Village Manager's Report

For the October 4, 2004 Council Meeting

The following report is intended to supplement the information related to the upcoming Village Council meeting. If you have questions or comments about these or other issues, please feel free to give me a call at (937) 767-1279 , or e-mail me at rhillard(at)yso.com.

A. Council Items:

Third Quarter Financials : Enclosed is the third quarter financial report for your review. The revenues and expenditures are generally in line with projections. However, the revenue from the estate tax in the multi-fund and customer fees in the water fund are below projections. The good news is we did receive a $54,000 check in October to be credited to estate tax. The expenditure issues continue to be in the administration and the street department activities. The administration increases are a result of the two Council projects authorized earlier in the year (Storm Water Design and the Planned Unit Development Ordinance). Further, we have seen an increase in the Village Solicitor’s activity, resulting from the heavy activity in legislation. (Anti-Loitering, Parade and Public Requirements, Burning Ordinance, Sexual Oriented Business Restrictions, Income Tax Revisions, etc.) Further, before hiring two new police officers, we utilized the Solicitor’s office to revise the hiring process, to include testing, background checks, etc. Also, the fact that we now have an additional full-time employee in this fund, the required start-up costs did make an impact on the budget.

The street maintenance fund saw an increase in overtime and material costs resulting from increased activity and the restructuring of the department. These changes have allowed the Village to perform certain projects in-house. (Gaunt Park and other budgeted street drainage projects). Further more increases will occur as a result of the $100,000 street repair projects to be completed in the Fall. These planned expenses are going to be paid through the fund balance. However, I will be presenting in November a supplemental appropriation budget to reflect these and other changes. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call.

Antioch University Zoning Request : The Planning Commission recently recommended approval of the rezoning of the property located on the corner of Allen and Corry Street to residential. Legislation is being prepared for Council consideration.

B. Agenda Planning:

Salt Barn Bid Award : The salt barn bid awards scheduled for the next Council meeting. The due date for the bidis the morning of the next Council meeting, so the results will be delivered that evening. The bid amount is projected to be significantly higher than the budget amount, so the project will be included in the supplemental budget to be submitted in November.

C. Additional Issues:

Annual Clean-up/Leaf-Brush Pick-up : The Annual Clean-up will be held starting October 18, 2004. The clean-up will not include leaf and brush pick-up. However, the monthly leaf/brush pick-up will continue the last Friday of each month. Residents may pick-up bags at the utility window at the Bryan Center for $1.50 each.

Parking Subcommittee Update : For the last four months, the parking sub-committee has scheduled meetings to formulate a plan to address the parking issues downtown. The Village Manager provided a basic goal list, established a regular meeting night, facilitated the selection of a leadership structure, and attended three of the four meetings. The first meeting involved a lot of ideas that would be considered. The second meeting involved a discussion on the need for more parking. The next two meetings were lightly attended, with the basic discussion relating to the need to conduct a specific survey on the issue. As a result of these efforts, I have sent a basic outline prepared by the committee to Wright State for the cost of preparing and conducting a survey. The plan is to provide cost information to the committee at the next meeting, so they may provide a recommendation to the Village Council. That meeting is scheduled for October 27, 2004, at 7:00pm, in the Bryan Center Art Room.

Village Gas Aggregation Program: The Village’s annual fixed price for natural gas ends in November. Amp-Ohio and IGS are evaluating pricing and will either recommend an annual fixed price for the year or will go month to month. The decision is scheduled for the first week in November Last week Vectren Source sent Village residents a proposed annual fixed gas offer in the low .80’s. This is a good price, and I believe was forthcoming because the Village created more competition in this area. Individuals should evaluate this option and decide independently. Another question related to Vectren Gas Delivery was the increase in the steady monthly budget bill provided to the residents. I spoke with Amp-Ohio, and they indicated that Vectren takes an average yearly usage, and with the projected increases, the estimates were significantly higher. This estimated bill does not have anything to do with the Village’s program, or the request to PUCO to increase cost of service delivery.

Final Thoughts…

I am continually meeting with the supervisors, both individually and collectively. We are in the process of creating the 2005 budget document, which will include a projected five-year capital project list. Also, many meetings are being held with various groups around the Village. I had the honor of welcoming the Ohio delegates from the AME church convention Wednesday evening at the church on High Street. I also attended the Antioch Community meeting, which is held weekly with students and staff. I have been able to attend one meeting a month. Further I met with the Planning Commission, Library Commission, Springfield Airport Advisory Board and the Employee Safety Committee. The Chamber organized the street fair pre-meeting, and with this effort and the experience of the Village crew, the event was again successful. I attended the Northern Miami Valley Local Government Association meeting, which was held this month in conjunction with staff members of the Miami Valley Cable Council. The group learned about a service that provides an emergency alert system through the telephone utility. This service is called Code Red, and can be used during water boiler alerts, severe weather and possibly for missing citizens. I asked Chief Bush to include in the Police Departments proposed budget. I attended with Phil Hawkey a program meeting with O-DOT, to discuss the Northern Gateway project. This gave me an opportunity to discuss this and other projects with MVRPC staff. I was also able to complete the department supervisor evaluations, and work with Sharon Potter on the various issues within the Finance Department. She is doing a great job and I look forward to the progress are making. Thank you and please let me know if you have any questions.