This meeting of the Wauseon City Council was called to order at 5:00 p.m. by Mayor Dehnbostel. Following the Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silence, roll was called by the Clerk of Council. Present were Council President Shaw, Mathews, Stiriz, Chamberlin, Huner and Krumm to constitute a quorum for the transaction of City business.

APPROVAL OF PRIOR MEETINGS' MINUTES

Councilor Krumm made a motion and seconded by Council President Shaw to approve the previous meetings’ minutes as amended.
VOTE: 6 Yeas – 0 Nays – Motion Carries

Public Hearing

Amendments to the Planning and Zoning Code – Outside Storage

Councilor Huner made a motion and seconded by Councilor Mathews to open the public hearing at 5:01 p.m. Vote: 6 Yeas – 0 Nays Motion Carries
Ted Shroyer, owner of River City Polymers, said he would like you to consider the height of fencing. He put an 8" fence around his property and when we receive truckloads they come in above 8’. He would have to put up a 10’ fence to be in compliance with the new zoning amendments. He understands you have to stay a foot below the fence.
Mr. Hall said once this goes into place, a variance can be applied for. Right now it is forbidden to have any outside storage. With these amendments in place a person then could come in and ask for a variance from the Board of Appeals. Mr. Shroyer said then that answers his question.
Councilor Stiriz made a motion and seconded by Councilor Krumm to close the public hearing at 5:05 p.m.
Vote: 6 Yeas – 0 Nays Motion Carries

Jose Gonzales – New Patrol Officer - Administer Oath of Office

Mayor Dehnbostel administered the "oath of office" to Jose Gonzales. Mayor and Council congratulated Mr. Gonzales and welcomed him to the Police Department.

INDIVIDUALS WISHING TO ADDRESS COUNCIL AND TOPIC

Deb Nelson, Director, Chamber of Commerce – Shop Wauseon Campaign
Mrs. Nelson said she is here for two reasons, one to provide an update on the projects that your Wauseon Chamber has been working on and secondly to present to you an idea on behalf of the Chamber’s Marketing Committee.
Mrs. Nelson said recently the Chamber had their annual golf outing. It is a fundraiser for ongoing operating expenses as well as scholarships for Wauseon seniors. This year we were able to award six $1,000 scholarships. She is in the process of displaying a yearly display booth at the Fulton County Fair. We display parts, products and goods from our members that are manufactured right here in Wauseon. Our goal for 2009 is to put together a county wide trade show. We hope to have the trade show in the spring of 2009 at the Fulton County Fairgrounds. She has been working closely with the Good Samaritan Club, a large camping group, scheduling tours for them, during their stay here. They will be in Wauseon on September 17-21, 2008. Last year they used a hopper that was full of receipts of items they had purchased in our area. There were hundreds of receipts. She is now working with another large camping group that hope to stay at the fairgrounds in 2010.
This year we put together a coupon booklet for our members offering all of our out of town guests discounts. These booklets are offered at area hotels and at the fairgrounds. Our members were pleased with the opportunity to promote themselves at no additional cost to them. The Chamber continues to work very closely with the Downtown Merchants Association.
Mrs. Nelson said that the Chamber is currently seeking nominations for Citizen of the Year. They will be honored at our gala on Saturday, October 18, 2008. In addition to that we honor outstanding business of the year, business growth award, distinguished educator of the year, I Love Wauseon award, the Extra Mile Award, and the public service award.
The Marking Committee has asked her to present you with their idea to promote local shopping in Wauseon by way of radio advertising. WMTR’s 96.1 primary listening audience is Fulton County; however, they draw listeners from surrounding counties. The proposal is to air 100 ads per month at $5.00 per ad for three months. This is a significantly reduced rate. Each month the ad would be revised. We will promote events such as the Chili Cook-off, the Christmas Parade, Santa’s schedule at the train depot, Citizen’s Police Academy, the Feather Party and any other event. She is requesting the funds needed for the project.
Councilor Mathews asked about the months and why not Oct-Dec. Mrs. Nelson said that would be another option too. Councilor Krumm suggested maybe the middle of September to the middle of December. Mrs. Nelson said we wanted to do it for three months to see what response we get.
Councilor Shaw asked how much money does the City provide to the Chamber. Mrs. Nelson said the City provides to the Chamber $5,000 for on-going operating expenses and $2,000 for the Chamber’s website.
Mayor Dehnbostel asked about the Chamber’s operating budget and how much is supported by the membership dues. Mrs. Nelson said that the dues support about 70% of the budget.
Mayor Dehnbostel referred this to the Finance Committee for their discussion and recommendation.

