Gahanna Committee of the Whole Meeting - February 27, 2026
Gahanna Committee of the Whole Meeting - February 27, 2026
This summary covers the Gahanna City Council Committee of the Whole meeting. Per the instructions, the meeting date is given as February 27, 2026; however, all source materials (agenda, minutes, transcript) consistently state the meeting occurred on Monday, February 23, 2026, at 7:01 PM, adjourning at 8:16 PM. The meeting was chaired by Vice President Jamille Jones. Councilmember Michael Schnetzer was absent.
Consent Calendar
- MT-0010-2026: A motion to confirm the Director of Public Safety's appointment of Jefferson Fire Chief Bradford Shull and Mifflin Fire Chief Brian Dunlevy as Municipal Fire Safety Inspectors. Placed on Consent Agenda for March 2, 2026.
- RES-0006-2026: A resolution authorizing the Mayor to provide consent and enter into contracts with the Director of Transportation for repair of concrete parapets and replacement of vandal protection fence on the north side of McCutcheon Road Bridge over I-270. Placed on Consent Agenda for March 2, 2026.
- ORD-0006-2026: An ordinance amending purchasing procedures (Section 133.02). Council agreed to pass the originally proposed redlined revisions (excluding threshold changes) on Consent Agenda for March 2, 2026, with further discussion on the procurement threshold to continue on future committee agendas.
- MT-0009-2026: A motion to amend various sections of the Council Rules of Procedure as proposed by the Ad Hoc Council Rules Committee. Placed on Consent Agenda for March 2, 2026.
- RES-0004-2026: A joint resolution and proclamation designating March 2026 as "Women's History Month" and honoring Laura M. Fisher, first woman elected to Gahanna Village Council in 1921. Placed on Consent Agenda for March 2, 2026.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No public comments were made during the meeting.
Discussion Items
- RES-0005-2026 (Academy Park Stormwater Waiver): Holly Boyer, Senior Utility Engineer, presented a request for a waiver of stormwater management water quantity controls under Section 1113.02(e) for the Academy Park Improvements Project. The project abuts Big Walnut Creek and will remove a building, add ADA-compliant sidewalks, new playgrounds, a concession facility, extended parking, and additional trails. Analysis showed an 85% increase in runoff without controls, but after incorporating a water quality pond (required by EPA), the increase would be about 1%. Staff recommended the waiver because the site currently has no stormwater controls and the project would add water quality measures. Councilmember McGregor expressed concerns about the 1% difference affecting basements and downstream cut bank erosion; she noted her husband (former mayor) had additional questions for Parks Director Ferrell. Councilmember Renner stated the hydrology report justifies the waiver and noted the project would add trees (bald cypress, willow oak) that enhance infiltration. Councilmember Bowers asked for clarification on the standard requirement versus the deviation. Ms. Boyer explained the standard would require detention of a 10-year storm to a 1-year pre-developed condition, requiring a larger pond than the site can accommodate; the waiver is appropriate because the site is adjacent to a fourth-order stream. The resolution was recommended for introduction/adoption on Regular Agenda on March 2, 2026, due to outstanding questions.
- ORD-0008-2026 (Sewer Capacity Charges): Senior Deputy Director Corey Wybensinger presented an ordinance to amend Section 921.04 to update sewerage system capacity charges. The change shifts from automatically adopting Columbus rate changes to requiring Gahanna to review and determine if a change is appropriate. Columbus implemented a rate change effective April 1, 2026 (outside its normal January 1 cycle). The proposed rates increase charges for larger line sizes. Councilmember McGregor noted the increase for larger lines appeared significant; Mr. Wybensinger confirmed Columbus is shifting more cost to larger consumers. The ordinance was declared an emergency to take effect by April 1, 2026. It was placed on Regular Agenda for first reading on March 2, 2026, and second reading/adoption on March 16, 2026.
- ORD-0002-2026 (Tax Incentive Review Council Recommendations): Assistant City Attorney Matt Roth reported that the county prosecutor found no issues with the TIRC meeting. Director of Economic Development Jeff Gottke outlined procedural improvements: holding TIRC meetings locally, collecting annual appointment verifications, and appointing alternates. Council agreed to proceed with the legislation as drafted. Placed on Regular Agenda for March 2, 2026.
