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Capital fund has a slightly better balance
The city's finance director reports an additional $27,000 is in the capital fund, available for a pool or technology.
By DAVID J. CROSS
Some of the bickering over appropriated money from Bexley's capital improvement fund might come to an end thanks to a change in the math.
Finance Director Beecher Hale confirmed last Wednesday that a miscalculation existed in Bexley's 2006 city budget and there is an additional $27,000 in funds available in the city's capital improvement fund.
At the Feb. 14 Finance and Judiciary Committee meeting, city officials raised concerns over whether the committee should recommend Bexley's City Council approve a $30,000 ordinance that would appropriate part of the city's remaining capital improvement fund for technology improvements.
Councilman Mark Masser cautioned the recommendation as he cited concerns of whether funds would be available in case of emergencies and whether the city should consider looking into finding other methods for adding revenue to the fund, other than drawing from the city's general fund.
"You're at February and we are in danger of spending all the money...," he said.
The discussion followed Informations System Director Bill Minckler's presentation in the pursuit of $71,300 worth of improvements for the city's information systems.
According to the 2006 budget, which did not include the extra $27,000, Bexley had a total of $138,281 in capital funds available at the beginning of the year.
After appropriating $67,864 for the city's police department and $14,537 for other expenses, the city was left with $55,880.
Considering the proposed technology improvement ordinance and another ordinance that would appropriate $25,000 for the repair and maintenance of Bexley's pool for the 2006 season, the city would have been left with a sagging fund for the remainder of the year.
The discovery of a miscalculation, however, raised the total amount available for both the pool and technology ordinances to $82,971.
Hale said he would inform City Council prior to its next meeting Tuesday.
After being asked to trim a proposal for $124,000 worth of improvements for the city's information systems last year, Minckler reduced the proposal by 42 percent and produced a package recommending 10 prioritized improvements.
Of these, the committee approved recommending the top four. These consist of a firewall for Bexley's city-wide computer network, the replacement of servers for the city-wide network, anti-spam protection for the city-wide e-mail server and replacement parts for obsolete equipment.
Minckler said the improvements would accomplish three goals, making the systems straightforward, bringing them up to industry standards and making them better able to "stand up to the rigors of disaster recovery."
"It is essential...to put a hardware device at the entry points of our networks," he said.
"It is critical that people cannot be able to get into our network and alter records and look at information," he said.
Also discussed was running underground wiring to stop lightning strikes from potentially shorting out the city's network.
"For years now...we have been hit again and again by lightning," he said.
Minckler said the aerial wiring the city is using was not designed for outdoor use and though lightning could knockout the system, even having the atmosphere surrounding the wires electrically charged could wreck havoc.
According to Minckler's presentation, a lightning protection program would cost $15,000.
'05 was banner year for city's Main Street development
Thursday, January 5, 2006
By INA HORWITZ-WHITMORE
ThisWeek Staff Writer
The year 2005 was a good one for development along Bexley's East Main Street.
As several projects are in some phase in the development process, Bexley's first development director, the point person praised by many officials for the flurry of activity, has left the scene.
Dan Lorek resigned effective Dec. 31 to pursue his partnership in a new real estate company with developer Harlan Ruben.
A major project -- the installation of a water-sewer line on Bexley's Main Street -- was completed in early December.
Some familiar faces will not return to city council. In November, Jed Morison was defeated in his bid for a third term. Challenger Robyn Jones was elected with incumbents Matt Lampke and Rick Weber.
Larry Heiser defeated first-termer Gary Qualmann for the city auditor's position.
In the school board race, incumbents Steve Grossman, Diane Peterson and Andy Sutter were re-elected, defeating challenger Marc Abramson.
Also in November, Bexley easily passed a 3.4-mill, five-year renewal levy that will generate about $308,000 a year in revenues.
