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Record of Proceedings

Powell City Council Meeting: August 5, 2025 – Development Approvals and Charter Amendments

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, August 5, 2025

BodyPowell, Ohio

SessionCity Council & Boards

DateTuesday, August 5, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:33:18

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

0:00

Okay, I will call to order the Tuesday, August 5th meeting with Powell City Council.

0:06

Elaine, please call the roll.

0:10

Tom Counts.

0:11

Here.

0:12

Tyler Herman is absent.

0:14

Heather Carr?

0:15

Here.

0:15

David Lester.

0:16

Here.

0:16

And Kurt Many.

0:17

Here.

0:18

Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:22

Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:26

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:28

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

0:37

Next item on our agenda is a presentation by Deanna Brandt, executive director of the Delaware Morrow Mental Health and Recovery Services Unit.

0:47

Thank you for having me.

0:48

I appreciate your time.

0:49

And I know that I have 10 minutes, so if you know anything about me, I'm going to take that whole 10 minutes.

0:54

So I hope somebody keeps time for me.

0:56

So for those of you not familiar with our board and our health care system, I want to be clear that this really is your public behavioral health care system for folks who require public services.

1:08

It's a system in Ohio designed to provide behavioral health care across the continuum for individuals, residents, families, kids, schools, first responders, you name it, without regard for a payer source or their ability to pay.

1:25

So our office is located downtown Delaware, the PNC Bank Building.

1:29

If you didn't know that, we have signage going up in the next two weeks.

1:33

And then we have an office in Mount Gilead, Ohio at 950 Meadow Drive.

1:38

You know, we've been in existence since 1968.

1:42

We are one of 50 boards in Ohio that cover all 88 counties.

1:48

And I'm going to briefly say that the majority of those counties generate at least a portion of their revenue from property tax levies.

1:55

I promise you, I'm going to circle back to that.

1:57

That's not the only thing that brought me here, but I do want to talk about the current situation that we're in.

2:04

We are creatures of statute.

2:05

We're created in section 340 of the Ohio Revised Code.

2:09

And if you consider at some point joining our board, the composition of our board is also dictated by statute.

2:18

Representative of the population proportion from both of our counties.

2:22

But a lot of what we do is prescriptive.

2:25

So keep that in mind.

2:26

If you ever want some light reading, ORC 340.

2:31

That's where we live.

2:34

We all are also a payer of last resort.

2:37

So it is our job as the public behavioral health planning, funding, evaluating, monitoring entity to make sure that the providers that we contract with leave no stone unturned in seeking alternative funding.

2:53

And I'll speak a little bit to that.

2:56

And I hope we'll have time for questions and you'll have interest in that.

3:01

We're not providers of any service.

3:04

We only provide that oversight and the fiscal accountability that goes along with that.

3:10

We have our providers demonstrate that they are accessible, effective, efficient, and that their clients are satisfied with their service at a certain level.

3:21

Now we have I'll briefly talk about our funding sources local.

3:26

You know, care is local, so the majority of our funding is local.

3:31

We're completely transparent about that.

3:34

We're about 80% property tax funded, and I'll talk in some detail about that as we near the end and how that's structured in our history of stewardship of public funds.

3:46

We have some state funding, which you know we're all in kind of the same boat, that those resources look a little different now than they used to, and and every federal grant that we have the staff to comply with, we try to get.

4:43

In a survey that we did, a statistically valid survey several years ago, 74% of the residents in these two counties knew someone who'd been diagnosed, let alone just people who struggle, right?

5:00

I mean, there comes a time in life when all of us endure stressors that we cannot cope with and just need some support.

5:04

And our system is designed for that as well.

5:07

This is the summary of the code section 340 about the services that we're required to offer.

5:15

There's one little catchphrase in that code section that says resources allowing.

5:21

So for communities who don't have the resources we do, that full continuum is not available locally, but this is how it's described and what it looks like.

