THE VILLAGE OF MARBLE CLIFF

Marble Cliff Plans Dublin Road Improvements in 2012

For many years, the main north-south road leading northwest from Columbus was known as Dublin Pike. That dirt road, which followed the Scioto Indian Trail and the Scioto River, is today’s five-lane paved Dublin Road, a heavily traveled highway and part of the state transportation network.

During 2012, Dublin Road will undergo several phased improvements, including rehabilitating and replacing storm sewers, street repaving and, subject to funding through Columbus Department of Recreation and Parks, an extension of the Scioto Trail Bikeway to the intersection of West Fifth Avenue and Dublin Road.

Marble Cliff shares financial responsibility for Dublin Road maintenance with the Ohio Department of Transportation and the City of Columbus. The Village maintains the underground utilities and traffic control devices along its quarter-mile stretch of Dublin. ODOT maintains the pavement surface. The City of Columbus maintains the traffic signal at West Fifth Avenue and Dublin Road under a service contract with the Village of Marble Cliff. The City of Columbus will bear the cost of constructing and maintaining the Scioto Trail Bikeway.

Motorists will first experience lane closures in January 2012 as storm sewer pipes under Dublin Road and the outfalls above the Scioto River are rehabilitated. Old corrugated metal pipes, installed many years ago when Dublin Road was widened, have deteriorated, causing water ponding, depressions, erosion and unplanned lane closures for spot repairs.

The storm sewer rehabilitation project, led by Village Engineer Louis McFarland from the engineering firm of Burgess and Niple Ltd., was awarded to the lowest and best bidder, Nutter Excavating LLC. The proposed work will require lane restrictions along

Dublin Road beginning in January 2012 and lasting until the end of May 2012. Construction will be sequenced such that one lane of traffic in each direction is maintained throughout the duration of the project.

Due to the size of the storm sewer rehabilitation project, Marble Cliff submitted and was awarded a grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission to cover 74 percent of the $195,000 project cost. The grant requires no repayment.

“Village officials worked very hard to submit a request for OPWC funding in a timely manner that would coincide with the other scheduled work along Dublin Road. The Village is pleased and honored to be selected for the grant,” says Mayor Kent Studebaker.

Later in the fall of 2012, the state of Ohio will resurface Dublin Road from Trabue Road southeast past Cardigan Avenue. At this time, ODOT expects to sequence construction so that one lane of traffic in each direction is maintained.

Plans are being finalized by the City of Columbus Department of Recreation and Parks to extend the Scioto Trail Bikeway from the current terminus near the Riversedge Business Park to the southeast corner of West Fifth Avenue and Dublin Road. The paved bikeway is to cross Dublin Road at the Stella Court traffic signal and continue northward on the east side of Dublin into Marble Cliff. When the bikeway is installed, Marble Cliff has asked that new crosswalk signals and handicapped ramps also be installed at the intersection of West Fifth Avenue and Dublin Road. A construction schedule has not been finalized yet for this project, but activities may begin as early as the summer of 2012.

Income Tax Filing Information for 2011

Last year, the Marble Cliff Village Council adopted regulations requiring all residents of to file a local income tax return with Marble Cliff for tax year 2011.

Unless meeting the requirements for exemption from filing, all residents – including residents who have their income tax withheld by their employers – must file a local return for Marble Cliff. Owners of rental property in Marble Cliff are also required to file a local income tax return for Marble Cliff, even if they have experienced a loss for the tax year.

The City of Columbus administers Marble Cliff’s income taxes. This means that residents will use the Marble Cliff line on City of Columbus income tax forms to file their required Marble Cliff tax return. Tax forms will be available at the Marble Cliff Village Hall at 1600 Fernwood Ave. They may also be obtained by calling the City of Columbus Income Tax Division at 614-645-7370 or by downloading the forms from the Columbus Income Tax Division website: www.columbustax.net.

Additional information about Marble Cliff’s income tax requirements – including requirements for exemptions, a list of common categories of taxable income and an informative Q&A – is available at www.marblecliff.org/tax.htm.