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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Powell City Council Meeting: September 2, 2025 – CRA Moratorium & Village Green Phase II

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, September 2, 2025

BodyPowell, Ohio

SessionCity Council & Boards

DateTuesday, September 2, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 2:08:18

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

0:00

Okay, I will call to order the Tuesday, September 2nd uh City Council meeting.

0:06

Please hold a role for Zon on that.

0:09

Here Carlson.

0:10

Here from Council.

0:11

Here.

0:12

Tyler Hermit.

0:13

Here.

0:14

Here.

0:14

David Lester.

0:15

Here.

0:16

Kurt Ramsey.

0:17

Here.

0:17

Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:22

I 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.

0:30

Indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

0:39

The next item on our agenda is a presentation with a proclamation recognizing September as hunger month.

0:48

And we're going to present this to the people in need.

0:52

So I will read the proclamation.

0:58

And if representatives of people in need will come up.

1:04

Yeah.

1:08

Okay.

1:11

Right over here.

1:12

Absolutely.

1:16

Okay.

1:17

So whereas the month of September is designated as Hunger Action Month to highlight the issue of food insecurity in our communities and inspire action.

1:29

Combat hunger in the United States.

1:32

And whereas everyone needs nutritious food to thrive, but tragically, millions of people, including children and seniors still face fungity in our nation, state, and local communities.

1:50

And whereas people in need have been serving Delaware County since 1981.

1:55

And we are committed to combating hunger, providing essential resources and raising awareness about the need to devote more resources and attention to these issues.

2:08

And whereas people in need have served over 11,665 families facing food insecurity year to date, which is a 20% increase year over year, and estimate that they will provide over one million meals throughout Delaware County by the end of 2025.

2:33

And whereas addressing the food security needs of all residents from children to seniors is fundamental to the well-being and the future of our community.

2:45

And whereas Hunger Action Month emphasizes the importance of community involvement, encouraging individuals, businesses, and organizations to volunteer, donate, advocate, and learn about the impacts of food and security.

3:05

Therefore, I Tom Counts, by virtue of the authority vested in me, as mayor of the City of Powell, County of Delaware, Ohio, and on behalf of the community and staff, recognize September 2025 as Hunger Action Month in the City of Powell and encourage all residents to participate in Hunger Action Month by volunteering at focal local food banks, donating foods or funds, and advocating for policies that promote food access and security.

3:42

There you are.

3:44

So happy to do that.

3:52

Awesome.

3:53

Yep.

3:54

I'm going to need everybody to say.

3:58

Okay, that'll work.

4:03

Okay, one more.

4:04

Yeah, Jim.

4:15

Got one more phone.

4:24

Okay.

4:25

Thank you very much.

4:27

There's the podium.

4:28

I'll let you have a chance to talk to council.

4:30

All right.

4:33

Well, thank you very much for having us here today.

4:36

Greatly appreciate being recognized as someone who addresses our organization addresses food insecurity in Delaware County.

4:46

We are serving, there's estimated to be about 25,000 food insecure in Delaware County.

4:53

We're serving just about half of that amount here in the county.

5:00

We serve all the way up to Ashley and Ostrander and far south as Lewis Center and POW.

5:04

Just to give you a little bit of idea of who the population that we're serving.

5:08

The majority comes from 43015, which covers a lot of Liberty Township as well.

5:14

But our next areas that we cover are some very Lewis Center, how then some very it may not seem from time to time that people are in need within certain areas, but they are.

5:30

It could be from job loss, it could be from situational things that happen within the community.

5:37

We greatly appreciate the opportunity to share with you who we serve as well as the members of who came here today.

5:46

A lot of our volunteers are from the POW area.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Tax Abatement████████████████████████████████████████████44%

Procedural██████████10%

Public Engagement█████████9%

Public Schools████████8%

Parks and Recreation█████5%

Budget Review█████5%

Parking Management█████5%

Real Estate Development█████5%

Technology and Innovation████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Powell City Council Meeting – September 2, 2025

The Powell City Council held a regular meeting on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, at 7:30 PM in the Council Chambers. The agenda included proclamations, multiple resolutions, first readings of two ordinances, and public testimony. The most significant discussions centered on a Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) residential tax abatement program, leading to a temporary moratorium. All consent and discussion items were addressed with votes.

Consent Calendar

Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the August 19, 2025 meeting were approved without changes.
Resolution 2025-30: Accepted the amounts and rates determined by the Budget Commission and authorized tax levies for fiscal year 2026 (routine procedural action).
Resolution 2025-31: Authorized an amendment to the contract with Doug McCollough (DMC Group LLC) for additional IT leadership services (annualized cost $72,000; $21,000 increase in 2025). Adopted after concerns about cyber liability insurance were noted.
Resolution 2025-32: Authorized a parking agreement with Laurie Sue Groff Knight for a 16-space public parking lot at 50 W. Olentangy St., with a $150,000 construction reimbursement and $2,400 annual maintenance (increasing 4% annually).
Resolution 2025-33: Appointed members to the Board of Tax Appeals (pre-2016 and post-2016) and other boards/commissions.

