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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-04-21 Council MinutesRECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of Dublin City COunCil Meeting BARRETT BROTHERS - DAYTON, OHIO Form 6101 Feld CALL TO ORDER January 4, 2021 Mayor Amorose Groomes called the Monday, January 4, 2021 Regular Meeting of Dublin City Council to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Present were Mayor Amorose Groomes, Vice Mayor De Rosa, Ms. Alutto, Ms. Fox, Mr. Keeler, Mr. Peterson and Mr. Reiner. Staff members present were Mr. McDaniel, Mr. Rogers, Ms. Readler, Ms. O'Callaghan, Chief Paez, Mr. Stiffler, Ms. Burness, Mr. Earman, Ms. Noble, Mr. Hammersmith, Ms. Rauch, Mr. Dearth, and Mr. Plouck ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION Mayor Amorose Groomes moved to adjourn to executive session for discussion of the purchase of property for public purposes; preparing for, conducting, or reviewing negotiations or bargaining sessions with public employees concerning their compensation or other terms and conditions of their employment; and to consider the appointment of a public employee. Mr. Keeler seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: Ms. Alutto, yes; Mr. Keeler, yes; Vice Mayor De Rosa, yes; Mr. Peterson, yes; Mayor Amorose Groomes, yes, Ms. Fox, yes; Mr. Reiner, yes. Mayor Amorose Groomes reconvened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. She reiterated that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the State's emergency declaration, the meeting is being conducted via an online platform and live -streamed at the City's website and via the City's YouTube. This is allowed as a result of the passage of Am. Sub. H.B. 197, which includes temporary changes to the Ohio Open Meetings Law. She reiterated her previous statement regarding the submission of any comments by the public prior to the meeting by e-mail to the Clerk or during the meeting via the form on the website. She emphasized that Council desires to accommodate public participation and comment to the greatest extent possible throughout this Pandemic. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mr. Rogers led the Pledge of Allegiance. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS • Historic Dublin Task Force Recommendations Ms. Noble stated the Task Force was established by Council in the latter portion of 2019 with the objective of entertaining the idea of creating an area plan for the Historic District, which was originally part of the 2007 Community Plan. When the Bridge Street District; was adopted in 2013, it incorporated this area and Council felt it was appropriate to revisit the idea of whether the Historic District should be its own Special Area Plan. A wonderful group of people have served on the Task Force, and engaged conversations have taken place about insightful objectives for the Historic District. Kim Way, Chair of the Task Force will present their report. She thanked Council and the Task Force for their help in this endeavor. Ms. Burness and the Clerk confirmed that no comments have been submitted for this matter. Kim Way, Chairperson, Historic District Task Force stated he will review the group's learnings and recommendations for updating the Historic District Area Plan. He reviewed the Task Force timeframe, beginning in January 2020 and concluding in November 2020. These meetings included outside interest groups such as the Convention Bureau, the Historical Society, and the Historic Dublin Business Association. They have had a series of meetings with Dublin staff — Finance, Engineering, Economic Development, Parks and Recreation and Planning — and they have been enlightening and helped the Task Force formulate their recommendations. Members were also engaged with Heritage Ohio to assess their Main Street Program and provide any other recommendations that would aid in the vitality and well-being of RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of Dublin City Council Meeting BARRETT BROTHERS - DAYTON, OHIO Form 6101 Held January 4, 2021 Page 2 of 10 the Historic District. They hosted a charrette for 2-1/2 days, which helped provide perspective from all of the participants in terms of what should be considered. They also had the opportunity to meet with the Architectural Review Board who reviewed the -draft recommendations and provided input. This was extremely helpful in formulating their recommendations. The Task Force's three main recommendations are as follows: • Creating an Updated Historic District Area Plan. • Consider Management Options for the District. • Support Existing Efforts that will lead to "Short -Term" Successes. Creating an Updated Historic District Area Plan: GATEWAYS: Consider gateway features at the transition points into the Historic District that differentiate the District from other parts of the City. STREETSCAPE: Focus on a streetscape design that is pedestrian friendly and fits the character of the Historic District. PARKING: Rely on existing parking lots and on -street parking