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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/15/1990 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Mlnut2s of Dublin City Council Special Meeting Meeting D4%ItJ fJ LEGAL BLANK CO., FORM NO. 10148 He1~3 January 15, 1990 19 Mayor Jan Rozanski called the special meeting of the Dublin City Council to order at 7:30 P.M. on Monday, January 15, 1990. A Mr. Amorose led the Pledge of Allegiance. 1r... Members of Council present were: Mr. Amorose, Mr. Campbell, Mrs. King, Ms. Maurer, Mayor Rozanski, Mr. Strip, and Mr. Sutphen. Mr. Hansley, City Manager, and Mr. Banchefsky, Assistant Law Director, were also present as were: Mr. Bowman, Ms. Clarke, Lt. Geis, Mr. Hahn, Mr. Harding, Ms. Jordan, Mr. McDaniel and Mrs. Metz of the City Staff. Mayor Rozanski announced that the purpose of the special meeting was to discuss capital improvements as well as items to be included in the propose bond issue package. Mr. Hansley noted that Council members had been provided with a listing of the recommended 1990 capital improvement budget pages, including recommendations regarding the funding of certain projects from operating capital dollars as well as recommendations regarding projects to be funded from the proceeds of a voter approved bond issue. Mr. Bowman pointed out that to a large part the "bigger ticketed items" were for projects that were to have been started in 1989 (Blazer Parkway, Tuller Road, Muirfield Drive extension, e.g.). He said that his direction was to keep the cost of the projects down to about 10 million dollars with the knowledge that some of the larger capital projects (municipal facilities, acquisition of park land, etc.) would most likely be voted projects. Mr. Bowman left the meeting to get additional background information which +r.~. Mayor Rozanski requested, and suggested might be helpful to members of Council. Mrs. King wanted assurance that the $160,000 listed for "Bridge Street Sidewalk" was indeed for 22 miles of sidewalk from Metro Center/Frantz Road to Old Dublin along Bridge Street, addressing a Council goal of making Dublin a more pedestrian-friendly place. With regard to the proposed sidewalk along Dublin Road, Mr. Hansley said that the intent of staff would be to design and engineer said sidewalk in 1990 with construction to begin in 1991 and over a five year period the construction of said sidewalk from Shawnee Hills down to Old Dublin. With completion of the entire bikeway system a primary goal of the Council, Mrs. King suggested that it might be appropriate to add additional monies to the bond package so that in succeeding years public funds would be available to complete the system without having to go back to the voters for additional monies. Mr. Strip wanted to clarify that the City would be going to the voters to get permission to float a bond, which would result in no new taxes to the voters, the permission being to pledge future income taxes and real estate taxes but which would involve no increase in millage or real estate taxes for the citizens of Dublin. Mrs. King asked about the request for a disaster vehicle by the Police r,,,, Department - what is it and why does Dublin need one? Lt. Geis commented that through the accreditation process it was determined that such a vehicle was required as regards disaster preparedness; having an method of active transport, being able to establish a command post with communications' capabilities, etc. Being a 4 x 4 wheel vehicle it would also provide off-road capability in different types of disasters. He also noted that he and Mr. Johnson, in the event of a disaster, would have two different sets of responsibilities and could not use the same vehicle. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS iti7inUteS Of Dublin City Council Special Meeting Meeting D4~ FJN LEGAL BLANK CO., FORM NO. 10148 Held January 15, 1990 19 Page Two Mrs. King asked about the need for tractors by the Maintenance Division. Mayor Rozanski reported that they are needed for mowing, rights-of-ways, ~n.r boulevards, U.S. 33, etc. With regard to land acquisition, Coffman Road/Park area, Mr. Bowman said that essentially the existing Perimeter Drive to Coffman Road would be 1_inked up and Coffman Road would be extended from U.S. 33 to Post Road. The cost should be approximately 4 million dollars for the land acquisition Mr. Bowman said that the engineering would be done in 1990 with constructio hopefully underway early 1991, but that the bridge project will take a little longer with the necessity of getting State approvals, etc. Mrs. King said that she was very much in favor of providing electricity and water to the soccer field concession stand, and Ms. Jordan said that $50,000 had been allocated for that purpose in the budget. Mr. Amorose expressed a concern with regard to the northeast quadrant park and the suggestion that that one million dollars be a voted issue, suggest- ing perhaps that there be a commitment made to the developer and the people of the area and that such a commitment had been made by the City to put in a 35 acre park there in that approximately 500 acre rezoning. Mr. Sutphen also said that he felt uncomfortable putting those monies in as a voted issue, wondering what could happen if the bond issue would not pass. Discussion followed regarding the types of projects that should be included as voted or unvoted issues. Mr. Hansley recalled that the City of Columbus did a good job on their latest bond issue in the variety and types of issues they decided to include as voted issues. Mr. Hansley also noted that the budget does not have to be adopted until March 31, 1990; that there would be time for further study and review before Council would need to indicate to staff which projects would be implemented in 1990. Mr. Greg Stype, bond counsel, of Squires, Sanders, Dempsey was present at the meeting to explain and advise Council regarding the timetable and process necessary to place a bond issue on the ballot 1. The new uniform bond law that took effect on October 31, 1989, require that the bond issue be filed with the Board of Elections 75 days prior to the election. 