Invocation was given by: Sister Joan Rader, D.O. followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

Approval of Minutes – August 13, 2007
James so moved, upon roll call; Steve-Yes, Copley-Yes, Russell-Abstain, Telford-Yes, Lapehn-Yes, James-Yes and motion carried.

Approval of Minutes – August 21, 2007
Copley so moved, upon roll call; Russell-Yes, Telford-Abstain, Steve-Yes, James-Abstain, Lapehn-Yes, Copley-Yes and motion carried.

Workshop
a. Discussion of Cemetery Fee Increases
City Manager Boggs advised as previously discussed he brought committee notes from the cemetery board and they recommended an increase in rates as they have not been increased in some time. He advised he brought the projected costs of adding a new road to the cemetery and Service Director Simpson estimates those to be $38,549.00 and would come out of the cemetery endowment fund, which has a balance of approximately $96,000.00. Boggs advised he was seeking guidance as to whether Council wants to increase the rates or keep them the same. Boggs advised the current rates for the Rittman Cemetery to open/close a grave are $400.00 and to purchase a lot was $350.00 (resident) and $450.00 (non-resident). Boggs advised in comparison Orrville charges $500.00 to open/close a grave and $400.00 for a lot (resident) and $600.00 (non-resident). Boggs advised Wooster charges $495.00 open/close and $595.00 for a lot (resident and non-resident). He advised Wadsworth charges $695.00 open/close and $550.00 a lot (resident) and $600.00 (non-resident).
Council Member Copley inquired as to when was the last time the City used the endowment fund to do a major project at the cemetery. He advised it seemed to him that while that fund would be taking a hit of one-third of its total, that was the purpose of this fund and they would still be left with two-thirds of that fund after this work. Copley advised he didn’t see the benefit at this time to raise fees.
Council Member Russell agreed and advised he felt it wasn’t necessary at this time.
Council Member Steve Johnson advised he felt the purpose of the fund and the issue to look at was the future and why handicap whoever has to purchase land in the future. Steve advised if the rates were high in the city, he wouldn’t be in favor of an increase, but he felt they ought to increase them enough to build the fund and in twenty years they would have some money with which to work. Steve suggested an increase of $50 a gravesite. He advised this road was certainly more expensive than the last road installed and the next would be even greater. Steve advised he didn’t feel $50 would be unreasonable and would still be less than our neighbors as well as proactive in putting money aside for future improvements. Steve advised several people have asked why there isn’t a permanent shelter for such things as services during inclement weather and he indicated this could be a future capital project.
Council Member Telford inquired if this (new section) would open up all the land owned by the city (for the cemetery).
Boggs advised there was still a section of land left as they were only going to be using one quarter to one half of what is owned (and not being used currently). It was noted there would still be room for another road and the opening of another section without purchasing more land.
Council Member Lapehn inquired as to how many new gravesites this would open up and what was the current need per year on average.
Boggs advised he didn’t know how many gravesites this would open.
Finance Director Mann advised they used to average forty graves per year, but with the opening of the Veteran’s Cemetery they have dropped considerably. Mann advised they were also limited in what they could offer people as it was her understanding there were fewer sections where the upright monuments were available and part of the reason the sales were starting to drop. Mann was hopeful sales would increase once the new section was opened.
Lapehn inquired if there were limitations on the type of headstones allowed in the new section.
Boggs advised no and indicated the cemetery board actually discussed reviewing the flat stone section and consider allowing upright stones, as the flat stones were not selling as quickly and advised it could possibly hold off the construction of this new road although costs to install a road were always going up.
Lapehn advised his thinking was if there was more space left even after this new section was opened and usage was down, he felt they could hold the rates where they were currently.
It was noted, the cemetery board recommendation of an increase in rates was due to them not having been increased in quite some time.
Steve inquired if the expenses to maintain the cemetery come out of this same fund.
Mann advised those expenses come out of the general fund. Mann advised a portion of the sale of the lots also go to the general fund as well as the interment costs. Mann advised permanent improvements were strictly from lot sales and she didn’t know if they even sold twenty lots this last year.
It was noted only capital improvements come out of the Cemetery Endowment Fund.
Mann advised she wanted to point out that the cost of the platting of the lots was not included in the Service Director’s estimate and that could be quite costly as a surveyor had to mark each gravesite with the pins and she would estimate approximately $10,000 for that service.
Boggs advised he could provide Council with a cost analysis for the platting as well as to what the last ten years have been regarding the sale of lots.
Steve inquired as to the history of the Cemetery Endowment Fund balances. Steve advised they should also consider the cost of maintenance of the cemetery as it expands and if there was enough in the General Fund to cover those increased costs as well as equipment.
Boggs advised he would bring Council more details at the next meeting.

