[0:07] will call the meeting to order. Please
rise if you're able and join me in the
[0:10] pledge.
[0:14] To the flag of the United States of
America and to the republic for which it
[0:19] stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice
[0:24] for all.
[0:28] Okay, this is a regular meeting for
September 9th. Uh we have a few things
[0:34] on the agenda tonight. I do want to take
an opportunity if you haven't already,
[0:37] please sign in to the log in the back of
the room. And during public comments or
[0:42] any other time when you wish to speak,
please do come up to the podium, state
[0:46] your name and address just so we can
take more accurate minutes. We're really
[0:49] working hard on getting the transcripts
of these meetings down pat. So please
[0:53] don't comment from the gallery. please
come up to the podium. Um, all right.
[0:58] So, we'll jump into a couple of our
public comments sections. Doug, I saw
[1:02] you come in. I figured it'd be pretty
quick, but um, we're going to start with
[1:06] Dan. Dan Tsley and our revolutionary war
medic.
[1:10] Come on up, Dan.
>> No pair with the fake.
[1:15] » I know. Well, I just we gotten so used
to starting with this presentation, I
[1:18] don't want to stop now.
>> There. We got four more to go. Can you
[1:22] imagine? We've done that. We've done
that many. So, four more. warmer to go.
[1:25] That means we're getting toward the end
of the year and and into uh into uh fall
[1:29] and winter. So So I'm uh I'm just
pleased to present to you Harlem
[1:36] Townships uh where we on September.
September uh Revolutionary War Soldier
[1:42] of the Month, Abraham Adams, 1755
through 1822. Sergeant, Sussex County
[1:48] Militia, New Jersey. wife Susanna Forum
Adams 1755 through 1832. Abraham Adams
[1:56] served as a sergeant in the Sussex
County Militia during the Revolutionary
[2:00] War, a rank he held in Captain Benj
Benjamin Cochenall
[2:07] Cochen Cochenall Company. Enlisting in
1775 at the age of 20, Adams was part of
[2:13] a critical local defense force in New
Jersey, a colony that saw extensive
[2:18] military maneuvering and conflict
throughout the war. As a
[2:22] non-commissioned officer, he would have
been responsible for the drill and
[2:25] discipline of his unit, which was tasked
with frontier defense and maintaining
[2:29] order in a region often beset by
loyalist activity and raids. Following
[2:34] the war and a period of residence in
Wyom in the Wyoming Valley of
[2:38] Pennsylvania, the Adams family undertook
a significant migration to the Ohio
[2:43] frontier. In 1808, Adams, his wife
Susanna, an extended family group,
[2:48] including his brother David Adams and
son-in-law Daniel Bennett, arrived in
[2:53] what is now Harlem Township, Delaware
County. They were among the very first
[2:56] settlers to break ground in this
wilderness, arriving shortly after the
[3:00] first land purchaser, Banija Cook. Upon
arrival, the family cleared the dense
[3:05] forest and constructed log cabins to
establish their homestead on the virgin
[3:09] land. Abraham Adams became a prominent
and early farmer and founding patriarch
[3:14] of the community, cementing a family
legacy that included the establishment
[3:18] of Harlem Buzztown Cemetery, where he
and Susanna are now buried. Thank you.
[3:23] » Great, Dan. Thanks.
[3:27] All right, Doug, since you've had time
to prepare, um I know that you've you've
[3:31] got some OPWC information for us on a
grant for Green Cook, correct?
[3:35] » Yes.
[3:43] » Yeah. Uh thank you, trustees. Doug RLE,
uh township leaison from Delaware County
[3:48] Engineers Office. Uh we're in the
process now of of beginning to put
[3:53] together our grant applications for this
this uh coming OPWC
[3:58] uh round of funding. And what is in
front of the board is um number one a um
[4:05] authorizing legislation having having
John uh be the signatory on all the the
[4:11] grant uh applications on behalf of the
township. So we would need uh a
[4:17] resolution from the board stating that
John can do that. Uh the second thing is
[4:24] a cooperative agreement um between
Parliament Township and the uh county
[4:31] commissioners for our our grant
assistance program. I mean, we've had
[4:35] this for years now where uh for every
dollar the township contributes to a
[4:40] project, the county will match with $3
up to uh a maximum of 150,000. So, in
[4:46] other words, the township puts in
30,000. The uh towards the grant, the uh
[4:53] county comes in with 90,000 and that
leverages quite a bit of local money uh
[4:58] towards the grant and we've been very
successful in Harlem Township these
[5:03] types of grants. So, um, those two
things can be signed tonight so that we
[5:10] can get things in front of the county
commissioners before the, uh, grant
[5:15] deadline at, uh, beginning of November.
I do have, uh, one copy. Unfortunately,
[5:21] I didn't make any more of of the, uh,
estimate for the section of Green Crook
[5:27] Road. It's between Center Village and
Woodtown. It's going to be very similar
[5:31] to uh what we've done or what's being
planned for the uh section of Green Cook
[5:39] that was awarded a grant uh this past
winter. Um there's no update on when
[5:46] construction is going to start in that
section yet, but as soon as I hear
[5:51] something, I will let you know. So, I'm
going to hand this estimate and you can
[5:55] review it. It's Do we have a resolution?
We we didn't in the original agenda.
[5:59] That's why
um I wanted to get it a recap from Doug
[6:05] just to understand. So Doug, is it two
things we're we're discussing tonight?
[6:10] » Um two separate items.
>> It's really
[6:15] it's really Adam just one item. It would
be the uh one item with two parts. So,
[6:21] in other words, it's applying for the
grant and
[6:25] » and allowing Pritchard to sign for
>> and allowing
[6:28] John to sign all the documents and then
obviously participating in the uh road
[6:35] assistance grant program with the
county.
[6:44] And Lisa, you you said you have all that
paperwork, correct?
[6:48] » Yeah.
[6:53] Bob, John, anything?
>> No.
[6:57] Been the best thing for the township
long as I can remember. Yes.
[7:02] » It is the absolute best grant
opportunity to improve our roads that uh
[7:08] that we've had now for 40 years. So,
it's it's been a great program. Um,
[7:16] we take advantage of as much as we can
for all of our townships and encourage
[7:20] them to apply every year for, you know,
their ongoing road maintenance needs.
[7:28] » All right. Um,
yeah, Doug, I don't I don't know if I
[7:32] have any questions or I know Pritchard's
in the loop and Lisa has all the
[7:35] information. Actually, I think we'll add
that as resolution 11. Um, and then
[7:40] we'll just we'll vote on it in sequence,
Doug, but I don't I don't know that.
[7:43] Okay,
>> another question is going to come up.
[7:45] » I appreciate the the opportunity just to
come in at last minute and get this
[7:49] taken care of because your meeting in
October is a little bit later in the
[7:53] month and I'm still trying to get all of
our township stuff signed in in time to
[7:58] get the commissioners by the end of
October. So,
[8:01] » all right.
>> Great.
[8:03] » Thanks very much.
>> And I'm happy to any other questions
[8:06] from the board
regarding anything going on?
[8:13] I it it it's probably not even in your
wheelhouse, but I will express to you a
[8:18] little bit of traffic circle envy
because the traffic circle on Walnut
[8:23] Road over in Genanoa Township just
completed.
[8:26] » Yes.
>> It's very nice. And then on my way home
[8:30] from looking at that new traffic circle,
I saw the ones that we got installed and
[8:34] it gave me a little bit of traffic
circle envy. We don't have trees. We
[8:36] don't have nice landscaping. We're
missing some things, you know. You know,
[8:39] I saw the one on 605 just inside New
Albany and then also traffic circle
[8:43] envy. So, I don't know. I don't know how
to make myself feel better about that
[8:47] and we've talked about it here a couple
of times. Yeah. I'm just going to have
[8:50] to find different ways in and out of the
Harlem Township.
[8:53] » So, I just I don't know if if you can
advise who we should talk to about some
[8:58] traffic circle beautifification
programs.
[9:01] I will check on that Adam and and get
back to the trustees and with John and
[9:07] see, you know, what kind of discussions
we have because, you know, predominantly
[9:13] the uh maintenance of those roundabouts
are either the counties or the states.
[9:17] There's very rarely is a township
substantially 100% responsible for uh
[9:24] roundabouts. So, um I will check into
that and we'll we'll get back to you
[9:30] all. appreciate that. That was my
assumption as well. I just don't
[9:32] remember anybody asking us what we
wanted it to look like. So, yeah, if you
[9:36] get back to us, that'd be great just to
know.
[9:38] » Certainly.
>> Thanks very much, Doug. You're always
[9:40] great.
>> Thanks.
[9:42] » Um, okay. Before we get into resolutions
tonight, is there any other further
[9:46] public comment this evening?
>> Going twice.
[9:52] Okay, we are in um the board is in
receipt of a couple of different zoning
[9:55] applications this evening. Um, the first
thing I want to address with the board
[9:59] is we will need to schedule a special
hearing for these. The 30-day window
[10:03] will end before our next regular meeting
in October. So, we'll have to um
[10:08] schedule one ahead of that um for these
zoning hearings. Does is there a
[10:12] preference um or obligation either way?
>> I think Ashley and Pritchard, we had
[10:20] originally talked about the 7th, October
7th, just in keeping with the Wednesday
[10:25] evening routine. I don't know if anyone
has objection to that.
[10:29] » Is that That's
[10:34] » No, it isn't. It's just under
>> just under. Yeah. About 28 days.
[10:37] » 6:30.
>> And we can do it earlier. There were at
[10:43] last night's zoning commission meeting,
there was one individual, I think that
[10:49] one woman that had some questions, but
there were no comments negative.
[10:56] » No.
>> Or, you know, we do have to wait for
[10:59] planning. They have not submitted their
report.
[11:03] » So, we would evaluate that
>> with it. But, you know,
[11:10] John, if he's going to be attending
Richard, I mean, I would say do it at
[11:14] like 5:00 if if I don't know if you can
make it, but
[11:18] » um I would say 5:30 is probably a safe
bet for me as long as there's no issues.
[11:22] » I'm good with that.
>> Moving it up in the day,
[11:24] » making a whole evening.
>> So, I think what I would propose is um
[11:32] uh 2605 we'd set for 5:30.
Um 266
[11:40] set for 540.
[11:43] » I'll moved.
>> Second.
[11:46] » Uh so
we'll we'll split them up into um motion
[11:51] or resolution 001 and 002. So 001 has
been moved and seconded. That is um
[11:56] receive zoning application HDZC2605
RIA and family LC LLC. Commission
[12:02] recommendation to the trustees on
September 8th, 2026. Hearing set on 106
[12:06] at 5:30 p.m. Um, all those in favor I
>> I
[12:10] » I opposed. Motion carries.
And I would ask for a motion for
[12:16] resolution 02 receiving of HTZC 2606. We
would set that for 106 540.
[12:25] » Second.
>> Moved and seconded. Those in favor I. I.
[12:27] » I. Opposed. Motion carries.
>> You're correct. Forgive me. 107
[12:36] on for both.
[12:41] Okay, we'll move on to the consent
agenda. Um, resolution 003 this evening.
[12:48] Uh consent agenda was submitted to the
board prior to the meeting this evening
[12:52] consisting of September 2026 financials
um approval of communications report and
[13:01] regular meeting minutes from July 15th
and August 19th or their uh end zoning
[13:07] report. Is there anything in the consent
agenda that anyone would like to pull
[13:10] out for discussion?
