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★ ★ ★PUBLICRECORDSEP 15 2026
OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
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

Transcript — VerbatimClick a 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 met on Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at 7:30 PM in Council Chambers. Mayor called the meeting to order with roll call: Councilmembers Carr, Lester, and Ramsey were present; Crawford and Herman were absent (Herman later arrived). The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. No citizens participated during public comment. The minutes from the September 1, 2026 meeting were approved unanimously.

Consent Calendar

  • Monthly Staff Report for August 2026 was approved without discussion.

Resolutions

  • Resolution 2026-51 (Adopted): 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. The cost is $325,000, a 15% reduction from the previous year due to efficiencies from Bid Express software and revised survey needs. Council approved unanimously.
  • Resolution 2026-52 (Adopted): Authorized a cooperative project agreement with the Ohio Public Works Association (OPWC) for the Carriage Road Improvements Project Phase 1. The project covers ~5600 feet of roadway; the city’s portion is 880 feet at a net cost of approximately $10,500 after county and state matching funds. Speed bumps will not be replaced. Council approved unanimously.
  • Resolution 2026-53 (Adopted): Established the Hometown Heroes Veteran Banner Program. The city will provide utility poles for banner placement and removal; the Powell Veterans Committee will fund and procure the banners. Banner display period was extended per development committee recommendations. Adopted unanimously.
  • Resolution 2026-54 (Adopted): Authorized the City Manager to enter into a pass-through grant agreement with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) for $200,000 in support of the Bennett Farms Shared-Use Path Project. This is a procedural step to receive the state grant. Adopted unanimously.
  • Resolution 2026-55 (Adopted): Adopted the 2027-2031 Five-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) totaling $60.5 million. Notable changes include removal of the South Depot Street Connection ($5.1M) to a future budget category, removal of the Timber Pedestrian Bridge replacement ($350,000) due to insurance coverage, and inclusion of a placeholder for Bennett Farms schematic design ($343,000). A projected $53,000 shortfall in 2030 is expected to be resolved by actual receipts. The plan uses 25% of income tax revenue for capital projects. Council noted improved planning process and smooth approval.

Ordinance: First Reading

  • Ordinance 2026-21 (Adopted): Awarded a bid to Law General Contracting, Inc. in the amount of $449,319.09 for the Bennett Farms Shared-Use Path Project, Phase 1. The project will install over 2,000 linear feet of shared-use path, connecting Bennett Parkway to downtown. A future phase will include a bridge component. The project was deemed an emergency to allow immediate start; staff expects to begin pre-construction within days. Council suspended the rules and adopted the ordinance unanimously (6-0). Councilmember Carr praised the rapid progress from property acquisition to construction in less than two years.

Committee Reports

  • Development Committee: Next meeting October 6, 2026.
  • Finance Committee: Next meeting October 13, 2026, focusing on budget details.
  • Operations Committee: Met prior to council; discussed a potential massage ordinance for future council review.
  • Planning & Zoning Commission: Met September 2026; reported that the equity strip center in front of Pell Shopping Center was denied after over 20 public comments. Preliminary drawings for a retail section of the Corinthian project were reviewed, featuring an arcade concept.
  • Powell Development Corporation: Next meeting September 22, 2026, with a retreat session following.
  • Tree Board: Met September 2026; coordinating with staff on tree trimming responsibilities to improve snow plowing; will present at HOA annual meeting October 22.

City Manager's Report

  • City Manager Andy reported that a petition for referendum regarding zoning code (established by Ordinance 2026-14) was properly filed and submitted to the Board of Elections for signature validation. The outcome is expected by the next council meeting (October 2026). Staff is pausing code modifications until the referendum process resolves, as the petition affects the entire code. Council acknowledged the process.

Other Council Matters

  • Mayor announced an executive session under Ohio Revised Code §121.22(G)(2), (G)(3), and (G)(8) to consider property purchase, imminent court action, and economic development confidential information. Representatives of Cohiba Properties LLC were invited. No action was expected to follow. Motion to enter executive session passed unanimously.

No public comments were made during the public participation period or during any agenda item.

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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