b. Discussion of a Lift Station at Milton Road
The City Manager advised the Milton Road Lift Station has been one of the most troublesome areas and he and Utilities Director Metcalf wanted to use some of the capital improvement monies to repair/replace said lift station. Boggs indicated they were asking for approval to bring legislation to hire the engineer, which was approximately $13,367. Boggs advised after the study was complete they would go out for bids for the repair/replacement of this lift station.
Metcalf advised last year Service Director Simpson put the storm lines across the road since that heavy rain flooded the lift station because of the grade of the lift station. Metcalf advised while that helped, the lift station was still at a low grade. Metcalf advised a lot of the lift station components were becoming rusted and the engineers would do a hydraulic study of the area and upgrade or increase the size of that lift station for future expansion. Metcalf advised the only problem with an upgrade would be that they might be required to install a backup generator. He advised they would evaluate rehabilitating the existing submersible lift station or install a new wet well mounted pump station.
Steve inquired if they had generator capabilities on that unit now.
Metcalf advised there was a plug there, but there were some valves downstream that they have to open up and put their pumps in and bypass that lift station through our pumps. Metcalf advised he had a couple cost estimates for engineering for budgetary purposes.
Russell inquired as to what kind of money were they talking about approximately.
Metcalf advised he received an estimate of $77,000 and a couple of years ago when this was discussed it was $70,000 and generally the estimate was higher than the actual costs.
Russell inquired as to how the Milton Road Lift Station handled this last heavy rainfall.
Metcalf advised it did pretty well as the 24” line was installed across Milton Road. He advised they were out there monitoring it and if they wouldn’t have had that pipe installed they might have had another problem.
Robertson inquired regarding the placement of the pump motors if there were any noise factors with it being external vs. submersible.
Metcalf advised yes, but there were some ways to help decrease the noise factor, but would definitely be something to consider. Metcalf advised they do try to insulate those things to help keep the noise down in residential areas.
Russell suggested they check to see if Caraustar had some pumps they would be willing to sell. Russell advised they had a lot of different kinds of large pumps and the city might be able to purchase them reasonably.
Metcalf advised he wouldn’t mind checking it out although he didn’t believe it would be conducive to this situation, as it was hard to retrofit existing equipment, but might be able to be used in some other capacity.
Steve inquired as to the age of the Milton Road Lift Station.
Metcalf advised he believed it was installed in approximately1980.

Copley inquired if other lift stations throughout the city were approaching the same state as this one.
Metcalf advised no as he believed the other ones were still in pretty good shape and noted the Rufener Lift Station would most likely be the next one, which would need replaced.

c. Discussion of Industrial Street Waterline
Boggs advised he and Utilities Director Metcalf have been working on an application for
Issue II grants. He advised part of the process included a Resolution from Council supporting these grants and he has written one for the Industrial Street area (including Wayne St. and Bellevue St.) for a waterline replacement. He advised the Industrial Street and Wayne Street waterline was installed in 1952 and the Bellevue Street waterline was installed in 1929. Boggs advised they have had quite a few water breaks in this area and it uses a lot of man-hours. Boggs advised they recently completed the Ohio Avenue Waterline Project and this would be similar in nature to that project. Boggs advised he was proposing requesting 40% of the funds from the grant application with the total cost of the project being approximately $420,000.
Steve inquired if the lines were currently in the middle of the street and if they were going to relocate them to the sidewalk area like they did on Ohio Avenue.
Metcalf advised yes, as they have had ten water breaks in that area this year and in the recent past. He advised Industrial Street was a concrete street, which requires a lot of jack hammering.
Boggs advised the county recommended they applied for the three streets with one grant application opposed to three separate grant applications or only Industrial Street. Boggs advised part of their 60% funding provided by the city was using their own inspection services and they feel they can do Wayne Street with their own equipment and manpower, which will save costs.
Steve advised it made sense to replace lines that old, as it doesn’t pay to keep fixing them.

d. Discussion of Street Repairs to Ohio Avenue
Boggs advised he and Service Director Simpson were looking at resurfacing Ohio Avenue
and applying for Issue II funds, in talking with the Finance Director, he was going to put this project on hold until they could possibly find some funding sources for the city’s share of the project. He advised they might have to wait a year and try to build the fund for that purpose.

