M I N U T E S
The Village of Evendale
Regular Council Meeting
June 9, 2005
The Village of Evendale held a Public Discussion Session prior to the Regularly Scheduled Council Meeting. Nancy Ackner asked if there had been any feedback on the new newsletter. Jack Cameron stated that he had received sixty requests for the newsletter to be mailed rather than viewed via the new website.
The Village of Evendale held a Public Hearing. The purpose of the public hearing was to consider a proposed zone change from General Industrial (GI) to Industrial Truck Center (ITC) for property located at 10975 Medallion Drive, being identified on the Records of the Hamilton County Auditor in Book 611, Page 30, Parcel 249. 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. Carolyn Smiley-Robertson and Mrs. Catherine Hartman. Also present were: Police Chief, Gary Foust; Assistant to the Mayor, Jack Cameron; Village Engineer, James Jeffers; Economic Director, Linda Fitzgerald; Village Solicitor, Tim Burke; Chief Fiscal and Accounting Officer, George Snyder, and Village Clerk, Michelle Ficke.
Mayor Apking presented the consent calendar. Mayor Apking asked for a motion to accept the consent calendar consisting of May 12 and May 31, 2005 Council Meeting Minutes; CFO Report for May, 2005; Tax Administrator’s Reports for May, 2005; current Departmental Reports and the Treasurer’s Report for May, 2005. A motion to accept the consent calendar was made by Mr. Vonderhaar seconded Mr. Albrinck and unanimously approved.
Leo Robinson, the coordinator of DART (Drug Abuse Reduction Task Force) presented Officer Richard Vonderhaar with an award of appreciation for the service he provided to DART especially with his help in the Barber Shop Case which led to federal indictments and about $800,000 in cash and real property confiscated. DART is a community task force against drugs and whatever else infiltrates your community. DART provides smaller communities with the same service that a bigger city has through federal grants and contributions from 21 individual agencies that are involved in DART. Seven million dollars worth of street value drugs have been removed from our area through DART.
Mayor Apking gave the Mayor’s Report. Mayor Apking received a letter from Dusty Rhodes stating that the county will reappraise properties this year. Real estate values in Evendale are going up from $268 million to $312 million. The July 4th run will be on a Monday this year. Rumpke will come earlier on this day so they do not interfere with the race. They plan to come between 3:00 am and 4:00 am.
Stiney Vonderhaar announced that the Tucker Station Sign Dedication will be Saturday, June 18th at 10:30 am. It is on the corner of Chester Road and Oak Road. Take Glendale-Milford to Chester Road and turn right and to the first stop sign where Glendale, Woodlawn and Evendale meet. The Elijah House, located in Evendale, is mentioned in the book, “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”.
The Fire House Chili is next Wednesday, June 15th from 11:00 to 1:00, $4 per person and sponsored by the Evendale Fire Department and the Evendale Chamber of Commerce.
Jeff Albrinck gave the Finance Committee Report. In May we had $1.1 million in receipts and about $1.099 in expenses so we are a little bit ahead of the game. This Saturday begins the concert series at the amphitheatre. The concerts are scheduled for every week on Saturday at 7:30 pm. This Saturday is Oo La La and the Greasers and everyone is welcome.
Chris Schaefer shared that the residents from Inwood Drive expressed their concerns with the council committee and Stiney Vonderhaar and Carolyn Smiley-Robertson sat in as well. They have been following with a lot of interest the Wal-Mart proposal as it makes its way through Planning Commission and this is what was discussed.
Gary Goosman gave a report on Gorman Heritage Farm. They had 42 different school groups come to the farm over the three months of the spring season with approximately 1200 children from second to fourth grade with three specific curriculum that meet state standards for academic competence.
Summer camps begin next week with all sessions full. There will be three session and each session is ten weeks. There are three hundred children signed up and will be involved in many activities including milking goats. We have three interns who are college students from out-of-town that will come in to work with summer camp until the end of August.
Summer’s Bounty will be a culinary festival and will take place on the first Saturday in August to celebrate all the produce on the farm. Students from Cincinnati Cooks, which is a culinary school for people coming off welfare, will prepare the produce that you pick in the fields for you to eat.
On July 2nd we will have an ice cream social. United Dairy Farmers will provide the ice cream for the event and kids will be able to churn their own ice cream that day the old fashioned way. July 2nd is also Evendale Employee Appreciation Day. Employees can pick up their passes from Jack Cameron. On average around 120 people attend the first Saturdays programs at the Gorman Farm (320 attended in May and 80 in June).
