Author Archives: Andrew

Groveport tweaking applications for OPWC grants

ThisWeek CW 9-3-2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/08/31/west-bixby-hendron-roads-groveport-tweaking-applications-for-opwc-grants.html

Groveport officials are hoping to make a strong case for securing Ohio Public Works Commission grants for two major road projects.

Groveport City Council voted unanimously Aug. 24 to approve legislation authorizing the city staff to submit grant applications to the OPWC; members also waived the usual three readings so the city could meet the Sept. 15 deadline.

A special public meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m., Tuesday, Sept. 8, in council chambers, 655 Blacklick St., to detail specifics, including budgets and timeframes, for the two applications prior to officially submitting them.

City Engineer Steve Farst said the applications are for work on Hendron and West Bixby roads. Both projects were submitted last year for funding but did not score high enough for OPWC approval, he said.

“The Hendron Road project is similar to what we submitted in last year’s application, but the idea is to take a hard look at what the committee will score and optimize our project for a higher score,” Farst said.

“Part of that is collaborating with other agencies and in this case, Franklin County has some authority here so we’re partnering with them on this. With the OPWC grants, there is a requirement for matching with local dollars, so partnering with other agencies, along with the grant itself, lowers the burden on our local taxpayers.”

If the Hendron Road project is approved for funding, Farst said the work is likely to include new water lines, a complete road reconstruction, curbs and gutters, new sidewalks and shared-use paths, and new street lighting.

Also last year, the city unsuccessfully sought OPWC funding for the middle section of the three-phase West Bixby Road project, which in total stretches from Old Groveport Road to state Route 317. This year, the city intends to submit an application for the western portion of the project, which will essentially just be for new pavement.

“The pavement on that end of West Bixby Road is in really terrible shape, lots of potholes and other issues,” Farst said. “So our intent is to take advantage of these OPWC funds if we can. This is the 30th year of the grant program and it keeps getting more popular and competitive.”

Groveport officials won’t find out until December whether one or both projects have been awarded grant funding, but Farst said he is hopeful that staff has come up with the right combination of project factors for approval this year.

Officials hope better water will flow from system upgrades

ThisWeek CW 9/3/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/08/31/canal-winchester-officials-hope-better-water-will-flow-from-system-upgrades.html

With upgrades to the city’s water treatment facility nearly finished, Canal Winchester officials are looking ahead to system tweaks that will improve water quality and to ramping up construction of a new Public Works facility.

City construction manager Bill Sims told city council members at the Aug. 17 services and safety committee meeting that the major structural improvements at the water treatment facility were complete, with only electronic system management work left.

“The water plant work is continuing but is mostly complete, the salt barn has been done for a while now and the sludge building is just being finished,” Sims said. “We just need to get the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system completed and a few other things on the punch list.

“The Public Works facility demolition is just about to happen and I think everybody is pretty excited about the new building getting underway.”

Water reclamation manager Steve Smith said he and technology coordinator Rick Brown have been working to set up and test the SCADA system that “will control the plant.”

City water manager Joe Taylor said that in addition to the SCADA system, a newly installed pressure switch, which was required as part of the system upgrade, will act as an extra backup against system failures in the future that would affect city water services.

“We installed a pressure switch to monitor system distribution, which will act as extra backup against issues in the future,” Taylor said.

“We’ve also installed a new phosphate system, which is now up and going, and we think we should see some improvements to water during the fall flushing and then see a lot more improvement by the spring flushing.”

Several residents have complained about discoloration and odors in their water that city officials believe is related to phosphates. Councilwoman Bobbie Mershon has also experienced water issues and asked why it took eight years to install this system.

“When we looked at the system, they put in a coupon rack. It’s a little metal tab that they put in an iron, plastic and copper pipe and they monitor the amount of the iron that comes off of that,” Taylor said. “They’ll track that data and see how it is coating the pipe, so this test will let us know if the phosphate system is helping.

