Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Powell Special Council Meeting - July 29, 2025: CIP Presentation and Ordinance Readings

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, July 29, 2025

BodyPowell, Ohio

SessionCity Council & Boards

DateTuesday, July 29, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:13:34

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Okay, let's get started.

0:01

I will call to order the special council uh meeting for Tuesday, July 29th.

0:08

Please call the role.

0:10

Here.

0:12

Here.

0:12

Tom Counts?

0:13

Here.

0:14

Tyler Herman is absent.

0:16

Hather car?

0:17

Here.

0:18

David Lester.

0:19

Kurt Ramsey.

0:21

Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:26

I pledge allegiance to the flag in the United States of America.

0:30

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:32

One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:40

We have a few items on our agenda tonight before we get to the capital improvement program.

0:47

The first is the first reading of ordinance 2025-18.

0:52

It's an ordinance providing for amendments to the charter of the city of Powell to be placed on the ballot on November 4th, 2025, uh municipal election for approval by the city's electorate and declaring an emergency.

1:07

Any discussion by council.

1:12

No with this being a first reading, do we have to get this in by August 6th?

1:21

And we have a meeting.

1:26

And then this also has an emergency clause.

1:30

So we're good.

1:33

Okay.

1:34

I will open ordinance 2025-18 for public comment.

1:39

If there's anyone that wishes to speak on this, now's your opportunity to do so.

1:45

Seeing none, we'll close uh the public comment portion, and we will take this to the second reading.

1:53

Next item on our agenda is ordinance 2025-19.

1:57

It's an ordinance amending the certified revenue estimates within within various purpose notes, uh, series 2025 fund and declaring an emergency.

2:11

Um this is just a fairly quick um reconciliation of the accounting upon finance staff preparation to the documentation.

2:19

Uh there was a note that if you'll see their fund uh 324 bond premium, those are closing costs, so they need to be segregated.

2:27

The amount stays the same.

2:28

It's just uh an appropriation for the cost of the issuance that will be born in that fund and have to come out of that fund.

2:34

So that's the reconciliation that was made.

2:36

It was a good catch.

2:37

And uh we wanted to get this passed so that we ready to close and everything finalized.

2:42

Uh San Diego, you want to add?

2:44

Yeah, I'll just say um the legislation.

2:46

I think it was July 15th that was approved establishing that new fund.

2:50

Um we um certified all the revenue to the capital projects fund versus certifying 40,000 dollars to the debt fund to cover those issuance costs.

3:01

So this is just to establish that revenue in the debt fund, kind of reallocate it to that instead of the capital project.

3:09

Any questions for Andy or Sam?

3:13

No.

3:15

Okay, we'll open this up for public comment.

3:18

If there's anyone that wishes to speak on ordinance 2025-19, now's your opportunity to do so.

3:25

Seeing none, we'll close the public comment portion.

3:28

Uh we will need a motion to suspend the rules.

3:32

So moved.

3:32

Second.

3:33

Second.

3:34

Please call the rule.

3:36

Did you get that?

3:38

Um second.

3:41

Thank you.

3:42

There's a lot of unison.

3:46

Leave Carlson.

3:47

Yes.

3:47

Tom Counts?

3:48

Yes.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Capital Improvements Planning█████████████████████21%

Engineering And Infrastructure████████████████████20%

Parks and Recreation███████████████15%

Public Infrastructure██████████10%

Active Transportation██████████10%

Technology and Innovation██████6%

Procedural████4%

Budget Review███3%

Signage Management███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Powell Special Council Meeting - July 29, 2025: CIP Presentation and Ordinance Readings

The Powell City Council held a special meeting on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting included first readings of two ordinances and a comprehensive presentation of the proposed 2026-2030 Five-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP), totaling $60,927,995—an 11% increase over the prior plan. Council discussed project priorities and provided direction to staff but took no final action on the CIP.

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public spoke during the public comment periods for either ordinance or the CIP.

Discussion Items

Ordinance 2025-18 – Charter Amendment

First reading of an ordinance to place charter amendments on the November 4, 2025 municipal ballot. Council confirmed the deadline for submission is August 6, 2025. The ordinance includes an emergency clause. No vote was taken; a second reading will follow.

Ordinance 2025-19 – Revenue Estimates Amendment

First reading of an ordinance amending certified revenue estimates for various purpose notes in Series 2025 Fund. Finance Director Andy explained the change reallocates $40,000 from the capital projects fund to the debt fund to cover bond issuance costs for Fund 324. Council suspended the rules and adopted the ordinance unanimously (7-0).

