Huber Heights City Council
In Council Chambers
6131 Taylorsville Road May 23, 2011
1. Mayor Ron Fisher called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
2. The Invocation was given by Pastor Randy Griffith of the Free Methodist Church located at 6875 Old Troy Pike, Huber Heights, Ohio.
3. Pledge Of Allegiance
4. Roll Call
Councilmembers present for this meeting were Mayor Ron Fisher, Jim Ellis, Karen Kaleps, Mark Campbell, Jan Vargo, David Wilson, and Tyler Starline. Roger Hensley and Judy Blankenship were not present. Mayor Fisher stated Council is all present and accounted for with the exception of Roger Hensley and Judy Blankenship. He then entertained a motion to excuse their absences.
Mrs. Vargo so moved; Mr. Starline seconded the motion. On a call of the vote, Mrs. Kaleps, Mr. Campbell, Mrs. Vargo, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Starline, and Mr. Ellis voted yea; none voted nay. The motion passes 6-0.
5. Approval of Minutes
The following Minutes were approved:
A. City CouncilRegular Session Meeting Minutes –May 9, 2011
6. Special Presentations/Announcements
A. Ohio EMS Star Of Life Award Presentation To Huber Heights Fire DivisionPersonnel - James Waters (FF), Nick Kuntz (FF/EMT-P), Mike Schuder (FF/EMT-P), Grant Kenworthy (FF/EMT-P), And Brian Koss (FF/EMT-P) - Fire Chief Mark Ashworth And Mayor Ron Fisher
Fire Chief Mark Ashworth stated each year the Ohio Department of EMS awards only ten departments in the State of Ohio the EMS Star of Life Award. In July of 2010, a person was severely injured in an automobile accident. James Waters (FF), Nick Kuntz (FF/EMT-P), Mike Schuder (FF/EMT-P), Grant Kenworthy (FF/EMT-P) and Brian Koss (FF/EMT-P) of the Huber Heights Fire Division were credited with saving her life. They were awarded the Ohio EMS Star of Life.
B. Adidas Warrior Soccer Classic Presented By Kettering Sports Medicine 25th Anniversary Proclamation And Presentation To Mrs. Carol Maas and Mr. Jim Paxton, Warrior Soccer - Mayor Ron Fisher
Mayor Fisher presented Carol Maas and Jim Paxton a proclamation to recognize the 25th anniversary of the Warrior Soccer Classic.
C. Groundwater Guardian Award Presentation To Mayor Ron Fisher - Mr. Russ Bergman, City Engineer
City Engineer Russ Bergman presented Mayor Fisher with the Groundwater Guardian Award for 16 years of groundwater protection in the City.
D. Greater Dayton RTA Update Presentation - Mr. Frank Ecklar, Director of Planning and Marketing, Greater Dayton RTA
Mr. Frank Ecklar, Director of Planning and Marketing, gave a brief update on the services offered by the Greater Dayton RTA.
7. Citizens Comments
Mr. Nelson Shultz, 6025 Tomberg Street, said he is resigning from the Citizens Water and Sewer Advisory Board after 13 years of service, and he enjoyed every minute of it.
Mr. Ralph Leffew, 4907 Chambersburg Road, spoke on carrying concealed weapons in bars which he said should not be permitted. He asked the good Lord to watch over the troops and all neighbors. He encouraged everyone to vote. He spoke on the empty boxes in local shopping centers.
Mayor Fisher added that the new City Manager will be starting next week and he does wonderful things with shopping centers and redevelopment.
8. Citizens Registered to Speak on Agenda Items
Ron Cattelan of 6967 Charlesgate Road, Anita Brock of the Huber Heights Chamber of Commerce, and Chip Huber of Huber Investments, were registered to speak on Agenda Item 11-C regarding the Huber Heights recreation and aquatic center.
9. City Manager Report
Interim City Manager Jim Borland wanted everyone to know that he appreciates all the support that was given to him. He said tonight is his last night sitting here as City Manager and everyone is looking forward to Gary Adams sitting up here. He appreciates all the support that Council has given him; and staff has been great.
