VILLAGE OF NORTH BEND

21 TAYLOR AVENUE, NORTH BEND, OHIO 45052

                                                                  February 27, 2017

Meeting was called to order at 7:00 P.M. by Mayor Sammons.

Members Present:

Mayor:  Mr. Sammons

Law Director: Mr. Sollmann

Fiscal Officer: Ms. Fryman, excused

Councilpersons: Mr. Hartoin, Mrs. Romweber, Mr. Nunnery,  Mr. Moorman, Ms. Smith, Mr. Boll                                                                                                                                                                                         

MAYOR’S OPENING STATEMENT

Mayor Sammons gave the State of the Village Address.  (Please see attached)

MINUTES

Ron Nunnery moved that the January 30, 2017 Minutes be accepted.  Shirley Smith seconded the motion.  Motion carried 100%.

TREASURER’S REPORT

The Treasurer’s Report is available at the Village office. 

Dave Moorman read the Treasurer’s Report in lieu of Marta Fryman’s absence. 

PAY THE BILLS

Tim Boll made motion to pay the bills.  Fran Romweber seconded the motion.  Motion carried 100%.

MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR’S REPORT

The Maintenance Supervisor’s Report is available at the Village office.

DEPUTY CLERK’S REPORT

The Deputy Clerk’s Report is available at the Village office.

POLICE REPORT

Sgt. Raker reported 44 calls for the month of January.  Five cases were assigned to detectives.  Dollar General had 1 theft.  There was a car theft at 10 Brower Rd.  There was a theft of cash and medication from an apartment at 154 Miami Avenue. 

Dave Moorman asked if Sgt. Raker ever issued citations for littering.  His response was affirmative and asked residents to get license plate numbers, description of car, etc., if they see someone in the act of littering.

Minutes, February 27, 2017

 GUESTS

No Report

FIRE REPORT

Chief Ober reported there were 0 fire details for the month of January.  There were 11 EMS runs, however, none of them were heroin related.

On April 29^th, Miami Township will have a "prescription drug take back" day from 10:00-2:00pm

Mayor Sammons asked Chief Ober about a reported overdose at 154 Miami.  The body was then disposed of on Harrison Avenue.  Chief Ober was not aware of this incident, but will verify.

THREE RIVERS’ SCHOOL

Superintendent Hockenberry reported their swimming team went to State.  Senior Isabelle Murray won the 100M Fly and received a scholarship to Nebraska.  Abby Rapien came in 5^th and received a scholarship to Eastern Michigan.  Over 2,500 people attended the play, Sister Act.  There will be a wine tasting event on April 7^th.   The Alumni Chorus will perform May 12 and 13.  Superintendent Hockenberry said they have started a Faith Advisory Board where local churches and clergy share communication.  To date, St. Joseph Church, Crossroads, Our Lady of Visitation and St. Bernard are participants.  They have also started a Business Advisory Board. The Business Round Table provides tutoring and mentoring.  They will meet at the Masonic Lodge in Cleves on April 27^th at 11:00am.  Lunch will be provided. If any business is interested in participating, email Superintendent Craig Hockenberry.             

Mayor Sammons asked about the school’s academic performance. Superintendent Hockenberry stated they are focused on academics and carry about 7 to 8 AP classes.

Ron Nunnery talked about the shortage of trade jobs and what has the school done to bring this in to focus.  Craig stated Three Rivers School partners with Great Oaks.  The Principal at Diamond Oaks comes to Taylor High School to talk with students about trade jobs.

COMMITTEES:

Finance - Mr. Moorman

No Report

Light, Water and Sewer   - Ms. Smith

No Report

Maintenance - Mr. Hartoin

No Report

Police & Fire – Mr. Boll

No Report

Planning & Zoning - Mrs. Romweber    

Fran reported she met with Jennifer Vatter with JMA and completed the Ohio Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) Report.

Fran stated there was a Planning Commission meeting on February 21 regarding the building of a pole barn at 350 Three Rivers Parkway.  The Minutes of this meeting is attached.

