get people breaking their ankles in the crosswalks." Elzer said, "How much of it do we get?" Clark said it's running close to $60 a ton now, about $600 per truckload. Elzer said, "And that does everything?" Zuch said, "No." Clark said he'll prioritize for safety, but it won't do every hole in front of every drive. It will do the crosswalks, school zones & bad areas that may damage tires. Elzer asked if the paint will do everything. Clark said that money will cover crosswalks at the schools & downtown but not downtown parking spots or yellow lines. Zuch said she'd rather see us use the entire 16,000 & do as much as possible as we're not getting much interest & it's our money. Tyger agreed. Elzer announced a polo match, a theater presentation on the 24^th/25^th & National Night Out on 8-7. Concerning Elzer's remark about vehicles, Rauch said he is in favor of keeping business in EP, but not if we have to spend $10,000-$12,000 more for a vehicle. He also said there were problems with Impalas in the past & he would vote against getting Impalas. He feels the Crown Victorias seem to work better for the Police Dept. than Impalas. Officer Don Johnson agreed with Rauch about the police having problems w/Impalas. Clark said he let both Chiefs know that we should try to buy things locally if we can. Clark said although we need a new Fire Chief's car, the levy money is primarily for fire trucks. Clark said the cost of the last few fire trucks exceeded the levy amount, so the City had to kick in additional money. Because of this, Clark has asked Chief Todd to provide concrete numbers on the cost of the fire truck prior to moving forward with the purchase of a car. Clark said he would not like to see the Chief in a brand new car if there are not sufficient funds for a fire truck. He said fire trucks come first, priority-wise, & the Chief's transportation is secondary. Clark said if Todd gets a used vehicle, shopping for that vehicle will be in EP. Rauch said he agrees with that, but doesn't want the City to pay $8000 more for something just so it can be purchased in EP. Rauch said Council will take a beating either way - for buying out of town, or for spending way too much to buy in town. Clark also said if the City would choose to go with State Purchasing for police vehicles, they would look locally for servicing.

UTILITY: Rauch noted Don Johnson will not be working for a while due to the foot chase incident at the fair, and he praised Sgt. Dickey for the traffic detail at the Park on the 4^th of July after the fireworks. Rauch then praised the fire department for their work at the Meadowview Apartment fire. He praised all City service departments and said they all have a direct impact on citizens of EP.

FINANCE: Tyger thanked Elzer for his participation at the dunk tank. He then said that the Street levy only passed by 26 votes so Council shouldn't "screw things up" by not passing the patching legislation. He said Council may want to come to the residents again some day with another levy.

VISITORS: John Hamner, Scott Deeter, Dianna Elzer, Matthew Schomer & Brett Todd attended. Hamner asked the City if they do other work before paving is done. Clark said they try to do this. He said he tells the water department to fix anything they can think of ahead of time so a new street doesn't have to be dug up. Wales noted the Chamber building (former Certified Gas Station) looks very nice.

LEGISLATION: Mayor Hull suggested amending tonight's ordinance so more money-$8000-will be available for patching. Clark explained how much money is needed for the patch. Elzer said, "Tell me about this fund this money is coming out of." Council explained to him that this money is from the sale of the old light plant & is called the Electric Trust Fund. Elzer thinks patch is just a waste of money, talked about just milling, & asked if that is an option. Rauch said there are problems w/maintenance when going down to the bricks & they can be uneven. Clark added that grade adjustments would be needed for manholes & valves & said it would be very costly to mill, not fill. Mayor Hull said some sewer holes need to be filled if Council decides to advance additional money. Clark said if Council words the legislation "not to exceed" they will get the work done that is required & stop. $8000 for patch & $1000 for paint was suggested as a good number. Elzer said that the Street Fund is in trouble because of previous borrowing, but Clark explained that if the Council hadn't decided to borrow funds to fulfill their contract to pave by the schools, the school may not have given the City permission to sell the Captain Taggart Bldg. Clark said there has been a huge cost savings for the City because of moving from the Captain Taggart Building. He told Elzer that previous Council members had made a contract with the school. As a condition of completing the acquisition of the Captain Taggart Building, the City had agreed to pave the street and put in sidewalks near the schools. Elzer asked when the money would be available if Council passes legislation. Clark said the money would be available tomorrow (if passed as an emergency) & he would have enough crew members next week to do the patching. Elzer then asked why the extra money is needed now & not after the Aug. meeting. He was told we have the workers now. McGuire explained some patching items. Rauch said he'd like to see the crews continue working, & not fall short. Zuch introduced Ord. 8-2010 & made a motion, seconded by Wales that it be read by title. Carried…advancing up to $6000 from Electric Trust…Tyger made a motion, seconded by Rauch to amend it to read "up to $9000". Carried with 6 yes votes. Zuch made a motion, seconded by Rauch to suspend rules & pass this amended ordinance as an emergency. Carried w/6 yes votes. Zuch called for a vote. The amended ordinance passed w/6 yes votes. Zuch introduced Res. 6-2010-R & made a motion, seconded by Wales that it be read by title. Carried.…to exclude approval of E. Liverpool…Zuch made a motion, seconded by Tyger to suspend rules & pass this as an emergency. Carried unanimously. She called for a vote. There were 6 votes to pass. Zuch introduced Res. 7-2010-R & made a motion, seconded by Wales that it be read by title. Carried. …approving new alternative method…Zuch made a motion, seconded by Wales to suspend rules. Carried w/6 yes votes. She called for a vote. There were 6 yes votes for passage.

ADJOURN: Zuch made a motion, seconded by Rauch to adjourn. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned.

ATTEST:__________________________ SIGNED:___________________________________________________l