Why is it bad?
>> Welcome everyone to the September 30th,
2025 Beexi City Council meeting. If
there is anyone in attendance tonight
that would like to turn in a speaker
slip at this time, I ask that you hand
it in to Auditor McPeek.
All right, moving on to roll call. Mr.
McPeek, would you please do the role?
>> Uh, Mr. Marcelino, Mr. Hurley
>> here,
>> Miss Fable
>> here,
>> Miss Sod
>> here,
>> Miss Lampy
>> here,
>> Mr. Markham, and Mr. Silverman
>> here.
>> Thank you, council. Um, as council
members Marcelino and Markhamm let us
know in advance that they would not be
able to join us. I move at this time to
excuse their absence. Could I please
have a second?
>> Second.
>> Second by Miss Sod. All in favor say I.
I.
>> I.
>> Anyone opposed? And also the mayor let
us know that he would not be able to
join us this evening as well. So I'm
sure that he is with us uh wherever he
may be. Please join me for the pledge of
allegiance.
ledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands. One nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
All right. With us this evening, we have
a very familiar face, someone who has
been to council um every fall to tell us
about the upcoming Columbus Marathon. We
are joined by Daryus Blackford, who is
the race director for the upcoming
marathon. Welcome back and we are so
fortunate that you joined us this
evening.
>> Thank you. Thank you, uh, Council
President, members of council. You know,
I have this is my 15th appearance before
this group. I've seen all of your yard
signs uh over the years uh because it's
my personal uh task. I make this my
goal. I do the door hangers in Beexley.
So the I left some out on the table out
there. But you know, it's important that
we let the residents uh of the streets
that are affected know. So I put those
out. But it's interesting because I've
seen families grow up. I've seen so many
things on the streets uh uh that I've
walked each year to uh to let people
know. And I'm really proud. Beexley has
been part of this race since the very
beginning, 1980. And it's that's a
that's a wonderful tradition. So I
mentioned 15 years.
15,000 runners are coming to Pexley on
October 19th. I did the math. That will
be a 107% increase in your population
over about a 90minute period. So, not
not much in the way of voting or other
uh taxation benefits, but it's still a
wonderful wonderful thing. And the
streets, you know, the part we can't
control is nature and the leaves are
changing just in time, which is great.
Um the other 15 this year is $15 million
we've raised for Children's Hospital
since 2012 when we started our
partnership. Very proud of of the work
we've been able to do with a wonderful
community resource that's uh Nationwide
Children's. Um, as I mentioned, um, the,
um, the runners don't stay here long.
They'll be here a little after 7:30. The
first runners will get here maybe 7:40
or so. The last ones will be out a
little after 9:00 a.m. Many residents
don't know we do this every year because
they're still in bed. But, um, I'm just
very, very proud. I'm also proud of the
relationship we have. It's it's, you
know, talking about people changing. Don
Overly, I think, was an officer, uh,
when we started. you know, she might
have even been like uh with the cadetses
uh back then, but uh now she's a
lieutenant and uh so we work with police
and she has a great relationship with um
all the law enforcement that we work
with. So there's a lot of coordination
through all the different departments
and uh you know with that I'm just very
thankful. It's a privilege. It's not a
right that we have to come here and we
work hard to make sure that we leave the
streets cleaner than we found them. Uh
we have uh throughout the course we have
children from uh patients from
children's hospital out on the course.
Uh we have one at mile four which is
basically over at Columbus School for
Girls. Some of you maybe even been out
there to join them if you haven't been
if you didn't do the race as a runner
walker. Uh a lot of residents come out
uh with the family there to cheer the
the child is there. You know you know
who they are because they have a big
sponge hand that they give thousands of
high fives to people. So, you know, with
that, again, I just love to come and
thank you all for the support each year.
If there's any questions or or or
issues, concerns,
concerns, I want to hear about them.
Info at Columbus Marathon comes right to
me and let me know if there's been any,
you know, anything that you don't like.
I take those calls and we try to make
them right. So,
>> thank you so much for being here,
council. Are there any questions for Mr.
uh Blackford? Mr. Hurley,
>> I just I'm sorry, Mr. Hurley.
>> I don't even sound alike.
this way. I wasn't even listening.
>> Um, not not a just just two comments.
First, um, I I love the charitable
mission of the marathon. Uh, Nationwide
Children's is amazing. So, appreciate
all you do for them and uh just looking
forward to being out on the corner of uh
Broad and Drex to cheer on a lot of
friends who are running this year. So,
thank you.
>> So, thanks for uh thanks for running
through and uh you know causing some
minor traffic delays. I appreciate it.
>> Thank you.
>> It's well worth it. So,
>> thank you. I appreciate that. Miss
Bible,
>> we used to live on Drexel and I would um
and it went by when our kids were very
little and it was a huge tradition for
us to get the kids, you know, out of
bed, make hot chocolate and coffee and
we would go out and we would cheer no
matter, you know, how cold it was. We
would bundle up. And um I have a I have
one that's back from working in New York
and here going uh to school again and
she will be running the half.
