City Council - Regular Meeting

Good evening. Before we get started tonight, we have a special presentation, and I'm going to ask Nina Joshi and Darien and Andreas to come forward, along with Zach Weick, our Parks and Recreation Director. As most of you know, the Fourth of July is coming up, and we usually have a pretty good fireworks display here in Beaver Creek. And for the last 12 years, it's been because of these people right here. So they've done an outstanding job of providing the money to allow us to have fireworks. So at this time, I will let Zach come in here and show us this big piece of paper here. They've donated $30,000 this year for this, our fireworks.

second yeah thank you from the bottom of my heart and the city beaver creek is so fortunate uh to your family we you guys are truly incredible uh we could not put on the fourth of july celebration without all of your support um like mayor said 12 years is is incredible um thank you so much i know beaver creek means a lot to your family and we're glad to be able to do this and and your honor and and we hope to continue this for many more years so thank you so much

Thank you, we're very proud that we can do this. Our family's been here for 50 years and we had the opportunity to do this when we were in charge of UES and we're very lucky to be able to do this now that we are the private citizens again. Beaver Creek has done many things for us and we've always had a really good relationship and we are very happy to be able to give back, especially the 4th of July. It's an important celebration, and I know everybody in the community enjoys it. It's a great way to come together and be part of a community. So thank you as well for all your hard work.

And thank you again. And this is especially nice this year because it's our 250th anniversary of the United States, which is going to be a huge celebration. So thank you again very much. Good evening. And I'd like to call this meeting to order. Do I have a roll call, please?

Council Member Kern. Here. Council Member Dewar. Here. Council Member Bills. Here. Council Member Littoral. Here. Council Member Bezos. Here. Vice Mayor Upton. Mayor Adams.

Here. Do I have a motion? May I move to excuse Vice Mayor Upton?

Second.

I have a motion and a second to excuse Vice Mayor Upton. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Now, if you would all please stand and pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. You may stand just for a moment. Just with a little prayer and success. we thank you for the opportunity to gather in service of the residents of beaver creek grant us wisdom integrity and understanding to our council members and all who participate in tonight's meeting help us to listen respectfully work collaboratively and make decisions that promote the well-being safety and prosperity of our entire community guide our discussions with fairness and compassion and remind us of our shared responsibility to serve the common good of our whole community We ask for your blessing upon Beaver Creek, its families, businesses, first responders, and all who call this city home. Thank you. Amen. We have an agenda before us.

Move we approve the agenda, Your Honor. Second.

I have a motion and a second to approve the agenda. All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed? And then we have a couple of sets of minutes. June 8th, regular meeting. Any changes, corrections, additions?

Move to approve.

June 8th.

Second.

I have a motion and a second to approve the June 8th regular meeting minutes. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Abstention?

Abstain, Mayor.

And then we also have the June 15th work session. Any changes, corrections, updates?

Move to approve June 15th work session minutes.

Second. I have a motion and a second to approve the June 15th work session minutes. All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed? Thank you very much. First up, ordinances, resolutions, and PUDs. Ordinance 26-15 will remain tabled until next month. And now, ordinance 26-16.

ORDINANCE 26-16, AN ORDINANCE TO AUTHORIZE A SPEED LIMIT OF 35 MILES PER HOUR UPON ALL PORTIONS OF SHAKERTOWN ROAD AND TO AMEND ORDINANCE 80-50.

GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL. I'M HERE THIS EVENING TO DISCUSS THIS POTENTIAL SPEED LIMIT REDUCTION ON SHAKERTOWN ROAD. I CAME BEFORE YOU ALL IN MAY IN A WORK SESSION TO DISCUSS THIS, AND SO THIS IS THE ORDINANCE THAT I SAID I WOULD BE PRESENTING THIS MONTH. JUST AN OVERVIEW OF WHERE WE'RE LOOKING AT DOING THIS. WE'RE LOOKING AT REDUCING THE SPEED LIMIT ALONG ALL OF SHAKERTOWN ROAD WITHIN THE CITY LIMIT. SO THAT WOULD BE FROM THE WEST SIDE AT 835 COUNTY LINE ROAD ALL THE WAY OVER TO YELLOWBRICK ROAD, WHICH IS THAT FACTORY ROAD THERE ON THE EAST SIDE. Some things that we've seen with the speed limit with why we were coming forward tonight, we received several concerns about speeding from residents along this corridor. There's multiple driveways along the corridor as well, especially east of North Fairfield Road. Currently we have just some stuff that's out there right now to try to help with the traffic so people can see. We have radar speed limit signs at JL Drive. both east and westbound so people can see what their speed is actually there there is a slightly offset intersection at JL and Merrick currently that is proposed to be corrected with the widening project that's out there then the other thing we have is we have middle a middle school along this corridor with pedestrian traffic as well for school in other areas so Shaker Town Road speed limit. So there are some things I wanted to bring to your attention this evening. Section 4511.21 of the ORC specifies the speed limits for roadways within Ohio. The default speed limit with that ORC code is 35 miles an hour. City Council in 1980 elected to make it 40 miles an hour with Ordinance 8050. 4511.21 would not allow this road to be less than 35 miles an hour. Benefits with this, we have a reduced speed limit for 35 may help to allow safer movements on Shaker Town Road from side streets and driveways. It'll help to promote pedestrian movements along with existing and planned future facilities. It will help to reduce overall speeds in the corridor Reduce right away impacts for future and proposed improvements. If this speed limit is reduced, though, I do want to let you all know that we will be working with the police department for enforcement efforts as we'll see needed with that change. our recommendation this evening uh would be to adopt ordinance 26-16 to reduce the speed limit to 35 miles an hour along shaker town and we recommend council move this to a second reading so with that i will answer questions this is an ordinance so we will have a public input so if anyone would like to come and speak to this please come forward state your name and address and you'll have three minutes

