President of Council Marjorie Harlow called Council to order on
November 16, 2011 , at 7:00 p.m.
The governmental body and those in attendance recited the pledge of
allegiance. Mrs. McNear gave the invocation. Mr. Vanover asked for a moment of silence for
Fireman Joe Lehns wife who/ passed away.
Mrs. McNear took roll call. Present were Council members Diehl,
Emerson, Galster, Hawkins, Squires, Vanover and Harlow.
The minutes of November 2, 2011 were approved with seven affirmative
votes.
COMMITTEE AND OFFICIAL REPORTS
Civil Service Commission - Mr. Thamann said the test date for the
firefighters examination will be December 3rd and the test date for patrol officer
will be in early January.
Mayor Webster said we will be down five firefighters as we got two more
resignations this week. Thats why we need to put this on the fast track.
Rules and Laws - no
report
Finance Committee - no report
Planning Commission - Mr. Galster said they met November 8 and the report will be at an
upcoming meeting.
Board of Zoning Appeals Mr. Hawkins reported the owner at 501 Lafayette applied for
a variance to allow him to expand the garage 10 feet by 24 feet. That was granted 5-2.
Board of Health Mr. Squires said the City was awarded a Gold Award as a Healthy
Community for promoting good health. Springdale was one of nine Ohio communities given an
award. The total flu vaccinations given to date by the Health Department are 138. Nurse
Jean will start another Diabetes Disease Management Workshop in January 2012.
O-K-I Mrs. McNear said they are waiting on confirmation on how much money will be
received from the federal government for projects for the upcoming year.
Mayors Report Mayor Webster said Springdale Offering Support met today and
they are in desperate need of sponsor families. If anyone would like to sponsor a family
or child please give us a call or you can make a cash donation. The line to call would be
346-5725. We are not doing Food for Fines at the Police Department but we are collecting
canned goods for the needy. Those can be dropped off at the Police Department or here at
the Municipal Building. Those will be distributed as part of our Christmas program.
Mayor Webster said Id like to thank the almost seventy percent of the people who
approved the gas and electric aggregates. Hopefully we can all save some money. Were
hoping to have this in place by next spring. The thirty percent who didnt vote for
it can still sign up and save money. Id like to announce that December 1 will be the
swearing in of elected officials. Judge Melba Marsh will do the honors. Dinner will be at
Pappadeaux after the meeting.
Clerk of Council/Finance Director Mrs. McNear said since we are heading to the end
of the year I want to give you an update on earnings. We have a budget of $11.3 million.
As of the second week of November we are at $12,098,000. Thats $792,000 over our
anticipated revenues which are better than expected. There will be a more detailed report
when the quarter is over.
Administrators Report Mr. Parham stated as the Mayor said, the aggregate
programs did pass. The next process is to schedule two public hearings to present our
operational plan to the general public. Once we put the program in place, if you are a
current subscriber of Duke Energy, then you will automatically be included in the City of
Springdales process. If you have taken yourself away from Duke Energy, you will not
automatically be included because you have made your choice to realized better savings.
The City will receive a list of those residents who are in the program at some point from
Duke Energy. In the interim, we have to put together a plan to describe to the residents
that they are automatically in the program as well as to outline to them that they have
the ability to opt out of the program. The plan is to provide the procedures on how to opt
out. We are going out with Eagle Energy, our consultant, and try to find the best possible
rate that we can for the residents. The City is already involved in the program with
Direct Energy. Direct Energy only provides energy for commercial, not residential. The
plan will put forth what your options are and what your opportunities are. If you find
there is a better plan that serves you, Id advise you to engage in that program, but
we are going to try the best we can to find the lowest possible rate in the market for the
residents.
Mr. Vanover said we are enrolled in the Duke plan and we got letters today. We have until
the fifteenth to opt out.
Mayor Webster said I also got a letter today and if you do nothing you automatically get
renewed with Duke Retail. By the fifteenth you have to tell Duke Retail that you do not
want to continue. If you dont, you automatically renew which was a shock to me.