>> No.
[13:16] » Me neither. I will move approval of the
consent agenda.
[13:20] » Second.
>> Moved and seconded. Those in favor? I.
[13:22] » I.
>> I. Opposed.
[13:26] Motion carries. Okay. Lisa.
>> Okay. Approval of warrants and vouchers
[13:31] in the payment listing reports
starting with warrant number 14475
[13:38] through warrant number 14492.
Voucher number 158-2026
[13:48] through voucher number 16-26.
[13:54] Total amount $89,19748.
[14:03] » So move
>> second. Moved and seconded. Those in
[14:06] favor I
>> I opposed carries.
[14:11] Thanks, Lisa.
Chief
[14:18] got one on here.
[14:26] » Sure. Um, we uh have had a lot of people
that have not come to work, um, not
[14:34] notified us they weren't going to come
back to work. Some of them we know they
[14:38] left. And so, um, we need to clean up
the payroll, um, so we don't have these
[14:43] people. We're not paying workers comp on
them. We're not, we don't, these are all
[14:46] part-time people, but in order to do
that correctly, we need to discharge
[14:51] them from the payroll. Um, these people
have worked, um, have not worked in the
[14:55] last 6 months or longer. And so um for
the resolution um to uh 26090905
[15:04] the discharge of firefighters from the
active duty roster due to their
[15:08] inactivity. Um and it should say
effective May 23rd and not inactive. So
[15:14] in it should be effective May 23rd of
2026.
[15:18] Jeff Bailey, Doug Stewart, Sam Edwards,
Von Firmalon, Conrad Joseph, Craig
[15:23] Norman, Brandon Terry, and then
effective since June 20th of 2026,
[15:28] Matthew Gray, Hayden Norman, Colin
Wogan.
[15:31] » Chief, just for clarity, it's Doug
Stewart or Doug Dart.
[15:36] » Dart
[15:42] questions from the board.
So, so clearly you haven't been
[15:46] operating with these people for some
time.
[15:49] » Correct.
>> But this has not had an impact on
[15:52] operations. No. And and these gaps have
been filled
[15:58] » Yes. Yes. Yes. Trusty. And we're
actually um looking at giving a doing a
[16:02] little testing process in the fall for
just to have a list available for to
[16:07] fill in and we're looking at some other
things. Um this is basically this is a
[16:11] cleanup.
>> Okay. Thank you. Yep.
[16:17] » So move uh resolution 005 approval of
discharge of firefighters from the
[16:22] active duty roster as articulated by
chief
[16:28] » train move singer seconded. Roll call
please. Ashley
[16:32] » I
>> motion carries.
[16:36] Hey chief I know you do a great job of
data analytics and keeping record of
[16:40] runs and things like that. And are you
feeling like there's been any uptick
[16:45] this year in barn specific fires?
Is there any common thread to that or is
[16:52] there anything we should be
conscientious of? No, but what what
[16:56] we're noticing and what maybe we should
maybe in uh maybe in the next blast, our
[17:01] next email blast or our next note, what
we're finding is and it's it's common
[17:06] here. It's common everywhere is we're
having issues with um battery chargers
[17:12] and we're having a lot of issue with
lithium batteries um are are failing or
[17:18] people are getting lithium batteries
that may not necessarily be named brand
[17:22] and uh so uh we're fairly confident
we've had about three or four fires of
[17:27] smaller or larger nature from um those
those type of issu is issues. Um, when
[17:33] we were on the last fire, we were still
we were still working on overhaul a
[17:37] little bit and you could hear the
individual cells of those batteries
[17:41] popping off still as the even after the
fire was out. So, um, yes, there is
[17:46] there is a commonality. It's not only in
our township, it's in Delaware County,
[17:50] it's in it's in nationwide.
>> Okay.
[17:54] um if the other board members don't have
a concern if he could check with Lindsay
[17:59] whether there's enough room in the
newsletter that that Yeah,
[18:04] » because that will go out to everyone in
the town.
[18:07] » But I know Lindsay's out of town, but
Steve is here. So,
[18:10] » no. Can you give us a just a brief
FAQ on lithium batteries?
[18:17] » It would be it would it would be it
would be very brief and it should cover
[18:22] everything. I know there's a lot in this
newsletter, Steve. So,
[18:24] » yeah, but we have we have some room. We
just met last night.
[18:27] » Yeah, I'll call.
>> We can get that to her by Monday.
[18:30] Absolutely.
>> Yes, sir. Absolutely.
[18:32] » Figure out how to get something in
there. What would happen?
[18:34] » And I'll advise her.
>> Absolutely.
[18:35] » I appreciate that, Chief. I kind of just
noticed it on my own as I know you have
[18:39] worked a couple in the township at least
in recent months. And then there was
[18:42] another one that BSTNG had reported up
on 37.
[18:45] » Yeah. The last little garage up there.
>> We got a lot of barns around here. So I
[18:49] just want to make sure that we're
>> it's barns, garages, and houses.
[18:52] » Yeah.
>> Y
[18:54] » starting with with sitting there the
batteries by the people being a charger.
[18:58] » People will leave them in thinking it's
okay. And eventually they can fault and
[19:03] they've got the a constant charge coming
through. And what a lot of people don't
[19:07] realize is those are all little teeny A
batteries in there. They're not just one
[19:11] big solid battery. And all it takes is
one of those little batteries to fault.
[19:15] And um if anybody wants to if you're
bored sometime go to YouTube and look at
[19:19] just look it up. Look up a lithium
battery. It is amazing how quickly they
[19:25] give way and how quickly there's a
fireball from them. So they're actually
[19:29] like New York City's had so many this
year. They're banning scooters and
[19:33] things because people take them inside
second aftermarket batteries and they're
[19:38] having three four-on fires from
>> hover boards.
[19:41] » The hover boards. Yeah.
>> Okay. All right. Thank you. Yep. Thanks.
[19:46] » Thank you, Chief.
>> Okay. Mr. Richard,
[19:56] » I have a resolution uh for your
consideration uh for the adoption of
[20:03] deferred compensation Roth 457b plan for
eligible Harlem Township employees. The
[20:09] idea of this is we currently have a 457b
Roth or sorry, we currently have a 457b
[20:15] traditional program, but we do not have
the Roth option for our employees. This
[20:20] is uh an option that will allow our
employees to uh defer the compensation.
[20:27] That's exactly what it does. And to save
money, it's similar to a 401k, but we
[20:31] don't match funds. So if any any
residents have a a 401k or any type of
[20:36] uh thrift savings plan with the federal
government, it's very similar, but we
[20:39] don't provide any match to that. But the
employees can put it in after taxes and
[20:45] then that money uh grows uh with uh you
know the the investment and then when
[20:51] the employee retires they're able to
move that money out and pull it out uh
[20:55] so that at that point it's pulled out
tax-free just like any other Roth
[21:00] investment that uh that you're used to.
But it's something that we didn't have
[21:03] prior um and uh I thought it would be a
good thing for employees to have another
[21:08] benefit that that would help them out.
You have any questions?
[21:12] any cost to the township on this, John?
>> Zero. other than Lisa's time and my time
[21:16] and and uh we're going to get uh a um uh
we're going to get some uh I actually uh
[21:23] uh called uh to try to get a hold of the
uh regional rep for Ohio to bring
[21:27] someone in uh to get our uh township
employees some training because the uh
[21:33] number of employees that uh are taking
advantage of the whether it's the
[21:37] traditional plan or this one coming up
the numbers are extremely low. um
[21:43] something that uh that I think we need
to to at least um give our employees all
[21:47] the information they can possibly get to
consider it because uh retirement uh is
[21:52] is super important as as anybody that's
approaching that age or retired knows
[21:57] and uh we don't have uh the uh the
participation that I would like and so I
[22:02] want to hopefully increase that. So
we'll have maybe a day or two where we
[22:06] have uh somebody come in have a
presentation here for employees to
[22:10] educate them on what that what it does
and how much that they could retire at
[22:15] uh if they start early enough. So
>> is this vehicle within opers as well?
[22:20] » Um it is separate from opers. It is
separate. So you've got opers and then
[22:24] this is separate. And actually, I didn't
realize until today when I when I tried
[22:28] to get a hold of our regional rep that
it is uh that this program is
[22:33] administered by nationwide.
So they they're the ones that uh do the
[22:38] investments and the folks that are I
guess contracted by the state of Ohio to
[22:42] do this. But yeah, this is a separate
program from Oper.
[22:44] » So in layman's terms, we're just opening
up a potential Roth vehicle for our
[22:48] employees without them having to go to
Schwab or their own bank or something
[22:50] like that.
>> Absolutely. Absolutely. Yep. And it uh
[22:53] it's they can I think the the maximum
you can put in is around 32,000 a year
[22:58] now. So uh so yeah, that's that's if
you're over 50 years old.
[23:04] » Any further questions from the board?
>> So moved.
[23:09] » Second.
>> Moved and seconded. Roll call, please.
[23:12] Ashley.
>> I
[23:16] carries
[23:22] Um
John, just to go ahead and do it, do you
[23:27] want to make the motion for the um OPWC
contract?
[23:33] It has your name on it as
um snee.
[23:37] » Well, as a sign,
>> he can't.
[23:39] » Well, yeah, I can't move one. You have
to move it.
[23:41] » I can move it.
>> Yeah, you can move. Yeah,
[23:42] » let's do it.
>> I shall move said motion.
[23:47] You know, it needs to be does the uh
motion to have John sign does that need
[23:52] to be separate from this particular
application because he's going to be
[23:56] signing into
>> No, it could be to apply for the grant
[24:02] with John as signing
>> this one in all future grants.
[24:08] » I think this would be an individual
case, but Doug's applied resolution
[24:12] language. Okay.
>> For here.
[24:15] Yeah.
So this is a resolution authorizing John
[24:19] Pritchard, Harlem Township
administrator, to prepare and submit an
[24:22] application to participate in the OPW
Commission state capital improvement and
[24:27] or local transportation improvement
programs and to execute contracts as
[24:32] required. So this is separate from the
other one.
[24:36] » Mhm.
>> Okay. Every year.
[24:38] » So I move that resolution. Second.
>> Move to second. A roll call, please.
[24:43] Action. All I
>> I
[24:46] » I
>> motion carries and then Lisa, we'll get
[24:50] with you to sign that.
>> Which one did you read?
[24:55] » Um let's say Yeah, Doug's gone. We can
wait.
[25:01] » Read this one.
>> No, that's that's separate. We'll cover
[25:04] that one.
>> Okay. Um get into a little bit of trusty
[25:09] business this evening and I'll kick this
off, guys, if that's okay with you. We
[25:13] have um a resolution this evening to
approve the CEDA agreement um that we've
[25:20] been working on between Harlem Township
and the village of Galina. Um I've I'm
[25:26] hardressed to think of anything to talk
about on this that we haven't talked
[25:29] about in the months preceding tonight um
the joint hearing or other meetings, but
[25:33] I do want to make sure that we give an
opportunity to discuss it if there's any
[25:37] lingering questions that have come up.
We have uh the honorable mayor, Mr.
[25:40] Kennel in the building tonight. Jeeoff,
thanks for coming. Um, and so this is a
[25:46] first step. I'll I'll lay a little bit
of what might come after this. I mean,
[25:50] we obviously are going to vote on it.
