President of Council
The governmental body and those in
attendance recited the pledge of allegiance.
Mr. Knox took roll call. Present were Council members
The minutes of
COMMUNICATIONS
Mr. Knox stated we have four communications:
Letter to Mayor Webster: “Although not a
Letter to Council: “We are not able to be in attendance tonight
but we want to let you know that we do not want the noise walls constructed
along I-275. The walls would reduce the
noise only four decibels for the homes near the wall, but increase the sound
for the homes further away.
Additionally, the walls trap pollutants from the traffic on days when
the air is not moving causing increased
Portions of letter to Mr.
Vanover: “I noticed in the minutes of the
Springdale City Council meeting minutes from July 21st that Time
Warner has told you “effectively July 1st, 2004 we will be making
cable cards available to those consumers who have a compatible digital
television set or other device that complies with the FCC’s rules on plug and
play. Under the FCC rules we have
prepared the attached form 1205 for your information. This form establishes the maximum permitted
rate for the cable card for $2.02. At
this time we plan to charge $1.75 for the cable cards.” I have contacted Time Warner several times and
each time I’ve been told a different story, all of which results in me not
being able to get a cable card for my new TV that is equipped for the cable
card. They say they are testing them or
something which really makes no sense considering that other Time Warner
branches in
Mr. Knox said since we have no
jurisdiction in this area we will request the person to contact ICRC who is our
advocate in mattes of this sort. I would
let the rest of the people know if you have any problems of this sort, please
contact ICRC. They are experts in the
area and can be helpful from the very beginning.
Letter to Mr. Osborn from Time
Warner Cable: “The Federal Communication
Commissions Regulations for Cable Equipment Installation Rates permit us to
adjust rates annually based on calculations set by the FCC Form 1205. Accordingly, we will be adjusting these rates
effective
COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE - none
SWEARING IN OF POLICE OFFICERS
Mayor Webster swore in Police
Officers Benjamin Shulemeyer, James Beckman and Melissa Abel.
Chief Laage said Ben and Melissa are
currently attending the
Chief Laage said Kay Divis was
planning to retire in January. We had
one clerk resign and that put us in a bind.
Kay approached us and said she would postpone her retirement until we
get out of the bind. She is a dedicated employee.
Chief Laage stated we are having a
neighborhood safety day with the Fire Department at Ross Park this Saturday.
NOISE BARRIERS FOR I-275
Walter Wyder, 839 Summerfield, said
my property is not right on I-275 but I can see it clearly. This would be the third time I am rejecting
the sound barrier walls. I don’t think
it will cut the noise down.
Brett Marlar,
Mr. Jindal, ODOT, stated we have
done noise analysis and have found that the walls are effective. Two or three years ago we had a tornado in
this area and people called and said the noise walls saved their lives. We are here, not selling the walls, but
according to federal rules and regulations, whenever we are adding a lane or
building a new highway we are supposed to consider barriers. In
Mrs. Maymir,
Mr. Jindal said we are supposed to
consider noise walls if we build a highway but in
The resident said they were really
concerned about the citizens who lived close by and that our voices should
count. You didn’t send it to the entire
city because we are the ones who are affected by this. If they eliminate the truck ban and make the
trucks start going on I-275 again, the noise level is going to go up more than
five decibels.
Mr.
Mr.
Jindal replied we send 590 sent and 162 responded.
Mr.
Danbury said no one wants to lets residents suffer, but the big question is, I
don’t think you would see that big of a difference if they put the walls
in. People in
Mr.
Osborn stated one of the alternatives is the installation of vegetation. Mr. Jindal mentioned a certain percentage who
voted in favor of that.
Mrs.
McNear said the change in decibels was so insignificant I couldn’t image why we
would spend that amount of money for that little difference. In some cases it was only four decibels.
Ms.
Pollitt said people have told me that it doesn’t work that well. There is great disparity in repair of the
walls.
Mrs.
McNear said a grassy berm was not an option ten years ago and it is today. I would love to see more vegetation.
Mr.
Knox asked what is the high figure for decibel lowering?
Mr.
Clark from ODOT replied our model predicted an average of 8.4 reduction in
decibels. A ten decibel reduction is
considered halving. One section was the
least effective and might have been at 4 decibels. The houses near the corridor receive
substantial reduction.
Mr.
Knox asked do the walls make the sound disappear?
Mr.
Alexander, ODOT, responded it will not make the noise disappear. It will reduce the noise level for those
people who live closest to the barrier. I
think it’s important to understand how decibels work. If you increase by ten decibels you have
doubled it. A ten decibel decrease
would halve the noise. It is a
substantial decrease. The barriers are
treated with a noise absorbent material.
