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Record of Proceedings

Powell City Council Regular Meeting – September 15, 2026

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, September 15, 2026
BodyPowell, Ohio
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateTuesday, September 15, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 43:46

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:02

I will call the September 15th 2026 City Council meeting to order.

0:07

Elaine, would you please call the roll?

0:09

Thank you.

0:10

Leave Carl.

0:12

Carlos Crawford is absent.

0:15

Tyler Herman is absent.

0:17

Heather Carr?

0:18

Here.

0:19

David Lester.

0:21

Here.

0:21

And Kurt Ramsey.

0:22

Here.

0:23

Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:27

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

0:31

And the Republic for which it stands.

0:34

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

0:44

The first item on our agenda is citizen participation.

0:47

This item is for any item which is not on the agenda.

0:52

Please approach the podium, state your name and address, and you will have three minutes to speak.

0:58

Seeing none, I will close citizen participation.

1:01

The next item on the agenda is the approval of the minutes.

1:06

Having read the approval or having met, I can't talk anymore today.

1:10

Having you received these in your packet.

1:14

Are there any additions or corrections?

1:18

I motion to approve.

1:19

Is there a second?

1:20

Second.

1:21

All those in favor say aye.

1:23

Aye.

1:23

Those opposed, same sign.

1:26

And the minutes are approved.

1:28

The next item on the agenda is the consent agenda.

1:32

Um these are um staff reports.

1:36

Is there any item that uh a council member would like to remove?

1:41

What are the wishes of council?

1:43

No.

1:44

Second.

1:45

All those in favor say aye.

1:47

Aye aye.

1:48

Those opposed, same sign.

1:51

The consent agenda is approved.

1:53

The next item on the agenda is resolution 2026-51.

1:58

A resolution authorizing the city manager to enter into a professional services agreement with EMHT for the purpose of performing professional engineering and inspection services for the 2027 street and path maintenance program.

2:13

Andy.

2:14

Thank you, Mayor.

2:15

Um, this is part of a monthly year that we've gone through through engineering and finance.

2:23

Um essentially for next year's planned uh improvements of 3.2 million, which are called out in the capital improvement program.

2:31

Uh staff is recommending approval of this quote for next year's design costs, totaling uh about $325,000, which is a reduction of 15% over the 26th bid.

2:43

Um Eric can speak a little bit about this, but with council's authorization of uh the Bid Express software program.

2:51

We've realized some efficiencies there.

2:53

Um additionally, I wanted to point out staff is recommending approval by council tonight early in the fall, uh as this will get us on schedule to meet uh a bidding advertisement threshold of the first quarter of 2027, an award and construction to begin much earlier in the spring, as opposed to uh some of the the challenges we've had with the 26 program with uh the design costs and some of the complications of the uh the construction.

3:21

So we are recommending approval.

3:23

I wanted to provide Aaron an opportunity to speak to uh benefits of the program as well, and then we'll answer any questions.

3:29

Thank you.

3:29

Thank you, Andy.

3:30

Um probably the only other thing that I would add to that, yes, we we work with them to kind of reduce reduce that cost down by by sixty thousand uh as compared to last year.

3:39

Um not only have we seen efficiencies as far as our our bidding process and the effort we need to do, we're not printing bid books, we're we're uh streamlining some of that.

3:49

Um checking bids when they come in is much easier, it's automated so we can we have that data.

3:55

Um you know, one of the other things that we've we've looked at is uh some of the the survey data that we need to get for tur for curb ramps.

4:02

So that's the other thing we've identified.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural████████████████████████████28%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████████████████26%
Budget Equity Analysis████████████████16%
Parks and Recreation████████8%
Public Engagement███████7%
Pending Litigation██████6%
Public Safety███3%
Arts And Culture███3%
Community Engagement███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Powell City Council Regular Meeting – September 15, 2026

The Powell City Council held its regular meeting on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, at Council Chambers, 47 Hall Street, Powell, OH. Councilmember Carlos Crawford was absent; Councilmember Tyler Herman was initially absent at roll call but later participated. The council approved the September 1, 2026 minutes, the August staff report consent item, five resolutions, and Ordinance 2026-21 as an emergency. No public comments were made.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the minutes of the September 1, 2026 City Council meeting by voice vote.
  • Approved the Monthly Staff Report for August 2026 by voice vote; no items were removed.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Citizen participation was opened and closed with no speakers. No public comment was offered on any resolution or ordinance.