Mayor Fisher said on behalf of all of Council, the City Council really appreciates the job he has done. He has done an excellent job for the City.
10. Pending Business
There was no Pending Business this evening.
11. New Business
CITY COUNCIL
A. A Motion To ApproveNew Liquor Permit #2320606 ForDAnd T AmusementsDBAGolden Cue And BrewAt6630 Brandt Pike,Huber Heights, Ohio 45424.
Mark Campbell, Chair of the Administration Committee, said the committee has reviewed this and recommends approval.
Mr. Campbell moved to approve; Mrs. Kaleps seconded the motion. On a call of the vote, Mrs. Kaleps, Mr. Campbell, Mrs. Vargo, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Starline, and Mr. Ellis voted yea; none voted nay. The motion passes 6-0.
B. An Ordinance Amending Certain Sections Of Part One, Administrative Code, Of The Huber Heights Codified Ordinances Being Sections 101.02(E), (K), And (R); Section 101.99; Section 109.02; 131.02; 131.04; And Chapter 199.
Clerk of Council Tony Rodgers stated the Ordinance Review Commission and Council committees have recommended these changes and updates to the Huber Heights codified ordinances. He asked that this be approved this evening.
Mrs. Kaleps, Chair of the Public Works Committee, said the Council committees did review these changes and recommends approval.
Mrs. Kaleps moved to waive the second and third readings; Mr. Campbell seconded the motion. On a call of the vote, Mr. Campbell, Mrs. Vargo, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Starline, Mr. Ellis, and Mrs. Kaleps voted yea; none voted nay. The motion passes 6-0.
Mrs. Kaleps moved for adoption; Mr. Starline seconded the motion. On a call of the vote, Mrs. Vargo, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Starline, Mr. Ellis, Mrs. Kaleps, and Mr. Campbell voted yea; none voted nay. The motion passes 6-0.
C. A Public Hearing Scheduled For May 23, 2011 By The Huber Heights City Council For Zoning Case 11-01. The Applicant Is The City Of Huber Heights. The Applicant Is Requesting Approval Of A Major Change To The Basic Development Plan And Detailed Development Plan To Amend ZC 399 To Construct The Huber Heights Recreation And Activity Center At The Northwest Corner Of Brandt Pike And Shull Road (8625 Brandt Pike).
Mayor Fisher opened the public hearing and asked Planning and Zoning Director Jonathan Mendel to present the case to Council.
Jonathan Mendel explained the outcome of the Planning Commission meeting on what was proposed as the Basic Development Plan and the Detailed Development Plan for the Huber Heights Recreation and Activity Center. The applicant is requesting approval of a major change to the Basic Development Plan to amend Zoning Case 399 to construct the Recreation and Activity Center at the northwest corner of Brandt Pike and Shull Road (Zoning Case 11-01). The Planning Commission approved the Basic Development Plan with some modifications. The modifications included the pedestrian access from Charlesgate Road will be removed; the western access road is not approved at this time, and a fully actuated signal will be placed at Grusenmeyer Way and Brandt Pike.
Steve Stanley, Director of the Transportation Improvement District (TID) explained the TID is a special purpose local government entity to help assist communities in Montgomery County expedite transportation priorities and other economic development related infrastructure. He said the Recreation and Activity Center would be eligible for TIF dollars to be invested. The TID was asked by Council to assist in the expediting of this project to move it forward. He said they are a partner in a three-party agreement that involves the City, the TID, and 201 Corridor Management, which is a company owned by DEC (which is developing Carriage Trails). This is on a very fast track to get this opened by next summer. Pat Hoagland, from Brandstetter Carroll, was present. They did a feasibility study to determine if a recreation complex would be feasible. TID’s role is to be the expediter of the project. Ken Conaway, with 201 Corridor Management, will serve as the Project Manager in moving the planning, construction, and design project forward. Mr. Stanley recommended to Council that they adopt the Planning Commission’s recommendations in this case.
Mr. Pat Hoagland then discussed Phase I of the project which is the aquatic center.
Mayor Fisher then asked if there are any citizens present to speak in favor of the approval of this issue.
