Invocation was given by: Sister Joan Rader, PO followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Approval of Minutes – August 11, 2008
Carey so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

Workshop

a. Discussion of a Waste Collection Study by GT Environmental
City Manager Boggs advised Council was provided a feasibility study and James Skora, Manager of GT Environmental was here to make presentation and answer questions.
Skora advised he was asked to look at what it would take to provide trash and recycling services to the residents of Rittman through a municipal operated service and currently Rittman was under contract with Waste Management to provide that service. Skora advised he came up with a two-part proposal depending on what Council wanted as far as how to analyze this issue. He advised part one was a regional assessment of municipalities that offer both publicly provided services as well as privately contracted services of a similar size and nature of the City of Rittman. Skora advised the second option was to do that same regional analysis, but then look at the details it would take for the city to provide such a service like preparing good solid waste projections on trash and recyclables. He advised they would look at identifying disposal and recycling facilities the city may or may not be able to use in the region and then taking a complete economic evaluation and what it would take for the city to provide this service based on the different levels of service from comparable cities. Skora advised it would include everything from program development, purchasing trucks, hiring employees and all the ins and outs of providing that service with the overall cost and breaking it down to the cost per household. He advised they would look at options for how to generate revenue to pay for this service. Skora advised it depended on how in depth they wanted to look into this issue. He advised if they just wanted to look at costs and see if it made sense economically they could do that or if they wanted all the ins and outs and details and have the economic model run and look at where they would haul the material and so on and so forth then option two would be the best option. Skora advised GT Environmental works for the Stark Tuscarawas Wayne Solid Waste Management District and have for several years, but they also work across the state with 25% of the solid waste management districts. He advised they have done solid waste management plans, special feasibility studies such as this and they work for municipalities and counties and they also do private sector work.
Council Member Richard Lapehn advised he spoke with Yolanda Walker at Summit Solid Waste Authority this afternoon and she indicated they have used your (GT Environmental) services a couple of times and most recently a solid waste plan update. Lapehn advised she was very impressed with your work and said the work was done on time and met the budget and was very helpful for them to make some solid decisions on the direction they wanted to take in Summit County.
Skora advised he was the previous director of the Summit Solid Waste Authority and Ms. Walker took his place when he left their employ.
Lapehn advised she didn’t mention that, but he did come highly recommended and if Council were going to go with a group he felt they should choose someone who knows what they are doing. Lapehn inquired as to how many municipalities were actually going the other direction and were outsourcing this because they don’t want the worker’s comp (fees) and the injuries.
Skora advised what they were seeing in cities that are providing this, as a municipal service was they understand the cost and value of providing that service to the residents. He advised a survey was done a couple of years ago and one of the highest valued services the city offered was trash collection. Skora advised some cities have evolved to an automated collection system or a semi-automated collection system so they can get away from some of those Worker’s Compensation claims. He advised in the City of Cuyahoga Falls 20-30% of the employment in the city was the sanitation department, but they represented 90% of the Worker’s Comp claims because of the nature of the work. Skora advised Cuyahoga Falls understood they needed to get away from throwing trash bags into the back of a rear loader truck and move to a fully automated and semi-automated system with trash carts. He advised it was cleaner in the communities, easier for the residents to use, gives them better opportunities and of course the big savings was the city. Skora advised they see a lot of cities that were still providing the service such as Wadsworth that does an automated collection and actually does their collection at night and they received an award for being innovative and doing nighttime collection when there were less children and less traffic on the road. Skora advised most communities once they get out of providing this service, such as have contracted the service out, don’t go back into it and the municipalities that have stayed do so because it was a valuable service the city provides. He advised not too many cities that traditionally contracted out this service or were subscription based have gone and said now we want to look at running this as their own operation. Skora advised he didn’t believe it was a bad thing it just was usually the other way around.
Lapehn advised he sees many government agencies outsourcing things nowadays.
Skora advised what (Rittman) was paying now was a fairly decent competitive rate. He advised they have a lot of data across the Northeast Ohio region that shows what per household per monthly cost of trash and recycling would be and the $12 to $15 was a reasonably contracted rate. Skora advised he would say that what (Rittman) was paying now was competitively priced for what (Waste Management) was providing for the $14.00 (per household) per month.
Council Member Lynn Beaumont advised when they do a study to determine whether or not it was economically feasible was one thing, but inquired about customer service and how they gauge whether or not the people were happy with their current service.
Skora advised they just did a survey for another city in which they survey about 10,000 residents and about 30-40% of the city with a 32% response rate and 80% of those said they would wholeheartedly support the city changing their charter if they would provide trash, recycling and bulk pickup for equal or better price than they were currently paying. He advised he didn’t price the survey in the proposal, as the mailing could be quite costly, but certainly that could be a step they could include. Skora advised to send out approximately 10,000 surveys would cost approximately $5,000 to $6,000 although (Rittman) wouldn’t need to spend that amount with only 6,300 residents. He advised with regard to customer service they could brainstorm the kinds of things they would include in a survey such as if they were happy with the price, but not happy with the service. He advised it was always good to have data before making a decision. Skora advised he didn’t include the cost of a survey because he was basically responding to what the City Manager and he discussed.
