July 7, 2011
Bats delay roundabout construction By BONNIE BUTCHER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
The Delaware County engineer’s office is delaying until 2012 the construction of a roundabout at state Route 315 and Orange and Carriage roads. The project was slated for completion this year, until environmental studies showed the project area contains trees
favored by the Indiana bat, which is classified as endangered by the federal government. “Environmental restrictions prohibit cutting trees on this project between April and September,” said Rob Riley, chief deputy engineer. “It’s necessary to cut the trees before doing any roadwork.” An Ohio Department of Natural Resources website says, “During the sum-
mer, female (Indiana bats) form maternity colonies, almost always under the loose bark of trees or in tree cavities.” “With construction anticipated to take about two months, it would be problematic to finish construction in the winter, due to not being able to place asphalt pavement in cold weather,” Riley said. “Utilities will do work this fall and next spring to clear the way for road con-
struction next summer.” The schedule was revised a few weeks ago. “We are working on a mitigation agreement with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to mitigate impacts to this area. ODNR Scenic Rivers has authority to review and comment on impacts within 1,000 feet of scenic rivers. We expect that to be finalized in the next
few months. Once that is done, we anticipate ODOT approval shortly thereafter,” Riley said of what remains of the approval process. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency also is part of that process, he said. The road improvement is proposed to See BATS DELAY, page A2
Council approves reissue of bonds By BONNIE BUTCHER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
By Chris Parker/ThisWeek
(Above) Amber Conklin of the Delaware General Health District installs a car seat at a recent safety check at the BST&G Fire Station in Sunbury. (Below) Life-size training dolls purchased by local Kiwanis clubs in Powell will be used to demonstrate the proper use of car seats.
Kiwanis project helps parents learn how to use child seats By BONNIE BUTCHER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Area Kiwanis clubs have raised funds to help keep children safe while riding in cars. The Kiwanis Club of Powell, the Delaware County Kiwanis Noon Club and the Delaware Kiwanis Evening Club each donated $200 to the Friends for Life Fund of the Delaware General Health District, said Jesse Carter, DGHD spokesperson. Club members also requested and received a $1,000 grant from the Ohio District Kiwanis Foundation for the fund. Those donations paid for a set of six life-size dolls used to demonstrate proper car- and booster- seat installation and the proper way for a child to sit in those seats, Carter said. One doll is the size of a premature infant. Heights of the others are 13, 17, 38, 48 and 57 inches. Carter said they are “weighted and articulated to resemble a child that size.” The dolls have a lot of advantages over using the actual children for these demonstrations.
“The children aren’t always in a frame of mind where they want to be cooperative,” said Carter. “The dolls are another tool to make sure that children are riding safely. The more tools like that we have, the better job we can do overall in reducing accidents and injuries.” The health district holds car-seat safety checks throughout the county, during which Kiwanis members frequently volunteer. “Our motto is ‘Serving the Children of the World,’” said Joe Dum-
baugh, president of the Delaware Kiwanis Noon Club, “so getting involved with the Delaware General Health District’s car-seat safety checks was a perfect fit for Kiwanis and our mission of serving children.” The clubs also donated “Children Have an Identity” stickers — called “CHAD” — to place on the bottoms or backs of the car seats, said Judy Lamp, president of the Delaware Kiwanis Evening Club. “The ID stickers go on an infant
car seat or booster seat. They are placed in the back or underneath, so are not seen from the window, and they give pertinent information about the child in the event that the adults in the car are not able to speak on behalf of the child,” Lamp said. “Heaven forbid there’s an accident and no one in the vehicle is able to communicate with responders,” Carter said. “When they pull that car seat out, there is a sticker identifying the child and who the emergency contacts are, where they live and contact numbers. When we do a seat check, we will offer these stickers to parents. It’s another layer of safety.” Prevention of pediatric trauma is one of the objectives of the Ohio District Kiwanis, said Lynn Hanna Stoycheff, president of the Kiwanis Club of Powell. “We started doing the CHAD stickers, car seat inspections and we bought the training dolls so they could try to reach more people,” Stoycheff said. “The dolls also help if there’s (a language barrier). They help inspectors show the person how