Citizens Forum
Tim Stefanko of Salt Court advised with regards to item © under old business (Ord. No.7454-definition of church) he felt it was a good idea to not use the word “church” as he felt they could run into (legal) problems. He advised the first amendment of the constitution specifically states they could not make laws favoring a specific religious establishment over any other. Stefanko suggested Council amend it to use the words “house of worship” or something of that nature. He advised the word church was indicative of the Christian religion and they could not favor Christianity over other religions when they were enacting legislation. Stefanko advised the other issue he wanted to address was it was his understanding that some on Council have been wanting to move forward on the property maintenance code and he would like to continue to serve on that committee. He advised he would like to suggest a Council Workshop at an upcoming meeting to have Council discuss what their goals are for this project and clarify what they would like to see accomplished by (adopting a property maintenance code for Rittman). Stefanko advised right now it was pretty vague and he would like to know what members of Council would like to see accomplished as well as allow the workshop to be open for public comment. He suggested Mayor Robertson get the word out to the public through his article in The Post by letting people know should they have any comments to bring them to this workshop.
Copley advised regarding the comment about “church” it was defined as a voluntary association of people united for discipline and worship connected with and forming a part of a religious society having a legal existence. Copley advised he felt that encompassed whether they used the word church or something else.
Stefanko advised the definition was correct and he didn’t have a problem with that definition, but specifically to the word church. He advised Jewish people use a Synagogue and Muslims go to a Mosque and Buddhist go to a Temple. Stefanko advised if they just say, “place of worship” he felt it they included everyone else.
Sister Joan Rader, D.O. of St. Anne’s Catholic Church advised she would like to help them to understand church. She advised church with a little “c” was a building and church with a capital “C” was the people, a community of faith.
Shawn Vallery of Joshua Drive advised she saw with the upcoming election that a couple of current Council Members, Faye Telford and Steve Johnson, would not be running for re-election and she wanted to thank them for their years of service and dedication and their work here has been greatly appreciated. Vallery advised she wanted to mention the tax abatement request (Res. No. 7458) according to the Community Reinvestment Area for the Blanton’s (who own Wings and Wheels). Vallery advised many have stopped in at their store and Mrs. Blanton was really a “go-getter”. Vallery commended the Blanton’s for the upkeep on such things as outside maintenance of their store and advised it was nice to see they have applied for this abatement consideration to renovate an apartment above the store. Vallery advised the Blanton’s were requesting 100% abatement for 15 years for the $150,000 improvement. Vallery advised the Ohio Revised Code indicates that the improvement if it was remodeling they were eligible for ten years and for fifteen years with new construction. Vallery advised she felt this could be an inspiration and an encouragement for others in the Community Reinvestment Area that they would be eligible for tax abatement. Vallery suggested Council look into whether the Blanton’s were actually eligible for 15 years abatement as she believed it to be 10 years. Vallery advised she would also like Council to consider, with regards to the sexually oriented business regulations (Ord. No. 7459), restrictions, which prohibit this business within 1,000 feet of a church, library, school or daycare center.
Boggs indicated with regards to the Blanton’s tax abatement request, Councilman Copley pointed out to him at the last meeting that he believed they were only eligible for ten years, and when he (Boggs) researched it further it was confirmed as such and the ordinance (No. 7459) was amended. Boggs advised he believed they have zoning in place already regarding sexually oriented businesses.
Dan Ramsier of Guilford Township advised he would like to speak to a letter in The Post from Councilman Lapehn regarding the statement that the Medina County Commissioners unanimously approved the annexation on Rawiga Road. Ramsier advised he questioned the fact finding of the contents of that letter as he felt that wasn’t quite the whole story and he quoted the Medina County Gazette from Tuesday, April 4, 2007, “All three Commissioners agreed, Type 2 annexation forced them to approve an annexation they would not want. Commissioner Geissman called it a legal control of the legislation. Commissioner Ray was equally dismayed and said this law was like a dog bite, you see the dog and you know it might bite you, but there wasn’t anything you could do about it. Commissioner Hambley said he was sure the state legislators who passed this law did not envision it being used in this capacity.” Ramsier advised they needed to tell the whole story as the Commissioners were forced to pass it.
Lapehn advised he had copies of the minutes of the Medina County Commissioners Meeting and as in any vote taken in the public arena, they have a choice and were given the option to vote yes or no and all three County Commissioners voted “Aye”. Lapehn advised it was right there and there was no incorrect reporting of the facts because it was a unanimous vote as stated in the minutes.
Ramsier agreed, but advised it was just not quite the whole story.
Lapehn advised if you can vote yes or no and you all vote yes, you have made a choice.
Ramsier advised they were forced to vote yes so, he felt it was really not a vote.
Lapehn advised the vote was still taken.
Ramsier advised that was correct, but it wasn’t the whole story. Ramsier thanked Council for their time.