Beaumont inquired with just over 6,000 residents what percentage would they poll or survey.
Skora advised a statistical sample would probably be 5, 10 or 15%. He advised we could take the city’s utilities list and do a random sample. He advised a quick one-page survey would probably be $2,000 - $3,000 at the most if they felt it was something that would help. Skora advised or they could do a quick analysis to see what was going on out there economically. He advised if the service was done right it was one of the most highly valued services that municipalities could offer.
Beaumont inquired if it would be a mailing or by phone.
Skora advised they have done phone surveys, but he felt mailing was more cost effective.
Council Member Charles Copley advised the city’s current contract (w/Waste Management) was up at the end of this year and it would be the middle of December before we would see any preliminaries from this study. He advised what concerned him with the proposal was that if they wanted to go in depth they couldn’t and still meet their deadline for the contract renewal time.
Skora advised he would estimate if (Council) were to decide to go the route of doing the trash/recycling pickup themselves, it would take them a good six to eight months to get it up and running. He advised he didn’t know if the city’s current contract was written with an extension for another year, as he felt they wouldn’t want to rush this kind of decision, as it was quite an endeavor to set everything up, as just the backlog on the trucks alone was months. Skora advised one of the hardest questions they had to ask on the survey for Springfield was, “Are you satisfied with your current hauler?” because that city has 4 or 5 haulers and all different levels of services and prices. He advised when asked 78% of the people were basically happy with their service and they thought it would have had the opposite effect. Skora advised it was a simple service and they do a decent job and when the material was put out it goes away that week and people were generally satisfied. He advised but 80% also said they would throw that all out in a heartbeat if the city contracted with one hauler and provided more service for equal or less cost. Skora advised it was kind of a contradiction as this city had people who were totally satisfied and yet they were willing to kick it out and start all over again. He advised it was a simple service, but if it wasn’t done right they could have a lot of complaints. Skora advised but if done right and you provide convenience and the service in the way it was intended, it was something folks highly value.
Beaumont inquired if there were any studies done recently on city’s (Rittman’s) size.
Skora advised the last three cities studied were almost identical of Springfield, Parma and Canton as they were all 70,000 to 80,000 residents. He advised they were going to do a route study for Wadsworth, but that project was on hold. He advised Akron recently went from manual collection to fully automated trucks and spent about $20 million in trucks and containers and were already reaping the benefits with workers comp savings. Skora advised previously they had 4 people on one truck picking up trash and now they had 1 person per truck.
Mayor Robertson inquired if they had automated recycling as well.
Skora advised yes and it was phased in from semi-automated to fully automated trucks. He advised everyone was given a 96-gallon wheel cart for trash and a 48-gallon wheel cart for recyclables and it was very convenient. Skora advised these carts were the way the whole industry was going, as it was cleaner, easier and more cost effective.
Robertson inquired if the residents were upset that they were limited to what fits in the can as currently Rittman has unlimited pickup.
Skora advised traditionally a 96-gallon container was plenty, but some cities allow for 2 or 3 overages per year where they can place material outside of the cart and not be charged extra. Skora advised in some cities there was an incentive where residents who recycle were billed a couple of dollars less per month even though there is a cost to the collection of recyclables. He advised he felt an important thing when transitioning to the carts was to have a good recycle program that goes along with it because they were limited. He advised some would say it was a pay-as-you-go program or a volume-based program and he doesn’t necessarily agree with that, but it does limit and if you don’t have a good recycling program it could add 50-60% of volume to the trash cart. He advised he wouldn’t recommend smaller than the 96-gallon cart for the average family. He advised a different tier of service with a smaller cart could be provided to single or retired people and there were also allowances for vacations or people who were gone in the winter months.
Council Member Glen Russell inquired what if a heavy or bulky item didn’t fit in the container.
Skora advised they would want to provide a bulk item service for such items as couches, refrigerators, etc. He advised most municipalities who offer that level of service would do a special route once a month or once every two weeks for bulk items or it could be on a call-in basis. He advised some cities do not offer that level of service and the (property owner) would have to call a special hauler in those instances. Skora advised he didn’t know if Waste Management as part of their contract with Rittman provides such a bulk service, but certainly they would want to consider it.
Beaumont inquired once we have (GT Environmental) proposal then where do we take it from that point.
Skora advised part of option II was identifying disposal and recycling facilities in the region and what their going rate would be based on the volume you would be bringing in which was part of the projection. He advised there were plenty of landfill capacity and some pretty good recycling facilities in this region and they would identify those and the differences it would take to move the material and they would provide a full economic analysis. Skora advised a concern of Mr. Boggs’ was what if a landfill closes and there was one at Mt. Eaton that closed a year or so ago. He advised there were plenty of landfills and plenty of transportations in the area for the most part as well as opportunities to recycle.