Um, the village council still needs to
[25:54] have their third reading, correct,
Jeeoff? And I think you guys are doing
[25:56] that later this month, right? Um, 21st
of September. Um, and it's not an
[26:03] emergency. You're going through the
third reading, so I believe it would be
[26:05] effective 30 days after that.
Um, says, "I did pretty good with that
[26:10] legal ease, didn't I, Pete?" Thank you.
I've been working on it. Um, but like I
[26:14] said, I do wanted to make sure that we
had time to discuss or ask any questions
[26:17] and then open up for if there was any
further public question on the CEDA
[26:21] before uh we bring up the resolution
this evening. So, I'll open it up to the
[26:25] board first then public.
>> I have no questions. I have no
[26:30] » any public question or comment on the
CEDA.
[26:36] Well, I want to say that's because we
did a good job. Um, so I'm going to take
[26:40] that, um, as far as the communication
goes. So, um, I'll read the resolution,
[26:46] but then I'll ask for a motion if that's
okay. Um, so this will be resolution
[26:50] 260909T-007,
adopt and approve a cooperative economic
[26:54] development agreement uh, with the
village of Galina and authorizing its
[26:58] execution. Um, and so we would adopt and
approve a CEDA with the village of
[27:03] Galina and authorizing its ex execution
on behalf of the township.
[27:09] I would ask for a motion.
>> So move.
[27:11] » Second.
>> Moved and seconded. Roll call, please.
[27:14] Ashley,
>> I
[27:16] » I
[27:20] » The motion carries.
>> I do. Um and Pete, the long format you
[27:26] gave me as a draft this evening. You're
going to we're going to do a signing on
[27:30] it.
>> There's a couple u
[27:34] fill in the blanks resolution number and
obviously the village's number. So,
[27:40] we'll we'll circulate a
mile copy with those blank children.
[27:46] » Um, Mayor Kell, I know not a lot of pomp
and circumstance here in the township
[27:50] for it tonight, but I didn't know if you
had any words for us or anything you
[27:54] wanted to say.
[28:03] » First of all, it's been an honor to be
here with you tonight. Um, this has been
[28:07] a long process and I want to just thank
uh Mr. Trustee Holiday for his
[28:12] leadership.
Um, I think we first met in early 2024
[28:18] to talk about this.
I took this mayor I'm retired. I took
[28:23] this mayor job hoping I can make a
difference for my residents and our
[28:28] constituents.
And uh, there's nothing more
[28:32] transformational than what we're doing
here. So, I just think it's a
[28:36] generational decision. It accomplishes
our goals and I'm sure it accomplishes
[28:41] yours since you just passed it. Um, but
to maintain the integrity of Harlem's
[28:46] borders at the same time, our residents
get to potentially share in some growth
[28:52] uh without annexation. So, it's kind of
a a a new thing in the area, right? So,
[28:57] I hope that we're setting some some
groundwork in place for how
[29:02] municipalities and our townships partner
together. So, I just want to thank Adam
[29:08] again for his leadership and I'll be
around for a few minutes if you have any
[29:11] questions, but thank you very much,
guys.
[29:14] » Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
>> Yeah, I'll take that.
[29:21] » Good job, Ed. Appreciated that. Um, and
I I also want to give credit
[29:26] » I want to give credit where credit is
due as well. Mr. Singer made this first
[29:31] introduction uh for the mayor and I
before Mr. Singer sat on this board. So
[29:36] Bob, thank you for kind of kicking this
whole thing off and getting it going. So
[29:40] um great big step in the right
direction. So um good things happening
[29:44] more to come. Um I have a couple of
other things that I added to the agenda
[29:48] tonight. Um Lisa, I'm going to ask for
your help on a little bit of it. I know
[29:51] some of it comes from um some previous
Oh, forgive me. Pete, Holly, anything to
[29:58] add? I feel like it was pretty quick and
easy.
[30:01] » Yeah, appreciate easy. Um you don't need
me to stick around.
[30:06] » I don't. No.
>> Um would you mind just for a few minutes
[30:12] as I march through a few bullet points
and may want to lean on you?
[30:16] » Okay, good.
>> Okay, thank you.
[30:18] » It'll be quick, Pete. Um Lisa discussion
future approval of members that would
[30:23] like to be compensated for the meeting
from the March 1st on the parks
[30:26] commission. Uh but I think for me it was
the communications committee we were
[30:30] trying to identify. We're trying to iron
that out because we had um honored a lot
[30:35] of the same bylaws in the charter of the
committee and we had not identified the
[30:41] the compensation for meeting on that
committee either. So I think that that
[30:45] was the spirit of the email that you had
sent me. So I wanted to make sure that
[30:47] we got that discussed. No, we need to
you guys when you create committees like
[30:53] this, you need to vote in the members
and then when they resign, they're just
[30:58] like employees. When they resign,
then they need it needs to go in a
[31:03] trustee meeting that they resign from
the park committee or
[31:08] » and is that applicable even if it's a
non-stutory committee?
[31:13] It should because they're they're you're
they're under your you as the trustees
[31:19] for
>> HAR.
[31:21] » So it should any committees needs the
names need to come if they're being
[31:27] paid, not being paid, not compensated,
whatever.
[31:30] » Okay, that makes sense.
>> Yes. So essentially what we need to do
[31:34] is for both of those particular
committees, we need to vote on all of
[31:40] the members and whether or not they will
be compensated.
[31:43] » Yes.
>> Okay.
[31:43] » And then they'll be treated just like an
employee. They'll have to do all the
[31:49] paperwork and get on paylex and direct
deposit
[31:54] » just like an employee. If you guys
decide to pay parks, you already said
[31:58] yes to
>> I think both indications also. Yes, both
[32:02] of those committees we want to try to
maintain,
[32:05] » but there was never names brought,
>> okay,
[32:08] » of who actually is on the committees and
voted in to be on those committ.
[32:13] » Mr. Chairman, if I might make a
suggestion, have Mr. Pritchard get a
[32:19] hold of the members, see which ones want
to be compensated, which don't, and
[32:24] then, you know, we can vote even at the
special meeting
[32:28] » because we're we're doing it retroactive
anyway. So,
[32:31] » right,
>> whether it's
[32:33] » three weeks, we need that.
>> Mhm.
[32:36] » I see you, Steve. I'll come to you.
>> And they'll be compensated the same way
[32:41] zoning is once a year. Um, from January
to November. December, they'll be paid.
[32:49] If they have a meeting in December, then
it goes on the following year.
[32:53] » And at any time, they can opt out. If
they decide because of tax purposes,
[32:59] they decide they don't want to be
compensated, it needs to be brought to a
[33:04] trustee meeting.
>> Sure.
[33:06] » And have the effective date and voted
on.
[33:11] » Steve.
>> Yeah. Steve Eisen Brown. Uh I I would
[33:15] maybe the easy way for communications
committee uh Ashley if you could send uh
[33:20] Lindsay a note requesting Lindsay to uh
provide you all the names of the current
[33:28] uh communications committee including
chair and vice chair. And then at our
[33:33] October meeting, which I think is
October 6th, we will pull the members of
[33:38] that uh committee uh whether they want
to be compensated or not. We did that
[33:45] informally once. I didn't hear anybody
raising their hand, but we will do it
[33:50] again more formally. That'll give you an
active list of membership as well as
[33:55] those who choose to be compensated.
Okay? Does that work for you guys? And
[34:00] then October, you guys can vote with the
information that you get from both
[34:05] committees.
>> Yeah, I think so.
[34:08] » And then we'll be ready to pay or not
pay in December. I can do the same
[34:12] thing.
>> Is that all right with you, Ashley?
[34:16] » Okay.
>> I I do have one and I don't have a
[34:18] microphone.
>> Where'd your microphone go?
[34:21] » Somebody move my mic.
>> Push the button on there. Richard,
[34:28] » button's got to be p
John button up button up rather go
[34:33] through. All right.
Yeah. Um, one question I do have, Lisa,
[34:39] and this is something that uh I'm I'm
want to make sure I understand right
[34:42] that the members of the committees have
to attend a certain number of meetings
[34:48] to get paid. I think that was what does
that do for you? Because to me that may
[34:54] cause an issue if we say, well, you
haven't attended these meetings and then
[34:57] we can't pay. I mean, do we take them
off the committee prior to do we
[35:02] discharge them? What's the
>> So, I don't
[35:06] » I I I believe that the there's going to
be some nuance difference between the
[35:09] committees on that. For example, with
the communications committee, that one
[35:12] is largely attended virtually and in the
parks as I have witnessed like that one
[35:17] is much more consistently in person
presented, right? So I do think that it,
[35:22] you know, it's going to be different per
um but I think that maintaining the
[35:27] attendance and the roll call of each one
of those bodies is going to be
[35:30] important.
>> Okay. Okay.
[35:34] » This is what I want.
>> The language in the charter, John, I
[35:37] think will help answer those question or
both. All right. Got it. Okay. Just want
[35:41] to check because I didn't want to cause
you problems at the end of the year. And
[35:44] » I appreciate that.
>> And when do you need those names by?
[35:47] » Well, if we could do it in October.
>> Okay. But they have to be pretty quick
[35:53] on, you know what I'm saying?
>> On doing the employee paperwork, getting
[35:57] it back to me
because at the end of year it's pretty
[36:03] busy time for
>> Yeah. handle that. Do you have any
[36:07] further on that, John?
>> I don't. John,
[36:10] » who do you want to
>> um actually I think it's okay for you to
[36:14] maybe collect the information and funnel
it up through Pritchard. And I think um
[36:18] it could be semantics, but for me, but I
think it's more of an election to not
[36:23] receive compensation rather than to
receive compensation. To receive
[36:27] compensation would be assumed based on
being voted into the body. Um
[36:33] okay. Anything further on that? John
Pritchard?
[36:36] » Nothing. Nothing.
>> Whom shall henceforth be referred to as
[36:40] Pritchard.
>> Exactly.
[36:44] Okay, that checks my boxes on those.
Thank you, Lisa. Trusty trainer. Um,
[36:49] » some bullet points I want to walk
through for information purposes.
[36:53] Uh, and then after these first three,
Pete, I may just ask you to comment your
[36:58] observations. Okay. So, one update on
Southeast Quadrant. Uh John and I have
[37:03] been uh very engaged with uh leadership
at no with leadership in the city of New
[37:11] Albany and leadership in Delaware County
concerning the southeast quadrant. We
[37:17] have received a map from Niko that
details the 214 acres they are proposing
[37:24] to annex and we are in discussions um
about the future of that annexation and
[37:31] the relationships of all of those
entities.
[37:35] Secondly, uh we continue to uh work with
the city of Columbus on a CEDA
[37:42] agreement. uh they have been uh very
open and um engaged in this process.
[37:51] Uh we're at the point where the
attorneys
[37:55] ours standing at the podium and theirs
um are engaged in create crafting the
[38:02] language uh for that agreement. Um and
so we we hope that uh this can proceed
[38:10] expeditiously.
Uh and we don't see obstacles to this at
[38:15] all. It it seems that both sides are in
agreement about the general lines of
[38:20] effort and now we just have to craft
some language and then hammer it out.
[38:26] Um and then the third bullet point I
have is update on New Albony Columbus
[38:30] non-inexation agreement. So, separate
from uh the CEDA agreement, there is a a
[38:36] non-annexation agreement with the city
of Columbus that we think we can get
[38:42] done by the end of this calendar year.
