In Paper Packet and On Line:
Housing Coalition of Greene Co. re: Support of Affordable Senior Housing Chief Grote re: Beggars’ Night: SATURDAY, OCT. 29.Chief
Grote also responds to various criticisms of the event, including the
charge that too many people come from outside the village, saying that
people come because it's family friendly and feels safe, and it's not
unlike 4th of July or Street Fair: part of who we are is about being
welcoming to visitors.
All Previously Received Letters Referencing Barr Property Proposal
Anna Bellisari re: Barr Property Trees
Alan Macbeth re: Barr Property Trees
Steven Bognar re: Support for Senior Housing
Suzanne Patterson re: Support for Senior Housing
Vicki Hennessey re: Forum on DEFEATING ISSUE 2 (SB 5): THURSDAY! (this week!) Sept 22, 7:30 pm, YS Senior Center (227 Xenia).Rudy
Fichtenbaum (AAUP/Wright State), Aurelia Blake (YSHS); Ellis Jacobs
(local attorney--will also address the opposition to HB 194--be sure to
sign a petition opposing this bill.) Please attend! This is the first event sponsored by a new groups calling itself Progressive Yellow Springs.
YS Arts Council re: Seat on Economic Sustainability Commission: Requesting a seat for one of their Board of Trustee members.
E-Packet Only:
Greene Co. Library re: October Programming
PUBLIC HEARINGS/LEGISLATION Reading of Resolution 2011-48 Authorizing $40,000 for Operations and Maintenance Manuals for WWTP: This
should have been included in the original budget, it's necessary; I
support it. The funds will come from the loan that we are taking out to
cover the cost of building the new additions to the WWTP, required by
the EPA. I will vote yes. Reading of Resolution 2011-49 Adding Streets to the 2011 Paving Program:
This is correcting a discrepency between documents, due to human error,
rather than adding streets we did not initially intend. I will vote
yes.
First Reading of Ordinance 2011-24Approving Amendment to the Village Organizational Structure:I
realize that this has been controversial in the village, and last week I
shared Judith's thoughts on this. I believe strongly that this new
structure is both the appropriate model for our work in the village, and
that it will better serve business interests to have the point person
on economic development (who, yes, will have other responsibilities) be a
full time employee, rather than a part time employee who is only in the
office 20 hours a week. I do not see this as a loss to the economic
development interests of the village but as a plus. I will vote yes.
First Reading and Public Hearing of Ordinance 2011-25Amending the Zoning Code to Permit a PUD-R for Barr Property:
I will vote yes for this project, urging the developers to save as many
old-growth trees as they can. But this is the right kind of project
for our economic prosperity. If successful, this is a $6.25 million
dollar grant that will come into our community from the outside. It
fits with our goals of infill and re-development, and it serves the most
frequently selected need arising from our recent visioning process:
affordable housing. Many seniors in our community are eager to move
into these apartments, which would allow a life that is integrated into
the community, near important amenities like the pharmacy and the
grocery store, and down town shops. Finally, let's be clear: this is not
a shortened process, but a lengthened one. The developers have agreed
to go through the whole, required process after we give our (initial)
blessing for a project of this scale to be considered as they seek grant
money, with the understanding that if there are significant problems
with making the site work, based on engineering, they will have to
re-plan. I hear the concerns, but I believe it will be a win for the
village if we can help to facilitate it. I will vote yes.
Apologies for the delayed posting. The fastest way to get these is to sign up for my email list--just drop me a note. I post these after I send the email, but sometimes time is very precious and it takes me awhile to get to the blog. -----
Dear People: And suddenly it's fall. Our last meeting fell on
the evening of my first day back to school, but the chill in the air
since yesterday, following last week's blast of summer heat, and the
encroachment of the dark on both ends of the days, says it's time for
autumn rituals. Maybe we'll finally deal with all those stacks of empty
plant pots on the back porch, pick up the sticks that have fallen in
the yard, roast vegetables, make stew.