b. Discussion of the Cemetery Regulations
City Manager Boggs advised the cemetery board was working on some new regulations and they completed those and tried to put them somewhat in how they would fit in ordinance form. He advised they were hoping to put them on the agenda at a future meeting for approval and passage.
Copley inquired if they were looking at amending some of the 991 sections of the code.
Boggs advised he believed so yes.
Copley advised one change he saw was the allocation of money as opposed to a 50/50 split.
Finance Director Mann advised it should be a 50/50 split.
Copley advised one area references 991.11 and there was no .10 or .11.
Boggs advised he may have missed it when printing it out.
Copley advised the other item that may have been left out was the Milton Township fees for lots.
Boggs advised the committee discussed that and they recommended it be thrown out.
Copley inquired as to the reasoning.
Boggs advised he didn’t remember the specific discussion, but he believed it really wasn’t used in that way anymore and have resident or non-resident fees.
Copley requested clarification as to why from the cemetery board. He inquired if we receive funds from Milton Township, as he knew they charged a higher rate to non-residents than to residents because of tax benefits, but if we weren’t getting any revenue from the township…
Mann advised no, there was nothing special with Milton Township other than our charges for dispatching services and that was a specific fee and we don’t get money directly from Milton Township for any reason.
Copley advised the other item was he saw where it said no dogs allowed inside the cemetery.
Boggs advised it was currently posted that way. He advised he would check the other issues brought up and have it ready at a future meeting.