Good evening, everyone. Bob Trout, 2187 Bassett Court. I just want to put some facts on the table. Changing from 40 miles an hour to 35 miles an hour, the variance of difference is changing it from 60 feet a second to 52.5. Basically, what you are doing is only reducing the time of travel for 100 yards from 5 seconds to 5.7 seconds. That is an insignificant amount of change to impact a huge amount of households in that area. You're talking a half a second difference in variance. Anybody wanting to come out of their driveways and everything will wait more than half a second no matter what. So that's just a question. And the other one is the fact that you're trying to make a change over 4.2 miles. That makes a change going from 40 miles an hour to 6 minutes and 17 seconds 6.17 minutes. At 35, it's 7.05. Again, that is very insignificant for the distance you're traveling. So I would encourage you to reconsider changing the speed limit. It's not that much of a benefit. to either the public, whether pedestrians or vehicle traffic. So like I said, that's just some issues. Those are just the numbers in there. And I do have a concern when it says in the statement that 35 miles an hour may help speeding. Folks, that's not going to help speeding. People are going to go 40 miles an hour regardless of what you say. If you're going to get a speeding ticket, What's the difference between one mile an hour over and nine miles an hour over? It's the same points value. So I don't think that's going to carry much weight or anything else like that. And I think you're imposing an awful lot of restrictions on the community by doing things like that, because that's a long stretch. There's not much on it.

Thank you. That's all I have.

Thank you very much. Anyone else?

Barry Hill, 658 Waverly Drive in Shackletown. I don't cheat. I live there. I watch it most of the time. Speed limit assigned, you might as well throw it in the trash. Because nobody pays no attention to it. They go through there sometimes 60 miles an hour. And I watch it about every day. So I don't know what you could do about it. I've seen one policeman pull somebody over, and that was today. And I've been living there 58 years. So that's just what I got to say about the spree list.

Thank you very much. Anyone else? Seeing none, I'll close the public portion of this and turn it over to council. Any input? Questions? Thoughts?

Your Honor, I'd move 26-16 to the second reading. Hang on. Let's see if we have any input.

I just had one question regarding the old ordinance. Thanks. Because the speed limit is statutory, supposed to be set at 35 without our ordinance, is it likely that we don't necessarily need to create a whole new ordinance for the speed limit and just strike ordinance 8550 or 8050 instead of creating a new ordinance for the speed limit?

Might be a question for Josh, but I'm sorry. Yeah, sorry. Yeah, Mr. Literal. I think to that, that ordinance has not just this um not just this roadway it also has other roadways that are could be statutory 35 but they are recommended as 40 in that ordinance as well so that's why we were coming to to you to amend that ordinance to take this street off of basically take this street off and put it back okay that's interesting to know i'd i'd love to don't need to see it right now but i'd love to see that list sure set some time thanks that's all i have okay

Well, I just have a comment that I think that this was a direct...

It's on.

This was a direct reaction from conversations we've had with neighbors about reducing the speed. So, I mean, I don't think there's... going to be significant decrease in speed, but I think that it's okay to decrease it from 40 to 35. But I just wanted to reiterate that this was a kind of a direct relationship between the conversations we have had and the actions that we're taking. And if I recall also, back in 1988, I may or may not have been pulled over for speeding on Shaker Town Road. But I'll leave it at that.

I think also, as was stated by Mr. Smith, is the police will be probably spending a little bit more time over there, especially with the changes if that happens.

And I think if it's a concern for the residents, there are fairly simple traffic calming mechanisms that can be put in place to make sure people go closer to 35. But If there's no major input either, as Councilman Bales mentioned, this is coming from the public to us, so I'm in support of it, but it does depend on the public, those that live on Shaker Town.

I think we've been pretty clear, too, about some targeted enforcement and that the police will have to be a little proactive to inform the residents of the changes and the motorists, I should say, of the changes.

Well, and I know part of my motivation in supporting it is the mention of the reduction of impact on houses should there be future improvements. I think it's a protection for those residents. So I think it's important.

Anything else?

Your Honor, I move 26-16 to the second reading. Second.

I have a motion and a second to move Ordinance 26-16 to a second reading. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? Ordinance 26-17.

Ordinance 26-17, an ordinance by the Beaver Creek City Council authorizing the special assessments to property owners for the 2025 sidewalk repair program pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 729.09.

Yes, good evening, Mayor, members of City Council. Staff is currently working on closing out the 2025 sidewalk program. One of the final steps in closing that out is the ordinance made before you tonight, which will allow for the assessment, special assessment of any unpaid sidewalk repair costs to the benefiting property owners.

And just to

Just to start out just a brief summary of the 2025 program. Primarily the work was on the south side of town in the Ashland Hills country park and grasses run neighborhoods. About 1300 square feet of sidewalk was replaced due to mainly to misaligned panels and trip hazards were the main focus to get repaired with that 1300 square feet. Once again, we get very, very good bid prices on the sidewalk repair costs, and that allows us to pass along those lower costs to the homeowners when we send out those invoices. A total of 49 properties were involved, and 31 have already paid in full for the work that was performed. So that leaves a total of 18 properties that are subject to the special assessment to collect those unpaid costs. In leading up to tonight, we had a legal ad published for three weeks in the paper just to notify the public that the list of assessments was available for public review. Whoever wanted to come in and see those, they were permitted to. They also have a period of time to submit any objections to those assessments. And to date, we have not received any objections to the proposed assessments. Again, we would propose a five-year period of time with the assessment to recoup those costs. And the average assessment is a little bit over $124. And you can see I kind of broke down there below. I apologize for the small type, but that's a summary of all the properties subject to the special assessment with the total assessment to the right. So if you divide that by five, obviously, it would be the yearly assessment. And with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions following the public hearing.