Discussion Items

  • Resolution 2026-51 – Authorized the City Manager to enter into a professional services agreement with EMH&T for engineering and inspection services for the 2027 Street and Path Maintenance Program. Staff cited about $3.2 million in planned improvements and design costs of roughly $325,000, a 15% reduction from the 2026 bid, attributed partly to Bid Express and survey efficiencies. Staff also noted a multi-year agreement had been set up to avoid annual bidding. The agreement also covers construction administration and inspection. Adopted by voice vote.
  • Resolution 2026-52 – Authorized a cooperative project agreement with OPWC for the Carriage Road Improvements Project, Phase 1, Round 41. Staff described a roughly $700,000 road improvement covering about 5,600 feet, with the city's portion about 880 feet. After Delaware County's R-Gap match of $31,500, the city's committed share was about $10,500. Asked whether speed bumps would remain, staff responded that the current plan does not put them back. Adopted by voice vote.
  • Resolution 2026-53 – Established the Hometown Heroes Veteran Banner Program, adopted the program policy, and authorized use of city-owned utility poles. The city will provide infrastructure and banner installation and removal; veterans organizations will fundraise and procure banners. The display period was extended during Development Committee review. Adopted by voice vote.
  • Resolution 2026-54 – Authorized the City Manager to enter into the ODNR capital improvement pass-through grant agreement supporting the Bennett Farms Shared-Use Path. The project budget is about $925,000, including a $200,000 state grant. Adopted by voice vote.
  • Resolution 2026-55 – Adopted the 2027-2031 Five-Year Capital Improvement Program. The CIP totals roughly $60.5 million, with income tax projections assuming 2% annual growth to about $21.6 million by 2035. The approximately $5.1 million South Depot Street Connection was moved to future budgeted items and is not counted in the $60.5 million. Notable 2027 items included $1.8 million in debt payment, $340,000 for Bennett Farms schematic design, $1.3 million for the Adventure Park CSX tunnel, about $3.5 million in street maintenance, and $145,000 for playground upgrades. Staff said the $350,000 Timber Pedestrian Bridge replacement was being removed because insurance would not cover it, with repairs to reopen the bridge this fall. A roughly $53,000 2030 Capital Projects Fund 491 shortfall was projected to be eliminated the next year. Staff noted the resolution approves the plan only; 2027 appropriations will come through the operating budget. Adopted by voice vote.
  • Ordinance 2026-21 – Authorized the City Manager to award a $449,319.09 bid to Law General Contracting, Inc. for the Bennett Farms Shared-Use Path Project, with an emergency declaration. The total project budget is about $925,000. The first phase will install about 2,000 linear feet of shared-use path, and a future bridge and connection phase will be brought back separately for bid. Staff said Law General was the low bidder among three bids. The $200,000 state grant applies to the overall project. A dedicated city engineering inspector will monitor the work. Contract documents were expected in two to three days, with a pre-construction meeting early the following week and a 90-day contractual window once notice to proceed is issued. Council suspended the rules and adopted the ordinance by roll-call vote.

Committee Reports

  • Development Committee: next meeting October 6, 2026.
  • Finance Committee: next meeting October 13, 2026, at 6:00 p.m.
  • Operations Committee: met that evening; expects to bring a massage ordinance to council before the end of the year.
  • Planning & Zoning Commission: heard more than 20 public comments on the Equity strip center in front of the Pell Shopping Center; the item did not pass. A preliminary retail concept for the Corinthian project, including an arcade concept, was reviewed favorably.
  • Powell Development Corporation: next meeting September 22, 2026, at noon, with Retreat Session 2 to follow.
  • Tree Board: planning to present at the HOA annual meeting on October 22, 2026, and developing a tree-responsibility matrix to help with maintenance and snow plowing.

City Manager's Report

  • The City Manager reported that a properly filed petition to referendum on the zoning code has been submitted to the Board of Elections for signature validation. A result is expected within about a week, with council action possibly at the first meeting in October. The City Manager also noted that the referendum petition covers the entire code, which is atypical, affecting how new code modifications from the Operations Committee are applied.

Executive Session

  • Council voted to enter executive session under Ohio Revised Code 121.22(G)(2) for property purchase, (G)(3) for attorney conference on imminent court action, and (G)(8) for confidential economic development assistance information. Representatives of Cohiba Properties LLC were invited. No action was expected following the session.

Key Outcomes

  • All agenda items were approved: minutes, consent calendar, Resolutions 2026-51 through 2026-55, and Ordinance 2026-21.
  • The Bennett Farms Shared-Use Path contract is expected to proceed quickly, with pre-construction work scheduled for the following week.
  • The zoning-code referendum will return to council after Board of Elections validation.
  • Upcoming meetings: Development October 6; Finance October 13; Operations October 20; Planning & Zoning October 28; Powell Development Corporation September 22.

Meeting Transcript

I will call the September 15th 2026 City Council meeting to order. Elaine, would you please call the roll? Thank you. Leave Carl. Carlos Crawford is absent. Tyler Herman is absent. Heather Carr? Here. David Lester. Here. And Kurt Ramsey. Here. Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, individual with liberty and justice for all. The first item on our agenda is citizen participation. This item is for any item which is not on the agenda. Please approach the podium, state your name and address, and you will have three minutes to speak. Seeing none, I will close citizen participation. The next item on the agenda is the approval of the minutes. Having read the approval or having met, I can't talk anymore today. Having you received these in your packet. Are there any additions or corrections? I motion to approve. Is there a second? Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed, same sign. And the minutes are approved. The next item on the agenda is the consent agenda. Um these are um staff reports. Is there any item that uh a council member would like to remove? What are the wishes of council? No. Second. All those in favor say aye. Aye aye. Those opposed, same sign. The consent agenda is approved. The next item on the agenda is resolution 2026-51. A resolution authorizing the city manager to enter into a professional services agreement with EMHT for the purpose of performing professional engineering and inspection services for the 2027 street and path maintenance program. Andy. Thank you, Mayor. Um, this is part of a monthly year that we've gone through through engineering and finance. Um essentially for next year's planned uh improvements of 3.2 million, which are called out in the capital improvement program. Uh staff is recommending approval of this quote for next year's design costs, totaling uh about $325,000, which is a reduction of 15% over the 26th bid. Um Eric can speak a little bit about this, but with council's authorization of uh the Bid Express software program. We've realized some efficiencies there.

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