instead of creating new parking areas/lots, unless required. OPEN SPACE AND PARKS: strongly encourage the preservation of our natural open space and greenways connections. INDIAN RUN CORRIDOR: provide recommendations to ensure the preservation of the Indian Run and adjacent greenways corridor. SOUTH HIGH STREET VITALITY: Encourage vitality focused in the south side of the District. DIVERSITY OF USES. Encourage mixed-use development that promotes pedestrian movement with a focus on retail and the lack of reliance on vehicular travel. PRESERVATION: Highlight the importance of historic preservation as development pressures continue within the District. PROPER SCALE OF DEVELOPMENT: Ensure the proper height, scale and massing of buildings within the Historic District to ensure the quaint nature of the area. CONNECTING THE DISTRICT: Ensuring adequate transition from the east to the west side of the river and embracing amenities that each has to offer to the District. WAYFI N DI NG: Ensuring that both pedestrian and vehicular movement is easily accessible throughout the District through appropriate signage and landmarking. ARTS AND CULTURE: Embrace opportunities to provide art and cultural artifacts that represent the history and vitality of the District. Consider Management Options for the District. Consider a management program that oversees the goals and objectives of the Historic District and collaborates with the existing organizations in the District, including the Convention Bureau, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, Dublin Historical Society, Downtown Alliance, Architectural Review Board, and the Historic District Business Association. He added that this would be the entity who focuses on the health and vitality of the Historic District to ensure the recommendations are implemented. This would be a full-time effort, not a part-time position, working with all the other entities involved and serving as that collector of knowledge that can support the District long term. Support Existing Efforts that will lead to "Short -Term" Successes EDUCATIONAL EFFORT: Provide learning opportunities to the District including historic perspective, cultural diversity and background and significant people and places in the District. Celebrating the history of the District and its background and ensuring it continues to be seen as a place within the City of Dublin and within Central Ohio to come to and learn and to see how the history of a place evolved. PROCESSES AND REGULATIONS: Ensure updates to the Historic District Code and Guidelines are compatible with the overall vision for the District and the development RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of Dublin City Council Meeting BARRETT BROTHERS - DAYTON, OHIO Form 6101 Held January 4, 2021 Page 3 of 10 review process is streamlined, clear and fair and that everyone is treated the same way. Planning staff should finalize and forward these amendments in a timely manner. Mr. Way stated that the Task Force is respectively requesting support from City Council on the final conclusions and recommendations presented by the Historic District Task Force. He acknowledged the work of all of the members of the Task Force, the organizations in the City who worked with them, City staff, Council Members Fox and Keeler. He offered to respond to any questions. Mr. Keeler stated that all involved deserve a tremendous amount of recognition for their time contributed to this important work. They did an excellent job of distilling the concepts. Most of the recommendations were aspirational goals, and included some of the tactics like QR codes to identify the significance of a property, history, etc. The concept of a trolley came in the meetings -- trolleys as seen in the Short North and at Easton. This Council is very interested in mobility and connectivity. How much conviction does the Task Force have with respect to that specific tactic? Mr. Way responded that Dublin has a mobility plan and the Historic District needs to be a significant part of it. Anything that we can do as a City to move people from north to south in the District is a plus. There needs to be a beginning and end to a trolley system. He encouraged that we identify an option on the south side that would compel people to travel down to the Karrer Barn site or other activities happening or future redevelopment there.The trolley is a great idea and should be considered moving forward. Ms. Alutto thanked the Task Force for all of their work, noting the report is wonderful and she likes the recommendations. The next steps are the tactics to implement the recommendations. She is curious about the parking conversation and the potential for using apps. Previously, there was a somewhat contentious conversation from the Historic District, particularly regarding S. High Street. It was felt that business owners would not adopt that kind of technology. She asked him to comment. Mr. Way stated that the management of the District came up with the app discussion in general. In talking about the app, we talked