>> Oh, congratulations. That's great.
>> So, it's
>> that's wonderful.
>> It's really, you know, so it's a really
it really does build community and and
build memories for not only the people
that are running it. So, thank you for
what you do.
>> Thank you. Well, you know, our phrase is
it's our race and it's not my race or
other people involved, the board
members, it's the community's race. It's
it's your family's race because of all
that support you've given and and uh now
it's your daughter's race. And uh I will
just give you one piece of advice to
share with her. Don't go out too fast
cuz it's so easy in this race cuz it's
you come into Beex, you're coming
downhill down broad. You get to Beexley,
she's going to see friends and family.
>> She still has nine miles to go. So tell
her to relax. So anybody else?
>> Mr. Silver,
>> you said that 1980 was the start of the
marathon. Um, I know that races and 5Ks
have become way more popular now than
they were. Um, I just wanted to say how
thankful we are that you come and walk
the streets. A lot of times you have
races and residents aren't aware of
what's going on. Um, and the more they
know about the causes cuz races really
are part of the community they're in. So
that connection point to the streets
that are involved means a lot and it
should be applauded that you do that and
we should do it more for all the races
and benefits that we raise funds for. So
thank you very much.
>> Yeah. I mean it it it's I I right after
the race 4:00 or so I actually drive the
course. So I'm here in Beexley about 410
4:15 and I spot where there were trouble
spots that trash got left behind or
whatever. Um and I come out, people see
me. I'm in a big truck and I'm out the
next morning picking up all the stuff
and we have a whole team that does that
and because again it's you're not going
to invite us back. You're not going to
want us to be part of this and you know
it's just it's it's our obligation. So
we're just thankful and it's the least
we can do. So
>> thank you again so much. U Missad
>> I'll end on that note um because you do
do such a great job of it. I heard today
at a conference that I was at, it said,
"Take care of your residents first and
then the visitors will have a great
experience." And that's exactly what
Council Member Silverman spoke to um
that you've done and you continue to do.
So, we're going to continue to use you
as our example um because you do it so
well. So, thank you.
>> Thank you.
>> Appreciate the time.
>> Well, I I'm very thankful for the
positive comments and uh just again, if
you have questions, info Columbus
Marathon comes right to me and I will
I'll get back to you.
>> Sounds great. We'd love to have you back
next fall to remind us about the coming
marathon.
>> We'll do our job first and we'll come
back. So,
>> thank you so much.
>> You all take care. Byebye.
>> All right, we are on to public comments.
Mr. McPeek, do we have any speaker
slips?
>> Um, I'm looking at the crowd. I don't
have any at my desk, but uh I do not
believe we have speaker slips.
>> Okay.
>> All right. We are moving on to the
president's report. Um, I do have a
brief report this evening. Uh, first and
foremost, I wanted to extend a happy
belated birthday to Council Member Sad.
Uh, one of the hardest working folks
that I've ever known, and she's been
super busy for the past two years as our
finance chair. So, happy birthday to
you. Um, in attendance this evening is
Danielle Fout. Danielle, if you can just
kind of wave your hand up. Danielle is a
staff reporter for the torch, which is
the student new run newspaper for
Beexley High School. Uh we met her at
candidates night, and she mentioned to
me that she's never been to a city
council meeting, so this is her first
time to come and join us, and we are so
happy that you were able to do that.
Um, council, as you may have noticed,
our mayor is not able to join us this
evening, but in his absence, he has sent
us the amazing uh, mayor Megan Meyer,
who's going to be with us this entire
evening. But the mayor asked me to read
a statement on his behalf given that he
was not able to attend. So, I'm going to
read it verbatim. As many of you are
aware, the Beexley Police Department has
been working closely to monitor and
address a series of alarming and
disruptive social media posts, which
have generated
community concern and an increased focus
on public safety around our schools. And
Chief Lewis and I have been working
closely throughout to ensure that we
provide all the necessary attention and
resources at this to this moment. Our
police department has and continues to
employ proven comprehensive threat
assessment techniques to evaluate the
situation so that all necessary steps
are taken to keep our students,
teachers, and school staff safe. While
this analysis has not to date indicated
an imminent threat, our unwavering
commitment to protecting students and
staff and the community at large remains
our highest priority.
In an abundance of caution and at the
request of the school's leadership team,
police officers are performing
additional patrols near the schools
during peak hours, as well as providing
additional coverage to critical spaces
and events. I'm happy to share that a
silver lining in the situation has
emerged. A deluge of overwhelmingly
positive reports have come in from
students, teachers, and staff members
who've had great interactions with our
police officers as a result of these
extra patrols.
As a parent, I want to share that I'm
happy to learn of these positive moments
and I'm comfortable and confident in the
knowledge that our schools and our
children are safe. But beyond that, as
your mayor, this situation has refreshed
some important concerns that you are
aware that we have been working to
address. With so many individuals
struggling with the wide variety of
mental health disorders and crisis, I've
long felt the need to bolster and expand
our resources for social and mental
health services.