- ORD-0006-2026 (Purchasing Procedures): The administration presented minor redline revisions to the procurement policy. Discussion centered on the small purchase threshold for professional services (currently $250,000). Director of Finance Sheree Bury provided analysis: at $250,000, about 73% of professional service costs are authorized (~12 contracts); at $100,000, 82% (~18 contracts). Councilmember Bowers provided a regional comparison showing Columbus ($50,000 threshold), Grove City ($100,000 threshold with reporting), and Reynoldsburg ($25,000). Council President Weaver and others supported passing the original redlines while continuing discussion on the threshold. Council agreed to adopt the redlines on consent on March 2, 2026, and keep the threshold as a discussion item.
- Council Rules of Procedure (MT-0009-2026): Councilmember Bowers reported that the Ad Hoc Council Rules Committee (Bowers, McGregor, Padova) met twice and proposed cleanups, including numerical consistency, clarifying that the President chairs in absence of Vice President (Section 3.04), aligning meeting rules with the charter, and standardizing procedures for ordinances/resolutions. City Attorney Tamilarasan reviewed the changes. No changes were made to Public Hearing/Visitors procedures. Vice President Jones requested continued review of requiring public speakers to share their address. Rules placed on Consent Agenda.
- Women's History Month Proclamation (RES-0004-2026): Councilmember Padova presented a proclamation for March 2026, honoring Laura M. Fisher. Tom Gregory will provide a 7-10 minute presentation. Laura Fisher's granddaughter-in-law, a Gahanna resident, was invited. Placed on Consent Agenda.
Key Outcomes
- RES-0005-2026: To be introduced/adopted on Regular Agenda March 2, 2026.
- MT-0010-2026: Confirmed on Consent Agenda March 2, 2026.
- ORD-0008-2026: First reading March 2, 2026 (regular); second reading/adoption March 16, 2026 (regular), with emergency clause.
- RES-0006-2026: Adopted on Consent Agenda March 2, 2026.
- ORD-0002-2026: Second reading/adoption on Regular Agenda March 2, 2026.
- ORD-0006-2026: Adopted (original redlines) on Consent Agenda March 2, 2026; threshold discussion to continue.
- MT-0009-2026: Adopted on Consent Agenda March 2, 2026.
- RES-0004-2026: Adopted on Consent Agenda March 2, 2026.
Council also discussed the upcoming New Community Authority appointment for the Crescent; an underlying resolution requires review before a new appointment can be made. Further action was deferred.
Note: The meeting date provided in the instructions (February 27, 2026) differs from the meeting date recorded in all source materials (February 23, 2026). The summary above uses the date from the instructions.
Meeting Transcript
All right, good evening, everyone. It is Monday, February 23rd. We are gonna go ahead and kick off our committee of the whole. Our first item right out of the gate is from a planning commission. And I believe do we have Director Schultz and Ms. Boyer? All right, podium's yours. Honored to be here today speaking on behalf of engineering for Planning Commission waiver. The project is Academy Park. The project is abutting the big walnut creek. And if you could advance the slide. So under our city code 1113.02E detention waiver is allowed. The development is not allowed to have any increase in runoff volume, and they're not allowed to have any increased flooding. And it also should not have any damage to the receiving stream. There's also a condition within City Code that the future addition or modification exceeding the original limits needs to be looked at again if they needed to reapply the waiver. So it would be for this specific project and no future projects. So Academy Park is going to be removing a building. They're extend extending the parking so that they have enough room for people to park at the facility. So our staff has no objection because the analysis shows that the site hydraulics are relatively unchanged. Currently there is no stormwater at the site, and we are adding water quality per EPA construction general permit. So I guess what questions do you have? All right. Do we have questions? Yeah, I guess. I have a question. Ms. McGregor. Um when they built Coldwell Court, there's a borrowed pit that was formed. Is that still there? Coldwell Court. Right. It's the street just north of Academy Park. See the mayor nodding. Coldwell Courts is yes. So you know where the when you turn into the park, it's the street that it backs up into the northern part of that part of the street. It's the street. Yeah, that I'm not sure. Whether it's still there. Cold well court. A borrow pit. I'm sorry, I don't live in Kahana. I'm pretty new to Kehana. I'm not familiar with it. Okay. I I have some questions, but I'm going to have to wait to ask. Uh you know. Actually, my husband has questions about this because he I'll just say it out. He has questions about this because he was mayor when this was built, and he had questions about the stormwater downstream, some of the effects that it had, um, the runoff has downstream. And he's he's gonna talk call Stephanie, I think, tomorrow, but he didn't have time to he's typed it all up his questions, but we didn't have time to get together, so that's all my questions for right now. Okay.
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