2. The first step in the process requires that the Council pass an ordinance or resolution declaring the necessity for a bond issue and setting the basic terms of the bond issue - number of years bonds to be issued for, estimated interest rate, said material being certified to the County Auditor. 3. The County Auditor is required by statute to estimate the average annua millage that would be required to support the bonds (even though there would not be a tax increase associated with the issuance of the bonds). 4. The County Auditor then certifies that information back to the Dublin City Council and then the Council, upon seeing the millage figure, ~ passes a second ordinance or resolution to Proceed. 5. For the May 8, 1990 primary election, the deadline to complete the ~r.e process is February 22, 1990; the the August 7, 1990 special election the deadline will be May 24, 1990; the the November 6, 1990 general election the deadline will be August 23, 1990. 6. If a bond issue is approved by the voters, the City will have six years during which to issue bonds in one or more installments to exhaust the voter authorization for the bond issue. 7. There is a fundamental limitation on the purpose for which you can place a bond issue on the ballot - the purpose of limitation, saying in essence that a bond issue must be for a single purpose. RECORD OF PROCEED[NGS i~Iinut~s of Dublin city council Meeting Meeting C?>'!l O'~ l EGAL BLANK CO., FORM NO. 10148 Held January 15, 1990 19 i Page Three What is a single purpose? For instance, any number of road improvemen s may be grouped together as a single purpose; clusters of buildings tha have basic connections that relate to one another may be a single purpose; purchasing and improving park land throughout the City would be regarded as a single purpose. Ms. Maurer noted that road improvements could also include bridges, sidewalks, etc., as well as acquisition of land for those purposes. It was also noted that specific sites do not have to be identified as regards acquisition of park lands; the purpose clause simply states th t the bonds have been issued for the purpose of acquiring and park land in the City of Dublin. 8. The purpose clause as regards road improvements could state improving, maintaining and constructing roads and bridges, e.g. 9. Following discussions with staff regarding the connection between the police station and improvement of the municipal building it has been indicated that those two buildings are inter-connected. It was noted that a separate lever, in the voting booth, will be pulled for each separate purpose. Those present were reminded of a similar bond issue package which was defeated in 1981, one which included a community center package. Mr. Stype said that it is not too often that cities go to the voters for bond issue approval, but when they do they have planned ahead so that they o not have to go to the voters very often. ~ Mrs. King asked if there are any restrictions on the use of public funds to education or advocate on behalf of the bonds. Mr. Stype said that he would study and research the issue further, and then report back to Council. Discussion followed regarding inside millage, etc. Mr. Stype said that there is a 10 mill limit of inside millage which is inside unvoted millage that is allocated to the City of Dublin, the Dublin School District, Franklin County, as well as overlapping townships. He further said that 102% is the total debt that the City may have outstared ing, whether approved by the voters or approved by Council; based on recent figures, that being 102% of about 525 million dollars. Mr. Bowman said that he felt that the issue was one of timing, allowing the City to get projects done as well as being able to react to opportunity such as purchase of park land. It was noted that the West Branch Sewer will also have to be paid for at some time in the future. Mr. Sutphen said that he felt that it was time for the City to spend some money for, e.g., a bridge(s) across the Scioto, a community center, finish the bike paths, etc. Mr. Stype said that he felt that there a connection could be drawn between the need for a new police facility and expansion of the municipal building, since the Police Department which had been in the municipal building was y,,,,,, forced to lease different facilities because of increases in staff and other additional space requirements. Mr. Stype said that he would have to study further the connection in terms of space allocations, planning in the present building and a proposed community/recreation center. With regard to the required time famr for passage of the required resolutio (s) ordinance(s), Mr. Stype said that they can be passed as emergency legisla- tion and that the county auditor's office traditionally should have the millage estimate prepared in five days following passage of the legislatio with the purpose clause. