FINANCE, ADMINISTRATION, SERVICE,
ENGINEERING and GORMAN FARM
COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
February 5, 2013
The Finance, Service, Engineering and Gorman Farm Committee met on February 5, 2013 at 5:00 pm at the Council Chambers in the Evendale Administration Building. At the meeting, were Councilmembers Albrinck, and Schaefer. Councilmember Hartman was absent and excused. Also in attendance were Chris Schuermann, Ray Kubik , Chris Patterson, Cynthia Caracci, James Jeffers, Jim Bothe, Mayor Apking, and Jim Brockschmidt.
Gorman Farm
The Gorman Farm monthly report, annual report, and 2013 budget were submitted in writing and are attached. Chris Schuermann. Chris Schuermann highlighted several items in the 2012 report including that memberships have increased, but that the drought had reduced income from field crops. For 2013, Chris discussed ongoing initiatives including that the Cincinnati Reds Foundation will have the Farm Mule Team near the beginning of the opening day parade, that the Farm is working with Xavier University to see if a partnership to expand the Xavier University Montessori program makes sense, and that the Farm is in discussions about holding an events sponsored by Edible Ohio on the first weekend in May. The capital items in the 2013 budget have been assigned to separate Farm Foundation Board members for execution. Each will
submit a time schedule in the upcoming months.
Service Department/Engineering
James Jeffers submitted a status report for major projects for 2013. It is attached. Jim Bothe has suggested that the pagers be discontinued and that each services department employee be paid an additional $25 per month to use their own cell phone for communications while on duty. The annual cost would be about $1800 per year less the $600 cost of the pagers. The cellphones are much more efficient than pagers. The cost to purchase and service 6 village owner cellphones is much higher. Councilmember Albrinck commented that his employer does that and that certain paperwork is necessary to conform to IRS regulations is required. The committee recommended that this program be pursued.
Finally, Mayor Apking and James Jeffers presented a cost summary for upgrading the shelter house. It is attached. The work would start in October. The contract will have to be let in September so work can begin October 1. These are suggestions. They are not yet finalized and the mayor asked that the committee think about these items and respond in the upcoming months. Councilmember Albrinck suggested that an awning over the entrance area be added to create more space. Councilmember Schaefer suggested a pergola type structure. Councilmember Albrinck preferred something that would allow use of the area during periods of rain.
Finance/Administration
Cynthia Caracci presented the financial report. The January Income tax receipts were $1,057,751.30. That is down about $110,000 from 2012. For January 2013, excluding Evendale Commons, the net surplus was $110,373.01. The unencumbered balance for the 2013 is $11,563,202.53. That will rise during the year as the income is realized.
Mayor Apking raised an issue concerning the cultural arts funds. Essentially the Village appropriates enough money to pay the teachers for the entire year at the beginning of the year plus the regular expenses. The students pay for their various lessons as the year progresses. The student fees are deposited in the general fund. The mayor’s concern is that due to the number of lessons, the appropriation will be inadequate. The committee asked Cynthia Caracci to look into a double entry system to show income that offsets outlays for this and similar budget items. The mayor indicated that there is no need to make adjustments immediately.
Zoning Code
Chris Patterson explained the Design Guidelines to the Committee. There was a discussion of how the council wants to proceed with amendments to the proposed zoning code. The Committee suggested that a list of amendments be presented this month so the council can decide which to vote upon separately. This should be presented in a format that allows their insertion into the entire proposed code. The committee recommended that the voting on amendments and the entire code be delayed until March so the full council will be able to consider and vote on the amendments and final product.
Personnel Code Updates
Jim Brockschmidt presented proposed changes to the personnel code concerning FMLA and COBRA. The committee examined these and suggested that the key personnel language be deleted. Instead, the committee suggested that the Mayor be granted authority to hire a temporary fulltime replacement for an employee that is on extended FMLA leave. This type of temporary employee would be let go after the FMLA leave is over. Should the regular employee be terminated after FMLA, sick leave and vacation leave be exhausted, the temporary employee would have to go through the normal hiring process to become a regular employee. The committee had no issue with the required order in which paid leave is taken during an FMLA absence.
The meeting adjourned at 6:50 pm.
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Christian J. Schaefer
Committee Chairman
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