Um and they're very open to this. They
[38:47] have no desire to annex into the
township. Uh, however, this caveat, they
[38:54] still would desire to have um a buffer
zone or a set of properties that goes
[39:00] around whatever New Albany might
ultimately have in our southeast corner
[39:05] that gives them uh a a corridor to
Licking County. And so our hope would
[39:11] would be that we get this hammered out
with New Albany, then they're able to
[39:16] define precisely those parcels that
they're interested in and and we can
[39:20] proceed with non-anexation.
Uh the hope is uh that as we work on uh
[39:27] these agreements that is uh nonation
with New Albany and Columbus and CEDA
[39:33] with uh Columbus that we will have
protected our southern border as well as
[39:39] entered into uh economic agreements that
are beneficial to all parties involved.
[39:45] Um and so I I'll put it there uh for the
moment and Pete I'll I'll let you
[39:51] comment on those processes.
>> Yeah. So obviously a lot of moving parts
[39:55] um uh in terms of um
timeline obviously the annexation
[40:03] agreement with the city of Columbus
nonexation agreement with the city of
[40:06] Columbus that deliverable um is probably
going to come first. Um, so, uh, the
[40:14] ball's in my court right now. Uh, so I
should be able to provide a
[40:20] draft, um, to
Pritchard, right, as we're referring to
[40:26] him, um, before review um, probably
within the next week or two. Um so uh
[40:34] that deliverable um I certainly believe
can be accomplished and checked off by
[40:42] the end of this year. um the the CEDA um
you know once the annexation
[40:51] um not annexation with the city of
Columbus
[40:54] uh is signed it'll it'll make the CEDA
agreement I think a little bit easier
[40:59] than what I would say normal because
that's typically one of the major
[41:03] sticking points. So um but once we check
that box I I I don't think it's going to
[41:08] take much uh effort uh on the CEDA. Um
and then with respect to New Albany and
[41:16] and uh Columbus and and that um u that
agreement, you know, I think there's
[41:23] still a lot of moving parts um but we're
hopeful to get information um that'll
[41:28] enable us to to kind of move forward on
that. So, um, a lot of exciting, uh,
[41:34] work, um, hard work's going into all
those, uh, efforts and and and those
[41:40] documents and, uh, you know, I think the
township's moving in the right
[41:43] direction. We're having a lot of very
good conversations and, um, you know,
[41:48] I'm I'm extremely hopeful. So,
>> what what do you think of the timeline
[41:54] for Columbus Harlem CEDA?
Um,
[42:01] I mean, we we we could get it. And the
only reason I say on the the annexation
[42:07] with
um the annexation agreement, not
[42:11] annexation agreement with Columbus um
end of the year is,
[42:18] you know, it is Columbus City Council.
And I don't mean that to sound in a
[42:22] negative way, but there's a lot of
steps. Um, it's not like us here in the
[42:29] township where I get it to
Mr. Pritchard and he gets to you and
[42:34] right there's there's a lot of layers to
that. So, um I I think we could probably
[42:40] do the same with the CEDA u by the end
of the year. Um
[42:46] um I'm not sure in terms of an adoption
um like we've did tonight that
[42:53] logistically probably won't happen by
the end of the year, but I think we can
[42:57] get it to a point where we're, you know,
much like we did with Galina where we're
[43:03] actually looking at text and making
little tweaks uh here and there. Um I
[43:08] think that can happen before the end of
the year. Most definitely.
[43:19] When you're talking about the southeast
quadrant, I mean, I think it's probably
[43:23] just important to clarify there's not no
current petition for annexation.
[43:28] » That's correct. And and uh that's
correct. And and there may not be one in
[43:36] the immediate future. There's a lot of
unknowns there, but again, I don't think
[43:41] that we expect to see something in the
near term.
[43:45] John, is that an accurate
>> That that would be accurate. And the
[43:48] understanding I have is that there are
no properties that are even on the
[43:53] Delaware Franklin County border that are
being petitioned at this moment. So, you
[43:58] have to have properties that are that
are adjacent to one another to petition
[44:03] for annexation. and and that's not even
present at this point. So to get to that
[44:09] parcel that we or the couple parcels
that we're talking about that make up
[44:12] that 214 acres. Correct. So So we've got
time.
[44:17] » Yeah. And we have not given up by any
means correct on the appeal for
[44:22] nonanexation.
>> Correct. That's our
[44:24] » we're working that line of about hard
>> as we've discussed at length. That's
[44:28] obviously our goal and that that's why
that piece is like I said there's some
[44:34] still moving parts. Um and one of those
parts is um
[44:40] no annexation at all. Right. And that's
what we're trying to work through and
[44:44] figure out the best approach right now.
>> Correct.
[44:55] » Thanks Pete.
Dave
[45:00] speak
>> Steve Eisen Brown Harlem Road. So at
[45:04] what point on any of these topic areas,
you know, what will be the trigger for
[45:10] the public to see content of these
proposals? When will we get a chance to
[45:16] see what's in, you know, I understand as
you're going through the drafts and
[45:20] things, we don't need to see that. is
probably not appropriate. But so is it
[45:25] the point in time where one of these
comes to you guys at a trustees meeting
[45:30] for approval and then at that meeting
that's a public document or will there
[45:35] be drafts just prior to that for people
to see?
[45:44] I was just going to say it's probably
gonna be similar to
[45:47] » sitting next to
>> so um
[45:53] unlike the CEDA uh which provides us a
statutory
[45:58] process that we have to follow uh with
an annexation agreement technically it
[46:04] it it could just be brought up at a
trustee meeting and a vote vote to
[46:10] approve right so if you want to
implement from a policy perspective. Do
[46:16] something different where um
you know you you hold kind of a an
[46:23] informal
reading if you will um or informal or
[46:29] discussion prior to formal adoption. Um
you can do that. Um, like I'm I'm not
[46:35] trying to and I'm never would encourage
anybody to hide anything from anybody,
[46:39] but what I what I I'm reluctant to do is
[46:46] send uh or discuss versions in public
that may not be agreeable
[46:52] » um to um the other party. Right. I I
think once we get to the point where I
[47:00] think we're once again kind of tweaking
a little bit language here and there, I
[47:05] think there probably can be a high level
discussion
[47:10] um about the contents of an annexation
agreement or a CEDA or non-anexation
[47:16] agreement. Um um but until we get to the
point where we have those high level
[47:22] issues flushed out in terms of
no annexation or only this specific area
[47:31] or you know what it's going to look
like. Um
[47:36] um you know I'm just reluctant to
to to to have drafts out there just
[47:42] because once again I don't I don't want
to get people's hopes up. I don't want
[47:47] um I want to try to reach in some sort
of uh hierarching
[47:54] uh agreement with our partner uh and
then have the discussion and and and get
[47:59] public input as to whether or not that's
a good idea and the board could
[48:03] Steve to your point like personally I
would like any CEDA conversation non-
[48:08] annexation conversation any conversation
that involves another municipality to
[48:12] follow essentially the same groundwork
that we or pattern that we set with the
[48:17] Galina,
>> right,
[48:18] » agreement, right? Like we I mean, we met
for probably 18 months before we even
[48:22] had anything on paper.
>> Well, and and credit to Galina because
[48:25] they had already done quite a bit of
this, especially when it came to the FAQ
[48:28] and and and having that. But, you know,
as soon as we got and Pete, I think as
[48:32] soon as we got to a point where there
was a draft that both parties agreed to
[48:35] and there were no longer notes.
>> Yeah.
[48:37] » You know, we we I mean, I think it was
within a week both municipalities
[48:40] published it, right?
>> Um and it was probably about a month
[48:43] before, you know, it came to any
reading. So, you know, I and to you
[48:47] know, the rest of the board like I I I
believe that that is probably the best
[48:51] practice in that wherever we can repeat
it. You know, I think one thing that's
[48:56] interesting there though is our CEDA
with Galina included the non-anexation
[49:00] agreement. Southside, these might be
separate conversations.
[49:04] » Correct. And so we there might be some,
you know, duplicative effort um you
[49:10] know, a little bit of redundancy there,
but I'd rather overcommunicate something
[49:14] than undercommunicate it. So I would
hope, you know, it's my hope that that
[49:18] we repeat that pattern as best as
possible.
[49:20] » Well, you know, I and you gave me a good
answer about three months ago. I asked
[49:23] this question and I I fully understand
we we don't need to lay it all out on
[49:27] the table, but we don't really know
where we're headed. So that's fine.
[49:30] » Yeah. I I if we you know can assume that
either on a non-anexation or a CEDA that
[49:37] you'll follow uh a you know a practice
like you did when it's ready when it's
[49:44] cooked ready for consideration of
signing. So if that's a month ahead of
[49:48] the meeting where you would expect to
sign something I think that's great. I
[49:52] mean that meets scratches my itch. I I
wouldn't speak for the rest of the
[49:56] board, but I know that my personal
feelings, as long as I sit here, is I
[50:00] want that stuff as transparent as
possible, as fast as possible.
[50:02] » Fair enough. I'm
>> And I think we've been more than Oh, I
[50:07] mean, in in terms of of what's happened,
I mean, initially, New Albany said we we
[50:14] posed it. New Albany doesn't want
anything. Then New Albany came back. We
[50:19] shared that. Now we're t I mean
>> though
[50:23] » I don't think that's completely true
personally.
[50:26] » Well, you could
>> I think uh you know there have been no
[50:29] minutes of meetings ever shared of
meeting with New Albany or meeting with
[50:34] Columbus still to date
>> which is which is the standard norm.
[50:39] » No standard of a business meeting is to
have an
[50:42] » talk business. You were in business.
>> You're going to see Columbus to talk
[50:46] about AEDA. That's a business meeting.
We've discussed this. I I don't know
[50:50] that I want to bring it up again in the
city and think it's as transparent as
[50:55] you make it out to be. Bob you have
>> I think I think the point is so I I I
[51:00] can if I may, Mr. Chair,
>> I think Pete
[51:04] » because my experience is
>> been in every meeting
[51:07] » that we've ever had with
>> Well, not only that, but I've you know I
[51:10] get to do I have the pleasure of doing
this around the state, right? So, uh, I
[51:15] can tell you that this board is on the
higher end of of of of transparency.
[51:22] And, you know, I always kit around that
some of my some of my worst trustees are
[51:28] ones that are, no offense, but private
business owners, small business owners,
[51:32] because they think that
government is going to operate the same
[51:37] way. And you you don't keep meeting
minutes, you keep personal notes. uh
[51:42] when you're in these type of meetings
which are are not public record. Um um
[51:49] so you know there needs to be
at some level honest discussions in
[51:57] those meetings. They're not public
meetings. Um
[52:01] um so you know there there aren't going
to be meeting minutes and I think what
[52:06] you have to rely upon is the trustees
who are coming back and telling you and
[52:11] providing you information
in these meetings like Trusty Singer
[52:16] just said about hey
there wasn't going to be any annexation
[52:22] and now they're coming back saying they
want to annex and and and those are the
[52:25] those are the conversations that are
being had. there there are no documents.