Over the past couple of years, I've been
researching options and funding for
possible initiatives that are
appropriate in scope and context to
beexley to provide more robust mental
health support. We've pursued and
exhausted certain grant options and
visited peer cities to experience
different models for social service and
mental health support firsthand.
In Beexley, we pride ourselves in our
small town close-knit community. And in
line with these values, I know that we
can offer more for the benefit of of our
community, and we've been honing in on a
new concept to present as part of our
2026 budget. And I hope you'll join me
in helping to resource this critical
community need. Please let me know if
you'd like to further discuss this
information and brainstorm leading into
the budget season.
In the meantime, the administration and
Beexley Police Department will continue
to work closely with our school
leadership to closely coordinate our
ongoing community safety response. Thank
you for reading this statement for me.
I'm sorry I could not be with you all
tonight, but I hope you have a
productive and prompt city council
meeting. So, that is from our mayor that
I promised I would read that to. And
then finally, um, Miss Sod, I think you
had a an exciting day that you wanted to
share, uh, with folks regarding um, a
sustainability conference. Natalie, I
don't know if she was able to send you a
photo if you're able to put that up.
Yes. And while Natalie's doing that, I
want to give a shout out to Elizabeth
Elman. I think it was five years ago
now, uh, council member Fibel that we
hired Elizabeth. And it was reminding me
today when I saw her just in her glory
and in on her stage once again how that
investment when we were looking at that
I was educating myself on what that
investment needed to be and that's why I
shared with Auditor McPeek tonight. It's
always been important for me to get to
that sustainability conference to see
those investments. You realize that
investment early on so I want to give
you a little shout out tonight too. You
champion that. And um as I spoke to
Auditor McPeek today before council, the
amount of grants that Elizabeth works on
to bring back to our city more than
justifies the amount of money that we
spend on her role in our community. And
we were one of the first um communities
and I'm not even sure right now how many
in central Ohio have that role. So I
wanted to give a shout out to Elizabeth.
She spoke today on something that she
has championed in the community. It was
youth education and local partnerships.
um she spoke to that and so many people
I watched her when I walked by all these
people going up to her after her session
that she spoke and just saying great
things about her. So she was just a
great representative today for the city
of Beexley. the city of Beexley um had a
lot of accolades and a lot of people
talk about us in that um showcase and so
I just wanted to say how proud I am for
her in that role and to the all the hard
work that she puts in and also to the
group um of leaders that sit and the
sustainability committee they're all
they were all there today um our table
is always full and if there's a seat
that becomes vacant it's taken right so
it's uh the people who um are
championing that under Elizabeth's
leadership are um stepping up and they
they do their volunteer roles very well.
So, a big shout out to all of them. And
then lastly, I was really impressed
today by um a gentleman by the name of
Matt Kilman. He's the chief external
relationships officer for Metro Parks
Toledo. I would ask everybody to kind of
check that out. He spoke about um an ice
rink that they had go up here recently
and an initiative they were highlighted
in in Chicago um at their sustainability
summit on that initiative and um he
spoke about how just a simple ice ring
brought community and partnerships
together and you know I was smiling ear
to ear when I was hearing him um on his
panel. So, um, yeah, great job today by
this whole group that you're seeing up
here. And I think we had one more
picture of the rest of the table that
was full. Um, and then there's Elizabeth
in the back cuz she's constantly working
the room um, in that environment because
that's that's her her place.
>> I love it. I love it. Elizabeth is a
great educator. Not only does she
educate us in C city leadership, she
educates our students and our schools.
So, big shout out in case she is
listening. And last shout out is for
Carol Kaufman who's also um has been
doing great work in the world of
sustainability for years and she was
actually one of the speakers today too.
So fantastic.
>> Proud of our our community of Bexley.
>> Thanks so much Jess. Uh with that that
concludes the president's report. Uh Mr.
City attorney any report this evening?
>> I do not have a report this evening.
>> Mr. Mi auditor report.
>> Uh two quick things. uh one um pleased
to share that um
the CIC um received another award and
that award really is tied to Car's work
around we'll call it excellence in
financial reporting. So uh that was
dropped off I think this week. Um so
thank you for your hard work supporting
CIC and ultimately uh the city of
Beexley and and its strategy. And then
the second thing um just wanted to share
is that every year we do something
called an AIF. We actually have bond
council prepare it and it provides this
wonderful overview of the city of
Beexley. It's something that we're
required to do for our bond holders. Um
but it's, you know, a 10-page document.
It talks about tax collections and
property values and things like that. So
I'm going to work on a summary and just
share it through email. I'm not going to
do a 45minute presentation uh for city
council on it, but I think it's a really
good overview of the city and um you
know, things that that make up um you
know, our overall tax base and and some
important facts. I'll share that with
council in the coming days.
>> Thank you so much. We look forward to
that. All right, we are on to
administrative updates. Um, Megan, I'm
going to turn it over to you to kind of
step into uh the shoes of the mayor and
walk us through our administrative
updates, please.
