VC: Hydro projects, Open Meetings, ACLU, Commissions--you?

Dear People: I went for a long walk with my dogs down the bike path Sat & Sun, enjoying the lovely snow... before I tire of the earth's iron hardness, and start longing for spring. There's a poem by Christina Rossetti at the end of this memo which provides the gorgeous words to my favorite Christmas carol. (If you want to hear/view the song, sung by the King's College Cambridge Choir, click here. You can listen while you read, if you wish!)

The wrong agenda was placed in our packets by mistake, so I've attached the electronic one that Karen Wintrow kindly made, just as an FYI, and used it to structure my typed comments in italics, below.

IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS December 21, 2009

Comments from the Public are welcomed at two different times during the course of the meeting: (1) Comments on items not on the Agenda will be heard under Citizens Concerns, and (2) Comments on all items listed on the Agenda will be heard during Council’s consideration of said item. A Sign-In sheet will be made available on the small table at the rear of the Council Chambers.

SPECIAL MEETING OF VILLAGE COUNCIL – 6:00 P.M.

EXECUTIVE SESSION
Personnel/Evaluation of Village Manager

This portion of the meeting is a "special meeting" because, in order to accommodate the schedules of the current Council and of former Council member Kathryn Van der Heiden, who will be participating in the Village Manager review, we decided on Thursday to schedule this prior to the meeting rather than afterwards, as would be our usual practice. We notified the YS News office of this change of schedule, and placed notices in the Bryan Center and the Library, and also posted information about the change on our Village website.

I would like to assure everyone that we do endeavor to avoid last minute schedule changes, and special emergency meetings, whenever possible. (And, to clarify: no public legislation will result from this special executive session, as it is strictly a personnel matter).

I would also like to remind all citizens that they may still comment on the performance of Mark Cundiff during this first year; if you send your comments to me as soon as possible, but by this afternoon, at the latest, I will endeavor to forward them to our acting Clerk and all Council members prior to the meeting.

REGULAR MEETING OF VILLAGE COUNCIL – 7:00 P.M.

I. PETITIONS/COMMUNICATIONS
The Clerk will receive and file:
AMP Newsletter(s) re: December 7, 2009
Cities & Villages OML Magazine re: November/December Issue
Greene County Clerk of Courts re: Injunction Notice

[This is the official injunction regarding the improperly noticed meeting from last week. We are working to clarify our notification procedures for ourselves and for villagers so that these problems do not arise again.]

Time Warner re: Notice of Contract Expirations with Programmers & Broadcasters

Tecumseh Land Trust re: Fall 2009 Newsletter
OML re: Legislative Committees – Week of December 13
Greene County Public Library re: December Holiday Closings/January Programs
AMP OSHA re: Safety Training Schedule for 2010

Regional Planning & Coordinating Commission of Greene County (RPCCGC), re: request for representative designation for 2010

The new Council rep to RPCCGC for 2010 will be yours truly.

II. PUBLIC HEARINGS/LEGISLATION

Second Reading and Public Hearing on Ordinance #2009-16 Participation in AMP Hydro Project : As I mentioned in my notes from the past couple of meetings, we have voted in our first round to support these two new AMP hydroelectric projects. We wanted clarification about the exact amount of megawatts that these two hydro projects will provide; Mark explains that at 1.7 MW total from these two new projects, they should provide up to 42.5% of our current baseload power needs.

When we add in the wattage from the other AMP hydro project we signed onto last year, that makes for a total of 2.120 MW of hydro powered energy total, or 53% of our total baseload needs. As Mark notes, "If through energy conservation we reduce our base load needs, we can achieve an even higher percentage of baseload energy from renewable resources."

While no energy investment is without risk, I believe this is a good way for us to serve our baseload power needs and seek to reduce our carbon footprint.

Second Reading and Public Hearing on Ordinance #2009-18 Two-Way Metering.

Staff suggests tabling this so we can get the needed feedback from the ETF on the questions we raised about the possible effects of increasing the allowable wattage on our current electric grid.

First Reading and Public Hearing on Ordinance #2009-19 2010 Temporary Budget as an Emergency

This looks like a normal minor budget reallocation, but I expect we'll have a brief presentation from Sharon Potter

First Reading on Ordinance #2009-20 Policy on Notification of Public Meetings

We're trying to establish clear rules for all bodies of Council--Committees, etc.--and to incorporate notification through our website, which probably didn't exist when these rules were last revised.

