Ashland City Council
MINUTES FOR THE REGULAR SESSION OF
COUNCIL
April 18, 2006
Council President Glen Stewart called the meeting to order at 7:00
p.m.
ROLL CALL
Ward 1: Robert L. Valentine Present
Ward 2: Robert M. Valentine Present
Ward 3: Ruth Detrow
Present
Ward 4: Paul Wertz
Present
At-large: Glen Stewart
Present
Note: Throughout the minutes, Robert L. Valentine
and Robert M. Valentine are designated as to their ward representation,
W1 and W2.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
PRESENTATION OF MINUTES
April 4, 2006 Regular session
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Detrow to accept the minutes.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM
THE AUDIENCE: None
LEGISLATION
Ord. 40-06
Item (a) AN ORDINANCE TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS FOR CURRENT EXPENSES AND
OTHER EXPENDITURES OF THE CITY OF ASHLAND, STATE OF OHIO, DURING THE
FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2006, AND TO AMEND ORDINANCE NO. 11-06.
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Valentine W1 to invoke Section 113.01 of
the Codified Ordinances as the distribution of this Ordinance has
satisfied the requirements of said Section and that a further reading
be dispensed with at this time.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Comments:
Finance Director Anna Tomasek told Council this
appropriation ordinance has to be amended in order to be compliant with
the City’s estimated resources of revenue as filed with the
County Auditor’s office. The prior ordinance had some input
errors; this ordinance brings the City into compliance.
Valentine W1 asked questions with reference to 1)
the Economic Development fund, and 2) the income tax
distribution. Tomasek explained that neither of those items were
changed in the amended ordinance. The Economic Development money
still goes for the City’s share of salaries there, and the income
tax money over the allocated percentages goes back into the general
fund.
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Valentine W1 that the Ordinance be
passed on the first reading.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Detrow that the rules requiring the
reading on three separate days be suspended and that the Ordinance be
passed on the second and third readings.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Moved by Stewart and seconded by Valentine W2 that the Ordinance be
passed.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Motion carried.
Ord. 41-06
Item (b) AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO
A CONTRACT FOR THE PURCHASE OF EQUIPMENT FOR THE INCOME TAX DIVISION OF
THE CITY OF ASHLAND, OHIO, OBVIATING FORMAL ADVERTISING AND BIDDING;
AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Detrow to invoke Section 113.01 of the
Codified Ordinances as the distribution of this Ordinance has satisfied
the requirements of said Section and that a further reading be
dispensed with at this time.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Comments:
Tomasek explained that this would allow the Income
Tax Division to purchase equipment, software that will give more
efficiency in that department. It will allow scanning of income
tax returns directly into the software, which will increase customer
service.
Stewart asked if this is proprietary software
available from only one source, and Tomasek indicated that to be
correct.
Moved by Detrow and seconded by Valentine W1 that the Ordinance be
passed on the first reading.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Valentine W1 that the rules requiring
the reading on three separate days be suspended and that the Ordinance
be passed on the second and third readings.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Stewart that the Ordinance be passed.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Motion carried.
Ord. 42-06
Item (c) AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO
A CONTRACT FOR THE PURCHASE OF EQUIPMENT FOR THE GOLF COURSE, PARK AND
RECREATION DIVISION OF THE CITY OF ASHLAND, OHIO, OBVIATING FORMAL
ADVERTISING AND BIDDING; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Valentine W1 to invoke Section 113.01 of
the Codified Ordinances as the distribution of this Ordinance has
satisfied the requirements of said Section and that a further reading
be dispensed with at this time.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Comments:
Larry Willis of the Park Department gave the details
of the rough mower for the Brookside Golf Course, which will be
purchased through this ordinance and from the State Purchase
Contract. It is a replacement for a unit bought 11 years ago,
which has 6,520 hours on it; normal replacement is between 4,500 and
5,000 hours. Also $9,405 has been spent for repairs to the old
unit over the last couple of years. Cost of the new unit is
$40,274.84; $42,000 has been budgeted from the Capital Improvement
Fund, Account No. 617-7801-55012, Park and Recreation Division budget.
The current mower will be used as a back up, and the
previous piece of equipment to that will be put up for
auction.
Moved by Detrow and seconded by Valentine W2 that the Ordinance be
passed on the first reading.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Valentine W1 that the rules requiring
the reading on three separate days be suspended and that the Ordinance
be passed on the second and third readings.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Moved by Detrow and seconded by Valentine W1 that the Ordinance be
passed.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Motion carried.
Ord. 43-06
Item (d) AN ORDINANCE DIRECTING THE MAYOR TO ADVERTISE FOR BIDS AND
ENTER INTO A CONTRACT FOR THE PURCHASE OF EQUIPMENT FOR THE WASTEWATER
TREATMENT DIVISION OF THE CITY OF ASHLAND, OHIO; AND DECLARING AN
EMERGENCY.
