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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/31/1992 RECORD OF PROCEED[NGS Minutes of Dublin City Council Special Meeting _ Meetin _ _ g_.___.._~ N FORM NO. 10148 li - - ~ Held____A~~o „fit ~1.,~99~ 19 This special meeting of Dublin City Council was called to order b Ma or 7:30 p.m. on Monday, August 31, 1992 and Mr. Strip led the Pledge of Allegiance.s~ at „ Members of Council present for roll call were: Mayor Rozanski, Mr. Strip, Mr. Sutphen, , Mr. Kranstuber, and Mr. Campbell. Mr. Amorose and Mrs. King arrived at 7:35 p.m. Mr. Hansley, City Manager, and Mr. Smith, Law Director, were also present. Mayor Rozanski announced that this is a special meeting of Council called to discuss the proposed water tower site at Rings and Blazer Parkway. He asked Mr. Hansley to comment. Mr. Hansley stated that the proposed water tower was approved in the five-year capital improvements budget and staff, at Council's direction, has explored several sites for the tower. Staff, together with the City's water consultant, recommends the site already owned by the City at Blazer and Rings, and is seeking formal action from Council on this recommendation and direction to proceed with construction. The design and construction phase for the tower is expected to take two years; staff is therefore seeking approval from Council so that the water tower can be operational by the summer of 1994. Mayor Rozanski invited the speakers to come forward at this time. James Grevard 5716 Chatterfield Drive Dublin, stated the following: 1. He thanked the City for appropriating funds to tether a balloon on the proposed site so that neighbors could better evaluate the impact of the tower. 2. In his research of Council records, he found no discussion of a water tower back through 1988. 3. Commented that Council seems to spend excessive time at their meetings on small issues, such as entranceway landscaping maintenance for new subdivisions, instead of on the important issues, such as multi-million dollar water tower projects. 4. Questioned why Dublin residents must pay for a water tower when they already pay a 30 percent surcharge to Columbus for water. 5. Wondered if the Edwards Land Company, developer of a large portion of land in the southwest area, will contribute to the costs for the proposed water tower as Adria Labs had done for a project in the past. 6. Will these 4.5 million dollar towers be necessary after planned reservoirs are built in the area? 7. Stated he does not know who represents his area of Dublin, but requested that the Llewellyn Farms residents be better informed of issues in the City which will affect ~ them. i Mayor Rozanski responded to his questions with the following: 1. Water towers were discussed by Council in conjunction with the purchase of the Ramey property for the extension of Blazer Parkway. Water towers were also discussed in public hearings on the capital improvements budget several years in a row. The need for the tower and the proposed location were discussed many times during public meetings of Council and their committees. 2. He asked Mr. Foegler to respond to the question of why Dublin must pay for this water tower. Mr. Foegler explained that suburban contracts with the City of Columbus require that the suburban users pay a 30 percent surcharge for the raw water supply they receive. This surcharge does not provide for the necessary distribution infrastructure the suburb may need. The suburbs are responsible for booster stations, towers, or trunk lines needed to improve their own distribution systems. Improvements to the system such as these are ~ funded by additional user charges imposed by the City of Dublin or subsidized out of the City's income tax funds. Council has directed staff to continue to work wi attain cost sharing for water system improvements which benefit Dublin and Columbus to RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of Dublin City Council Special Meeting Pa e 2 g Meeting _ N F RM NO. 10148 Hel d A» nn ~r t , ] 992 19 I ~ _ ii Mayor Rozanski commented as follows: 1. The City of Dublin is responsible for paying for necessary water towers, but the City will continue to seek help from all other sources, i.e., private industry, the City of i~ i. Columbus, etc. i 2. He asked Dan Boothe, the City's consulting engineer, to comment on the need for ~ water towers after planned reservoirs are built. Mr. Boothe explained that reservoirs will catch raw water for treatment. The elevated storage system within a distribution system stores finished water. These are two completely different items - one is a source and the other a finished supply. Reservoirs have no bearing on the pressure within the distribution system; they serve to catch rainwater for storage and use during a drought situation. He added that Dublin does benefit from being on the Columbus system, in that the EPA generally requires a city to have 24 hours of its average daily water demand in air storage, but because of Columbus' vast system, the EPA does not hold Dublin to this requirement. Mrs. King responded to Mr. O'Brien's questions, stating: 1. She, Mr. Strip, and Mr. Kranstuber are Council's representatives at large. Mayor Rozanski is the ward representative for the area which includes Llewellyn Farms. 2. In regard to communication efforts, the City created the position of Public Information Officer/Special Events Coordinator in response to Council's stated goal to improve communication with the City's residents. Sandra Puskarcik, a Dublin resident, is the Public Information Officer, and she has instituted a community newsletter which is sent directly to each Dublin resident. A special newsletter ~p regarding the issues raised by the proposed water tower construction was distributed to every home in Llewellyn Farms. ~ 3. She added that all Council members are listed in the phone book and are very accessible to the public. They all welcome citizen comment on any issue before Council. Mayor Rozanski stated that, upon an invitation, all Council members would be happy to attend civic association meetings. Tim O'Brien 4158 Hertford Lane commented as follows: 1. He thanked Council and staff for the balloon demonstration simulating the proposed water tower. He stated that the foliage and buildings between Llewellyn and the proposed tower have virtually made the tower anon-issue for Llewellyn residents. 