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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Powell City Council Meeting - January 20, 2026

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, January 20, 2026

BodyPowell, Ohio

SessionCity Council & Boards

DateTuesday, January 20, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:20:06

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

0:02

I call to order the January 20th, 2026 Powell City Council meeting.

0:08

Elaine, will you call the role?

0:10

Thank you.

0:10

Leave Carlson?

0:12

Here.

0:14

Carlos Crawford is absent.

0:16

Tyler Herman?

0:17

Here.

0:18

Heather Carr?

0:19

Here.

0:19

David Lester.

0:20

Here.

0:20

And Kurt Ramsey.

0:24

Stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:28

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

0:32

And to the Republic for which it stands.

0:35

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

0:51

James Reard.

0:55

So more than a quarterly update.

0:56

This is going to be the year end for 25.

1:00

And as you can see, I don't have a lot of direction from you as far as exactly what you want to see.

1:10

So I'm just telling you things I think are interesting.

1:13

So if there's anything else going forward, I plan to change the way this looks.

1:16

I'm not real happy with it, but we're gonna we're gonna change the layout of this a little bit here this year.

1:22

Some interesting statistics from 2025, our busiest month, July.

1:26

Um 74% of our calls between 8A and AP.

1:30

Um Wednesday for some reason last year was our busiest day.

1:34

Used to be Thursday for a long time, it was Thursday.

1:36

We get more auto accidents on Thursday than any other day of the week.

1:39

It's weird.

1:40

I don't know why it changed, but it did.

1:43

Um our three busiest locations uh our calls for service restore point, the Columbus Zoo, and then the other store point.

1:51

Uh you can see there are our three EMS are our biggest.

1:55

Uh it says complaints, that's probably a bad word, but EMS calls for service for ill person difficulty breathing and chest pain.

2:01

Uh I threw a little chart in there just to uh show the the months and how many how many calls we took each one of those months.

2:08

But the the big part of this that I wanted to uh get across was the the passing of our levy in May and uh some of the things that we said we were gonna do, and and we did.

2:19

We put uh the biggest one for me uh was boosting the minimum staffing and and putting the third medic in service.

2:26

Um went into service July 1st, and so far uh, well, I guess in that six months it took 192 calls.

2:33

So what does that mean for you?

2:35

Well low uh lower response times, no charges for mutual aid medics coming in and hauling hauling the residents, that kind of stuff.

2:44

Uh we hired a set uh second fire safety inspector.

2:47

That was one of the things that we talked about.

2:49

We bought the two new ambulances, which won't be here till 28, I think.

2:55

Um yeah, it's fun.

2:58

Uh promoted the EMS coordinator, hire uh promoted three lieutenants.

3:02

We over the year we hired five firefighters to to increase that staffing, and then we went from 10 part timers to 22 to offset the cost.

3:11

So that's the highlights in a nutshell.

3:15

Questions?

3:17

Yes, sir.

3:19

So uh you have these runs, but my question is do you do you know or do you keep track of sort of what happens to them?

3:31

I guess my I'm wondering, are these what I'd call light runs, or these are people who are um you know in distress and ultimately die.

3:46

You know, this one thing the outcomes outcomes um I would say the number of people that don't come home from the hospital that we transport there, that number's low.

4:03

That number's low.

4:04

Fortunately, we live in a community that that is a fluent, so to speak, and you know, people have doctors they go to and check up and so that I think that helps with that number that you're asking about.

4:16

Um, so I I mean I can find that number out, the number of people that don't ever leave the hospital, but I would say that number's very low.

4:26

And anecdotally, I just hear uh about story point is you know would you want to have this kind of facility?

4:33

But you know, in those kinds of facilities, you're going to you're gonna have a greater desire to call the squad, you know, and and and that may be okay in terms of of the the services that we provide.

5:00

One of the things that's uh maybe frustrating is in that word, but one of the things that's tough about those facilities is the they're not necessarily full-scale nursing homes, and they have rules that they have to follow where if you fall out of bed, they are not allowed to help you in some of these cases, which is like I didn't know this until they build it, and we started taking a lot of runs there, and we start asking questions like why are you calling us to keep coming over here and put these people back in their bed?

5:22

We're not allowed to touch them.

