SIDNEY — Sidney City Council held its second public hearing Monday evening on the potential rezoning of portions north of Russell Road and west of St. Marys Avenue.
Choice One Engineering, on behalf of Ricsten Family and Purvis Family Ltd., is requesting the rezoning of six parcles of the property from a single family residence district to a general industrial district. The property is currently being used for agriculture purposes. Council questioned future potential use of the property, as it is still only known to be used for industrial uses.
Mike Dodds, of the Sidney-Shelby Economic Partnership, said they are seeking to have the location certified through DP&L’s site certification program; once certified, businesses would know the area is project-ready. Dodds said the property owners have already spent “about $40,000 for studies to do the site certification there” and that it is an ideal geographical location due to the Interstate 75 and state Route 29 exchange. He says the site would be divided up, but did not give specifics about it.
Vice Mayor Mardie Milligan voiced some concern about the fire/rescue safety response being “too heavy” for that side of town.
In other business, Council adopted two ordinances. The first was to proceed on street lighting assessments keeping the rates “as is” for a period of two years of $.31 per lineal foot for standard light, and $1.11 per lineal foot for “decorative” street lighting.
The second authorized supplemental appropriations from:
• The General fund – $52,500 total is needed. Equipment and supplies for the Police Department would cost $2,500, and with the recent DP&L grant of $50,000, the city will be able to pay for the purchase and planting of trees.
• The Health Department Building Fund –$182,000 will pay to replace the Health Department building’s roof.
• The Captical Improvement Fund – $31,850 will pay for a pedestrian signal at Broadway and Port Jefferson Road, and a second police canine unit. Donations and a grant will pay the $16,650 portion of the cost for the canine unit.
• The Fire Loss Security Fund – $39,334 will permit the reimbursement of insurance proceeds currently held to the property owners after repairs.
Council also approved several resolutions:
• Authorizing the city manager to enter into an Information Cooperation Agreement with the Board of County Commissioners of Shelby, Ohio, and the Sidney-Shelby County General Health District Board for a 12-month period, beginning June 1 and renews automatically for an additional year.
• The appointment of Mike Heintz to the Board of Building Code Appeals.
• The appointment of Brad Oehlhof to the Stormwater Appeals Board.
• Authorizing the city manager to enter into an agreement for electric generation supply with a competitive retail electric service provider, which authorizes AGE to act as procuring agents for the city.
A discussion was held to establish the 2016-17 contract and non-contract rates for Shelby Public Transit. Transit Manager Deb Grogean proposed no rate increase for non-contract service (general public) but an increase for contract rates. Contract rates would increase from $56.23 to $58 per hour, $21.22 to $22 per trip, and $4.51 to $4.75 per mile. After no disagreement from council, Mayor Michael Barhorst advised Grogean she was “welcome to bring it back as soon as you can get it done.”
Council Member Steve Wagner asked on behalf of many citizens when the city will begin street paving. He was advised that they must finish with curb and gutter repairs, which are ahead of schedule, so paving should start at the beginning of July.
