Citizens speak out against proposed ordinances, 'turmoil' in city during city council meeting
Lead Summary
By
Caitlin Forsha-crforsha@gmail.com
Hillsboro city council members considered two new ordinances to amend the city zoning code and received feedback on proposed ordinances to repeal two existing boards, as the citizens’ comments item on the agenda took up approximately half of the meeting Monday night.
Several citizens addressed council, many of whom said they opposed the proposed ordinances to repeal the CIC and Design Review Board, as presented to council at their November meeting. Council members heard the second reading of the ordinances Monday night, but no action was taken, nor was there any discussion by council members following their reading.
Hillsboro Planning Commission member Tom Eichinger addressed council “as a citizen” to speak out against the proposed ordinances, particularly the one affecting the Design Review Board. His primary concern was that at their last meeting, council did not establish a plan for fulfilling the duties of the board if they approve its disbandment.
“I don’t want you to be throwing out the baby with the bathwater,” Eichinger said. “There is an ordinance on the books that identifies the Design Review Board and what it is to do. That’s not the only place it’s mentioned in our code. There are at least two other places, possibly three, where it is referenced. One in particular has to do with the approval or sign-off on the certificate of appropriateness.
“If the ordinance in front of you is approved, if that other stuff isn’t in place yet, you have created a no man’s land, which means that anything can happen in the historic district.”
Eichinger told council that they need to put “the other pieces in place” before enacting the legislation.
“My view is that we should not be putting this ordinance forward or taking action on it until all the other pieces are in place so that when the Design Review Board goes away, if that turns out to be the direction that you want to go, that all the other pieces are there and things can march on like they’re supposed to rather than having this gap,” Eichinger said.
President pro tempore Dick Donley responded that the issue is in committee and that a “follow-up meeting” will be held before the regular January council meeting, where council will hear the ordinances’ third reading. Donley served as president during Monday night’s meeting, as he said president Lee Koogler was “under the weather” and not in attendance.
Design Review Board member Mary Todd Hardeman briefly thanked Eichinger for his support and told council that requirements and applications are being added to the city’s website. Its lack of accessibility was one of the main criticisms of the three council members who introduced the ordinance (Tracy Aranyos, Claudia Klein and Ann Morris).
Another Hillsboro citizen, Paul Crouch, spoke about what he called “turmoil” in the city, and he criticized the proposed ordinances to disband the CIC and Design Review Board as “a shot across the balcony.”
“You guys need to get your house in order, and if you get it in order, then there’s probably no reason to repeal it,” Crouch said.
Crouch told council it was “time to straighten up and time to move on,” following the loss of the city’s safety and service director Todd Wilkin and Hillsboro police chief Todd Whited.
“We’ve lost some good people,” Crouch said. “I haven’t heard all the reports for tonight yet, so maybe there’s progress in this area, but my question is: who’s minding the store?
“I really appreciate Drew [Hastings] providing a vision for the city, and I think he needs to get back to that. There needs to be an apology on both sides, and move on. I think Drew does an excellent job of providing vision for the city, and I want him to get back to that, but we need someone else in the other chair, too.”
Hillsboro resident Richard Stiffler, who criticized the mayor in his comments to council, also spoke against the loss of Wilkin and Whited.
“We’re losing good people in this community,” Stiffler said. “Todd Wilkin, the [former] safety and service director, did a lot for this town. Chief Whited stepped down – which that was under his own terms, I understand that – but how many more people are we going to lose in this community?”
Crouch also said that he would like to see more community involvement and attendance at council meetings.
“I agree with you,” Donley told Crouch. “I think right now, our community is fractured a little bit.
“The community is still safe. We have a good police department. The personnel has changed occasionally, in one way or another, but those guys are dedicated to their job, and they’re going to maintain safety in the city.”
Donley said that for as long as he is on council, “I will do my utmost to see that the city progresses.”
“We are working on all of those things that you suggested,” Morris said to Crouch. “The vision is still there. Everything is still there. We’re all trying to work together and make the city the best it can be.”
“We have a lot of ideas,” Aranyos said. “We’re working on our budget, and there’s a lot of things we’ve got to get sorted out and situated before we can start on next year’s agenda, but everything you mentioned, we all agree with every bit of that.”
Donley said that he too wished more community members would attend council meetings.
“If they don’t become involved and they don’t bring their ideas and their concerns to us, I’m not a mindreader, and I can’t figure out what they would like,” Donley said. “It’s difficult for just seven people to sit up here and the administration and try to figure out what everybody in town wants.”