Perhaps the most controversial issue facing the city in 2005 occurred when the administration unveiled a plan in late spring for improvements to North Cassady Avenue, including the installation of medians. The plan was met with opposition from Cassady business owners and residents. It also garnered support, but after some months, Mayor David Madison decided medians would not be included in the $2.1-million project that will begin in 2006; the project will be financed primarily through a state grant/loan program.
In sports, the Bexley High School boys soccer team won a state championship.
The year 2005 also marked the passing of a popular community leader, John Loehnert. He was 82.
The following is a month-by-month recap of the year's biggest news stories:
JANUARY
The Bexley Board of Education elected Steve Grossman as board president and Diane Peterson as vice president.
Bexley City Council members began discussion about placing a renewal or replacement levy on the November 2005 ballot. A replacement levy would raise taxes. A renewal levy would not. Council also discussed establishing a capital-projects fund with about $2.2-million from an estate-tax windfall. The fund would be used only for capital improvements. An ordinance to set up the fund is currently tabled before council. Part of council's intent at the time was to use part of the funds to make City Hall ADA (handicapped) accessible.
The city was cleaning up after December's 2004 ice storm.
During a joint session of the planning commission and board of zoning appeals, the detailed development plan by developer L. Rider Brice to build a 36-unit condominium in north Bexley was tabled. Members' main concern seemed to be the density of the project. Brice was awarded the bid to purchase the tree nursery on which part of the development site sits for $613,000 in May 2003.
Bexley officer Michael Buechner received the 2004 officer-of-the-year award at city council.
FEBRUARY
Council voted to place a 1.7-mill replacement levy on the May 3 ballot. Voting in favor were council president John Rohyans, Jed Morison, Jeff McClelland, Rick Weber, Helen Mac Murray and Matt Lampke. The lone dissenter was council member Mark Masser.
The Main Street Redevelopment Commission approved architectural changes to the Bexley Gateway North project for East Main Street.
Service director Dorothy Pritchard announced the city will receive a State Issue II grant and loan funds to reconstruct North Cassady Avenue.
MARCH
More than 700 people -- the largest crowd ever -- attended the Bexley Education Foundation's fund-raiser, BRAVO, at the Bath & Body Works corporate office. In its 10th year, the event raised more than $80,000 -- also a record. All proceeds are used to fund extraordinary programs for children in the Bexley City School District.
The city decided to cancel Summerfest for June because the street would be the site of a $2.2-million major water-sewer project.
City council voted unanimously to withdraw the 1.7-mill property tax levy from the May 3 ballot. In remarks from McClelland, chair of the levy campaign, "From a political standpoint, I don't feel we're in a good position to ask citizens for this amount of tax when the general fund is in excess of $6-million."
For the 17th consecutive year, Bexley was named a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation.
APRIL
The Bexley Planning Commission gave conceptual approval to St. Charles Preparatory School to build a 15,000-square-foot addition in the campus' rear courtyard.
The MSRC gave conceptual approval for a mixed-use development at the northeast corner of East Main Street and South Roosevelt Avenue. The proposal called for demolishing a one-story building on the site, building a two-story building that would house the First Bexley Bank, a retail space and offices for the developer, Stanbery Development.
Bexley High School senior Dan Carroll was awarded a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship. Carroll scored a perfect 1600 on his Scholastic Aptitude Test.
According to a study from Horne & King Architects, a new police station could cost about $4.5-million. The station would go from its current 5,000 square feet to 19,220 square feet.
Terry Black, principal at Montrose Elementary School for 19 years, was named Bexley Educator of the Year.
MAY
The Bexley Board of Control, which consists of Madison, Qualmann and Rohyans, awarded a three-year contract to the Brickman Group for turf-maintenance work in the city. Brickman was the "lowest and best bidder" from four bid received, according to Pritchard. Recently, the city decided to terminate the employment of three grounds maintenance workers and privatize turf and landscape maintenance.
The MSRC approved a mixed-use project at the northeast corner of East Main Street and South Roosevelt Avenue. The development would house a bank, a retail space and Stanbery Development offices.