Citizens Forum
No comments

Old Business

a. Res. No. 7513 A Resolution of the Council of the City of Rittman, Wayne and
Medina Counties Ohio, Authorizing the Municipal Manager to Prepare and Submit Applications to Participate in the Ohio Public Works Commission State Capital Improvement and/or Local Transportation Improvement Program(s) and to Execute Contracts as Required and Declaring an Emergency. Second and Third Readings.
Res. No. 7513 was read on second reading. Copley moved to suspend the rules and have third reading, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried. Res. No. 7513 was read on third reading. Copley moved to adopt, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

b. Res. No. 7514 A Resolution of the Council of the City of Rittman, Wayne and
Medina Counties and State of Ohio, Amending Resolution No. 7460 to Read as Follows and Declaring an Emergency. Second and Third Readings.
Res. No. 7514 was read on second reading. Russell moved to suspend the rules and have third reading, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried. Res. No. 7514 was read on third reading. Beaumont moved to adopt, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

c. Res. No. 7515 A Resolution of the Council of the City of Rittman, Wayne and Medina Counties, Ohio, Authorizing the Municipal Manager to Prepare and Submit Applications to Participate in the Ohio Public Works Commission State Capital Improvement and/or Local Transportation Improvement Program(s) and to Execute Contracts as Required and Declaring an Emergency. Second and Third Reading.
Res. No. 7515 was read on second reading. Johnson moved to suspend the rules and have third reading, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried. Res. No. 7515 was read on third reading. Russell moved to adopt, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