And this is an ordinance, so it would ask for public input. So if anyone would like to come and speak to this, please step forward, state your name and address. You'll have three minutes. Seeing none, I will close the public portion. Council, any input?

just say I voted no in the past and I'm going to remain consistent, but Mr. Moorman, I continue to commend you for your work in carrying out the project, but I'll be voting no.

I have a motion.

Motion to move ordinance 26-17 to a second reading. Second.

I have a motion and a second to move ordinance 26-17 to a second reading. All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed? Aye. Resolution 26-27.

Resolution 26-27, a resolution authorizing the city manager to enter into an agreement to conduct an audit of utility and telecom billings.

Mr. Graham, we haven't seen you for a while.

Good evening. Yes, I've been hiding.

This is less taxing. So this is a pretty simple agreement authorizing the city manager to enter into a contract with Spyglass to conduct an audit of the billings of our telecom and public and utilities, AES and such. THE LAST AUDIT WAS COMPLETED BY SPYGLASS IN 2015. TO MY KNOWLEDGE, WE HAVEN'T HAD ANYTHING DONE SINCE THEN. PROBABLY SOMETHING GOOD TO DO PERIODICALLY AS TECHNOLOGY CHANGES AND PROGRAMS CHANGE, MAKE SURE WE'RE SIGNED UP FOR THE APPROPRIATE THINGS. SO WHAT THEY'LL BE LOOKING FOR, OVERCHARGES WHERE WE'RE BEING CHARGED MORE THAN WHAT OUR CONTRACT STATES OR FOR SERVICES MAYBE THAT ARE NO LONGER EVEN NEEDED THAT WE'RE NOT UTILIZING AS A CITY. AND THEN THEY WILL ALSO ANALYZE THE BEST POSSIBLE RATES THAT OTHER, YOU KNOW, THEY DO THIS ACTUALLY NATIONWIDE. SO THEY GATHER RATE DATA AND THEY KNOW WHAT OTHER governments or public entities are paying for these utility rates and they can make sure that we're getting that best rate available. In terms of this was not a budgeted item, but it will require an appropriation potentially because we would pay them based on what savings we get. So for any refunds, they would get 50% of that refund. And then for any of the savings, they would get 12 months worth of that savings, where you would get the savings going forward. One other company that looked very comparable to what Spyglass does in terms of the completeness of the services they provide, their claim was between 12 months and 60 months on any of those savings, depending on what those savings were. um if we choose not to implement any of the cost saving programs that they suggest we don't pay anything it's they're not driving the bus it's not we identified this so now you have to pay us this amount of money it's only for those projects that we go forward with With that, I'm happy to answer any questions.

I have a couple of questions. Back in 2015, if you've done the research, do you know how much we were able to uncover and save, perhaps?

I believe it was right around $8,000 was what our bill was. So that would be roughly what one year. SAVINGS WOULD BE. I DIDN'T SEE ANY REFUNDS ON THAT INVOICE WHERE WE GOT, YOU KNOW, WE PAID 50% OF THAT. IT WAS PURELY THE SAVINGS GOING FORWARD.

And I don't mean this as an indictment of the finance department in any way, but when we get a monthly bill, aren't we reconciling that with a contract? And I guess, shouldn't we be doing this as we go along?

So as part of another project, I have been looking a little more in detail at some of the ADS billings. And what you see on the bill is just a summary of the information. YOU CAN REQUEST THE DATA FROM THEM OR YOU CAN GO ON THEIR WEBSITE AND LOOK. I'LL BE QUITE HONEST, I DON'T HAVE A CLUE WHAT THEIR BILL IS BECAUSE IT'S ALL BASED ON CODES. YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT, THEY'RE NOT WORDS THAT ARE EXPLAINING WHAT EACH CHARGE IS. IT'S LITERALLY THIS CODE, THAT CODE, AND A RATE. usage. I don't know how we would have the expertise to do that, which is probably why companies like Spyglass are able to find this niche. They have that expertise. They know what that bill is made up of.

Okay. That's interesting. Thank you.

The only other company that I saw, and believe me, if you Google it, you'll see a bunch of companies. Some of them are trying to sell you software that probably more along council member fails, gives you the ability to MORE CLOSELY ANALYZE YOUR OWN BILL. TELECOM PERFORMANCE AUDITS I THINK WAS THE OTHER ONE. THEY OFFERED BOTH THE TELECOM AND THE UTILITY BILLING SIMILAR TO WHAT SPYGLASS DOES. AND THEY WERE THE ONES THAT HAD THE 60 MONTH SAVINGS PAYBACK PERIOD VERSUS THE 12 MONTH THAT SPYGLASS HAS. And there were other, you know, CPA firms. You could hire a CPA firm that are advertising that they do this. A lot of what we're getting is the data that they're gathering. If you're just hiring a regular CPA firm to do this, if they don't have that mounds of data of what the normal billing rates are, then they can't really do that portion of the job that, okay, are they getting the best rate available?

How often do we do this?

