Following a mid-year review, Plain City Council members said they have made significant progress on their annual goals but may need to tweak some of them.
Council dedicated its July work session to reviewing 2022 goals and brainstorming preliminary goals for next year.
Council President Michael Terry called it “basically a hold-ourselves-accountable discussion.”
The group marked several of their objectives as “completed,” including hiring a new village administrator and creating a communication and technology committee.
The top-priority goal for the year was hiring an administrator by May 31. Following an extensive search led by a consultant, council hired interim Administrator Haley Lupton to the position approximately a week before their deadline.
Council also created a Marketing and Communications Advisory Committee, although the group did not hold its first meeting before the desired deadline at the end of March.
Moving forward, Terry tasked the committee, which is led by Council member James Sintz, with creating a list of goals for itself.
Two council goals were also considered by the group as in progress or partially complete.
Council members noted that progress is being made toward the wastewater treatment plant expansion, as the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting a public hearing on July 11.
Additionally, council agreed that the goal of “substantial completion of the Uptown Redesign Plan by June 2022” could be checked off the list.
Lupton said staff has a meeting scheduled with the consultant for the project in July, and she anticipates the plan to be completed by August or September.
Council also decided to rewrite two goals, which Terry said may have been too “aspirational.”
The first revolved around continued progress made toward the “next steps” listed in the Village of Plain City Comprehensive Plan. Council set a goal of reviewing the comp plan in April, which would have been followed by a town hall public meeting.
Smaller objectives stemming from this goal included: beginning a vision plan for parks, developing a plan to increase connectivity, starting a study of U.S. 42 and completing a zoning code and map update.
“It’s almost too big to do,” Terry said, suggesting narrowing the goal to something more attainable in 2022.
Sintz recommended beginning by creating a vision for the future of parks in the village, including the use of existing park land and acquisition of green space.
Based on that, Terry said council would ask the Parks and Recreation Committee to present council with a vision plan by the end of the year.
From there, he suggested considering hiring a consultant in 2023 to complete a study surrounding connectivity.
Terry’s fellow council members agreed with the need to work toward better connectivity.
Council member Jim Eudaily noted that Plain City is “unique” in that “we have two main drags,” Main Street and U.S. 42.
He said he appreciates that the administration and staff have “done a lot with the Uptown” area in the past several years, but feels council also needs to look toward other areas.
Lupton said she anticipates an economic developer, a new position the village intends to fill in the short term, could complete a study of the U.S. 42 corridor in conjunction with the planning department.
Terry also said developing five-year and 10-year “vision plans” for the village is likely too broad of a goal to be completed in 2022.
However, Lupton noted that the Marketing and Communication Advisory Committee began holding focus groups with residents to zero in on a vision for the future.
Council members agreed with Terry’s suggestion to alter the goal to revolve around a branding initiative, which will eventually be used to develop larger vision plans.
In other business:
– During a special meeting held for legislative purposes after the work session, council unanimously two resolutions to award the contract for the Pastime Park sports court reconstruction to Buckeye Fence Builders and authorizing the sale of impounded vehicles.