They absorb 78% of the noise that hits that barrier. The barriers installed on I-71 in the past
were deflective barriers.
Mr.
Knox asked were any studies done 300-500 yards from I-275 to see what happens
to the noise at that level?
Mr.
Alexander replied not at that level. We
have done studies at 600-800 feet. There
was a slight increase.
Mr.
Knox stated, so we don’t know what the affect will be on people who did not get
to vote.
Mr.
Alexander agreed with that statement.
Mr.
Galster said my understanding is that the walls cannot be repaired, only
replaced because of the sound absorbing material. Can graffiti be painted over?
Mr.
Alexander said there is an approved coating that is designed to go on that
barrier. It would be ODOT’s
responsibility.
Mr.
Galster is there a maintenance program?
Mr. Alexander replied there is no established program. We have done rehab in different parts of the
State.
Mr.
Galster asked how long a response for graffiti removal?
Mr.
Jindal replied that is taken care of immediately. Mr. Jindal stated I want to point out that
vegetation does not make much difference.
It gives a psychological impact but does not make much difference in
noise.
Mrs.
McNear asked what is the cost comparison to putting vegetation in instead of
the walls?
Mr.
Jindal replied it requires a lot of land to make a difference.
Ms.
Pollitt stated I agree that this affects all of the residents, not just those
within 500 feet. Did you say the
Ms.
Pollitt stated that does cause the neighbors a great deal of problems. Why wouldn’t you go back and correct that
before you put more walls up?
Mr.
Alexander replied we have to handle each situation as it comes up. That could possibly be brought up later. ODOT is not here mandating the walls. We are offering it as a requirement of
federal law.
Fred
Mymir,
Mrs.
McNear stated it has not been done. It
will be discussed later this evening.
Mr.
Maymir said you are talking about the difference in decibels. Saying four decibels is not important is like
saying four inches of water is not important.
It would matter to someone standing in water, four inches away from
drowning.
Fran
Sharroch,
Mr.
Alexander replied I don’t know. There
has only been one study back in the 1970’s in
Ms.
Sharroch said trees will just die from the pollution. Are we going to keep planting trees? Anything that helps with noise pollution or air
pollution is a good thing. I don’t think
we should take this wall lightly.
In
response to Mr. Galster’s questions, Mr. Jindal said $3 million has been
budgeted for three miles of walls and $118,000 a mile for decoration
purposes. Mr. Jindal said we will make
every effort to save existing vegetation.
Vegetation and trees do not stop noise.
Mr.
Vanover asked what is the lifetime on the absorbent coating and what affect
does it have on wildlife?
Mr.
Alexander replied the life expectancy is twenty to thirty years and there is no
debilitating effect on wildlife.
Mr.
Danbury said some of the people who want the walls may move within a year. We have to do what is best for the City.
Mr.
Wilson stated if it doesn’t work and people who live 1,000 feet away are
affected, you won’t take the walls down.
Mr.
Alexander said seventy to eighty percent of the noise directed to the wall is
absorbed by the wall. There is less
noise deflected over he wall.
Ron
Pitman,
Mayor
Webster said thanks to the people from ODOT.
I don’t think we should make a decision based on money or
deflection. If this money is not spent
here it will be spent somewhere else. The deflection of noise is not a problem. We don’t have enough land for vegetation to
make a difference in noise. The air
pollution is not going to change. It
really boils down to do we want those walls to benefit a few people? My heart goes out to the people who are
living next to the interstate but do we want the canyon affect to benefit a
few. The walls in some areas will be
right next to the emergency lane.
Mr.
Danbury said if the walls are ugly, will the residents still receive more
peace. From my understanding, you still
won’t be able to go out in your yard and enjoy a nice peaceful conversation
with these up there. It doesn’t appear
that the quality of life will improve that much.
Mr.
Knox said we hold you gentlemen in the highest regard because you have a very
difficult job. You try to explain
things. You are not trying to proselytize,
but as you notice, we do ask a lot of questions.
Mr.
Squires made a motion to move Resolution R25-2004 up on the agenda and Mr.
Danbury seconded. The motion passed with
seven affirmative votes.
RESOLUTION R25-2004 “RESOLUTION OPPOSING ODOT PROPOSAL TO CONSTRUCT NOISE
BARRIERS ON I-275 WITHIN THE CITY OF
Ms. Pollitt made a motion to approve and Mr. Squires
seconded.
