ThisWeek CW 10/22/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/10/19/city-oks-rezoning-fee-waivers-for-school-projects.html

The Groveport Madison Local School District has received city approval to move forward with combining five district buildings into one facility adjacent to the high school.

At Groveport City Council’s Oct. 13 meeting, members voted unanimously to approve two pieces of emergency legislation aimed at further improving on the school district’s current high school construction project.

Superintendent Bruce Hoover had asked council Sept. 28 to consider rezoning an industrial warehouse the district purchased at 4400 Marketing Place so the building could be remodeled for use as a multipurpose educational and administrative building, including bus garage facilities, storage and new Cruiser Academy space.

Hoover also asked that council consider waiving any city fees associated with the review of plans and other applications for the projects. He estimated that by doing this, the district would be able to free up about $50,000 that could then be put back into additional project improvements.

City Administrator Marsha Hall said the legislation council approved doesn’t anticipate or set a dollar amount associated with the fees, but does waive whatever fees possible.

“We will not have totals for fees being waived until all plans, plan revisions and HVAC inspections are completed. That is why we wrote the ordinance the way we did — type, not amounts,” Hall said.

Some of the fees associated with inspections and plan reviews are not charged by Groveport and thus cannot be waived, particularly those associated with the city of Columbus.

Because construction on the new high school has already started, and because the district wants to start work on its new Marketing Place facility as soon as possible, council approved both pieces of legislation as emergencies, waiving the usual three public readings.

ThisWeek CW 10/22/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/10/19/guiler-park-improvements-part-of-eagle-scout-project.html

After receiving the support of Canal Winchester City Council in July, Kevin Diehl has earned his Eagle Scout rank with the completion of his project at Guiler Park.

Diehl asked for approval to install a brick paver patio, benches and a new flagpole in the park.

“When I was trying to come up with a project, I knew that I wanted to do something that would last,” Diehl said. “I realized that there was no flagpole at Guiler Park and decided I wanted to put a pole and resting area with it. I chose Guiler Park because I’ve grown up in Canal Winchester and when I was in preschool, we used to go to that park and play, so I wanted to give back to it.”

On Oct. 4, Diehl joined his family, fellow Scouts from Troop 103 and city officials to raise the flag and complete the dedication. Mayor Michael Ebert issued a proclamation at the Oct. 5 Canal Winchester City Council meeting thanking Diehl for the project and recognizing his outstanding citizenship.

“The dedication of the flag on Sunday was a very nice ceremony that I was glad to be a part of,” Ebert said.

Public Works Director Matt Peoples, who helped sponsor the project, agreed.

“It was a really nice ceremony and the flagpole and benches and paver stones there look really nice and should keep looking good for a long, long time,” Peoples said.

According to Diehl, he was able to obtain several donations to make the project happen.

“The city of Canal Winchester donated the flagpole and benches. Mr. Tom Obert from our troop donated most of the other materials I needed,” he said. “I communicated with Mark Clotts from the Hamilton Parker Co., too, and he donated all of the pavers that were used.

“Tools and labor were donated by different members of the troop and I also received monetary donations from friends and family.”

Working with the city and finding donations taught Diehl about how much work is needed to bring a project like this to fruition.

“This project taught me a lot about what goes into all of the behind-the-scenes parts of anything,” he said. “I learned how to organize contacts, resources and people to complete my project.

“Throughout my time in Boy Scouts, I’ve gained leadership skills and I truly put all of these skills into effect.”

Diehl said he hopes his project will promote patriotism and will provide a place for him to reflect on a mentor who has died.

“I chose to dedicate my project to all who have served in the United States Armed Forces because the idea of this project was to promote patriotism in our city,” he said. “I also dedicated it to Tim ‘Fluffy’ Sperling. He was someone who really influenced me, not just in Scouts, but in life. Tim always knew how to make something out of nothing and he could make anything fun. I was lucky enough to be close with Tim before he passed away on Sept. 7, 2011. Tim was a huge inspiration to me and so many others. His memory will forever live on.”

ThisWeek CW 10/22/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/10/19/dinner-concert-will-benefit-groveport-food-pantry.html

The Center for Groveport Madison Human Needs will kick off the holiday season with its fourth annual Evening of Dinner and Gospel to help raise funds for families in need.