Council also heard an end-of-year update from Hillsboro Uptown Business Association president Joe Mahan at the conclusion of the citizens’ comments.
• • •
Two proposed ordinances to amend the zoning code were presented to council Monday, with both ordinances receiving their first reading.
The first ordinance is to amend Chapter 155 (Zoning Code) Section 155.006, Nonconforming Uses of the Ordinances of the City of Hillsboro.
For this section, the ordinance proposes completely revamping the current six-point code, which was passed in 1987. The new chapter would include sections on the continuation of nonconforming use; the continuation of nonconforming structure; the continuation of nonconforming accessory uses and structures; the maintenance, repair and structural safety of nonconforming structures; standards for the repair, maintenance, alterations and expansion of a nonconforming structure; moving a nonconforming structure; abandonment of nonconforming use; expansion of a nonconforming use; substitution of nonconforming use; expansion or substitution of nonconforming uses; revocation of expansion or substitution of nonconforming uses; and reconstruction of nonconforming use and structure.
A second ordinance was proposed to amend Chapter 155 (Zoning Code) Section 155.064 (Powers of Board of Appeals; Variances; Special Exceptions and the Like) of the Ordinances of the City of Hillsboro. For section 155.064 of the code, which was last amended in 2000, the current sections 1(a) and 1(b) are proposed to be deleted, as they also refer to nonconforming uses. The rest of the section would remain the same.
No discussion of the proposed ordinances was held during Monday night’s meeting, and they will be considered by the zoning committee at a later date, Donley said.
• • •
In his report, Hillsboro mayor Drew Hastings said that he plans to name an interim police chief “in the coming days,” following the police chief’s resignation last Monday. Whited’s resignation was effective Dec. 9.
“The process for hiring a new chief is under way,” Hastings said. “It’s not a cut and dry process, necessarily. We want to make sure that we go through all the protocol and that proper procedure is done.”
Hastings said that the police department and “city operations seem to be running smoothly.”
No replacement for Wilkin has been found yet, either, as Wilkin’s employment with the city ended effective Nov. 22.
“I have started the process for hiring a new safety and service director,” Hastings said. “I should have something to report by next meeting.”
The mayor also asked for council to remove the proposed ordinances to repeal the CIC and Design Review Board. Hastings told council during his report that uptown business owner Tom Clemens had been selected to fill the mayor’s unexpired term on the board following his resignation.
“Since any concerns that my presence on the board may have had with council are now alleviated by my resignation, I’d like to ask for the pending legislation for its repeal to be taken off the table,” Hastings said. “I’d also like to thank Justin Harsha for attending our last meeting. I think he got the chance to see a lot of Design Review Board’s business in action.”
Although council did not make a motion to remove the ordinances from the agenda, they did vote 7-0 to approve Clemens’ appointment to the Design Review Board.
Hastings reported that a recent wage negotiation with the Fraternal Order of Police was completed “in record time” and thanked “the police department’s bargaining unit for their cooperation.”
Hastings also thanked a number of local volunteers, including Morris, Deb Sansone, Mindy Gall, Alice Wilson, Shawn Adkins and the staff of Appearances Salon, who organized the decorations in the uptown area for Christmas.
“I think our town looks great,” Hastings said.
For the planning commission report, Hastings told council that the commission denied a request to detach 22 acres on Belfast Pike and granted a temporary variance for an East North Street property to remain a two-family unit. New members Jim Buck and Loy Lutton were introduced, and commission members also met with Liz Fields of the McBride Dale Clarion consulting firm regarding updates to the zoning code, Hastings said.
Hastings did not give a report for the safety and service director.
• • •
Donley reported that the finance committee is currently working on the city’s 2017 budget, holding a meeting on Dec. 6 as well as scheduling one for Tuesday, Dec. 13.
“We did a lot of work on it,” Donley said. “It’s still a work in progress.”
He also encouraged the public to attend the budget hearing Tuesday night.
• • •
Morris reported that the property maintenance and restoration committee met prior to Monday night’s council meeting to consider a request for a variance for Big Ernie’s Pizza to place four signs at their new South High Street location. Committee members voted 3-0 to approve the request for a variance, and council members granted the variance by a 7-0 vote during the regular council meeting.
• • •
In other action:
• Council voted 7-0 to approve a resolution to increase appropriations in the General Fund and to advance funds from the General Fund to other funds as needed.
• Council voted 7-0 to approve an additional one-month moratorium on water and sewer rates, for the fourth consecutive month.
• Council voted 7-0 to approve rules and regulations for the city income tax department.
