ThisWeek CW 12/10/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/12/07/canal-winchester-in-market-for-parks-department-software.html

Canal Winchester Public Works Director Matt Peoples is hoping to implement a new citywide software system to combine parks and recreation facility rentals, access passes and concession sales.

At Canal Winchester City Council’s Nov. 30 meeting, Peoples asked members to consider purchasing a new system as part of a proposed change in the legislation regarding how facilities are reserved and rented for use by the public and various organizations.

The new system could encompass the community center, Town Hall, the Interurban building, the pool and various athletic fields and park facilities.

“At the end of the pool season, we identified a need for some software there because our vendor is no longer in business and a couple of our (point of sale) systems aren’t working, so we’re interviewing some vendors and that will expand into all of our facilities, including the recreational fields,” he said.

According to Peoples, the current system installed at the pool only works for that facility, and does not directly connect to the city’s financial system, making it difficult to complete accounting functions.

“We’ve interviewed three companies so far,” he said. “It’s hard to find one company that does everything we do.

“We want to have membership management as well as the facility management and then throw in the point of sales system for things like the concession stands.”

Right now, the city’s planning and zoning department is responsible for maintaining reservations for the various athletic fields, something Development Director Lucas Haire said doesn’t make sense.

“We’re responsible for this function but don’t really have a system in place to do this and don’t have staff for it, so it’s getting more and more difficult to manage,” Haire said. “So there needs to be some updates to who’s responsible and the rules for rentals as well.”

Council asked that Peoples continue working with the city staff to determine the best product for Canal Winchester’s needs that can then be presented to council for approval.

Peoples hopes to have a new system in place by this spring.

ThisWeek CW 12/3/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/11/30/aqua-ohio-flushable-items-can-block-sewer-lines.html

Some Madison Township residents learned the hard way last month that items marked “flushable” frequently are not. A sanitary sewer overflow occurred recently behind residences and a school near the Blacklick Estates water treatment plant.

Township trustee Gary McDonald said residents on Shoreline Court reached out after noticing liquid and debris around the sewage cap near their house. McDonald and Public Works Superintendent Dave Weaver inspected the site and followed up with Aqua Ohio to clear the obstruction.

Officials with Aqua Ohio then sent an email to the township on Nov. 10, advising that residents need to be a part of the solution in preventing sanitary sewer overflows. And when they do occur, the first call should be to Aqua Ohio.

Aqua Ohio representative Jeff LaRue said the company has a goal of “zero SSOs.” When an obstruction occurs, residents should notify the Aqua Ohio call center at 877-987-2782.

According to LaRue, the company has implemented a monitoring and preventive maintenance program that includes remote scouring along the 26 miles of collection lines in Blacklick Estates, which includes more than 600 manholes.

“When this scouring proves insufficient, Aqua uses mobile cameras to investigate the cause,” LaRue wrote in the email. “The most common culprits are grease and towels. It’s also not unusual for the cameras to discover bricks, stones, even 2-by-4s and oil filters in the sanitary system.”

Large blockages require the company to excavate and repair the lines, he said.

“Public awareness of what should or shouldn’t be put in the sanitary sewer is crucial … we truly regret the occurrence behind the homes on Shoreline and will pay special attention with the hopes of preventing future problems,” LaRue wrote.

According to Aqua Ohio, common items that sometimes are marked as “flushable,” but should not be put down drains or flushed in toilets, include: disposable diapers; tampons and tampon applicators; sanitary napkins; cleaning or facial wipes of any kind; bandages; cotton balls and swabs; condoms; medication; fats, oils or grease; automotive fluids; paint, solvents, sealants or thinners; poisons and hazardous waste; and pet feces.

ThisWeek CW 12/3/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/11/30/city-asked-to-provide-more-data-about-water-quality.html

Canal Winchester city council member-elect Mike Walker followed up his campaign promises by suggesting the city provide more timely information regarding water quality improvements.

Walker said at the Nov. 16 council meeting he would like to see the city put out more information about water quality improvements so residents can make more-informed choices about home appliance purchases.

“I’d like to request that as we have continued improvement to the quality of our water, I’d like there to be a progress report of how those improvements are coming along,” Walker said.

“Citizens like myself don’t want to keep investing our money into things like new water softeners and other items to improve the water in our house if they are no longer necessary. I just think a progress report might be helpful.”

Walker suggested the communication could be distributed with the water bills.

Public Works Director Matt Peoples said the city completes an EPA-required consumer confidence report every April that provides water quality information, but he believes his staff could provide more timely information once results are in from a current water-testing program.

The test uses small pieces of metal, called coupons, which react to the chemical composition of the water; this helps to determine if changes made to address issues, such as controlling phosphate content, are working.