Mrs. Harlow said I read the fine print. It stated if you did renew and then you wanted to
change your provider while you were locked into their contract, there were penalties
involved.
Mayor Webster said if you get that letter from Duke, dont throw it away. If you want
to be part of the Citys program you need to notify Duke that you want out of the
Duke Retail program. What happens to us, Mr. Parham? How do we get into this program?
Mr. Parham replied thats pretty interesting because I was contacted a month ago by a
resident who indicated he wanted to know what he should do about his energy choices. He
indicated he had received notification from Duke Retail that they had offered him the
opportunity to renew for an additional twelve months. Ive always understood that the
only one of those three alternative suppliers that provided a penalty if you left their
program in advance was Duke Retail. My understanding was the Duke Energy rates will expire
December 31 and I dont think any of the alternatives went past December 31, 2011 so
you automatically fall back into Duke Energys program unless you take some action to
enter into a new agreement with Duke Retail. Now they are saying if you do nothing you
stay with them. The earlier correspondence they sent out was giving you a chance to renew
with them for another twelve months but there are always penalties if you exit their
program prior to your contract expiration.
Mayor Webster said I have the letter in my office.
Mrs. Emerson said Mr. Parham, I just wanted to ask you to clarify once again that
Springdale is not receiving any money on this. I had residents approach me thinking we
were making money on this and that is not true, correct?
Mr. Parham responded no the City is not receiving anything. About June 2010, the City
entered into a cooperative with a group of eight other communities. As part of that
program the broker, Good Energy, went out to the market and found Direct Energy. Because
of Direct Energy the City facilities were able to save about forty percent. Our buildings
are already taken care of. This is an opportunity for the residents as well as small
businesses. There is a definition of what constitutes a small business. I recommend
everyone go to Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) and determine whether you
qualify as a small business or not. This is simply putting the program in place so that we
can find an opportunity to assist the residents with lowering their rates.
Mayor Webster said there is no fine print on my letter. It says Thank you for being
a Duke Energy Retail customer. The purpose of this letter is to inform you that the
initial term of your contract is ending. In January your account will automatically renew
for twelve months at the new rate of 6.85 cents per kilowatt hour. No other terms of your
contract will change. If you wish to terminate your electric supply from Duke Energy
Retail please call 800 . . . You have until December 15, 2011 to provide notification that
you wish to cancel.
Mrs. Harlow stated I tried for two days last week to call that number and I could not get
through, and thats a concern.
Mr. Parham said our next two meetings are December 7 and December 21 so it will probably
be March or April 2012 before we can have the program in place. I was trying to think of a
way to expedite the process. The law does not require that the public hearings are held
before the legislative body; however, in reviewing the Citys legislation it says
Council will hold a public hearing. I talked with Mr. Forbes to see whether or not Council
has the ability to allow the Administration and consultant to host the hearings. Then
perhaps we could schedule them earlier and speed the process up. If not, we can clearly go
to December 7 and 21.
Mrs. Harlow asked if we did speed the process up, would we have a meeting outside of
Council and then the second public hearing at a Council meeting?
Mr. Parham replied no, you set a date that you can move them along.
Mrs. Harlow asked why couldnt you do one as a residential public hearing and
then do the other one in conjunction with a regular Council meeting?
Mr. Parham replied if you do one on the 7th, then two weeks later you will be at December
21. To get the other one before then, the consultant is back in town on Monday so getting
notice out to the residents with the date will be almost at the 7th.
Mrs. Harlow asked what date did you want to schedule the hearing?
Mr. Parham responded I did not put a date down. I just talked to Mr. Forbes a second ago.
We could possibly try to schedule for November 30. Thats two weeks from today or we
could try to schedule it a couple of days before that. It looks like we would be buying
ourselves a week or so.
Mrs. Harlow stated it does help people with their utility bills so Id like to get
that working for our residents as soon as we could.