2. He expressed concern with the proximity of the tower, at .4 mile, to the Columbus border, and the requirement that Dublin fund this and possibly a second tower which will serve Columbus as well as Dublin. He asked if Dublin staff members have contacted the City of Columbus in regard to this issue since the previous public meeting on the water tower. Mr. Foegler responded that staff has continued to explore a sharing of costs with Columbus throughout negotiations with the City of Columbus for water and sewer contracts. On the other hand, the Summitview water tower, 100 percent paid for by Columbus but located in Dublin, will serve the needs of Dublin's northeast quadrant. He mentioned that Columbus is concerned with setting any type of precedent with a suburb in agreeing to share costs of infrastructure. The City of Dublin is not in a position to hold up the water tower construction pending the resolution of financing issues. The Dublin businesses and citizens will be negatively impacted if the tower is not constructed. Mr. Strip commented as follows: 1. Dublin needs this water tower for safety reasons. Though there are adequate water pressures now, continuing development could lead to inadequate pressures. 2. Drought conditions, such as existed last summer, could affect the water supply and create shortages. 3. Construction on the tower was recommended to begin two years ago by consultants, so the City is already two years behind schedule on this project. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of Dublin City Council Special Meeting Pa e 3 --g---._---------Meeting _ NK F RM N 10148 ~ i Held---Al?aust 3_> 9Q? 19 Richard Gomez 4157 Hertford Lane Llewell n Farms, commented that his experience j regarding communication with the City of Dublin has been very positive. Mr. Foegler has promptly returned all phone calls. . Mayor Rozanski asked for a motion from Council to direct staff to proceed with construction dr awin s bid i g , d ng and construction of a water tower at the Rings and Blazer Parkway site. Mr. Sutphen moved to do so. Mr. Campbell seconded the motion. Mayor Rozanski asked Council members for their comments. Mr. Campbell commented: 1. The decision on the water tower site has been a long and well thought out process. 2. After viewing the tethered balloon at the site, he believes that the tower is not very visible beyond the Blazer Parkway area. 3. Council has had numerous discussions on water towers over the past couple of years, and a lot of expert testimony has been given to Council regarding the need for this water tower. 4. Not pleased that Dublin must locate a water tower inside its boundaries to serve areas outside of Dublin, but Columbus controls the system and Dublin is not in a strong bargaining position to negotiate. 6. Not happy about the vote Council must take, but there are no good alternatives at this point in time. Mr. Sutphen stated the following: 1. Thanked staff for the pictures of the balloon on the proposed site. 2. Emphasized that the topic was discussed in open meetings, and that he recalls at one time proposing that a fire station be housed in the water tower base in a public meeting. 3. Believes that safety considerations and water supply concerns dictate that the tower should be constructed at this time. Future development areas will appreciate the forethought demonstrated by Council in taking this step. Mr. Amorose commented: 1. Has some real concerns with the negative impact of the tower on commercial properties in the area, such as AT&T and Ashland Chemical. The proposed tower will also affect the undeveloped acreage along Frantz Road which surrounds the AT&T facility, as well as future development along Rings Road. Believes it is unfair to these long-term corporate neighbors when they are not the source of need for the water tower construction at the adjacent •site. 2. Hopes that staff will continue to search for a viable alternate site which would become quickly available so that construction can begin for this needed tower. 3. The tower will serve a great deal of area to the south which has in no way contributed to what Dublin is today. Companies such as AT&T have been corporate ~ residents of the City of Dublin for nearly 20 years and have paid many tax dollars to the City. The tower will have a negative impact on development of the remaining acreage they own in the area. Mr. Kranstuber briefly stated the three key issues: 1. The impact on the commercial area. 2. The neighborhood impact which, he noted, does not seem to be as great as was expected. 3. The bigger issue of the water system, as stated by Mr. O'Brien. He acknowledged that it is difficult for the suburb of Dublin to negotiate on the same level with the City of Columbus. He believes that proceeding with the construction of the water tower is the responsible thing for Council to do at this time. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of Dublin City Council Special Meeting Page 4 Meeting DAY! N LE AL BLA I Held e „a„ ~ ~ ~ qq7 19 Mrs. King stated the following: 1. If the proposed water tower site is selected, Council should be sensitive to the neighborhoods in the area by camouflaging the tower, possibly with landscaping. 2. Believes the water tower at the proposed location is not an eyesore to the corporate neighbors, but instead provides a Dublin identity. It will be painted to make it as obscure as possible, and people will become accustomed to the tower after a short period of time. Most importantly, the employees of the corporations will benefit from the construction of the water tower, as it will ensure their safety as well as the safety of area residents. 