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Detrow to invoke Section 113.01 of the
Codified Ordinances as the distribution of this Ordinance has satisfied
the requirements of said Section and that a further reading be
dispensed with at this time.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Comments:
Water Treatment Director Bruce Wiser explained that
Wastewater Treatment Plant has a disinfection system that uses an
expendable item, an ultraviolet bulb that actually wears as it is
used. After a couple years, replacement bulbs need to be bought
to keep the system effective. They are a specialized bulb, and
not a lot of vendors carry them, but he feels they can get good prices
on them. The plant must have these bulbs to stay in compliance
with their permit.
Stewart asked about cost, and Mayor Strine indicated
with checking on that, they came up with about $20,000; however it will
still have to be bid. They are about $135 per bulb, and 144 bulbs
are needed. That does not include any spares, though they will
check on that. As the bulbs wear out, they become less effective
and the bacteria count rises.
Moved by Valentine W1 and seconded by Valentine W2 that the Ordinance
be passed on the first reading.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Stewart that the rules requiring the
reading on three separate days be suspended and that the Ordinance be
passed on the second and third readings.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Moved by Detrow and seconded by Valentine W1 that the Ordinance be
passed.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Motion carried.
Item (e) AN ORDINANCE TO VACATE A CERTAIN ALLEY SITUATED IN THE CITY OF
ASHLAND, OHIO; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. (Eastern Avenue;
hearing held 4/4/06)
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Detrow to invoke Section 113.01 of the
Codified Ordinances as the distribution of this Ordinance has satisfied
the requirements of said Section and that a further reading be
dispensed with at this time.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Comments:
Mayor Strine stated that the Board of Revision of
Assessments requests that Council table this request until the next
meeting. Some questions have come up and need answered before the
Board can make a recommendation.
Moved by Detrow and seconded by Stewart that the Ordinance be tabled.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Ord. 44-06
Item (f) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 903.02(f) AND 903.03(b) OF THE
CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF ASHLAND, OHIO; AND DECLARING AN
EMERGENCY.
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Detrow to invoke Section 113.01 of the
Codified Ordinances as the distribution of this Ordinance has satisfied
the requirements of said Section and that a further reading be
dispensed with at this time.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Comments:
City Engineer Jim Cooper explained that the primary
change here is to get the City’s ordinances in compliance with
the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements. The
previous sidewalk ordinance specified a trip distance of 1½
inches; ADA specifies one-half inch. As a result of the change,
the Engineering Department is going through all the streets again
because of the change in criteria; they had evaluated the streets two
years ago.
Cooper emphasized they didn’t want to take a
chance on the inch and a half when the ADA is half an inch. Those
are the primary changes. Assistant Engineer Kurt Brzyscz and
Engineering Assistant Phil Diehm will be using the new criteria to go
out and measure everything, to be sure of ADA compatibility.
Moved by Detrow and seconded by Valentine W1 that the Ordinance be
passed on the first reading.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Detrow that the rules requiring the
reading on three separate days be suspended and that the Ordinance be
passed on the second and third readings.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Moved by Wertz and seconded by Valentine W1 that the Ordinance be
passed.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Motion carried.
WARD REPORTS
Ward 1: Bob Valentine
(a) Water problem:
Valentine reported he had a call about a water
problem; however, he feels it is a situation that involves a property
owner and an apartment but does not involve the City. He
expressed appreciation for those he called and who handled the
situation.
Ward 3: Ruth Detrow
(a) Main Street parking problem:
Detrow reported she and Stewart had met with Denis Fox who had come to
the last Council meeting with concerns about the downtown parking
situation. They discussed options and will be talking with the
Mayor as to what might be done.
OLD BUSINESS
(a) Water Treatment Plant fuel leak situation, April 8th:
Mayor Strine asked Bruce Wiser to bring everyone up
to date regarding the problems at the Water Treatment Plant on April
8th.
Wiser began by emphasizing that the City’s
water system is very robust, it went through this emergency very well,
and it adapted to improvisations made to keep it running through the
type of emergency they had. There were a couple of shaky times,
but everybody worked together, and he expressed appreciation for the
fact they had an emergency operation group there that helped to notify
the public. It was amazing how many individuals and companies
stepped up to really help them when they needed it.
Stewart asked when exactly, what time of day the
odor was detected, and Wiser responded it was Saturday at noon.
An operator noticed there was an odor of fuel oil coming in to one of
the deep sumps at the treatment plant that carries water away from the
plant and puts it into the lagoons. The odor made them
suspicious, and they shut the plant down, which was the right thing to
do. They searched and found the source of the contamination, and
it was clear at that point there wasn’t much time to work because
the system tends to run cyclic. The system goes through the week,
with Saturday tending to be the slow day when they start to ramp the
plant back up so by late Sunday it’s pretty full.
So this couldn’t have happened at a much worse
time, because they only had about half of their distribution tanks
full, which cut the time down in which to get back into the
distribution system. They had to work fast to cure the problem.
Wiser stated he was very happy with the EPA and the
way they helped; they had a very good team coordinator who was very
helpful all the way through this. The system had a couple of the
worst calamities that a water system could have, all in a week, but it
seemed that everybody kept going and worked through everything they
needed to.
Wiser expressed appreciation for the kind of
companies that Ashland has, as they offered to reduce their water
demand. They also stepped up when parts and things were needed
and essential to get things done. There was some reduction in
use, but Wiser did not direct the companies to slow function.