>> Fantastic. Thank you for that. Um, I'm
going to go ahead and turn it over to
Carrie Martin, our finance director, for
her monthly update.
>> Um, my update is not much different than
last month. Um, it's great news. Our
revenue, um, to through August, we have
already received 73% of what, um, we had
projected we would get. Um the biggest
majority of that is um due to the income
tax and as we say every single month
that is subject to change. Um but so far
for this year so good and then um the
other thing is is um we're higher in
interest earnings. Um our expenditures
are coming in so far at only 56% um of
for the year which is excellent. Um a
large part of that is also due to um as
I had mentioned last month the fire
contract. Um if you look you'll notice
that August of 24 and August of 25 looks
similar. Um we are paid for the year
through August of 25. Last year we did
not pay the second half of the fire
contract until September. So next year
you'll notice a bigger variance on the
um on the fire contract. And then the
only other thing I have to say is it's
budget time and we are in full swing of
that fund season. So if anybody has any
questions,
any questions for Miss Martin? I know
during Miss Sod's finance committee
report, we're going to talk a little bit
about some budget stuff, too.
All right.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you so much, Carrie. What terrific
numbers we have. Appreciate it.
All right, Megan, how about over to you?
>> Okay. Um, so I was looking back and for
a number of reasons, personal absences
and whatnot, I've not given you an
update since May. So, I thought I'd give
you a really healthy one. Um, something
that I put top of list because I want to
make sure everyone understands and are
on the same page. Um, the community
builders are going to move forward with
um, a very limited phase one of what's
coming for 420 North Cassidy and that is
the Buster remediation. So, for anybody
that doesn't know, that site was a
former gas station and we've not yet
remediated it remediated it, which means
we've not yet removed the gas tanks. So,
that's going to occur October 6th to the
21st. It is a temporary closure. The
seniors will be welcome back after that
um through at least the end of this
year. Um, Director Price and his team
are still working out terms to negotiate
a temporary location here in Beexley.
Um, it's a little too soon to announce
that all to the public. Um, but that
will be worked out here in short order.
Beyond that, we don't have a definitive
timeline from the community builders,
but we do know they intend to close in
early spring um and would look to start
building soon thereafter. And so that's
that update. Um landing strategy we're
going to touch on later. did want to let
everybody know um that links did host
another openhouse for Beexley and it was
very nicely attended um although I know
a lot of people wanted to attend and
could not and so we have put the slide
deck um from their presentation on the
city's website. So if you visit
beexley.org/link
us you can find it there. And then to
add to what uh uh council member Sod
said about Elizabeth Elman, um we talked
about this actually and and how exciting
it is in just the first month of the
electric aggregation program, which is a
green energy program. It's wind powered.
Um it's estimated that Beexley overall
saved about $100,000. Um and so that's
really something to be proud of. The
energy market is doing something wild at
the moment and it's a good time to not
be green, but to be light on your
pocketbooks. So, um, that's all very
helpful. Um, other items are there at
the end. If there are any questions, I'd
be happy to take those. Mr. Harley,
>> um, two questions. The first under what
else? Uh, you have a bullet here. I
think it's the fifth one down.
Submitting preliminary application for
potential KOD plus expansion zone in
Beexley. What is that?
>> Yes, absolutely. Um, so I'll start kind
of high level. What is KOD plus? Um, for
those of you that don't know, in certain
limited districts, Kota has an ondemand
service which for all intents and
purposes acts very similar to like an
Uber or a lift. Um, you can put in your
desired location, get a rate to go, um,
and it will arrive within 20 minutes.
Um, as you could imagine, that is a more
specialized service than their typical
underlying route, and they only have it
in limited areas. Currently, the only
suburban area to have it is Westerville.
Um, however, it has been really popular
and they recognize that some other areas
outside of Westerville may want to
compete to also have that underlying
service. Um, what they find is that it's
really good for people um, who may not
be able to drive anymore, including the
disabled and senior population. It's
also been a big hit for students in
areas without busing. Um, and so um, we
are going to very preliminarily put in
an application. It does not commit us to
anything. There is a cost share
perspective. So, it's something that we
would discuss again over the budget
season um should our application be
taken seriously.
>> Um the other um thing worth mentioning
is that typically districts that apply
for these are much larger than Beexley.
And so there's also a possibility that
there would be some kind of east side
service area of which the city would be
party to. Um, something that I was
discussing actually with council member
Silverman is how nice it would be to
think through this um for those trying
to get to the new senior center that
we're going to be building on North
Cassidy, which does not have public
transit to or from. Um, and so this
could help um serve those individuals as
well as many others in the community.
>> Yeah, I I'm intrigued by this because I
I have um my wife's family, we have a
family member who um uses code a lot.
she has some developmental issues and uh
mobility issues and so she uses the code
of the mobility services a lot. So this
could be an alternative maybe to get her
to and from the J or the senior center.
So love the idea. Yeah, let's let's keep
us in the loop on that. And then on the
community builder site, so with removal
of the buster um
will that to what extent will that tear
up the parking lot or does it
>> it sure will. Um so that's a great
question.