I would probably suggest going forward every 10 years at a minimum, possibly every five. Depends on, you know, how technology is changing. What's going to happen, you know, let's use cell phones as a great example. You know, hey, we sold you this new product line. Well, I don't need your old product line, but they never take it off your billing. They're going to continue to bill that even though you really don't need that service because you've upgraded to this higher service that includes that.

I have another question. I'm thinking to be good stewards every five years would make, to me, it doesn't cost us anything. Right.

It makes sense. It's just a portion of the savings.

And so how far will they go back? How far back will they go? So they had talked generally three to five years. So it makes sense to do it every five years.

Especially if it doesn't cost us anything and if we can save some money because we have to be good stewards of the money that we get.

Absolutely.

And then as a follow-up, they will then, will they advocate on our behalf to get the money back?

Yeah, so that's part of the deal is they will work directly with, so what you're authorizing city manager Landrum to do is to enter into that agreement, not only that we're contracting with you, but we're authorizing you to acquire our data and fight our battles for us. Don't you?

I'll hire him at my house. Yeah, Pete. Get some of that money back.

I think I would look at, depending on how we vote here, I think I would look at five years rather than ten. I think that just makes more sense to me anyway. Especially once I only go back three to five years. If we go ten, we're going to miss out on some things. Do I have a motion?

Motion to approve Resolution 26-27. Second.

I have a motion and a second to approve Resolution 26-27. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed? That completes the agenda. Let's look at citizen comments. If you'd like to come and address council on any subject, please come forward, state your name and address, and you'll have three minutes.

Maggie Wynette, 3160 Shaker Town Road. I'm donating my time to Heather Harvey.

Before I get started, I have two packets of information for you. to the clerk Oh, I'm sorry, so if I'm a little out of sorts, that's why Okay, good evening mayor and City Council tonight. I'm going to address the packet Lord have mercy. You offered us and also provide you with the correct answers to questions you asked the engineers during last week's work session. Before I get into that, I'd like to say the following. It's obvious your opinions are that this project isn't a big deal because it is almost completely within the existing right of way. However, you should be capable of understanding our opinions that this project isn't at all what we had in mind when we purchased our homes. The look and feel of our homes will be entirely different. Yes, we always knew there was a possibility that the road would be widened, but we truly felt it would only ever happen if there was a real need for it, and that just isn't the case. How can you all support another group of citizens who came to you with concerns about the look and feel of their backyards, but not support us? Those people bought their homes knowing there was a possibility for single-family homes to be built, and you were doing everything you can to make that happen. Yet for us, there seems to be no sympathy, no support, no attempts to change the project. Instead, our project just keeps getting worse. We bought our homes never in a million years thinking we would have a 10-foot path in our front yards. Why is it so hard for you to understand our reservations? We are in the same predicament as that group. Widening the road alone is one thing, but doing that and adding a 10-foot path is totally different. And no, technically our property line isn't changing, but the fact is the road will be closer to our homes. In reference to the packet of answers, I'd like to receive feedback on the following. On page one, it clearly shows that local funding will be $967,500. Are you aware that the grant application was submitted indicating only $750,000 would come from local funds? In the PI meeting and press release, that number was $800,000. Did you all approve of this additional $200,000? If so, when? Since this is coming from levy money, doesn't the city have a right to know about it? Voting yes for street improvements might be a bit vague, and perhaps the city is unaware this money isn't just going to repaving roads, fixing sidewalks and curbs, but is actually being spent to widen roads that don't need it and construct shared use paths on residential properties. To clarify the right-of-way statements, I'd like to remind you all that grading and storm soil work will be constructed outside of the right-of-way. New grading and new swales are permanent changes to our property, so why are we only being compensated temporarily? Despite what the packet says, this was not properly communicated to us. It wasn't until late in the project that we even realized this was going to be done outside of the right-of-way because all we kept hearing was, not to worry, everything will be in the existing right-of-way. That's not the case. It was said that the sidewalks are connecting two businesses, which are actually churches, and that these users may use them to get to these facilities. May use them is hysterical because you're assuming that those of us who live there attend those churches. saying they use them as just about as ridiculous as assuming that I'd walk to Be Hope Church because that's where I go. Saying you are unsure where we got our numbers for property devaluation is also laughable. We consulted several realtors. It is a known fact that living on a main road reduces the value of your home by at least 10%, and bringing the road even closer to your home will only make that number worse. Also, the addition of sidewalks is supposed to add value to your home, not take it away. But we aren't getting a sidewalk, are we? Instead, we're getting a giant 10-foot path that nobody wants. We were told several times by the engineers that they received numerous favorable responses to the PI meeting comment forms. I'd like you to grab a magnifying glass and closely take a look at exhibit 10, because only one of those comments falls into the support for project bucket. And that guy lives way back in Terra, so he isn't even directly impacted by this project. It was pointed out that prior to stage three, they were already looking for areas to reduce project costs due to making Maxing out construction cap. Perhaps that is why the local fund portion has increased. And again, I'd like to ask why. I'd like to call out to your attention that ODOT and MVRPC used analysis data from two highly used regional trails in 2022 of average daily users of 192 and 272 to justify the necessity. We won't even have anywhere close to that in one year. Why didn't the city push back against this? Were attempts made to gather pedestrian counts on paths that already exist on this road? No. There is mention of a penalty from MVRPC and it being a permanent penalty. I've received verbal communication from MVRPC that that is not the case. During the citizens meeting at the senior center, one of you told me that the penalty would extend beyond that. That's not true. During the same meeting, I was told that it would make you all look bad to cancel our project and not others. To be fair, you have also said on more than one occasion that it isn't reasonable to compare projects with each other. So I'd like to follow that same principle here. this time i'd like to ask everyone here in opposition of this project to stand and remain standing i have permission to include 20 other property owners who could not make it this evening in this packet mr mormon said on more than one occasion that gary and i were the only ones not satisfied at the meetings and that the meetings were generally well received by everyone else other than us too i'd ask everyone who left a meeting satisfied to sit down now As you can see, we're all on the same page. No one left satisfied. You may be seated. Does the admission of errors in documenting the traffic counts make you scratch your head? It should. Even if they didn't catch it when they were making the PowerPoint, it should have been blatantly obvious during their presentation. The numbers they gave you are supposedly half of what they claim. Traffic counts need to be redone. You need to hire an engineering consultant firm like DLZ. I spoke with a representative from MH Corbin today who agrees that it's odd for the numbers to have doubled in one year's time. She said that four trackers need to be placed in each area, two in each lane, one for accurate vehicle numbers and the other for speed. How on earth can all other reputable sources show numbers that reflect traffic being cut in half over the past decade, but now all of a sudden your engineers claim to have obtained a new study which shows traffic to be at an all-time high? Make it make sense. Let's see. It was presented to you that this project would match up to existing things. It doesn't do that. It's taking an 8-foot path and matching it up to a 10-foot path. One of you suggested putting flexible pylons to reduce speed. So not only are we going to have a ginormous path in our front yards and flashing crosswalks, but we are going to have eyesores out there that make it look like a parking lot in our amusement park. This just keeps getting better and better. While I appreciate the effort and concerns to address the speeding, it really baffles me that you continue to push the issue onto law enforcement and instead are moving forward with the project without first correcting the only real issue on this road, which is speeding. You have documented evidence of speed of 75,000

