July 31, 2011
Council debates timing of YMCA switch By LISA AURAND ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Delaware City Council is divided on how quickly to let the YMCA take over the city’s recreation program. At its July 25 meeting, council heard a first reading of a proposed management agreement between the city of Delaware and the YMCA of Central Ohio. “This is just a first reading. We’ve worked closely with the Y to come up with an agreement that protects the interests of the city and allows the YMCA … to manage the program,” city manager Tom Homan said. The new YMCA facility on Houk Road is expected to be completed in September. YMCA officials in April suggested
the organization handle recreational programming for Delaware, eliminating most of the city’s parks and recreation positions. Council members Carolyn Kay Riggle and Joe DiGenova said they would prefer to let the YMCA open and see how well it’s run before turning over the city’s recreation programming. Vice Mayor Windell Wheeler said he would be OK with waiting. “If it’s not broken, why fix it?” Riggle said. Council members Andrew Brush and Lisa Keller said they preferred not to
wait. Brush cited the cost savings to taxpayers. “I think it makes sense to have all of this under the same umbrella,” Brush said. “It seems to me this is a very … prudent thing to do and something that we all have to support.” The current estimated cost savings for hiring the YMCA to manage the city’s recreation programming is $147,624 a year, city spokesman Lee Yoakum said. Paul Weber, YMCA of Central Ohio district vice president, said more than 400 applications have been submitted for positions at the new facility. Weber has said that about 150 positions will be available at the YMCA and he would like the parks and recreation’s current three full-time city staff members to work for the YMCA.
Under the three-year proposal presented to council July 25, Delaware would pay YMCA of Central Ohio $185,000 to run its recreation program the first year, $187,000 for the second year, and the third year’s rate would be negotiated. “YMCA must submit a report detailing program expenses, revenue and participation, and year three’s management fee and program rates will be negotiated based on the information we receive in this report,” city attorney Darren Shulman said. The second year should provide a “good snapshot” of how the programming is running, he said. For the coming year, the YMCA would offer programs currently offered by the city and would not change program costs for residents.
It would offer additional programming at its discretion. City facilities would be available for rental as they are now. Current users Angel Dunlap Dancing and the Little Brown Jug Square Dance Club would continue to be permitted to use them. “City residents will not see any cost increase or services decrease from what they have now,” Shulman said. The YMCA would be responsible for facility repairs up to $500 per incident and for purchasing program equipment. The three-year contract offers an optional three-year renewal and allows either party to terminate the contract for any reason with 90 days’ notice. If the agreement is canceled, YMCA See SWITCH, page A3
County cuts 3 emergency communication positions
CHECKING OUT THE CAR SHOW
By LISA AURAND ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Lorrie Cecil/ThisWeek
Noah “Tex” Atkinson, 4, pushes his hat back as he watches some of the vintage cars go by during the 18th annual Blast From the Past auto show on July 23 in Delaware. The show was put on by the Vintage Auto Club of Delaware and benefited HomeReach Hospice of Delaware. The show featured more than 500 cars. Noah was at the show with his grandfather, Bill Atkinson.