Linda Fitzgerald gave a report on economic development. The Cincinnati Garden Center has a fund of money that can be used by communities to beautify and improve public right of ways. They have allocated for Evendale $50,000. This fund was given by the Greater Cincinnati Foundation but it is administered by the Cincinnati Garden Center. Cindy Schrader who is the president of the Garden Center notified me of this a couple of days ago and wants us to put together a proposal and meet with their board. This, for example, could be used at the south end of Reading Road for the entry way to Evendale.
Mayor Apking stated that we have closed on both the Burr property at the south end of Reading Road and the Inwood Property that we purchased over the past few months.
Mayor Apking presented Ordinance #05-20, ORDINANCE ADOPTING SECTION 618.19 OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF THE VILLAGE OF EVENDALE PROHIBITING THE KEEPING OF DANGEROUS WILD ANIMALS. Mr. Puthoff made a motion to Table Ordinance #05-20 and Mrs. Hartman seconded the motion which was approved unanimously on roll call. Ordinance #05-20 was tabled.
Mayor Apking presented Ordinance #05-25, APPROVING ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS IN VARIOUS FUNDS AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. A motion to read Ordinance #05-25 by title only was made by Mr. Puthoff, seconded by Mrs. Smiley-Robertson and unanimously approved on roll call. A motion to suspend the second and third readings of Ordinance #05-25 was made by Mr. Albrinck, seconded by Mr. Vonderhaar and unanimously approved on roll call. A motion to adopt Ordinance #05-25 as an emergency was made by Mr. Puthoff, seconded by Mrs. Hartman and unanimously approved on roll call. Mayor Apking declared Ordinance #05-25 adopted as an emergency.
Mayor Apking presented Ordinance #05-26, ORDINANCE APPROVING A ZONE CHANGE FROM GENERAL INDUSTRIAL (GI) TO INDUSTRIAL TRUCK CENTER (ITC) FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 10975 MEDALLION DRIVE AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. Mrs. Smiley-Robertson raised a question concerning the tax base. A representative from Ohio Valley Beer and Wine clarified that no one pays on employee co-pay and premiums. Mrs. Smiley-Robertson said that council rezoned property near this property on Medallion Drive in May of last year and wanted to know what the zoning map looks like now. Mr. Schaefer stated that this zone change was recommended to council by a 4 to 1 vote, his being the negative vote. Mr. Schaefer expressed his concern with zone changes saying that when you change zoning you change it for use and not for the business that is going in. Mr.
Schaefer recommended that we look at things as a whole and not on an Ad Hoc basis. Mr. Schaefer also expressed a concern with over the road truck drivers and the fact that we collect no taxes from their income.
Mayor Apking stated that the empty Serta building has been a White Elephant and has brought no money in to the Village for two years now because it has been empty. Trucks from the Ohio Valley Beer and Wine Company will go in between 6:30-8:00 am and return between 3:00-6:00 pm. Mayor Apking said that you cannot collect earnings tax from over the road truck drivers by federal law.
Al Vonce from Ohio Valley Beer and Wine clarified some issues. He said that the company is a family owned business and is a wholesale company for beer and wine, bottle water and soda pop. They do not operate any over the road trucks. They only have local deliveries to six counties and all employees would be based in Evendale and subject to the tax base. They sell to restaurants, grocery stores, convenient stores and less than 1% is keg sales to the public and is the only transaction with the public. Their total revenues are approximately $40 million with 130 full time employees and payroll tax of about $5 million dollars. Evendale would receive $60,000 per year in payroll tax.
Mrs. Smiley-Robertson stated that how we are approaching zoning is her concern and it is not good planning to rezone parcel by parcel. Mrs. Hartman was concerned in changing the zoning for this use and that there is a reason for zoning and if we make exceptions frequently then the zoning means nothing. Mr. Albrinck stated that zoning cannot be set in stone and needs to be ever-evolving for the long-term viability of the Village, however, he agreed that the overall zoning plan has to be revisited. Mayor Apking stated that four of the five Planning Commission members voted for the change and it was recommended to council. Mayor Apking suggested that we grant this rezoning and if we need to make changes in zoning to look at an overall plan in the future. Mr. Vonderhaar stated that it is the purpose of the Planning Commission
to review zoning changes and make recommendations to council and that the Planning Commission recommended the change in zoning, and it is a good company and he is all for it.
Solicitor, Tim Burke, said that Ordinance #05-26 must be read in its entirety because the ordinance was not in front of council twenty-four hours ahead of time. Mayor Apking read Ordinance #05-26 in its entirety.
