| January 3, 2006 MINUTES OF COUNCIL A regular session of Troy City Council was held Tuesday, January 3, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers. Members Present: Baker, Clark, Douglas, Harrah, Kendall, Mercer and Saxton. Presiding Officer: William F. Lohrer, President of Council Others Present: Michael L. Beamish, Mayor W. McGregor Dixon, Jr., Director of Law David E. Anderson, Director of Public Service and Safety INVOCATION: An invocation was given by Rev. Dr. James C. Wilson II, Pastor, First United Methodist Church. ORDINANCE NO. O-1-06 ORDINANCE EMPLOYING CLERK OF COUNCIL AND FIXING COMPENSATION This Ordinance was given first title reading. Mr. Clark moved for suspension of rules requiring three readings. Motion seconded by Mrs. Saxton Yes: Clark, Douglas, Harrah, Kendall, Mercer, Saxton and Baker. No: None. Mr. Mercer moved for adoption. Motion seconded by Mrs. Baker. Yes: Douglas, Harrah, Kendall, Mercer, Saxton, Baker and Clark. No: None. ORDINANCE ADOPTED The Director of Law administered the Oath of Office to the Clerk of Council. ELECTION OF PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL PRO TEM. A motion was made by Mr. Clark, seconded by Mr. Kendall, to elect Mr. Mercer President of Council Pro Tem. This motion was approved by unanimous roll call vote. ELECTION OF CLERK OF COUNCIL PRO TEM. A motion was made by Mr. Clark, seconded by Mr. Kendall, to elect Mrs. Saxton Clerk of Council Pro Tem. This motion was approved by unanimous roll call vote. ASSIGNMENT OF COMMITTEES OF COUNCIL. Mr. Lohrer announced the following Committee assignments: Committee Chair Members Buildings, Streets & Sidewalks Douglas Clark Kendall Finance Mercer Douglas Kendall Law & Ordinance Saxton Douglas Mercer Personnel Kendall Clark Harrah Recreation & Parks Clark Baker Saxton Safety & Health Harrah Baker Saxton Utilities Baker Harrah Mercer RULES OF COUNCIL. Upon motion of Mr. Clark, seconded by Mrs. Saxton, the Troy City Council Rules for Procedure were approved by unanimous roll call vote. MINUTES: The Clerk gave a summary of the December 19, 2005, meeting of Council. There were no corrections or additions. Upon motion of Mrs. Saxton, seconded by Mr. Harrah, the minutes were approved by unanimous roll call vote. ANNOUNCEMENT OF EMPLOYEES OF THE YEAR: Mr. Anderson announced the following 2005 Employees of the Year: Ken Green, Director of Golf, selected by the Board of Park Commissioners Carrie Slater, Assistant Recreation Director, selected by the Troy Recreation Board Tim Ray, Water Plant Operator, selected by the Administration Christy Herman, Management Analyst, selected by the Administration. COMMITTEE REPORTS: None There were no audience comments regarding Committee Reports or Agenda. January 3, 2006 Page Two RESOLUTIONS: None ORDINANCES: None in addition to O-1-06. COMMENTS OF MAYOR. Mayor Beamish thanked those who worked on the First Night event (alcohol-free New Year’s Eve celebration free to the public), welcomed Mr. Harrah, and provided his 2005 Annual Report (copy attached to original minutes). COMMENTS OF DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND SAFETY. Mr. Anderson commented that an Enterprise Zone Agreement application for Faurecia, including the creation of 150 new jobs, would soon be forwarded for Council consideration. He further noted that some State procedures regarding Enterprise Zone Agreements have changed. COMMENTS OF DIRECTOR OF LAW. Mr. Dixon distributed his 2005 Annual Report (copy attached to original minutes). COMMENTS OF COUNCIL PRESIDENT: Mr. Lohrer commented that he had been asked to establish a meeting of Council as a “Committee of the Whole” for a workshop by the Director of Law regarding the Sunshine Law/Open Records and had indicated that such meeting would be set if the majority of Council so wished. Mr. Lohrer stated that as a majority of Council had advised him that it was not felt such meeting would be necessary, it would not be set. He encouraged Council members to contact the Director of Law if they had any particular questions on the subject. COMMENTS OF MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. -Mr. Clark stated that the downtown lighting and the Christmas Tree were so inspiring that his daughter received, and accepted, a marriage proposal in the downtown Troy over the holidays. -Mrs. Baker stated she was disappointed that the meeting on the Sunshine Law was not being scheduled and suggested Council access the 150 page document on the subject from the State Attorney General. -Mr. Mercer commented that the companies that volunteer their time to maintain the green space at the SR41/I-75 interchange donated over $45,000 in in-kind services during 2005 and have donated over $106,000 in in-kind services in the 2.5 years since the program started. The program is known as Operation Cloverleaf and the companies involved are Greentech Corp., Ever-Green Turf & Landscape, Mercer Group Inc., Andersons Lawn and Tree Tech, Quality Lawn and Landscape, Shields Lawn Tamers, Achterberg Lawn Services, and Tree Care Inc. Mr. Mercer stated that these companies plan to continue their cooperative relationship with the City in maintaining the interchange during 2006. THESE MINUTES WERE CORRECTED AT THE JANUARY 17, 2006 MEETING TO STATE: That Mrs. Baker was the member of Council who requested a workshop regarding the Sunshine Law. That Mrs. Baker requested that the vote which had been taken on the Sunshine Law issue by e-mail be stated in a roll call vote at the meeting and that such request was ignored. AUDIENCE COMMENTS: -Susan Campbell, 1635 McKaig, stated she is concerned with the proposed extension of Commerce Center Blvd. to McKaig Road and the closeness to her property. She has contacted Miller-Valentine, the agent for the owners, several times about buying some additional land adjacent to her property and with each contact the price of the land has increased. Ms. Campbell asked if Council had any suggestions. Some members of Council suggested she try to contact the land owner directly. -Donna Hormell, 8 S. Main Street, Pleasant Hill, owner in trust for the property at 1641 McKaig, also commented regarding the extension of Commerce Center Blvd. She stated she appreciates having met with Mr. Anderson and she has been advised that the “informal plans” can accommodate moving the road about 15’ additional from the Hormell driveway. She feels this still is a safety concern as it takes four seconds to drive the distance from the Commerce Center Drive intersection on McKaig and the driveway. Mrs. Hormell asked for a written commitment that the roadway would be moved away from the driveway and stated she would continue to monitor this project. Also stated were water concerns (with the Honda development) and that the speed limit should be lowered. -Lester Conard, 1210 S. Clay Street, commented that he feels Council should discuss the Sunshine Law. He also commented regarding a TV 2 segment stating that Troy has the worst air quality in Ohio. Mr. Anderson explained that the segment was not realistic and was based on bad science, being based on a “predictor model” using old data and without any testing of the air quality. Even though the director of RAPCA, the local air quality monitoring entity, termed the report as “garbage”, Mr. Anderson stated a retraction by the television station would not be likely. January 3, 2006 Page Three There being no further business, Council adjourned at 7:49 p.m. ________________/s/________________ ______________/s/______________________ President of Council Clerk of Council |