The Evening of Dinner and Gospel features a dinner catered by Posh Nosh Catering and a concert of contemporary Christian music by the Ladies of Grace, hosted by the Asbury United Methodist Church, with all proceeds going to the Center for Groveport Madison Human Needs.

“We started out at Groveport Town Hall and filled the place so we had to relocate,” executive director Christine Boucher said.

“Fortunately, one of our community partners is Asbury United Methodist Church and they have a great facility for us to be able to accommodate a large crowd.

“Attendees at this event should expect superb service from some outstanding students from the high school, a delicious dinner and beautiful Christian worship music from Ladies of Grace from Madison Christian Church.”

Student council members from the Groveport Madison High School will serve guests at the event, which also will include a silent auction and a raffle.

Tickets are available online at center4gmhn.org. The cost is $10 for adults, $7 for children 12 and younger.

Dinner tickets must be purchased ahead of time but tickets for the concert only may be purchased at the door; those cost $3 each.

Dinner begins at 6 p.m. Nov. 6 at Asbury United Methodist Church, 4760 Winchester Pike, with the concert at 6:30 p.m.

“Last year, we provided assistance to 260 families and distributed over $50,000,” Boucher said. “We don’t necessarily have a budget for assistance because we only distribute what we receive. So when times are lean for us, like now, there is little assistance that we can provide, and unfortunately, we have to turn many families away.

“We had a really good start to 2015 and were able to keep up with the requests until August, when our funds were exhausted,” she said. “The impact of the Evening of Dinner and Gospel will be a huge help to get us back up and operational with assistance for residents of our community.”

The Center for Groveport Madison Human Needs recently participated in a fundraising competition for a piece of a $10,000 grant through Thrivent Financial’s Share the Vote program, and is waiting to see how that effort may benefit the organization, Boucher said.

Craft bazaar

Besides the Evening of Dinner and Gospel Boucher said the organization will host its annual Holiday Craft Bazaar Nov. 14 at Groveport Zion Lutheran Church, 6014 Groveport Road. She said the organization is still soliciting for vendors.

“The event is small so we can make sure there is no duplication of vendor or craft types,” Boucher said. “We’re also soliciting Angels for our Adopt-A-Family program to help families in the community at Christmas time this year.”

More information about these programs and other services is available from Boucher at info@center4gmhn.org.

ThisWeek CW 10/22/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/10/19/madison-township-aqua-ohio-customers-to-see-another-rate-increase.html

Madison Township residents once again will see an increase in their water and sewer services bills following the Oct. 7 approval of a rate case filed by Aqua Ohio with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.

According to a notice sent to the township from Aqua Ohio, the company submitted a rate case on May 1 seeking approval to collect a “system improvement charge” in the Franklin County Sewer District to fund the replacement and rehabilitation of infrastructure associated with the county’s water services.

“Improvements totaling more than $862,000 have been made,” according to the notice, which said the PUCO-approved surcharge of 3 percent to the monthly sewer bill will result in a per-month increase of $1.48 per 4,000 gallons of water, which the company said is the average residential use in the county.

Township Administrator Susan Brobst said all of the associated documents have been posted to the township website, madisontownship.org, for residents’ review; if they have further questions or concerns, customers may contact Aqua Ohio directly at 877-987-2782.

“Improving any utility system comes with a cost, and unfortunately, any increase in rates will cause some residents additional hardship,” Brobst said. “Residents should be aware the PUCO staff did extensive review of the Aqua Ohio requests and many of the items were denied by the Commission. These include new meters, liners, valves and nearly $82,000 worth of smoke tests on the infrastructure.”

At least one township trustee, Gary McDonald, has asked Aqua Ohio representatives to attend a board meeting to address the findings.

Brobst has also been in touch with the PUCO liaison, who indicated the agency would be happy to attend a future meeting as well.

“I had the opportunity to speak with state Rep. Heather Bishop’s aide recently and our discussion included the hardship and additional impact this will have on our residents and that enough is enough,” McDonald said. “Madison Township families are already financially strapped.

“This additional charge is adding insult to injury to all those residents struggling to survive and meet their obligations in paying their bills,” he said. “I have been contacted on several occasions by residents asking what relief and assistance can be offered on their water bills, and I don’t have an answer for them.”