[52:30] There's you know so my point is this
this board has been more transparent
[52:39] than most of my clients are and I'm I'm
not giving that lip service and I think
[52:44] Holly can probably attest to that. Um,
so but at the same time we need to have
[52:52] very frank conversations with the other
parties and if we're publishing meeting
[52:58] minutes and notes there those
conversations aren't going to happen
[53:01] anymore quite frankly. So uh it's a
delicate balance that we're doing and
[53:08] and you know not because you're my
client but I think you're doing a an
[53:12] excellent job in communicating. I
appreciate that, Pete. And I think the
[53:17] point that I want to make sure we drive
home is there will always be a period of
[53:22] public review for any document that has
a glimmer of hope of becoming statutory
[53:28] in this township to the best of our
ability. If if we have a final draft of
[53:33] a CEDA, if we have a final draft of a
non-annexation agreement, if we have a
[53:37] final draft of anything that impacts the
public and it is within our purview to
[53:43] be able to display that information,
right?
[53:45] » I want to make sure that we're doing
that.
[53:46] » You I think you've haven't you already
done that with the Hoover?
[53:49] » We have.
>> Yeah. So it's very similar process but I
[53:52] you know I think providing an update as
you know once we get
[53:57] » certainty in terms of how we're going to
proceed th those those updates will
[54:02] still be provided. Um, I'm sure that
hey, you know, um,
[54:10] you know, New New Albany does want to,
you know, does want to annex, right? And
[54:15] so this is where we're headed. Or, hey,
um, we were able to convince New Albany
[54:20] not to annex and so we're we're not
doing the three party annexation
[54:25] agreement. We're going to move to back
to AEDA. Once we come to conclusions,
[54:30] you know, and and as to the direction
that we're proceeding, I'm I'm sure
[54:33] those that information is going to be
provided by you guys to the uh to the
[54:38] residents. But um I think you guys have
been doing the right thing and um uh
[54:45] there will be plenty of opportunity for
people to look at the documents and uh
[54:48] once we get to that point,
>> wouldn't it be fair to say, Pete, that
[54:52] that our ultimate goal is to not give an
inch? I mean that that is ultimately our
[54:58] goal is that is what we are looking for
and if if we have to give up property
[55:03] » 90 yeah no
>> if we have to then it becomes
[55:07] » correct
>> we are compensated for that
[55:09] » and 99.9% of my clients are townships
and um that is
[55:14] every opportunity that
I see that is my number one goal and
[55:21] that is my number one advice to
um
[55:26] to my clients, once it's once it's gone,
it's darn near impossible to to get it
[55:32] back. Um, and anytime we have the
ability to have a conversation
[55:39] um with uh a regional partner
that is enable to enabled us to preserve
[55:46] our borders without annexation, then
then absolutely. And um you know from my
[55:53] perspective
you know I I'm not taking
[55:59] New Alby's
answer that they gave me
[56:04] yet. Right. So that's why we're going to
continue to explore those opportunities
[56:11] to preserve the township and that's why
that piece of the puzzle is still
[56:16] uh we're still working on. Uh some of
the other stuff I think we've we've got
[56:20] a little bit more direction and I think
that's why the deliberals are going to
[56:23] be um come much sooner. Um so it's too
important to rush that piece. You need
[56:32] to make sure that you're doing your due
diligence and um exploring all your
[56:36] avenues.
[56:41] » Anything further on that, trusty
trainer?
[56:43] » No, I'll get off my soap box.
>> Thanks, Pete.
[56:45] » Thank you, Pete.
>> Glad you stayed.
[56:50] » Next.
>> Go ahead.
[56:51] » Yeah. Next bullet point is the RFQ. This
is a request for qualifications that the
[56:57] uh township would like to uh send out a
draft of an RFQ uh from the board
[57:04] tonight to make public and I would um
appreciate Holly if you could uh help.
[57:11] Crossroads has helped us to put this
together and John has also been very
[57:16] instrumental in uh this process. So if
you two could speak to this as
[57:21] appropriate.
>> Yeah. stand up there.
[57:24] » Okay. Uh so yeah, so we had originally
brought to you an RFP. We have uh re
[57:31] revised that to um be an RFQ
um to be a little more flexible in um
[57:39] how we approach um the um process in
this to give us the ability to give the
[57:46] township the ability to negotiate the
contract and the terms um in a more
[57:52] flexible way. Uh so it's very similar to
what you previously reviewed um but just
[57:59] opening up a little bit more um
opportunity uh regarding um who can
[58:05] apply and how they apply and then the
actual um what the contract will say in
[58:12] in the future. So that's my summary
>> and then the idea of a draft I think we
[58:21] mentioned it last month is that it will
go out to the world. Um we don't know
[58:26] who is going to provide comment to that
draft and that we welcome comments from
[58:34] the residents uh business community
uh you know anyone that has any interest
[58:41] in this property. um can provide us with
comments and and the goal is to
[58:45] hopefully get it before October I think
it's October 7th we put as the uh as the
[58:51] tenative date but if uh someone comes
back and makes a good case to extend
[58:57] that then I think the board might want
to entertain extending that out but uh
[59:01] this draft will allow us to get input
from a wide variety of of uh uh
[59:08] individuals and institutions and uh
businesses and hopefully come up with a
[59:14] stellar product at the end of the day.
So,
[59:22] » questions, comments?
>> Yeah, I got this at 3:57 yesterday.
[59:28] I was at 5:00 this morning reviewing it.
Um,
[59:34] and now
I guess I if this was something we were
[59:40] sending out to uh developers or or
whomever,
[59:47] I wouldn't I wouldn't accept it tonight
or I wouldn't approve tonight. There's
[59:52] some dates that are not necessarily
totally correct. Um there's a couple
[1:00:00] questions I had on on the verbiage. Um
the one thing that I, you know,
[1:00:08] probably would like to potentially see
changed is it says following the ranking
[1:00:14] process, the township will enter
negotiations with the most qualified
[1:00:20] firm. Um,
that's our,
[1:00:24] you know, I would say
that the that the township deems most
[1:00:30] qualified. I don't think I'm in a
position to judge which is the most
[1:00:35] qualified firm. It may be the most
qualified firm for us,
[1:00:41] but you know, uh,
>> John, can you speak to how that process
[1:00:45] will unfold?
>> Correct. Ultimately,
[1:00:48] I will be in charge of
developing and putting together the team
[1:00:53] that does the evaluation and then
ultimately the board is going to be the
[1:00:58] um approval authority on that.
>> Yeah. So,
[1:01:01] » and I've read all of that and the
qualifications, etc. Mhm.
[1:01:05] » The only point I'm making is uh if
you've got a twoperson
[1:01:11] office or location and we say they're
the most qualified versus a 20 person
[1:01:18] operation,
I I think you might get a push back from
[1:01:22] somebody that says these people the
credentials they have, etc. Um and and
[1:01:28] again, you know, I'm just saying that it
we're making the decision who is most
[1:01:34] qualified and and the word is site
somewhere in here. And I think vision
[1:01:40] for the site. I think you mean township
for the site. I don't know for sure. It
[1:01:46] just says a cohesive
sustainable vision for the site.
[1:01:50] » So that is um part of why it has more
flexible. though the site is whatever is
[1:01:58] negotiated as part of the contract the
the study boundaries will be negotiated
[1:02:03] as part of the contract. So therefore
then that becomes the site.
[1:02:07] » Okay.
>> And the ide the idea for this is
[1:02:10] » is it a a land plan or a land use plan?
>> It is a master plan. So
[1:02:16] » well it says future land plans and I
don't know whether that's I mean it may
[1:02:24] very well be land plan. I don't know
whether it's should be land use land.
[1:02:28] » No the the land uses are proposed within
the strategic plan. This is taking that
[1:02:33] strategic plan to the next step to put
design services to it to create
[1:02:38] streetscape uh renderings, bird's eye
views, roadway connections, etc.
[1:02:44] » Yeah. And can you tell us the dates that
you found that were incorrect because we
[1:02:48] can adjust those and and the and then at
that point the resolution can say that
[1:02:54] we've got the authority to correct those
prior to going out. So if you've got
[1:02:57] those Bob we can we can do it right now.
>> Again it's it's you know it's not a
[1:03:02] final version. So
>> but it is going to be go it will go
[1:03:06] public even though it's a draft.
>> Understood.
[1:03:09] » So that
>> need to know.
[1:03:10] » I'm trying to get clarity on the
resolution. So, the resolution is for
[1:03:13] approval of the draft request for qual
RFQ, but then the cover of the RFQ says
[1:03:18] due date for comments on the draft RFQ
are due before Wednesday, October 7th.
[1:03:23] » So, I'm just trying like are we
approving the draft tonight?
[1:03:26] » We're saying this is an important
distinction. This is a good question.
[1:03:30] This RFQ is a draft RFQ. So, we're we're
sending out this version and we're
[1:03:35] saying to
the public, hey, make this a better
[1:03:38] document.
>> Okay? And then when we get those
[1:03:41] comments back, we'll make we'll revise
it. Then we will do a final RFQ.
[1:03:47] » And that's why I'm
>> okay. And then the final RFQ then will
[1:03:50] be the one that goes out and then we
will do the evaluation after that and
[1:03:54] then enter into discussions and
negotiations with
[1:03:57] » So we got time.
>> Yep.
[1:03:59] » Everybody has time. But but if there is
an incorrect date, let me know because
[1:04:04] we can correct that right now because I
I don't want to go on out to the public
[1:04:07] if we've got something that you know
>> because the two dates I see in here are
[1:04:10] questions by September 23rd, 2026 and
then the due date is October 7th, 2026.
[1:04:16] when the Delaware regional planning
started the process with the steering
[1:04:21] committee um was in 2019.
Um
[1:04:27] uh 2020 20 it was uh submitted to the
zoning commission September 2021
[1:04:35] was approved. I mean just again they're
close enough that and and and it's
[1:04:42] inconsequential whether it was six
months one way or and I'm okay.
[1:04:53] » So can I make a mo I make a motion then?
Um, I'm going to move to approve the
[1:05:00] presented draft request for
qualifications
[1:05:04] as presented by crossroads.
>> And I'll second that.
[1:05:09] » Moved and seconded. Roll call, please.
Ashley.
[1:05:12] » I
>> I
[1:05:16] and John, you and Holly are going to
execute that.
[1:05:20] » Yes, we will execute something.
>> Okay. Uh next topic of conversation is
[1:05:26] uh approving our strategic parks plan.
This is a document that the parks
[1:05:32] commission has been working on for
several months. Um recently
[1:05:38] we had public comment on that. Thank you
Kelsey. public comment on that at our
[1:05:44] Harlem Township days and the parks
commission voted on it in our last
[1:05:49] meeting on Tuesday of this week for
presentation to the trustees and I'll
[1:05:56] I'll let you take it from there.