We've reached your six minutes.

Sorry. I'm sorry. I don't know. I only have a little bit more.

I'm trying to hurry. Are you going to speak? No, I donate my time to you. Thank you. I live in New Dang, 3170 Shekertown Road. I would like to donate my time to Heather. Thank you. Oh, boy.

Mr. Mormon used North Fairfield to compare speeds not increasing after road widening. There are lights on that road, and speeding isn't an issue there. It's not apples to apples. Mr. Bales asked Nick about the safety of a center turn lane. Nick wasn't able to answer. to provide an actual answer to that question. Instead, he claimed that there were rear end accidents and it removes vehicles from congestion. I've reached back out to chief of police Lindsay and have documented proof that there have been zero rear end accidents. I'd be happy to share that data with you all. Someone asked about the distance from the barn to the road and it was reported to be 20 feet. I'm here to tell you that was a lie. The barn is in fact 13 and a half feet away from the road. You may ask Lisa who could not be here because the family emergency. Nobody ever said we were losing 800 trees. We've always said it was 103 trees. You now know that most of these trees are outside of the right-of-way, and they are not being replaced. This is unacceptable. People planted those trees on property that they own, not you, and you are taking them. This project is not benefiting the environment. We found out that one of the property owners is getting two trees in this ordeal. Why aren't all of the other trees being replaced? And that's all.

Thank you very much. And our prayers go out to your husband, hopefully for a quick recovery.

Hi, John Turner. I live at 791 Fausa Drive, Beaver Creek. Good evening, Mayor Adams, members of city council. I'm here tonight to discuss the Shaker Town Road project. As a retired Beaver Creek Police Department member and a longtime resident, I'm here regarding the proposed Shaker Town Road expansion. My years in public service taught me the importance of prioritizing our citizens' well-being. The current proposal requiring acquisition of residential front yards for an expanded roadway and sidewalk profoundly impacts homeowners. This encroachment on private property is an immense personal cost to families, and it's irreversible. While respecting the engineering department's work, I urge council to reconsider if this is truly the only or most equitable solution. Sacrificing residents' property and the quality of life for traffic flow demands careful reassessment. Can we achieve safety and efficiency through strategic intersections, advanced traffic calming, or by reevaluating the middle turn lane necessity? Creative engineering must balance infrastructure needs while safeguarding residential character and property rights. I strongly urge council to reconsider this project and seek other alternatives. Thank you for your time and for your commitment to Beaver Creek. I appreciate it.

Thank you.

Hello, Mr. Mayor and City Council. My name is Linda Dunkel. I live at 3040 Shaker Town Road. I am here speaking in opposition to the Shaker Town Road project, ID number 119964. This 6.5 mile project will include the following, from Carthage to Southern Bell, a third lane, an eight foot sidewalk on the south side, and a 10 foot sidewalk on the north side and involving drainage with curbs, gutters, and storm sewers. One of the published objectives of this project is to enhance roadway and pedestrian safety, which I will address as a non-issue with the following facts. And I presented you with the paperwork. I would like to present this Shaker Town crash data project from Chief Police Chad Lindsey that details crashes on Shaker Town Road between Carthage and Southern Bell. And that runs from January of 21 through 6-17 of 2026, nearly five and a half years. Here are the facts. 16 reported accidents, one not valid, no findings, and five deer strikes. So there were 10 actual accidents over the last five and a half years, or less than two per year. Furthermore, there were no pedestrian accidents over the same five and a half year period. In conclusion, there is obviously no need to enhance roadway pedestrian safety as none currently exists yet you mr. mayor and the council are allowing your engineering department to willingly waste nearly four million dollars of which nearly 1.5 million is from Beaver Creek's own funds for two-thirds of a mile of improvements that accomplish nothing there is no need for a third lane on Shaker Town from Carthage to Southern Bell. There is no need for sidewalks on Shaker Town Road from Carthage to Southern Bell. You, Mr. Mayor and City Council, cannot allow this waste of $4 million project to go through. I respectfully ask that every one of you decide to cancel this project effective immediately.