5:30

We have 11 primary providers, and I'm gonna say briefly, um, we're allowed to contract with faith-based governmental, non-governmental organizations, schools, um, courts, jails, lots of different entities, but our primary service providers are not for profits, and these are their names with a short description of what they do, and I sincerely hope you've heard of some of them.

5:59

Um, Delmore Dwellings, housing for adults with serious mental illness, low or no income, permanent supportive and supportive housing.

6:08

If you've driven through the city of Delaware, the corner of Firestone and Curtis, huge housing development there, that's us in collaboration with Delmore, building a facility for those adults.

6:23

Helpline, your 988 and 24 hour crisis provider.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Parking Management███████████████████19%

Planning And Zoning████████████████16%

Mental Health Awareness███████████████15%

Public Infrastructure█████████████13%

Procedural████████████12%

Public Engagement███████████11%

Public Safety████4%

Budget Review███3%

Public Health███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Powell City Council Regular Meeting – August 5, 2025

The Powell City Council held its regular meeting on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at 7:30 PM in Council Chambers. Key actions included approving two mixed-use development plans (Milano Florist and Campbell House redevelopments) despite parking concerns, adopting a resolution for ODOT-funded crosswalk improvements, and placing three charter amendments on the November ballot.

Presentations

Deanna Brant, Executive Director of the Delaware-Morrow Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, presented an overview of the board’s role as the public behavioral health system. She noted that 74% of residents in the two counties know someone diagnosed with a mental health condition, and the board’s 1.5-mil levy (collected at 0.94 mils due to growth) has been at 1 mil or less for 47 years. The board served 26,488 people in fiscal year 2024, with administrative costs at 6.9%. She emphasized the need for levy renewal to avoid shifting costs to mandatory systems.

Public Comments & Testimony

Caitlin Morsey (Delaware Public Health District) provided updates on mosquito control, an ag tire recycling event (August 9), a food options survey, a baby expo (August 9), and poison hemlock removal guidance.
Chris Ingram, attorney for PAL Crossing Apartments, spoke on Ordinance 2025-14 and 2025-15, raising objections about parking shortages, lack of pedestrian access, and insufficient landscaping. He requested tabling for further negotiation.
Ben Sant’Angelo (board member, PAL Crossing Association) testified that current retail parking is already inadequate, leading to emergency vehicle access issues and conflict with residents. He urged council to address parking before approving further development.
Joshua Weir (applicant) defended the projects, noting shared parking agreements and arguing the apartment owners created the parking hardship by unilaterally changing property bylaws.
Sean Simpson (Powell resident) argued the parking hardship was self-created by the apartment owners who split the original 2014 approved project, which had 150 surface and 36 garage spots for 64 units.

Discussion Items

Resolution 2025-26 – ODOT Crosswalk Improvements

Authorized City Manager to sign the final LPA agreement for design and construction of crosswalk improvements on Olentangy Street (SR750). The grant covers 90% of costs; the city’s share is about $65,500. Unanimously adopted.

Ordinance 2025-14 – 173 W. Olentangy Street (Milano Florist Redevelopment)

Second reading for a three-story mixed-use building (ground-floor retail, upper-floor boutique hotel). The applicant requested a parking reduction. Staff noted previous council-approved reductions of 50% or greater; this request was about 20–30% reduction. A shared parking agreement with PAL Crossing shopping center (59 spaces) was cited. Council discussed requiring a vehicular cross-access to the adjacent property (PAL Crossing) to improve circulation and pedestrian safety. The applicant agreed to provide the access, losing 2–3 parking spots. Council amended the approval to include the cross-access if legally permissible, with the parking reduction adjusted accordingly. The amended ordinance was adopted (6-0 vote).

Ordinance 2025-15 – 147 W. Olentangy Street (Campbell House Redevelopment)

Second reading for a two-story commercial building (4,600 sq ft) planned as a restaurant (124 seats, 8 employees). On-site parking: 10 spaces; code requires 46 spaces (an 82% shortfall). The applicant argued that shared parking with PAL Crossing and the Milano site would suffice. PAL Crossing representatives opposed, presenting photos of a full parking lot on a Saturday midday and citing ongoing conflicts. A motion to amend (requiring vehicular cross-access to the west, similar to Ord. 2025-14) failed (3-4 vote). The original ordinance was then adopted (5-1 vote).

