Minutes of Past Meetings
March 2008 Council Minutes

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING
AMBERLEY VILLAGE COUNCIL
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2008

The Council of Amberley Village, Ohio met in a regular session at the Amberley Village Hall, 7149 Ridge Road on MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2008 at 7:30 P.M.  Mayor Charles Kamine called the meeting to order.  The following roll call was taken:

PRESENT :	ALSO PRESENT :	ABSENT :
Charles Kamine	Bernie Boraten, Village Manager	Rich Batterberry, Treasurer
Jon Chaiken	Lt. Richard Caudill, Acting Chief
Fran Cohen	Stephen Cohen, Village Solicitor
Peg Conway	Margie Crowley, Acting Clerk
Louis Katz
Merrie Stillpass

Mayor Kamine welcomed everyone to the regularly scheduled meeting of the Amberley Village Council, and led those in attendance through the pledge of allegiance. 

MINUTES
Mrs. Stillpass moved acceptance of the minutes of the February 11, 2008 regular meeting as submitted.  Seconded by Mrs. Cohen.  The motion carried unanimously.

FINANCE REPORT
Mr. Boraten presented the Finance Report for the month of February, 2008 (Finance Report attached).  Mr. Chaiken moved to approve the February Finance Report.  Seconded by Mrs. Cohen.  The motion carried unanimously.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

PUBLIC BUILDINGS & PARKS COMMITTEE:
Mrs. Stillpass reported that the committee met and items discussed were: evaluation of fees for the use of the community room; the tennis court will have a practice board installed in the spring; cracks in the court are being noted and will be checked for repair; tennis keycards may be purchased in the Police Department for $25.00 in 2008; weeds around the track are being checked and asphalt may need repair; recycling cans for glass and aluminum cans have been placed along the track and will be visibly labeled so that they will be easier to identify and use.  She also stated that the cornice block work being done at Village Hall is progressing quickly and the work looks good.

BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE:
Mrs. Stillpass reported that Arbor Day will be celebrated on Sunday, May 4, 2008, from 1-4 P.M. with the Mayor giving a proclamation and residents having access to the Village History Room.  Other items planned for May 4th include planting a rain garden in the ditch line between Dena Lane and the track and work on the southwest corner of Ridge and Section towards Beechlands to remove overgrown honeysuckle bushes.  Mrs. Stillpass announced that the next meeting of the Beautification Committee will be March 31, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. in the community room at Village Hall.

LONG RANGE PLANNING COMMITEE:
Mrs. Stillpass reported that the committee met and discussed focus items.  Jim Rulli facilitated the meeting and many good ideas which were discussed at length. The meeting was very productive.

PUBLIC OUTREACH COMMITTEE:
Mrs. Conway reported that the committee met and discussed the plan to take more photographs of the Village for use in the newsletter and for promoting the Village.  She reported that a student from Cincinnati Country Day School, Dan Allen, would be willing to provide additional photos that he will work on for a photography class project.  Mrs. Conway stated that resident emails are on the rise which is encouraging. She reminded everyone that the deadline for the Spring newsletter is April 9th.

LAW COMMITTEE:
Mr. Katz reported that the committee had met and voted to accept the Public Records Policy that was presented.  He moved to approve the policy, as presented in committee.  Seconded by Mrs. Stillpass.  The motion carried unanimously.

Mr. Katz then reported on the new charter amendment pertaining to the Manager’s limit for unappropriated expenses, which had previously been set at $3,000.00.  Mr. Katz explained that the committee had determined a limit of $7,500.00 would be appropriate for the present time.  He asked Mr. Cohen if this could be done by resolution or ordinance.  Mr. Cohen stated that a resolution would be appropriate but advised that Council should wait until the Board of Elections has certified the new charter amendment before voting on the new amendment.  Council will wait for the certification before taking action.

BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS:
Mr. Chaiken reported that the committee had met to review fence plans presented by Ron Levin and had granted their approval.

STORM WATER UTILITY:
Mr. Chaiken reported that the advisory board had met and requested that the Village engineer provide a “wish list” of projects, which totaled 32.  The first order of business will be to finalize Aracoma Forest, using 2008 appropriations.  Of the 31 projects remaining, it was decided that the Public Works Supervisor would determine the priority of projects to proceed with, using the remaining storm water fund appropriation.  Mrs. Cohen moved to accept both motions.  Seconded by Mrs. Conway.  The motions carried unanimously.

Mr. Chaiken stated that the Willowbrook Creek area will be discussed at the next committee meeting.

