The Marysville City Council met Monday and gave final approval to an ordinance creating a C-1A and C-2A zoning designation, which would allow residential occupancy of first floor properties for that area south of the alley, in the blocks on the south side of Broadway. The approval followed recommendation of the Planning and Zoning Committee, which had drafted the proposal, and held a public hearing. Chair David Richardson noted that the Chamber of Commerce and Main Street organizations had cautioned that the area would be considered under a community development study, but that process could take several years. The designation would not change residency options on Broadway, which will remain confined to upper floors only. Councilman Jason Barnes expressed concern with no process of approval for determining what type of building structures could be built downtown. He voted no as the ordinance passed 7-1.
Approval was given to grandfather requests for $2,500 toward recent demolition of a house at 306 N. 8th Street by Dave Blumer, and a $1,000 request for construction of a new home at 707 N. 3rd by Josh Blumer, under guidelines of an incentive passed by the council recently incentivizing demolition of outdated, and construction of new housing in existing older neighborhoods. The mayor noted that these were examples of what the measure was intended to accomplish but did caution that any future requests should be submitted through the city application process before work is started.
A compromise agreement with Marysville Township for fire protection, at an annual cost of $22,000 was approved. Township board members had understood in July that the contract would be $21,000, and a $23,000 request from the city in November came after the mill levy had been set. Council member Bobbi Pippia argued that they had bargained in good faith, and that faith had been lost. She and Todd Frye voted no in the 6-2 decision.
Low bid of Inline Construction was accepted for demolition of properties at 1210 May, and 308 May Streets which have not been brought up to city standards, after multiple notifications. The costs will be billed to the property owners. Inline also was the low bid approved for construction of a salt shed, at a cost of $34,500. A fabric roof, with steel structure at a cost of $13,000 will be installed with a 15-year warranty, and 25-year expected life. The public is reminded that several mature oak trees that will be removed for the project are available at no cost to anyone interested in removing them.
A cost of living raise of 40 cents per hour for all full time employees was approved, with 20 cents per hour for seasonal and part time. The merit raise incentive program will also be extended for next year. City Administrator Austin St. John was given approval to hire an additional full time employee for the water/sewage department.
Council consensus was sought on a recommendation of the Airport Advisory Committee as to updating the priority list for future projects. Focus on widening the existing runway to accommodate larger planes was considered ahead of a plan to improve taxiways to the hangars.
Long term plans for city street improvements were also discussed. Consensus at a recent workshop was to explore a bond issue that would allow improvement of some 16 blocks to concrete. Concrete was chosen over asphalt, with longer life expectancy. Kevin Throm expressed reserve, preferring instead to focus on several blocks each year as funding allowed, rather than a large project one year, and nothing the next three or four years. The City Administrator will bring an engineering estimate to the next meeting but will wait on going out for bids at this time. Council member Darlene Boss remained in favor of a larger package of improvements that could allow for monies saved with cost efficiency. She indicated that she would at least like to see and compare the numbers.
The City Attorney weighed in on a recent request for construction of a small cell tower within city limits, cautioning that any blanket prohibition could be challenged by state and federal statutes guiding placement of cell towers. Council members were concerned with the initial location at Feldhausen Field, and also had expressed reservation with location in residential areas.
