June 2008

Reflections on Riverlea

Mary Jo Cusack, Mayor

July 4 picnic. In addition to the July 4 picnic, we will take a few minutes to honor Dan Owens for his many years of service to the Village. We wanted to have a separate party but could not find a space large enough for the anticipated crowd. We originally planned to have it the night before, but it was pointed out that that will be Red, White and Boom.

Airport. Please keep the letters and complaints going to the airport. After asking all of us to submit questions as required by the Part 150 Study, OSU, through its facilitator, Marie Keister, has now decided that specific questions will not be answered except in a final report filed by the consultants probably in August. Even though this report is predicated upon inaccurate information, request will be made in June to go forward with Part 2 of the Part 150 study. It is the consultant's position that there is insufficient noise in Riverlea to meet the requirements for a change. However, they maintain they are going to move forward with discussions to assist in solving the problems.

Last Council meeting. The June 16 Council meeting will be the last until September unless we have special meetings. If you have anything you would like to get on the Agenda, please let me know.

Art in the Circle. We are hoping to have this fun event back this year. We will let you know the date.

Eric Eckert and I finished the WCAT for the Worthington Fire Department and highly recommend it to any of you who have the opportunity. Since it is unlikely that the tornado sirens will be heard inside, Chief Highley recommends a NOAA radio that can be set to turn on if there is an emergency. It can be purchased at any electronics store or section of a department store.

July 4 potluck picnic on the Circle on Riverglen

Please bring a dish to share, your own table service, and something to drink for the picnic on July 4. Tables, chairs, and a tent are furnished. Council is considering furnishing hamburgers and hot dogs. Grills will be available.

Children's activities include bike, wagon, tricycle and dog/cat decorating at 3:00 pm. If you prefer, you may do the decorations at home. A parade around the Circle will begin at 3:30. Children’s games will follow. The potluck begins at 5:00 pm. Tim O'Connor will play guitar. Please come and celebrate this fine holiday with your neighbors. Want to help? contact Pat Anderson 846-2524.

Highlights from the May 19, 2008 Council meeting

The minutes of the April 21, 2008 meetings were approved, as was payment of bills and financial reports for March.

The Mayor reported the OSU Airport situation has not changed and comments from residents are encouraged. Jack Schaer is working on the storm water plan and MORPC has a working storm water plan that could be adopted by the Village. Jack will review this plan and report back to Council. FEMA had a meeting regarding snow cost recovery and Sharon Township went on our behalf and will share funds with us. Landscaping bids were received from Arnholt Group and Jill Wiebell; Pharazyn declined to bid. The Mayor thanked Diane Hitt and Sue White for pulling weeds and Ted Beegle for mowing the grass on the Circle two times.

The Solicitor suggested the Village instigate a record retention policy. He will review past records to see who was on the Record Retention Commission and report at the next Council meeting. He suggested both the Mayor and Solicitor need not attend the OSU Airport meetings. Council voted that the Mayor will attend the airport meetings. The Planning Commission reported John Wood applied for a Certificate of Appropriateness for a fence and patio, which were approved by the Commission.

The Street Commissioner reported sewers will soon be cleaned. He discussed the possibility of solar lighting for the flag on the Circle and will look into costs. Streets were patched for $640. Cost of paving by Franklin County will be between $8-$10/yd., but not all the streets need to be paved. Streets running north/south do not get as much traffic and are in better shape. He will proceed with curb repair but needs time to inform residents they can pay to have their driveway apron replaced at the same time as curb repair for $12/sq. ft. He suggested Web site and newsletter get the word out to residents so they can submit names, etc., so the company (G and G Cement) repairing curbs could contact them directly for details. The Village is not responsible for repair/replacement of driveway aprons.

The Web Manager reported a link on the Web site for the storm water plan; the problem with the link to the American Legal publishing is not the Village Web site's fault. riverlea.com and riverlea.org domain names are up for renewal at $14.99/name (later funds were approved for this). She will put a form on the Web site for the driveway aprons that can be emailed to the curb company.

Council gave permission to Pat Anderson to order the tent, tables and chairs for the July 4 picnic. Council approved payment to Jill Wiebell $70 for mowing the ravine. Zenisek reported on the sprinkler system. Absolute Irrigation inspected the sprinklers and reported that eight heads need to be replaced for $200, $50 to turn on and winterize it, plus the cost of a replacement battery. Council approved up to $400 to Absolute Irrigation to get the sprinkler system operating.

The two landscaping bids were discussed and Council chose the Arnholt Group. Tim Arnholt will provide a written statement that only he will do the work with no help from his employees, irrigation will be removed from the contract but aeration will stay, there is no sales tax, an itemized invoice for services rendered will be submitted monthly, and no working on Sundays.

Zenisek reported Oakland Nursery provided a landscape architect, Michael Warner, to give his opinion about which trees needed to be removed or trimmed in the ravine and on the Circle (later authorized $60 payment for this opinion). The trees in the Circle just need some trimming but the ravine has trees that needed to be removed. After discussion Council decided that a second opinion from an arborist was needed before any decisions are made. Zenisek will contact an arborist.

Council authorized $140 for the Mayor to attend the Mayors Association of Ohio conference and $60 for the MORPC luncheon the Mayor attended.

McIntyre mentioned the tree program was due this year and he needed a minimum of ten residents to order trees. He’ll look into the prices and choices of trees and will report back to Council next month.

The meeting adjourned at 9:35 pm.

Fall tree program

Council will soon decide whether to offer the tree replacement program for residents. In this program the Village partially funds the cost of a tree planted in the tree line; residents pay the remainder. To offer the program the Village must order at least ten trees. Please contact Dan McIntyre at 885-8397 if you are interested in buying a tree

Concrete driveway aprons

If you are interested in having your driveway apron replaced at the same time as curbs are repaired, the paving company (G and G Cement) will replace the apron at $12/sq. ft. Residents will make arrangements directly with the company. Please contact Dan McIntyre ( 885-8397) for details. He is compiling a list of interested residents.

Flint Cemetery Veterans Garden