Powell City Council hopes to help residents of Golf Village save some money by refinancing $9.6 million of bonds. The debt belongs to the Liberty Community Infrastructure Financing Authority (LCIFA), city officials said. The LCIFA was created as part of a 2002 preannexation agreement with developer Triangle Properties Inc. As a result, the city annexed close to 1,000 acres of the mixed-use development. Under the LCIFA’s terms, property owners in the LCIFA area pay 10.25 mills of property assessment to service the authority’s debt. The money was borrowed to construct A closer look roads and sewer in the Golf Village develop- Property owners in the ment area. Liberty Community InfraThe goal of structure Financing Authority refinancing the area pay 10.25 mills of debt is to re- property assessment to duce the inter- service the authority’s debt. est rates paid by The money was borrowed to the property construct roads and sewer owners, city fi- in the Golf Village developnance adviser ment area. Brad Sprague The goal of refinancing the told city coun- debt is to reduce the interest cil members rates paid by the property June 21, when owners, city finance adviser they approved Brad Sprague told city council members June 21, when the resale. The proper- they approved the resale. ty owners now pay about $359 annually for every $100,000 of property value, said Shari Baker of the Delaware County auditor’s office. City officials have said no city dollars have gone toward the LCIFA debt, but city staff time has been used in managing it. The city lent the LCIFA its bonding authority and issued $10.9 million in general obligation bonds as part of the pre-annexation agreement with Triangle Properties. City manager Steve Lutz said that favorable interest rates have the city looking at refinancing the debt. “If we save $40,000 a year on these bonds, you carry that out to 2032 (the retirement date) and there would be a savings of $800,000,” he said. The savings stay with the LCIFA, not the city, city finance director Debra Miller said. The LCIFA could use that savings to pay its other debts or expenses, Miller said. The LCIFA is responsible for about $32 million of debt, including that which the city holds. As part of the refinancing, the city might move some of the debt from general obligation bonds to
See KIWANIS, page A2 See POWELL CITY COUNCIL, page A2
Teacher’s hat wins spot in Kentucky Derby Museum By BONNIE BUTCHER ThisWeek Community Newspapers
Village Academy teacher Gena Fausel is one of this year’s Kentucky Derby Museum hat contest winners. Fausel, of Westerville, learned in June that the hat she created and wore to the private school’s spring fundraiser will be on display until June 2012 at the museum at 704
Central Ave., Louisville. In May, shortly after wearing the hat to the Village Academy’s Big Bash fundraiser, which had a Kentucky Derby theme, she learned about the contest and entered. “I’m on an email list for the Derby museum, and they put out a call for hat entries, and I thought, “Why not?’” Fausel said. The annual contest has run since
Tile & Grout Cleaning
2000, said Lynn Ashton, executive director of the museum. “We renovated the museum, and hats are so much a part of Derby, and have always been, that we just decided how much fun it would be to have a contest every year,” Ashton said. “The hats are juried and approximately 20 are selected for display. It’s a lot of fun and every year we have hats come in on an in-
ternational level. They come from all over.” This year, the museum received about 60 entries, Ashton said. “We try to showcase all different kinds of hats that you would see at Derby. Some are homemade. Some are designer. Some are funky, with a horse’s head sticking out. So, it reSee TEACHER’S HAT, page A3
Saving floors, one tile at a time. Spills and stains have met their match with a tile service from Stanley Steemer.® High Pressure Cleaning Process / Clear Seal Protection / Color Seal Restoration
®
$25 off tile service 614-875-7500 stanleysteemer.com
PROMO CODE: TNP25
Minimum charges apply after all discounts. Must present coupon at time of service. Cannot be combined with any other offer. Certain restrictions apply. Residential Only. Call for details. Certain types of tile may incur additional charges. Offer not applicable to natural stone or marble flooring. Offer expires 8/31/11.
Carpet — Tile — Hardwood — Air Duct — Upholstery — Leather — Area Rug — 24 HR Emergency Water Damage Restoration
Before
After