about it from a wayfinding point, from a historic information standpoint, and it was suggested that parking be included in the app as well. Ms. Alutto stated that some kind of technology solution that would help with all of that is the tactic. She loves the digital wayfinding opportunities. She likes the opportunity to do some education by way of technology and signage. This is a piece that is currently missing in the District. Vice Mayor De Rosa thanked the Task Force, noting their work was tremendous and the report was very well written. From the Task Force's perspective, if there were two things Council should pay attention to in 2021, what was the strongest emphasis from that group? She would appreciate his and the Task Force's perspective on this. Mr. Way responded there are two things that rose to the top. 1. People do not want to see the Historic District diminished any further — tearing down structures should not occur unless there are issues of health and safety. The Historic District integrity is at risk and we should stop tearing down anything that can contribute to the HD. There is passion on the Task Force about preservation and making sure nothing more is lost. 2. Management of the district. There are lots of entities involved with the District and good work is being done. However, there is not a "one stop" — where someone goes to get help with opening a business, or living in the District. Having one storefront in the Historic District with a person on site to provide all the information needed to potential business, property owners or residents is what is needed. That person would be in charge of managing the District through whatever entity Council would like to consider. In his and the Task Force's view, those are the two top items for 2021. Mr. Peterson stated he views this management concept of a "quarterback" who focuses everyday on the Historic District. There are many entities involved in the HD — business, commercial, real estate developers, residents of the District, residents of the larger Dublin who are interested in the District, but they all may have different priorities. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of Dublin City Council Meeting BARRETT BROTHERS - DAYTON, OHIO Held January 4, 2021 Page 4 of 10 He commented that this is his second experience with a Historic District Task Force, as there was such a task force in the late 1990s. There are challenges in preserving this over time, the challenges of renovating or retrofitting a building to make it attractive to a business. Up until now, this has been cost prohibitive and buildings continue to deteriorate in the District. This same struggle has gone on for decades. The two gas station sites at Bridge and High were successfully redeveloped into what now exists. That intersection and what lies around it will be where our hometown lies going into the future. The challenge is finding one path forward where action takes place, not just talk. He advocates putting in place an implementable plan to do these things. Mr. Way stated that the manager of the HD would have an organization behind them and potentially funding from various sources. The Main Street program should be strongly considered as it is an organization that brings a Main Street manager and a development corporation behind them to generate funds and investment. The Over the Rhine area in Cincinnati is a good example. The organization purchases buildings, seeks funding and investors to make this happen. We cannot rely on the private sector to do all of this. Having a person, an organization and funding capacity to do things is key. Ms. Fox stated that, based on her experience, the major problem in the District is there is no comprehensive management of it. Ideas are generated, but do not move forward. What is needed is comprehensive management that could assist a business in finding funding, help businesses through the City's planning process, etc. The residents are very burdened by owning property in the HD, given the restrictions and the fact that there is no funding available to them either. What she loves about the Task Force recommendations is the concept of connecting the HD across a large portion of the City — from Frantz to Sawmill. We need a driving force that maintains progress going forward — otherwise, a plan will sit on the shelf. We need a "driver" and a "bus" to move forward. Comprehensive management of the HD will lift the entire core of the City. She added that there are 77 pages of materials provided in the packet, and every page includes important information. Mayor Amorose Groomes thanked everyone for all of their hard work on this, noting there is much information in these recommendations to digest. She asked Council if it might be appropriate to refer this to a committee — perhaps the Community Development Committee — to work through all of this. Obviously, the budget cycle for 2021 has been missed due to timing. Whatever is decided in terms of steps forward will have some budget consequences and related impacts. If Council finds this