Committee Reports

Tree Commission
Councilor Mathews reported on the meeting of the Tree Commission held on August 14, 2008. Councilor Mathews reported that thank you notes were sent to the Wauseon FFA for their help with the float in the Homecoming Parade. The Tree Commission will be filling out the application for Tree City USA. Katy Corkle has been updating the database for City trees. Trees will have to be removed to make way for the expansion of the tennis court renovations. They would like to see the plans for the oak trees that are being removed. We have not heard from the Boy Scouts on the progress of the 4 Corners project uptown and will check with them on this. Ads were placed at the movie theater on the Memorial Tree applications. Rick Frey has been compiling a list of trees to be cut this fall. Rick Frey has also been informing people with ash trees that if they do not treat the trees for EAB (Emerald Ash Borer disease), they will end up having to cut them at some point. The City plans to remove the ash trees as soon as they show signs of EAB.

Department Head Reports

Marv Wheeler, Fire Chief
Chief Wheeler mentioned that his department was called out on a fire at the parsonage at North Dover Church. It was a lot of labor intensive work because we had to take out all of the blown insulation out of the attic. One firefighter was slightly injured but the department did a good job.
Keith Torbet, Police Chief
Chief Torbet said our two new police cars are in. They are ready to go. They are downstairs if you would like to look at them after the council meeting. The radio tower is now up and completed. All we have to do is to work out the link between our office and the tower.
Tom Hall, Code Administrator
Mr. Hall reported said we are now underway with completing the sidewalk project. We discovered on Ottokee St. there were two layers of sidewalks. We had more tearing out to do. We have received a good response from residents along Leggett St. and Lawrence St. about the proposed new sidewalk out there and it has all been positive. There will be a few trees that need to be taken out where the new sidewalk will be but we will replace them with new plantings.
Dennis Richardson, Director of Public Service
Mr. Richardson passed out information to Council about bicycle racks. He showed two examples to give them an idea on pricing either for this year or next year’s budget. He reported we have three items out for bid: the resurfacing for asphalt, concrete drive at Water Treatment Plant and tennis court renovations. All those bids open on August 27, 2008.

Jon Schamp, Director of Finance
Mr. Schamp said the auditors are working on the 2007 year end report. They anticipate it will be completed within the next week. We are working on the note renewals that were passed at the last meeting. The paperwork has come and we can proceed with the refinancing at the end of August, 2008.
Stephen Buehrer, Director of Law
Mr. Buehrer had no formal report for this meeting

FIRST READING OF LEGISLATION OR EMERGENCY

There was no legislation presented for first reading.

SECOND READING OF LEGISLATION

There was no legislation presented for second reading.

THIRD READING OF LEGISLATION

There was no legislation presented for third reading.

NEW BUSINESS

Halloween Trick or Treat
Councilor Chamberlin made a motion and seconded by Councilor Huner to schedule Halloween Trick or Treat for Friday, October 31, 2008 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Vote: 6 Yeas – 0 Nays Motion Carries
People Setting Lawn Chairs by the Depot to Watch Trains Go By
Mayor Dehnbostel said he has noticed in the last few weeks, several people bringing lawn chairs down, setting them up in the park to watch the trains go by. It might be a good idea to put benches there. Councilor Huner said the Park Board will be meeting soon and will check on this.
Crosswalks
Mayor Dehnbostel said when the Safety and Code Committee meets about crosswalk signage, he wanted to mention that Montpelier had crosswalk signs right in the street and thought that may be something to consider. These are flexible signs. Mayor Dehnbostel also said that Chief Torbet had looked at a couple of years ago LED lights imbedded in the road that light up. Chief Torbet said that it is not cheap but very effective.

APPROVAL OF BILLS

Motion made by Councilor Huner and seconded by Councilor Stiriz to approve and pay the bills as presented.
VOTE: 6 Yeas - 0 Nays Motion Carries

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to come before this session of the Wauseon City Council, Mayor Dehnbostel asked for a motion to adjourn. Councilor Krumm made a motion and seconded by Councilor Stiriz to adjourn this meeting at 5:30 p.m.
Vote: 6 Yeas – 0 Nays Motion Carries