09/16/2003 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 9/16/2003 ,~„ Engineer Durbin. The drainage map of the city was reviewed. Before a discussion on what projects are to be done in the near future can be held, the new Phase II storm regulations from the federal government must be dealt with. The city is being mandated by the federal government to develop a storm water management plan to meet their Phase II edicts. The EPA will require this plan to be completed in less than two years as March 10, 2005 is the due date. The administration began this project last spring. The Engineering Department would prefer that our new computer system have both hardware and software that will have the ability to handle maps available through the county. The entire storm system must be entered onto these maps. It is the recommendation of the City Engineer that we get a consultant to work solely on this project. However, funding is an issue. The committee questioned if it may be a potential for a future CDBG project. Also, with regard to funding, one of the buzz words that is floating about many communities is a storm water utility. Some of the areas covered in the Phase II storm water management include the need for public education, maintenance, attainment of easements to gain access to all areas of our system. Some legislation may be required in the upcoming months to meet these goals. In the future, all of our construction on drainage projects, whether it be major water ways or roadside ditches, will have to be looked at in the light of these federal regulations. Councilwoman Kasler, chairperson of the Public Safety, Health & Welfare Committee: 1) The committee met on September 10. Present were committee members, other Council members, the Safety Director, Mayor, Law Director, and guests. Agenda items: ^ Ordinance 2003-11, an ordinance amending Section 1701.18 and enacting new Section 1701.27 of the Fire Prevention Code in order to define fire alarm systems and to assess monetary charges for false fire alarms. The ordinance has been in committee before and was referred back to the Law Dept. for some compliance issues. However, through the process of the committee meeting, other concerns arose. First, it was suggested by Councilman Nashar that the commercial fine schedule be increased to provide a stronger deterrent for the recurrence of false alarms and the expense incurred by the city to address these alarms. In conjunction with that suggestion, Councilman Limpert suggested that the language between Section 2 (a) and Section 2 (c) of the ordinance was confusing and that it was not clear whether a first alarm involved a fine. After a lengthy discussion, Mrs. Kasler made a motion to refer this ordinance back to the Law Dept. to address the following issues: 1) clarity in the language involving the fee schedule to inswe that a first false alarm incurs no fee; 2) change the language in the amendment Section (e, 2, C) to read "the automatic dialing alarm system shall be programmed to first dial emergency central dispatch as opposed to a designated line at the Fire station"; 3) a fine of $200 for a third false alarm and $500 for a fourth be figures that are considered when the Law Dept. surveys other municipalities and other states regarding this issue; 4) insuring that a distinction is clear between residential and commercial false alarms. The motion to refer back to the Law Dept. on those issues was passed unanimously. ^ Ordinance 2002-171, which is an ordinance amending Section 555.03 of the General Offenses Code in order to harmonize the treatment of and time for unloading trucks in commercial zones. This ordinance was discussed, and the discussion initiated by 6