Three adult residents and two children came to the Fort Wright meeting Wednesday evening to protest the design of Volunteer park on Park Avenue.
Chris Schaffer, who lives at 5 Park, explained that they think the new design for the playground equipment is very plastic looking, and a poor substitute for the natural, wooden equipment that is currently being demolished.
“What is there really blends in with the wooded area behind it,” Schaffer said. “What is there is a wood structure with a wood mulched floor. It’s kind of like Trolley Park. I just don’t really think plastic is going to blend in.”
He said there was a tower that went six feet in the air, with a wooden bridge that kids liked to cross, and a swivel slide. He said there were monkey bars, strong enough that adults could do pull ups on them.
“I see that there is a trolley train for the toddlers, and I understand that, and a swing for thehandicapped,” he said. “Those are good, but there is not the same level of physical activity for the 5 to 12 year old kids.”
He said he was upset that the city was taking down one of the eight large oak trees, but councilman Jay Weber said they had a tree specialist take a look at the trees, and the one they are taking down has a defect, so that is why they are taking that tree down, so they can avoid an accident.
Schaffer’s son Nicholas spoke up and said there won’t be anything for him to play on, and he didn’t understand why they had to take the equipment out that he liked.
Another resident who lives at 42 Park told council she came to the October meeting when she heard the city was looking for ideas on what kind of equipment people wanted in the parks in the city. She and Christine Schaffer told council at that time that they wanted to see more natural playground equipment, things that blended in with the environment.
She said no one had gotten back to her about the ideas for the playground. CAO Jill Cain Bailey said she answered all the emails, but the resident remarked ‘Eventually!’ Bailey was out sick most of November and December.
“We wanted to let you know that we are not happy with it,” she stated, referring to the design of the park. “We wanted something more like a rope that is more physically challenging. My daughter is very strong, and I believe it is because of that park.”
Bailey said the new equipment is recommended for children ages 5 to 12. She also said council thought the natural looking equipment might be more suited to Battery Hooper Park than a smaller, pocket park.
Councilman Bernie Wessels told the resident that they did listen, and they had a meeting in December where pictures of different equipment was presented, and council came to the conclusion that it was too expensive to buy the kind of natural equipment they wanted.
At the same time, the equipment that they have purchased and will be delivered in April cost $100,000, which council members felt was a good price for good equipment.
“I don’t think you’re getting your money’s worth, that’s the thing!” the resident said in frustration.
Christine Schaffer protested also, saying they don’t want more, they want less. Unfortunately, the equipment that has a more natural look is more expensive than the plastic.
CAO Bailey said there was only two choices for color, and she chose the navy base with red and yellow sides over the alternate green color which she thought was not attractive. She did say the train has a lot of green on it, and it does pay homage to the history of the area, which is that the street was on the Green Line Trolley line.
The residents were still not pleased, knowing that the plans were virtually set, and could not be changed.
Mayor Dave Hatter told them that they were the only ones who showed up in response to their invitation for input, and while they appreciated the input, once they looked into the alternate design, and realized that it would cost so much more, council made the decision to do what they thought was best for the entire city.
“We think it is a good idea, but it is too expensive,” he said. He agreed with Councilman Wessels, saying, with 6,000 people in the city, they understand they can’t make everybody happy.
Another resident, Steve Myers, lives on St Anthony, and he wanted to know if anything can be done about people trying to make a left hand turn onto Kyles Lane. He said when a police officer is in the vicinity, people behave more, but without the officer, it is virtually impossible to turn onto Kyles. He wanted to know if there was a possibility of a light with a turn arrow.
“All we can do is ask,” Hatter said. “Ask and cajole. They are not that helpful. But if you email me and complain, I can forward that complaint. I wouldn’t hold out a lot of hope.”
Myers also said people have gotten out their motorcycles for spring, and several do not feel they need mufflers, and he asked if police could patrol his neighborhood more, so they could possibly discourage the joy riding that it making it difficult to hear his television.
He asked for the city to talk to the car dealership about their lights too. He said they are an ‘eyesore at night.’ Hatter agreed to reach out to them.
Ken White, an engineer from Jiffy Lube in Columbus, came to talk to council about the Jiffy Lube they want to put in at 3385 Madison Pike. Attorney Tim Theissen warned council not to make any comments that were negative or positive about the business since it hadn’t gone to Planning and Zoning.
He showed the plans for the site, and explained what the business does, as well as how many employees and the hours for the business.
They are asking for a zone change, from Community Commercial to Highway Oriented Commercial, and he said the PDS staff reaction so far to the zone change is favorable.
Council approved the purchase of Axon Body and Dash Cameras for the police department. CAO Bailey said the old cameras are at least six years old, and with technology that amount of time accentuates the fact that they are old and out of date. The cost for the new cameras is $224,891, and it can be paid for out of the money from the CARES act. When the city received the CARES money, it was reimbursement for the payroll of the first responders. When it was applied, it freed up other funds, and the city will use the other freed up funds for things the city needs. The body cams should be at the city by May, and the dash cams by July.
Council also agreed to the replacement of the city’s John Deere backhoe. Public Works Director Bethell explained that he has talked to Caterpillar and John Deere, and a two wheel backhoe will cost $93,086.19, while a four wheel model will cost $96,222.96, but those prices are only good till the end of March.
CAO Bailey said the cost will come out of next year’s budget, but council asked if it can come out of the CARES funds also, and Bailey said she will look at the numbers and get them to the council members. Council voted to have Mayor Hatter enter into an agreement to purchase the four wheel drive backhoe, and put the old one on Govdeals.com.
The first reading of an ordinance was voted on by council. Attorney Theissen explained that this ordinance’s purpose is to clean up another ordinance, because an address was wrong, and people would not be able to access information with a wrong address.
A second ordinance was also voted on even though it is a first reading, and it adds definition to child care in the home. Theissen explained that after Covid closed down many child care agencies, the state passed legislation that cities have to add child care in the home with a maximum of 6 children as a conditional use to all applicable zones. He said obviously there will be some instances where it won’t be able to be confirmed as a use, such as if the home is on the third floor of an apartment complex with no place for the children to play, but for the most part, the in-home child care can be approved as a conditional use.