>> So will that mean for what will that
mean for parking then? um is
>> post removal when they're back
>> post removal, we will pay to have that
portion repaved and reusable um in in a
very temporary sense.
>> Yeah. And just October 6 to
late October whenever they're back in,
where will they temporarily be
relocated?
>> The senior programming, you know, that
is a great question and I should have
prepared that, but I'm happy to follow
up with Director Price and let you know
what the plans are. As long as the
seniors I'm I'm more just asking as long
as they know where they're going after
October 6th, that's good. And I
understand you all are looking for a
more permanent home while construction
takes place next year. Correct.
>> Thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Silverman.
>> What is the timeline for the Livingston
project with TCB? Have they talked about
that one and how it's pairing up with
North Cassidy?
>> That's a great question. Um, so both
projects are in effect combined. in the
eyes of the Ohio Housing Finance
Authority, those are actually one
project. Um, which raises some
interesting questions as they move
forward. I believe this might be OPA's
very first ever split parcel project.
Fun fact. Um, so, um, what what we said
about 420 is true also for 2300 East
Livingston. Um, both projects would
close simultaneously sometime in early
spring. Most recently, I was told
February, but you always like to give
them a little more time, so I'm going to
say spring. Um, and then again in short
order they'd be looking to do demolition
and go vertical. Um, so both of those
are tied together financially and in
terms of like on-site logistics.
>> So construction would run concurrently
with each other for those projects.
>> That is our understanding right now.
Okay.
>> Yes.
>> Thank you, Megan. I wanted to call out a
special attention to one of the items
towards the bottom. um council. A few
few weeks ago, a resident shared with me
that Grove City um had opened up a
sensory friendly uh community space at
most community events. And not only did
they provide space for children or
adults who maybe just needed some extra
um uh an extra place to not not get
overwhelmed by a community center. But
they also started providing sensory
friendly bags to those who wanted it.
Um, I took that information to the city
only to find out that they were also
thinking the same thing. U, so I just
wanted to give a shout out to Megan and
to Mike Price. Uh we've been kind of
collaborating on how we could
potentially at least bring the bags to
Beexley given that we love our community
events and they are so well attended by
a residents of all ages. Um and we are
also looking to see if at some point
it's ever feasible to just have a
designated space during those events for
folks who uh may not want uh such
activity but also still want to
participate and attend. So, thank you
for for just kind of indulging me on
that. And I like that we were on the
same path. Mr. Silverman,
>> I was just going to add I had talked to
Mike Price about those same type of bags
for the Bpack
>> and they can restock it as they as they
need to, but um the Bpack is so popular
and used so often and so they were
looking at procuring um sensory bags for
for that area as well. So, I I love it.
Thank you.
>> I love it. I think that they're going to
be so wellreceived and I think that it's
another way that we make Beexley
accessible and friendly for for
everyone. Um, council, are there any
questions? Any other questions for
Director Meyer?
>> Megan, thank you so much for walking us
through.
All right, we are moving on to the
consent agenda. All right. In the
consent agenda, we have the meeting
minutes from September 9th, 2025 and
ordinance 23:25 authorizing the mayor to
enter into an agreement with St. Charles
Preparatory School to promote to provide
a Beexley police officer to work as a
school resource officer to St. Charles
for the 2526 school year that was
introduced by Mr. Markham.
>> Council, are there any questions or
comments on the consent agenda?
All right. I move to adopt the consent
agenda. Could I please have a second?
>> Second.
>> Second by Mr. Silverman. Um, are there
any comments from the public?
>> Mr. McPeek, would you please do the roll
call?
>> Miss Fel,
>> yes.
>> Mr. Silverman,
>> yes.
>> Mr. Hurley,
>> yes.
>> Miss Sod,
>> yes.
>> Miss Lami,
>> yes.
>> Consent agenda passes.
>> Thank you.
Oops. Sorry.
>> All right. We are moving no third
readings. We are moving on to second
reading of resolution 05-25 to seek
financial assistance from the Ohio
Public Works Commission for funding of
various capital infrastructure
improvement projects introduced by Ms.
Sad.
>> Thank you, Mr. Fishell. Um, this
resolution allows the mayor to authorize
and to apply to district 3 public works
commission and OPWC
for financial assistance for capital
improvement projects. This um capital
improvement project refers to East
Livingston Avenu's utility project.
>> Thank you, Miss Sad. Council, are there
any comments or questions on this second
reading?
Would everyone be all right with putting
this on for the consent agenda for the
next one? All right, Natalie, if we
could move resolution 5-25 for the
consent agenda at next meeting, that'd
be great.
>> Okay, then. Second reading of resolution
06-25, accepting the amounts and rates
as determined by the budget commission
and authorizing the necessary tax levies
and certifying them to the county
auditor. Introduced by Ms. Sad.
>> Thank you, Mr. officials. So, can we
scroll down through this so we can see
kind of what this is addressing with the
resolution in the second part? And then,
um,
when we go down a little bit further,
you actually see the funds. And that's
kind of what I wanted to highlight when
we're looking at this. Um,
this will commence on January 1st, 2026.