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1~1riUtcs of Dublin City Council Meeting Meeting 0A'~1 J'~: LEGAL BIANK GO., FORM NO. 10168 Held January 15, 1990 19 ~ - Page Four ~w Mr. Amorose commented regarding the requests for dump truck, bucket truck, etc., noting fairly substantial requests for equipment. ~ There was some discussion about whether these were wish lists or need lists Mr. Hansley did point out that with the recently purchased sign machine, the permits the Maintenance Department to replace street signs within two days rather than having to wait three weeks. With regard to park land, Ms. Jordan said that the township park is a joint ownership of approximately 43 acres, but that the township would like to purchase an additional 40 to 50 acres and split the cost with the City, plus would like the City to buy off a percentage of the original acqui- sition. Ms. Jordan also said that the park land does lend itself very well to athletic activities; it has a nice woods but the majority of the land use is nice and flat. During discussion of the accessibility of the park to residents, Mayor Rozanski pointed out that for those residents living south of S.R. 161 that the park is closer to Avery Road Park Mayor Rozanski did comment that there has been general discussion regardin moving soccer out of Avery Road Park and leaving that park for baseball and other active sports. With regard to bikeways, Ms. Jordan said that the plan at present is to make the system that is in place at the present time work; e.g., bringing ~ the bike path at Tara Hill to City Hall. Mayor Rozanski asked if the connection of the bike path along Frantz Road tr.., from Llewellyn Farms to the rest of the City was being planned. Ms. Jordan said that it was not, because a portion of the area is still in the township. Mayor Rozanski said that there was enough right-of-way along the road, and that what has happened is that there is a group of residents who are isolated from the rest of the City, and those people south of S.R. 161 nee to be tied in to the rest of the City. Ms. Jordan said that $26,000.00 was not carried over from the previous year's budget for this project. The consensus of Council was that that item should be included. With regard to the request for a bobcat, Mr. Hahn said that it would not be used for snow removal on bike paths, but would be used for seeding new, undeveloped small pockets of land within the City, which amounts to a ut 15 acres of land for these in-house projects. The price, he noted, includes the cost of a trailer. Ms. Maurer suggested, and Mr. Campbell agreed, that completion of the bike y system be put on the voted bond issue. Mrs. Metz said that staff had tried to "catch everything" and tried not t delete anything in last year's capital improvement budget that was not done and not carried over. With regard to the Donegal Cliffs Park, Ms. Jordan said that the $30,000 allocation was for planning the rest of the phases of the park, and the $300,000 allocation for the construction of the first phase of the park, which will be the neighborhood park portion of the project. With regard to Trabue Park, Ms. Jordan said that the $100,000 allocation would be for the various bridges that will be needed to connect the bikeway system in the park, noting that the bikeways were paid for by the developer and the City will be responsible for a fair portion of the bridges. This was a budgeted item in 1989 but there was no study available regarding the floodway, flood plain and the City had to contrac with an engineering firm to get that information. _ ~~.~w.,.~~.r _ _ RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 1b71nutS of Dublin City Council Meeting Meetlrig D4'~!:iN LEGAL BLANK CO., FORM NO. 10148 ~ January 15, 1990 Held 19 - Page Five ~ Mrs. King suggested that perhaps the proposed nature center and public education aspects of the park should be included in the bond issue package . Ms. Jordan referred to the $100,000 for the beginning design phase of the community center. She also noted that the proposal is for a local architect to work with the City through the process, the first being the definition of what a community center is for Dublin. Mr. Strip said that he had a problem with spending $50,000 to hire a consultant to find out what a City of 17,000 needs in terms of a communit center. Several Council members suggested scheduling a town meeting(s) where the citizens of Dublin would have input as to their perception of the needs of a community/recreation center for the City. Mr. Bowman commented that the money would be spent now or later, that what will need to happen will be that the conceptual ideas will have to be immediately translated into graphic representations so that decisions can be focused, and realistic proposals can be presented. Mr. Campbell suggested that the City hold town meetings(s) for citizen input, that based on that input, Council would decide what would be done, representing the voters, and then perhaps ask a professional to determine the cost of such a proposed facility. He said that he would like to have community input without spending large sums of money for that input. Several staff and a Council member suggested that a facilitator would expedite the process. Ms. Jordan reported that approximately a year and a half ago the Parks an Recreation Committee visited several community/recreation centers in Central Ohio - ranging from a facility that was a pole barn to the 9 million dollar Jewish Center - all called community centers. She noted that each community must define what comprises their own community center. Ms. Jordan also noted that it was important that each interested citizen feel that he/she is a part of the process. Ms. Maurer said that there were four members of Council who would be will g to spend that money to pay for the process. Mayor Rozanski recalled that in 1981 a similar bond issue was defeated because there was not