Plain City Council spent its first meeting of the year planning for the future.
During council’s work session Wednesday, members set their goals for 2023 and were appointed to their committee assignments for the year.
Council reviewed its 2022 goals as a starting point to develop its goals for the upcoming calendar. Some remained the same, others were adjusted based on progress and a few were marked as completed.
2022 Council President Michael Terry said he feels their goal to make continued progress on the Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade and 208 Plan should simply be adjusted to replace the latter with the creation of a regional water and sewer district.
Plain City and Madison County filed a petition in October to create the Mid-Ohio Regional Water and Sewer District. It has not yet been heard in court.
Council also adjusted a 2022 goal regarding parks and recreation for 2023 to know the future of Pastime Park by mid-year.
“This is a real hot potato in Plain City,” Council member Frank Reed said.
Terry said he feels that council cannot consider the goal met until members make a decision – even if it is to keep the park as it is. He said council will task the Parks and Recreation Committee with presenting a vision for Pastime Park to council in the spring.
Council left in place its 2022 goal to complete the Uptown redesign plan, as Village Administrator Haley Lupton plans to present on the matter in the near future.
Likewise, the group kept its goals to complete a village connectivity study in 2023 and complete a Heritage Trail feasibility study.
Lupton said she feels the connectivity study could be completed by the end of the year. However, although the village received funding to complete a study surrounding the Heritage Trail, Lupton said officials are still coordinating with MetroParks to ensure the village’s efforts do not overlap with theirs.
Council also retained a goal to revitalize the Plain City events calendar.
Lupton noted that a detailed calendar will be integrated into the village’s website redesign, which is currently underway. She said she feels the goal will be achieved “in the next couple of months.”
Council removed one 2022 goal: completing a branding initiative. Late last year, village officials began to roll out a new Plain City logo and associated branding.
The group also added a number of objectives, although they may not be top priority goals in the upcoming year.
They include: developing and implementing phases three and four of the Uptown streetscape plan; completing the zoning code rewrite, which is currently underway; creating ordinances surrounding housing, specifically the regulation of short-term rentals like Airbnb and Vrbo; and improved file storage and accessibility.
Terry said council will “wordsmith” the goals before finalizing a list to reference throughout the upcoming year.
Although Terry led through the work session Wednesday, council members began the meeting by unanimously electing James Sintz as council president for 2023. Terry was also nominated but declined the nomination after discussion with Sintz.
Mayor Jody Carney recommended appointments to committees for each council member.
She said she feels Council member John Rucker, who was previously a member of the Design Review Board (DRB), should serve on the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Council member Jim Eudaily was recommended to serve on the DRB, as Carney noted his experience as an engineer.
Similarly, she recommended Terry serve on the Personnel and Finance/CIP Committee due to his accounting background.
Carney recommended Reed for the Parks and Recreation Committee, on which he served in 2022.
Sintz was also recommended to continue serving on the Marketing and Communications Committee. He spearheaded the formation of the new committee in 2022 and continues to help create content for it.
Although Carney originally suggested Sintz continue to act as the Fire District Council Representative, Rucker agreed to take on the role once Sintz was elected president.
Carney also explained that she plans to appoint Council member Kerri Ferguson to serve on the Economic Development Committee.
She said Development Manager Jason Stanford asked Carney to wait to make the official appointment until the new committee is formally created.
Lupton said Stanford plans to attend a council meeting in February to share economic development updates, along with a framework for the committee.
Rucker said he feels Ferguson is the right choice to help lead the committee, as he said she has taken a strong interest in economic development since her previous tenure on council. Carney added that, as a small business owner, she feels Ferguson will be a “strong leader” for the group.