The MSRC approved with certain conditions a $2.5-million mixed-use project that includes moving Connell's Maple Lee Flower Shop from the south side of Main to the north side. Three apartment buildings would be demolished on the site to make way for the new building. In addition to Connell's, the development would include a dry cleaner, likely a restaurant and a second-floor office. The developer is Bexley resident Michael Schiff of MRMJ LLC.
The Bexley Board of Education looked at expanding substance-abuse offenses to include extracurricular and co-curricular activities, such as band and theatre.
Bexley High School was listed as Newsweek's top 1,000 high schools.
Bexley passed a resolution to certify with the Franklin County Auditor's Office a 3.4-mill, five-year renewal levy for the Nov. 8 ballot.
JUNE
Columbus City Council awarded a $890,000 contract to Jess Howard Electrical Co. for a long-awaited street-light project in Berwick.
St. Charles Preparatory School broke ground for a multi-million-dollar school-building expansion.
One Dawson Place and Bexley Gateway North developments were both under way on East Main Street.
MSRC gave conditional approval to a proposed one-and-a-half-story mixed-use commercial building for the northwest corner of East Main Street and South Roosevelt Avenue. Applicant Bill Dargusch plans were to demolish the existing Shell service station on the site and redevelop the parcel as a retail development with Bank One (now J. P. Morgan Chase) and a restaurant tenant.
The Main Street sewer-water project on Main Street was under way.
The MSRC conditionally approved a proposed entry tower for Capital University that would be built on the southeast corner of Main Street and College Avenue.
The reconstruction plan for North Cassady Ave was unveiled to residents and businesses and drew mixed reviews. To pay for the project, the city would receive $500,000 in a state grant, $1.5-million in a grant/loan to be repaid as no-interest loan over 20 years and about $200,000 is the city's share. Some residents praised the plan as aesthetically pleasing and a way to slow traffic down. Others expressed concerns that it would impeded emergency vehicles traveling the street, create congestion and eliminate some residences' on-street parking.
Resident Beth Grimes was chosen as Bexley's Citizen of the Year
Bexley Gateway North, a $15- to $20-million mixed-use development at Main and Parkview, had an official groundbreaking ceremony. The developer is Plaza Properties, whose president is Bexley resident Larry Ruben. The development will include three to four retailers, including the Rusty Bucket restaurant, and offices. The project also includes brownstones and a five-story condominium complex. The brownstones will be priced between $800,000 to $900,000 each. The 31 condominium units will be priced from $350,000 to $1.5-million. At the ceremony, a rendering was unveiled for Bexley Gateway South, a mixed-use development that would be built by Ruben across the street on the former Rite Aid property. It would extend around Main on Pleasant Ridge. That proposal calls for commercial/retail and 30 condominiums at an entry-level to medium price range, starting in the low $200,000s.
JULY
On July 11, popular Bexley resident John Loehnert, 82, died. Loehnert was a former Bexley City Council member and interim mayor in 1995. A Bexley High School graduate, Loehnert served in the U. S. Navy in World War II. He had been a vice president of Dollar Federal Savings and Loan Association and a mortgage loan officer of Chase Manhattan Bank. He retired in 1988 but remained active in many community volunteer activities. He recently served as the city's representative to the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.
The MSRC approved Capital University's revised architectural details for its College Avenue residence hall, which is under construction.
A redevelopment plan for a new CVS building and a new building to house Bexley Pizza Plus was presented to the MSRC. The estimated $2.5-million project would be constructed at 2532-2550 E. Main St. The site housed CVS, Bexley Pizza Plus and Holiday Boutique. The plan called for demolishing the structures in stages and relocating CVS and the pizza establishment into two structures. Some commission members questioned why the project could not become a mixed-use development and about the proposed gap that would exist between the two structures. According to Frank R. Petruziello, an architect and vice president of Skilken properties (the developer), the width between the two buildings would be needed for parking.
The issue of medians on North Cassady continued to dominate city meetings.