And it's pretty straightforward. Auditor
McPeek, if there's anything you would
like to add. Yeah, I mean it this is
again the annual
>> uh resolution that we need to pass. It's
really tied to Ohio law requiring local
governments to formally accept the tax
rates and the calculations for the the
county budget. So, um it's it's again we
we do it every year. Um but it it sounds
really really formal and complicated,
but it's it's just part of the process.
>> Thank you so much. Um and council as as
uh as noted when the agenda went out
last Friday uh because there are some
timing issues, we thought it was
appropriate to consider suspension and
adoption this evening on resolution
6-25.
Folks generally comfortable with that.
All right. Miss Sad, do you have a
motion to suspend the three reading
requirement for resolution 6-25?
Motion to suspend the three reading
requirement for resolution 6-25.
>> Motion by Missad. Is there a second?
>> Second.
>> Second by Mr. Silverman. Um, any further
discussion? Any comments from the
public?
>> Mr. McPeek, would you please call the
role?
>> Miss Lami?
>> Yes.
>> Mr. Hurley?
>> Yes. Mr. Silverman?
>> Yes.
>> Miss Fable?
>> Yes.
>> Miss Sad?
>> Yes. Motion to suspend the three reading
rule for resolution 625 passes.
>> Thank you. Miss Sad, do you have a
motion to adopt resolution 6-25?
>> Yes. I move to adopt resolution 6-25.
>> Motion by Miss Sad. Is there a second?
>> Second.
>> Second by Mr. Silverman. Any further
discussion?
No comments from the public.
All right. Mr. McPeek, would you please
do the role?
>> Mr. Mr. Silverman,
>> yes.
>> Miss Fable,
>> yes.
>> Mr. Hurley,
>> yes.
>> Miss Lankey,
>> yes.
>> And Missad,
>> yes.
>> Resolution 625 passes.
>> Okay. Second reading of resolution 07-25
adopting the city of Beexley 2025 land
use strategy introduced by Mr. Hurley.
>> All right. Well, I apologize for not
being here at our last meeting to give
uh this resolution and the land use uh
strategy uh the introduction it
deserves. So, I'm going to make a few
comments. Um, I first heard about the
land use strategy commission when I was
running for city council and I I didn't
pay much mind to it because uh I was a
candidate. I was knocking on doors as
some folks in the audience know. Um, and
then I was sworn in and I was like, "All
right, you know, I'm strategy chair now.
I guess I better pay attention to this
thing." Um, candidly, I work at the
state house in my day job and I'll just
be honest with you all. There's a lot of
study committees and working groups and
things like that and there's a lot of
reports that get recommended and at the
state house it's kind of a running joke.
They all get thrown into a pile and no
one really pays attention to them. Sorry
I'm being candid with you but that's the
truth. Um so that was my initial
reaction is oh great a report we'll take
it we'll throw it in a pile. I went to
the first meeting and they're talking
about going parcel to parcel door to
door and doing these walking tours and
I'm like wow that's pretty thorough.
Okay, maybe they're on to something
here. Um, and then I attended some of
the open houses and I see dozens of
residents coming in and they're going,
you know, detailed recommendations for
every part of Beexley and I'm like, wow,
this is, you know, this isn't just some
consultants in a room or some people in
a room. This is the community, hundreds
and thousands of handprints on this
document. Um, and of course we layered
in, you know, market studies and data
and a lot of smart people.
the idea that you had that community
input, I was like, "Okay, it's a good
process." Um, and then we had our
council retreat earlier this year and
and that was a fantastic well planned
council retreat, I must say.
>> Um,
>> planned by
>> and and we had this presentation by by
Director Meyer and Mayor Kesler and I I
was blown away by the recommendations
and by the vision in this document. Um,
and I haven't stopped talking about it.
Um, this is honestly a big part of why I
ran for council is thoughtful and
intentional development about growing
our community together in a really just
really thoughtful way. I use that word a
ton. Um, some things that really jump
out to this. This is actionable. This is
not some, you know, aspirational, well,
you know, this wouldn't it be great if
this could happen? this is very
workable. I I this is less a strategy
document than it is a playbook that we
can actually do. Um it is very realistic
that 10 years from now when the future
council, whoever that may be, takes a
look at this, they may say, "Gosh, we
need a new list of things to do because
all these things got done." Um that's
maybe a little lofty, but that's
honestly what I see with this. Um
this is not something you know we we're
adopting this but this is not our
report. This is or our document. This is
Beexley's document. Um and there are
thousands of handprints. Thousands of
people have looked at this, have weighed
in and have made this what it is. So I'm
ecstatic. Um I'm very fortunate to carry
this. I'm I'm late to the game. This
predates me being on council. You know,
the mayor, uh council members Markham,
Marcelino, others on this body have
worked on this. members of the
community, the commission themselves.