Old Business
a. Motion to Remove Ord. No. 7453 from the Table
No motion to remove was made and Ord. No. 7453 died.

b. Ord. No. 7453 An Ordinance of the Council of the City of Rittman, Wayne
and Medina Counties and State of Ohio, Amending Section 735.07, Amusement Arcades, to Create an Additional Provision of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Rittman and Declaring an Emergency. Second Reading.
Ord. No. 7453 died on the table.

c. Ord. No. 7454 An Ordinance of the Council of the City of Rittman, Wayne and Medina Counties and State of Ohio, Amending Section 941.01, 941.12 © (1) and 971.01 (f) (1) to Include the Definition of Church and Provide for the Renumbering of the Subsequent Definitions and Establishing Tap In Fees for Churches and Declaring an Emergency, As Amended. Second Reading.
Ord. No. 7454 was read on second reading. Law Director Bower noted, he didn’t believe it made a difference if you called it church or place of worship as the definition counts, not the noun. It was noted, the tap-in fee for residential was $750.00 (section 971.01) for water tap-in and $1,000.00 (section 941.12) for sewer tap-in. James moved to place on third, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

d. Res. No. 7457 A Resolution of the Council of the City of Rittman, Ohio, Granting a Tax Abatement Extension to All Creatures Veterinary Clinic and Declaring an Emergency. Second Reading.
Res. No. 7457 was read on second reading. Russell inquired as to the percentage of the current abatement. Boggs indicated this resolution was granting an extension to All Creatures for the completion of the new addition to their facility. James advised they ran behind on their (construction) schedule and the reason for the extension request. It was noted the original abatement amount and dates would not change, but rather the time, which was needed to complete the improvements. Russell felt the abatement amount should be included in the body of this legislation. Boggs advised he could provide Council with a copy of the original legislation and they couldn’t change those amounts, as this was just an extension of time (to complete the improvements). Bower advised he could include the original legislation as an exhibit “A” to this resolution. Copley moved to place on third, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

e. Res. No. 7458 A Resolution of the Council of the City of Rittman, Ohio, Granting Tax Abatement to John W. (Jack) and Rosie Blanton and Declaring an Emergency. Second Reading.
Res. No. 7458 was read on second reading. Russell inquired if this would be a rental property. Rosie Blanton advised it would be her residence. Copley advised he was originally on the fence regarding this request and one reason was that on the application the Blanton’s did not state a reason for their request. Copley advised after the discussion at the last meeting he understood the reason for the request even though it wasn’t stated on the application and he would encourage future applicants to state the reason for their abatement request on the application, as it could cause abatements to not be approved. Boggs noted the CRA zone was all of Main Street and east to the city limits. Boggs advised the chamber has scheduled a class in October and he would be doing a PowerPoint presentation for any interested business owners to promote the CRA within the community to help our businesses be more productive and hopefully improve the town. Telford moved to place on third, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

f. Ord. No. 7459 An Ordinance of the Council of the City of Rittman, Wayne and Medina Counties and State of Ohio, Amending Section, 747.05 (b) Fees and Declaring an Emergency. Second Reading.
Ord. No. 7459 was read on second reading. Russell queried if they shouldn’t amend this ordinance to include the restrictions Ms. Vallery was referring to earlier. Bower advised it was already included in Section 747.03 (e) (12) that (a sexually oriented business must not be) within 1,000 ft. of any established religious institution, synagogue, school, and public park or recreation area. Copley moved to place on third, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