Resolution #2009-48 Recognition of a Local Endeavour to Implement a YS Community Time Bank

I thought we were approving John Booth's writing of a letter, with the help of the HRC. So I think we will not focus on this Resolution, but on the letter he has composed.

Resolution #2009-49 Awarding Street Light Replacement Contract

Resolution #2009-50 Awarding Library Building Evaluation Contract

Both of these resolutions, for differing reasons, are being withdrawn. The Street Light contract because Mark feels he needs the ETF to review them, and the library conflict because of a conflict of interest concern, which Mark's memo does not go into great detail about. I imagine we will discuss both of these in a bit more detail at the meeting tonight.

III. CITIZENS CONCERNS (Clerk will collect Sign-Up Sheets)

IV. SPECIAL REPORTS
Surveillance Cameras – Presentation by ACLU

WSU’s CUPA Retention & Expansion Study

We don't have any further information in our packets about these two items; we are asked to bring our copies of the CUPA Retention & Expansion survey which we received last October.

V. OLD BUSINESS
Greene Metropolitan Housing Assn. Continued Discussion re: Tax Exemption

The 'good' news, in a way, is that this isn't really our decision to make at some level: the GMHA was coming to us as an act of good will and good faith. The real story, to me, is that for over 30 years they have paid taxes to us that they were not required by law to pay, by not filing their tax-exemption papers. They cannot afford this any longer, to best serve their clients. They would like our understanding and support as they file for their tax-exempt status, allowed them by federal/state laws.

They offer in a letter to "make a payment in lieu of taxes" to the Village, "based on 10 per cent of rents collected from the tenants." It's my understanding that this is a fairly standard practice that they use in other places. (I will ask about whether that could be shared with the schools). At any rate, I support this move, and thank them for their generosity over the years.

Economic Sustainability Board

Judith is still working on this; I believe it will be tabled until our next meeting.

Update on Clerk of Council and Treasurer Positions

I am working on the Clerk applications with John Weithofer; the Treasurer application deadline is today!

VI. NEW BUSINESS
Commissions, Committees and Boards - Terms of Office Discussion

There are terms ending, new possibilities. John Streuwing's term as head of the Planning Commission is up as of the end of this month (12/31/09); Ted Donnell's on the Board of Zoning Appeals also ends that date; And all three members of the board of Tax Appeals are actually on expired terms! (John Hart, Tony Bent, and Richard Zopf, terms expired on 7/31/09. We will obviously be speaking to each of these men about their interest in continuing--and it seems to me we need a better system of alerting us to the expiration of position. However, if you are interested in any of these positions, please let me know. Democracy requires that all positions be considered open to any qualified resident.

Codified Ordinances Update

This is one of those places where we miss Deborah's knowledge and long history--we missed a deadline a few weeks ago during her illness for American Legal, which is the publisher of our Codified Ordinances. We can work around this, using supplements. I believe Denise will explain the issues at our meeting.

VII. MANAGER’S REPORT

VIII. STANDING REPORTS
No Rep. Community Council
Lori Askeland Environmental Commission
Lori Askeland Planning/Bike Com/N Gateway
Rick Walkey Village Mediation Program
John Booth Human Relations Commission
Judith Hempfling Energy Task Force
Judith Hempfling Community Resources
Rick Walkey Library Commission
Lori Askeland Reg. Planning Commission-Greene County
Karen Wintrow Cable Advisory Panel
Karen Wintrow Chamber of Commerce
Karen Wintrow Miami Valley Regional Planning
Karen Wintrow Visioning Steering Committee

IX. AGENDA PLANNING
The next meeting of the Council of the Village of Yellow Springs will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, January 4, 2009 in Council Chambers, John Bryan Community Center - 100 Dayton Street.

Items for discussion on Monday, January 4, 2009:
Bryan Center Guidelines

X. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: Let me know if you see anything you'd like more info on, or that you'd like to comment on, or whatever!
Village’s Investment Summary/EDRLF Report
Verizon Wireless Update
MVRPC/Going Places/Resolution
Electric /capacity, contracts, capital projects, equipment
Green Space Legislation
Personnel Policy Manual Update
Annexation
Guidelines for Utility Resolution Dispute Commission
Marking State Route 68 Bikeway
Conservation Easement-Well Fields
Parks and Recreation Master Plan
Calamityville Presentation
Short Street – Park/Gathering Space
Update on Safe Routes to Schools
Budget Sessions
Council’s Goals Session
Council Retreat
Northern Gateway Decision to MVRPC
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the Bleak Mid-Winter, by Christina Rossetti

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.

Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.

Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air,
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.

With my skeptical faith and all my heart, I do wish you all a wonderful holiday season, whatever your faith may be--

Peace,
Lori

VC Update & PC Tonight: 2 Conditional Use Requests, PUD process; historic preservation

Dear People: Thanks to all those who turned out for the Visioning workshop on Saturday. I don't know the statistics, but there was a good sized crowd in the gym, and the smaller group I was in was actually fairly large--I didn't count, but I'd say 12-14?--and lively. Tonight (Mon 12/14) is the Planning Commission meeting, 7 pm in the Bryan Center. I'll discuss that in the majority of this note.

COUNCIL UPDATE: I have to provide a Council Update at every Planning Comm. meeting, and we've had so many meetings, I'll write it out here:

I. Last Friday afternoon (12/11) Village Council held a special meeting from 4:30-6:30, that was well attended by villagers, focused on the request to allow Community Solutions to partner with two regional, private firms in a bid for a federal "stimulus" grant for energy efficiency retrofitting. The grant had an extremely short turn-around time. While it was short notice, and I have many questions still, the opportunity seemed very good, and, if the group is selected for the grant, we will read it at that time and have been assured by our attorney that we will be able to say "this isn't what we thought we were signing up for" and decline to be a part of it. So I voted for it, and it passed on a 4-1 vote, with most Council members agreeing with my reasoning.

II. At last Monday's (12/7) Village Council meeting we:
1. passed an ORDINANCE: 2nd reading on AMP Hydroelectric projects--these look really good and will help supply our base load needs.
2. tabled ORDINANCE: 1st reading on 2-Way Metering: this would allow people who are generating power (e.g., via solar panels) to sell excess energy back to the grid. We want more information from the ETF about some of the details regarding the maximum wattage that could be produced under this revision to our ordinance.
3./4. passed RESOLUTIONS (2) renewing Staff health insurance & health savings accounts and Dental insurance
5. Discussed the hiring for Clerk of Council, Treasurer, and filing clerk. I will be working with John Weithofer to pre-sort and "tier" the over 150 applications for Clerk of Council; Treasurer applications are still being accepted!

We continue to mourn the passing of Deborah Benning, our beloved Clerk of Council, who served in that role for 17 years.

6. Discussed Stutzman's Property: We're planning to write up a request for proposals for renting the property; Chris Roberts volunteered to help us get good maps for prospective renters.
7. Rejected Time Banking financial request, on the advice of our lawyer but most of us support the concept and the work of the creators
8. We have clarified (since our meeting) that the Greene County Metropolitan Housing exemption is available for them to take without our action. We have notified the school board, which will lose some tax revenues, some of which can be regained through applying for federal support. While it seems to now be a moot point, I support them in this action because the money they save will be reinvested in this property, rather than going to Washington DC for a second mortgage.
9. Approved Village Manager Evaluation Forms for staff and Council. Please feel free to give feedback (as a resident) about your experiences with and impressions of Mark Cundiff's work in the next week or so.
10. Discussed the Water/Sewer Rates: The bad news: our water rates are not keeping up with costs; The good news: our sewer rates are solidly in the black. We need to raise our water rates, which have not been raised for many years. We are contemplating raising water rates by 10% each of the next two years; 5% each of the following two, and then a simple 3% annually thereafter.

III. We also held a special meeting with the Township Trustees and ACP, on Nov. 30th, receiving an update of their "Visioning" work with us.
That information is summarized in the documents on our website. In short: strong turnout, reasonably equitable representation, and excellent feedback from participants.

IV. We also held our first meeting of the new Council since the last election on Nov. 16th, where new members were inaugurated and new committee assignments were made. I am continuing my work on Planning Commission and will now serve on the Greene County Planning Commission. (Karen Wintrow will continue on MVRPC). Rick Walkey will be serving on Environmental Commission and Library Commission.

V. Future: We will be holding a special meeting with Community Resources on January 13th.

PLANNING COMMISSION AGENDA:

1. REPORTS from Council, Bike Enhancement, Village Staff and Miami Township Zoning Commission. Speaking of Bike Enhancement, have you noticed the new street markings for the "sweet spot" that marks a sensor that allows bikes to trip the traffic signals? Look for them, and please do use them when you're biking around town!

2. CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT REQUESTS:

1. 111 N. Winter Street (old Jail House). The owner of this property received a conditional use request for creating a low-impact, alternative veterinary practice for small animals on the first floor of this property earlier this year. In his new application letter, the owner notes that he did not realize that renting out the apartment on the second floor on a short term basis required a second permit. The second permit is not for bed and breakfast or hotel but "short term rental." One neighbor is concerned about the plan to create a parking lot behind the current garage and the effects on their adjacent property; a second neighbor is concerned about increased on-street parking and the general affect on the neighborhood as a whole of having two businesses there. I will listen carefully to this presentation. I support mixed use neighborhoods, and there seems to be a demonstrated need for this sort of housing, but need to have a better picture of overall neighborhood impact of this added business to the neighborhood.
   
2. 234 Grinnell Road (Waste-Water Treatment Plant--WWTP): The upgrades to the WWTP in order to bring it into compliance with EPA regulations requires that 3 small buildings be constructed as part of the project: a "screen building"; a "phosphorus treatment building" and a covered "sludge storage building." The WWTP is located in a conservation zoning district, and requires conditional use permit for any new construction. Staff recommends we approve this request.

3. OLD BUSINESS

1. PUD Subdivision regulations review: Woolpert's looked at our process; we are working through their recommendations, which I believe I have described in an earlier note. They were to be at our last meeting, but were not. They will be there tonight for this discussion.
   
2. Historic Preservation: We are working through Mark's suggested revision. We may not get to this tonight, if the earlier business takes too much time, but we are not in a rush.

I hope this is useful!

Peace,
Lori

Special Meeting Tomorrow Afternoon (4:30 pm), Visioning Saturday

Dear People: Tomorrow night (Friday, the 11th), Council will be holding a special meeting at 4:30 pm, in the Bryan Center, in order to discuss a proposal, from a local and a regional group, requiring the Village's participation, that might 1) bring in stimulus dollars and 2) help reduce our energy usage. We welcome your thoughts, input, and attendance at the meeting.

I would also remind everyone that the next round of Yellow Springs / Miami Township Vision is Saturday morning:

Goals and Values Workshop

Saturday, December 12 / 10:00am to 12:30pm / Yellow Springs High School Gym

Dreams were shared in the Round 1 Idea Gathering Workshops. Now Let’s build the ideas into goals for the future in Round 2.

(Obviously, I will be at this meeting, not in my normal office hours on Saturday!)

Here's Mark Cundiff's memo about the energy efficiency grant proposal, and below that is the agenda of the special meeting:

"One of the funding programs under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (AARA or “Stimulus Program”) is a grant program called the Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grant (EECBG). The EECBG program’s goal is to develop and implement projects to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions. An ETF member, Pat Murphy, who also is the Executive Director of Community Solutions, brought up the idea of the Village, in a partnership with Community Solutions and a private firm out of Miami County, submitting a grant application to the EECBG program at the ETF’s regular meeting on November 24^th. At that meeting, several questions were raised about the program. Subsequently, it was arranged for a representative of the private firm to come to Yellow Springs to meet with the ETF at their next regular meeting that was held on December 7^th.

The grant proposal, which is still being developed, calls for the development of a pilot program to make energy efficiency through retro-fits more affordable. The grant money would be used in the development of a replicable energy audit and retrofitting process that would efficiently evaluate a structure for energy inefficiencies and make the necessary retrofits in a very cost effective manner, and for some “on the ground” testing of the model. This system could then be transferred to communities all over the United States for implementation, providing opportunities for the start-up of new businesses to do the energy retrofits while reducing energy usage.

The grant application needs to be submitted by a unit of local government or by a non-for-profit organization authorized by and on behalf of the unit of local government. I made it clear in the meeting that the Village did not have the administrative capacity at this time to submit the grant application, let alone administer the program should the project get funded. Pat Murphy indicated that Community Solutions could provide this administrative capacity and would be willing to do so.

The deadline for submitting applications to the EECBG Program is December 14, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. There is $63.68 million available under this grant program, which is open to all Formula ineligible local units of government (municipalities under 35,000 in population and counties under 200,000 in population) in the United States. The maximum grant award is $5.0 million, and the minimum grant award is $1.0 million. The program is being administered through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and they anticipate awarding 15-60 grants. Communities receiving EECBG grants will be notified around March 15, 2010, with the grants being awarded around May 15, 2010. The performance period for these grants will be 36 months, but funds will need to be obligated within 18 months of the effective date of the award.

