June 5, 2017 - Meeting Minutes

Brewster Village Council met in regular session with Mayor Mike Schwab presiding.

7:00 P.M. – CALL TO ORDER

COUNCIL MEMBER THARP MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FOX and motion carried to excuse Council Member Godwin from this evening’s meeting due to illness.  The vote: All yes.

Council Members bowed their heads for the invocation provided by Clerk-Treasurer

Kris King followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

MEMBERS PRESENT:

VILLAGE OFFICIALS:

MINUTES FROM THE MAY 15, 2017 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING:

Mayor Mike Schwab asked if there were any additions or deletions to the May 15, 2017 Council meeting minutes. 

COUNCIL MEMBER THARP MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HILLIARD and motion carried to accept the minutes as presented. 

COUNCIL MEMBER HAWK, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER THARP and motion carried to replace the second paragraph on page 4 concerning GPS in vehicles with the following:

I (VA Miller) had GPS units put in the snow plows in Stow to address complaints about perceived speed and whether the resident’s street had been plowed.  One instance complaint: a resident stated a plow was going 72mph and in reality, it was going 27mph.  Councilman Fox asked if there is a minimum speed for plowing and VA Miller replied yes and that it depends on the type of plow being used.  The vote: All yes.

The vote on the minutes as amended: All yes.

PRESENTATION OF BILLS:

COUNCIL MEMBER FOX MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MACKEY and motion carried to accept the bills in the amount of $ 521,470.07.  The vote: All yes.

AUDIENCE:

Connie Risher, Manager of the Brewster Federal Credit Union, brought up an issue that the credit union had during the festival.  Each day at about 3:00 1^st Street was blocked off at Wabash Avenue.  Members of the credit union were unable to get into the parking lot to do their banking.  When an officer of the Police Department was asked to move the barricades the officer stated that the barricades could not be moved because village council had instructed the road to be blocked.  Ms. Risher stated that the credit union supports the festival, the Fire Department and the community but consideration needs to be made so it does not hurt the businesses.  Chief Creter explained that the Police Department has had to implement greater security measures than have been used in the past and has a responsibility to keep the public safe.  This was a glitch that will be handled so that next year there will not be an issue.   Ms. Risher also stated that the Fire Chief told the carnival workers they could park in the employee parking lot and she had to have vehicles moved. 

Joe Palaski, 262 Wabash Ave N, stated that contractors had to park two blocks away.

Police Chief Keith Creter, Christy Palaski, Amy Carney, Jim and Jenny Spivey, Joanne Smith, and Ray Heitger were present.

CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCES:  Titles of each read by Solicitor John Anthony

ORDINANCE 38-2017:  An Ordinance Authorizing an Amendment of Ordinance 59-2016 to provide a Wage Stipend and job description for a School Resource Officer was given third reading. 

COUNCIL MEMBER THARP MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FOX and motion carried to bring the ordinance forward for passage.

COUNCIL MEMBER THARP MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FOX and motion carried to amend the draft to include an objective for the SRO position for informational purposes and to reflect that a SRO job description will be set by Departmental or VA policy.  VA Miller stated in order to be consistent, the job descriptions are better left in the hands of the department heads and administration.  Councilman Tharp asked the VA if the stipend is going to be rolled into the wage.  VA Miller explained it is not a stipend but a job assignment compensation.  He also stated this will be discussed further at the Wage Committee meeting.  Councilman Tharp asked if the job descriptions were going to be approved by council.  VA Miller stated the they were adopted administratively due to the number of job descriptions and frequent changes that would become overly burdensome.  VA Miller stated that if this legislation is approved with a job description then he would recommend that all the job descriptions be approved by Council.  The vote on the amendment to remove the job description from the ordinance:  All yes. 

The vote for the passage of the ordinance as amended: All yes.

ORDINANCE 39-2017: An Ordinance Authorizing the Adoption of an Employee Overtime Policy and Its Addition to the Employee Handbook was given third reading.

COUNCIL MEMBER FOX MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER THARP to bring the ordinance forward for passage.