In addition to the ordinances to repeal the CIC and Design Review Board, council heard the second reading of an ordinance to establish a charge to fund inflow and infiltration abatement in the sewer department.
Several citizens addressed council, many of whom said they opposed the proposed ordinances to repeal the CIC and Design Review Board, as presented to council at their November meeting. Council members heard the second reading of the ordinances Monday night, but no action was taken, nor was there any discussion by council members following their reading.
Hillsboro Planning Commission member Tom Eichinger addressed council “as a citizen” to speak out against the proposed ordinances, particularly the one affecting the Design Review Board. His primary concern was that at their last meeting, council did not establish a plan for fulfilling the duties of the board if they approve its disbandment.
“I don’t want you to be throwing out the baby with the bathwater,” Eichinger said. “There is an ordinance on the books that identifies the Design Review Board and what it is to do. That’s not the only place it’s mentioned in our code. There are at least two other places, possibly three, where it is referenced. One in particular has to do with the approval or sign-off on the certificate of appropriateness.
“If the ordinance in front of you is approved, if that other stuff isn’t in place yet, you have created a no man’s land, which means that anything can happen in the historic district.”
Eichinger told council that they need to put “the other pieces in place” before enacting the legislation.
“My view is that we should not be putting this ordinance forward or taking action on it until all the other pieces are in place so that when the Design Review Board goes away, if that turns out to be the direction that you want to go, that all the other pieces are there and things can march on like they’re supposed to rather than having this gap,” Eichinger said.
President pro tempore Dick Donley responded that the issue is in committee and that a “follow-up meeting” will be held before the regular January council meeting, where council will hear the ordinances’ third reading. Donley served as president during Monday night’s meeting, as he said president Lee Koogler was “under the weather” and not in attendance.
Design Review Board member Mary Todd Hardeman briefly thanked Eichinger for his support and told council that requirements and applications are being added to the city’s website. Its lack of accessibility was one of the main criticisms of the three council members who introduced the ordinance (Tracy Aranyos, Claudia Klein and Ann Morris).
Another Hillsboro citizen, Paul Crouch, spoke about what he called “turmoil” in the city, and he criticized the proposed ordinances to disband the CIC and Design Review Board as “a shot across the balcony.”
“You guys need to get your house in order, and if you get it in order, then there’s probably no reason to repeal it,” Crouch said.
Crouch told council it was “time to straighten up and time to move on,” following the loss of the city’s safety and service director Todd Wilkin and Hillsboro police chief Todd Whited.
“We’ve lost some good people,” Crouch said. “I haven’t heard all the reports for tonight yet, so maybe there’s progress in this area, but my question is: who’s minding the store?
“I really appreciate Drew [Hastings] providing a vision for the city, and I think he needs to get back to that. There needs to be an apology on both sides, and move on. I think Drew does an excellent job of providing vision for the city, and I want him to get back to that, but we need someone else in the other chair, too.”
Hillsboro resident Richard Stiffler, who criticized the mayor in his comments to council, also spoke against the loss of Wilkin and Whited.
“We’re losing good people in this community,” Stiffler said. “Todd Wilkin, the [former] safety and service director, did a lot for this town. Chief Whited stepped down – which that was under his own terms, I understand that – but how many more people are we going to lose in this community?”
Crouch also said that he would like to see more community involvement and attendance at council meetings.
“I agree with you,” Donley told Crouch. “I think right now, our community is fractured a little bit.
“The community is still safe. We have a good police department. The personnel has changed occasionally, in one way or another, but those guys are dedicated to their job, and they’re going to maintain safety in the city.”
Donley said that for as long as he is on council, “I will do my utmost to see that the city progresses.”
“We are working on all of those things that you suggested,” Morris said to Crouch. “The vision is still there. Everything is still there. We’re all trying to work together and make the city the best it can be.”
“We have a lot of ideas,” Aranyos said. “We’re working on our budget, and there’s a lot of things we’ve got to get sorted out and situated before we can start on next year’s agenda, but everything you mentioned, we all agree with every bit of that.”
Donley said that he too wished more community members would attend council meetings.
“If they don’t become involved and they don’t bring their ideas and their concerns to us, I’m not a mindreader, and I can’t figure out what they would like,” Donley said. “It’s difficult for just seven people to sit up here and the administration and try to figure out what everybody in town wants.”
Council also heard an end-of-year update from Hillsboro Uptown Business Association president Joe Mahan at the conclusion of the citizens’ comments.