Ordinance 2025-18 – Charter Amendments for November Ballot

Final reading and emergency passage to place three charter amendments on the November 4, 2025 ballot: (1) replace “his” with “his or her” for consistency; (2) clarify petition signature requirement as a percentage of ballots cast (rather than votes cast); (3) update budget adoption process if council fails to adopt by year-end. The Board of Elections approved the ballot language. Unanimously adopted.

Key Outcomes

Resolution 2025-26 adopted unanimously.
Ordinance 2025-14 adopted as amended (6-0) with cross-access condition and adjusted parking reduction.
Ordinance 2025-15 adopted (5-1) without cross-access condition.
Ordinance 2025-18 adopted unanimously for emergency passage; charter amendments to appear on November 4, 2025 ballot.
Committee Reports: Development Committee to meet September 2; Finance Committee August 12; Operations Committee August 19.
City Manager’s Report: Infrastructure update – closing on land acquisition (May) set for August 6; temporary parking at 35 Liberty for downtown construction; streetscape improvements marking trip hazards; code enforcement notices sent. CSX crossing agreement received; legislation to be on next agenda.
Executive Session: Council entered executive session under ORC 121.22(G)(8) to discuss confidential economic development information.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, I will call to order the Tuesday, August 5th meeting with Powell City Council. Elaine, please call the roll. Tom Counts. Here. Tyler Herman is absent. Heather Carr? Here. David Lester. Here. And Kurt Many. Here. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible liberty and justice for all. Next item on our agenda is a presentation by Deanna Brandt, executive director of the Delaware Morrow Mental Health and Recovery Services Unit. Thank you for having me. I appreciate your time. And I know that I have 10 minutes, so if you know anything about me, I'm going to take that whole 10 minutes. So I hope somebody keeps time for me. So for those of you not familiar with our board and our health care system, I want to be clear that this really is your public behavioral health care system for folks who require public services. It's a system in Ohio designed to provide behavioral health care across the continuum for individuals, residents, families, kids, schools, first responders, you name it, without regard for a payer source or their ability to pay. So our office is located downtown Delaware, the PNC Bank Building. If you didn't know that, we have signage going up in the next two weeks. And then we have an office in Mount Gilead, Ohio at 950 Meadow Drive. You know, we've been in existence since 1968. We are one of 50 boards in Ohio that cover all 88 counties. And I'm going to briefly say that the majority of those counties generate at least a portion of their revenue from property tax levies. I promise you, I'm going to circle back to that. That's not the only thing that brought me here, but I do want to talk about the current situation that we're in. We are creatures of statute. We're created in section 340 of the Ohio Revised Code. And if you consider at some point joining our board, the composition of our board is also dictated by statute. Representative of the population proportion from both of our counties. But a lot of what we do is prescriptive. So keep that in mind. If you ever want some light reading, ORC 340. That's where we live. We all are also a payer of last resort. So it is our job as the public behavioral health planning, funding, evaluating, monitoring entity to make sure that the providers that we contract with leave no stone unturned in seeking alternative funding. And I'll speak a little bit to that. And I hope we'll have time for questions and you'll have interest in that. We're not providers of any service. We only provide that oversight and the fiscal accountability that goes along with that. We have our providers demonstrate that they are accessible, effective, efficient, and that their clients are satisfied with their service at a certain level. Now we have I'll briefly talk about our funding sources local. You know, care is local, so the majority of our funding is local. We're completely transparent about that. We're about 80% property tax funded, and I'll talk in some detail about that as we near the end and how that's structured in our history of stewardship of public funds. We have some state funding, which you know we're all in kind of the same boat, that those resources look a little different now than they used to, and and every federal grant that we have the staff to comply with, we try to get.

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