COUNCIL MEMBER THARP MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MACKEY and motion carried to amend Section F4 by removing the second sentence due to redundancy.  The vote: All yes.

The vote for the passage of the amended ordinance: All yes.

Second Reading: An Ordinance Authorizing the Adoption of an Employee Performance Evaluation Policy and Its Addition to the Employee Handbook was given first reading.

MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENTS:

Fire Department: Chief Chris Colucy (excused)

A successful festival: Good Weather! An Excellent Parade! Outstanding Fireworks!

Councilman Fox stated the grass was high and should have been mowed before the festival.  VA Miller stated it was mowed before setup began. 

VA Miller stated there is another event in the park and they are renting the pavilion and ball park for a company picnic August 11^th & 12^th.

Councilman Hilliard thanked the Fire Department for the fantastic job that they did at the festival.

Police Department: Chief Keith Creter

Chief Creter reported that the recent restrictions/barriers on W. Second, W. First, and Bimeler Park alley worked well during Firemen’s Festival except for the issues with the credit union.  We need to order signs for the Car Show.   The Chief felt there was good communication between the Fire and Police Departments during the festival.

Portable Radar Speed sign has been delivered and is operational; situated at Wabash/W. First Street.  The batteries have died already so we need to look at an additional set of batteries or consider solar power.

PD May Activity Report emailed to Council.  There have been 653 calls this year.  Heroine appears to be decreasing while meth usage appears to going up.  In one of the Canton hospitals, out of 11 ER visits, 10 were overdoses.

June 14^th at 10:00 am has been reserved for the webcast with Hyper Reach.  This is what is commonly known as reverse 9-1-1.

Councilman Hilliard thanked the Police Department for the great job they did at the festival.

VILLAGE SOLICITOR:Attorney John Anthony

VA Miller had the Solicitor review a proposed lot split for several properties on Navarre Road to make sure the Village utilities easements were protected.  Solicitor Anthony has prepared easement documentation because there is a third parcel receiving service from an adjourning property.

Solicitor Anthony has been reviewing the OPEC-HC (health insurance company) contract.  The City of Steubenville has a lawsuit filed against the OPEC-HC and others.  There is concern about the financial stability of the plan.  VA Miller has done a great job summarizing the situation and will discuss it in his section of the meeting.

Solicitor Anthony has been reviewing the Chief Creter’s suggested parking issue solution.  The Mayor will be covering it further during his portion of the meeting.

Solicitor Anthony is working on language for updating the Village Property Maintenance Code.  He will be providing a sample for Council’s review.

COMMUNICATIONS:

MCTV: Invitation to a Launch Ceremony for a new high tech service demonstration at 10 am on 06/19.

Stark County Commissioners: Village participation in CDBG will automatically renew for 2018-2020 unless Village elects to withdraw; VA is recommending the Village stay in and is exploring a Park Drive project.

VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR: Mike Miller

Administrator’s report for period 5/162017 thru 6/5/2017:

• Health Insurance. On Wednesday May 24th, I attended the first OPEC-HC Member Meeting in Grove City. I previously sent a more comprehensive summary of the meeting. There was no action taken because there was not a “quorum” who participated either by proxy or in person.

To reiterate, the most current “cash balance” report for OPEC-HC shows an $8,006,192.08 DEFICIT as of April 12, 2017. Brewster’s share is a minimum of $2500 per employee (deficit divided by 3200 insured lives, according to Mr. Harmon. The number quoted to withdraw at this point is $4000 per employee, because to get out we are expected to pay our share of the liability (deficit) AND our share of a reserve that was never funded during our membership to date (benefits remaining members and …). Whichever number it is, we could also be subject to a 25% “penalty” if more than 20% of the insured lives leave at once.

Unfortunately, we do not know the cost to withdraw for a certainty. However, we do know that the rates were artificially low at the outset (to get entities to join) and were kept as low as possible (i.e. changing stop loss point for individual claims from $75,000 to $150,000). The true cost of the insurance cannot be measured solely by the rates, but by adding the ADR and liability and opt out cots to the rates for the past three (3) years.