Madison decides against medians on North Cassady.
AUGUST
Madison changed his mind: The median plan returned.
Bexley City Council placed the 3.4-mill renewal levy on ballot.
WesBanco, a West Virginia-based bank, will open a branch at the former Athena Travel site, 2359 E. Main St.
The MSRC approved the CVS and Pizza Plus development.
The Bexley Bandits -- nine students who entered sixth and seventh grade this year -- won a national dodgeball tournament, sponsored by the National Amateur Dodgeball Association.
The Bexley Planning Commission tabled Brice's 36-unit condominium project proposed for north Bexley. Major issues appeared to be density and architectural changes.
The Franklin County Auditor's Office announced reappraisals. According to an office spokesperson, the average value of a single-family home in Bexley rose from $252,512 in 2002 to $293,412 as of Jan. 1, 2005. That's about a 15-percent increase.
SEPTEMBER
Medians won't be installed without Bexley City Council approval.
The Bexley community stepped up to help in hurricane relief efforts through various drives and by providing homes for displaced victims.
North Cassady Avenue reconstruction bids came in higher than expected.
The plan to construct medians on North Cassady Avenue was deleted from the reconstruction project. "After weighing all available information, I have concluded medians should not be built," Madison said.
Columbus Asphalt, the lowest of four bidders, was awarded the contract to do the work on the Cassady $2.2-million project, expected to start this year.The company submitted a base bid of $1,982,981.65.
OCTOBER
Bexley City Council introduced an ordinance to appropriate $1.5-million for a new swimming pool at Jeffrey Park.
The Bexley Board of Education looked at an intermediate step of consequences to students violating the school district's drug/alcohol abuse policy.
Bexley City Council pondered whether to build a new pool in 2006 or 2007.
Jeffrey Mansion was closed to the public after lead was found in peeling and flaking paint, primarily on the third floor.
NOVEMBER
Bexley voters passed the renewal levy by 69 to 31 percent.
Jeffrey Mansion was reopened.
Development director Dan Lorek announced his resignation.
Lampke, Weber, Jones won Bexley City Council seats.
Grossman, Peterson, Sutter were re-elected to the Bexley Board of Education.
Heiser upset Qualmann in the race for city auditor,
Bexley City Council decided to wait on building a pool until 2007.
The Bexley High School boys soccer team won Division II state championship by beating Bay (of Bay Village).
Bexley City Council introduced a resolution to authorize using part of the proceeds from bonds or bond anticipation notes -- not to exceed $1.5-million -- to fund a new pool.
DECEMBER
The Bexley Main Street sewer-water project was completed. According to service director Dorothy Pritchard, the contractor will come back in the spring to do compaction testing, work with smoothing out the pavement and fix any other items that need to be redone or finished.
Mound Street, between College and Pleasant Ridge avenues, officially closed to traffic. Capital University will turn the area into a pedestrian-friendly mall. Before Mound could be closed, the university had entered into an agreement to install a right-turn lane at College and Main to help with existing traffic patterns. Once the lane was finished, Capital waited until the city's Main Street sewer-water project was completed.
Higher kindergarten enrollment was projected for 2006-07 season.
Council passed sewer and water rate increases for 2006: The hike is 6 percent for water and 11 percent for sewer.
The process is under way to hire new development director.
Bexley City Council authorized an appropriation of $65,000 for a schematic design for a new police facility.
A Bexley financial advisory committee, consisting of community members, met for the first time. The group is expected to meet three times a year to look at issues facing the Bexley City School District. A subcommittee will be formed.
Brice is given the go-ahead to move forward with a revised development plan to present during the January planning commission meeting. The revision includes reducing the number of condominium units from 36 to 34.
Council passed the 2006 budget. As of Dec. 20, the projected ending fund balance for 2005 was about $4.9-million, not including $1-million in the rainy-day fund. The projected 2006 deficit, as of Dec. 20, was estimated at $1.15-million.
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