 Minutes, February 27, 2017             

 Planning & Zoning, Cont’d.

Dave Moorman received a voicemail from a resident who voiced concerns that North Bend should have communicated the particulars of the meeting more widely. Fran Romweber, Chair of the North Bend Planning Commission, commented that she found the criticism troubling because in the event that the resident could not be present at the Planning Commission meeting, the complainer had every opportunity to communicate concerns verbally or in writing with Eric Fazzini, senior planner at HCRPC or with anyone on the North Bend Planning Commission, prior to the meeting on February 21^st.  Such concerns of an absentee resident would have been addressed by the chair.  Every resident whose property was going to be impacted by the modification received Eric Fazzini’s full staff report.

Law & Ordinance - Mr. Nunnery

No Report        

Beautification – Fran Romweber

Fran looked over the condition of some of our banners and stated we may have to replace a few of them.  The National Flag Company will give us a 50% discount.

COUNCIL’S OLD BUSINESS

Mayor Sammons spoke about the Riverfront Project and in particular the Lane Diet.  He met with ODOT.  They will be repaving 7.1 miles of road from Addyston through to E-Town.  The Ohio River West group is in talks with ODOT regarding bike lanes.  Hamilton County Planning and Development issued North Bend a $7,500 grant for MKSK to draw up detailed plans for this Lane Diet.  They would retain four lanes on Three Rivers Parkway, however, two lanes would be                    allocated for parking during certain times of the day.  This would also include changing the Miami and US 50 intersection and how traffic turns in to Miami Avenue.

Fran Romweber is concerned about the lack of communication with Consolidated Grain & Barge  Company on US 50 and how a light at St. Annes and US 50 will impact them.  Mayor Sammons stated we are only talking about Phase I at this time, which does not include Consolidated.

Dave Moorman asked how will ODOT notify North Bend and how will they incorporate the Lane Diet and bike lanes.  Mayor Sammons said they will take information from Cleves, Addyston and North Bend and incorporate this information into ODOT’s planning, possibly recurbing when resurfacing takes place.  Mayor Sammons advised, that at the present time, only the resurfacing of US 50 is in ODOT’s plan; it neither includes the curbed, cobbled and landscaped median areas or some other elements depicted (e.g. reconfigured Miami Avenue at US 50 in the MKSK Concept Plan).

Ron Hartoin stated they should incorporate these changes before resurfacing takes place and we should address the hillside issue.

LAW DIRECTOR’S OLD BUSINESS

No Report

MAYOR’S OLD BUSINESS  

No Report 

Minutes, February 27, 2017             

 COUNCIL’S NEW BUSINESS

Dave Moorman talked about how Hamilton County Emergency Management Agency will use the Nextdoor app to notify residents of issues.  A resident must subscribe to Nextdoor to receive             these emails.

LAW DIRECTOR NEW BUSINESS

Dave Moorman made motion to adopt Resolution 2017-07 Approving the Update of the Solid Waste Management Plan of the Hamilton County Solid Waste Management District.                 Ron Hartoin seconded the motion.  Motion carried 100%.

Ron Nunnery made motion to adopt Ordinance 2017-01 Establish the Village of North Bend Residential Building Department.  Fran Romweber seconded the motion.  Motion carried 100%.                Ron Nunnery made motion to declare Ordinance 2017-01 an emergency and to dispense with the requirement that this Ordinance be read on three separate days and be adopted upon its first reading.  Fran Romweber seconded the motion.  Motion carried 100%.

Ron Nunnery made motion to adopt Ordinance 2017-02 Authorizing a Request to the Ohio Board of Building Standards to Certify the Village of North Bend, Ohio for Enforcement of the Residential Code of Ohio with the Condition that the Hamilton County Residential Building Department Exercise Inspections and Authorizing an Agreement for Such Enforcement Between the Village of North Bend and Hamilton County Building Department.                        Tim Boll seconded the motion.  Motion carried 100%.   Ron Nunnery made motion to declare Ordinance 2017-02 an emergency and to dispense with the requirement that this Ordinance be read on three separate days and be adopted upon its first reading.  Tim Boll seconded the motion.  Motion carried 100%.