So, I'm grateful to stand on their
shoulders and and get to be the name at
the top of this, but I'm I'm a minor
player in this and I'm just very excited
to see this. Um, you know, this is
something I I'm not kidding when I say I
have take I've talked about this with
friends who are brewery owners and
restaurant cafe owners and developers
and clients who work in that space and
said, "Look, take a look at this. These
are this is where we're going to be in
two, five, 10 years. keep your eye on
Beexley. Um, and so once this is in
place and once we're working towards
this, I I mean, I think great things are
going to come. We already see it. I
mean, we see it right out our window
here. Um, and it's not, you know, we're
not trying to do what Dublin's doing
with Bridge Park where it's just let's
explode. It's thoughtful. It's
intentional. It's protecting the
character of our community while at the
same time maximizing our growth and our
potential. So, I'm excited about this. I
definitely do not want this on the
consent agenda because we will have a
very deep dive when the mayor is back in
town at our next meeting. Um, so with
that, um, I just wanted to hopefully
convey my excitement. And, uh, thank
you.
>> I'll take any questions, I guess.
>> Uh, Director Meyer, did you have
anything you wanted to add?
>> Well, I just want to say thank you to
Council Member Hurley for all of that. I
know that from the staff perspective and
from the rest of the commission
perspective, there really were countless
hours that went into the document and
the process. Um, and I still remember my
interview um, with city council and over
and over again in that interview it came
out how much Beexley really cherishes
their high level of public engagement
and you all meant it. You really meant
it. Um, and I'm learning along the way.
Um, but also what's just great is the
outcomes that you see from that level of
public engagement and this document is
one of those things. Um, from the seat
that I sit in, um, it's it is an awesome
playbook. I'm excited to see it put into
action. I do think they are very
actionable things. I don't think it's
pie in the sky. And so I am excited. Um
and I think that the region is excited.
I think there are a number of reasons
why the region is looking to Beexley as
a leader and things beyond
sustainability and more. Um with that,
as Council Member Hurley said, we do
plan to do a deep dive into what is the
document, what are the recommendations,
but we thought we'd save that for when
there's full attendance and for when the
mayor's back in town. Um, as requested,
I did print out copies for the council
members. It is available online to
anybody um who would like to see it in
the public at beexley.orglanduse.
It is still technically a final draft.
So, if you do happen to see something
that you have questions about, now is a
great time to let yours truly know. Um,
as you get oriented to the document,
kind of look at it as the first section
being the background, the purpose of the
document, how the strategy was created,
the process we went through, the market
analysis that council member Hurley
mentioned, uh, progress report on what
happened since the 2011 plan was
adopted. All of that builds into the
recommendations. And what's fun about
the recommendations is you can see what
we were dreaming. Um, we did have
renderings made and I'll put in the
caveat because this came up in the
commission a lot that we thought we
might scare people with actual
renderings. These are not developer
submitted plans. These are inspirational
renderings commissioned by the city, not
affiliated to any developer. But what
could be what could fit um within our
current zoning regulations and with
modified zoning regulations that are
included in the plan. So, as you're
looking through it, look for those
opportunity sites on what you should be
getting excited about. Um, and with
that, we'll get into the recommendations
next time.
>> Thank you so much. Uh, council, are
there any additional questions or
comments on this one? Missad,
>> this is just a great example to Danny's
point of putting pen to paper. And so
now when um people are looking to the
city of Beexsley and they say, "Jess, is
are you sure? Is well look at our land
use strategy. We are sure we have put
pen to paper." And um I'm super excited
about this. I would say aside from um
water and sewer, this would be right
there with what uh our constituents have
been asking for. When is it going to be
published, our land use strategy? So, I
know that the community is very excited
to to look at this and um to see that
fabric um being representative of what
we see happening um in the future of
Exave. So, great work and I'm excited to
learn more future meetings.
>> Thank you, Alex.
I was just thinking back to what Matt
had said about the CIC and the awards
they're winning and having this as a
playbook. I was talking to a friend who
does commercial real estate and I got to
share the the draft link version um and
he was he was blown away. I mean the
ability for us to work in unison through
the CIC the land use strategy um and the
hard work of Megan and and the others
that have really zeroed in on
development and what that looks like.
I'm very excited. I want to extend
another round of applause to Megan and
the work that she's done since she's
been here. Uh but this this playbook,
this land use strategy is going to be uh
very valuable to our community. So,
thank you, Megan.
>> Thank you, Alex. I share that comment.
Um the public workshop that I went to
about a year and a half ago on this one,
I have to say, was probably one of my
two all-time favorite public workshops
in Beexley. Um so, I look forward to it.
Um, any other comments or questions from
council?
Mr. McPeek, do we have any speaker slips
on resolution 7-25?
>> No speaker slips.
>> All right. So, council, at our next
meeting, look forward to a thorough and
wellthoughtout presentation on this one.
>> Okay, we are now on to first readings.
of first reading of ordinance 24-25
to authorize supplemental appropriations
for calendar year 2025 to cover
additional costs associated with an
increase in recreational programming
introduced by Ms. Sad.