g. Res. No. 7460 A Resolution of the Council of the City of Rittman, Wayne and Medina Counties and State of Ohio, Granting Tax Abatement to Jon Tousley for Tousley Properties, LLC and Declaring an Emergency. Second Reading.
Res. No. 7460 was read on second reading. Russell inquired as to why they were granting Mr. Tousley only 50% abatement and the other two were requesting 100% abatement. City Manager Boggs advised Mr. Tousley and he have been working on this project for quite some time and it was an existing building. Boggs advised he (Tousley) was requesting a break, but didn’t feel he needed it for that long a period of time and only wanted to request the 50% abatement, as he didn’t want to hurt the tax base for the schools and was making interior renovations only. Telford moved to place on third, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

New Business

a. Ord. No. 7462 An Ordinance of the Council of the City of Rittman, Ohio, Wayne and Medina Counties, Authorizing the Municipal Manager to Enter Into a Contract with Harris Day, Inc., of Canton, Ohio for Phase III of the Roof Repair on the Municipal Natatorium and Declaring an Emergency. Three Readings.
Ord. No. 7462 was read on first reading. Copley moved to suspend the rules and have second and third reading, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried. Ord. No. 7462 was read on second and third reading. Russell moved to adopt, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

b. Res. No. 7463 A Resolution of the Council of the City of Rittman, Wayne and Medina Counties, Ohio, Authorizing the Municipal Manager to Prepare and Submit Applications to Participate in the Ohio Public Works Commission State Capital Improvement and/or Local Transportation Improvement Program(s) and to Execute Contracts as Required and Declaring an Emergency. Three Readings. Res. No. 7463 was read on first reading. James moved to suspend the rules and have second and third reading, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried. Res. No. 7463 was read on second and third reading. Copley moved to adopt, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

c. Motion to Set “Trick or Treat” for Wednesday, October 31, 2007 from 5:30 to
7:30 p.m.
After some discussion, Russell so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

d. Motion to Increase the Council Member Salary $50.00 a Month Including the Council President Salary.
It was noted, this motion would not take effect for two years, as it was not made before the filing date deadline. Steve advised he didn’t believe there has been a raise in at least twelve years and he would still like to make the motion. Lapehn advised there were 8 qualified candidates willing to run for election at the present rate of pay and he didn’t believe people serve for the money and the reason he would vote against it and he felt the general fund needed the money. Steve advised he was basing his decision on the fact other employees in the city receive raises and a servant was worthy of his hire. Steve advised he didn’t do it for the money either, but he feels like they (future Councils) ought to get paid a reasonable amount for their time and effort and he felt that was more than fair. Steve so moved, upon roll call; James-Yes, Russell-Abstain, Lapehn-No, Telford-No, Copley-Yes, Steve-Yes and motion carried.
Law Director Bower advised he would prepare legislation.

City Manager’s Remarks
City Manager Larry Boggs advised as Mr. Stefanko stated he dusted off a copy of a proposed Property Maintenance Code and provided them with a copy at their desks. Boggs advised he was previously unaware that Mr. Kellogg apparently put a lot of work into a draft using the International Property Maintenance Code as a guideline and inserting “Rittman” into the pertinent areas. Boggs advised he has not as yet thoroughly read it, but there have been some discussions at recent meetings trying to get it enacted. He advised they would be meeting and trying to sort some things out in the near future.
Boggs advised there was a teleconference seminar coming up on October 26, 2007 for developing storm water utilities at 1:00 p.m. if any on Council were interested. Boggs advised if there was any interest to let him know and he would set up the meeting for Council.
Boggs advised he received notice that tomorrow (9-11) through the 16th the railroad crossing at S. Main St. would be closed for repairs. He indicated this might cause some minor detours around that area of town.
Boggs advised the Recreation Center was coming along fairly well and at the last construction meeting they were advised when they were ripping the roofing material off that there were several beams which have surface rust and peeled paint. He advised initially the architect wasn’t too worried about it, but later voiced his concern and the contractor’s concern that this could eventually bleed down and blemish the roofing panels on the interior. Boggs advised he approved the time and material to wire brush the beams and paint over where the rust spots were located. He did have pictures if Council wished to see them. He advised it wasn’t every beam and he didn’t believe the cost would be that significant.
Boggs advised regarding gas aggregation they were currently paying $1.125 per ccf and he was notified that they recently contracted at a price of $0.989 per ccf for the period of October 1, 2007 through September 30, 2008. He advised this was good news for residents and a savings of over 13 cents per ccf.
Boggs advised there have been numerous complaints regarding the (tattered/worn) flags along Main Street. Boggs advised the VFW and the Moose have been contacted and hopefully the flags would be coming down soon. Boggs advised the Moose has had some discussion on purchasing a higher quality flag material for next year.
Boggs advised he has a meeting with Caraustar officials on Friday (9/14). Boggs advised he and Mayor Robertson met with the vice president about a month ago and they were committed to meeting periodically. Boggs advised at their last meeting, he was optimistic to their commitment to close it properly and try to help the city at the same time.

