Plain City Council approved a recent resident request with the stipulation that it does not set a precedent for the future.
Council voted 4-1 to vacate the alley between 127 and 141 W. Main St., with Council member Frank Reed dissenting. Council member James Sintz was absent from the meeting.
Building owners Eric Medici and Mark Troyer sent a letter to council in late May requesting the village vacate the unnamed alley, which would shift the responsibility to maintain the area to the private owners.
“We’re very interested in getting things fixed there,” Medici told council at the meeting.
In the letter from Medici and Troyer, the owners indicate that they intend to complete snow removal and street maintenance “with zero cost to the village.”
Additionally, they wrote that there is a shared sewer line made of clay tiles that runs down the middle of the alley. Medici and Troyer wrote that they would like to replace it “with modern pipe.”
They also plan to regrade and repave the alley.
The “improper grading” results in water damage to the brick wall of the building on the east side of the alley, while the pavement poses an injury risk to employees, Medici and Troyer wrote.
Reed said he was initially opposed to vacating the alley but sees the benefits laid out in the requesting parties’ letter.
Still, he said “it’s starting also to look like a contract.”
Reed suggested creating a “formal agreement” that would require Medici and Troyer to complete the work detailed in their request.
“A quid pro quo makes this much more than a simple vacation,” Council member John Rucker responded.
Council President Michael Terry agreed.
He said he feels “pretty OK” with the request, as the property owners are motivated to maintain the alley for the sake of their own buildings and businesses.
“If they don’t do it, it’s to their own detriment,” Terry said.
Reed said he trusts that Medici and Troyer will appropriately maintain the alley but would feel more comfortable if the terms of the vacation were included in a contract.
Council member Jim Eudaily said adding stipulations goes beyond granting a vacation request.
“This is a land issue, not a business procedure,” Eudaily said.
Law Director Paul Lafayette echoed Eudaily’s statement. He said council could create a formal agreement with requirements if the group so desired, but that would result in a land transfer as opposed to a vacation.
While the vacation request was approved, Terry did emphasize disagreement with one point made by Medici and Troyer.
In their letter, the owners claimed “there has been precedent set directly across the street” following the village’s vacation of the alley between 128 and 138 W. Main St.
Terry agreed that both alley vacations would benefit the village and the community, but said that may not be so in other cases. He said council will continue to evaluate requests on a case-by-case basis, without being influenced by prior decisions.
In other business:
– Council unanimously approved a request to provide $1,650 from the “Community Support Fund” to Rock the Clock. The funding will be used for event stage rental.
In a memo to council, Village Administrator Haley Lupton recommended approving the request. She noted that the 2022 village budget includes $20,000 for the purpose of donating to events that support the local community.
The request from Rock the Clock, which is a 501(c)(3) organization according to the Internal Revenue Service, is the first community support request received by the village in 2022.
Terry suggested that a policy is developed that will outline how the funds are disbursed.
He suggested that the village administrator is authorized to approve requests under a certain dollar amount. Reed, on the other hand, said “every expenditure must be approved by council.”
Terry said discussion of a policy will appear on a future work session agenda.
– Council canceled the July 11 regular council meeting, as the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is hosting an information session and public hearing regarding the wastewater treatment plant expansion project at 6 p.m. that night. The meeting will be held at Tolles, 7877 U.S. 42.
Terry said the July 6 council work session will revolve around a review of progress toward 2022 council goals and a preliminary discussion of 2023 objectives. Any business that would have appeared on the July 11 agenda will come before council at work session instead.