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Village Council Minutes 11-11-04
 M I N U T E S

The Village of Evendale
Regular Council Meeting
November 11, 2004


The Village of Evendale held a Public Discussion Session prior to the Regularly Scheduled Council Meeting. There was no discussion.

The Village of Evendale held its Regular Council Meeting. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Don Apking. Upon roll call, the following council members were present: Mr. Bill Puthoff, Jr., Mr. Stiney Vonderhaar, Mr. Jeff Albrinck, Mr. Chris Schaefer, Mrs. Catherine Hartman and Mrs. Smiley-Robertson. Also present were: Village Chief Fiscal and Accounting Officer, George Snyder; Village Engineer, James Jeffers;  Recreation Director, Dave Nichols; Public Works Director, Joe Wiehe; Police Chief, Gary Foust; Economic Development Director, Linda Fitzgerald; Assistant to the Mayor, Jack Cameron; Village Solicitor, Tim Burke and Village Clerk, Michelle Ficke.

Mayor Apking presented the consent calendar. Mrs. Smiley-Robertson stated that the November 3, 2004 Special Council Meeting Minutes needed to be amended to include that a fire overtime issue and a mayor’s court issue  were referred to committee along with the police overtime issue. Mayor Apking asked for a motion to accept the consent calendar as amended. A motion to accept the consent calendar was made by Mr. Vonderhaar seconded by Mr. Albrinck and unanimously approved on roll call.

Barb Rohs reported on Gorman Heritage Farm. Mrs. Rohs thanked the Service and Recreation Departments for their help in making “Under the Tuscan Sun” and the Sunflower Festival a success. Monica Mazzone chaired the Under the Tuscan Sun Dinner event which hosted about 285 people. Mary Weertz chaired the Sunflower Festival at the farm on Saturday and over 1000 people attended. She also thanked the local quilters group who created and donated a beautiful quilt that was raffled off at the Friday evening event. Strategic Planning is completed and “Educate, Preserve and Serve” are the three things they will focus on as they move forward. Educate – to come up with hands on programs for agriculture, local habitats and the value of manual labor. GHF will provide these programs in schools, through internships and volunteering programs and community service projects. Preserving the land and the history of the farm is important as well as serving the community. “Impact over the Rhine” has been using GHF Sunflowers and selling them at Findlay Market and handing out brochures on Gorman Heritage Farm. Mrs. Rohs thanked the Police Department for their help managing the traffic last month when the farm hosted 2000 flu vaccines. Goals for 2005 include to Educate and they have just hired an Education Manager, Kate Labare, who will be working with the Education Committee and Bob Lux to get the Education programs back into the school and to meet state standards, as well as adult programs. Another goal is to bring summer camps back to the farm by 2005. Cincinnati Enquirer featured Gorman Farm for our free volunteer programs which are held on Wednesday evenings in the autumn and spring. GHF continues to raise awareness through fund raising and friend raising. Every Saturday there is a family program going on. All Gorman Farm members are receiving email newsletters. Call the farm if you would like to receive one at 563-6663. The drawing for the raffle for the spa package from Watson’s Superstore will be held in December.

Stiney Vonderhaar stated that the Historical Commission was in Columbus on Saturday and received an award of excellence for the book, “The Gorman Heritage Farm; a Rare Gem in Urban America.” Mayor Apking mentioned that the farm looks great and they are going to clear out the brush in front of the farm so that it can be seen from Reading Road. He also mentioned that there is a considerable amount of rock that was left on the old Imperial Motel grounds and that the Service Department will work on clearing it out.

Mayor Apking gave the Mayor’s Report. At the Recreation Center today we had a program recognizing the veterans from the Village of Evendale. Patty Grist did a great job recognizing our veterans. Mayor Apking showed the award that we won for our landscaped islands on our streets. Mayor Apking thanked the people who voted yes on Issue 12 which raised the earnings tax by two tenths of a percent. We held a Special Committee Meeting last week and worked on carving the budget and there will be a public hearing on the proposed 2005 budget at the December 9th council meeting.

Mr. Albrinck gave a report on the Recreation Department. Annual memberships for residents start Monday, December 13th. The Turkey Shoot will take place Saturday, November 13th and the Holiday Light up is scheduled for Sunday, December 5th and over 300 people have registered.

