020311_ThisWeek_GroveCity by The Columbus Dispatch/Dispatch Magazines

February 3, 2011

IRS investigation

State auditor might suggest safeguards By LISA AURAND ThisWeek Community Newspapers

will look into procedures in the Grove City finance department and might suggest improvements to prevent future tax errors from The Ohio auditor’s office is doing more being overlooked. than probing Grove City’s “This particular audit is designed to asfinancial records as it insess the situation and see what kind of safevestigates the city’s late guards there are and how the department is and unpaid federal paystructured,” said Kevin Holtsberry, policy roll taxes. and public affairs analyst. A spokesman for state “We are looking specifically at the fiauditor Dave Yost’s office nance department, and address accountasaid a special audit team Dave Yost bility and transparency.”

Ohio municipalities should have measures designed to prevent and catch abuses and mistakes, but Holtsberry said he didn’t have any specific examples of a city that does. Yost announced Jan. 18 that his office would join in the investigation into the more than $1.1-million in taxes Grove City owes to the state and federal governments. In December 2010, the Internal Revenue

“

This particular audit is designed to assess the situation and see what kind of safeguards there are and how the department is structured. We are looking specifically at the finance department, and address accountability and transparency.

KEVIN HOLTSBERRY — policy and public affairs analyst

See AUDITOR’S OFFICE, page A2

”

City council to review new town center plan By LISA AURAND ThisWeek Community Newspapers

Photos by Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek

Dr. Craig Conard talks with South-Western City Schools health aide Chris Johnson, South-Western Career Academy ESL teacher Stacey Stevens and South-Western City Schools health aide Lisa Titus during an open house for the new Nationwide Children’s Hospital Ronald McDonald Care Mobile. The mobile unit will be at schools in the South-Western City Schools district on Fridays. The goal of the mobile unit is not to become a primary care facility but to be a bridge betweeen receiving no care to finding a primary care doctor.

Mobile clinic to visit schools By LISA AURAND ThisWeek Community Newspapers

A closer look

Help is on the way for South-Western City Schools students without a regular pediatrician. A new “clinic on wheels” will visit schools in the district every Friday. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile will be staffed with doctors and nurses from Nationwide Children’s Hospital, said Dr. Olivia Thomas, chief of ambulatory pediatrics for the hospital. “We function much like a doctor’s office, so we can do the usual well-child visits or sick care,” Thomas said. The mobile had its first South-Western visit Friday, Jan. 28, stopping at the South-West Career Academy and Finland Middle School. Students from two career academy classes toured the vehicle, as did administrators, teachers, school nurses and nurse aides. “We’ll be rotating between the schools, working loosely with the school nurses,” Thomas said.

The Care Mobile provides services at little or no cost to the patient. All insurances including Medicaid are accepted. The mobile has two exam rooms and can offer vision and hearing screenings, as well as immunizations.

The mobile has two exam rooms and can offer vision and hearing screenings, as well as immunizations. “We could be seeing two families at the same time,” Thomas said. “There is one pediatrician and one nurse, so the doctor could be in one room while the nurse is in the other doing some of the initial screening.” The mobile also has some lab capabilities, Thomas said. “We’ll be able to do some lab tests so we could,

for instance, if a child had a sore throat we could check (for strep),” she said. The doctor also can provide prescription medications, if needed. Forty-three Mobiles operate around the country, district spokeswoman Sandy Nekoloff said. The Care Mobile provides services at little or no cost to the patient. All insurances including Medicaid are accepted. “It is not free, but no one is turned away because they cannot pay,” Nekoloff said. “If someone does not have health insurance, the staff in the Care Mobile will help them find out if they qualify for benefits from the U.S. government.” The new Care Mobile, a joint effort between Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio and Children’s Hospital, aims to serve Central and Southeastern Ohio communities, Thomas said.

Frank Elmer, the planner who developed the 2008 town center plan, will unveil an update to that plan at the Monday, Feb. 7, Grove City Council meeting. Elmer, a city planner and architect, is a principal partner of Columbus-based Lincoln Street Studio. The 2011 supplement is available on the city’s website, grovecity.gov. It suggests answers to several questions: What is the best plan considering the current economic climate? What if lumberyard had been included in the 2008 plan? How can Grove City help the town center redevelopment process? Should the town center include a major park? The update suggests adding A closer look four land-use districts to the 2008 plan, in- The update suggests adding cluding a resi- four land-use districts to the dential use dis- 2008 plan, including a trict for housing residential use district for development and housing development and redevelopment. redevelopment. Retail develRetail develop- opment and restaurants ment and restau- would be in the market rants would be square district. A small in the market business incubator district square district. would be north of Park A small busi- Street and west of the city’s ness incubator public parking lot. district would be north of Park Street and west of the city’s public parking lot. The existing City Hall property and the nearby lumberyard property would be together in the public square or civic district. Overall, the plan suggests moving forward with partial development of the town center, prioritizing housing, “which would provide the much needed roof tops to support local businesses in the town center,” according to the document. It also proposes advertising the lumberyard property again to see if developers are interested in constructing a mixed-use development. Though the shopping and learning destination in the 3.53-acre triangular parcel behind City Hall was not consid-

See MOBILE CLINIC, page A2 See CITY COUNCIL, page A3

Jackson Twp. resident to become county recorder By PAUL COMSTOCK ThisWeek Community Newspapers

Jackson Township resident Daphne Hawk will be sworn in as Franklin County recorder at 2 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4. She was selected for the post Jan. 13 by the Franklin County Republican Central Committee and will fill the unexpired term of Robert G. Montgomery, who last month became Franklin County probate court judge. Hawk, on Jan. 31, said she has been working with and getting to know the

recorder’s staff. “I’ve been in there getting my feet wet and learning about each and every department,” she said. She praised Montgomery for doing “a Daphne Hawk fantastic job. ... This department has been a model for counties across the country” by tailoring itself to consumer needs. “That’s a well-oiled department backed up by experienced and talented people.

That’s how we want to keep it.” She said she plans to introduce some changes to the recorder’s website to make it more user-friendly. She has worked in real estate for 15 years, she said, and knows the web site is used by citizens, attorneys and real estate professionals. “I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag, but I think the public will be pleased with the changes. You’ll probably see them by Feb. 15. We are looking for ways to make things easier for the users. “I have used that website a lot and it

hasn’t been updated in 10 years,” she said. Hawk is a Jackson Township trustee, a post she will keep at least temporarily. “The trustee job is part-time and is compatible with being county recorder, according to the Ohio attorney general,” she said. She said she’ll resign as trustee before her current term ends. Hawk graduated from Westland High School and is married to Keith Hawk, a financial planner. They have three children. She has been a licensed real estate