Thank you very much.

To the City Council, this is Bob Trout, 2187 Bassett Court. To the City Council, I have attended numerous meetings where the residents came up here. But the number that I saw was in the 30 or less each time. So to come out and say that the residents of that area came out and has indicated that they want a reduction in speed, you are taking a very small percentage of people that have made that comment and applying it to all residents on that 4.2 mile stretch. That is wrong. Flat out wrong. OK. I've said my piece on that. The other one is it continues to appall me that this council chases grant money and inflicts maximum amount of expense on the residents, also time and everything else like that, for something that is not needed. Don't chase grant money just for the sake of grant money if it's not going to return the benefit that we need, and this project for Shaker Town Road is not going to give us the benefit we're looking at. That is a flat-out wrong thing to do, and it is terrible that this council is voting for this sort of stuff. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Good evening. I'm here to speak in opposition of the Shaker Town project. I read the entire- State your name and address, please. Kevin Bechtel, 3000 Shaker Town Road. Been there 40 years. Read the entire report. It did not respond to my initial statements. a month ago about Shaker Town being at the narrowest from front of a house, front of a house, across the street. And then with the 10-foot sidewalk is going to put them right up in the front door. I've got my property has over 200 feet of frontage. So I got a 10-foot, 200-foot piece of sidewalk I got to take care of if it happens. I spoke to several realtors, and they all say that we're looking at another 10% to 15% decrease in property values because of this widening. We already have a 10% decrease through a busy road. And I want to yield the rest of my time to Pam, my neighbor, Pam Eklund.

I'm Pamela Eklund. I live at 2982 Shaker Town Road. Good evening mayor and council members. I have a new but related topic to address this evening and it is the Beaver Creek Thoroughfare Plan update of 2019. My husband and I found this on the city's website and downloaded it and read it. This plan was presented to council in both May and June of 2019, so perhaps you're familiar with it, were on council then, or have seen it since then. This plan appears to be the instrument which is guiding decisions on which roads in Beaver Creek get improved and when that happens. It designates which roads are considered expressways, principal, major, minor arteries, collectors, private roads, entrance and exit ramps, and local streets, based largely on their location, their purpose, and the volume of traffic. It's a very thorough and well thought out document. And this document itself instructs that the plan should be thought of as an evolving living document, which requires a five-year review to assess progress, take advantage of emerging opportunities, and reevaluate priorities as needed." That's a quote. The thoroughfare plan designates, oh, I'm sorry. The fact that this was the only version of this plan found on the website leads me to believe that it was not reviewed five years afterwards in 2014. If it was, I guess that was not made available to the public. This plan designates Shaker Town as a minor artery and suggests in the MVRPC long-range plan that the entire four miles from county line to factory should be widened to three lanes. And the stated timeline for that was 2031 to 2035. So why is this happening now, this project? And I'm guessing it may come down to money. City officials have been successful in applying for grants and securing state and federal money to help fund projects. Which is a smart way to stretch taxpayer dollars, but as we've learned when they give you money you have to play by their rules. So we residents said only one side path please and only eight feet wide please and that request was submitted by our city engineers who were then told by ODOT and or MVRPC, we're not sure which, we've heard both. that you asked for money stating the need for a complete street, so you must build according to the complete street plan with curbs, gutters, storm drains, tree lawns, five foot wide sidewalks, and a now even wider 10 foot wide side path. We were initially told by engineers there was a bit of flexibility where they could put the widened road and its accompanying structures. It can move a bit north or south at points to protect our historic barn or spare some mature trees. But in the next project revision, things had changed. So now as much of the project as possible will remain in the city's easement zone to minimize right-of-way costs, and the existing utility poles will not be moved again to reduce costs. And don't get me wrong, I believe saving money where possible and practical is a good thing. But in this case, saving the city money means more trees lost and greater risk to citizens' personal property and quality of life. The state and federal government may give money to build and improve things, but do they also give money to help maintain what's been built? As noted in the last council meeting that I attended, there are a lot of road projects going on right now at the risk of causing gridlock when school starts again in August. And another issue raised at that meeting was the opportunity for the city to purchase a relatively small parcel of land or portion of it which contained a paved path connecting a neighborhood to the Cardinal Hill Swim Club. There was discussion about the condition of the existing path, the cost to improve and maintain it, the lack of manpower, or the more inclusive person power, to keep up additional parkland or city property. And I think the general consensus among council members was that it was not something that should be taken on at this time. And that got me thinking, if there's not sufficient funds or person power to add and maintain even that small addition, are there funds available to maintain all of this new roadway infrastructure which is being built? Right now, we residents are mowing, manicuring, and maintaining that city easement that's in front of our homes at no cost to the city. But if you reclaim and pave it, you will have the responsibility to maintain, replace, and repair those structures. THANKS.

MY NAME IS LINDA TURNER. I LIVE AT 791 FAUCET DRIVE, BEAVERCREE, 45434. AND I'LL GIVE MY MINUTES TO PAM. OKAY.