As a follow-up to that meeting, Clerk-Treasurer Kris King received a communication from Brian Savage of OISA that stated in part:

I would like to request that we schedule a pre-renewal call to discuss information provided in this email and develop your renewal strategy sometime between now and June 9th, 2017.

My recommendations at this time are:

1. Brewster send our letter of intent to withdraw at the earliest permissible date (January 1, 2018). The deadline is July 1^st, 2017. Council should act this evening.

2. Brewster withdraw its membership from OPEC as well (separate form requested each year) concurrent with withdrawal from OPEC-HC.

3. Brewster officially notify Ohio Insurance Services Agency Inc. (OSIA) that it is severing its relationship with it at the earliest permissible date, and that Brewster does not require/request OSIA to seek health insurance proposals on its behalf for health insurance for 2018 and beyond.

4. We should communicate to both OPEC-HC and OSIA that we expect them to provide the required information on Brewster’s health insurance usage to allow Brewster to seek health insurance quotes.

• Solar Site. Met with Martin Hibbard of AMP and Mr. and Mrs. Miller on Thursday May 25^th regarding the solar site.

I have also been in touch with the Army Corps of Engineers working on the necessary easements.

On Thursday June 1^st, the Mayor, Rick Patterson, and I met at the Water Tower Access Lane to go over improvements that need to be made for the solar field access.

While the solar field is not an absolute certainty, initial work to “limb up” the trees to allow access by the Electric Department Bucket Trucks to install a pole near the water tower for security purposes (Light and security camera). That work will commence shortly.

In addition, I would like authorization to begin improvement work to the access lane now, so that it can be timely completed. Ultimately, whether the solar field goes forward or not, doing the work in exchange for acquisition of ownership of the access road to our water tower is a long-term benefit for the Village.

• Facility Security. Cameras have been installed at the Electric/Water facility. In addition to monitoring the potential entry points, we added cameras that will monitor parking area in front of Electric Building and park adjacent to fence.

• Trees. I am putting together a list of trees to be removed in the next few weeks. If there are any trees in Village right-of-ways or pose a potential hazard to Village utilities, please let me know.

• Street Sweeping.  The first sweeping was completed on Tuesday May 23rd

• Spring Clean-Up. Spring clean-up was completed Saturday May 20 and Monday May 22^nd with Miller’s Reliable Waste.
• Crack Sealing. As an important part of our street maintenance program, we have continued to aggressively crack seal the past few weeks, when the weather cooperated.

• Information Sheet. Because of a situation that arose, I have written a new informational sheet regarding Decks, Unenclosed Porches, and Platforms, which I have distributed to Council.

• Sabo Park Disc Golf Course. I met with Bill Griffith of SoL Harris Day architecture to go overupgrade of the “tee boxes” to concrete and review modifications to the course layout. Some of the modifications that will be implemented to improve the playability of the course and security of Village facilities are:

• Move the tee box for hole 2 to the east (towards the road)
• Plant some trees along road on hole 2 to reduce possibility of discs entering street
• Move hole 3 basket west to get more distance/difficulty
• Move the tee box for hole 5 to the south west to add distance and create separation from the fencing around the Electric/Water facility
• Move the tee box for hole 7 to the north west (uphill) to allow for the hole 9 basket to be moved north
• Move the tee box for hole 9 to the south to help take “shot” over the Electric Building roofs out of play. We have had a number of discs end up on the Electric Department roofs, with players throwing branches on the roof to attempt to dislodge the discs, climbing on the fence/barbed wire/hanging from spouting/climbing on the air conditioning and 55 gallon drums to try to get on the roof to get their disc.
• Move the hole 9 basket to the north, also to realign the hole to get discs away from Village facilities.

We will be looking at various methods to get the concrete tee boxes installed to determine the most cost effective.  The cost will be about $3,000.  They will pour the concrete then come back in four weeks to coat it so the concrete should be good for about 10 years.

In addition, other changes to be made will be:

• add a bench near the tee box for hole 1
• add a bench at the tee boxes for hole 3, 6, and 8
• adding signs to indicate “Employees Only” “No Public Entry” to fence/gates
• add parking stops along north side of parking lot to show where parking should occur.
• We are also considering placing “No Parking in Front of Doors” signs, to allow our vehicles to get in/out in outages.