Council,
[1:05:58] » I know you stole a little bit of my
thunder there. I was going to give this
[1:06:00] really nice overview, but you covered a
lot of it, but I'll uh I'll fill in some
[1:06:03] blanks. And I know that we have some uh
parks commission members here as well,
[1:06:08] so I'd invite them to chime in where
they see necessary. But yeah, we started
[1:06:13] this process at the beginning of this
year um in the first quarter with a full
[1:06:19] survey which was very well participated
in with nearly 350 survey results. And
[1:06:24] from that we form the park commission as
well as my team, my former colleague
[1:06:31] Molly Ridge uh were able to come
together and create uh three different
[1:06:37] major goals
which were to be to have an
[1:06:41] interconnected park system. uh to create
rec recreational experiences that care
[1:06:48] for the whole person, which uh in a
nutshell is to really diversify those
[1:06:51] experiences through the different parts
to make sure that they're
[1:06:54] multi-generational to make sure that
they're feeding all aspects of the whole
[1:06:58] person, be it the physical, emotional,
spiritual, and intellectual. So that's
[1:07:03] anywhere from your more nature walks
that are much more passive um or your
[1:07:09] more recre or your more recreational
such as your pickle ball courts which
[1:07:15] was brought up a few different times in
the survey or tennis courts. Uh so with
[1:07:20] a major thing being walking paths. So
that really gives a nod to that
[1:07:24] interconnected park system as well. And
then the third one was for those
[1:07:29] collaborative partnerships and
development. you know, we we are aware
[1:07:31] that the we want to make sure that our
dollars are stretched as far as they
[1:07:35] can. So, leaning into different regional
networks and surrounding communities to
[1:07:40] create a level of that interconnected
parks, maybe shared service agreements
[1:07:45] or facility agreements um and so on and
so forth. So of course this uh the big
[1:07:51] part the big reason for this plan was to
be that blueprint and overall strategy
[1:07:55] as we know um the market is showing that
there that that the market demand in
[1:08:01] this area is increasing for potential
population. So how are we utilizing that
[1:08:06] potential in increased population to
ensure that we have enough inter a park
[1:08:12] system that is township supported and
how can we really make sure that that's
[1:08:16] implemented. So, this is really a guide
for any opportunities with civic
[1:08:21] organizations or maybe potential
developers to help bring this vision to
[1:08:26] life. So, with that, um, I'm happy to
open it up to any parks park commission
[1:08:33] members that are here. But I think it's
important to note that kind of that next
[1:08:37] step, this is again a blueprint, a
strategy. But there is a bit of
[1:08:41] implementation that's still um that's
going to be next and it's going to be
[1:08:45] back in the uh commission's hands to
start with that implementation of
[1:08:50] working with that low that lowhanging
fruit of what are the of evaluating
[1:08:54] surrounding area plans for connectivity
with other communities or tapping in and
[1:09:00] building relationships with those civic
organizations and opportunities that
[1:09:03] they have. So, uh, with the board
support, Crossroads would love to be
[1:09:08] part of that implementation plan and
helping with those and making sure that
[1:09:12] and giving more guidance to that parks
commission for uh, potential planning
[1:09:17] and implementation of of this plan from
here. So, with that, any questions from
[1:09:23] the board?
>> You know what I think of this plan?
[1:09:26] » Yes,
>> it's exceptional.
[1:09:28] » Thank you so much. I have to give credit
where credit's due. Park Commission has
[1:09:32] worked tirelessly for many months and my
colleague Molly Ridge did a phenomenal
[1:09:37] job on the on putting it all together as
well and the design of the document is
[1:09:42] fabulous. So yeah,
>> very well done.
[1:09:45] » Thank you very much.
>> Any
[1:09:50] putting you on the spot, but Sure.
>> Do you happen or does anybody happen to
[1:09:54] remember
>> how many respondents we had to the
[1:09:58] survey? Yes, it was nearly 350.
>> 347, I think.
[1:10:02] » Yeah. Yep. Nearly 350.
I will for the Harlem Township day, we
[1:10:07] did have we had a bit of a rain a rain
out in the beginning, but we did get
[1:10:12] several I'd say probably closer to 20
people to come through and we had really
[1:10:18] excellent feedback and Ed Ed was there
for another a good chunk of it as well
[1:10:22] as Crossroads was there for a little
more than half the time. But people were
[1:10:27] really excited about the
interconnectedness of the of the parks
[1:10:30] especially to the main core of uh of the
community park.
[1:10:36] » Is that 350 is that respondents to the
survey that created a lot of this data?
[1:10:41] » Correct. That is so correct.
>> Yes sir.
[1:10:45] » So I I I love I like most people I have
this inside statistician that loves to
[1:10:53] say this. Um, and there's lots of
interesting things in there.
[1:10:58] I'll I'll start with the the glass half
empty that 7% of our population
[1:11:05] responded to the survey. Seven.
Um, that I I don't think is a result of
[1:11:13] any lack of effort on the part of
Crossroads or the Parks Commission or
[1:11:17] this board of talking about it. I I just
um struggle with the the the dangers of
[1:11:25] apathy, you know what I mean?
um and would love to see some kind of
[1:11:29] way of of figuring that out because this
there's so much great data that we got
[1:11:35] from 7% of our population that we are
going to put things in motion based on
[1:11:44] » um because our job is to represent the
population on how we move things
[1:11:49] forward. So, if 93% of the population
decide not to voice their opinion,
[1:11:58] what happens if they don't get what they
want?
[1:12:01] » Mr. Chairman, may I just interject one
thing,
[1:12:03] » please?
>> Um, I would encourage you to go back to
[1:12:08] the strategic guide and the
comprehensive plan, especially the
[1:12:13] comprehensive plan in terms of the
survey, right,
[1:12:17] » which corroborates
Exactly.
[1:12:21] » And so and and and that's a good point.
You it's almost like we planned this
[1:12:25] ahead of time because while it's 7% of
the population, I believe it is 7% of
[1:12:32] the population that we're growing
towards. I think this is
[1:12:35] » a data set of how Harlem Township is
evolving and where it's moving to. The
[1:12:40] thing that's additionally interesting is
earlier in the document, you know,
[1:12:44] there's there's data from the National
Recreation and Parks Association, right?
[1:12:48] like this isn't based on our surveys.
This is based on you know their
[1:12:52] information. And while you know over the
past 10 years our population has only
[1:12:56] increased by about 700 give or take the
median income has doubled.
[1:13:01] » Um and so you know the township is
changing. We need to just you know
[1:13:07] continue to focus on how can we best
serve that because if we don't mold and
[1:13:12] guide how that evolution looks like the
development's going to control it. We
[1:13:17] don't. We want to control the
development.
[1:13:19] » Exactly.
>> And so to me, like I I just have this
[1:13:22] fear in the back of my mind of like some
folks are going to see this and they're
[1:13:24] going to be like, "Oh, it's great. It's
a parks plan. You know, that's great.
[1:13:26] Awesome. Put some swing sets in pickle
ball court out there." But this is a is
[1:13:30] a microcasm of just all of the stuff
that we've been talking about to me.
[1:13:33] » Sure.
>> It's it's such an important thing. The
[1:13:36] one thing I got a kick out of too is the
NRPA says that you should have 10.9
[1:13:41] acres of parkland per thousand
residents. Is that right?
[1:13:45] It must be feels low,
>> right? And so for our our 26 square
[1:13:50] miles, we should have 50 acres of public
park.
[1:13:54] » How many parks you should have?
>> Well, we have seven currently,
[1:13:58] » but we just we just got uh Bell's Park,
which is almost 100,
[1:14:02] » right? So,
>> which I must say we're ahead of
[1:14:04] » bigger. Yeah, we love it.
>> Bigger.
[1:14:06] » We can still we we need more parks
though, you know. That's That was a good
[1:14:10] That was an amazing welltime win, wasn't
it? I love that. Well, and I also really
[1:14:14] appreciate the the emphasis on the
diversity of the types of parks and
[1:14:18] making sure that it's as walkable for
everybody as possible. So, I completely
[1:14:21] hear you in in that. But even if maybe a
small percentage of the population was
[1:14:27] represented, it seems as though it was
very it was really capitalized on we
[1:14:33] want parks for people of all abilities
and all ages that can interact with all
[1:14:38] of these different parks, which I think
is really great. And I echo Bob's
[1:14:41] sentiment like your team and the parks
commission did a great job on it. I love
[1:14:45] datadriven decisions and there's
definitely plenty of that here. So,
[1:14:48] thank you for all the work that went
into that.
[1:14:50] » Excellent. And thanks thanks to the
community and again the parks commission
[1:14:53] did such fabulous work. So, see that.
So, in in light of this fine work, uh I
[1:14:59] would like to move a resolution
um 010 to approve the parks commission
[1:15:05] strategic plan uh as presented uh by the
parks commission and crossroads. We'll
[1:15:12] second that.
>> Moved and seconded. Roll call, please.
[1:15:14] Ashley.
>> I
[1:15:18] thank you guys.
>> Thanks, Kelsey. So, in light of this,
[1:15:22] uh, and she gave a great segue to Dan,
uh, the parks commission is very focused
[1:15:29] on the strategic plan, not just being,
uh, some altruistic ideal, but something
[1:15:36] that we are committed to as a body of
putting feet to the fire. In other
[1:15:41] words, listening to what the township
residents are saying and saying, "Hey,
[1:15:46] we want to implement. We want to execute
this plan." And so in light of that, um,
[1:15:52] uh, Dan Tley is going to come up and
talk about a grant application that the
[1:15:57] parks commission is asking the trustees
to approve today.
[1:16:03] » Great. Good evening, Dan Tsley, member
parks commission. Um, Adam, I'm I'm here
[1:16:08] to talk about the pickleball court.
>> Talk to me, Dan.
[1:16:12] » It's a great setup. So, um, like Trustee
Trainer had mentioned, you know, Kelsey
[1:16:18] talked about the parks plan. It was a
lot of work. It was a lot of effort. Um,
[1:16:23] and it's a lot of conceptual work. And a
lot of time residents don't necessarily
[1:16:27] see or appreciate all that concept. What
they appreciate is what you're going to
[1:16:31] do, how you're going to execute, when
are you going to do something. So, um,
[1:16:36] with that, after completing the parks
plan, the parks commission quickly
[1:16:40] started looking for quick wins. um that
aligned with the residents feedback, not
[1:16:46] just the the survey, but walked the
parks, Harlem days, solicited friends.
[1:16:52] Sue actually she had to leave, you know,
as a neighbor, right? So, she didn't get
[1:16:56] a chance to to stick stick around, but
uh we solicited a lot of feedback about
[1:17:00] what additionally people would want to
see. Um we solicited the parks plan and
[1:17:07] uh and we also took into consideration
um to responsibly conserve public funds.
[1:17:12] Right? So we don't didn't want to come
up with a grandiose idea that was going
[1:17:15] to cost so much that nothing was going
to happen. Preservation parks community
[1:17:19] park and uh trail and grant program was
identified as a funding source for
[1:17:23] $50,000 with grant applicants due on
October 1st. So it lined up with this
[1:17:28] quick win concept. $50,000 available. We
want to move uh with with with respect
[1:17:34] to the parks. The park commission
debated several options that fell within
[1:17:38] the scope of the grant guidelines,
including
[1:17:41] additional trails. It's number one,
right? Um additional trail. I didn't
[1:17:46] know this. For $50,000, you can put in
100 yards of trail, right? That's not
[1:17:53] much of a trail system or much of an
ads. I I didn't want to put, you know,
[1:17:56] my name on top of the hundred yards of
of of trail. Um, we talked vigorously
[1:18:03] about a baseball field, our bathroom
improvements, park drainage
[1:18:06] improvements, and a pickle ball court.
The parks commission ultimately decided
[1:18:11] to pursue the pickle ball court as the
best evaluated option with the highest
[1:18:15] overall community benefit. Um, not just
benefit for the older residents, but
[1:18:20] benefit for the newer residents and an
opportunity to bring the two together.
[1:18:23] If you don't look at our community, you
look at uh places like Dw Albany, places
[1:18:28] like Westerville, what you will find
around Pickable are grandparents playing
[1:18:32] with their grandchildren, fathers
playing with their sons and daughters.