5:23

So there's rules that that they have that govern them, and and there are some cities that have implemented um billing for that to try and offset some of those calls and make some changes, but I don't know that that's been successful.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Facilities Management███████████████████19%

Public Infrastructure█████████████13%

Public Safety███████████11%

Procedural██████████10%

Technology and Innovation█████████9%

Capital Improvements Planning███████7%

Public Engagement██████6%

Planning And Zoning█████5%

Procurement Policy█████5%

Summary of Proceedings

Powell City Council Meeting - January 20, 2026

The Powell City Council held its regular meeting on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at 7:30 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting included a presentation from Liberty Township Fire Department, approval of the consent agenda, adoption of several resolutions authorizing contracts and expenditures, and adoption of the Facilities Master Plan as a guiding policy document. The meeting concluded with an executive session.

Presentation: Liberty Township Fire Department Quarterly Update (Q4 2025 Year-End)

Fire Chief James Reardon presented statistics for 2025: the busiest month was July; 74% of calls occurred between 8 AM and 8 PM; Wednesday was the busiest day (previously Thursday); the three busiest locations for calls for service were Restore Point, the Columbus Zoo, and another store point (EMS calls for ill person, difficulty breathing, chest pain).
The levy passed in May enabled: boosting minimum staffing and placing a third medic in service on July 1st, which took 192 calls in six months, leading to lower response times and no charges for mutual aid; hiring a second fire safety inspector; purchasing two new ambulances (expected arrival in 2028); promoting an EMS coordinator and three lieutenants; hiring five firefighters; and increasing part-time staff from 10 to 22 to offset costs.
Response time goal is five minutes (national average); the city's response time is under five minutes, having improved by about 12 seconds.
Chief Reardon noted that many calls from assisted living facilities are for non-emergency situations because staff are not allowed to assist residents.

Consent Calendar

The council unanimously approved the consent agenda, which included monthly reports from Human Resources, Police, Finance (December 2025), Economic Development (annual), Planning and Zoning, Community Engagement, Engineers/Public Service/Parks, as well as Ordinance 2026-01 (final acceptance of public improvements for Smith Farm at Carpenter’s Mill, Section 4, Parts A and B) and Resolution 2026-05 (authorizing disposition of municipally owned property by internet auction).

Public Comments & Testimony

No members of the public spoke during citizen participation.

Discussion Items

Resolution 2026-06 – Placer Labs Inc. Agreement: Council authorized the city manager to enter into a two-year agreement with Placer Labs Inc. for a data analytics tool using anonymous cell phone data to support economic development, traffic analysis, and park usage. The cost is $15,000 for 2026 (budgeted) and $16,000 guaranteed for 2027, with a 10-day exit clause. Council members expressed support for the tool’s potential to provide better data for attracting businesses and making informed decisions.
Resolution 2026-07 – ESRI ArcGIS Renewal: Council authorized the city manager to enter into a three-year professional services agreement with ESRI Inc. for renewing ArcGIS services. Costs are already approved in the 2026 planning department budget. The tool is used for managing data on road pavement, zoning, signage, crash data, and other geolocated information.
Resolution 2026-08 – Downtown Design Guidelines Update: Council authorized increasing a professional services agreement with SSOE Group to update downtown design guidelines, using previously approved funds from the 2026 planning budget. Staff explained the effort aligns with zoning code rewrites and historic property survey; the target for adoption is summer 2026, with community feedback expected around March.
Resolution 2026-09 – Police Cruiser Purchase: Council authorized the purchase of three Chevy Tahoe police cruisers (replacing Ford Interceptors) with a seven-year unlimited mileage warranty, at a total cost of $168,609 (including add-ons). The new vehicles will allow a five-year replacement schedule instead of three, saving an estimated $375,000 over the capital improvement plan. The purchase is through Tim Lally Chevrolet under a state term contract.
Resolution 2026-10 – Demolition at 44 North Liberty Street: Council authorized the demolition of a city-owned structure at 44 North Liberty Street, with the contract awarded to Watson General Contracting for $31,022. The demolition is fully reimbursable through the Ohio Department of Public Works Building Sites and Demolition Program, administered via the land bank. The site will be part of future roadway and plaza improvements connecting Liberty to Grace Street.
Resolution 2026-11 – Facilities Master Plan Adoption: Council adopted the Final Facilities Master Plan as a guiding policy document. Mike Murphy of Champlin Architecture presented findings from a year-long process evaluating three buildings: the current city hall/police station, the public service building at Adventure Park, and the Leckler building. Key findings included parking and storage issues, insufficient conference space, and a recommendation that the buildings do not belong in their current park locations. Three replacement concepts were presented: City Hall (~16,000 sq ft, $5.6–7.2M), Police Department (~23,000 sq ft, $8–10M), and a Rec Center (~48,000 sq ft, $16.8–21.5M). The city does not currently own suitable land for these facilities; potential parcels (e.g., Seldom Seen Park, village green) require further study. Council members emphasized that the plan is a long-term guideline, not an immediate commitment, and noted the need to be sensitive to existing community stakeholders (e.g., YMCA) regarding recreation space.