acceptable, she would propose referring to the Community Development Committee to work on this and determine what can be executed upon near term and setting priorities, aligning them with the budget. Ms. Fox stated that in view of the size of the recommendations, is it possible to split this work between appropriate committees so that all of Council can have an opportunity to discuss some portion of the recommendations? This is a lot of work for one committee. Mayor Amorose Groomes responded that: she would advocate having one committee begin with prioritizing and potentially dividing the tasks for assignment to the other Council committees as appropriate. Assigning it to multiple committees would result in overlapping of the work effort. Ms. Fox agreed with this course of action. Mayor Amorose Groomes moved referral to the Community Development Committee. She added that they would refer items as appropriate to other committees of Council. Mr. Keeler seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: Mr. Peterson, yes; Mr. Reiner, yes; Ms. Fox, yes; Vice Mayor De Rosa, yes; Mr. Keeler, yes; Mayor Amorose Groomes, yes; Ms. Alutto, yes. Mayor Amorose Groomes thanked Mr. Way and the HDTF members for all of their work and for being present this evening. CITIZEN COMMENTS Ms. Burness and the Clerk confirmed that no Citizen Comments have been submitted for tonight's meeting. Form 6101 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of Dublin City Council Meeting BARRETT BROTHERS - DAYTON, OHIO Held CONSENT AGENDA January 4, 2021 Page 5 of 10 There was no request from Council to remove an item from the Consent Agenda. The Clerk and Ms. Burness noted that no comments have been received regarding the Consent Agenda. Mayor Amorose Groomes moved approval of the Consent Agenda. Mr. Reiner seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: Vice Mayor De Rosa, yes; Ms. Alutto, yes; Ms. Fox, yes; Mr. Peterson, yes; Mr. Reiner, yes; Mr. Keeler, yes; Mayor Amorose Groomes, yes. • Approval of Minutes of the December 7, 2020 Regular Council Meeting • Approval of Minutes of the December 14, 2020 Special Council Meeting SECOND READING/PUBLIC HEARING — ORDINANCES Ordinance 54-20 Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into a Real Estate Purchase Agreement for Certain Property Located on North Riverview Street owned by B.E.T. Investment I, LLC, The Coffman Company Ltd. and Riverview Street Investments, Ltd., Authorizing the Execution of Related Agreements and Documents and Appropriating Funds Therefor. Ms. Readler reported that this Ordinance was introduced on December 7. This ordinance proposes the acquisition of six parcels along the west side of N. Riverview Street and two parcels along the east side of N. Riverview Street. Staff retained CTL Engineering to perform a property condition assessment for each of the seven residential properties. With the cooperation of the sellers, those inspections took place on December 10 and 11, and the report is summarized in the packet materials. There have been no changes to the real estate purchase agreement since the first reading. Mr. Close is present tonight representing the sellers. Staff recommends approval of Ordinance 54-20. Ms. Burness and the Clerk confirmed that no comments have been submitted from the public for this matter. Mr. Keeler stated this dovetails with Mr. Way's presentation and represents a huge opportunity for the City to shape the development of that area and preserve hopefully six or seven more properties. He supports this Ordinance. Vote on the Ordinance: Mr. Reiner, yes; Ms. Fox, yes; Mayor Amorose Groomes, yes; Vice Mayor De Rosa, yes; Mr. Peterson, yes; Mr. Keeler, yes; Ms. Alutto, yes. INTRODUCTION/PUBLIC HEARING - RESOLUTIONS Resolution 01-21 Reappointing the Current City Manager and Authorizing the Execution of an Addendum to the Associated Employment Agreement with the City Manager. Ms. Alutto introduced the Resolution. Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that Vice Mayor De Rosa, Chair of the Administrative Committee would provide a report at this time. Vice Mayor De Rosa stated that she is bringing forth this Resolution for Council's consideration. Over the last couple of years, Council has been in discussion with the City Manager about succession planning for the City Manager position. Several key steps of succession planning are well underway. As part of that work, Mr. McDaniel informed Council of his plans to retire, but also his willingness to continue in his leadership role during a two-year transition period to assist with implementing the succession plan. Therefore, the proposed Resolution reappoints Mr. McDaniel as City Manager post his retirement and provides an addendum to his existing employment agreement. She pointed out some key components of the addendum: 1. Mr. McDaniel would retire effective January 29, 2021 and be re -hired by City Council effective February 1, 2021. 2. Mr. McDaniel will continue to serve as City Manager and will serve at the pleasure of City Council through February 1, 2023. 