Far Northwest Coalition

FEBRUARY 2001 FNWC MINUTES

FEBRUARY 2001 FNWC MINUTES

Far Northwest Coalition Meeting Minutes
Wednesday February 28th, 2001

The Far Northwest Coalition met for its regularly scheduled meeting at the Northwest Library at 7:00 PM, Wednesday February 28. Members present were John Best, Ann Brodeur, Mark Seeger, Rick Cook, John Murray, and Ed Kromer.

John Best started the meeting promptly. The approval of minutes from the previous meeting was initially waived, as a quorum was lacking.

John Best discussed the issue of adult entertainment establishment, distributing a letter to Rich Sensenbrenner that related the concerns of the FNWC. John reported on a recent meeting relating to "Kahoots", an adult establishment that claims to be a restaurant. At the meeting, undercover vice officers testified regarding the private party rooms available to patrons, detailing activities that transpired in those rooms. By a split vote of 3-2, the board decided to "go to war" with Kahoots. Columbus city council is looking at regulations that can be used to tighten control of these places, including planning, zoning, etc.

Best then distributed a letter to Councilwoman Maryellen O’Shaughnessy, expressing the concern of the FNWC regarding delays to the Hard Road widening project. Essentially, Hard Road was classified under the Thoroughfare Plan as 4-2D, twenty-seven years ago in 1974. The plan was to eventually widen Hard Road to five lanes to meet the needs of future growth projections in the area. The letter expresses the concern that this widening project includes the same amenities as proposed for other areas of the city, specifically a tree-lined median. FNWC has advocated funding this improvement through the use of city tax dollars, pointing towards Short North and East Broad Street proposed improvements as examples. The goal of the FNWC is simply to insure that our area receives our fair share of tax dollars. The letter references Mayor Coleman’s pledge, in a front page Dispatch article, that all areas of the city would receive equal treatment, and concluded that we want confirmation from City Council and the Public Service Department that these plans for a tree lined median would not be compromised.

At this point, a quorum being present, the minutes of the previous meeting, held January 31, 2000, were reviewed and approved as submitted.

Treasurer Ann Brodeur gave a report. The bank account had a balance of $538.91. Ann said that $100.00 had been deposited since the previous meeting. Expenditures were limited to a check to the Post Office. She reported that two subdivisions hadn’t paid dues. The board briefly discussed a possible increase in dues but decided that an increase wasn’t warranted, as costs are stable and email, etc., have actually reduced mail costs to zero.

John Best previewed the evening’s agenda. The Recreation and Parks Master Plan was discussed, and it was noted that the Northwest area suffers from the lack of land available for park development, and the high prices for land that might be available. Best mentioned that a fund had been established for the purpose of accumulating funds for parks, and that this fund has grown from the initial level of $42,000, to its current size of "several hundreds of thousands of dollars". Despite the apparently available funds for park development, the zoning and permitting process causes delays.

John reported no new information on the Giant Eagle, which is having problems complying with City of Dublin Architectural Standards.

Rick Cook asked about the status of property immediately east of the Library, noting that a "For Sale" sign had reappeared. Best explained that the developer had wanted access for his 11 home subdivisions that would cut through library property. Problems with gaining this access apparently caused the developer to have second thoughts. A board member suggested that the property in question would make an excellent park or green area. John mentioned that the Hard Road library is going to draw additional traffic to the area, as Delaware County development continues to escalate.

There was no other neighborhood news.

A representative of Mueller Tire and its developer, Mid-States Development, arrived at the meeting to present a check for $3,000 to the board, earmarked for a possible fountain in the Billingsley Road retention basin. The generosity of such a gift, particularly from a developer to a coalition of Homeowners association, was noted. Best said that it sets a "wonderful precedent". Ann Brodeur was asked to investigate depositing the gift into an account bearing higher interest than the Coalition’s operating account.