Mayor Webster said I propose that we do it on Council nights. Those are already in place.
People know about the meetings. We can announce it beforehand. The press gets a press
packet of whats on the agenda. I think we are going to go through a lot of thrashing
trying to get people notified. Then somebody wont get notified of a special public
hearing and I just dont think we are going to save that much. What are we going to
get, a month earlier?
Council agreed to do it at the regular Council meetings.
Mr. Parham said we will take care of the advertising. Unlike the public hearings for
zoning changes, this doesnt require thirty days notice.
Mr. Parham said this year for the first time, the City permitted employees to carry
over ten days of their vacation accrued from the previous year as part of our 2010 cost
containment measures. The purpose of that is prior to 2010, in an effort to try to reduce
our expenses, we allowed employees to receive up to ten days of compensation for vacation
days. We decided in order to cut expenses, employees had to use those days. So in 2010, we
allowed the employees to carry those days over into 2011, but they had to use them prior
to the end of March. Adding those ten days on along with the amount of years of
service that employees have, it cramps some of the employees opportunities when
trying to squeeze those days into their schedule. Also with the reduction of staff in some
departments, allowing individuals off became a challenge. Employees were able to get some
of their vacation bank down but not all, so we are proposing to allow them to carry days
over one more time. This time we are proposing five days, not the ten days. There is one
employee who is scheduled to receive a full week of vacation in the month of December and
already has time on the books. That will make it very difficult for her to be able to use
her earned time.
Mr. Parham said the other proposal for legislation is a volunteer furlough program of up
to fifteen days. In 2011, to date we have had approximately 220 hours of furlough time
used by ten employees. Some have asked if we are going to have it available next year.
They would like to take advantage of the program. In 2010, we only had 158 hours but we
did have the mandatory furlough days that year. In 2009, there were 660 hours of furlough
time taken. About fifteen employs took advantage of those opportunities. If Council is in
agreement, we would like to have an additional year of voluntary furlough time for
employees.
Mr. Parham said Mrs. Harlow asked if I would give an update on the Smart Grid Meter
Replacement Program with Duke Energy. Duke has indicated that they have completed
the tree trimming portion of the project throughout the City. In addition, ninety-nine
percent or 578 of the 579 nodes have been installed in Springdale. They were originally
planning to begin with the meter installation during the first week of November. However,
they have been set back because of assisting the Northeast in dealing with Hurricane Irene
as well as their large snowstorm of a few weeks ago. They have pushed their schedule back
and will probably begin the first week of January. Finally, Duke has indicated that they
have not sent out any postcards or other communications to residents to notify them that
they will be coming through. As they get closer to their date to begin the meter
replacements, they have indicated that they will get back with me to keep me up to speed.
Mr. Thamann said the collective bargaining agreement between the City and our patrol
officers allows for a wage re-opener for 2012. The officers have notified the City that
they want to negotiate a wage opener for 2012 and the Administration has met with the
patrol officers to try to come to some agreement. After we met with them, the union has
requested an extension for the fact finding report to be signed, which I understand in the
past has taken Council action by a floor vote. This extension will allow additional time
to negotiate beyond December and would also include language that if a conciliator makes
an award to the union, it could include language that a wage increase could be retroactive
to January 1. The Administrations recommendation is that Council considers the
extension and enters into an agreement. In talking with Mr. Parham, I understand this has
been done in the past but no legislation has been required.
Mrs. Harlow asked Council to vote for an extension of the police unions contract to
go into 2012 by voice vote.
Mr. Diehl asked what happens if we vote no?
Mr. Thamann replied if Council votes no, the union is in a position where they will
initiate the fact finding. It will take place before the end of November. They have to
have fact finding this year.
Mayor Webster stated a yes vote would give us the ability to negotiate and head off any
fact finding or arbitration. Either way they will probably try to negotiate a raise
effective January 1. If they dont get it through negotiations they will probably try
to get it through arbitration and fact finding.