• Comparable Wages. I am still in the process of gathering comparable wages and “incentives” from surrounding political subdivisions.

Dixon Engineering has moved the north water tower inspection to Tuesday instead of next Friday.  It is essentially a maintenance contract where they will make safety improvements, recoating the inside/outside with a quote of $150,000.  The water tower was built in 1949 and the VA wants to make sure it is going to last before he invests money in it.  The VA is going to use this as a OPWC project in August.

Councilman Hilliard asked if the tee boxes in Sabo Park were going to be at ground level.  VA Miller stated that they will be.

Councilman Hilliard would like to see the Ginko tree in the little triangle at the park removed.  He stated that it was dead.

Councilman Hilliard would like the area between 6^th Street and 7^Th Street on McKinley crack sealed because there are some big cracks.

Councilman Hilliard would like the electric poles removed from McKinley Street.  VA Miller stated he can’t get Frontier to come down and move their lines.  They have been notified numerous times and appear to be in no hurry to move their lines.  Mr. Garber complained about the pole on the corner of Main and McKinley.

VA Miller stated that since he brought up Mr. Garber, Mr. Garber is about to pour the sidewalk.  The VA stated the Village will take care of the handi-cap ramp at the alley.  Councilman Hilliard said he was appreciative at the letter that was sent.

Councilman Fox asked how the spring clean-up went.  VA Miller stated it went pretty well.  There were a few calls from people that weren’t aware it was happening until it was over.  It was advertised on the newsletter on the back of the bills, on the sign in front of Village Hall, on the website, and on various Facebook sites.  The VA has not been able to find out what the tonnage is yet.

Councilman Mackey and the VA discussed the technology of the cameras, the control center, and the possibility of having MCTV put in fiber.

Councilman Tharp asked that there are loose wires wound around a pole at the end of East Main that need removed.  Resident has had them hit him in the head when mowing.

Councilman Tharp stated the resident at 283 West Main does not want the tree replaced that was recently removed.

Councilman Tharp asked if the VA was going to be putting together a bid spec for paving this year.  VA Miller stated the project this year will be small and not require a bid spec because it will be below $50,000.  Councilman Tharp was concerned that we follow through with our promise made when promoting the levy.  He wants to make sure the residents are made aware of the projects we are using their money for.  We may also piggyback on a program with the state that does not require us to go out for bid that companies can give us costs based on the ODOT program.  Councilman Tharp talked about how we talked about splitting the town up in quadrants and doing a project in each quadrant.  VA Miller discussed the rating that we received from an outside contractor and discussed the importance of taking care of the worst roads first.  Mayor Schwab asked the clerk what she would estimate to be in the fund by September.  Her estimate was $85,000 and she reminded council that the money cannot be appropriated until it is actual cash in the account.  The VA would like to get OPWC money for 7^th Street because it is in deteriorating.  VA Miller wants to micro seal on parts of Cleveland Avenue like the state did on Route 30.  We also need to have continuing discussions on maintenance.  Councilman Tharp was concerned about the curing period and VA Miller stated we would not be doing anything after August.  VA Miller stated the best approach is to do a small project and let the fund build up to do a bigger project next summer after we have money in the fund.  VA Miller will send Council the street rating and they can distribute to residents that are interested in reviewing it.

Councilman Hilliard received a complaint from Kleyman’s that the mosquitoes are bad in their neighborhood.  

VILLAGE MAYOR: Mike Schwab

1.            UPDATE - AMP SOLAR PROJECT

• Recommend to Council that Village proceed with the work outlined in the Fairless Purchase Agreement – re-aggregate Water Tower Access Lane, install primary drainage adjacent to the Access Lane, rebuild and expand Baseball parking area (to be used by NextEra as lay down yard), and trim and remove trees abutting access lane.   

This will allow Supt Patterson to schedule this work this Summer.