3. His salary will result in a modest reduction in cost to the City during that two- year transition period. The other components of the agreement are outlined in the memo, but these are the key points. Because City Council continues to be confident in Mr. McDaniel's Form 6101 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of Dublin City Council Meeting BARRETT BROTHERS - DAYTON, OHIO Held January 4, 2021 Page 6 of 10 leadership and performance — and appreciates his working with Council and staff to guide us through a smooth transition — she is recommending approval of Resolution 01-21 to Council. Ms. Burness and the Clerk confirmed that no public comments have been submitted regarding this matter. Mayor Amorose Groomes added that Council appreciates all the work done by Mr. McDaniel and looks forward to continuing with his leadership into the future. She thanked Vice Mayor De Rosa for her work on this matter and assembling all of the information for Council. Ms. Fox added that during this time of pandemic, Mr. McDaniel has been an unbelievable leader. Having his leadership during the transition period of succession planning will be healthy for the community and will be a blessing for the City. Vote on the Resolution: Mr. Peterson, yes; Mayor Amorose Groomes, yes; Ms. Fox, yes; Mr. Reiner, yes; Ms. Alutto, yes; Vice Mayor De Rosa, yes; Mr. Keeler, yes. Mr. McDaniel thanked Council for their confidence in him and looks forward to continuing to serve the City. OTHER • S. High Street — Architectural Review Board Feedback Mr. Earman that at the July 27, 2020 Council meeting, staff presented options and recommendations for the streetscape improvements along S. High Street in Historic Dublin. These improvements are needed as a result of AEP pruning and the overall declining health of the trees, which deemed it necessary to remove a majority of the trees, particularly on the west side of S. High. Replacing the trees and providing the needed soil volume require the trees be planted at the lower level of the street, which will require retaining walls in various locations along the corridor where the elevations between the sidewalk and the street are too profound. He then shared slides, including the original retaining wall design shown to Council last year; it was later presented to ARB for their feedback on August 26. Based on their concerns about a potential trip hazard created by the lip of the walls along the sidewalk; the wall diverting attention away from the historical buildings in the district; and adding stone walls to this location is attempting to create history where it did not originally exist, staff provided three new concepts for the November 18, 2020 ARB meeting. Overall, the Board was supportive of the revised designs; however, preferences varied related to elliptical or angular wall formation. There was consensus to include a mix of large and small tree wells along the corridor to add a variety of well sizes. Staff is recommending the use of a mixture of single and multiple stone tree wells along S. High Street, consistent with ARB recommendations, and is seeking Council's direction regarding the preferred shape and style of the walls. He shared the shape and style options with Council. Mayor Amorose Groomes thanked ARB for their work on this matter, as Council felt it was appropriate to have their input and appreciates and values their work. She asked staff to pass that along to the ARB members. Ms. Burness and the Clerk reported that no public comments have been submitted regarding this matter. Mr. Reiner stated he supports the ARB recommendation and the angular Option B combo. Mr. Peterson stated he, too, supports the Option B combo with the angular wall design. Ms. Fox stated she prefers the elliptical multi. It has a more natural, softer feel than the angular, but she understands Engineering prefers the angular. Form 6101 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of Dublin City Council Meeting BARRETT BROTHERS - DAYTON, OHIO Held January 4, 2021 Page 7 of 10 Vice Mayor De Rosa asked for clarification. She is assuming there would be no height difference from the sidewalk elevation on any of these options, correct? Mr. Earman stated that is correct. Vice Mayor De Rosa asked about the Engineering recommendation. Mr. Earman stated that if they were to indicate a preference, it would be the angular model. It is completely up against the sidewalk providing more support. Vice Mayor De Rosa stated that for reasons of integrity of the wall over time, she, too, would prefer the angular Option B combo. Ms. Alutto and Mr. Keeler concurred. Mayor Amorose Groomes agreed with the angular Option B combo. It also appears truer to what would be seen historically. Mayor Amorose Groomes moved to approve the ARB recommendations and the angular Combo B for the walls. Mr. Reiner seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: Ms. Alutto, yes; Ms. Fox, yes; Mr. Keeler, yes; Mr. Reiner, yes; Mayor Amorose Groomes, yes; Vice Mayor De Rosa, yes; Mr. Peterson, yes. Mayor Amorose Groomes thanked ARB and