Fran Romweber made motion to adopt Ordinance 2017-03 Adding Sections 900.121 and 900.122 to the Criminal Code and Sections 1300.08 and 1300.09 to the Nuisances; Abatements Code of the North Bend Revised Code of Ordinances.  Tim Boll seconded the motion.  Motion carried 100%. 

The Permissive Use Agreement for landscaping the east side lot of St. Annes is tabled for our next council meeting.

MAYOR’S NEW BUSINESS/ REPORT

Review of employee vacation benefits will be discussed in Executive Session tonight.

OPEN TO THE FLOOR

Jim Pessler of the Biermarkt would like to purchase three parcels of land on Three Rivers Parkway owned by North Bend.  He stated he has spoken with John Niehaus and Mr. Ott   and both of these developers have stated the feasibility of building on these parcels is scarce.  There are no sewer lines running to the Addyston boundary line. Mayor Sammons stated we  need to see professional documents stating the land is not buildable and asked what the current status of the land is.  Ron Nunnery asked Mr. Pessler if he was willing to purchase the property without the zoning being changed.  He would like to purchase the property to clear it for possible car shows, etc.   He asked if North Bend could clear out debris on the property.             Ron Hartoin asked Rick to look into it.

 Minutes, February 27, 2017             

 Ron Hartoin made motion to go into Executive Session pursuant to R.C. 121.22 (G)(1) to consider the employment and compensation of a Village employee at 8:40pm.   Tim Boll seconded the motion.  Motion carried 100%.

Ron Nunnery made motion to adjourn Executive Session and resume the council meeting.             Dave Moorman seconded the motion.  Motion carried 100%.

MAYOR AND COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS, COMMENTS

Our next Council meeting is Monday, March 27, at 7:00pm.

MAYOR’S FINAL COMMENTS

No Report

 ADJOURNMENT:     

Ron Nunnery made motion to adjourn the meeting.  Ron Hartoin seconded the motion.        Motion carried 100%.   Meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m.                  

Respectfully Submitted,

_____________________________                 _______________________________  

Fiscal Officer                                                          Mayor

                                 TREASURER’S REPORT

      February 27, 2017

To Council Members for Your Information and Review

We have closed out 2016 financially with the issuance of the 2016 Annual Financial Report.  A copy of this has been distributed to each councilperson. Please direct any questions you may have concerning the report to me at the office. Copies of the report are also available to the public by visiting the Village office.

The Auditor assisted me with the Hinkle Notes discussed at the January meeting and have not forwarded them to me at this time. They initially requested $2,000 to help me with them, but included their assistance with the cost of the 2015-2016 audit if we allow them to come in to audit at this time.  They have been sent the preliminary paperwork they requested and will be in the building this Wednesday, March 1.

Distributed to council members this month are the following reports:

·         Monthly Cash Flow Analysis:

Showing money in/money out and the check book balance

·         Payment and charge Register Report:

Includes all checks & automatic payments taken directly from our checkbook since last Council Meeting

·         Receipts Register Report:

Includes all sources of revenue taken in by the Village since last Council Meeting

·         Revenue Status Report:

Shows the year-to-date status of each revenue account as of date of this Council Meeting

·         Fund Status Report: Shows amount left in each fund as of date of this Council

Meeting and the current checking account balance

·         Year to Date Beautification Accounting Report – no report

·         Mayor’s Discretionary Fund Report – no report

Copies of all the above reports are available for public viewing at the Village Office.

Respectfully submitted, Marta Fryman, Fiscal Officer

MAINTENANCE SUPERVISOR’S REPORT      February 27, 2017       Rick Schultz

Trimmed back shrubs, transplanted grasses, cleaned up mulch beds in park area.

Started prep for the installation of the brackets to hold the hanging baskets.

No snow events this month.