New Business

a. Res. No. 7517 A Resolution of the Council of the City of Rittman, Ohio, Granting Tax Abatement to Jeremy J. Larrison and Declaring an Emergency. First Reading. Res. No. 7517 was read on first reading.
Lapehn advised he requested this be brought back so they could get some groundwork laid. Lapehn advised (this property) was in the community reinvestment tax incentive zone and was also in the flood zone.
Boggs concurred.
Lapehn advised it was a residential property and the amount of the investment didn’t matter as much to him as the residential vs. business, but it does fall in the CRA and it was in the flood area. He advised those were two areas that he believed they needed to continue to encourage people provide those incentives whether or not they saw the need to provide that incentive for an improvement such as a garage. He inquired as to the (valuation increase) difference and he estimated a couple of hundred dollars at the most.
Robertson advised and it would be 35% of that amount.
Lapehn advised it was not a lot of money, but more of a word of encouragement from Council, but he placed it on second hoping to get six viewpoints out here and get some discussion going and give Mr. Boggs some direction.
Johnson inquired as to how the CRA was defined. He inquired as to who sets what was in the CRA and what was not in the CRA.
Boggs advised the first CRA was established (for Rittman) he believed in 1979 and was filed with the State of Ohio. He advised he believed there was an amendment after the city annexed the area for Premier Pontiac (Eastern Road) an addition was made to the CRA and was to have gone to the State of Ohio for filing purposes. Boggs advised they determined the CRA zone and it was for older areas that need revitalization.
Johnson inquired if Council sets the CRA zone.
Boggs advised they could change it, but they had to be very careful because they were only allowed, if he remembers correctly, three changes. He advised once they make that third change they fall under the state guidelines and become a post 1994 or 1995 zone, which means they have to file applications with the state for approval. Boggs advised currently it was all locally controlled and he felt there was a great advantage to that. He advised business applications filed with the state would be $750 and he didn’t believe there was any fee for residential.
Robertson advised the CRA was Main St. and east.
Boggs advised the map he found, and there was no description, appeared to be Main St. so he made a description of both sides of Main St., as he believed it was the intent of Council at that time, and everything east of Main St. Boggs advised when the industrial park area (Sheets Rd./ ST. Rte. 57) by Unilock and Mull Iron was built was when they extended the CRA zone as that area wasn’t in (in 1994). He advised they have had one change and have two more before going under the state guidelines and he didn’t see a reason to change it right now.
Robertson agreed and advised it was pretty all encompassing.
Boggs advised there was very detailed language on how they were suppose to look at what areas to consider.
Lapehn inquired as far as the residential being a possibility for abatement if it was fairly new.
Boggs advised it was new for us, but has been in the language since established.
Robertson advised it was just a community reinvestment and was encouraging businesses and residents to make improvements on their properties. He advised it was pretty generic, “make improvements”.
Boggs advised he doesn’t remember any previous City Manager bringing in a residential abatement request in the CRA although he didn’t think they used the CRA much at all. He advised there were other types of abatements, which were phasing out.
Russell advised his concern was he thought they (the property owner making the improvement) was to get approval before they build the building.
Boggs advised he doesn’t believe it says that, but they could certainly set that policy.
Russell advised he felt they should know what was being done before it was built rather than building it and then coming to Council for the approval.
Boggs advised Council could certainly set that policy.
Russell indicated he wanted everyone to be treated equal. He advised he felt they should make sure they establish that we treat everybody the same.
Beaumont advised he agreed with Lapehn and was glad he had it brought back because he had an incomplete feeling when they talked about it before. He advised he felt it was good they had those two proposals last time one that spent ($6,705.42) to build a garage and another one where someone was going to repair a retaining wall. Beaumont advised both of those were sent to us (Council) and approved by the CRA Committee. He advised unless he read it wrong, it was (Council’s) responsibility to provide guidelines to the CRA Committee. Beaumont advised they (CRA) approved sending that retention wall repair to us (Council) and he felt that should never get to them. He advised he felt there had to be a distinction between a man who has improved his property and spent (6,705.42) of his own money to build a garage, whereas with the other applicant, a retaining wall fell over and he had to repair it. Beaumont advised he felt they needed to establish from a definition standpoint what is a repair and what is an improvement. He advised he knew there was no distinction between owner occupied and investment property, but he felt they needed to come up with clear definitions for the CRA Committee to differentiate between repair and improvement such as these. He advised he personally felt this (Larrison) man should receive the abatement and the level of the abatement was obviously something they could deal with. He advised the other one he felt was a clear repair to a property and inquired where do they stop that.
Boggs advised he should never have let it (retaining wall repair) go to the CRA Committee and he agreed with (Beaumont) 100%. He advised when it doesn’t increase the property tax (valuation) there was no sense in wasting everyone’s time.
Beaumont advised if it was their (Council) responsibility to provide some definition and possibly use some of the criteria other municipalities have used and give it to the CRA Committee to review as it goes through them first. He advised so when we (Council) get the true improvement applicant, the ones that were actually falling within the letter of the CRA, as opposed to repairing a roof leak or fixing a retaining wall or put in a new hot water tank. Beaumont advised he believed they needed to have some clear definition of where we were going.
Robertson inquired if the retaining wall was repaired. He indicated that although the existing was in need of replacement he advised he doesn’t have to do it.
Boggs advised it was a gray area, but he felt there was enough ordinance (language) to issue (the property owner) a directive for safety issues. He advised one of the sidewalk ordinances, in the Council packet for review and consideration, included retaining walls, which he liked and he felt it made it a little more clear-cut. Boggs advised he has sent this (property owner) a letter last year asking him if he would repair that wall because he felt it was a liability to his property. Boggs advised the (owner) came in and about a month ago said he found a contractor to do it for a reasonable price and that he wanted the CRA abatement. Boggs advised he felt encouraged (this property owner) was going to fix that wall, although he tried to explain it probably wouldn’t benefit him (on his tax valuation) and the property owner said he felt he was entitled to apply.
Robertson advised that was the other question as Council could approve it and it was basically a vote of confidence, as it wouldn’t change his property value.
Boggs advised yes, but he agreed with (Beaumont) it should never have gotten to the CRA Committee. He advised he wouldn’t have taken that (retaining wall) to them (CRA Committee) individually, but there were two applications at the time and he took it to them. Boggs advised the (committee) questioned the same thing, but he felt they had no guidance.
Beaumont advised he didn’t believe they could use the excuse of we’ll approve it because it won’t mean anything anyway because then we’ll get hot water tanks and garbage disposals. He advised think about it someone says they own a property and make a repair to it and says I’ll file this application. Beaumont advised he honestly felt that would be a waste of everyone’s time unless there were guidelines to say it has to fit within or the application won’t even be considered.
Russell advised he thought they had guidelines for the commercial (properties) for CRA’s, as he thought there was a booklet.
Boggs advised there were all kinds of booklets from the state.
Johnson advised he believed they received a copy of something from Orrville.
Russell advised maybe that was what it was. He advised it was a booklet provided to Council.
Boggs advised yes, he did handout a booklet from Orrville on what they (Rittman) wanted to consider not just on CRA’s, but on all abatements.
Beaumont inquired if this was something (Boggs) would want (Council) to tweak and come up with some guidelines.
Boggs advised he doesn’t want to learn the hard way each time and it would be nice to have the guidelines, but he felt he knew where Council stood now. He advised he was assuming he shouldn’t bring Council anything residential wise over 50% (requested abatement). Boggs advised he felt he learned that part of it and he has also learned if it was not going to increase the tax (valuation) not to waste anybody’s time. He advised he felt it was a learning process as some of them were going to be different. Boggs advised if that was what Council was intending he felt he understood it now.
Copley advised he felt the business abatements were pretty cut and dried because we want business to come into town, but with the residential they were going to get a different request every time they turn around and as long as they were going forward and didn’t give (Council) a proposal they already turned down he felt they would be heading in the right direction. Copley agreed it was a learning process and advised it may take longer, but it sounded as if they were headed the right way. He advised as long as they don’t get something they’ve already turned down he felt would be the goal.
Lapehn moved to place on second, upon roll call; Beaumont-Yes, Lapehn-Yes, Johnson-Yes, Copley-No, Russell-Yes, Carey-Yes and motion carried.