• • •
Two proposed ordinances to amend the zoning code were presented to council Monday, with both ordinances receiving their first reading.
The first ordinance is to amend Chapter 155 (Zoning Code) Section 155.006, Nonconforming Uses of the Ordinances of the City of Hillsboro.
For this section, the ordinance proposes completely revamping the current six-point code, which was passed in 1987. The new chapter would include sections on the continuation of nonconforming use; the continuation of nonconforming structure; the continuation of nonconforming accessory uses and structures; the maintenance, repair and structural safety of nonconforming structures; standards for the repair, maintenance, alterations and expansion of a nonconforming structure; moving a nonconforming structure; abandonment of nonconforming use; expansion of a nonconforming use; substitution of nonconforming use; expansion or substitution of nonconforming uses; revocation of expansion or substitution of nonconforming uses; and reconstruction of nonconforming use and structure.
A second ordinance was proposed to amend Chapter 155 (Zoning Code) Section 155.064 (Powers of Board of Appeals; Variances; Special Exceptions and the Like) of the Ordinances of the City of Hillsboro. For section 155.064 of the code, which was last amended in 2000, the current sections 1(a) and 1(b) are proposed to be deleted, as they also refer to nonconforming uses. The rest of the section would remain the same.
No discussion of the proposed ordinances was held during Monday night’s meeting, and they will be considered by the zoning committee at a later date, Donley said.
• • •
In his report, Hillsboro mayor Drew Hastings said that he plans to name an interim police chief “in the coming days,” following the police chief’s resignation last Monday. Whited’s resignation was effective Dec. 9.
“The process for hiring a new chief is under way,” Hastings said. “It’s not a cut and dry process, necessarily. We want to make sure that we go through all the protocol and that proper procedure is done.”
Hastings said that the police department and “city operations seem to be running smoothly.”
No replacement for Wilkin has been found yet, either, as Wilkin’s employment with the city ended effective Nov. 22.
“I have started the process for hiring a new safety and service director,” Hastings said. “I should have something to report by next meeting.”
The mayor also asked for council to remove the proposed ordinances to repeal the CIC and Design Review Board. Hastings told council during his report that uptown business owner Tom Clemens had been selected to fill the mayor’s unexpired term on the board following his resignation.
“Since any concerns that my presence on the board may have had with council are now alleviated by my resignation, I’d like to ask for the pending legislation for its repeal to be taken off the table,” Hastings said. “I’d also like to thank Justin Harsha for attending our last meeting. I think he got the chance to see a lot of Design Review Board’s business in action.”
Although council did not make a motion to remove the ordinances from the agenda, they did vote 7-0 to approve Clemens’ appointment to the Design Review Board.
Hastings reported that a recent wage negotiation with the Fraternal Order of Police was completed “in record time” and thanked “the police department’s bargaining unit for their cooperation.”
Hastings also thanked a number of local volunteers, including Morris, Deb Sansone, Mindy Gall, Alice Wilson, Shawn Adkins and the staff of Appearances Salon, who organized the decorations in the uptown area for Christmas.
“I think our town looks great,” Hastings said.
For the planning commission report, Hastings told council that the commission denied a request to detach 22 acres on Belfast Pike and granted a temporary variance for an East North Street property to remain a two-family unit. New members Jim Buck and Loy Lutton were introduced, and commission members also met with Liz Fields of the McBride Dale Clarion consulting firm regarding updates to the zoning code, Hastings said.
Hastings did not give a report for the safety and service director.
• • •
Donley reported that the finance committee is currently working on the city’s 2017 budget, holding a meeting on Dec. 6 as well as scheduling one for Tuesday, Dec. 13.
“We did a lot of work on it,” Donley said. “It’s still a work in progress.”
He also encouraged the public to attend the budget hearing Tuesday night.
• • •
Morris reported that the property maintenance and restoration committee met prior to Monday night’s council meeting to consider a request for a variance for Big Ernie’s Pizza to place four signs at their new South High Street location. Committee members voted 3-0 to approve the request for a variance, and council members granted the variance by a 7-0 vote during the regular council meeting.
• • •
In other action:
• Council voted 7-0 to approve a resolution to increase appropriations in the General Fund and to advance funds from the General Fund to other funds as needed.
• Council voted 7-0 to approve an additional one-month moratorium on water and sewer rates, for the fourth consecutive month.
• Council voted 7-0 to approve rules and regulations for the city income tax department.
In addition to the ordinances to repeal the CIC and Design Review Board, council heard the second reading of an ordinance to establish a charge to fund inflow and infiltration abatement in the sewer department.