[1:18:35] So, you see, it's a multi-generational
opportunity to get people into the park.
[1:18:40] The other thing that the uh commission
recognized was it was an opportunity to
[1:18:44] bring new people into the park. The
walkers already walk the park. Maybe we
[1:18:48] can bring a few more. This is a whole
segment that is leaving our community to
[1:18:52] play somewhere else and to socialize
somewhere else. So, it's an opportunity
[1:18:56] to bring a new segment of people to our
parks who who currently don't get there
[1:19:00] and get to exactly Adam what you were
talking about, new people into the into
[1:19:04] the park. Um, the provided proposal
represents our grant uh proposal which
[1:19:10] we seek approval for and to submit to
preservation parks for their
[1:19:13] consideration. Your the required
resolution is on page nine. We've had
[1:19:17] this for for a week provided it. so you
could have some uh time to to read it
[1:19:21] and it represents kind of the work that
we put in and we hope is appreciated by
[1:19:24] preservation parks.
The cost outlined in the report uh that
[1:19:30] are aligned to the township include
inkind goods and services. Our
[1:19:33] investment, our main investment is inind
services. We're looking for our
[1:19:36] community members to provide, like they
always have in the past, to provide
[1:19:40] landscaping, to provide help, to do some
of the work. And that will show
[1:19:44] preservation parks that this isn't a
one-sided $50,000 for us. This is a
[1:19:49] dual-sided. We're going to do some of
the work, and this is going to be, you
[1:19:52] know, a cooperative effort. The outline
vendor cost estimates at this point, um,
[1:19:59] our estimates at this point, and our
objective will be to minimize any 2027
[1:20:03] financial impact to the township. So we
solicited a full bid, but that bid is
[1:20:07] not negotiated and we'd expect that
price to come down a little bit. The
[1:20:11] trustees can also consider expanding the
project. So right now the project is set
[1:20:15] at one one court, but at the trustes
discretion, we could expand to multiple
[1:20:19] courts at an approximate 20% reduction
in cost per court over a single court or
[1:20:25] approximately $60,000 for one court. But
if you move to two, three, or four, and
[1:20:30] it's a little bit skewed, but to give
you an idea, you go to about $48,000 a
[1:20:34] court, right? So, you got to pick up
about 20% as you if you go a little bit
[1:20:39] further. The grant is fixed at 50,000.
So, the township would have to pick that
[1:20:43] portion up. Um, you have been provided
previously a copy of the res uh copy of
[1:20:48] the resolution and the grant proposal.
I'd be open to any questions you may
[1:20:51] have at this time or anyone. Yeah. Do
you can put the picture 18
[1:20:58] Oh, just anytime. No, you're not jumping
ahead. Um, for the the people, I don't
[1:21:04] know if you can zoom in, but you know
where we're proposing putting this is on
[1:21:09] the back side of the front parking lot.
So, basically, we're taking gravel and
[1:21:13] turning it into park space. So, there is
a shed um and there is a gravel parking
[1:21:18] lot on the back. So, as you can see,
what will what you against the
[1:21:22] basketball court, you'll have the pickle
ball court. You'll have landscaping
[1:21:26] around. It'll serve as a sound barrier
so that people will not be impacted by
[1:21:31] the sound. You'll have an ADA compliant
walkway. So the park the parking lot
[1:21:36] which today you cannot access from an
accessibility and disability
[1:21:39] perspective. You can will now be able to
pull in people with disabilities can
[1:21:43] access the pickle ball court or they
could access the trail system because
[1:21:46] we're we not putting in 100 yards. We
can put in 50 feet of that trail system
[1:21:51] almost as a as an aside. So 50 feet of
trail. um the uh trees and and uh and
[1:21:59] plantings and then the pickle ball court
with some some benches is what we're
[1:22:02] what we're talking about.
>> Can you help us understand a little bit
[1:22:06] about the timeline?
>> Yeah. So, um we this grant is due at the
[1:22:11] end of this month. Um there's they have
a one-mon review cycle. So, we would
[1:22:17] know in the Novemberish
uh time frame as to whether we got it.
[1:22:22] Um uh if we if we were successful um
depending upon how many and whether we
[1:22:29] want to take it to bid if we go with
four that's a significant project that
[1:22:33] will go over your your bid limit and
you'll have to do right if you do two
[1:22:37] it'll be two you'll be over one you'll
be under so a little bit depends
[1:22:40] procedurally on what you decide um let's
let's talk about one if it's one and we
[1:22:46] decide that the cost is reasonable there
basically are only two firms in Columbus
[1:22:50] that do
that put him in for New Albany,
[1:22:54] Westerville, you know, all of the clubs.
And and Shybert, which is the one we we
[1:22:59] uh we picked, um is uh you know, is one
of those two. Um but a bid process, if
[1:23:05] we did it, would have to happen in the
December time frame. We'd award that
[1:23:08] business. Um we would look to have the
um uh court completed by June or July of
[1:23:15] next year. Um and then have our funds
reimbursed back to us. This is a
[1:23:18] reimbursement grant. So, we upfront the
funds, then we submit for reimbursement
[1:23:23] back. Um, so we get that reimbursement
roughly in September. But as far as a
[1:23:27] timeline, pickle ball, July 4th sounds
great to me.
[1:23:32] » Chris and the pickle.
>> Chris and the pickle ball. Pickle ball
[1:23:35] court. Um, and and the other point is
this is just the beginning, right? This
[1:23:42] is just one grant. There are lots of
grants like this. There are tons of
[1:23:46] opportunity and what it requires is
somebody to actually put a proposal
[1:23:50] together and to deliver it and collect
the money and then execute. So now as
[1:23:56] part of the parks plan, we have to
execute, right? We've got to start to
[1:24:01] win these grants and we have to start to
improve our parks.
[1:24:06] » And I' I'd like to point out that Dan is
the one who executed this grant.
[1:24:12] We deeply appreciate the work that's
involved.
[1:24:15] » For sure.
>> Thank you, Dan, very much.
[1:24:19] » Great job.
>> Other questions?
[1:24:21] » I mean, yeah, kudos, Dan. Another really
great preparation of a proposal here and
[1:24:27] the grant that's being delivered. I
mean, very impressive. I appreciate the
[1:24:30] hard work and time that you put into it.
my I mean if we're going to to me one of
[1:24:38] you got fencing you've got the cost of
bringing in the asphalt doing all the
[1:24:44] work around I would prefer the township
invest more money
[1:24:50] and do two or three
you would at at seven it's like $79,000
[1:24:57] you have to bid and and technically
you're supposed to have three bids But
[1:25:03] uh and and you only you did show only
one firm and and I didn't know whether
[1:25:09] that's
because we wanted to do business
[1:25:12] particularly.
>> No, love to address this. Um so um the
[1:25:17] fact is is this has all been turned
around in two and a half weeks, right?
[1:25:22] All of it written from like we've got to
get a grant to to this this meeting,
[1:25:27] right? And there was one, you know, I
had to pull some personal strings to
[1:25:32] have the one firm come up here, do this,
they came up, did a site survey,
[1:25:36] measured it out, um, and bid it. So, you
know, it was just a matter of
[1:25:42] convenience and who could do the bid. A
bid is required for the grant, right?
[1:25:47] It's not required that we do business
with them. It's just to basically say
[1:25:50] that what, you know, we've done our due
diligence with respect to what this is
[1:25:53] going to cost. Um,
>> and and we're very fortunate in this
[1:25:57] township to have Dan because if you need
to know a guy, this guy, he knows a guy.
[1:26:02] If you need anything, you just ask,
"Yeah, I know a guy that can." And
[1:26:06] that's that's what happened here. So,
it's it it is just a number to be able
[1:26:10] to give to the parks commission to say
this is, you know, an example of what it
[1:26:14] would cost. But yeah, when if we go out
for a larger thing, it's going to be
[1:26:18] budgeted. You know, with Lisa, we're
going to talk and during our budgeting
[1:26:22] process and that'll give us some
flexibility to decide whether we go if
[1:26:26] we do if we're successful. And even if
we're not successful, there's still the
[1:26:30] possibility with you all support that we
could potentially do one or two courts
[1:26:35] without it depending on what the funding
is. So, we can always look at it that
[1:26:39] way. So, just because we don't get the
grant doesn't mean this thing's over. I
[1:26:41] think the benefit of the position we're
in at the moment is you don't have to
[1:26:45] make that decision today.
>> Correct.
[1:26:47] » Right. All you have to do is make the
decision that we have we authorize the
[1:26:50] submission of this grant.
>> Right. Which says we're going to follow
[1:26:53] through on at least one. You have
another meeting, maybe twoish,
[1:26:59] to flush out whether or not you want to
upsize this. Um the sooner the better,
[1:27:05] but you've got time. If we do nothing,
then um we don't we don't do this. And
[1:27:10] and let me let me also add a member of
our commissions is of our of our parks
[1:27:16] commission is a preservation parks
member.
[1:27:20] » Amen.
>> Right. So um so you know we are
[1:27:25] fortunate to have these relationships
that are built um that can help us and
[1:27:31] our case when these are all being
considered.
[1:27:38] » Further question or comment? Ready for
the motion?
[1:27:40] » Ready for a motion.
>> Uh, so I would move to approve the
[1:27:43] submission of the parks commission grant
application to Preservation Parks and to
[1:27:47] authorize Jason to execute and sign the
related necessary documents on behalf of
[1:27:52] the Harlem Township trustees.
>> Second move and second a roll call,
[1:27:57] please. Ashley.
>> Hi.
[1:27:59] » I thank you very much.
>> Thank you.
[1:28:02] » Great job, Dan. Thank you.
Um, I have a couple more bullet points
[1:28:06] and I but I'm going to skip a couple
things here. One, um, just to let you
[1:28:12] know, Lisa, that John H knows we have a
budget process that's got to unfold in
[1:28:19] October. We've talked about this and
we're going to work on that. Okay. And
[1:28:24] » it will be next year's budget,
>> 2027 budget.
[1:28:27] » Yeah, it's we were talking Yeah, we've
been talking about the the courts and
[1:28:30] that we were going to work it out. So
yeah, it's not. Yeah, we have
[1:28:33] » I just want you
>> Yes. I just want you to be aware that
[1:28:38] those gears are turning. Okay.
>> Secondly, uh we have talked about
[1:28:43] restroom facilities in the past and I
just want everyone to know that the
[1:28:48] maintenance department and John are
working on some courses of action that
[1:28:54] they're going to propose so that we get
a solution and we can move forward to
[1:29:00] meet this need. It's um it is a need
that must be met. And then Jason, I
[1:29:05] wondered if you wanted to talk about
cold water and H2O mitigation and the
[1:29:10] dish petition and all that good stuff
and then I'm done.
[1:29:15] » Good evening. Um last response with cold
water as you guys know here suggest is
[1:29:21] doing some internal investigations on
the parking lot and some open drainage
[1:29:25] and things of that nature which I did
get a chance to camera the drains of the
[1:29:29] parking lot. They are open. They all do
come from this far north end across the
[1:29:34] way. In our investigation, we found a
catch basin holding tank something over
[1:29:40] here outside of the firehouse parking
lot that really doesn't make sense to
[1:29:43] us. Long story short, there's a 12-in
pipe that comes in and there's a 10-in
[1:29:48] pipe that comes out 8 in above that
pipe. So, that basically means that
[1:29:51] vault has to fill and then backflow into
the parking lot to drain off.