After a yearlong reorganization of the Delaware County Emergency Communications Department and the Delaware County 911 Board, county commissioners have agreed to cut three positions within the emergency communications department. Delaware County voters on May 3 approved a five-year, 0.45mill renewal operating levy for the county’s 911 emergency communications system. Even with the levy’s passage, the county’s communications department has a tight budget. “As you know … (we’ve) been looking at the department budget for quite some time and it has been determined that even with the passage of the levy in May that there will be a $1.2-million
deficit at the end of 2012 for the department,” said Dawn Huston, director of administrative services. The reorganization reviewed the communications department’s current budget, operations, staffing levels and call volumes. Huston and Bob Greenlaw, director of Delaware County Emergency Communications, along with the county 911 board, considered that some duties were being absorbed or replaced by technological advances. “We had three administrative positions that are no longer necessary with this reorganization within the department,” Huston said. The Emergency Communications Database and the County Geographical Information SysSee CUTS, page A2
Man travels to city to thank Galena looks toward financing police officer who helped him new site of municipal offices By LISA AURAND ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Bill Sutton traveled a long way to say “thank you” at the Monday, July 25, Delaware City Council meeting. Sutton, a lawyer who practices in the Philadelphia area, visited the meeting to publicly thank Delaware police officer Jake Hartman for his assistance after a traffic accident June 19, 2010, near Wilmington, Del. Hartman was in the area to attend a family member’s wedding. He was the first person to go to Sutton’s aid after an auto struck Sutton’s motorcycle, throwing him to the side of the road. His left leg was amputated below the knee and a collapsed lung hindered his breathing. “When I came to after the accident, my impulse was to pull off my helmet. Officer Hartman calmed me down and explained that was important to keep it on,” Sutton said. In doing so, he likely saved Sutton from paralysis because, unknown to either, Sutton’s neck was broken. Hartman stayed with Sutton
“
He’s not about receiving accolades. He is a genuine community servant.
RUSS MARTIN — police chief
”
until a medical helicopter arrived to take him to a hospital. At one point, uncertain if he was going to live, Sutton asked Hartman to tell his wife he loved her. “You’re going to be able to tell her yourself,” Hartman said. The next day, Hartman sent a card to Sutton’s hospital room. That was when Sutton realized that Hartman was from Delaware, where Sutton had attended Ohio Wesleyan University from 19691973. “Seven operations and three hospitalizations and a lot of mending later, I’ve come to tell you about this good man,” Sutton said of Hartman. The trip was Sutton’s first back to Delaware since his graduation. Hartman and Sutton corresponded following the accident
and Sutton decided to visit the city to honor the man who was there for him in his hour of need. “(Hartman’s) own (police) chief, Russ Martin, knew nothing about this story until I called him a few months ago,” Sutton said. Hartman “didn’t do this for a pat on the back and certainly not for any kind of personal gain, but because he decided it was the right thing to do,” Martin said. Sutton presented Hartman with a plaque and donated $1,000 to the charity of Hartman’s choice. Hartman chose Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy, because a family friend has a child with the disease. “The people of Delaware, Ohio, are fortunate to have someone like officer Hartman looking out for them, and I say from the bottom of my heart, thank you for helping me that day,” Sutton said. Martin commended Hartman’s service for the police department as well. “Less than a month ago, (Hartman) most likely prevented a sexual assault in one of our public parks,” Martin said. “He’s not about receiving accolades. He is
You have a hole in your house.
JENNIFER BOYTAR ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Galena Village Council on July 25 passed a resolution approving an ordinance that will allow the village to finance funding to remodel the former Galena United Methodist Church, now known as building 1829, on a one-year, $87,000 note. The ordinance allows the village to refinance that note and roll it into long-term financing for the renovation project. The funds are available through the Ohio Capital Asset Financing Program, which allows communities to join together to borrow money in order to take advantage of cost sharing. Specific details of the agreement, such as the set interest rate, will be available in August. Scott Watson, of Miller Watson Architects, reviewed plans for the building, which has to be brought up to current building codes and then modified to meet Americans With Disabilities Act standards. He proposed various improvements, including paved parking near the existing entrance ramp, modifications to the current entrances, replacing handrails and the addition of a unisex handicap-accessible restroom near the current sanctuary, which will become village council chambers.
A closer look The funds are available through the Ohio Capital Asset Financing Program, which allows communities to join together to borrow money in order to take advantage of cost sharing.
The cost of the improvements to meet the ADA standards is $65,000. Watson will submit bid documents to village council for approval to move forward with the project. The village bought the building in 2007 for $283,000 with the goal of making it a new municipal building. The recession led the village to try to sell or lease it in 2009, an effort that failed. Council then returned to the plan of renovating the building, with the possibility of moving municipal offices and council chambers there and putting the existing municipal building up for sale Council also: • Plans to schedule a public meeting in August on options for renovating Walnut Street. The village is working to see if plans to finish See BUILDING, page A3
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