| Middletown City Manger Weekly Update To City Council September 27,2009 |
| Tuesday, October 6, 2009 8:11:53 AM - Middletown Ohio |
Weekly Update to City Council
from the City Manager
September 27, 2009
Passenger Rail Service – Please participate in survey
Council members and community members: See the link below to the survey being conducted by the State of Ohio Rail Development Commission about the passenger rail service. It takes only a few minutes and we ask that you please mention including a stop in Middletown in the additional comments section. If you are inclined to write more, here are some points:
We have:
A station facility
A truly multi-modal stop – airport, bus service, interstate access
Transit link to Miami University Middletown and soon to have links with Miami
University (Oxford and Hamilton)
Efficient in terms of travel time
Inexpensive to include stop in Middletown because of existing infrastructure
Part of downtown revitalization plan
Link to survey is…
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/Divisions
/Rail/Programs/passenger/3CisME/Lists/Survey/NewForm.aspx
ICMA Virtual Conference
Since most local governments are in a financial crunch this year, the Int’l City Management Assoc. made their annual conference available virtually this year to spare city budgets the travel expense. I chose to try the virtual conference and found it to be a good educational experience. In order to remain a credentialed City Manager, I need to have 40 hours of learning credits per year. The annual conference is the typical way to accumulate a number of the credits. This year, instead of interacting personally, I signed on to the conference via computer and listened in on sessions. In some sessions, I could see the presenter and some I could only see the power point presentation. Several of the presentations were pertinent to the budget and policy discussions we are having here in Middletown. A good reminder that we are not alone in our struggles financially and that we are following the course of many successful cities in our programs of code enforcement and image improvement.
2010 Budget
We will begin the budget discussions next Tuesday evening. The Department Heads have worked very hard on getting this budget to fit our financial constraints. We’ve had some very good discussion and while it was an extremely difficult process, everyone came to the table. We are reluctantly recommending laying off 7 full time employees, and a few part-time/seasonal employees. 7 open positions will not be filled, for a total of 14 full-time position reductions. Obviously, this is a staff recommendation and will be subject to council discussion.
Halloween at City Building Cancelled, normal Trick or Treat still on
Because of public health concerns, the Health Commissioner has advised the city to cancel the Trick or Treat festivities in the municipal building this year. While we are very disappointed that this annual event, which provides enjoyment to the employees and our visitors, must be cancelled, Health Officials are concerned that the ongoing presence and growth of the H1N1 virus could present significant health issues for employees and our visitors. Because the flu is contagious both before it is symptomatic and after the symptoms disappear, the risk for infection is high. Since we have several hundred – close to 1000 - kids in the city building during the event, the risk for contamination is high. We hope to have the event next year. Kids will still be able to enjoy their neighborhood trick or treat.
Duke Energy Contract
We will be bringing Council emergency legislation on Tuesday to request a contract with Duke Energy Retail Sales for a 26 month period. As a result of supplier choice legislation dating back to 1999 (Senate Bill 3) customers have had the ability to choose electrical generation suppliers. Duke Energy Ohio’s pricing has been competitive for the past decade, rendering the non-regulated rates uncompetitive. Due to the regulatory lag of the increased pricing approved by PUCO during the summer of 2008, Duke Energy Ohio’s pricing is now not competitive with current market rates. Duke Energy Ohio’s rates are set by PUCO and cannot be changed until 2012. Duke Energy Corp is utilizing its non-regulated energy company, Duke Energy Retail Sales, LLC., to offer alternatives to the regulated rates for Duke Energy Ohio’s larger customers, including municipalities. Staff has researched the competition and believe that Duke is providing a competitive price and discount which should save the city a significant amount of
money over the 26 month period. We will have a presentation on this topic at the Council meeting.
Police Grant
At Tuesday’s council meeting, the Division of Police will be presenting a request for emergency legislation authorizing a supplemental appropriation to the Police Grants Fund. This money is needed to fund a renovation of the police training room prior to the start of the next training cycle. The requested money is from a Federal JAG Grant which was received earlier in the year, but was not appropriated, and will have NO impact on the General Fund balance.
Fatal Accident at Manchester and Clinton
As a result of the very tragic accident, we are examining the intersection to see if other precautionary measures – signage, environmental (tree limbs, etc.) should be invoked to help avoid future accidents. As you may recall, the traffic signal at this intersection was eliminated in 2006 based upon a traffic study, much as we are eliminating signals elsewhere in town. Staff is currently gathering new traffic counts but we anticipate the analysis will confirm that traffic patterns have not changed in the past three years. Since 1995 there has been an average of 5.4 accidents per year at this intersection. We will have more information on this in the next few weeks.
Upcoming Events
September 27 Middfest Exhibit Opening, 2:30 p.m., Donham Plaza (City Building)
September 29 Free Workshop – Home Based businesses for Women, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Sinclair Community College’s Conference Center (Building 12, Room 12-282), 444 West Third Street, Dayton, Ohio 45402
September 30 McGohan Brabender Senior Solutions ribbon cutting- 3909 Central Avenue, 12:15 pm (CANCELLED)
October 1 Chamber of Commerce Monthly luncheon, 11:45 a.m., Senior Citizens Center, 3907 Central Ave.
October 2 Farmers Market, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. - Central & Broad St.
October 2-4 Middfest International Celebration featuring Indonesia, $5 donation (adults only)
October 5 Park Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m., Conference Room 2C
October 6 Middletown City Council meeting, 5:30 p.m., Council Chambers
October 7 Candidates Forum, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers
October 9 Farmers Market, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. - Central & Broad St.
October 14 Third Ward Town Hall meeting - 6:00 – 7:30 p.m., Senior Citizens Center
October 14 Planning Commission Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Council Chambers
October 16 Farmers Market, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. - Central & Broad St.
October 20 Middletown City Council meeting, 5:30 p.m., Council Chambers
Links for additional information:
City Manager’s Weekly Update: www.cityofmiddletown.org
Middletown Community Calendar: http://www.calendarwiz.com/middletowncalendar
Pothole Patrol: www.cityofmiddletown.org or call 727-3691 (Option 2)
Have a great week! Judy
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