Hamilton County Detail removed trash on the south side of Three Rivers Parkway from Shady Lane to the Addyston line, then back on the north side to just past the day care.

Installation of playground lights is completed.

Saved old posts from Aston Oaks.  We began to sand them and repaint black to use for Stop signs and street signs.

How to handle calls for dead deer pick-up on private property within North Bend.

DEPUTY CLERK’S REPORT          February 27, 2017         Marilyn Kramer

Rainbow Environmental completed their asbestos report on 3 Miami and it will cost $1,830

to remove the asbestos from the basement.   Hamilton County is paying for this cost.  I have confirmed Tuesday, March 7^th at 8:00am with Rainbow Environmental for the asbestos abatement.  Once this is completed Hamilton County will award the demolition bid and we     can set a date for razing 3 Miami.   The property must be vacant for 90 days and February 11, 2017 marked that date.  I will take before and after pictures of the property for Hamilton County.

 I’ll complete the Open Records Policy Training by the end of this week.  It was a three hour course.  I will also have the Beautification Committee and the Finance Committee meeting minutes in a binder located in our office for viewing as part of our open records policy.

 Our audit will begin March 1-3.   I’ve been collecting information that Bastin and Company needs for the audit.

 Edinburgh Place has paid for the baskets and flowers that will be installed this spring.

 Our Spring Clean Up dates are April 18 – May 8, 2017.   I will post these dates on our bulletin board and at the post office.   The notice will also appear on our website and on Facebook.

I have confirmed the dates May 1 – May 8, 2017 for a tire dumpster thru Keep Cincinnati Beautiful.  They have been granted funds for this purpose.

 A member of the Westwood Historical Society emailed me regarding a couple of books about William Henry Harrison she saw at the Ohio Book Store.  One was an early biography of him and the other was an early printed copy of an address he gave in North Bend.   By the time I called for pricing, they were already sold.   I asked them to keep an eye out for such books in the future.

 The Ohio Department of Commerce stopped in for our annual boiler inspection –we passed.

 State of the Village Address

Monday, February 27,2017

I wanted to start off my address today to remember a member of our Village family who passed away last year. Ed Sullivan was a trusted member of our Village and he served with distinction as our Fiscal Officer. He served the Village for over 6 years and helped guide us through some rough patches when the country experienced the Great Recession. He helped keep us disciplined in our financial decisions and provided valuable feedback when financial decisions were being considered. We miss his quirky jokes and his love for life, his family and his wife. Ed, thank you for your service to our Village and to our country for your time in the military. You are missed.

As we have experienced over the past year, a lot of changes have occurred in our Village and our country. To start, we hired Marty Fryman as our new Fiscal Officer. Marty brings a wealth of knowledge to the position and she hit the ground running. I appreciate what she does for me and our Village. As to our country, we elected a new President and through the first few months after the election, there have been a lot of protests and celebrations, anger and happiness and a lot of good press and bad press. Our country seems to be at a crossroads where we seem to be taking sides as Americans. We now describe people as ultra conservative right or radical liberal left. We have become to polarized and have stopped listening to each other. We have disagreed and have also become disagreeable. I was recently in Boston for a business trip and had a lunch meeting with a potential new customer. When we first met he asked if we were having all of the protests in our community over the recent Executive Order for controlling immigration. He knew I was also a mayor and I told him that we have had no protests in our community. I actually mentioned to him that almost 90% of the people in our Village voted for Trump. He seemed totally taken aback about this. We then went on and had a great discussion about politics and what we were for and against. We did not get angry at each other or call each other names. We had an honest discussion. At the end of our discussion, he said he appreciated the fact that we could have a civil discussion about things we totally disagree on. He found it refreshing and so did I. So I ask everyone to take the rhetoric down and start listening to each with respect and as fellow Americans. We are on the same team even though we compete for our beliefs and how the country should move forward.

As we move into 2017, I see a lot of great things happening in the Village. Over the past few years, we have had to manage a lot of changes and through it all of it, the Village has come through this period better than ever. I am so proud to announce again that as of today, the state of the Village is strong.