“I think back in 2007 when we started the new water plant up and running, we didn’t want to rush to judgment as to whether there was still a problem or not, because it takes some years to figure that out and then figure out what works best with your system to correct the problem,” he said.

Public Works Director Matt Peoples said the city has been working on the issue during those eight years, and upgrades to lines, adding a new aeration system and abating lime issues have all addressed specific problems along the way, leading to what he hopes is a final clearing of the water.

“We count on customer complaints to help troubleshoot, but those have been somewhat inconsistent, so over time, we were trying to figure out if there was a line problem versus a system problem,” Peoples said. “So many different things went into this, and we wanted to make sure due diligence was done.

“Never once have we violated EPA standards and all water quality parameters have been met. Of course, if you see stains or red water, you’re not going to want to drink it even if we know it’s safe.”

The fall hydrant flushing will take place September through October, at which point officials believe residents with water issues will begin to see an improvement.

Central Ohioans turn wood from ash trees into memorable works

Columbus Dispatch article By Ken Gordon on my piece in the “Beyond Limbs & Leaves: Rekindling UA Ash” art exhibit.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2015/08/27/1-risen-ashes.html

 

For the first time in years, ash trees won’t make Steve Cothrel sad.

The superintendent of parks and forestry for the city of Upper Arlington has overseen the removal of more than 1,000 ash trees — cut down either as victims of the emerald ash borer or in a pre-emptive attempt to prevent the spread of the bug.

“It has been no fun, because I’ve known a lot of these trees for decades,” said Cothrel, a 26-year city employee.

“It has been really unpleasant for all involved.”

Because of that history, he is looking forward to a reception tonight at the Upper Arlington Municipal Services Center to celebrate the exhibit “Beyond Limbs & Leaves: Rekindling UA Ash.”

The show, through Oct. 23, includes the works of 10 central Ohio artists who were asked to imagine ways in which the ash wood could be brought back to life.

“The biggest contrast for me,” Cothrel said, “is that I will be in a room full of people who are feeling very positive about ash trees.”

A transplant from Asia, the borer burrows specifically into ash trees — resulting in the destruction of water- and nutrient-carrying tissue under the bark.

The suburb came up with a plan to deal with the ash borer in 2006, Cothrel said, and the insect arrived by 2009.

As trees were felled by the hundreds, Upper Arlington officials began talking about whether something positive might rise from the ashes.

Then, by 2012, the idea for an art exhibit had been finalized.

Artists were given pieces of wood — which might need several years of drying before it is carved.

“We wanted to display how ash could be seen in different ways by different eyes,” said Lynette Santoro-Au, manager of the Upper Arlington Cultural Arts Division.

The results are diverse.

Traditional woodworkers Paul Courtright of Delaware and Bruce Kerns of Pickerington, for example, created bowls, plates and containers of various shapes and styles.

Jake Seabaugh of Canal Winchester — who steams strips of wood, then bends them into shapes — produced a piece of wall art depicting a wooden daisy “growing” out of an ash log.

Other artists used the fate of the ash trees as a metaphor.

Upper Arlington resident Andrew Miller, employed in the information-technology field, makes wooden furniture and does freelance writing in his free time.

When he accepted the invitation to join the effort, he intended to make a piece of furniture.

Instead, amid the drying wood, he changed plans and wrote an essay — part of which he put on glass and embedded in an ash log marked by the twisting paths of ash-borer tunnels.

“The essay is about how we all have these things we do in life that are destructive,” Miller said. “And we tend to look at the emerald ash borer as destructive. But if you take time to look at it, it is a beautiful bug, as bugs go, and the patterns it makes are kind of amazing.”

One of the most prominent pieces was contributed by Catherine Bell Smith of Upper Arlington.

On a large wood-and-metal table, she placed 130 chalices — representing the 130 ash trees felled in Thompson Park.

Inside the chalices are ash-tree seedpods. Inlaid in the center of the table is a piece of slate in which is carved a cross, with a bit of ash wood inside.