Key Outcomes

Consent agenda approved unanimously.
Resolution 2026-06 adopted (voice vote, all ayes).
Resolution 2026-07 adopted (voice vote, all ayes).
Resolution 2026-08 adopted (voice vote, all ayes).
Resolution 2026-09 adopted (voice vote, all ayes).
Resolution 2026-10 adopted (voice vote, all ayes).
Resolution 2026-11 adopted (voice vote, all ayes).
Council entered executive session under ORC 121.22(G)(1), (G)(3), and (G)(8) to discuss personnel, attorney conference regarding imminent court action, and economic development assistance.

Committee Reports & City Manager's Report

Operations Committee will meet February 17, 2026 at 6:30 PM.
Planning & Zoning Commission reported on feedback for the Powell Center (strip mall) design, requesting changes to improve the eastern entry into the city.
PDC next meeting January 27, 2026.
City Council Work Session scheduled for January 31, 2026 at 9:00 AM.
City Manager announced a new communications hire and a public agenda planning session at Espresso 22 on February 9, 2026 at 3:00 PM.
Council noted the police department’s dark, dreary walls; planned maintenance updates are scheduled.

Meeting Transcript

I call to order the January 20th, 2026 Powell City Council meeting. Elaine, will you call the role? Thank you. Leave Carlson? Here. Carlos Crawford is absent. Tyler Herman? Here. Heather Carr? Here. David Lester. Here. And Kurt Ramsey. 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. James Reard. So more than a quarterly update. This is going to be the year end for 25. And as you can see, I don't have a lot of direction from you as far as exactly what you want to see. So I'm just telling you things I think are interesting. So if there's anything else going forward, I plan to change the way this looks. I'm not real happy with it, but we're gonna we're gonna change the layout of this a little bit here this year. Some interesting statistics from 2025, our busiest month, July. Um 74% of our calls between 8A and AP. Um Wednesday for some reason last year was our busiest day. Used to be Thursday for a long time, it was Thursday. We get more auto accidents on Thursday than any other day of the week. It's weird. I don't know why it changed, but it did. Um our three busiest locations uh our calls for service restore point, the Columbus Zoo, and then the other store point. Uh you can see there are our three EMS are our biggest. Uh it says complaints, that's probably a bad word, but EMS calls for service for ill person difficulty breathing and chest pain. Uh I threw a little chart in there just to uh show the the months and how many how many calls we took each one of those months. But the the big part of this that I wanted to uh get across was the the passing of our levy in May and uh some of the things that we said we were gonna do, and and we did. We put uh the biggest one for me uh was boosting the minimum staffing and and putting the third medic in service. Um went into service July 1st, and so far uh, well, I guess in that six months it took 192 calls. So what does that mean for you? Well low uh lower response times, no charges for mutual aid medics coming in and hauling hauling the residents, that kind of stuff. Uh we hired a set uh second fire safety inspector. That was one of the things that we talked about. We bought the two new ambulances, which won't be here till 28, I think. Um yeah, it's fun. Uh promoted the EMS coordinator, hire uh promoted three lieutenants. We over the year we hired five firefighters to to increase that staffing, and then we went from 10 part timers to 22 to offset the cost. So that's the highlights in a nutshell. Questions? Yes, sir. So uh you have these runs, but my question is do you do you know or do you keep track of sort of what happens to them?

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