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.

ThisWeek CW 11/18/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/11/16/applications-due-nov–30-for-city-grant-program.html

Local organizations interested in obtaining what used to be called bed tax grants have until Nov. 30 to submit applications.

The program is now known as transient occupancy tax grants, but still splits awards among Destination: Canal Winchester and organizations that apply and are then selected by Canal Winchester City Council.

The city can distribute as much as about $20,000 each year in revenue derived from hotel and motel taxes collected by the city, which according to Finance Director Amanda Jackson, has never exceeded the originally anticipated $60,000. Historically, Destination: Canal Winchester, which acts as the city’s convention and visitors bureau, is given $30,000 out of the revenue for the purpose of bringing in tourists and driving outside investment in the community. The rest of the funds are then available for disbursement.

The grant program is open to any public agency, nonprofit or private organization located in Canal Winchester which will use the money for projects aimed at enhancing the city for residents and visitors.

For 2015, city council members approved $13,000 in grants to the Canal Winchester Area Historical Society, the National Barber Museum and Hall of Fame, the Canal Winchester After Prom Committee, Canal Winchester Relay For Life, the Canal Winchester Area Chamber of Commerce, the Community Food Pantry, the Canal Winchester Senior Citizens Club and the Rotary Club of Canal Winchester.

In total $18,000 in grants were requested in 2015 with only two organizations being denied funding outright.

According to Jackson, all applications will be competitively reviewed and awards will be made to projects that meet the requirements and the intent of the program, as determined by city council in December.

Jackson said award checks will be drawn in early 2016 and all funds must be used in 2016 or returned to the city.

Grant applications are available at the Municipal Building, 36 S. High St. For more information, call Jackson at 614-837-6937 or email her at ajackson@canalwinchesterohio.gov.

ThisWeek CW 11/18/2015

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/11/16/shop-hop-basketball-games-support-help-for-those-in-need.html

Thanksgiving is only a week away and Canal Winchester Human Services is hoping a pair of fundraisers will help drive donations to provide for area families in need.

First up is the Moonlight Market Shop Hop from 5-9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, in downtown Canal Winchester. Participating businesses collecting donations for the Community Food Pantry include Wagon Wheel Wines, Georgie Emerson Vintage, Sticks and Stones Studio, Cornersmiths, Fantasy Cupcake, Shaw’s Jewelers, Jilian Renee Photography, Studio 7.5, Thrifty Chic, Old School Chiropractic and Thelma and Louise Photography.

Santa will be at Thelma and Louise Photography, where refreshments will be served.

On Tuesday, Nov. 24, the Canal Winchester boys basketball squads will take on teams from Teays Valley for their annual Foundation Games fundraiser, this year benefitting the Adopt-a-Family program.

“We’re really excited that these boys are giving back like this by fundraising for us,” Human Services Administrator Penny Miller said. “All the proceeds from the evening will benefit the Adopt-a-Family program, which assists families that are struggling during the holiday season.”

The freshman game tips off at 4:30 p.m., followed by the junior varsity game at 6 p.m. The varsity game will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m. in the Canal Winchester High School gymnasium. Admission to the games is $6 for adults and $4 for children.

For more information about either of these events or to donate directly to the Adopt-a-Family program, email Miller at penny.cwhs@gmail.com.