0113twA01AUA by Dispatch Magazines/The Columbus Dispatch

Jan. 13, 2011

AEP to begin work Monday on Lane Ave. By CHRIS BOURNEA ThisWeek Community Newspapers Upper Arlington city officials encourage residents to exercise caution when construction begins on Lane Avenue this month on a new American Electric Power underground utility line. AEP representatives and city officials discussed details of the project at a public meeting Monday night at the city’s Municipal Services Center. AEP’s current plan is to start construction as early as Jan. 17, beginning at Northwest Boulevard and working west to River-

side Drive. One lane of traffic in each direction will be maintained until the operation reaches Asbury Drive. While construction is in progress from AsJoe bury to Riverside, Valentino Lane will be closed to through traffic, but open to local traffic on Asbury Drive from the east. This section of the project is anticipated to be complete by the end of April.

Once the western portion of the project is finished, the contractor will return to Northwest Boulevard and work on the east, with one lane of traffic maintained in each direction. This section of the project should be completed by the end of May. About 30 residents attended Monday night’s meeting, and some expressed concerns about drivers speeding along Lane Avenue and cutting through surrounding streets to avoid congestion. Deputy city manager Joe Valentino See AEP, page A5

By Erin Holl/ThisWeek

Post Office is expected to make late summer move to Kingsdale

LISTEN AND LEARN

By ANDREW MILLER ThisWeek Community Newspapers

By Tim Norman/ThisWeek

Lauren Carmichael, 5, reads with Lucky, a five-year-old Shih Tzu, at the Lane Road branch of the Upper Arlington Public Library on Jan. 9. Four therapy dogs and their owners participated in the event aimed at helping children practice their reading skills. Lucky is owned by Jennifer Young.

Tree of Life drops state action against city, files federal lawsuit By MICHAEL J. MAURER ThisWeek Community Newspapers A dispute between the city of Upper Arlington and the Tree of Life Christian School has moved into federal court following a contentious year of proceedings. It began when Tree of Life expressed interest in purchasing the former AOL site on Henderson Road and consolidating its Columbus area students at a new campus there. It sought and was denied a conditional use permit from the city to do so. The city has long viewed the AOL site as the best commercially zoned, unoccupied location in Upper Arlington capable of attracting high-end office use and the income tax revenue that would accompany it. The complex procedural process that traveled twice through city planning and zoning offices, the board of zoning appeals and city

council and was ultimately appealed to the state courts, was dismissed last week and filed as a federal court action. City spokesperson Emma Speight said the city was unaware of Tree of Life’s change of forum until it had happened. “We’re looking at just the federal suit at this point,” Speight said. “On Jan. 5, we started getting calls from the local media who had received a press release stating Alliance Defense Fund had filed a lawsuit on behalf of Tree of Life against the city. That was the first we had heard of it. We ended up receiving the papers about 4 p.m. that afternoon. We found out the next day that Tree of Life had dismissed its suit in Franklin County.” Attorney Erik Stanley of the Alliance Defense Fund said it was common for similar suits to be resolved in less than two years. “Tree of Life has filed the lawsuit to protect its constitutional rights and will be pro-

ceeding with that,” Stanley said. “We always maintain an open posture to talk settlement if the city wants, but we are going to push forward with the lawsuit.” Stanley said the city is not treating like uses equally. “For Tree of Life this case is all about equal treatment under the city of Upper Arlington’s zoning code,” Stanley said. “The code allows for similar uses to what Tree of Life wants to do as permitted uses or conditional uses in the office and research center zoning district where Tree of Life is located, but Tree of Life has been told they could not even apply. It’s really a case of equal treatment under the law.” In a written statement, the city said revenue from the site is important. “Members of current and past city councils have all stated that proactive economic See LAWSUIT, page A2

The U.S. Postal Service is shipping out from its current location at 3700 Riverside Drive to a new retail location at the Kingsdale Shopping Center, but not for a few more months. The new operation is a costcutting measure for the postal service, according to Richard Hancock, a real estate specialist for the USPS Eastern Facilities Service Office. The savings will not affect services, however, and he said it should provide added convenience for many Upper Arlington residents with the newlybuilt facility and more centralized location. In early 2010, city council worked with the USPS to survey residents about the best location for the new branch office. The USPS looked at sites at 2812 Fishinger Road, 3280 Riverside Drive, 2121 Riverside Drive and then at the Kingsdale, Arlington Commons and Fiesta shopping centers. Survey results from the February poll showed 58 percent of residents felt that Kingsdale would be the best fit. Although resident input was not the only factor in making this decision, the USPS did take it into consideration and ultimately came to the same conclusion as residents. An official move date has not yet been announced, but Hancock said the timeframe for the move is scheduled for sometime between the end of July and the beginning of September.

A closer look In early 2010, city council worked with the USPS to survey residents about the best location for the new branch office. Survey results from the February poll showed 58 percent of residents felt that Kingsdale would be the best fit.

While the current location handles mail sorting and distribution functions, the new location only will serve as a retail location. “The mail sorting that was occurring at the Riverside location will move down to the Twin Rivers location,” Hancock said. “(We are) not aware of any planned job cuts associated with the move.” The new location is expected to continue to provide similar lobby services available at the current location such as shipping, passport applications and packaging and postage sales. The new location also will continue to offer post office box services. Lobby hours are expected to remain the same as at the current location: Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and closed on Sunday. Matt Shad, the city’s economic development director, told ThisWeek that the current owner of the Riverside Drive property has not announced how the space might be used after the lease with the U.S. Post Office concludes.

Board approves tentative agreement with OAPSE By KATE HETRICK ThisWeek Community Newspapers The Upper Arlington Board of Education approved a provisional contract with the Ohio Association of Public School Employees (OAPSE) Local 201 at Monday night’s meeting. Board members discussed the terms of the tentative agreement in executive session. Steve Phillips, the district’s executive director of personnel, said the board has agreed to a three-year contract , beginning in January 2011 and ending in December 2013.

The contract includes a 2 percent base increase in salary for 2011, to be followed by a 1.25 percent increase in 2012 and a 1.85 percent increase in 2013. Under the new contract, OAPSE members will pay a higher percentage of their health insurance premiums. The premium for individual coverage will increase from 5 to 7 percent in 2011, and from 7 to 8 percent in 2013. The family coverage premium will increase from 8 to 10 percent in 2011, and from 10 to 11 percent in 2013. Phillips said negotiations with OAPSE spanned three days. Mike Vernon, the

head custodian at Barrington Elementary School, serves as president of the local OAPSE chapter. “They did their homework; we did our homework,” Phillips said. “We put our issues on the table and had a good exchange.” The “language and concepts” of the contract have been decided, he said, but it has yet to be finalized. The district must meet with Chad Caldwell, OAPSE state representative, before the contract is official. Board members also heard a report from district audit committee representatives Andy Livingston and Linda

Moulakis. Moulakis said an independent financial audit was conducted for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010. “The report states that there were no material control weakness conditions, no deficiencies, no reported material non-compliance issues and no material internal control weaknesses,” she said. “We continue to be a low-risk auditee.” In other matters: Marjory Pizzuti was sworn in as board president for 2011, replacing Robert Arkin. Robin Comfort was reelected to the position of vice-president. Comfort

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See OAPSE, page A2

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