A lady in the audience identified herself as the owner of a pet sitting business, and indicated that she would donate $100 to help defray the cost of installing pet waste bag dispensers in the area. The board discussed as a possible site for this an area on Summitview, around the park east of Sawmill Road. The site, which is approximately 20 acres, includes a unique forested area of about 6 acres. Best mentioned that FNWC had asked to city to purchase this area about 2 years ago, in order to preserve it as a park-like sanctuary. Included in this area is a basin or pond, which while serving a purpose in retaining storm water, has also added to the recreational utility of this park.

At 8:00, Alan McKnight of Recreation & Parks, and Tom Russell, from Sewers and Drains, arrived to discuss the issues – usage, utility and maintenance of other such basin areas, particularly the Billingsley basin.

Tom Russell spoke first, saying that the basin on Billingsley is essentially an experiment, as a relatively inexpensive way to clean storm water. Russell said as an experiment, there are no active plans to build similar projects anywhere in the city. Best brought up the issue of storm water grants, available under the Clean Water Act. Russell agreed that the EPA has money available and detailed the process involved in applying for loans under this program, but said this money is used mainly to construct sewer lines, etc. He didn’t know if that money would be available for water quality work. He further explained how the EPA "Buys down" the interest rate on these loans, resulting in almost free money for the city.

There was a question to Tom regarding a storm water survey, drainage, etc., and what the status of the survey is. Russell responded that the final report is complete, but because the Project Manager was on vacation, he wasn’t totally familiar with it. He agreed that although the improvements called for are relatively minor, i.e., the construction of small catch basins, homeowners adjacent to these improvement areas probably wouldn’t be happy about the damage that will be necessitated by plan implementation. He promised that Jeff Cox, the Project Manager, would prepare a detailed report.

Focusing on the Billingsley project, Russell said they expect a 5-10 year cycle to drain and clean water. He said that monitoring stations were being considered to check water quality at inflow and outflow points, to help weigh the cost benefits of additional basins. Best expressed concern about kids skating on ice on the basins. Russell and McKnight agreed that Sewer Maintenance should erect warning signs, noting that the Billingsley basin is 14’ deep at its deepest part.

At this time, Alan McKnight presented an update on Recreation and Parks Master Plan, named the Centennial Plan, 1910-2010. The initial plan presentation is scheduled for mid-March. In addition to a hired consultant to work on engineering and planning, an advisory committee comprised of neighborhood representatives has been in a data collection mode, using surveys, focus groups, interviews, etc., and hope to start making recommendations in September. These recommendations will include where parks are needed, what kinds of facilities they should be – parks, swimming pools, senior centers, trails, community recreation centers, and athletic fields. Issues such as demographics, future development, costs and benefit analysis all are factors in developing the plan. McKnight stressed that this was a massive effort to coordinate recreational development in Columbus and the surrounding area.

Best asked about re-seeding areas around the Billingsley basin. Tom Russell said they are working with the general contractor, to try to get the subcontractor back to reseed and regrade. He mentioned that as the water level rises and recedes regularly, fill dirt would be almost continuously eroded. He also mentioned that the continual run-off of nutrients, mainly residential fertilizers and lawn herbicides, makes the basin prone to ongoing algae blooms.

At this point, Tom Cross, a fountain contractor in attendance, entered the discussion and gave a detailed review of the chemical processes that result in algae blooms, and the difficulty if not the impossibility of treating this problem. He said a fountain/aerator would not solve the problem in Billingsley, because of the pond layout. He said the best solution was to ask the city to treat the pond, using granular copper, similar to what homeowners commonly use in in-ground pools to treat algae. Tom Russell said the city may solicit bids to treat the pond, but wanted to review the issue further. Cross continued, saying that there were other ways to treat algae problems in such a location that might work better, and be less expensive than aeration or fountains. These included adding aquatic plantings and possibly even the introduction of algae eating fish, such as grass carp, to help naturally clean the pond. Russell reminded all that the basin was an experiment, a learning experience. He cautioned that at best the city was looking for a balance between aesthetics and utility, and while he would look into what the city could or might do to address the algae problem, he made no promises that anything would be done. In closing, he did say that if residents saw serious problems at the pond, they should call the Sewer Maintenance Operations Center, at 645-7102 or 645-6311. He indicated that the center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.


Respectfully submitted,

Ed Kromer