STREETS, PUBLIC UTILITIES & SEWERS COMMITTEE:
Mr. Chaiken reported that the committee met and discussed the 2008 Roads Program bid opening.  The Village Engineer recommended that Mt Pleasant Blacktopping be awarded the bid for a total contract amount of $550,908.50; this includes an extra cost of $1,500.00 for completion of the Ridge Road portion of the project by June 1st.  The balance of the project to be completed by September 1st.  Mr. Chaiken moved to accept the recommendation of the Engineer.  Seconded by Mrs. Cohen.  The motion carried unanimously.  Mr. Katz asked if there would be a penalty if the project was not completed by the June 1 deadline and Mr. Chaiken explained that extensions could be granted, if needed, for weather delays, etc.  Mayor Kamine questioned if there would be any road closing issues and requested that the public be kept up to date and notified via the Community Safe Alert system.  Manager Boraten assured everyone that they would be kept updated.  Mr. Boraten also explained that, after notification of the bid award, there would be a preconstruction meeting with the contractor to detail the preliminary work, explain the sequence of the project, and get the specifics of the program.  He reminded everyone that this project and the JCC project will be progressing at the same time, but did not foresee lengthy road closures.

OLD BUSINESS:
Mr. Chaiken reported that, in February, 2008, the Storm Water Utility Committee had reviewed a petition submitted by Mr. Michael Lake, resident at 6795 Ridge Road, and had recommended denial of his request to take over for public purpose the storm water pipe on his property.  This motion was tabled at the February Council meeting.  Mr. Chaiken made a motion to have Council vote to deny Mr. Lake’s request.  Seconded by Mrs. Cohen.  The motion carried unanimously.

MAYOR’S REPORT:
Mayor Kamine recommended Mr. Larry McGraw be selected to fill the vacant seat on the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals.  He stated that Mr. McGraw is a 30 year Village resident, a retired Hamilton County Health Department plumbing inspector and a prior City of Norwood Councilman.  Mr. Katz moved to accept the Mayor’s recommendation.  Seconded by Mrs. Cohen.  Motion carried unanimously.  Mayor Kamine welcomed Mr. McGraw and advised him that the next Board meeting will be April 7 and that the Board meets the first Monday of every month, as needed.

Mayor Kamine announced that Councilperson Tim Carter has resigned his position on Village Council due to personal work commitments.  Mr. Carter was involved in the Village website upgrade, road improvements, the storm water utility and many of Council’s other activities.  He stated that Mr. Carter will be missed and wished him the best of luck in his future endeavors.  The Mayor will appoint his replacement.

MANAGER’S REPORT:
Mr. Boraten reported that the Village Service Department had done a great job in handling the latest winter snowstorm.  He stated that the department had put in 131 man hours and had utilized 224 tons of road salt.  Mrs. Cohen stated that she had ridden with one of the crews and was very impressed with the great job that they do.  She recommended that all Council persons follow her lead and ride with a crew to experience the workload that the department handles on a regular basis during such snowstorm events.  Councilmember Conway had also taken the opportunity to ride with the snow fighters.

Mr. Boraten stated that not only has the department been dealing with snow and ice control, but they have also been involved with pot hole repair, cleaning debris from storm water pipes and channels, repairing equipment, preparing Ridge Road for the upcoming road project and catch basin repairs.

The Village Manager reported that final calculations had been verified by the H.C. Nutting Company regarding the large scale clean up at the Village’s North Site.  The Village, through its contractor, excavated 22,500 tons of buried brush, tree limbs, and leaves.  Originally, Ohio EPA had directed that this material be sent for deposit in a landfill at a much higher expense.  The Village Manager had successfully appealed that decision, receiving permission to recycle nearly all of the material.  The Village’s landfill became the first landfill in Ohio to be permitted to recycle its material.  The recycling effort, and obtaining free fill material to fill the excavated areas, resulted in a savings of $300,000.00 in overall project costs, according to H.C. Nutting.  This major recycling effort also resulted in saving valuable landfill space for better use.

The Manager reported that a separate gas monitoring plan had been submitted to Ohio EPA for a small area of material (800 cubic yards), which could not be excavated at the present time, near the cellular tower on the site.

The Village Manager also reported that the signage had been placed as part of the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Phase II program of the Millcreek Watershed.

NEW BUSINESS:
Mayor Kamine reported that with the recent snow fall, the deer count was able to be done today and introduced Lt. Rick Caudill for the report.  Lt. Caudill reported that Officer Chris Fritsch rode with the aviator and the count was 115 deer sighted in the Village during the two hour fly over.  It was estimated that an additional 10 – 15 deer should be added for deer which were hidden due to foliage and weather conditions; the acceptable count is 15 – 20 deer per square mile.  The Village is approximately 3.5 square miles.  The Mayor stated that Council will proceed with the deer culling in November, 2008, when the next deer hunting season begins.

There being no further business, Mrs. Cohen moved to adjourn.  Seconded by Mrs. Stillpass. Motion carried unanimously.

_________________________________
Margie Crowley, Acting Clerk of Council

_______________________________
Mayor Charles Kamine