Public Comments & Testimony

CRA Moratorium and Abatement Program: Several residents and Fisher Homes representatives spoke during the public comment period on Ordinance 2025-21 (proposed CRA rescission):
- Kelly Cameron (139 Morris Court) expressed concern that many existing homes within the CRA district would qualify for abatements, creating inequities and possible property value impacts.
- Nathan Painter (Fisher Homes counsel) asked that eight Encore Park homebuyers who signed contracts in reliance on the 15-year, 100% abatement be grandfathered. He noted that applications cannot be filed until a certificate of occupancy is issued.
- JB Jasunas and Mandy Getman (both in contract or closed at Encore Park) stated they relied on the abatement to afford the homes; removal would cause financial hardship.
- Kelly Ebert and Jasmine Chadry (homebuyers) shared similar reliance stories; Jasmine Chadry said the abatement was a key factor in her decision to purchase.
- Tim Brader (Fisher Homes) confirmed that as of August 6, 2025, the abatement was advertised, but he immediately stopped promotion after learning of the council meeting and pledged no new contracts would be signed.

Discussion Items

Resolution 2025-29 – Village Green Master Plan Phase II: Councilmember David Lester expressed concerns about over-developing green space but ultimately supported the resolution to allow community input. The resolution authorizes a professional services agreement with Pizzuti Solutions LLC for Phase II (concept plans, public engagement, financial analysis). Adopted unanimously.
Ordinance 2025-21 – Amending the Downtown CRA: The administration recommended rescinding the residential new construction abatement portion of the CRA, citing that the original intent was renovation of blighted properties, not new construction. Council debated grandfathering eight Encore Park buyers who had signed contracts but not yet filed applications (applications require certificate of occupancy). Council deferred action to a second reading in two weeks, directing staff to draft a solution that honors those buyers and makes the school district whole for lost revenue.
Ordinance 2025-22 – Temporary Moratorium on CRA Abatements (Added to Agenda via Amendment): Introduced as an emergency to stop further applications while the CRA policy is reviewed. After discussion, council amended the moratorium to:
- Last until September 17, 2025 (instead of 90 days)
- Prohibit submission, acceptance, processing, or approval of any residential new construction CRA abatement applications.
- Adopted unanimously as an emergency (effective immediately). Staff will provide additional details by the end of the week.

Key Outcomes

Resolutions 2025-29, 2025-30, 2025-31, 2025-32, 2025-33: All adopted by voice vote with no dissents.
Ordinance 2025-21: First reading held; will return for second reading on September 16, 2025, with a proposed amendment to grandfather existing Encore Park purchasers and ensure the school district is compensated.
Ordinance 2025-22: Adopted as emergency (immediate effect) after amendments, imposing a moratorium until September 17, 2025, on all CRA residential new construction abatement applications.
Executive Session: Held under Ohio Revised Code § 121.22(G)(3) (pending litigation) and (G)(8) (economic development negotiations); no action taken.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, I will call to order the Tuesday, September 2nd uh City Council meeting. Please hold a role for Zon on that. Here Carlson. Here from Council. Here. Tyler Hermit. Here. Here. David Lester. Here. Kurt Ramsey. Here. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. The next item on our agenda is a presentation with a proclamation recognizing September as hunger month. And we're going to present this to the people in need. So I will read the proclamation. And if representatives of people in need will come up. Yeah. Okay. Right over here. Absolutely. Okay. So whereas the month of September is designated as Hunger Action Month to highlight the issue of food insecurity in our communities and inspire action. Combat hunger in the United States. And whereas everyone needs nutritious food to thrive, but tragically, millions of people, including children and seniors still face fungity in our nation, state, and local communities. And whereas people in need have been serving Delaware County since 1981. And we are committed to combating hunger, providing essential resources and raising awareness about the need to devote more resources and attention to these issues. And whereas people in need have served over 11,665 families facing food insecurity year to date, which is a 20% increase year over year, and estimate that they will provide over one million meals throughout Delaware County by the end of 2025. And whereas addressing the food security needs of all residents from children to seniors is fundamental to the well-being and the future of our community. And whereas Hunger Action Month emphasizes the importance of community involvement, encouraging individuals, businesses, and organizations to volunteer, donate, advocate, and learn about the impacts of food and security. Therefore, I Tom Counts, by virtue of the authority vested in me, as mayor of the City of Powell, County of Delaware, Ohio, and on behalf of the community and staff, recognize September 2025 as Hunger Action Month in the City of Powell and encourage all residents to participate in Hunger Action Month by volunteering at focal local food banks, donating foods or funds, and advocating for policies that promote food access and security. There you are. So happy to do that. Awesome. Yep. I'm going to need everybody to say. Okay, that'll work. Okay, one more. Yeah, Jim. Got one more phone. Okay. Thank you very much. There's the podium. I'll let you have a chance to talk to council. All right. Well, thank you very much for having us here today.

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