A rendering of a potential design for Uptown Plain City from OHM Advisors is shown above. The planning and engineering firm will create a master plan for the overall design of the Uptown district. (Graphic submitted)
With work underway on the Uptown streetscape, Plain City Council is looking toward future improvements in the area.
Village Administrator Haley Lupton spoke to council during Wednesday’s work session about design plans for the Uptown district.
Lupton said Village Planner Taylor Brill received a project proposal from OHM Advisors, an engineering and planning firm, for an Uptown master plan. Though the plan was originally received in May 2020, Lupton said representatives from OHM confirmed that the plan is still up-to-date.
Lupton said funds have already been allocated in the 2022 budget to complete an overall, “high-level design” of the Uptown. Doing so would cost $38,000, she said.
The design from OHM Advisors would “give council a better idea of future projects” and provide visualizations and cost estimates, Lupton said.
The firm’s proposal includes five phases, labeled as: investigation, inform, invent, implement and ignite.
Lupton said staff would like council’s consent to give OHM the green light to proceed with phase two of their plan.
According to the proposal from OHM, phase two includes a series of stakeholder interviews and a preliminary market assessment.
OHM will conduct up to three one-hour meetings with “an assemblage of citizens, business leaders and appointed/elected officials.”
The firm will also create and host an online community survey that will be sent through “existing community outlets” like email lists or the chamber of commerce.
OHM will also design community pop-up events, which the firm describes as “mini on-the-go public meetings” intended to connect with residents “at everyday locations” such as breweries and coffee shops.
Deliverables from phase two include a memorandum summarizing the outcomes of the stakeholder interviews.
Council member Shannon Pine noted that OHM Advisors is also completing Plain City’s design code update, which is currently underway, and said she feels they are doing a good job.
She noted that creating a design for the Uptown district is a part of the village’s comprehensive plan, so she feels doing so is important.
Fellow Council members Michael Terry and Frank Reed said they were also in favor of moving forward with the design plans.
Other members of the board joined in consensus, though no vote was taken because the cost of the project falls within the administrator’s authority to take action (under $50,000).
Lupton also provided an update surrounding branding for the village.
She said staff’s goal is to complete new branding for Plain City during the first half of 2022. A Request for Proposals would include a new logo as well as branding for village communications and social media, Lupton said.
From there, she said staff hopes to finish a redesign of the village website in the second half of 2022 using the new branding.
Council agreed with the timeline she presented.
In other business:
– Mayor Jody Carney provided an update from the Village Administrator Search Committee, which she sits on.
She said the group met on Dec. 2 in a public meeting and hopes to meet bi-weekly, though some schedule changes may occur over the holidays.
At their recent meeting, Carney said the committee identified three consulting firms that could guide the search for a new administrator.
She said members will interview representatives from each firm over the coming weeks, with the intent of selecting a firm at a Dec. 16 meeting.
Former Village Administrator Nathan Cahall resigned from his position in November. Management Analyst Haley Lupton has been filling the role in the interim, though council intends to conduct a comprehensive search to fill the role more permanently.
– Council continued a discussion surrounding the potential combination of the Board of Zoning Appeals and the planning and zoning commission.
At the Nov. 23 meeting council meeting, Carney proposed merging the two in light of constant turnover on both boards. She and Brill said they also feel consolidating the boards could streamline the zoning process.
Opinions remained varied among council members.
Terry said he feels “queasy” about combining a quasi-judicial board – BZA – with a quasi-legislative board – planning and zoning. Reed agreed.
Pine, though, said she feels it is a good time to try combining the two since the new board can be written into the zoning code, which is currently being updated.
“I think we should try it,” she said.
No decision was made Wednesday, as council said they would continue the discussion before board and commission appointments are made in January.