The piece, patterned after an altar, is titled Sacrificial Offering.

“The whole idea of sacrificing healthy trees to prevent the spread is a very Christian sort of thing,” said Smith, who calls herself “a recovering Catholic.”

“For me, to take the seeds, place them in a chalice and have them on an altar is really a metaphor for what we’ve tried to do to prevent this terrible spread of emerald ash borer.”

In addition to the seeds in the chalices, Smith put seed packets in a box accompanying her installation.

Visitors are invited to take packets home.

“Hopefully, someday, they may be able to replant,” Smith said.

“And, if nothing else, we’ll have the seeds to remember . . . (the trees) by.”

Metro Parks seeks change in city’s hunting zones

ThisWeek CW 08/27/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/08/24/metro-parks-seeks-change-in-citys-hunting-zones.html

Central Ohio Metro Parks officials have asked the city of Groveport to amend its current map of hunting and trapping zones to show that such activities are prohibited at Three Creeks Metro Park.

At the Aug. 10 Groveport City Council meeting, the city staff introduced legislation to prohibit hunting and trapping at Three Creeks. According to a November 2011 Metro Parks rules and regulation document, the parks system only allows hunting and trapping at Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park.

City Administrator Marsha Hall said the current hunting and trapping zone map includes areas where other regulations and rules may take precedence, such as state licensing and hunting seasons, or other city or park regulations.

“If you look at the map itself, there are areas within the city in which hunting is permitted; land that is undeveloped and (where hunting is) permitted by the owner,” Hall said. “Some of the land is public property, like the golf course.”

However, she said, even though The Links at Groveport golf course shows up as a permitted area on the map, additional permissions are still required prior to doing any hunting or trapping. Any land not designated as a permitted area on the hunting and trapping zone map is automatically considered closed to hunting unless the property owner asks the city to amend the map.

“Hunting is permitted by the city only during hunting season while the golf course is closed,” she said. “The person must apply for a hunting permit and is then provided with a copy of the map.”

Council was scheduled to hear a second reading of the proposed ordinance at its Aug. 24 meeting, afterThisWeek‘s press deadline.

Council OKs purchase of Hanners Park from BrewDog

ThisWeek CW 08/27/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/08/24/council-oks-purchase-of-hanners-park-from-brewdog.html

Canal Winchester City Council voted unanimously last week to approve the purchase of Roger Hanners Recreational Fields and Park from BrewDog for $400,000.

Legislation was presented at council’s Aug. 17 meeting to purchase the approximately 10-acre park from BrewDog as part of the deal bringing the Scottish brewer to Canal Winchester.

Development Director Lucas Haire explained that until now, the Roger Hanners Recreational Fields and Park were part of a long-term lease deal with TS Trim, the previous property owner, who sold 51 acres at the corner of Gender and Groveport roads to BrewDog for its U.S. headquarters.

“This would be an opportunity for the city to purchase the park and guarantee it remains a park into the future,” Haire said.

“Currently, the city has been leasing the property and due to the sale of the property from TS Trim to BrewDog, we now have the chance to buy it and protect it in the long-term.”

When asked about the $400,000 price, Haire said BrewDog paid $36,750 per acre for the undeveloped land, which is why he believes the price to the city makes sense given the park is already developed.

“This already built out as we want it with ball fields and park facilities,” he said.

The funds for the purchase were appropriated out of the general fund, but Haire said the money will be paid back over time using tax-increment financing funds in coming years as BrewDog and other area properties are developed.

The TIF derives payments from future taxes on private property improvements; the funds are then specifically earmarked for public infrastructure projects — in this case, the purchase of the park.

BrewDog meeting

Haire said the city will host a town hall-style meeting about BrewDog’s plans from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, at the Frances Steube Community Center, 22 S. Trine St.

Officials for the city and BrewDog will be on hand to collect community feedback and answer questions.