“We do an annual consumer confidence report mailed with bills around April but that doesn’t address current concerns,” Peoples said. “If you remember, we’re doing coupon testing to see how our system updates are working and we may start seeing those results the end of December, so we can do some sort of report out of that to get info out on.”

Water manager Joe Taylor said upgrades to the city’s water plant are on track and reclamation manager Steve Smith told council that computer management improvements at the plant should be completed before the end of the year.

ThisWeek CW 12/3/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/11/30/madison-township-fire-department-officials-expect-to-see-new-fire-truck-delivered-in-spring.html

The Madison Township Fire Department moved up its timeline for replacing an aging fire truck.

Fire Chief Robert Bates asked Madison Township trustees for approval Nov. 18 to purchase a new fire engine at a total cost of $575,342; the price includes a pre-payment savings of $29,958 if the order is processed prior to the end of the year.

According to Bates, the new truck will replace Engine 182, which was totaled in an accident this summer. It was close to being replaced anyway because it was more than 10 years old and had more than 100,000 miles on it, Bates said.

The department has two other engines that are also nearing the end of their usefulness and will need to be replaced as well, but Bates has not requested money for those.

“Because we have replacement value insurance on the engines, the insurance will settle our claim once we’ve signed the contract for the new truck,” Bates said.

“They’ve already provided us with the number that we have to match for what they’ll pay out; it will take a couple weeks for that check to come from the insurance company after we’ve paid for the new truck upfront.”

For this reason, the trustees approved payment from township funds which will then be reimbursed in total by the insurance company.

Because the department’s fire engines range in age from 10 to 20 years old, it had already convened a working group to design the new truck’s requirements before Engine 182 was involved in the accident. The new engine is expected to be delivered in early spring 2016.

Firefighter Jim Looney said the working group looked at vehicles from Pierce, Sutphen, Rosenbauer and Seagrave.

“We … decided to purchase the Pierce based on overall quality, design, maintenance, safety features and dealer assistance,” Looney said.

The new engine will be almost four feet shorter than the current engines, but it will be more maneuverable and will use less power.

“I think they did an excellent job and made a good decision,” Bates said. “They struggled with some issues and decisions, but things like the shorter wheel base that is more maneuverable and better storage design made it a good choice.

“We took a demo version of this truck down West Street in Canal Winchester. It doesn’t get any narrower than that and this truck dealt with it just fine,” he added.

ThisWeek CW 12/3/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/11/30/canal-winchester-and-groveport-cities-anticipate-more-revenue-and-spending-in-2016-budgets.html

Canal Winchester and Groveport officials are preparing for the new year by approving appropriation budgets for 2016.

Both cities anticipate larger revenue totals for 2016 and have put budgets in place that take advantage of the additional money to invest back into city projects and programs.

Ohio law requires that municipalities maintain a balanced budget with estimated expenditures equaling anticipated revenue.

Canal Winchester

Canal Winchester City Council is considering a hike of about 9 percent in general fund appropriations for 2016, increasing potential spending to $6,872,935 over the 2015 estimate of $6,227,750.

As in previous years, the two largest expenses are for staff salaries and benefits and debt payments, according to Finance Director Amanda Jackson.

She said the city will need to make adjustments because of municipal tax changes associated with House Bill 5. Legislators said the new law would simplify municipal income tax codes, but local officials — including Jackson — said revenue totals will likely decrease as the changes go into effect.

Groveport

Similarly, Groveport City Administrator Marsha Hall said revenue in her city is up by almost 35 percent this year, in large part due to a number of new businesses in the community. However, as with Canal Winchester, Groveport is estimating future revenue conservatively in anticipation of the HB 5-related changes.

The changes to the income tax code take effect next year, which means officials in both Canal Winchester and Groveport expect to see cuts in revenue in 2017.

“In general, yes, revenues are up by about 35 percent this year, although we are estimating 2016 revenue very conservatively,” Hall said.

“While the budget shows our expenses to be higher, they’re actually lower this year, but we are required to have a balanced budget so our contingency line items are larger to make up for that.”

The approved 2016 general fund appropriations for Groveport are $16,051,331, which is about $500,000 more than the approved $15,540,239 general fund appropriations in 2015.

One new addition to the appropriations in Groveport is for transportation services associated with the Groveport Rickenbacker Employee Access Transit system. Total anticipated expenditures for that program in 2016 will be $120,008, according to Groveport’s approved budget.

The GREAT program started operations in September. It is jointly funded by Groveport and Obetz, with support from the Central Ohio Transit Authority and local businesses to provide a public transportation option for people who work in businesses at Rickenbacker-area companies by bridging the gap between existing COTA stops and the industrial warehouse buildings where they work.