a. Approval of Financial Report for August
James moved to approve, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

b. Finance Director’s Remarks
Finance Director Lucinda Mann advised they had their post audit hearing approximately a week and a half ago and there were only minor issues with the audit. Mann advised the Council President should have received a letter from Rhea & Associates regarding the audit. (Council President Russell confirmed receipt of letter.) Mann advised they were still waiting on the state auditor’s final release of the report before she could release it to the public and to Council, but they had the tentative desk approval.

Council Remarks
Council Member Faye Telford thanked Ms. Vallery for her kind remarks. Telford inquired if the city has collected any taxes from the (Rawiga Rd./Guilford Township) land annexed.
Mann advised they are sent property tax monies, but she doesn’t receive that kind of a list or breakdown, they would need to contact the Medina County Auditor for that information.
Council Member Lapehn advised he had a copy of it if she wanted to see it. He advised it was 13% of the total bill of the property tax on that property (15 acres) came to the City of Rittman as opposed to 12% of our taxes that come to the City of Rittman. Lapehn advised he believed it was $126.40 for half year.
Vallery advised she was told those monies were on hold awaiting a decision from the voters regarding the referendum issue.
Lapehn advised he went to the Medina County Auditor’s office and they brought out the sheet and calculated it for him and gave it to him. He advised the parcel number was changed from a Guilford parcel number to a Rittman parcel number in September of 2006. Lapehn advised all the taxes collected up to that point would eventually come to Rittman. He advised if in November it changes, they would still get a small check because it currently is a Rittman parcel.
It was believed those funds were in escrow.
Telford thanked everyone for coming.
Council Member Richard Lapehn advised it was good news about the gas aggregation price and it was wonderful to hear and he felt everyone would appreciate the savings.
Council Member Charles Copley thanked everyone for coming.
Council Member James Johnson thanked everyone for coming.
Council Member Steve Johnson thanked everyone for coming. He thanked Vallery for the nice remarks. Steve distributed some photos that were taken during the recent heavy rainfall. Steve advised he believed they needed to establish some funds to at least do some engineering costs. Steve advised when you look at the water against the bridges, what was scary wasn’t how high the water got, but how forcefully the water was moving. Steve advised because they have channeled the water (cleaning and dredging of the ditch), they have just increased how fast the water moves. Steve advised before they didn’t like the flooding in the field and now it didn’t flood in the field, but the water came down much faster and much stronger. Steve advised his son, who is a civil engineer, looked at the one bridge (Sunset Dr.) and said four or five of those (heavy rains) and that bridge on Sunset would be gone. Steve advised the water scours underneath where the bridge was being held up. Steve advised the speed with which it went through there was amazing. Steve advised Mr. Boggs alluded to some of it in his packet from the seminar he attended and one of the things they were doing now was less of moving the water and more ways of slowing it down by adding curves to streams and installing areas to absorb the water. Steve advised part of the problem with channeling the water away and not having any wetlands you don’t recharge your aquifer. Steve advised Rittman got a lot of rain, but Seville got even more and we need to institute some type of wastewater fee on our sewer bill. Steve advised a couple dollars a month (per bill) put into a fund and used for engineering because whatever they would want to do would take a lot of money. Steve advised there were grants, but they still would have to pay for the engineering and they needed to start thinking about that and some of these issues would not be resolved by moving the water into the creek faster, but rather by creating places the water can go. He advised we seem to be getting more rain in much more concentrated bursts and we may need to rethink how we approach and handle the situation. He advised we needed to create places where we dissipate the water by letting it flood and soak into the ground. Steve advised it was expensive to do engineering and to buy land you allow to flood and capture the water north of town. Steve advised the Army Corp of Engineers has said it was cheaper to move it than to fix the flooding. He advised they were also taking the streams back to their natural state and they have done the opposite by grading it and channeling it and now they’ve got this problem. Steve advised it was something to consider and keep working on as it was going to keep happening every time they get a heavy rain. Steve advised they were lucky it quit raining, as they were very close to having a lot more trouble than they did.
Council Member Glen Russell thanked everyone for being here and he invited them to come back. He appreciated those responsible for taking the bridge out behind the shopping center as he felt it would keep a lot of the debris from building up and flooding the shopping center. He advised they might have problems down the road, but he felt this was a plus. Russell inquired regarding the Muskingham Watershed that he thought if they dredged the creek, they would take over maintenance of Landis Ditch. Russell advised he believed at the first of the year everyone would be paying $8 more a year for watershed proposal and he inquired if they (Rittman) receive any of that money.
Steve advised they (Muskingham Watershed District) came and looked at our ditch and they wouldn’t take it because of the wall at the shopping center because it was manmade.
Russell advised that was the first he heard of that.
Steve advised he believed they received a memo from Mr. Kellogg. Steve advised they may have accepted phase I, but they wouldn’t accept the rest of it because of that wall.
Copley advised he believed phase I was acceptable from their preliminary review and they may have accepted it he wasn’t sure, but phase II, which was the wall, was not accepted. Copley advised he didn’t know if they looked at phase III.
Steve advised he didn’t believe they (MWD) would do phase III without connecting it.
Lapehn advised he didn’t believe they were getting any benefit from the money from the watershed district back to Rittman.
Russell advised they’ve received a lot of complaints regarding the flags and he believed some of the flags were still hanging there in front of the school half tore off, which was really a disgrace. Russell advised when they have a torn flag or the flag was deteriorated it was time to come down. Russell suggested some kind of a contract where they control (the replacement of old flags). Russell advised it was a total disgrace and we have military overseas dying for our freedom and it makes the whole city look bad. Russell advised we were disrespecting the flag and he would like to see them come down.
Mayor William Robertson advised Council Member Lapehn has been working with Ralph Regula’s office to try to generate some interest in federal funds for Rittman for flooding issues. Mayor Robertson commended Lapehn’s efforts and wished him success. Robertson advised the flood we did have was very scary and he was very pleased with all the city crews that pulled together to get things cleaned up and they did a great job over and above to minimize the damage.