community input, community support; that citizens wanted specifics. Mrs. King said that at the last Parks and Recreation Committee meeting that it was the strong conclusion of the group that the community will not support voting for a community center in May until they can be told exactly what will be in that community center. She also felt Council needed to decide whether or not the community cente should be in the bond issue package in May. Mrs. King suggested leaving $35,000 to $45,000 as a line item in the budg for the planning process, not $100,000. She also said that she felt very comfortable with public input but that she felt a facilitator would be needed, and that an additional survey might be in order so that all voters, not only those that feel strongly about the issue, have an opportunity to respond. Mayor Rozanski suggested splitting the community center money in two parts (phases); one for information gatherin and concept, and one for design. Ms. Maurer suggested budgeting $35,000 for the information gathering phas . Mrs. King seconded the suggestion. Mr. Sutphen suggested sending out a mailer to all citizens, in addition to having public meetings, so the greatest number of citizens possible would have input. ~n,~ ~ RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ~7iriuteS of Dublin City Council Meeting Meeting DA'~ION LEGAL eLA NK CO., FORM NO. 10148 Held January 15, 1990 19 Page Six It was agreed by Council that the $35,000 allocation for information gathering would be appropriate. °1"" Ms. Jordan said that the item regarding the Dublin Road bikepath is the engineering cost, taking the path from Glick Road to Old Dublin. The Soccer Board has proposed enhancement of the present temporary concession stand structure, with electricity, water, etc. or a completely new building. Ms. Jordan noted that a lot of bike paths fall in the category of roadway improvements. She also noted that diamond ~`2 at Avery Park would be lighted this year. Ms. Jordan said that the wooden play equipment at the parks is gradually being replaced; that the wooden equipment rotted; that to get the new equipment in subdued colors would require that it be customized. She noted that the tennis courts at Avery Park will be reworked, redone and resurfaced. With regard to the proposed purchase of the Bobcat, Ms. Jordan said that there is 15 to 18 acres of seeding that needs to be done, and the last price obtained was $2,120/acre. It would cost the City about $800/acre. Chief Ferrell reported that the Police Department presently has 9 marked cruisersm and the request for 6 would replace the 5 that have over 100,000 miles on them, plus one additional cruiser; that the department ~rw puts approximately 50,000 miles on a cruiser each year; that the old ones would be used in the Building and Engineering Department; that each is Greened between the passenger and driver; that the goal is not to have a car on the road more than 16 hours per day. He noted that there is also a need for five additional radios, due to a manpower increase. Mr. Bowman commented that the monies for right-of-way acquisition were ge eral- which would probably be used for some pick-up pieces along Coffman Road, s needed. With regard to city-wide computers, Mrs. Metz said that there was $100,000 budgeted last year for that purpose and $100,000 each yeare for three years was included in the five year capital improvement plan. She noted that the City had contracted with Ernst and Young to do a computer analysis survey for the City and more accurate numbers should b available following completion of the study. The budgeted items for records and storage management were also noted. During discussion regarding a proposed phone system, most members of Council felt that a "live" person answering the telephone is much more professional and preferable to a "machine-type" person. With regard to the Bridge Street landscaping, Mr. Bowman sand that staff is working with the Tree and Landscape Advisory Commission, and will hopefully have a proposal ready within two to three weeks. A""' Regarding the proposed allocation of $150,000 for Old Dublin, Mr. Bowman said that some of the money would be used by the corporation but that mo ,,,,o,,, of it would be for physical improvements. It was determined that monies spent in Old Dublin would be expenditures subject to Council approval. Discussion following regarding possible voted bond issue projects; specifically the addition of a bridge over the Scioto River, of which se ral Council members felt strongly should be a high priority project. Some Council members said that they did not feel that the City needs to hire a consultant to tell them what the citiznes of Dublin want. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS ;'7inutsS Of Dublin City Council Meeting Meetlrig C?>'~10'~~ LEGAL BLANK CO., FORM NO. 10148 January 15, 1990 Held 19 Page Seven Ms. Maurer said that she felt that there should be three bond issue packages - a traffic issue, a park land acquisition issue, and a facilit' s bond issue which may or may not include a community center. Ms. King said that the City might want to consider including in the bond package additional funds for sidewalks in the City, specifically connecting Metro Center and the hotels on Post Road with Old Dublin as well as a way to walk to the high school from the Old Dublin and Metro Center area. Mayor Rozanski suggested a bikeway along Post Road. It was the consensus of Council that there needs to be a safe connection between the hotels and Post Road and the high school. Mayor Rozanski adjourned the meeting at 10:55 P.M. irM. -'7 - ,.M~or - Presidi Officer i Clerk of Counci Ir