Mr. Ron Cattelan, 6967 Charlesgate Road, spoke about the main entrance with one lane in and one lane out with 1300 cars traveling that per day and the
parking capacity is only 291. There will be a lot of overflow. He hopes in the future, the City does not try to open up Charlesgate Road to the center. His concerns were about the traffic, the noise, the lighting, and the cost of the operation.
Mr. Ellis asked Steve Stanley, for the record, to explain TIF financing.
Mr. Stanley said Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is something that communities and local governments across Ohio, under various sections of the Ohio Revised Code, are permitted to undertake. In essence, what the Council has done is pass legislation identifying a number of parcels in the City along Interstate 70 and around there as being in the TIF district. That legislation has frozen the pre-improvement value of those parcels at the point that Council enacted the legislation in 2003. Improvements to those properties that subsequently occur under ordinary circumstances would of course raise their valuation for the purposes of property tax. However, the TIF district has frozen the valuation for the purpose of property tax collection on those particular parcels for the improvements that have occurred or that will occur in the future on those parcels. This is different than a tax abatement where the property owner does not pay any taxes on improvements. In the case of tax increment financing, the owners of the property make payments to the City in lieu of taxes. Those dollars paid to the City in lieu of taxes are available to the City to use to pay for and finance capital improvements that are beneficial to those properties in the City. So, in this particular case, when the City began the process in 2002 of identifying how it would locally finance a share of improving the two interchanges on Interstate 70 at 201 and 202, the City identified this large parcel that would benefit from that. The City has a certain amount of debt service responsibility for funds that it has already borrowed as its share of those two interchange projects. The City asked the TID to identify how much more capacity from the existing parcels that have been developed under the authority of that original TIF legislation and how much additional revenue would be generated beyond the amount needed for the two interchanges being financed. TID identified a revenue stream that is currently being collected for those parcels and available to the City today and into the future under the terms of that legislation – roughly enough to finance about $6 million worth of capital improvements in a reasonable range of today’s rates. The idea is to capture the additional revenue that would ordinarily be subject to be captured as property tax – only the City collects it as payments in lieu of taxes. Those are real dollars available to the City today that cannot be used for example to pay for firemen, police, and other operating expenses of the City. They are only available for capital improvements for public infrastructure and other types of capital improvements that would be beneficial to those properties.
Mr. Ellis added the City is actually bonding that amount and there is legislation on the agenda tonight that would authorize that. He also said that pursuant to an agreement the City has with Huber Heights City Schools as part of the TIF financing - the schools will still get their share still. He said the City also has a lot of parcels that are yet to be improved and as they are improved, that money will then also be added.
Mr. Stanley clarified that the residential improvement TIF district that the City created in Miami County is not being planned to be used to retire any of the debt service for this improvement.
Anita Brock, of the Huber Heights Chamber of Commerce, thanked City Council and the committees who brought forth the aquatic center project. She said that with ideas and visions such as this, the City will continue to move forward. Huber Heights and its residents deserve everything that every other city offers around Huber Heights. The residents deserve to have an aquatic center.
Chip Huber, 5550 Huber Road, said a berm is very good for stopping noise. It has to be as high as the noise being created. He recommends a solid fence. The other problem is all the people coming to the waterpark from the nearby plat will cut through the cul-de-sac if there is no fence there. Another concern was the projections. He said in reviewing the numbers, the actual Tipp City projection was 399 people and not 698 people. He said the City has to be prepared for a deficit.
Mayor Fisher then asked if anyone else would like to speak in favor of the issue. Seeing none, Mayor Fisher then asked if there was anyone to speak against the approval of this.
Mr. Tom Wood, 8658 Deer Bend, read a letter regarding the negative impact parks have on property values such as street parking; litter; vandalism which may accompany an influx of people coming into the neighborhood; the noise; and headlights intruding into adjacent residents; and poorly maintained derelict facilities where undesirable groups congregate and engage in immoral activities.
Bob MacConnell, 6994 Salon Circle, had several concerns most of them dealing with the wetlands just north of the park. He is afraid they are going to destroy it. He also mentioned the liability insurance the City will be buying will be astronomical due to drownings and injuries. He is also concerned with lower property values.