Public opening was shelved by pandemic
Plain City Council is ready to share the village’s new municipal building with the public.
Village administration met during Wednesday’s work session in-person for the first time since declaring a state of emergency at the start of the pandemic. The meeting was also the first publicly held in the new municipal building at 800 Village Blvd.
Village Administrator Nathan Cahall said an open house for the building was planned approximately 13 months ago, but stay at home orders were mandated the week before invitations were slated to be sent.
Though delayed, Mayor Jody Carney said the event could now wrap nicely into a celebration of the passage of the charter.
She proposed hosting an open house at the municipal building on Thursday, July 1, followed by a “first Friday” Uptown event on July 2.
Council member Michael Terry noted that the group previously discussed signing a proclamation honoring the charter commission’s contributions to Plain City.
Fellow member Shannon Pine recommended council introduce the proclamation during the June 28 meeting, which would kick off the “Charter Week” celebrations.
She added that, though the public has been unable to do so yet, the large room in the municipal building will be available to rent in the future.
Pine suggested council create rental rules and regulations, as well as a timeline as to when the room will be available to the public. She said a document with this information should be available at the open house.
Council member Lauren Giaimo said food trucks could also be invited to the municipal building parking lot during the time of the open house. She said this would draw more people to the event and provide an opportunity to support local businesses.
Carney supported each council member’s recommendations.
She said she will work to finalize details and timing before invitations are shared with the public.
Pastime Park speed limits
Council President John Rucker said he is concerned about drivers regularly exceeding the speed limit in certain areas of Pastime Park.
He said he has received specific complaints surrounding the driveway parallel to the fence line near Anderson Avenue. Rucker said the current speed bumps no longer seem to be deterring speeding.
“The speed bumps have degraded over time to where they’re just nubs now,” Rucker said.
He asked if it was possible to incorporate fortifying the speed bumps into the village’s street repaving project this year.
Village Administrator Nathan Cahall said there are also other options that would help alleviate the issue, at a lower cost.
Cahall said the village could eliminate the straightaway in that area, forcing drivers to take a “more circuitous” route by turning near the tennis courts. Then, the current driveway would be converted into a pedestrian walkway.
Otherwise, Cahall said speed cables could be installed. He said neighbors may not be in favor of this option, though, as it could become noisy if drivers constantly slow then rev their engines.
Both Police Chief Dale McKee and Parks Director Linda Granger said they are not in favor of removing the road.
McKee recommended adding gates to that roadway to block traffic after hours. Cahall said removable bollards could work as well.
Cahall said he will consult with McKee and Granger before presenting council with options at their next work session.
Potential lease of former administrative building
Cahall told council that staff was recently approached by two separate “commercial entities” interested in leasing the former administrative building, located at 213 S. Chillicothe Street.
He said one company is interested in a short-term, month-to-month lease.
The other would like a longer-term lease that would also provide the right of first refusal if the village decides to sell the property. This would be similar to the agreement made with McCoy Heating and Air Conditioning for the former police department property at 231 Friend Street.
Terry said “the type of industry is important,” adding that he would recommend the shorter lease unless the long-term lease is for “the type of development we want.”
Carney described the company seeking a long-term lease as a “unique retail” with “a lot of potential.”
Council members agreed they need to see more details about each proposal before making a recommendation to Cahall.
Uptown streetscape project
Cahall elaborated on a discussion from the most recent council meeting regarding the sidewalk project on Main Street from Chillicothe Street to the first alley.
Since the public right-of-way does not cover the entire width of the sidewalk, certain designs will require the permission of building owners.
The village’s first proposed design met opposition from one property owner, Eric Medici.
Now, Cahall said officials have three options; the first two require permission from Medici.
They could potentially move forward with the initial plans that would raise the width of the sidewalk a few inches and wrap it around the alley.
To alleviate Medici’s concerns that the sidewalk would negatively affect the brick face of the building, Cahall said a 4- to 6-inch gap would be left between the sidewalk and building then filled with a “permeable” material like pea gravel.
The second option entails replacing the sidewalk at the same elevation but adding a trench drain, covered by a grate, along the seam.
The last choice is nearly the same as the second, but would only replace sidewalk panels in the public right-of-way and leave those closest to the building as is. Cahall said it is the “least desirous” aesthetically, but the only option the village could pursue without Medici’s permission.
Medici said the option with the stop gap would be problematic for his tenants, as they place round-top tables on the sidewalk and chair legs could fall in the gap.
“There are many, many issues with this plan,” he said.
He said he offered to meet council members and engineers at the site but “nobody took me up on my offer.”
“This isn’t a ‘me’ issue, this is an entire Historical District issue,” Medici said.
Rucker and Carney asked that Cahall organize a meeting between them, individuals from the engineering firm and Medici at his property, preferably Monday afternoon, prior to the next council meeting.
The options will be further discussed at that meeting.