Right, so you then will have the responsibility for unplugging the storm drains, replacing the curbs, fixing the sidewalk cracks, filling potholes, and repaving additional lanes. And then in the winter, the prospect of inclement weather means more road salt required, more gasoline for salt trucks and plows, more person hours of treating and plowing the additional roadway. It all adds up. Does the city have the resources to handle this rapid growth and development? I think that some in city government view our two-lane township roads without all the cement side stuff as being antiquated and in need of improving as soon as possible. I know that creates jobs and keeps construction workers busy, but perhaps it is time to slow the roll, do the required five-year evaluation of this thoroughfare plan to ensure as it says in here, to ensure that unforeseen development patterns and possible different future financial situations are taken into consideration to be part of a plan based on realistic goals and objectives. Our charming tree-lined township road may not be a complete street, but it still gets us all where we need to go. I have one additional thing to say. I did not speak during the speed limit debate because I wasn't sure how many times up at bat we got. And I had not yet introduced this document. But this document has on page 22 a section on roadway speed limits where it advocates for a 35 mile an hour speed limit saying that it is safer for cars, pedestrians, and bicycles. And based on a map in this document, it looks like Shaker Town is the only minor artery that's at 40 miles per hour right now. All the rest are 35 miles per hour. This document also on page 23 talks about the number of lanes and says fewer is safer. Fewer lanes that you have to cross as a pedestrian or bicyclist or a vehicle is safer. So I just encourage you all to take a look at this document. There is something on page It's the thing about the driveway access and I just wanted to point that out because if it is true as stated in the document then the 50 to 60 residents who have driveways that only empty onto Shaker Town Road will possibly not be permitted to turn left into or out of their driveways. That's in the document. So if that's not the case, then it should be revised. Thank you. Appreciate your time.

Thank you very much.

Bill Keller, 3140 Shaker Town Road, giving my time to Gary Dunkel.

Thank you, Bill. Hello, Mr. Mayor, Beaver Creek City Council. My name is Gary Dunkel and I live at 3040 Shaker Town Road. I'm here today as a member of the opposition group to the Shaker Town Road improvement project ID number 119964. There's been some pretty interesting concerns brought to your guys' attention tonight and I trust that these facts will be carefully evaluated by you all and Mr. Mayor and the City Council come up with some concrete rejection of this project. I mean, it's going nowhere. A couple of facts I want to expand on are as follows. This project, current cost is just short of $4 million. God knows where it's going to end up before it actually could happen. But if you consider the $4 million over the 2 thirds of a mile, That is $1,150 per foot. Per foot. Per yard, it's $3,450. And I'm all for spending good money after good projects. But this is a project that goes nowhere. You know, you want to put 10-foot sidewalks in to go where? You want to put 8-foot sidewalks in to go where? There's nowhere to go. It's a waste of money. And you're talking about big money when you're talking about less than $4 million right now, and God knows where it's going to end up. So I just don't know how you guys can let that thing go. With regard to the tree program, tree loss program, I should say, estimates at this most recent work session were anywhere from 800 trees down to a realistic 95 to 125. And our city engineer, Nick Smith, agreed that 125 is the total number of trees that are going to have to go. Again, 125 trees and 2 thirds of a mile. These trees range from a five foot tree to a hundred foot plus tree. These trees are homes to various types of wildlife, which gives the Shaker Town Road area the desirability that it currently has. Losing these trees will result in a noise pollution problem Losing these trees will result in a light pollution problem. Losing these trees will result in a negative impact on local stormwater runoff. Losing these trees will result in diminishing the area's natural great looks that it has now. Losing these trees will result in a loss of privacy for the residents of Shaker Town Road. And losing these trees will contribute to the devaluation of property values on Shaker Town Road as the engineering department wants to convert this from a tree-lined street to a asphalt and concrete mess. That's what they want. Lastly on trees, one of our dear residents, Flo, who is not here tonight, is losing a 100 foot plus pin oak tree in front of her house. And as was heard at the 615 work session here by your city engineer, Nick Smith, Nick agreed to buy her two additional trees to replace the pin oak that they were gonna take down. I don't think he's knocked on anybody else's door and told them that. Is that discriminatory, that he does that? And where's that money come from? And who approved him to do that? He didn't ask me to replace my trees. So I mean, I think that's something you guys need to look into. I mean, it's just another incident of the engineering department doing what they want to do incorrectly, as it should be to the city council and the mayor. Lastly, I want to talk a little bit about property devaluation that's going to take place on Shaker Town Road if this improvement goes through. 36 homes averaging $400,000 per home is a total of $14,400,000. Two church properties of $2 million each is another $4 million. So that's $18,400,000 times 12.5% devaluation. The total devaluation dollar is $2.3 million. So what we're asking the city to do is put that $2.3 million into an escrow account. That escrow account would be available for us as residents when we sell our properties. We'll be able to recoup our losses that were caused by the engineering department and by the city council approving this project. So I would like to see that done post-haste. Again, $2.3 million into an escrow account. So you can repay us for our losses that we're incurring because of bad judgments on the engineering department and city council's part. I think it's a fair and reasonable reimbursement remedy. So we'd like to see that done. In closing, I am requesting you, Mr. Mayor, and each of you on the City Council to do the right thing and cancel this ultra-negative Shaker Town Road project that benefits no one. It is an absolute waste of federal and local taxpayer money, and I'd ask you to do that as soon as possible. Thank you for your time.

Thank you very much. Anyone else? Seeing none, I will close the citizen comments portion of the meeting and we'll turn it over to council time. Councilman Bales.

Well, thank you, Mayor. I, uh, I'll just say thank you for coming out to speak tonight. As always, I appreciate the comments. And otherwise, happy Independence Day to everyone. And I look forward to seeing everybody at the parade.