b. Ord. No. 7518 An Ordinance of the Council of the City of Rittman, Wayne and Medina Counties and State of Ohio, Amending Section 1163.05 Vision Clearance in Residential Districts, to Amend this Section of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Rittman and Declaring an Emergency. First Reading. Ord. No. 7518 was read on first reading.
Beaumont inquired as to why they were being asked to amend this section.
The clerk advised every corner lot, which wants a fence in the front yard or the side that fronts a roadway, the previous ordinance says you could only put up a fence that was 3 ½ feet (without a variance) and most fencing material comes in 4 foot heights. She advised so every request basically had to pay $50 for a variance (from the Board of Zoning Appeals).
Beaumont inquired if there were a lot of requests.
The clerk advised yes. She advised on the corner lots anyone who wants to have a fence higher than 3 ½ feet closer to the street than the building line of their house.
Copley concurred and advised under the current regulations anyone who wants a fence in the front yard it could not be above 3 ½ feet.
It was noted, this amendment would allow fencing to be installed at 4 feet before having to request a variance.
Copley moved to refer this ordinance to the Planning Commission per the Charter, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

c. Motion to Approve a Conditional Sign Permit for The Depot Restaurant
Johnson inquired how placing a sign on the property would affect it being a historical site for the City of Rittman. He advised he was in no contention with them having a sign, but he knew they couldn’t make any changes to the building because it was a historical landmark and he inquired if that included their property.
Boggs advised actually they weren’t requesting it be placed on their property and the reason it was conditional. Boggs advised it was down the road in the city right of way.
Russell inquired if Morton Salt had any complaints.
Boggs advised he and the Service Director went out and looked at it and they believe it to be in the street right of way (at the intersection of Grant St./Industrial St./E. Ohio Ave). Boggs advised it was near the sidewalk that looked like it used to go across the railroad tracks.
Russell advised as long as Morton (Salt) didn’t have an issue with it, he didn’t have a problem with the request.
Robertson advised he would have thought the Rails to Trails property might be affected.
Boggs advised it was not the Rails to Trails area as that was the first thing he looked into. Boggs advised he understood what the (Depot) was trying to do and he felt it was a good idea, as they were trying to draw attention to their facility just down the road and catch the traffic coming around both sides of the curves who would be able to see the sign.
Russell advised there was no street sign located there.
Boggs advised they were working on that. He advised actually they found out when they were negotiating with Rails to Trails, it was brought to our attention that the rest of Grant St. was never a dedicated street and the Law Director confirmed such. He advised the company that did the Rails to Trails plans said they already had all the dimensions and diagrams and they offered to (record) it for us for a couple hundred dollars and we agreed and that should be coming to Council in the near future.
Copley advised the only other concern that he initially had was they would have other businesses wanting to put up directional signs at that location, but he felt since the Depot was city property…
Boggs advised actually the Depot was owned by the Rittman Community Improvement Corporation (RCIC).
Copley advised it could help in the future if more businesses wanted to as (the Depot) was renting from the CIC, as opposed to someone who has their own building. He advised that put those concerns aside for him.
Lapehn inquired as to what would be done for signage for Rails to Trails if they would like a sign and he inquired if there would be other places to put a sign.
Boggs advised he believed there was plenty of room.
Russell so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

