Ashland City Council


MINUTES FOR THE SPECIAL SESSION OF COUNCIL
Friday, April 9, 2010 at 4:00 p.m.
Council Chambers 3rd floor




PURPOSE:  Act on single legislation

Council President Stephen Stuart called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.   

ROLL CALL
At-large/President: Stephen Stuart     Present
Ward 1:  Robert L. Valentine        Present
Ward 2:  Robert M. Valentine        Excused
Ward 3:  Ruth Detrow            Present
Ward 4:  Sandra Tunnell         Present

Move to excuse Robert M. Valentine W2 by Stephen Stuart, seconded by Robert L. Valentine W1.
    Ayes: Stephen Stuart, Robert L. Valentine W1, Ruth Detrow, Sandra Tunnell


PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:

 Legislation:

    Ordinances
Ord. No. # 16-10
Item   (a) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 513.02 AND 513.03 OF THE CODIFIED OR-
                DINANCES OF THE CITY OF ASHLAND, OHIO, RELATIVE TO THE PENALTY PRO-
                VISIONS OF SAID SECTIONS; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.

Moved for non-reading in full by Ruth Detrow, seconded by Sandra Tunnell 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:  Stephen Stuart, Robert L. Valentine W1, Ruth Detrow, Sandra Tunnell.

Richard P. Wolfe II, Law Director:  This ordinance is remedial in nature.  It was discovered just this past week that when we updated our Codified Ordinances in December, a provision that the City of Ashland has had in place since 1986 enhancing the degree of penalty for possession of marijuana from a minor misdemeanor to a fourth degree misdemeanor making it a potentially jailable offense was inadvertently deleted.  One of the things that is done when we update our Codified Ordinances is that all of the changes in State Law that have occurred are incorporated in order to make our ordinances consistent with State Law unless in this particular instance we have chosen to do something different and in this particular case we had, but the printer didn’t catch that and caused our ordinance to revert to the less serious State Law provisions and so this is just simply putting things back the way they were meant to be.  It was never any intention on the part of Council to change that, at least I don’t believe so and so we would like to, and when I say we, it was brought to my attention by the judge.  He has reviewed the Ordinance that you have before you and it meets with his approval and it doesn’t change anything, it confirms that things are to be unchanged.  I would ask you to consider that and the reason we have asked for a Special meeting because it is kind of important, it deals with the sentencing; the judge’s consistency in handling of cases involving drug offenses.

Robert L. Valentine W1:  You said in December when they did this?

Richard P. Wolfe II:  We passed an ordinance in December updating our Codified Ordinances.

Robert L. Valentine W1:  Okay, but you said when the change came?

Richard P. Wolfe II:   One of the things that was included in that was bringing everything up to date with any changes in State Law that have occurred since the last time we did that.  If you look at the ordinance 97-09, section 2, it shows that the following sections and chapters are hereby added, amended or repealed in order to comply with current State Law.  That has been pretty standard every time we have gone through this process even though it only occurs every five years or so.  But it was not intended to revert to the State Law provisions away from what we had adopted back in 1986, which as the Charter states, we have the authority to do.  We can’t change the nature of the offense but we do have the ability to change the degree of the offense and the seriousness of it.  

Robert L. Valentine W1:  They just weren’t aware of that when they did it?

Richard P. Wolfe II:   He wasn’t for a couple of reasons.  When it was originally changed, and it has gone through a number of updating processes since then, they didn’t have it noted in their file.  Usually if there is something different, there will be a legislative history following the ordinance. It shows ordinance number such and such passed in whatever month and year.  In this case it wasn’t the whole ordinance. It was just a very small part of it changing the words from minor misdemeanor to fourth degree misdemeanor so they didn’t get it in there and if you look in the very front, there is what is called a comparative statute.  There is a table in front of our Ordinance Book where it compares the ordinances and statutes and that is in there and it shows we passed a distinctive statute back in 1986. It is just they didn’t catch it but they certainly know now and they are prepared to have new pages printed out and correct the online version immediately.

Robert L. Valentine W1:  Thank you.

Ruth Detrow: So the Ordinance as we have it here with the amendments, the penalties, are they greater than the penalties that have been used since the beginning of the year?

Richard P. Wolfe II:  No.  We have been operating under the assumption that nothing has changed.  Nothing has been any different.  I really don’t think there is anything that has changed because the printer doesn’t have the ability to change our ordinances, but we want to get this corrected so there aren’t any questions about it.  The only concern would be the two-day lapse from Wednesday till now and there hasn’t been anything that has occurred since then.

Sandra Tunnell:  But the sentencing from January until now has been the way it has been since 1986?

Richard P. Wolfe II:   Absolutely.

Moved by Robert L. Valentine W1, seconded by Sandra Tunnell 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: Stephen Stuart, Robert L. Valentine W1, Ruth Detrow, Sandra Tunnell.

Move to suspend the rules, 3 separate meetings, 3 separate nights, by Stephen Stuart, seconded by Robert L. Valentine W1.
    Ayes. Stephen Stuart, Robert L. Valentine W1, Ruth Detrow, Sandra Tunnell
 
Move the Ordinance be passed by Ruth Detrow, seconded by Stephen Stuart.
    Ayes:  Stephen Stuart, Robert L. Valentine W1, Ruth Detrow, Sandra Tunnell

    Motion carried.

Motion to adjourn Special Session by Sandra Tunnell, seconded by Robert L. Valentine W1.
    Ayes:  Stephen Stuart, Robert L. Valentine W1, Ruth Detrow, Sandra Tunnell

Council adjourned Special Session at 4:09 p.m.
    .



                                        Submitted by
                                        Valarie Bishoff
                                        Clerk of Council