3. If the tower is not built, the corporate citizens will be looking to the City in two years to find out why not. 4. Commented that the water tower would probably not be necessary if there had been a regional water and sewer authority in place as early as five or 10 years ago. The Columbus area needs to move to this type of regional authority as quickly as possible. Leadership on this issue should be shared; there should be parity pricing for all customers; planning should be joint. The system, as presently configured, is not optimized. Columbus requires suburbs to install infrastructure and pay for it, even though they realize these improvements have system-wide benefits. 5. There is only one suburban representative on the Columbus water & sewer rate advisory board. The board serves in only an advisory capacity; the rates for water and sewer are set by Columbus City Council, and they do not have to take into account any recommendations of the advisory board. She believes the public and the press should get behind a push for greater equity on this issue. It would benefit the entire community and enhance Columbus' credibility with the suburbs and outlying areas, thereby reducing tension among 'the groups. ~ 6. Acknowledged that Dublin's City Council has spent lots of time, together with the public, in studying this issue. Thanked the public for their valuable input. Mayor Rozanski stated the following: 1. After talking with Fire Chief Gene Bostic, he now understands the importance of this tower to ensure maintenance of adequate fire pressures. 2. Commented that a resident of Summitview Road, who was outspoken on that water tower when it was built across the street from him, now states that neighbors became accustomed to it within six months. 3. Stated that Columbus had made a promise during the merger campaign that if the voters turned down the merger, Columbus would share in the cost of building of a water tower with the City of Dublin. This promise was made in writing. He hopes that Columbus now recalls their promise. Mr. Amorose requested that the motion be repeated. The clerk read the written motion, stating, "In recognition of the City of Dublin's need to provide a water storage tank and booster station to serve the water distribution requirements of the City's water system as determined by the City of•Columbus and the City of Dublin's water system consultant, Dan Boothe, and the desire of Council to provide safe and adequate fire flows and sufficient water supply and pressure to serve the planned and orderly development of the City of Dublin, I hereby move to direct staff to proceed with the construction of the elevated water storage tank and booster station with all due diligence on the site currently owned by the City at Rings Road and Paul G. Blazer Memorial Parkway. Council continues to direct staff to pursue appropriate cost sharing with the City of Columbus regarding this and other towers which are mutually beneficial to both communities. " Mrs. King moved to amend the last sentence of the motion as follows: "Council continues to direct staff to pursue appropriate cost sharing with the City of Columbus regarding this and future towers which are mutually beneficial to both communities and the system as a whole. " Mr. Sutphen and Mr. Campbell accepted the amendment. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Minutes of Dublin City Council Special Meeting Pa e 5 g Meeting A L Held- Anvnet ~l 1997 19 i Vote on the Motion: Mr. Sutphen, yes; Mr. Strip; yes; Mayor Rozanski, yes; Mr. Campbell, yes; Mr. Amorose, yes; Mrs. King, yes; Mr. Kranstuber, yes. Other Mr. Strip, Finance Committee Chairman, reported that a late bed tax application had been reviewed by the Committee for recommendation to Council, but inadvertently was never brought before Council. The Committee recommends an award of $1,000 to the Sharon Mennonite Church Softball Tournament, as stated in a letter sent to the applicant in June. Mr. Strip moved to award $1,000 in bed tax funds to the Sharon Mennonite Church Softball Tournament. Mrs. King seconded the motion. Vote on the Motion - Mr. Amorose, yes; Mr. Kranstuber, yes; Mr. Campbell, yes; Mrs. King, yes; Mayor Rozanski, yes; Mr. Strip, yes; Mr. Sutphen, yes. Mr. Strip requested that the Finance Director expedite the issuance of funds to this group. Anuointment of Acting City Manager Mr. Hansley explained that when is he is out of town he is required, under the Charter, to notify Council by letter of the designated acting manager. Mr. Foegler and Chief Ferrell, in that order, have been designated in this capacity in the past. He requests that Marsha Grigsby be added to the list in case of the absence of himself, Mr. Foegler, and Chief . -n Ferrell. Mr. Strip moved to approve the designation of Marsha Grigsby as the Acting City Manager should Mr. Hansley, Mr. Foegler and Chief Ferrell. all be absent. Mr. Amorose seconded the motion. Vote on the Motion - Mr. Campbell, yes; Mrs. King, yes; Mayor Rozanski, yes; Mr. Strip, yes; Mr. Sutphen, yes; Mr. Amorose, yes; Mr. Kranshiber, yes. Staff Comments Mr. Hanslev reported that the Mid-Ohio Regional. Planning Commission (MORPC) has requested to make a presentation at the October 5 Council meeting regarding their activities in the Dublin area over the past year. • Council members had no objection to a presentation by MORPC on October 5. Mr. Smith commented that the scheduled Executive Session this evening is now unnecessary. Ms. Puskarcik noted that Columbus Dispatch reporter Donna Glenn has been reassigned to 4 the state desk in Delaware and will no longer cover Dublin City Council meetings. Council members acknowledged Donna Glenn and wished her luck in her new assignment. The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m. or, Presidin icer r~i~ivt ~ . Clerk of Council