After hearing about the grant proposal and having the opportunity to have questions answered and have a dialogue about the proposal, the ETF passed a motion to recommend that Village Council authorize Community Solutions to submit on behalf of the Village an EECBG application.

The Village’s participation is needed since a unit of local government is needed to apply for the grant. This authorization is only for the submittal of a grant application. Future authorizations from Village Council will be required to enter into any grant agreements. It is anticipated that any in-kind Village contributions of staff time will be minimal and there will be no expenditure of Village funds on the development and submittal of this grant application."

Stay warm!
Lori

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Clerk of Council <clerk@yso.com>
Date: Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 11:42 AM
Subject: FW: Special Council Meeting Materials

COUNCIL OF THE VILLAGE OF YELLOW SPRINGS

SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA

IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS @ 4:30 pm December 11, 2009

CALL TO ORDER

ROLL CALL

PUBLIC HEARINGS/LEGISLATION

Resolution #2009-47 Authorizing Community Solutions to Submit an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Application

EXECUTIVE SESSION

Personnel

ADJOURNMENT

“The Village of Yellow Springs is committed providing reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities. The Council meeting is wheelchair accessible. Any person requiring a disability accommodation should contact the City Clerk’s Office at 767-9126 or via e-mail at clerk@yso.com for more information.”

Dec. 7 Meeting Agenda Posting

(Delayed--my apologies; I was scrambling between work and dinner and the meeting when I wrote this, and neglected to take the next step and post it. )

Dear People! Well, another big meeting, and I'm just scrambling to get a note out to everyone. It's going to have to be quick!

LEGISLATION includes:
1. ORDINANCE: 2nd reading on AMP Hydroelectric projects--these look really good and will help supply our base load needs. By the way, you may have noticed in the YS News that by not participating in the failed AMP-Generating Station in Meigs County we saved the Village a bundle.
2. ORDINANCE: 1st reading on 2-Way Metering: this would allow people who are generating power (e.g., via solar panels) to sell excess energy back to the grid
3./4. RESOLUTIONS (2) renewing Staff health insurance & health savings accounts and Dental insurance
5. We were going to discuss a resolution regarding a request by Community Solutions to submit an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Application, but that has been put on hold due to a litigation regarding Open Meetings.

OLD BUSINESS will include:
Updates on our open positions (Clerk of Council, Treasurer, Filing Clerk). Deadlines have passed (for Clerk) or are about to pass for applications to these positions, and we are hoping to work with John Weithofer to deal with the onslaught of applications.
Stutzman's Property Discussion: What to do with the property?
Time Banking Discussion: Request for $1500 to start a time-banking program, $500 would go to an annual fee for a program that creates an online system of exchange for work. Our solicitor argues against this, due to potential legal issues.
Greene County Metropolitan Housing Request: I mentioned this earlier, but Greene Met is requesting that we waive their taxes on a property in town, which allies with what most communities have done; the exception made for this property in the early 1980s (I believe) makes it very difficult for them to maintain and improve the properties.
Village Manager Evaluation Forms Discussion: We're planning to do "360" evaluation this time, with staff participation.

NEW BUSINESS will include:
Calendar discussion for Budget meetings and Council Goals review
Water/Sewer Rates

Manager's Report & Agenda Planning

That's all I can manage tonight--I'll be speedier (and more interesting maybe?) next week, when classes will be done!

Stay warm!
Lori

VC: Inauguration Night, Monday! (11/16)

{--Oh Happy Day! A pic from our trip to DC to the Obama inauguration--Frank, me and 2 million of our closest friends...

Dear People: Well, things happen pretty fast 'round these parts: the newly elected/re-elected Mayor and Council members will be sworn in on Monday evening and then we'll have a normal but fairly light meeting. Enjoy the weather this glorious weekend!

Monday's AGENDA!

1) Administering oath of office to new/re-elected Council.
2) Election of President, Vice Pres.
3) Announcements, Review Minutes, Review Agenda and Communications.
4) PUBLIC HEARING/LEGISLATION: Supplemental Appropriations: This is a repeat of our actions in October, due to a small snafu down at the village offices (due to the illness of Deborah, our Clerk), with regard to publishing the findings within a week after passage.