staff for this solution that will enhance the project. • 2035 Framework Update Mr. Rogers stated that a memo was provided in the packet that summarized the background and what the intent of this is in terms of the Community Plan — not to re- invent it, but to modernize and reorganize it and mesh the Framework 2035 into it. At the last work session, an exercise took place regarding the guiding principles of Dublin and descriptive words. From that, Mr. Brown and Ms. Puranik have compiled a draft set of guiding principles. Associated with the guiding principles was a set of actions appropriate to fit with them. The timeline shows the status of the process. He noted that Vice Mayor De Rosa has discussed with Council members postponing the Council retreat scheduled on February 18 and 19 until later in the year, and using part of that time for a work session on the 2035 Framework process. This would allow review of the guiding principles that have been drafted and the work going forward in terms of staff and committees and aligning them with the four major areas of Quality of Life, Land Use, Economics and Infrastructure. He asked the others to add any comments. Vice Mayor De Rosa stated she appreciates staff's efforts to put this into quarterly work requirements so that by the first quarter of 2022, the Framework can be put forward. Council Committees will be activated to move this forward. She reviewed the draft guiding principles, and the list is very ambitious and will make the Framework a terrific document. Under the actions, placing them all together into a long sentence makes it -the kind of place you really want to live. She looks forward to Council's hard work in moving this ahead. It makes sense to use the February time for the next work session. Ms. Burness and the Clerk reported that no public comments have been submitted regarding this matter. Ms. Fox stated she is excited about the 2035 Framework. In this working draft, she believes we should describe exactly what the words mean. For example, "beautiful" can mean a variety of things — in terms of the community, public spaces, public buildings. To use this as a guiding principle, better definition is needed. The same is true for the action plan. "Connected" can mean a variety of things. The Community Plan includes great characteristics, but they are not always applicable. Mayor Amorose Groomes stated her point about the term "connections" is well taken, given the variety of meanings. Form 6101 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of Dublin City Council Meeting BARRETT BROTHERS - DAYTON, OHIO Feld January 4, 2021 Page 8 of 10 Mr. Keeler stated he does not recall the word "beautiful" as one of Council's choices, and he is not sure that is the best title for that section. The section provides a multitude of options, but perhaps "beautiful" is not the correct heading. Mr. Keeler added that the plan does not call for anything from Council until the third or fourth quarter, but he is hearing that there is likely reason to work on this sooner versus later. Vice Mayor De Rosa stated that the next step in this process would therefore be in mid-February, as the retreat will be postponed until the third quarter of 2021. Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that one of the retreat days could be used for a work session on the 2035 Framework. She asked the Clerk to identify additional dates in the third quarter of the year for a more formal retreat. Council agreed to proceed accordingly. STAFF COMMENTS Mr. McDaniel wished everyone a Happy New Year and added that he is hopeful and confident about 2021. Mayor Amorose Groomes stated there was an e-mail about vaccination, and she assumes the City will share information about the role it will play in the vaccine distribution by Franklin County Public Health. Mr. McDaniel responded staff will provide information as it is available. COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS Planning &Zoning Commission: Ms. Fox reported their first meeting of 2021 is on Thursday, January 7. Administrative Committee: Vice Mayor De Rosa reported a written report was included in the packet regarding the December committee meeting. The agenda topic was community engagement and what we have learned during the pandemic about how to engage with the community and the community with Council. Several ideas are outlined in the memo. Staff is willing to reach out to each Council member to gather information and then the Committee will bring forth some specific recommendations to the full Council. The Committee also discussed ideas for board and commission recruitment to raise visibility and help with the ongoing work of recruiting. There are some action items in the memo, and she thanked staff for their support of this endeavor. Ms. Alutto stated she looks forward to seeing the ZenCity information, which will be helpful. A concerted and structured approach to communicate on a more regular basis with anyone who wants to communicate with Council is welcome. Also, having the ability to reach out to the more