Far Northwest Coalition

NOVEMBER 2010 FNWC MINUTES

Far Northwest Coalition

Columbus, OH  43235

November 23, 2010

The Far Northwest Coalition (FNWC) met for its regularly scheduled meeting at the Northwest Library on Hard Road.  Members present were John Best, John Murley, Kelly Thompson, Mike Brown, Dale White and Rich Herner.

The FNWC moved, and seconded, approval of the Minutes from the last meeting held on October 27, 2010 as presented.  Motion passed.

Best briefly discussed the Motion from the previous meeting that suspended FNWC dues collection for 2010 and 2011, since the group has few actual expenses anymore with the extensive use of email for communication.

Bill Breedlove, a local resident, made a presentation to the FNWC about railroad quiet zones (RRQZ), as designated by the Federal Railroad Administration.  He is looking for support from local entities to have the railroad crossings at both Snouffer Road and Dublin-Granville Road (St Rt 161) designated as a RRQZ.  Essentially, other safety protections are in place at the grade crossing, rather than having the train blow its horn.  He has done extensive research on the subject, with various options available for the zone.  He has been in touch with several different government entities concerning these crossings.  Snouffer Road is under the jurisdiction of Franklin County while Dublin-Granville Road is under the City of Columbus.  The RRQZ designation would have to be requested by the affected governmental unit and the cost also paid for by that entity.

He said it is up to the local municipalities to pay for the improvements and that Franklin County had told him that they try to err on the side of caution in instances like this.  He said that looking at various studies; it may be safer with these types of safety precautions in place than with the typical crossing gate and train horn.  It was also discussed how these types of safety measures might affect local businesses in the Linworth area as well as any possible liability on the part of the sponsoring municipality.  He is looking for letters of support from local entities to take to Franklin County to try and get this designation put in place for these two crossing spots.

Jeff Brown and Kurt Dennis then made a presentation to the FNWC about a concept plan to add an outdoor display on the Dennis Hyundai lot near Snouffer Road, as the other local car dealers already have in place.  They noted the Dennis curb cut actually serves 3 different businesses and that their concept plan cannot put forward the same type of layout display as the other dealers have now.  They are looking for no more than 6 spaces, as the other dealers have, and would put in on a hard surface, with the same set back as the other dealerships.  The concept is to locate the display next to the mounding on the lot but trying not to tear up any of the trees that currently exist there. 

It was noted by FNWC members that Dennis had been putting cars on display on the mounded grass for some time now.  Dennis admitted that they have been doing that to gauge the reactions of the local residents and whether they have any issues with the display.  The current zoning is LC-4 which would require an amendment to the zoning text to allow the outdoor display in that area.  They said they plan to use roughly the same language which appears in the Byers Mazda zoning text.  There was then a general discussion on alternative layouts for the display area that may be more agreeable to the group than the one presented by Dennis.

Maureen Lorenz of the Columbus City Recreation and Parks Department then led a discussion with the group in attendance about the progress of the Hard Road Park project.  She said they were finishing a topographic survey and starting on some of the design work now.  She said there are about 39A available for the park, including the ravine.  She noted that the City currently has a maintenance facility located in the water tower on Smoky Row but will need to move and are considering moving that facility to the Hard Road property.  She said they already have a similar facility at Whetstone and residents could see how that blends into the area. 

She said they currently have about $250K in a budget for the Hard Road park and plan to start a design with a committee group made up of City staff and local residents.  The ultimate plan is for this location to have a Rec Center of some sort but that would entail several million dollars and probably a membership fee for use.  With the current budget, she would anticipate being able to install a playground, picnic shelter, a ball field, some walking paths within the wooded areas, as well as some grass playing fields and a parking lot.  They would like to break ground in March, which would entail receiving bids in January, with design decisions made by the end of January.  So the planning would have to start shortly to meet this timetable.  She said a lot of thought has already gone into the infrastructure of the park and was included in the Hard Road widening project. 

After some additional discussion by the FNWC, particularly from a safety and economic perspective, it was moved and seconded to table the RRQZ issue for more information.  Of particular concern is input from the adjacent schools and any input from the district.

Again, after some additional discussion concerning the Dennis Hyundai outdoor display concept, it was moved and seconded to table the issue for additional information; in particular some other possible variations on the layout of the display pad.

It was then moved and seconded to approve the Minutes from the prior meeting as presented.  With there being no further business to come before the FNWC, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,

Rich Herner

FNWC Secretary