NOTE: We are working on hiring for Deborah's position right now, however. (If you are interested, or know someone who might be, please look at the job description / application process as posted on the village website. ) See under OLD BUSINESS for more on this topic

5) OLD BUSINESS: Several big things here:

• Economic Sustainability Coordinator: Update /Economic Sustainability Board. Mark will be announcing the new Coordinator that we've hired and we'll also be discussing, and possibly voting on the Economic Sustainability Board proposed by Judith some time ago.
  
• Evaluation Process (for Village Mgr) Discussion: We have to evaluate Mark every year, and he's been here about a year already! We have several sample evaluation forms available in our packets for us to examine and select from. I will be looking at them carefully. We are considering moving our evaluation date for him to the Summer time, further away from election. (Since the brand new Council member(s) will not be as able to provide feedback that is fully meaningful having just
  
• Announcement/Discussion: Clerk of Council and Treasurer positions. We are definitely hiring to replace our retiring Clerk of Council, Deborah Benning. Deborah had also served as Treasurer, which is a more complex role to fill. We will be discussing what to do about this issue on Monday evening.
• OPENINGS! We need YOU to serve on: Environmental Commission, Human Rights Commissions, and Energy Task Force. We have applicants for some slots, but I know that the EC still has two open slots, now that EC member Rick Walkey has been voted onto Council. We'll get an update as to the exact state of membership on these official committees of Council. Consider serving!
  
• HRC Website update: Having met with HRC members and with Bruce Cornett, Village Mgr. Mark tells us we have a few possible options, one of which would give the HRC lots of flexibility, and us a little less control, another of which would reduce their flexibility of use, but give the Village a great deal of control. We need to decide what our policy with regard to the website should be.

6) NEW BUSINESS:

• Appointment of Council Reps to Commissions, Committees, Task Forces and Boards.
• Health Care Insurance Renewal for village employees. Mark recommends renewing our current plans for medical and dental. The medical plan premium costs will increase by 6.87%, which is below what many places are finding, and the dental plan will increase by 8.94%, but this is actually below what we were paying in 2008.
  

We'll then have reports from Commissions and Committees, Agenda Planning, and, so far as I can see, no executive session.

Peace, and a poem--

O Me! O Life! by Walt Whitman

O Me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring;

Of the endless trains of the faithless—of cities fill’d with the foolish;

Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)

Of eyes that vainly crave the light—of the objects mean—of the struggle ever renew’d;

Of the poor results of all—of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me;

Of the empty and useless years of the rest—with the rest me intertwined;

The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer.

That you are here—that life exists, and identity;

That the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse.

Amen, brothers and sisters.

L.

PC on Monday, Events all Month...!

Dear People--I hope you've been able to at least sit in the sunshine and unexpected warmth of this gorgeous gold-fading-to-gray November day. I have info about Planning Commission, upcoming Village Council meetings, and other, perhaps more exciting village events....

This Monday 11/9 is our Planning Commission meeting (Bryan Center, 2nd floor, 7 pm) and we have three main issues on the agenda, although the first is simply to discuss whether the PC should have a group membership in the American Planning Association. The other two larger issues are:

1) Revising our PUD Process and site requirements. Local builders / developers, residents affected by new developments in town, are especially invited to speak to our current process and the proposed changes we hope to instigate, with a goal of making the process and the outcomes better for everyone. We had Woolperts look at our current code and offer suggestions as to how it might be improved. Their main suggestions (out of about 11 total) were:

• Create a single PUD code that governs residential, business, and industrial, as well as mixed usage, to improve clarity and ease of use. (Right now we have 3 separate codes for business, industrial, and residential, and Mark Cundiff has noted that our current regulations don't really cover things like the single-building structure proposed by the Friends Care Community).
  
• Reduce Preliminary Plan Review to One Phase: Currently, we have a 2 part "preliminary plan review" process: a "concept" plan review and a detailed plan review. John Streuwing explained in our last discussion of this topic that we did that in order to help smaller, local developers who may not be able to afford to pay professionals to do complex pre-planning for something that might be rejected. And in fact our language stipulates that these two phases can be done at the same time, if the developer wishes. Woolperts says that this is unusual and might be confusing for many developers.
  
• Open Space changes: To include a requirement that some of the required open space, 10% of it, be "usable" open space. They also seem to be suggesting lowering open space requirements overall from 25% of the overall land use to 20%. I will be asking about both of these suggestions.
• Add Land Trusts as parties that can accept, own, and maintain conveyed open space.
• Charge Village's engineering/planning costs to developers: A fee would be collected up front to help pay for any expenses associated with the project paid for by the Village; any leftovers would be returned, but our costs would be covered.
• No return of the final PUD plan to Council="irregular" according to Woolperts. I'll be asking them about this.
  