Mr. Galster said there is no provision to
provide vegetation.
Mr. Danbury made a motion to include
vegetation and Mr. Squires seconded.
Mr. Schneider stated that Section 2 should read, “That the Council of the City of
The motion passed with seven affirmative votes.
Resolution R25-2004 passed with seven affirmative votes.
ORDINANCE NO. 46-2004
“ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE ISSUANCE OF $1,600,000 OF NOTES
BY THE CITY OF SPRINGDALE, OHIO, IN ANTICIPATION OF THE ISSUANCE OF BONDS FOR
STREET RELATED IMPROVEMENTS, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY”
Mr. Galster made a
motion to read by title only and Mr. Danbury seconded. The motion passed with seven affirmative
votes.
Mr. Knox said we are
actually only going to be borrowing $1,500,000.
If this does pass this evening we will get a rate of 1.87%.
Mr. Squires made a
motion to adopt and Mr. Wilson seconded.
Mayor Webster stated
we are borrowing this money with intent of paying it back in full by the next
budget. We had some streets in dire need
of being reconstructed. It was decided
to fix the streets now rather than wait until the money is in the coffers. Inflation would have driven the cost up by
more than 1.87%.
Ordinance 46-2004
passed with seven affirmative votes.
ORDINANCE
NO. 47-2004 “AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND CLERK OF
COUNCIL/FINANCE DIRECTOR TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH CREATIVE MICROSYSTEMS,
INC. FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES REQUIRED IN CONNECTION WITH THE PURCHASE AND
INSTALLATION OF THE COMPUTER SYSTEM SERVER FOR THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT AND
DECLARING AN EMERGENCY”
Mr.
Danbury made a motion to read by title only and Mr. Vanover seconded. The motion passed with six affirmative
votes. Mrs. McNear voted no.
Mr.
Vanover made a motion to adopt and Mr. Danbury seconded.
Mr.
Osborn said the equipment we want to replace is ten years old. This is the core of our business operation
and a failure here could be very difficult for us. We are keeping the same software and we
encourage Council to approve this ordinance.
Mr.
Knox said Mr. Williams and Mr. Osborn have done a lot of work on this. This will not occur immediately. We hope to have it in place and running in
January.
Ordinance
47-2004 passed with seven affirmative votes.
OLD BUSINESS
Mr. Danbury said with all the new
road construction we are doing on Cloverdale, Harmony and Smiley, I notice that
they are starting to put more houses in there.
At one time a resident had a house built right across from her as soon
as we paved it and they had to dig it up.
I was wondering if we could talk to the builders before they build the
houses.
Mr. Osborn responded we can do that
but it’s a big subdivision and if we ask a developer when are you going to
build on that property, he will answer when he sells it. A better way might be to approach the people
who are holding the property that is actively on the market and ask them if
they have any sales pending.
Mr. Osborn reported we have gone
through a big search effort for a new Economic Director and Assistant to the
City Administrator. We had one of the
best fields of potential candidates that I can ever remember. We
picked
Mrs. McNear said I have had
complaints from a couple of school bus drivers that they are having trouble
getting through the construction area in the Cloverdale area.
NEW BUSINESS
Mayor Webster requested three
ordinances for the next meeting to renew contracts with the magistrate Terry
Gaines, prosecutor John Flessa, and for a public defender. Patrick Garry has been performing that
service at $125 a case. I have had some
discussions with an individual and I think we will get everything worked
out. We will be paying him $150 a
case.
Mr. Osborn stated the Police
Department annually has a good collection of bicycles through recovery of stolen
bicycles that are not picked up by their owners or lost bicycles that are not
reclaimed. We hold these bicycles for a
minimum of ninety days. We do a check
and double check to see if they are on a list of reported stolen bicycles. If they are not, in the past we have
auctioned these bicycles off. We are
presently holding twenty-eight bicycles.
Chief Laage has made a proposal that we donate the bicycles to a
charitable organization that repairs those bicycles and distributes them to
needy children. The
MEETINGS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Planning Commission - October 12
Board of Health - October 14
Board of Zoning Appeals - October 19
COMMUNICATIONS
FROM THE AUDIENCE - none
UPDATE
ON LEGISLATION STILL IN DEVELOPMENT - none
RECAP
OF LEGISLATIVE ITEMS REQUESTED
Magistrate,
Prosecutor, Public Defender ordinances - October 20
Donation
of bicycles - October 20
Council
adjourned at p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Edward F. Knox
Clerk
of Council/Finance Director
Minutes Approved:
Kathy McNear,
President of Council
__________________________,
2004