[1:29:56] We have not got any resolve on why that
was put in that way yet, but I've been
[1:30:00] in talks with John here about what we
can possibly do to look forward and move
[1:30:04] forward on that route. And we've also
talked about the ditch petition process,
[1:30:08] which he listed that we are going to
move forward with and get that process
[1:30:12] started. That being that if if we can
come up with mitigation
[1:30:17] just west here of the park, then we
might take Realm on that one. But I know
[1:30:21] he's been working on that stamp, so I
don't want to speak in his place. and
[1:30:26] just trying to go through the processes
of what Cold Water had recommended that
[1:30:30] we kind of do ahead of time before we
make a real large commitment. But I will
[1:30:35] also comment that Bill and I did some
other investigations here at the parking
[1:30:40] lot and this parking lot fills with
water.
[1:30:43] 80% of that water is coming off the
surface of this field and it comes right
[1:30:47] over the edge into the catch basin that
feeds the parking lot drainage.
[1:30:52] So, we are going to plan on separating
that off-site catch basin from the
[1:30:58] parking lot itself to see if it will
slow water from getting to the parking
[1:31:02] lot and then put up some kind of
physical barrier around that catch base
[1:31:07] up on this north end to try to not
overfill the drainage of the parking
[1:31:13] lot.
>> Have you consulted with Cold Water on
[1:31:15] any of that?
>> We've we have spoke briefly and they
[1:31:18] they agree that that's that's kind of a
first step. Now, it won't be a whole
[1:31:21] large earth dam, which I think is the
ultimate goal, but if we can just
[1:31:27] alleviate some of the water coming into
the lot drainage system, then kind of
[1:31:32] see what happens. But ultimately,
ultimately the system of the parking
[1:31:36] lot's just being overrun by all the
surface water surface water off of all
[1:31:40] this field to the north. And then what
we discovered down here next to the
[1:31:44] road, which you know, we'll have to have
conversation with ODOT and and try to
[1:31:48] alleviate some of why why and how that
was put in because there's nothing
[1:31:52] really on plan other than vault was
installed, but I don't know who
[1:31:57] installed it, but it's still still in
the process. And then as I mentioned,
[1:32:02] John and I have been in discussion about
mitigation downstream of the the
[1:32:07] driveways and and looking to do some
resolve there.
[1:32:12] if you have anything else to offer.
>> Yeah, I can or follow up on that means.
[1:32:17] » Yeah, one one thing that uh and I think
Adam and I we had Trusty Holiday and I
[1:32:22] talked about was that we were kind of on
the same wavelength uh and we we
[1:32:26] contacted uh legal counsel because some
of the water that's occurring here. the
[1:32:31] the the position I have is that if we do
potential um work on private property,
[1:32:39] if we get the permission of private
property owners to do some of this work
[1:32:43] based on what our engineers have said
that it's not a drainage issue, it's a
[1:32:48] protection of public property and if
based on what Cold Water said with a
[1:32:53] what a 10 or 25 year rain that this
building itself could be inundated
[1:32:59] inundated by water which means at that
point Chief O'Brien and his folks can't
[1:33:05] do their job. Um, you know, let alone us
and and I don't know what the um what
[1:33:11] what that would cause in terms of uh uh
run and response time where they would
[1:33:16] have to go, the damage that it would
cause to this building. And so, if
[1:33:20] there's a possibility to mitigate some
of this by working with some of the
[1:33:25] private property owners, um that is that
is one of the the steps that we're
[1:33:29] tracking. So, we're dual tracking this
with the ditch petition and the private
[1:33:33] property owners. And if we get uh thumbs
up from legal counsel that says that
[1:33:38] that we can do it because we are doing
it to protect and preserve public
[1:33:43] property, then then we will. So, with
your with your consent. So,
[1:33:47] » um can I ask so I I see two lines of
effort. Yes. The ditch petition and
[1:33:53] » immediate mitigation.
>> Yes.
[1:33:56] uh Cold Water presented a more strategic
plan and uh that was more area
[1:34:02] mitigation over the long haul that
required a study.
[1:34:05] » Yes.
>> And they asked for an investment on that
[1:34:08] study up front. Is it your intention to
work into the 27 budget the cost of that
[1:34:15] and get us going on that study or No,
>> that's that is your your call as a
[1:34:19] board. If if you want to work towards
that, then I I would agree. I obviously
[1:34:25] I would execute. So
>> well um so I'm interested in your uh are
[1:34:31] are you taking ownership of that
conceptually or is that as as a team do
[1:34:37] you think that's a good line of effort?
>> I I personally think as a team we're
[1:34:42] looking for the quickest resolve
>> to create results and if some of those
[1:34:47] results directly change what has
happened in the past,
[1:34:51] » right? Then then we we we kind of
change.
[1:34:54] » I don't think that you can I don't think
you can not not I don't think you cannot
[1:34:58] do your two two initial lines of effort.
Correct. You have to do the petition.
[1:35:03] You have to do the immediation.
>> Correct.
[1:35:05] » How committed are you to the third one?
The broader strategic plan.
[1:35:09] » I say we're committed on for future
developing this whole area.
[1:35:13] » Yeah. We we have to be because this
building at some point we've we have to
[1:35:18] look at that from a I think from my
perspective as a total facilities
[1:35:22] perspective.
>> Yes,
[1:35:24] » that's at some point. Yes, that
>> I would love to see this board make uh
[1:35:29] good long-term decisions even if they're
hard ones for this for this area. Y
[1:35:34] » and so if you John could think about
that budget-wise for 27
[1:35:39] » Y
>> because I think they wanted what $25,000
[1:35:42] » but then the beauty of that is they're
willing to help us write grants.
[1:35:46] » Yes.
>> Which I just I would hate to see us pass
[1:35:49] up that opportunity.
>> And I believe that number was before we
[1:35:53] had offered to do any of our exploration
in house was hammering the looking the
[1:35:58] maybe helping them do so samples stuff
like that. So I believe that number will
[1:36:01] come down.
>> Yeah. And I think the grants were over
[1:36:04] 300 grand. They were significant grants.
>> Sorry.
[1:36:08] » Now the whole the whole
[1:36:13] remediation was 350,000
and they were looking at potentially
[1:36:18] 300,000 potentially
>> and that was the largest possible
[1:36:22] project that could be added
>> and they share
[1:36:26] full
>> full everything. I would just want us to
[1:36:30] really keep our focus on that while
we're doing the other two. That's
[1:36:34] » agreed. Okay.
For sure.
[1:36:40] » Anything further, John Trainer?
>> All right, Bob. No, again as long I mean
[1:36:46] along the same lines, uh Brett was at
the uh commissioner's meeting last week
[1:36:53] and he thinks
that there's a good possibility some of
[1:36:58] this will be relieved through the you
know ditch petition.
[1:37:03] » Um but until some
>> until that happens Yeah.
[1:37:06] » initial, you know, assessments done,
they won't. And Jeff, Jeff, you know
[1:37:12] that Cold Waters in in Galina, so we're
we're we're keeping your residents
[1:37:17] employed.
[1:37:20] » They they've been great to work with, by
the way. Great people.
[1:37:24] » Yeah.
>> Bobby, you had one agenda item.
[1:37:27] » The only agenda item I had um
the sheriff's department has gotten
[1:37:35] permission
and contacted. They had to get approval
[1:37:39] from the county commissioners
uh to to spend money for an outside law
[1:37:45] firm and they have contacted that law
firm and are in discussion. John
[1:37:51] Scoutton who is the chief of staff will
be contacting if he hasn't already you
[1:37:58] to discuss that as far as
[1:38:06] » Okay.
Um, any other regular agenda items for
[1:38:11] the board about township staff? Any
anything else?
[1:38:18] » Ashley.
>> No, what I'm thinking is I did reach out
[1:38:23] to Delaware Foundation and I'm and I'm
waiting for a response, which is not
[1:38:28] atypical to get that thing closed. Okay.
>> Yeah. I'll let you know when I
[1:38:38] » just don't pay their next bill.
>> Well, they automatically do.
[1:38:44] » I'm only kidding. Only kidding.
>> What you got?
[1:38:48] » Yep. Uh we don't have anything else
other than uh there is uh the resolution
[1:38:52] for executive session. So, I'm
requesting that we have an executive
[1:38:56] session. Yes.
>> And very short. Very short.
[1:38:59] » I have that. And did you wanted Lisa to
attend that one as well?
[1:39:01] » Yes. Yes, sir.
>> So, before we motion that, I'll open the
[1:39:04] public comment floor one more time. Yes,
ma'am. Will you please come up to the
[1:39:08] mic, state your name and address?
[1:39:14] » Good evening. My name is Emma Marilles
Jones. My address is 175 South Sanduski
[1:39:21] Street, uh number 375 in Delaware. And I
am here today to uh someone mentioned
[1:39:28] the apathy of the community. I am here
to share with you that I am running for
[1:39:34] the Delaware Common Please Court judge
position that recently came up. It is a
[1:39:41] special election that very few people
know about. So, I am here to share that
[1:39:47] information with all of you. Um, my
background is uh this will be on the
[1:39:52] November ballot. My background is in um
I'm a public defender right now. So I've
[1:39:59] actually practiced in front of the judge
who was asked to resign and uh which
[1:40:04] created this opening. So um my you know
I've been practicing for 16 years. I
[1:40:11] worked in um as a guardian at lightam
representing abused neglected children.
[1:40:16] I represent the parents in those cases.
I also represent um criminal defendants
[1:40:22] and juvenile delinquents. So, I have
that background for the criminal law
[1:40:27] side, but I'm also um prior to going to
law school, I worked in human resources,
[1:40:32] banking, and uh worked for several um
real estate developers. And what I would
[1:40:38] assume it's of a particular interest to
this board is that I have worked I have
[1:40:43] done a little zoning. I have um done a
little farm law and I have also done a
[1:40:49] little oil and gas. So I believe that a
growing township like as I know Harlem
[1:40:55] to be dealing with all these different
um issues between the real estate and
[1:41:00] the population growth um those things
may be of interest that I have that
[1:41:04] background. So I just um again I went to
law school at Case Western Reserve
[1:41:10] School of Law but I also have an MBA in
finance and uh which also helps for the
[1:41:16] civil side and uh I went to Brown
University for my undergrad. So I just
[1:41:21] wanted to introduce myself again. My
name is Emma Mirrorless Jones and I will
[1:41:25] be on the ballot in November. Thank you.
>> Thank you Emma.
[1:41:29] » Thank you.
>> Any further public comment?
[1:41:34] All right. With that, I'll accept a
motion for executive session for whoever
[1:41:38] wants to make it.
>> I don't make
[1:41:43] » go for it. I move to go into executive
session at 8:12 p.m. to consider the
[1:41:50] appointment, employment, dismissal,
discipline, promotion, demotion, or
[1:41:53] compensation of a public employee or
official or the investigation of charges
[1:41:58] or complaints against the public
employee, official, lency, or regulated
[1:42:02] individual unless the employee official,
lency, or regulated individual requests
[1:42:07] a public hearing by division G1 of
section 121.22 22 of the OC
[1:42:14] second.
>> Adding invitees Lisa Hersy and John
[1:42:18] Pritchard into the meeting.
>> Indeed.
[1:42:21] » Motion and second. Roll call, please.
Ashley. I I
[1:42:26] carries. We're in executive s.