City discusses upcoming budget, honors foreign exchange students
Hillsboro City Council members continued discussions of proposed zoning and annexation changes and previewed the 2016 budget during their October meeting, Tuesday night.
The meeting was moved from its regular Monday evening time due to the Columbus Day holiday.
Hillsboro mayor Drew Hastings told council members of the “difficult week for the city” last week, as a city employee lost his 3-year-old son in an accident, and a contractor was also injured in an accident while working on a city project and later passed away.
“If ever I had firsthand experience to see that the city and its employees are definitely a family, it was last week,” Hastings said.
Hastings thanked water/sewer maintenance department head Shawn Adkins, who was “one of the first people around on the scene for both of those incidents.”
“We really appreciate him being there for both families,” Hastings said.
Hastings also went into further detail on the proposed subsidized housing facility in the city as mentioned in the zoning and annexation committee meeting (see: http://highlandcountypress.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=73&ArticleID=29802).
“The developers said ‘good news … Hillsboro is very eligible for another subsidized housing project,” Hastings said. “My first thought in the back of my head was ‘well, that isn’t something we really want to score well in.’”
Hastings said the developers’ proposal includes a “two- to three-story” facility with multi-bedroom housing units inside.
“I think they understand that it would not be in the best interest for safety issues, either, that that be a site for subsidized housing in the city,” Hastings said.
Hastings also informed council of a new program through AEP. According to Hastings, residents have been notified that the utility company wishes to treat “trees that they feel are an impediment to wires” with a substance that “slows down the growth of trees, and the leaves become smaller.”
“It alters the entire growth cycle of the tree,” Hastings said.
Hastings said he plans to meet with AEP to get more information on the project, but citizens who “have a concern for trees on your property might look into it” as well.
Hastings said that he has met with an Adena Health System representative regarding plans to open a primary care facility at the former urgent care on Roberts Lane.
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In the safety and service director’s report, Todd Wilkin told council that the administration hopes to present a draft of the 2016 budget at the November council meting.
Wilkin gave a preview of the proposed budget, outlining “several highlights” for council members:
• The city has “approximately $300,000 in new paving for next year,” not including grants, in the budget.
• The city plans to add another officer to the Hillsboro Police Department.
• The city has budgeted for additional park projects, including “another fish derby day out at Liberty Park.”
• The city will continue to “tear down dilapidated structures” in the city.
• The city has budgeted for the proposed new zoning laws.
• The Hillsboro Planning Commission’s sidewalk pilot program is also in next year’s budget.
Wilkin said the city will soon be announcing the date of the installation of the pedestrian bridge on North High Street, which will shut down traffic while it is built.
Wilkin also spoke of the recent accident on the city project and echoed Hastings’ thanks to Adkins.
“The North East Street project is still ongoing,” Wilkin said. “OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] is still investigating the accident but is allowing the work to continue.
“We’ve had to process a lot of emotions the past 10 days in the city.”
Wilkin announced Heather Collins is the city’s employee of the month.
“She’s a great asset to the city and to the city administration,” Wilkin said.
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Hastings reported that the Hillsboro Planning Commission met twice in September and discussed their priorities for ongoing projects, including sidewalks, map platting and park improvements.
The planning commission also heard from Margaret Van Frank, whose multi-family housing unit is zoned as Residential A.
“She has an interested buyer for this property, but any variance that allowed the multi-family house would be null and void after the property was transferred to a different owner,” Hastings said. “The buyer’s only interested in the property if it is a multi-unit home.”
Hastings said the planning commission scheduled a special meeting several days later to meet with Van Frank and do further research on the matter. Following an executive session, the commission voted to “grant a temporary permit that is allowed by ordinance 155.064 for a year.”
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The property maintenance and restoration committee met prior to the Tuesday night council and zoning and annexation committee meetings. Committee chair Ann Morris reported that the committee discussed changes to the sign ordinance.
According to Morris, the following issues were discussed:
• Billboards are already banned, and the language in the ordinance needs clarified.
• Yard arm signs were defined and approved at $25 apiece.
• Projecting signs were defined.
• The Design and Review Board verbiage needs removed.
• Signs “larger than 12 feet in area or electrified must go through the Building Department and will incur different fees and be subject to inspections.”
• Monument signs will be defined and reconsidered at a future meeting.
Once the committee has finalized all changes, they will be presented to council for review.
• • •
Council members approved three resolutions, each by a 3-0 vote:
• A resolution to increase appropriations in the CHIP - Rehab Fund by $231,555.
“The city was awarded a CHIP grant in 2014, awarded for fiscal year ’15,” Wilkin said. “This is just increasing the appropriations based upon the grant money the city was awarded to continue to move the CHIP program forward.”
• A resolution for participatory legislation for ODOT FY17 Small City Grant to widen a portion of High Street to improve traffic flow.
• A resolution for consent legislation for ODOT FY17 to add sidewalks to Hobart/Carl Smith Drive within corporation limits.
• • •
Four Hillsboro High School foreign exchange students were introduced and given plaques at the beginning of the council meeting.
Eli Rebecca Haugen, 17, of Norway; Jaime Carmona Sanchez, 17, of Spain; Chollatee “Bright” Sanguanlertruthai, 17, of Thailand; and Moises Carrillo, 17, of Mexico met with the mayor and discussed their interests and goals for their time in Ohio.
Hastings said that the city is “honored” to have the four students living in Hillsboro this year and gave each student a plaque.
HHS principal Jason Snively, who said he and his wife are also Carrillo’s host parents, also spoke about the program.
“We have a good tradition at Hillsboro High School of having quality students with us … and in my experience, we are very welcoming of outside individuals,” Snively said. “I think that’s something to be proud of as a city and as a school district.
“I think the four individuals here can help make us better, as we hope we can send something home with them as well.”
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Hillsboro resident Richard Stiffler asked council members if the city “might have plans with all the controversy that’s going on with Paint Creek Fire Department.”
“There are some issues that board is continuing to face,” council president Lee Koogler, who serves on Paint Creek’s board, said. “I know that the board is trying to look at everything very critically about how the department is going to continue to function and move forward in the future. I have no doubts from my meetings they are going to do everything they can to maintain a professional fire department and move it forward.”
“Do we have a backup plan if something happens?” Stiffler asked. “What if Paint Creek would shut down?”
“We’d have to face that hurdle when we got there, but right now we have a contract in place, and we have no reason to believe there’s going to be a breach of that agreement, so we’re going to expect it to be honored at this point,” Koogler said.