diverse areas of our community would be important. Ms. Fox added that having the conversation with CPI was important in understanding the technologies they are using. We need to catch up and Council needs to utilize them as a whole. There are many ways to have better connections with our constituents through technology. Community Development Committee: Mr. Reiner suggested that the start time for the Monday, January 11 meeting be changed to 4 p.m. It was the consensus of the Committee to make this change. Finance Committee: Ms. Alutto stated she is working with Mr. Stiffler on establishing meeting dates for 2021. COTA: Vice Mayor De Rosa reported that COTA was one of very few public transit companies across the country that has provided continuous non-stop public transportation during the pandemic and with no fares. Effective January 11, COTA will reinstate fares for users. Form 6101 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of Dublin City Council Meeting BARRETT BROTHERS - DAYTON, OHIO Form 6101 Held January 4, 2021 Page 9 of 10 MORPC and COMMA: Mayor Amorose Groomes reported that COMMA will meet on January 8. MORPC meetings reconvene in February. US 33 Corridor Group: Vice Mayor De Rosa reported that robust interest up and down the corridor continues. The group spent the bulk of their recent meeting for an update on Union County's 2020 Transportation and Mobility Study. It covered everything from connected vehicles to bikepaths and how to expand and think about public transit along that corridor. She looks forward to continued collaboration in the future. Washington Township: Ms. Fox thanked reported she spoke to Chief O'Connell today who reported a good portion of their staff has been vaccinated. They are seeing a significant increase in the number of COVID cases they are responding to. He thanked the public for adapting to them coming to the scene of any emergency in full PPE gear. They are also concerned that people are worried about calling them for emergency response due to the fear of hospitals or to burdening the fire department. He encourages everyone to call for emergency service when needed. In response to how people can help first responders, he encouraged people to make a donation in their name to the Dublin Food Pantry. Board of Education: Mr. Peterson reported that Dr. Hoadley indicated a new Schools position will be posted on January 11 — a Director of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. They hope to fill the position in April and have the new person on board by June. The fifth middle school has been named "Eversole Run" and will open in August 2021. The Schools are working on the distribution of vaccines and hope to have all school employees vaccinated soon. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE Mr. Keeler commented "good riddance" to 2020! Thanks to all the City staff who did so much to carry on business as usual and bring events to our residents. This was above and beyond, uninterrupted first class service. Happy New Year to all! Ms. Fox stated that is so true as she reflects on the past year and what staff has done to keep the City going, lifting spirits with the events and activities. She thanked staff and appreciates their hard work. Mr. Reiner wished all a Happy New Year. He also acknowledged Bill Sherman, who died before the holidays. He was a landscape architect from ODOT District 6 and served on City boards that helped to define this City. He saluted Bill and his family. Mr. Peterson expressed his appreciation to Rumpke for their collection services. No matter the weather, they complete their collections on time and professionally. He asked that staff pass along Council's appreciation. They are a fantastic partner for our community. Happy New Year to everyone! Ms. Alutto thanked staff for their work during this challenging 2020. The road ahead will have new challenges. She hopes everyone has the opportunity to stay safe and that students can return to school. She thanked Council and the phenomenal staff who have done an incredible job in managing throughout this pandemic. She thanked Mr. McDaniel for his leadership. She is looking forward to 2021. Thanks, also, for all the well wishes upon her recent ankle surgery! Vice Mayor De Rosa reported that she and the Mayor joined a Zoom retirement reception for long-time Union County Commissioners Steve Stolte and Charles Hall. It was a lovely tribute for all they have contributed. Union County has been a great partner. She wishes Commissioners Stole and Hall well upon their retirement and looks forward to working with new Commissioners Steve Robinson and Dave Burke. Thanks to staff for all of their hard work in 2020! Mayor Amorose Groomes remembered long-time City employee Jeff Jenkins, who died recently and wished sincere condolences to his family. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of Dublin City Council Meeting BARRETT BROTHERS - DAYTON, OHIO Held ADJOURNMENT January 4, 2021 Page 10 of 10 11 The meeting was adjourned at 8:37 p.m. Mayor —Presiding Officer Clerk of Council Form 6101