Going forward, we as a Council are looking into what else can we do to make this Village a better place to live? As I stated last year, we have started on a journey with the assistance from Hamilton County Development Corp and Hamilton County Regional Planning and Development and MKSK with improving our riverfront. With the cooperation of the Village of Cleves and Miami Township, we were provided two grants and with those grants we hired MKSK to provide a vision for the development of our Riverfront. They provided the drawings and plans and a guide forward and we then presented those plans to the community. The community on an overall perspective liked what our vision was. They especially liked what we could possibly do on US 50 with creating a road diet through a short section of US 50 where we could help establish an area for commerce and for local activities. I along with HCRP&D and MKSK have met with ODOT on three occasions to provide them an overview of what we would like to see on US 50. In our last meeting, through an additional grant provided by HCRP&D, prepared a more clearer vision for this section of US 50 through our Village. It involves lane diets instead of a road diet where there will be restricted parking times for high traffic times but allow for on-street parking during non-peak hours. This is currently being reviewed by ODOT and hope to have a response back from them soon. All of this will not mean any additional funding from the Village. We hope that what we can achieve here will help revitalize this area between St. Anne's and Miami Ave. and make it an area that we all can be proud of. While we have been working with ODOT on the plans for US 50, we have also been working with our Congressman, Steve Chabot and his staff, in trying to assist us with the development of our Riverfront and tying in the historic nature ofthis project. Mr. Chabot was very impressed with the project and has engaged his chief of staff in Washington D.C. to assist us. I have already had a discussion with him and his chief of staffs wife comes from North Bend so he is very familiar with the area. I am hoping that our coordination with the Congressman's staff will bear fruit in providing funding and resources for this project. We believe by developing the riverfront that we will become a destination point for many visitors because this project will be tied directly to Harrison's Tomb. We plan on having an interpretive center that will allow visitors to view the tomb and to learn more about our two presidents along with the history of this area. We are also looking at having a park where we can have walking and bike paths along with other activities like sand volleyball and possibly a dog park. We would also like to see one or maybe two restaurants locate on the river along with boat

docks and a promenade area that will be built up along the river. I have been informed that we may be able to qualify for federal funding from the Army Corp of Engineers for the building of a wall that will bring integrity to our shores and provide a walking path along the river. I have asked our Deputy Clerk to work with others in completing this application for funding. As you can hear, we have some exciting changes that we are working on in the Village. More to come.

As part of our park renovation, we received a $30 k block grant last year from Hamilton County that were used to have three lights installed along the walkway around the park and once it gets warmer, we will be installing six pieces of exercise equipment for adults. This will enable the Village to put on some events at the Park and also make it an area for kids to play and for adults to exercise. We as a council are looking to provide more area for citizens of North Bend to be active and share community activities. Two years ago, through a grant from Interact For Health, we were able to add a shelter to our new Presidential Park. This shelter allows for families to dine together outside without the worry of rain or hot sun disrupting their time together. It has also allowed for more activities to be done in our Village where shelter is needed or wanted. We also installed security cameras that we thank our partners at Interact for Health for this gift.

Since becoming Mayor in 2012 and establishing the Beautification Committee, we have outlined some of the improvements we wanted to make in our Village. Through our initial 3 year plan, we expanded our Christmas Lights, installed planters throughout the Village and installed a new playground and shelter area. At this time, I would once again like to recognize Fran Romweber and Marilyn Kramer for their un­ending pursuit of grants, grant writing and staying in front of the WeThrive and Interact for Health organizations in seeking funds to improve our Village. (Pause) The lighting we have installed will help our young folks in feeling safer at night when they are in this area along with allowing our police to better monitor the area.

Also, through the Councils wisdom, the BC has been approved for a budget in the amount of $9,000 in 2017. The funds have been designated to maintaining all ofthe new hanging flower baskets along with new banners which will adorn both the new and historic parts of the Village. The slogan that the BC came up with in 2014 is ((Naturally Beautiful". We hope that by adding to our already beautiful flower boxes that this will enhance even more our efforts in beautifying the Village and we hope the rest of the residents within the Village will take some additional time and effort to beautify their homes and gardens.