• No 35 foot height restriction? This seems new to me, from our last discussion. I'll be asking about it.
• I thought they were going to add in language that required 1) more specifics with regard to performance and aesthetic standards, but I'm not sure how/whether their changes really do that, and 2) more detailed design information regarding utilities and storm water. Again, I might be missing this in my initial review of the documents. So I'll be asking the Woolpert associate about these issues.
  

2) Creating a Historic Preservation Overlay district with a focus on 1) maintaining an inventory of historic structures in our planning office and 2) creating a process that allows for a public hearing on the demolition of historic buildings--and seeking to discourage demolition by neglect. Mark has written out a plan for this, and Council has discussed it and given our initial support for this limited kind of historic preservation ordinance. So we'll be going through Mark's proposed language in order to make sure it fits with our goals and needs.

Here is language I'll be proposing for the introduction of the ordinance, slightly modified from Mark's original suggestions:

"The public interest calls for the preservation and protection of significant historical, architectural, and archeological resources within the village that evoke Yellow Springs' and America's histories. Buildings and places that tell of the presence of our forebears add meaning and livability to our village, as do our eclectic residential areas and lively business districts. We value the creativity of our residents who have re-shaped older buildings into creative, useful structures suited for contemporary life, but also have been dismayed, in the past, by the loss of beloved buildings and landmarks due to unregulated demolition or "demolition by neglect." To protect our public interest in these historic structures, it is necessary to provide a method whereby certain public controls are required for dramatic changes to meaningful buildings, landmarks and neighborhoods, but one which also requires that we carefully consider the rights of private property and thoroughly analyze the objectives that might be achieved if a site is substantially preserved or substantially altered."

The then goes on: "PURPOSE: It is the intent of this Section to promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the public through: 1) the enhancement of [neighborhood stability, property values, economic development] and the protection of property rights of all citizens, 2) the preservation and enhancement of a village of varied architectural styles reflecting the [various] phases of the village's history, 3) the preservation of historically significant districts, sties, buildings, structures, and objects that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association, and 4) to this end, this section authorizes the adoption of overlay historic districts and to review [maintenance standards and demolition plans] which affect the historic quality of such historic districts and sites."

The material in [brackets] above represent a change I am proposing to Mark's language that I believe more accurately reflects the goals of this ordinance. I wonder if the ordering of the numbered points makes sense for us, also.

Please feel free to tell me what you think!

A quick look ahead to the weeks ahead: a week from tomorrow, Monday 11/16, will mark the swearing in of our new colleague on Council, Rick Walkey, and the beginning of a "new" Council, although four of us are returning members. We will be establishing new positions on Commissions and Task-Forces, as well as completing other ongoing business; on Monday 11/30 we will be meeting with Township trustees and the ACP consultants regarding the Visioning effort.

For the good of the village, I'd also like to call your attention to a few upcoming events (in reverse calendar order!):

11/20: Celebrate the Ohio's "Best Hometown" designation at the third Friday fling! There will be songs and celebration at a brief program between the Senior Center and the Emporium at 5:30 pm.

11/15 Nonstop Presents!! Richard Becker, Author of Palestine, Israel and the U.S. Empire Sunday, November 15^th at 2:00 Nonstop Institute, within Millworks, 305 S. Walnut Street, Suite C, Yellow Springs, Ohio.

11/14 Save Energy Save Money: Free Seminar on Energy-Efficient Building and Retrofitting

Sponsored by Community Solutions and net0home Inc.

Saturday November 14th

3PM-5PM
Yellow Springs Senior Center

Presentations:
1. Community Solutions/UD: "Energy Use and Energy Efficiency in Yellow Springs"
2. net0home Inc.: "50 Energy Audits in Yellow Springs - Biggest Energy Problems and Solutions"
3. Pat Murphy: “What Do Walls Looks Like? Thickening for Ultra Low Energy Use”
4. Bob Klahn: "Geese in the yard may irritate you, leaking ducts inside will rob you!"

5PM to 8PM
Reception at The Emporium with appetizers and wine tasting.

Booths with information and demonstrations from:

net0home Inc.
Community Solutions
Green Generation Building Co.
Living Green
Southtown Heating and Cooling
Dovetail Solar

Peace,
L.