But, the meeting tonight. Here's the full packet if you're interested in any of the topics below.
PETITIONS/COMMUNICATIONS AMP re: Standard Solar Project Update: The AMP
solar project has been canceled (this is not the one that we are
working with YSRE, Melink and SolarVision for here in town--see below). There's the possibility of AMP-owned, "behind the meter" solar installations. Ohio EPA: Approval of WPCLF Application (plans for Sewer Lift Station approved at Waste Water Treatment Plants) AMP re: AMP Hydro Update: new budget available for viewing. Kathryn Van der Heiden re: Budget Concerns: Would like to hear more discussion of budget. Suzanne Clauser re: Reorganization: Opposes the plan. Jeremy Chapman re: Solar Update: they
are hopeful that a final agreement can be made with a major financer of
the project soon, so that the final engineering contract between Melink
and SolarVision can be signed and that a majority of the construction
can still be completed by the end of the year. Mayor’s Monthly ReportDave Conley re: Milling/Paving Schedule: Happening this week. Affected streets include: North College, Herman, Randall, Stafford, Greene, Xenia Ave..
PUBLIC HEARINGS/LEGISLATION Second Reading and Public Hearing of Ordinance 2011-22 Authorizing Village Manager to
Sign Addendum to the Trailside Museum Inter-Agency Agreement. See last week's note. I support. Second Reading and Public Hearing of Ordinance 2011-23 Supplemental
Appropriation for Flatter Hereford Farms (Glass Farm property--needed
for Solar project). See last week's note. I support. Resolution 2011-44 Accepting
the Amounts and Rates as Determined by the Budget Commission and
Authorizing the Necessary Tax Levies and Certifying Them to the County
Auditor. (Pro-forma, basically) Resolution 2011-45 Authorizing the Village Manager to Enter into a
Contract with Pavement Management for 2011: $18K for street
sealcoating. (Last year this was $50K--it is a way to make the new
surfaces last longer). I support. Resolution 2011-46 Authorizing the Village Manager to Enter into
an Agreement for Property Casualty Insurance for 2012. $52K. Rates are
increased by $2K next year, partly due to increased property value out
at our waste water plant. For the last several years, our insurance has
been through our membership in the Public Entities Pool of Ohio, which
helps us to keep rates lower. I support. Resolution 2011-47 Resolution to (re)Appoint John C. Chambers of
Coolidge Wall as Village Solicitor: Rate: $165/hour. I am not sure what
rate we paid last year--have submitted a query as to whether this is
the same as last year. In principle, I support this resolution.
SPECIAL REPORTS Treasurer’s Report: Our treasurer,
Rachel MicKinley, has done a good job of getting our bank
charges/interest earned back in order. Earnings from interest and
investments are extremely low. The investments committee is looking at
the possibility of retiring the bond debt on the Bryan Center, which is
$650K and still costs us interest charges (although it's primarily
principal payments at this time, so that makes it a closer call.)
OLD BUSINESS
Discussion of Reorganization of Village
Operations: We have received a handful of letters expressing concern
about this plan. I do hear the concerns expressed. I still support
this plan for reorganization. Judith has written eloquently about this
to a citizen expressing concerns, so I would like to share it with you:
"Thanks for your email regarding this important issue. I am writing
to clarify my thinking, although I realize you may not be satisfied
with my response. I have always supported policy and Village action
based on what I believed was best for the village citizens, and at
times they are difficult decisions. Also, I am very cognizant of the
current economy.
Obviously, this is a very difficult situation and it is not a case
of just needing to cover the Village Manager for his vacation. We
are a very small community with limited resources and as I'm sure
you are aware, the State has cut our funding in a way which will
make meeting the needs of our citizens that much more difficult.
And we have a village manager who needs support. That support is not
there at the present and something needs to be done if we wish to be
fair to our village manager and be able retain a village manager
over time. If money were not an issue, we could just enlarge our
staff. The new assistant manager position would be given the
responsibilities for planning and economic sustainability while
being someone that the village manager can also rely on for backup.