2.           Ohio AG/Ohio EPA Consent Decree Case vs. Walkers/Hillview

• Awaiting Ruling from Judge Farmer

    3.            Valerie Luckner v. Village of Brewster (Case No: Case No: 2014-CV-01891, Stark Common    Pleas)

       The Court found:

• That the parties never intended the language contained in Article 5 of the Annexation Agreement to be interpreted as requiring the Village to undertake the construction and costs of extending the main sewer trunk line to Luckner, which is the same conclusion the Court arrived at as to Walker’s claims.
• Rather, the Court found the language of the Annexation Agreement simply allows the plaintiff to tie into the Village’s waste water treatment service by paying for the construction of the sewer trunk line from the nearest terminus to her property, and the construction of a lateral line from her property to the trunk line.

4.            Ohio Insurance Services OPEC – HC Update

• VA attended OPEC-HC meeting in Grove City and will fill in blanks
• Mayor’s Office agrees with VA that Brewster should withdraw from the OPEC-HC prior to the July 1, 2017 contractual deadline and that Council retain the option to rescind that withdrawal prior to the recently approved OPEC-HC Board September 1, 2017 deadline
• This will allow Village Council to explore other options and to use OPEC-HC as an alternative until August 31, 2017
• All Village Full Time employees will be required to complete FormFire online to shop healthcare coverage for Village employees; VA & Village Clerk to coordinate in coming weeks

5.            Chief Creter – Parking Tickets

• Suggestion to Council to increase amount of parking ticket (currently some tickets are ignored), and to put more teeth in enforcement of repeat violators
• Language received from a neighboring community as a sample:

SUGGESTION: Language be added to Village Code as Section 76.061:  (Solicitor to refine language)

 Section 76.061:  Parking: No person shall park a vehicle upon a public street, alley, or public right-of-way for than more than seventy-two hours.

Penalties:             (A) The Police Department shall ticket all violations of Chapter 76 of these municipal regulations.  All tickets for violation of parking restrictions shall result in a $ 20.00 fine per violation.  If any ticket is not paid within ten days of being issued, the fine shall be $ 25.00.

                          (B) Any vehicle that is subject to three or more unpaid parking tickets may be towed by (a designated vendor) or at the direction of the Police Department, either to the police department parking lot or to a commercial tow yard within ten miles of Brewster, and said vehicle shall not be released to its owner until the owner pays the unpaid parking tickets, and any associated costs.  The Village and its employees are not liable for any damages to a vehicle that is towed pursuant to this section.

Councilman Tharp suggested increasing the penalty for not paying the ticket after ten days to be $5.00 per day.  It was further discussed to put a maximum payment at $75.00.

6.            Justice System Sales Tax Renewal Questionnaire returned to Sheriff Maier: 

• Brewster PD Chief requested six (6) portables and three (3) mobiles (vehicle base)     
• Brewster FD Chief requested thirty-five (35) portables and eight (8) mobiles (vehicle base)
• Chief Creter will be the Village’s representative as this moves forward
• Council may recall that there is an ongoing monthly fee for each radio purchased

7.            Ohio Public Works Commission Program: State Issue II Funding Application Schedule

• JULY 7, 2016    Applications made available to all political subdivisions in Stark County.  
• SEPTEMBER 16, 2016 Completed infrastructure applications due at SCRPC offices.  12:00 Noon 
• Village administration has several applications in mind; VA to outline for Council’s consideration in coming weeks
• Council legislation is required to submit any application
• Matching Funds and/or dedicated funds for repayment of loan is required

8.            Village Planning Commission has scheduled a Hearing to consider the Vacation of a second         portion of Harriman Street as requested by Brewster Cheese for Thursday, July 20^th at 7 pm in Council Chambers. 

9. Planning Commission Hearing on May 18th– PC recommends that Village Council vacate the portion of 40-foot-wide Harriman Street (ROW) that runs south approximately 323 feet from Seventh Street SW to the south property line of Parcel 7000070between Parcels 7000654 and 7000070 on its west border & Parcels 7000533 - 7001447 on its east border (Council copy of Minutes) requires legislation.