Robertson advised the Goodwill has renovated their space at the shopping center. He advised they took out the old lean-to building and there was a clear path around the building. He advised they have opened a new section where they receive goods and there is talk of a ribbon cutting ceremony. Robertson advised they were open again and ready for business and it was a pretty nice facility.

Robertson advised East of Chicago pizza was under new ownership and there were plans of a ribbon cutting on the 21st of September. He advised they were open and ready for business and had a drive-up window and cleaned it up and it was good to see good things happening.

Robertson advised the Foutty’s of IGA were having a bluegrass festival in their parking lot Saturday, September 22, 2007 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. He advised the band would be playing in front of the store and it was kind of a community appreciation time. Robertson advised he felt the Foutty’s have been a great addition to our community and have a lot to give back.

The Mayor advised he spoke with Recreation Director Ivan Kovacevic who was planning a fall festival for November 10, 2007. He advised usually it was held closer to Halloween time, but Ivan was trying to coordinate the festival with the grand re-opening of the swimming pool at the recreation center. Robertson advised Kovacevic was pretty optimistic they would be under roof and be able to swim indoors instead of ice-skating.
Robertson congratulated the eight candidates for City Council and Council Members, the City Manager or he would be happy to meet with them if they had questions about issues as they begin their campaigns. Robertson advised he would be more than happy to get to know them and talk to them about things that are going on (in the city).

a. Approval of Vouchers 46762 thru 47038 Including Then and Now
Certificates. Questions were asked regarding #’s 46801, 46865, 46825, 46839, 46937, 46863 & 46850. Lapehn moved to approve, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.

Motion to Adjourn – 8:40 p.m.
Copley so moved, all Yeas on roll call and motion carried.