McDonald called the increase heartbreaking.

“In late 2014, Aqua Ohio received an increase of 9.7 percent for the construction and implementation of the reverse osmosis system and this was to include the system improvement cost,” he said.

“The system improvement charge will now be a separate bill, consisting of a charge based on the 4.5 percent, which equals $2.11 per 4,000 gallons of water, and now a sewer rate (increase) of 3 percent or $1.48 per 4,000 gallons.

“Shortly after Aqua Ohio purchased Ohio American Water, they revised their billing consumption rate from 4,500 gallons down to 4,000 gallons, allowing them to collect more dollars. This revision should have paid for any additional improvements, or at least lower future rate increases,” McDonald said.

The new charges will appear on all bills postmarked after Oct. 7. However, the company stated the charges may be adjusted or eliminated based on any future PUCO findings.

ThisWeek CW 10/15/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/10/12/groveport-madison-district-one-incumbent-two-challengers-vying-for-2-board-seats.html

Residents in the Groveport Madison Local School District will have the chance to elect at least one new member to the school board Nov. 3 with current board President Nathan Slonaker declining to run again.

That leaves incumbent Mary Tedrow and challengers Maria J. McGraw and Christopher Snyder competing for two open seats.

Both Tedrow and McGraw have spent most of their lives in the school district, while Snyder has lived in the district for five years and was employed by the district for another seven years.

Tedrow has been a board member for 23 years and has held several other positions in the community, particularly in leadership with the Girl Scouts. Both McGraw and Snyder co-chaired the district’s recent successful levy campaign and McGraw continues to serve as chairwoman of the Committee for Better Schools.

Effect of levy approval

Snyder and Tedrow both see voters’ approval of a 6.18-mill operating levy, a $33.3-million bond issue and a 0.5-mill permanent improvement levy in May 2014 as a positive and as one of the primary challenges for the school board when it comes to improving students’ academic performance.

“Our current issues stem from our greatest recent blessing,” Snyder said. “We have money to spend on our district due to the levy. The issue is going to be figuring out where to spend that money, and where to apply our resources.

“I believe that I can help to form the vision and mission of our district, alongside our other board members and administration.”

Tedrow said implementing several programs approved by the board since the levy was approved is important to meeting the challenge of responsibly investing in academic improvement.

“Improving our academic performance is the biggest challenge. The passing of the levy should be of great assistance,” Tedrow said. “We’ll be able to build the new high school, offer digital preschool instruction, institute programs for the gifted students, provide school improvement coordinators in each school, have sports programs in each middle school and provide College Credit Plus and the pathways programs at the high school. One more service I hope we can soon provide, if we can find room, is preschool education so our students can come to school ready to learn.”

Communications gap

McGraw said while she is proud the community elected to build a “state-of-the-art facility,” one of the biggest issues facing the district is a lack of communication and inclusion of community members in goal-setting and decision-making.

“The Groveport Madison community has shown that they want to be involved in meaningful change and progress,” McGraw said. “The district will need to modify communication techniques to keep the community apprised of the changes that are underway and the changes still needed.

“This way, community members will become stakeholders in the district when they know where we stand and their input is genuinely sought for questions involving the direction the school district is moving.

“As a mother, I understand the importance of improving the future for our students,” she said. “I’ve worked to move the district forward while fostering community relations and hearing concerns and ideas. I have a vested interest in seeing our school district improve.

“As we develop new plans to address the needs of our students, tough questions need to be asked and results will need to be succinctly conveyed to the community. Professionally, I have extensive experience with marketing and I will use those skills to guide the district in this endeavor,” McGraw said.

Snyder similarly believes in “bridging the communication gap.”

“I believe that I can be an asset in the community, helping people know what we’re doing and why we’re doing it,” Snyder said. “I believe I can help lead our district and I believe that I can help bridge the communication gap that exists between the district and the community.”

Incumbent Tedrow said she hopes her past leadership has earned the voters’ confidence.

“My many years of services as a school board member and Girl Scout leader, my education, my desire and ability to serve, my respect of children and education, my knowledge of the community, my experience as a parent, and my desire and time available to serve should qualify me for school board member,” Tedrow said.