VC: Election-e'en!

{-- I will say NO on Tuesday. (image from progressohio.org.)

Hi, People: Well, Tuesday is election day: Vote! I will support all the local levies (mental health, libraries, etc.) and I will oppose the casinos and Issue 2. I will be voting for all local positions as well. On election eve, your current council will be hard at work on a variety of concerns.

COMMUNICATIONS OF ESPECIAL INTEREST (NOT DISCUSSED IN REST OF AGENDA):

• Airport Noise: A big thick packet of information from the City Mgr of Springfield with regard to the issue. I have not had time to look at this! If someone would like to help me to sort through all the information--particularly if this is an especial concern of yours--I'd be happy to share my packet with you.
• Family Violence Prevention Center: Fundraiser at Young's Golden Jersey Inn, Nov. 4, "Adopt-A-Family" with domestic abuse issues for holiday season. For more info call 937.376.8526 or email: nicholas.hubbard@violencefreefutures.org to have your name added to their list.
  
• Voinovich staff townhall meeting with Greene County communities in Xenia on Nov. 10, 11am-12 noon @ Greene County Commissioner's Office, Exec Session Room, Administrative Bldg, 35 Greene Street Xenia Ohio.
• Hydroluorosilicic Acid info: I received a packet of information about the specific fluoride treatment that we purchase from Bonded Chemicals, Inc. If anyone is interested, it is in our packet this week. I don't have an electronic copy, and I will need mine for the next EC meeting. If you'd like to have a copy, I will find out the easiest way to have one made. Our packets are always available at the library and at the village offices, in the sitting area by the police dispatcher on the first floor.

LEGISLATION:

• ORDINANCE: First reading & Public Hearing on participation in a new AMP Hydo-electric Project at Greenup and Meldahl. (I discussed this briefly last week. They look like good projects that I am planning to support.
• RESOLUTION: establishing Village Manager Mark Cundiff as a temporary deputy Clerk of Council to assist with signing important documents in an efficient way, at no extra cost to the village.

OLD BUSINESS:

• ECON SUSTAINABILITY COORDINATOR Update: Mark has interviewed candidates and hopes to have a name to announce at our meeting!
• SIDEWALKS: 1) Crews worked last weekend on cutting back trees from public walks along Xenia Ave, east side. 2) Sidewalk replacement on same street side delayed due to staff illness. Should begin in Feb/March next year. 3) King St.: since it does not involve assessment, we should be able to be completed by end of November. A resident had specific comments about the street condition, and somewhat opposing the plan we approved, i.e., that the village will pick up the rather minimal tab for this section to resolve a current safety issue; 4) Safe Routes to School continues; surveys and tally sheets have been distributed.

NEW BUSINESS:

• HISTORIC PRESERVATION: Planning Commission, of which I am a member, proposes establishing regulations regarding demolition of structures in a historical district or historic landmarks in the village. These would not be regulations about paint colors or adding on new things, simply about the demolition of older structures altogether, or "demoliton by neglect. They mostly 1) require the village to maintain an inventory of historic structures (so that we can make sure that owners are aware of the historic value of their properties), and 2) require the owner to notify the village if a structure needs to be demolished and produce evidence that demolition is, in effect, the only feasible way forward.
• VILLAGE MANAGER EVALUATION: It's been almost a year since Mark became our Village Manager, so it's evaluation time. Mark has provided with various forms, including our own from the last evaluation of our former Village Manager. We will look at these possible forms and decide how to best evaluate his work. Please let me know, via email or phone, if you have any reflections on Mark's work for us over the past year.

EXECUTIVE SESSION: Personnel issue.

//

That's about it! Here's a lovely spooky batty Hallowe'en poem

Bats by Paisley Rekdal

unveil themselves in dark.

They hang, each a jagged,

silken sleeve, from moonlit rafters bright

as polished knives. They swim

the muddled air and keen

like supersonic babies, the sound

we imagine empty wombs might make

in women who can’t fill them up.

A clasp, a scratch, a sigh.

They drink fruit dry.

And wheel, against feverish light flung hard

upon their faces,

in circles that nauseate.

Imagine one at breast or neck,

Patterning a name in driblets of iodine

that spatter your skin stars.

They flutter, shake like mystics.

They materialize. Revelatory

as a stranger’s underthings found tossed

upon the marital bed, you tremble

even at the thought. Asleep,

you tear your fingers

and search the sheets all night.

//

Peace!
Lori