Weekly Update to City Council
from the City Manager
April 25, 2010

CENSUS – Complete Count
We urge all residents to return their census forms as soon as possible! If you are in need of a form, call this toll free number and they will assist you 1-866-872-6868.

2010 Municipal Clerk of the Year
Betsy Parr was awarded the 2010 Municipal Clerk of the Year at the Ohio Municipal Clerk's meeting last week. The long list of her accomplishments and activities, as detailed by the awards committee, was a tribute to Betsy’s wonderful career.

Bettie Arthur (former Clerk, as well as past Clerk of the Year recipient) accepted the award for Betsy. Sadly, Betsy was in Charlotte with her family for the funeral of her brother. Thanks to Mayor Mulligan and Vice Mayor Scott Jones who made the trip to Columbus for the event. There were 7 people nominated for the award and Betsy won by a landslide. We are all very proud of her!

Computer Server Switch Over
We are switching from old software and hardware to new. We hope that we’ve gotten through the worst of the downtime in the last week. Our IT staff is working hard to avoid any further issues with remote access.

Bark Park
Some preliminary information from our Humane Officer:

• Most dog parks are about 3 acres. They have fenced areas, benches and running water. Usually there are separate areas for large and small dogs.

• We are in the process of evaluating several parks with regard to shade, parking, access to water, visibility, closeness to residents, centralized location. We will take a special look at Sunset Park to see if we can utilize the fenced pool area.

• State laws require pit bulls and vicious types of dogs to be leashed and muzzled.
The Humane Office will be attending training in May and will return with some additional information. We will share this information with Council and you can determine at that time if you’d like to ask the Park Board to consider alternatives.

Sebald Park - Local Asset Sebald Park in the Middletown area was reported last week in the Cincinnati Enquirer as one of the four “district gems” (three others are: Voice of America in West Chester, Rentschler Forest Preserve in Fairfield, and Governor Bebb Preserve in Morgan Township). These parks have the
highest rates of use in the area. Sebald Park is part of the Butler County Metro Parks.

State Pension Fund Increases on Hold We have been monitoring the changes to the state pension funds by the Ohio Legislature. Thankfully, reforms (which will decrease the costs for the pension funds, but increase the city contribution to the pension funds) will be placed on hold until after the November election.

What it means to Middletown is that Police probably won’t see an increase in 2010 for pension increases. This is one of those items that we bring up to show how changes at the state level can affect our local budget in an adverse manner. The Ohio Police and Fire Pension was originally looking at increasing the amount cities pay into the pension from the current 19.5% to 24% (same as fire). Each 1% increase will boost the annual cost to the city by approximately $50,000. We’ll monitor this closely and dial this into the financial plan if/when the legislation moves closer to passage.

National Police Week
The week of May 9th is National Police Week. During this week agencies throughout the nation honor their fallen and lost officers. The MPD will begin the week with a Memorial Service at Woodside Cemetery on Monday, May 10th at 11:00 a.m. The Mayor and Council Members are welcome to attend this short service at the Police and Fire Memorial, opposite the office in Woodside.

The Memorial Dinner will be held Thursday, May 13th, 6 p.m. at the Eagles Lodge,1300 First Avenue. All police employees, retirees and City Officials are welcome and may bring spouses and children. A brief ceremony will take place after dinner, with the social gathering to follow. For details and reservations contact Teri Gibson in the PD @513.425.7758 or email terig@cityofmiddletown.org by May 5th.

Breiel Blvd./Grand Ave. Intersection Modifications
A safety study was recently conducted by ODOT at the intersection of Breiel Blvd. and Grand Ave., as this location was identified as a high-crash area by ODOT’s Highway Safety Program. The Street Maintenance Division will coordinate with Engineering to implement the short-term recommendations which include:

1. Coordinate with BP Oil to eliminate the two driveways closest to the intersection (two remain – one on Grand and one on Breiel);

2. Convert the west bound Grand through/right lane to right turn only; 3. Increase the “flashing don’t walk” interval and add pedestrian actuation; 4. Install advance lane use signs;

5. Restrict U-turns, right-on-red at the intersection.

One long-term recommendation is to modify the northbound and southbound left turns on Breiel Blvd. to “protected only” turns which will require new signal heads, poles, mast arms, and signage. This project is not a high priority and may be added to a future capital improvement program.Street Maintenance crews will be installing new 3M pavement markings as a pilot project to see how it performs compared to thermoplastic. This new material, if successful, may be a more economical option for future consideration.

I-75/SR 122 Interstate Interchange Project
Dave Duritsch will also provide an update on this key city/ODOT project at an upcoming council meeting. We will be providing regular briefings in the weekly update as well. Construction activity resumed earlier this month. $16,708,250.83 of the $27,711,093.65 (60%) has been spent on the work along SR 122 and the I-75/SR 122 interchange thus far.

Crews are currently focusing on the west bound SR 122 to north bound I-75 slip ramp, new bridge abutments, and finalizing miscellaneous work (concrete, vehicle detection/signal timing, grading, etc.) along the stretches of SR 122 outside the interchange area.

Upcoming Events

April 25 Wildflower Walk – Bull’s Run 2:00 p.m.

April 30 Arbor Day – Douglass Park 11:30 a.m.

May 3 Park Board meeting – Conference Room 2C 5:30 p.m.

May 4 City Council meeting – Council Chambers (Lower Level) 5:30 p.m.

May 5 Airport Commission meeting 1707 Runway 2nd floor 5:00 p.m.

May 5 Zoning and Appeals - Council Chambers (LL) 5:30 p.m.

May 6 Civil Service Commission – Conference Room 2B 8:00 a.m.

May 6 Chamber Luncheon – Middletown Area Senior Center (3907 Central Avenue)
11:15 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. State Senator Cary Cates - Speaker

May 10 Police Memorial Service, 11:00 a.m., Woodside Cemetery and Arboretum

May 12 Police Advisory Board meeting – Police Training Room (LL) 6:00 p.m.

May 12 Planning Commission – Council Chambers (LL) 6:30 p.m.

May 13 Police Memorial Dinner – Eagles Lodge @ 1330 First Avenue 6:00 p.m.

May 18 MPHA meeting – Council Chambers (Lower Level) 5:30 p.m.

May 18 City Council meeting – Council Chambers 6:30 p.m.

May 19 Broad Street Bash – Governor’s Square – 5:00 p.m.

May 21 BC Legislative Breakfast meeting – 7:15 – 9:00 a.m. Ronald Reagan Lodge @ VOA Park

Links for additional information:
City Manager’s Weekly Update: www.cityofmiddletown.org

Middletown Community Calendar: http://www.calendarwiz.com/middletowncalendar (copy and paste in your web browser)

Pothole Patrol: www.cityofmiddletown.org or call 727-3691 (Option 2)

Have a great week!

Judy