Mayor Apking presented Resolution #04-36 RESOLUTION REGARDING THE VILLAGE OF EVENDALE’S READING ROAD REVITALIZATION PLAN. Mayor Apking recognized the members of the Reading Road Revitalization Steering Committee which included Pat Raffel from Raffel’s Catering, Stuart Hodesh, Doug Lohmeier, Jeff Albrinck, Don Apking, Dave Harwood, Tom Stautberg, Kay Bostrom, Charlie Neffle from All Occasions Event Rental, John Perazzo - CIC Member, Chris Schaefer, and Staff Support, Linda Fitzgerald and James Jeffers. He also thanked Charlene Kerr from Poggemeyer Design Group. Kay Bostrom addressed council. She stated that it was a privilege to serve. She also stated that Reading Road lacks charm and fails to answer the needs of our residents and our businesses. Extensive research was conducted to reach the proposed revitalization plan which allows flexibility in implementation and for prioritization actions. The Reading Road Revitalization Plan  was crafted by community members and reflects their desires and will aide council. The Plan has unanimous support from the Community Improvement Corporation, the Reading Road Revitalization Steering Committee, and the Planning Commission – all have recommended to council that the Plan be adopted as a guide for the future redevelopment of the Reading Road corridor. Mr. Vonderhaar recused himself from the vote for purposes of possible conflict of interest. A motion to read Resolution 04-36 by title only was made by Mr. Puthoff, seconded by Mr. Albrinck and unanimously approved on roll call. A motion to suspend the second and third readings of Resolution 04-36 was made by Mr. Albrinck, seconded by Mrs. Hartman and unanimously approved on roll call. A motion to adopt Resolution 04-36 was made by Mr. Puthoff, seconded by Mr. Albrinck and unanimously approved on roll call. Mayor Apking declared Resolution
04-36 adopted.

Mayor Apking presented ORDINANCE 04-64,         ORDINANCE AMENDING THE PROVISIONS OF THE ZONING CODE OF THE VILLAGE OF EVENDALE TO ADD DEFINITIONS OF “GARAGE” AND “STORAGE STRUCTURE” AND TO PROVIDE FOR AMENDED REGULATIONS FOR ACCESSORY STRUCTURES AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
A motion to read Ordinance 04-64 by title only was made by Mrs. Hartman, seconded by Mr. Albrinck and unanimously approved on roll call. Mayor Apking declared this as a Second Reading only of
Ordinance 04-64.

Mayor Apking presented ORDINANCE 04-65,         ORDINANCE AMENDING THE PROVISIONS OF THE ZONING CODE OF THE VILLAGE OF EVENDALE TO CLARIFY PUBLIC HEARING REQUIREMENTS AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. A motion to read Ordinance 04-65 by title only was made by Mrs. Smiley-Robertson, seconded by Mr. Vonderhaar and unanimously approved on roll call. Mayor Apking declared  this as a Second Reading only of Ordinance 04-65.

Mayor Apking presented ORDINANCE 04-66, APPROVING ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS IN VARIOUS FUNDS AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.  A motion to read Ordinance 04-66 by title only was made by Mr. Vonderhaar, seconded by Mrs. Hartman and unanimously approved on roll call. A motion to suspend the second and third readings of Ordinance 04-66 was made by Mr. Puthoff, seconded by Mrs. Smiley-Robertson and unanimously approved on roll call. A motion to adopt Ordinance 04-66 as an emergency was made by Mrs. Hartman, seconded by Mr. Puthoff and unanimously approved on roll call.  Mayor Apking declared Ordinance 04-66 adopted as an emergency.

Other Items included:

Mr. Vonderhaar mentioned that the Evendale Chamber of Commerce Holiday Party is December 8th at 5:30 at St. Rita’s School for the Deaf. There will be entertainment by students of St. Rita’s. Mayor Apking mentioned that on November 20th St. Rita’s annual scholarship banquet will be held at Evendale. The cost is $125 per ticket which includes a reverse raffle. Residents are invited to attend the Chamber holiday party at St. Rita’s as long as they pay. Reservations can be made through the Recreation Center or by calling the Chamber of Commerce or Lori Radcliff.

Mr. Schaefer mentioned that he asked George Snyder to prepare something for the council committee meetings next month to try to summarize where we stand on capital items for the budget. George was asked to pull out on a separate sheet the capital requests, the amount of money we have and then at the December committee meetings they can come up with a priority list for capital items. Mr. Schaefer also mentioned that there was insufficient parking for the soccer tournament and that parking must be addressed because there is a problem during swim team events, Election Day, soccer tournaments. He suggested using Churchill property for overflow parking. Mr. Puthoff concluded that 95% of the time parking is not an issue and only occurs a few times a year.  

Mrs. Smiley-Robertson asked whose responsibility is it to manage the action plans for the Reading Road Revitalization Plan. Mayor Apking suggested a work session between Council, CIC and Planning Commission needs to take place to decide what aspects of the plans to begin. He stated that we need to look at what Anchor is proposing first. Mrs. Smiley-Robertson stated that it is her experience that if you do not put a person in charge of putting together the work session then chances are it will fall through the cracks. Mayor Apking agreed with Mrs. Smiley-Robertson.

Nancy Ackner stated that there are not enough handicap parking spaces on the Municipal Grounds, particularly in front of the Founders Pavilion and near the soccer field by the tennis courts. Mayor Apking said they he and Joe Wiehe would look into it.

Mayor Apking asked for a motion to adjourn into Executive Session to discuss personnel issues. Mr. Vonderhaar made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded Mr. Albrinck and unanimously approved on roll call. The meeting adjourned into Executive Session at 7:35 pm.

Council reconvened at 9:00 p.m. and there being no further business to come before Council, a motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Vonderhaar seconded by Mr. Albrinck and unanimously approved on roll call.



                                                _______________________
                                                Mayor

Attest:

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Village Clerk