 10. Fire and EMS Budgets 2017-2021: On June 19th Mayor, Village Clerk, and VA will recommend a budget that incorporates set asides for vehicle & equipment needs for Council’s review, I believe it is the responsibility of the administration, working with the FD Chief & Officers, to propose Fire & EMS budgets to Council.  (Request a near future Finance Committee Meeting to further discuss options).  Councilman Tharp requested 2013 and 2014 financial information from the Clerk.

 11. Thank you to everyone that offered condolences on the Passing of my Father, Eddie Schwab.    

VILLAGE CLERK-TREASURER:Kris King

May 16^th thru June 5^th:

1. May Monthly and Year-to-Date Financial Reports
2. May Fire Pay = $ 6,517.57
3. I have been working on adjustments to the appropriations.  With the new funds, I felt that some line items needed to be added for better tracking of expenditures and revenues.  I will be asking Council to create an ordinance for supplemental appropriations soon.
4. I will be out of the office June 14^th thru 16^th for training.
5. I will be working with American Legal to get our codified ordinances up to date over the next couple of weeks.  Last update was approved by Council in August of 2016.

COMMITTEES or COUNCIL REPORTS:

1. Minutes of May 15^th Finance Committee – future Fire and EMS budgets

2. Employee Wage Compensation Committee (VA, Village Clerk, Finance Committee Chair Councilman Tharp, and Mayor) will meet Thursday, June 8 at 6 pm to begin Employee Compensation Policy implementation for Council consideration for 2018 Village Budget

REMINDERS:      June 16^th Concert in the Park 7 to 9:30 – Spicy Rhyme

                         July 15^th Concert in the Park 7 to 9:30 – The Originals

                         July 20^th at 7 pm Planning Commission Hearing: Vacation of Harriman Street                           

PENDING PROPOSALS FROM PAST MEETINGS:

Council appointment of one member to the Village Board of Income Tax Review.

OLD or NEW BUSINESS: (Council Rules dictate a one meeting review period for expenditures, unless deemed an emergency)

COUNCIL MEMBER THARP MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FOX and motion carried to pay the fire pay at a cost of $ 6,517.57 from the Fire Equipment Fund.  The vote: All yes.

COUNCIL MEMBER THARP MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FOX and motion carried to adopt Section 76.061 as presented by the Mayor with the amendment of a $5 per day penalty with a maximum fine of $75.  The vote: All yes.

COUNCIL MEMBER THARP MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HAWK and motion carried to direct the Solicitor write a letter of intent to withdraw from the OPEC-HC at the earliest permissible date (January 1, 2018), withdraw our membership from OPEC as well concurrent with withdrawal from OPEC-HC and officially notify Ohio Insurance Services Agency Inc. (OSIA) that we are severing our relationship with it at the earliest permissible date.  The Vote: All yes.

COUNCIL MEMBER THARP MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FOX and motion carried to draw up legislation to approve the Planning Commission’s recommendation for Village Council to vacate the portion of 40-foot-wide Harriman Street (ROW) that runs south approximately 323 feet from Seventh Street SW to the south property line of Parcel 7000070 between Parcels 7000654 and 7000070 on its west border & Parcels 7000533 - 7001447 on its east border.  The vote: All yes. 

COUNCIL MEMBER THARP MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER MACKEY and motion carried to draw up legislation for the acquisition of the Fairless lane.  The vote: All yes.  VA Miller explained where the property line was per Councilman Hilliard’s request.

VILLAGE SPEAKS:

Councilman Hilliard had two complaints about the fire siren.  One of them said the whistle is not high enough and bounces off the building.

Councilman Tharp received a complaint that the closing of 1^st Street prevented a resident from driving back to their home.

Councilman Tharp received several complaints that they were not thrilled with the communication with the cleanup.

Heidi Novak: “Thank you for the Village Spring Clean Up.” (received by VCT King).

Resident: A concern about the condition of the U.S. flags displayed by Village (received by VCT King).

Resident: A concern about the growing number of residents with chickens & the increase in the number of chickens at previously established residential sites (received by Mayor & VA).

COUNCIL MEMBER HILLIARD MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FOX and motion carried to adjourn the meeting at 8:54 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Kris King, Village Clerk-Treasurer

Mike Schwab, Mayor