Thank you, Your Honor. I had the opportunity to attend the Chamber Links monthly activity. It was at the Clay Courts in Beaver Creek. Had a nice turnout and a rather unique place to visit and see the activity that's taking place there. Also attended Rotary on Friday, had an interesting speech by a political science professor at Cedarville on the Declaration of Independence and a lot of the implications of that document to our recent situation that we have in this country. Also attended the concert on Sunday night at Lofino Park with Band 5 and tremendous turnout. Given that this is our first turnout of the year, of course, we'll have another one coming up here over at Wardinger Park. But there'll be two concerts like this one, and the next one will be in July. So that was well attended and really good response from the citizens. I would echo Councilman Bales' concepts. Have a happy 4th and look forward to seeing him in the parade. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Councilman Bales. Or Bills. Bales.

Thank you, Mayor. I was able on June 13th to go to the Beaver Creek Wetlands Native Plants Nurturing Nature in Our Community. This is, I think, the third year they've done it, and they always choose fantastic speakers, and I appreciate how much Time and energy they put into conservation work and to educating members of the community and providing opportunities for the public to get out and either work in the wetlands or learn about the wetlands. So I enjoyed that very much. I also appreciate all the citizens that came out. We like to see you here. And it may not feel like it. We are concerned about you and your families. And I wish you would know that. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Councilman Voterell.

Thank you, Mayor. I want to thank everyone for coming out here this evening. These comments that everybody made here tonight is as difficult as many of them were. not only for you to say, but for us to hear, I want you to rest assured that we are hearing them. And there are discussions that are going on between us. We talk about this stuff. To where this particular spot of our meeting isn't a time for any back and forth. I want everybody to understand that. And that's why the reluctance of you're not receiving more input, this isn't the time for that. I also attended the clay courts for their, I guess, chamber event. Those are some good people that run those courts. They do a good job. They are definitely an asset to the community. If anybody's ever been interested in tennis, it's definitely a good place to go and check out. encourage anybody to go and I want to wish everybody have a safe and happy 4th of July celebrate 250 years of the United States thank you thank you

I'll just simply say thank you to the Joshi family for a very, very generous gift. It's remarkable what that money has done. And as Mrs. Joshi mentioned, it brings the community together so very, very well. So I'll leave it there. I wish everyone a happy 4th. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I'm not going to go through everything, so I have another five pages here. But I did want to say thank you to the Joshi family for their donation for the Fourth of July fireworks. Doing that for 12 years is really remarkable for one family to support it like that. On that same note, if you're looking for something to do this Friday evening, go out to the museum, Air Force Museum. They're going to have a drone show out there and it's supposed to last about 30 minutes. They're going to have I'm not going to say the number because I'll get it wrong, but a lot of drones in the air. It's actually being sponsored not only by the museum, but the National Aviation Heritage Alliance, which I'm a part of. We set this up some time ago, and I think you can expect a really, really good show out there. I would say go there early. Because they're expecting about 30,000 people so it But you'll be able to see it from a lot. You might be able to see it from here in Beaver Creek I don't know just because they'll be way up in the air and it should be should be interesting With that I'll just let that go and I'll put the rest of it in the minutes for next time and I'll turn it over the city manager

All right, tonight for the report, 4th of July, of course, coming up. At 6 p.m. the parade starts. Just the one thing to note that this is starting at the high school and going to Meadow Bridge. So it's reverse of old habits die hard. So if you show up at Meadow Bridge, you'll be at the end of the parade. um so yeah it starts at uh six o'clock at the high school uh seven to ten thirty is at the rotary park is going to be live music inflatables food trucks fireworks and all that good stuff usually fireworks began at 10. we're going to be accepting parade applications continue but please get them in and that's at beaver creek ohio.gov fourth of july summer entertainment series yes we began last night so we have another one coming up uh with swing dance in the park with a voodoo swing and that's june 27th from 7 10 p.m and that's at the tobias zimmer barn at wardinger park on kemp road and beginner lessons from 7 to 8 p.m so i Good time there. Next one after that will be Party on the Patio, DJ OK, July 18th, 6 to 9 p.m. at Beaver Creek Golf Club. So come out and check that out. More information can be found at cities website, beavercreekohio.gov, slash summer entertainment. This is a popular one really has made us a Good impression on so many shout park fundraiser. So we've launched this it's on our website It's also a component of green giving to replace the iconic slide after safety and liability concerns. So the goals raised a hundred thousand Install new custom metal slide along the drain which drainage improvement safety surface and shade structure Just as the latest update. Thank you to to 149 donors who have contributed over $8,500 so far in just nearly the two weeks. So for more information, be found at, and it is tax deductible through Green Giving, but beavercreekohio.gov slash shout park slide. Citizens Academy coming up in August. I haven't checked lately, but I think we still have a few positions open. Please sign up for our fourth annual. It's an eight-week program. Starts on August 20th through October 8th, 6 to 8 p.m. All different locations as we travel around the city. But free and open to the city of Beaver Creek residents and business owners. Limited spots available. Register at beavercreekohio.gov slash academy. and tree advisory boards fall tree sales sign up here orders due by september 5th 2026 while supplies last place your orders at beaver creek ohio beaver creek oh dot my rec dot com and this is a plant the future by purchasing native trees and shrubs through its annual fall tree sale for the tree advisory and that's all there is tonight thank you very much mr curran

Move to adjourn, Your Honor. Second. I have a motion and a second to adjourn. All those in favor signify by saying aye.

Aye.

Opposed? We are adjourned.

What happened to your husband?

Yeah.