Some did reduce their operations a bit, but people need to work, and
the City did not want to stop that. They did not have to, as
things worked out very well.
By Saturday night, Wiser said they knew they would
be able to get some water out and by Sunday it was clear that they were
headed the right way. Sometimes they had a little trouble finding
some things, but they were able to work right through it without too
many interruptions.
Mayor Strine added the second part of the story,
which was that on Thursday morning Wiser decided that the plant was
back making enough water to keep up with the use and people could be
told that they didn’t need to conserve water anymore. Then
about 2:00 p.m. a 12” waterline broke, definitely complicating
matters.
To further explain the original emergency, there is
a fuel line that runs to their emergency generator system; that line
failed, and that is where it all started. That line is now being
replaced. The vacuum truck excavated all the contaminated soil
out of the site, cleaned up the spilled material and trucked it over to
the wastewater plant and from there to a recycler.
Valentine W1 commented that the media really
cooperated, and Wiser emphasized that he had no problems with anybody
involved in all this; it all went so well. He appreciated all the
help.
Stewart asked about the amount of water that would
be available on a Saturday at about the time this all happened, with
the point being to find out if there was a critical water shortage
during this emergency. Wiser responded that there would normally
be about 4 million gallons stored at that time on a Saturday, and he
emphasized that the key to this situation is that the City was not out
of water; it was just the fact that special arrangements had to be made
to get the water where it needed to be.
Mayor Strine commented that this situation
underscored the importance of having new young workers coming on to
learn these processes; it was impressive to see the experience of these
guys at work and the way they handled the problem. They were
professional about it all.
Stewart added that the communication of the problem
through the media helped immensely; people were informed that the water
was safe to drink; people were talking and working together, from the
citizens to the various City Departments.
Valentine W2 suggested that all Council members be
informed immediately also so they could answer any questions from their
wards.
(b) Work session scheduled to tour the water and wastewater treatment
plants:
Mayor Strine and Stewart requested a work session at
which Council would tour the water and wastewater treatment plants so
to understand better just what they are all about, as well as to see
firsthand the area of the fuel leak and the emergency situation.
Council will meet at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April
27th at the Municipal Building, and from there they will proceed to the
water treatment plant first and then to the wastewater plant for tours
through them. The meeting is open to the public, as always.
(c) City/County/Township discussions concerning a fire district:
Stewart noted he wanted another Council member to
work with him to begin discussions as to a proposed City/Township fire
district, and Detrow volunteered to do that. Stewart had made a
commitment that Council would get a letter out to the townships; he and
Detrow will agree on a date and begin early dialog on this to see how
things may go. Others will be invited to work on this.
(d) Priority list continuation:
Stewart referred to Council’s priority list,
pointing out that he was going check the items to begin evaluating what
follow-up would be needed on each priority that Council has already
begun work on (#1 through 6). He wanted other
members’ input also. Council will then discuss the
additional priority rankings (#7 through 12), and he briefly outlined
the status of each of those. Department heads also will be
reporting to Council as to those priorities pertinent to their
divisions.
Stewart and the Mayor will begin setting work
session dates for remaining priorities.
(e) Update on Council co-meeting with County and Township officials
held on 4/11/06:
Valentine W1 asked about the intent resulting from
the earlier City/County/Township co-meeting. Stewart
responded that his thoughts are to bring the group back together in
four to six months for an evaluation of the success of the first
meeting. The measure of success will depend on whether anyone has
done anything about the items talked about at that meeting.
Council took it on themselves to initiate discussion as to the
possibility of setting up a fire district. There were other items
Stewart hoped to see taken on by others who attended that meeting
also. Since Council initiated that first meeting, they may want
to send a letter out suggesting some actions before the whole group
comes back together again. Again Stewart asked for input from
other Council members.
Stewart stated that it was a wonderful meeting, but
unless something results it just was not successful. Valentine W1
added that he hoped to see some kind of priorities outlined and
committees chosen to work on them. It seems the County, Townships
and City are all becoming more interactive with mutual interests, and
he thinks this needs to be explored.
Stewart suggested working from the minutes of the
meeting to develop a letter asking about further addressing the earlier
issues. Valentine W1 and Stewart will draft a letter along with
which the minutes will be sent out to the list of people who attended
the meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
(a) Bridge guardrail damage:
Valentine W2 asked Cooper about the damaged guardrail on the U.S. 250
bypass bridge near the old Dalton Foundry. An accident in March
caused the damage when a tractor-trailer slid into the guardrail, and
he asked about the process for getting the guardrail repaired. He
stated the guardrail is very weakened, and wondered how long it would
be before it is fixed.
Street Department Director Jerry Mack explained the process and added
they also want it done as soon as possible.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS:
None
ADJOURNMENT
Moved by Valentine W1 and seconded by Valentine W2 to adjourn.
Ayes: Detrow, Wertz, Stewart, Valentine W1, Valentine W2
Council adjourned the regular
session at 7:52 p.m.
Submitted by
Elaine
C. Hootman
Clerk of
Council