Lori, the VP of Council, and I have reviewed with Mark, our options.
In spite of the unpleasant realities of this proposal, we believe
Mark’s proposal is the best option.
I
believe we have been compassionate leaders of this community. That
compassion did not suddenly disappear with the event of this
proposal. It is an awkward situation, and I am sorry that to
address the needs of our community, we will negatively impact, at
least in the short run, two of our staff members. However, I have
been on the Village Council for six years, and I believe Mark’s
proposal is the way to solve this problem while being fiscally
responsible.
Mark
has done a very good job. He is a workhorse. On top of the areas
he oversees, which he has enumerated in his report, he coordinates
and provides much of the staff support for planning commission. He
has recently been asked to meet monthly with Community Resources
to keep the Center for Business and Education project moving
forward in a timely way. He is coordinating the work on a new
zoning code. He is coordinating the work on the Barr Party
proposal.
I've
been reviewing in my mind the major projects he has lead during
this calendar year. Early in the year he presented and worked
with the Village Council on our 2011 budget. We were then
approached with a proposal for a solar farm, and he switched gears
and put a huge amount of time into that proposal. He provided
reams of information for the tax levy renewal. He made
recommendations on sidewalk policy and any number of other smaller
projects and decisions made and carried out by the Village. He is
our HR department. He oversees our infrastructures, which include
the water system, sewer system, electric system, and the streets
and parks system. He is even the supervisor of our police chief
making him the person Chief Grote turns to with problems and
concerns. And he frequently is called upon to do much of the grunt
work as well, to meet deadlines and needs of projects at hand.
He
writes reports on every piece of legislation that comes in front
of Council. He is our point person on all of the AMP legislation
we have seen in the last many months. He oversees all the
departments of the Village. He is the main person citizens want to
talk with about the issues that they have.
This is way too much work for one
person from day to day. It has been an ongoing problem well before
Mark's arrival. It was also a recognized problem during the
employment of Eric Swanson and the Interim Manager, John
Weithofer.
Mark
spends way more than 40 hours a week to barely keep his nose above
water. He also needs to be able to get away from time to time to
refresh himself and spend time with family and friends, without
all of the work he is responsible for, stopping until he gets back
to mountains of unanswered emails, and snail mail and phone calls
etc.
We are
friends and neighbors of two persons who will be negatively
affected by this change. Loyalty and friendship are powerful
energies that run deep, and I know that many of us are unhappy
about the negative impact on them. However, if there were another
way to solve this problem, it would have been proposed.
I trust Mark, and he knows more
intimately then anyone else can, the full picture of our staff’s
responsibilities and what it takes to meet those responsibilities. It can be a lonely and heavy
responsibility and he has shouldered his responsibilities well.
Therefore, I support his proposal.
Sincerely, Judith
I hope you will also read
Mark's memo in the packet. I will add that with no one able to back the
Manager up and take on some responsibilities as needed, the potential
for extremely costly errors or lost details goes way up, as does the
potential for all-out burn out. When our last manager left, we were
faced with a fine of $80,000 from the EPA because work simply wasn't
moving forward to deal with our sewage plant violations, and raw sewage
was flowing into the Glen. It is hard to find and keep a healthy
manager, because right now there is too much pressure on this one
position. This is not an easy decision, partly because it's way
overdue.
NEW BUSINESS
Discussion of Purchase of Pole Setter for Electrical Distribution : Dave Conley will explain the benefits of a model that he recommends. Funds available in Electrical fund to pay for it. Review of 2011 Work Plan: Judith
has created an overview of what we've done, what's ongoing, and what's
still to do--including work specific to the Clerk, Manager, and the
committees and commissions of Council. Discussion of Naming of Arboretum at Ellis Park: Plan to honor
Lloyd Kennedy for his work on this committee since 1967 by naming the
Arboretum at Ellis Park after him, using Tree Committee funds to create a
new sign. LABOR DAY POEM
