MOUNT VERNON — After months of discussion and debate, the Mount Vernon City Council, with a vote of 4-3, defeated a motion to pass an ordinance which would have made permanent the 90-day temporary lowering of the speed limit on East High Street between Park and Stevens streets. The speed limit will now revert back to 35 mph.
Council members John Fair, Mike Hillier and Rebecca Jordan voted for the ordinance.
Jordan said while trick-or-treating with her children, many East High Street residents had commented the reduced speed limit in the area made a difference, making drivers slow down and be more alert.
Councilman Burt Hanson said he found the argument to keep the speed limit at 35 more compelling.
Hillier said a poll he conducted of East High Street residents found they overwhelmingly supported the ordinance. He said increased enforcement in the area had caused drivers to slow down.
Councilman Bruce Hawkins, who moved to table the ordinance on Sept. 22 after its third reading, said he had received more calls in support of the original 35 mph speed limit. He said he believed improved signage and other measures could slow traffic in the area as opposed to lowering the speed limit.
He said he believed the planned solar powered flashing lights at George Street would keep children safe. Fair pointed out the new lights will only function the 180 days a year when children are in school; they would not be activated during the summer when children are out.
Jordan asked Safety-Service Director Dave Glass when the lights, which were ordered in August, would be installed. Glass said as soon as they are received, they will be put into service.
A proposed ordinance requiring landlords to inform the city of their tenant list for income tax reporting purposes was also discussed in committee before the council meeting began, and also during the regular session.
D. Derk Demaree asked Mayor Richard Mavis to clarify if a meeting was held earlier in the day with members of the local Real Estate Investors Association.
Mavis said the meeting between himself, Glass and members of the association was productive. He said there was still no resolution, but the questions developed from the meeting would be posed to Attorney John Aebi, who is representing city law director Bill Smith, who is on vacation.
Mavis said some of the questions raised focused on the mandatory twice-a-year reporting in the proposed legislation. He said landlords expressed concern about the proposed process.
“I don’t think we have support for any of the legislation that is currently on the table,” Mavis said, adding he was confident an agreement could be reached. He said the suggestions of the landlords association for amendments to the legislation would be considered.
Claude Gates, president of REIA, spoke about the pending legislation on behalf of the association membership.
Gates suggested a once-a-year reporting system, with a form provided to landlords to inform of change of occupancy.
“Every time we have a tenant change, we turn that form into you,” Gates suggested. “As a group, they would support that.”
“I don’t think there’s any landlord out there that doesn’t agree their renter should be paying their fair share of taxes,” Hillier said.
The proposed ordinance regarding the mandatory reporting was amended; and the amended ordinance given its first reading Monday night, to allow for amendments and further discussion. The mayor recommended the first reading in order to move forward, and said another meeting with the landlord association is planned.
Because of time constraints, public comments from members of the community attending the meeting were postponed until a later meeting.
In other business, council:
•Passed Resolution 2008-95, authorizing city auditor Terry Scott to apply for federal disaster relief funds to help defray the city’s costs during the September windstorm. The costs to the city to clean up after the storm totaled about $113,000. Scott said the city could be eligible for reimbursement of 75 percent of those costs.
•Passed Resolution 2008-96, authorizing Scott to transfer funds. This includes $16,900 to purchase new software to replace an outdated system.
•Passed two zoning ordinances. Chester Park was transferred to P-1, Public/Semi-Public zoning from Neighborhood Commercial. The property at 5 Coshocton Ave. was changed from residential to neighborhood commercial.
•Passed Ordinance 2008-33, establishing a collection service fee for unpaid utility, property maintenance, hazardous waste, rescue, capital improvement an delinquent municipal income tax bills
This will allow the city to add up to 33 percent to these bills to pay for collection agency services. Jordan said this rate was consistent with the charges of agencies she had checked. Mavis said the current service the city uses for collections has not performed well.
The 33 percent charge will be paid by funds collected from delinquent bill holders, not by the city.
•Approved a motion to support the Heritage Centre Association’s efforts to enter the Ohio Main Street program, a national program which promotes the vitality of the downtown districts of small towns.
•Passed an ordinance adopting the city of Mount Vernon natural gas aggregation program. Tom Bellish of Buckeye Energy Brokers said current Columbia Gas customers up to date on their bills would have the option of opting out of Columbia Gas as a provider. Others will have the option of opting in to the new optional aggregate program.
Bellish said two-year offers had been received from different gas suppliers. One offered a a guaranteed 10 percent savings, the other a fixed rate of 95 cents versus the current Columbia Gas rate of $1.19.
Council members asked Bellish about opt out fees and service charges that could possibly raise the price. Bellish said the fees did not appear to affect the offers or potential savings.
In other comments, Councilman Chuck Dice spoke on behalf of west end residents who would like to see the water fountain at Riverside Park kept at the park.
“This is one of the pieces of Mount Vernon history that we on the west end are proud to have,” Dice told council. “Please don’t take that away from us.”
Mavis said several e-mails had been received about the fountain after a recent article in the News discussed options for possibly moving the fountain.
Dice said he felt the fountain could be moved several feet back from the road to make it safer for children to use.
“Move it back, turn the water on or off,” he said. “It’s a part of history.”