None of what I just spoke about can be achieved without the efforts of our maintenance department. Rick Schultz, our maintenance supervisor, has been the catalyst for us to be able to make all of these improvements. Without him and his crew, none of this would be possible. I want to thank Rick for all of his past efforts and his continued efforts moving forward. (Pause) Speaking of maintenance, the Council once again through its wisdom, granted funds in the maintenance budget in 2016 to restore the driveway that meets up to our Village garage. These enhancements have been made and the driveway looks great. I would also like to take time to thank Rick and Dave for their efforts in maintaining our Village. It has never looked better.

Through all ofthis, the funds ofthe Village need to be managed and I would like to thank our chairman of the Finance Committee, Dave Moorman, for working with Marty Fryman in their efforts in working with me to help manage the finances of the Village. (Pause) Dave wasted no time in learning his new role in 2016. He has asked tough questions and demanded honest responses to those questions and concerns. Leading the finance committee is not a glamorous role but a necessary and valued one. I expect Dave to continue to show his concern for how we spend the citizens money. Starting in 2014, through the leadership of Bill Welch, we established a road improvement fund so that we could plan for future road improvements. We started by allocating $80,OOO/year to this fund. Dave, in 2016, did an extensive review of our roads and how we should plan for the future of maintaining, repairing or re­paving of those roads. It is with this forward looking budgeting and planning process, we hope to maintain our strong fiscal health and making sure we continue to provide for the basic services that our citizens expect of us. With this review being completed, we believe as a Village that we will not need to come to the citizens of North Bend for a request for a levy to help pay for the on-going upkeep of our roads. Effective in May of 2016, our costs did increase significantly for our police protection and currently, our budget has accounted for this increase and we believe at this time we can pay for it through our general funds. I ask Dave and Marty to continue to review our finances so that we can continue to manage our affairs with the current funds we receive.

My other vision is the development of new condos from the area between our boundary line of Addyston and North Bend all the way down to the BierMarket. I envision an entrance into this

development from Shady Lane with river views on their back decks. I have been approached about a possible development that may occur that will bring this vision to the Village. The riverfront and condo developments will not only improve our Village but also our tax base and ability to continue to attract people to live in our Village. And finally, I would like to see us work with the owners of the North Bend Town Ce~tre to bring in more business and develop the area facing US 50. I have already shown the plans for the Riverfront and US 50 and they appear to be on board with the improvements. This development has been here for years and I think it is time for us to make.this area a center of commerce for our Village.

As I stated last year, as the Mayor of the Village, and I will pledge to you again that I will continue to seek the opinions of our residents when formulating new ordinances, establishing new services or adding improvements to our Village. I will continue to mention that I would like to see our residents more active in their government. This can be achieved first and foremost by attending our monthly council meetings but it can also be met by getting involved. Ask what you can do. Ask how you can help. Ask why things happen the way they do. Ask your fellow residents to get more involved. Eleven years ago, I was asked to get involved and be part of the solution by joining Council. Six years ago, I asked to be your Mayor and you honored me by voting me in. I asked again in 2015 and you voted me back in. I now ask all of you again, how can you be part of the solution? How can you make this Village better? How can you make this a safer place to live? How can you make North Bend the envy ofthe West Side?

I have had the privilege of being part of this Council since I moved to North Bend in 2006 and I believe this Village has a great future. We have great residents who care about their Village and care about the history the Village represents. As I mentioned last year and will continue to mention, let us keep in mind why we have a government. We are here to maintain a Village we all chose to live in. Provide services that make everyone's life easier to live and through our collective efforts help this Village thrive.

I again want to thank everyone on this Council for making my job a lot easier and by looking out for the interests of the many instead of the interest of the few. I look forward to another successful year for all of the promise it provides.

God Bless the Village of North Bend and God Bless the United States of America.