Mr. Thamann stated this agreement has no impact on the 2011 wages whatsoever.
By a 7 0 vote, Council agreed to allow the extension.
Law Directors Report -
no report
Engineers Report Mr. Shvegzda reported that the pre-construction meeting for
the Beaver Run Creek Riparian Restoration project had been held on November 11. It is
anticipated that construction will begin towards the end of this month.
In addition, we are currently working with the Police Department and the Vineyard in
regards to formalizing a maintenance of traffic plan for the construction project
scheduled for Century Circle.
COMMUNICATIONS
Mrs. McNear read a letter from Reverend Brian McManis, 8195 Becket
Road, West Chester 45069 who is with the Tri-County Baptist Church. He sent the letter to
Council members. The Church is celebrating their 50th anniversary on November 20 and they
have asked that the elected officials be part of their ceremony as honored guests. If you
need additional information and did not receive this at your office, Ill be happy to
provide a copy. The event will be November 20 at 8 a.m. in the main sanctuary.
Mrs. McNear read a letter from Daniel Mastrullo, 518 Lafayette Avenue,
Honorable Doyle H. Webster, I had to take the time and share my appreciation for the
Veterans Day Ceremony at our beautiful Springdale Veterans Memorial. We must
never forget the memory of all who proudly served and protected our country. I trust
Springdale will never forget. I also salute the City of Springdale for the maintenance to
keep our memorial one of the best. Sincerely yours
COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE - none
ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS
ORDINANCE NO. 44 -2011
AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND CLERK OF COUNCIL/FINANCE DIRECTOR TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH
DONALD W. WHITE TO SERVE AS MAYORS COURT MAGISTRATE FOR THE CITY OF SPRINGDALE,
OHIO, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Mr. Vanover made a motion to adopt and Mr. Squires seconded.
Mayor Webster said all three of these ordinances deal with Mayors Court. They are
for the magistrate, public defender and prosecutor. All three have agreed to continue at
the current rate of compensation. Its a very professional, well run court. I
recommend approval of all three ordinances.
Ordinance 44-2011 passed with seven affirmative votes.
ORDINANCE NO. 45-2011
AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND CLERK OF COUNCIL/FINANCE DIRECTOR TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH
JONATHAN SMITH FOR PUBLIC DEFENDER SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF SPRINGDALE, OHIO, AND
DECLARING AN EMERGENCY
Mr. Vanover made a motion to adopt and Mr. Squires seconded.
Ordinance 45-2011 passed with seven affirmative votes.
ORDINANCE NO. 46-2011
AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR AND CLERK OF COUNCIL/FINANCE DIRECTOR TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH
MARK E. PIEPMEIER FOR PROSECUTING SERVICES FOR THE CITY OF SPRINGDALE, OHIO, AND DECLARING
AN EMERGENCY
Mr. Vanover made a motion to adopt and Mrs. Emerson seconded.
Ordinance 46-2011 passed with seven affirmative votes.
OLD BUSINESS - none
NEW BUSINESS - none
MEETINGS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Turkey Shoot and Turkey Bowl at the Community Center
- Nov 19
Tree Lighting ceremony
-
Nov 27
Board of Health
-
Dec 8
Board of Zoning Appeals
-
Dec 20
COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE -
none
UPDATE ON LEGISLATION STILL IN DEVELOPMENT
Adopting final appropriation and transfer ordinance
- Dec 21
Temporary appropriation
-
Dec 21
Budget presentation
-
Dec 21
RECAP OF LEGISLATIVE ITEMS REQUESTED
Vacation days carry over
-
Dec 7
Furlough days for 2012
-
Dec 7
Public hearing for gas and electric aggregates -
Dec 7
Council adjourned at 7:46 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Kathy
McNear
Clerk
of Council/Finance Director
Minutes Approved:
Marjorie Harlow, President of Council
__________________________, 2011