2026-2030 Five-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP)

Staff presented a $60.9 million proposal, with $14.2 million proposed for 2026. Major categories: Engineering (65%), Administration (20%), and others. Funding sources include the street maintenance fund, capital projects fund, and debt. Key highlights:
- South Depot Street Connection: Staff recommended postponing until the Village Green master plan is complete, potentially saving costs through private development partnerships.
- Bennett Farm Path: Council expressed support for treating the shared-use path along Bennett Farm as a standalone project, separate from other pathway additions, with design to begin in 2025 and construction in 2026.
- Powell Pool: A $2.3 million upgrade option was discussed, including potential city takeover of operations. Council indicated interest in pursuing community benefits (e.g., subsidized memberships) and noted the 2026-2027 timeline is aggressive.
- Signage and Wayfinding: Staff recommended postponing until parks and village green master plans are complete (likely 2027 or later).
- Police Fleet: Chief proposed adding a third marked cruiser in 2026 to achieve a 2:1 officer-to-vehicle ratio, offsetting costs by reallocating an underused truck.
- Adventure Park Playground: $450,000 proposed for redesign, with potential water feature. Skate park resurfacing ($175,000) and tennis court improvements also noted as urgent.
Fund balance projections showed the CIP fund slightly below the 25-50% target, and the Parks and Recreation Fund (241) may require a general fund subsidy due to negative balances.

Key Outcomes

Ordinance 2025-19 was adopted unanimously (7-0) after suspension of the rules.
No formal vote was taken on the CIP; council provided direction to staff:
- Postpone South Depot Street connection and the Grace Drive pocket park phase 2 until master planning is further along.
- Prioritize the Bennett Farm shared-use path as a standalone project in 2026.
- Consider consolidating police in-car camera replacements into two years instead of three.
- Explore cloud-based storage for police video and accelerate security camera upgrades due to aging infrastructure.
- Include trail rules signage in wayfinding discussions.
Staff will refine the CIP based on council input and present a revised plan before the operating budget approval. A communications campaign to explain the plan to residents was requested.
The next steps include a meeting with CSX on Friday, August 1, 2025, to finalize railroad crossing designs for multiple projects.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:30 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, let's get started. I will call to order the special council uh meeting for Tuesday, July 29th. Please call the role. Here. Here. Tom Counts? Here. Tyler Herman is absent. Hather car? Here. David Lester. Kurt Ramsey. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag in the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all. We have a few items on our agenda tonight before we get to the capital improvement program. The first is the first reading of ordinance 2025-18. It's an ordinance providing for amendments to the charter of the city of Powell to be placed on the ballot on November 4th, 2025, uh municipal election for approval by the city's electorate and declaring an emergency. Any discussion by council. No with this being a first reading, do we have to get this in by August 6th? And we have a meeting. And then this also has an emergency clause. So we're good. Okay. I will open ordinance 2025-18 for public comment. If there's anyone that wishes to speak on this, now's your opportunity to do so. Seeing none, we'll close uh the public comment portion, and we will take this to the second reading. Next item on our agenda is ordinance 2025-19. It's an ordinance amending the certified revenue estimates within within various purpose notes, uh, series 2025 fund and declaring an emergency. Um this is just a fairly quick um reconciliation of the accounting upon finance staff preparation to the documentation. Uh there was a note that if you'll see their fund uh 324 bond premium, those are closing costs, so they need to be segregated. The amount stays the same. It's just uh an appropriation for the cost of the issuance that will be born in that fund and have to come out of that fund. So that's the reconciliation that was made. It was a good catch. And uh we wanted to get this passed so that we ready to close and everything finalized. Uh San Diego, you want to add? Yeah, I'll just say um the legislation. I think it was July 15th that was approved establishing that new fund. Um we um certified all the revenue to the capital projects fund versus certifying 40,000 dollars to the debt fund to cover those issuance costs. So this is just to establish that revenue in the debt fund, kind of reallocate it to that instead of the capital project. Any questions for Andy or Sam? No. Okay, we'll open this up for public comment. If there's anyone that wishes to speak on ordinance 2025-19, now's your opportunity to do so. Seeing none, we'll close the public comment portion. Uh we will need a motion to suspend the rules. So moved. Second.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com