A motion to suspend the second and third readings of Ordinance #05-26 was made by Mr. Puthoff, seconded by Mr. Vonderhaar and Mrs. Smiley-Robertson, Mr. Puthoff, Mr. Vonderhaar, Mrs. Hartman and Mr. Albrinck voted yes; Mr. Schaefer voted no. A motion was made by Mr. Puthoff seconded by Mr. Vonderhaar to amend Ordinance #05-26 so that the Section numbers read “Section 1, Section 2 and Section 3” rather than “Section 1, Section 1, and Section 2” and was unanimously approved. A motion to adopt Ordinance #05-26 as an emergency was made by Mr. Vonderhaar, seconded by Mr. Albrinck and Mrs. Smiley-Robertson, Mr. Puthoff, Mr. Vonderhaar and Mr. Albrinck voted yes; Mr. Schaefer and Mrs. Hartman voted no. Since the emergency clause failed, Mr. Burke recommended that we remove the words “and
declaring an emergency” from the title of the ordinance and to strike Section 3, the emergency clause from the ordinance. A motion to adopt Ordinance #05-26 as amended was made by Mr. Vonderhaar, seconded by Mr. Albrinck and Mrs. Smiley-Robertson, Mr. Puthoff, Mr. Vonderhaar and Mr. Albrinck voted yes; Mr. Schaefer and Mrs. Hartman voted no. Mayor Apking declared Ordinance #05-26 adopted and that it would go into effect in thirty days.
Other Items included:
Mrs. Smiley-Robertson asked Mr. Schaefer to take back to Planning Commission to do a rezoning plan for the Village so we do not review them as a case by case basis. Mr. Schaefer said he would take back to them “why zone anything in the industrial area?” and that we should just do it on an ad hoc basis because no matter what we zone it if there is a company and wants to locate here then council will approve the zoning. Mayor Apking asked why have a Planning Commission or Zoning Board of Appeals and Sign Variance Committees where you go when there is a discrepancy. That is the purpose of having these committees and the committees recommend to Council their decision. Mr. Puthoff stated that Planning Commission recommended that we approve it. Mr. Schaefer’s concern was that if this company moves out council
has no control over who will go in there next if it is zoned Industrial Truck Center. There was extensive discussion on how to communicate Council’s wishes to look at the overall zoning of the Village to Planning Commission. It was determined that the issue would be addressed in the Finance-Rec-Admin-Fire Council Committee Meeting next month to draw up a Resolution to recommend to Planning Commission that the overall rezoning of the Village be addressed.
Mayor Apking stated that Don Mercer has recommended to him that we address rezoning. There was extensive discussion on the expense and work involved with revising the zoning code. Linda Fitzgerald stated the Planning Commission’s next meeting has a light agenda. Anchor would be considered between 4:00-6:00 next Thursday, June 16. She said Jim Guthrie also wants to address zoning issues. The Mayor and Jack will talk to Tim Burke on how much it would cost for his firm to do this.
Bill Puthoff, Jr. said that the signs have been installed at the Griffin Nature Preserve. They want to put trails there but there is not enough money in the budget to do it. The lower trail would cost $10,800 and the trail to the pond would be around $7,000 for a total of $17,800 with our service department doing the work.
Mr. Puthoff also stated that there have been illegal trucks going up Glendale-Milford Road. He noticed five trucks in the past two weeks and his neighbor said he saw six trucks in one night. Mayor Apking said he would advise the Police Department of this issue.
Mrs. Smiley-Robertson said we have had the Poggemeyer Report for over a year and it was recommended that it be reviewed every six months. She suggested that a special meeting be called to review the recommendations. It was determined that a special council meeting be held at 5:00 before the council committee meetings in August to address this. The Council Committee meetings will begin at 7:00 pm.
Catherine Hartman will be chairperson for the Town Meeting. Mayor Apking suggested that it be held after the election in November because of campaigning before the elections in November.
August 5th is the deadline to petition to run for council in November.
Catherine Hartman said she would like to see the trees replaced that died in the island in the parking lot between the Fire and Rec Departments. Mayor Apking said he would look at it with Mrs. Hartman.
Phil Schneider addressed council and asked them to consider how to define positive planning commission views to council and the public since the Council Rep, Mr. Schaefer, is bringing his negative views only. He would like to have heard the positive views of Planning Commission and why they recommended this rezoning on Medallion Drive to council. Mr. Schaefer stated that it is usually in the Planning Commission minutes. Mrs. Smiley-Robertson stated that she also spoke to members of Planning Commission to get their views beforehand.
There being no other business to come before Council, a motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Vonderhaar, seconded by Mr. Albrinck and unanimously approved on roll call. Council adjourned at 8:25 pm.
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Mayor
Attest:
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Village Clerk
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