d. Ord. No. 7519 An Ordinance of the Council of the City of Rittman, Wayne
and Medina Counties and State of Ohio, Amending Section 1325.04 (d) Administration and Enforcement, Fees and Deposits, to Amend this Section of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Rittman and Declaring an Emergency. First Reading.
Ord. No. 7519 was read on first reading. Beaumont inquired if this included political signs. Bower advised they were exempt.
Copley moved to place on second, upon roll call and motion carried.

e. Motion to Approve a Conditional Sign Permit for Zak’s Storage at 77 E.
Sunset Drive
Russell advised the building and the parking lot looks great and he felt it was a great improvement. Russell so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

f. Res. No. 7520 A Resolution of the Council of the City of Rittman, Ohio,
Granting Tax Abatement to John Robert Riley, I for Allison Carole Properties, Inc. and Declaring an Emergency. First Reading.
Res. No. 7520 was read on first reading. It should be noted, this was for a $34,000 improvement to existing buildings at 268 South Main Street. Boggs advised Riley was hopeful to attract new businesses with employees.
Johnson moved to place on second, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

g. Res. No. 7521 A Resolution of the Council of the City of Rittman, Ohio,
Granting Tax Abatement to John Robert Riley, I for Allison Carole Properties, Inc. and Declaring an Emergency. First Reading. Res. No. 7521 was read on first reading. It should be noted, this was for a $9,000 improvement to existing buildings at 42 Willow Street.
Carey moved to place on second, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

h. Motion to Approve a Conditional Sign Permit for Life Tabernacle at 9878
Krabill Road
It was noted, they were moving their existing sign at E. Ohio Ave. to their new location. Russell so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

i. Motion to Go Into Executive Session for the Purpose of Discussing Pending Litigation and Contract Negotiations and Discussion of the Annual Performance Reviews for Council’s 3 Employees (Personnel) and Invite the Law Director and the City Manager – 8:13 p.m. Copley so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

City Manager Boggs and Law Director Bower Came Out of Executive Session at 8:37 p.m.

j. Motion to Come Out of Executive Session – 8:44 p.m. Russell so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

City Manager’s Remarks
City Manager Larry Boggs advised the bids for W. Ohio Avenue would be opened this week. He advised they would be bringing it to Council to award the bid and the Service Director felt there was still time to get the asphalt laid on Ohio Ave. (this year) and they were hoping to proceed with that project.
Boggs inquired if Council wanted him to do anything more with sidewalks.
Beaumont advised he would personally like more time to read over everything.
Lapehn advised they wouldn’t be pouring any concrete over the winter so that would give them the fall and winter to look at it and see what options they have.

a. Approval of Financial Report for August
Russell moved to approve, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

b. Finance Director’s Remarks
Finance Director Lucinda Mann had no remarks.

Council Remarks
Council Member Lynn Beaumont advised he believed they all received an email from a concerned resident who also put a letter to the editor in the paper about the condition of First St. Park. He advised and as he doesn’t have young children anymore he doesn’t frequent the parks. Beaumont advised he spoke with the Service Director who indicated that in the spring he generally goes through the parks and looks to see what needs to be done and puts them on the schedule. He advised he wondered if this wasn’t the responsibility of the Parks and Recreation Committee or if it was something in the spring that Council should schedule a time to drive around and look at all the parks, although he didn’t believe they could do it just in the spring as the graffiti and the vandalism continues throughout the year. Beaumont advised Service Director Simpson has a lot of things on his plate and maybe this was something twice a year Council should do or the Parks and Recreation Committee to physically go out and look at the parks. He advised we could make some notes about it and the City Manager could take care of it. Beaumont advised after the email he drove around to some of the parks and saw some things that were missing or in need of repair. He advised he felt they should be proactive.
Boggs advised they don’t have a tremendous amount of money for maintenance and they don’t have a tremendous amount of spare personnel, but he agreed they needed to try to maintain them as best they could. Boggs advised he spoke with the resident who wrote and said they would look into the issue. He advised he was kind of disappointed she didn’t give them a chance to respond as the letter in the paper came out almost immediately after she talked with our Service Director. Boggs advised since that time they have had an interesting development as they were approached by a business between Rittman and Wadsworth in a “green” contest with other businesses and they asked if they could come and do maintenance and cleanup of our parks and we said certainly. Boggs advised last week he and Service Director Simpson visited most of the parks with them and showed them some of the things we would like done and hopefully we would get some good service out of that contact. He advised the city was open to any service organization wanting to take on any projects with the parks.
Beaumont advised if we made a list in the early spring of those things, which needed to be done and contacted those service organizations to see if they would be willing to each take a park or two.
Boggs advised the Kiwanis Club approached the city and they wanted to sponsor the basketball/tennis courts until they found out how much it would cost and they couldn’t afford it. He advised they did say they would like to take on something with the parks, but nothing has developed.
Mayor Robertson indicated Ron Woodward took charge in the past for the parks cleanup. The Mayor advised Woodward would plan a schedule and brought in clubs and volunteers.
Russell advised he felt the Parks and Recreation Committee in the spring or periodically check the parks or any of them could occasionally go by and look at some of these parks. He advised it was his understanding the lady who wrote the article was involved in Boy Scouts and maybe some of the scouts could be involved in helping to clean up some of the parks.
Beaumont advised if there was a plan on how we were going to do this and if we could get community service groups to take on some responsibility, it would help the city with cost and would help the Service Director with some of his responsibilities. Beaumont advised he would like to revisit this issue in February or so and see if we can come up with a plan where we could all be involved.
Russell advised maybe when the committees were set up in January they could think of adding some people, as he believed that would be the place to start.
Robertson advised he was impressed with the pavilion area (First St. Park) and he inquired if the Lions Club did all that work.
Utilities Supervisor Ken Mann advised each year the Lions Club for the chicken BBQ usually steam clean all the picnic tables.
Lapehn advised the picnic tables looked great, as their church picnic was about ten days after he received the letter and he didn’t see what she saw.
Russell advised they were considered Tree City and they have lost a lot of trees in the parks and maybe in the spring they needed to start planting some trees, as a tree doesn’t grow overnight.
Council Member Richard Lapehn inquired regarding the salary and wage handout if they needed to bring it back next meeting, as it was a lot of paper.
Boggs advised if Council wanted to have three readings (over three meetings) they should bring it to Council in the near future.
Lapehn advised he would agree they should look at it next meeting. Lapehn complimented Chief Sweigert in getting the special group to come to Rittman for the “Beyond Hoses and Helmets” Seminar and he felt it was neat Rittman would be hosting and bringing more people to town and showing off Rittman November 15th and 16th. That’s Great.
Council Member Glen Russell advised he wanted to compliment the Daily Record for the excellent job and good coverage of the article regarding the Rittman Police Department. He advised he understood the other (safety services) departments would be following and he felt the reporter did an excellent job.
Council Member Darrell Carey had no remarks.
Council Member James Johnson advised he was glad to see a list provided of those who have applied and paid for their sign permits and he would like such list provided periodically.
Council Member Charles Copley had no remarks.
Mayor William Robertson had no remarks.

a. Approval of Vouchers 49287 thru 49472 Including Then and Now
Certificates Johnson so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

Motion to Adjourn – 8:55 p.m.
Carey so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.