>> Thank you, Mr. Fishell. Um, as our park
and recck department always does, they
do such an amazing thorough job of
giving us the information in detail when
we're looking at adding more to expenses
in that department. Um, so kudos to Mike
Price and his team. This basically
reflects an increase in games played and
youth basketball program managed by the
rec department and an increase in the
hourly rates paid to the referees. Um,
the two accounts that we're looking to
add to uh, dollar amounts is to the
recreation program division of uh,
recreation of park and wreck. And if we
kind of scroll down on this, we look at
the recreational programming
professionals, the 12,000 and the
referees at 6,000. Um, the increased
participation in programming, which is a
great thing, right, that we're using the
the WCK programming here in our
community. This will generate sufficient
revenue to offset the increased
expenses. So, we do foresee this um
money being allocated now, but it will
um be taken care of on the participation
in these events moving forward. So, very
straightforward and nicely done by um
our recck department. I'm glad to see
that this participation is happening.
Another thing just to note is that
referee fees have increased um this past
year. Thank
>> Thank you, Miss Sad. Council, are there
any comments or questions on this first
reading?
I think Mike Price will probably be here
either the next one or the the following
meeting so we can um ask additional
questions as well. Uh Mr. McPeek, do we
have any speaker slips on ordinance
24-25?
>> No speaker slips.
>> All right, we do not have any tabled
ordinances. Is there anyone in
attendance tonight that would like to
turn in a speaker slip at this time?
All right, moving on to committee
reports. Uh Mr. Markham. Um, did he I
don't know if he left a committee report
with anyone. If not, he can share that
with us.
>> Photo collage of all his information.
>> He will share that at our next meeting,
I'm sure. Uh, Mr. Silverman for service
and environmental.
>> Yes. Thank you. Um,
I want to start by acknowledging
Councilwoman Fibel and the time and
energy she's put into celebration of
events. We just ended probably
another very successful event season.
Um, we start to wind down as we get into
the the colder months. We do have a few
activities, harvest festival and the
pancake event, but um Smok and Fire was
last weekend and we were down at
Schneider Park. We do it every year for
four years now. And every year we've
done it, we've had a new thing to
introduce to that area. This one's the
skate park um that's coming in the the
spring. And I think back to some early
conversations I had with Lori about what
it means to be part of the city of
Beexley and the events. And I know that
we only have a few more months with you,
but I think I think about
these events and seeing the communities
gather and when I was down in Shinter
Park, the residents there being able to
experience
um
what it means to do an event in Beexley
and the commitment and the time that
everyone comes from the mayor cooking to
Monnique helping out. Um,
and it's really
remarkable and I just think about the
work you put in and um, I just can't I
can't thank you enough for instilling
the value of celebrations and events and
really championing that. So um, as we
come to another successful year, thank
you.
>> Thank you. And we should all give Mr.
Silverman a big kudos because he is the
brainchild behind Smoke and Fire. What
the
>> I I do want to make it clear that any
any crying by Laurianne before the last
meeting of the year gets taken off of
her crying time at the last meeting of
the year.
>> So noted, Mr. Fishell, thank you so
much. Um Miss Sod for finance, I think
you have a few updates to share with us.
>> Yes. So, um, on an email before council
tonight, um, all council members should
have received a 2026 budget
questionnaire refresher. Um, Mr. McPeak
and I work together on this, and it's
just basically, um, giving council a one
pager to utilize at your discretion when
you're meeting with your department
heads as far as questions that you may
ask. Um, also just a reminder to review
that strategic plan um before you go to
the departments and um and do deeper
dives into the budgets and just keep
that hat on as how does uh the budget
align with our city's mission statement.
So just a couple reminders there and we
thought maybe that one pager would help.
um feel free to reach back out to me on
email or give me a call if you have any
questions or concerns with that one
pager, but it was really just meant to
be a refresher and to help um guide you
through questions with our departments.
And also with that being said, um this
will also be given to our departments
and I'll leave that up to the mayor and
Megan to make sure that all the
department heads and Carrie get that um
so that they're aware of the questions
that council is looking to to engage in.
Um and then um I also just reminded
council we're doing things a little
differently this year with our wish
lists with the mayor. He's giving his
time and thank you for giving your time
to do one-on-one sessions. I just had
mine on Friday and it was great. Um more
thorough and uh the time was much
appreciated. So I encourage everyone to
get those meetings set by next Friday.
Um the date of next Friday is October
10th and I put that in the email as
well. Um and I appreciate all of you
working to get that done. Uh and I think
that is it. If there's any other
questions on timeline, um Laurian
brought up a great suggestion to attach
this to the agenda. So, we're going to
be doing that here moving forward. So,
in our busy lives, when you're looking
to refresh yourselves on where we're at
with the budget, just go um online and
you will be able to click on that under
committee reports and there it is. And
we'll keep that there for you so it's
easy to find.
>> Great. Thank you so much, Jess. an
example. Um, please feel free to reach
out to Natalie uh in advance because I
know that the schedules can be kind of
tight between now and Friday. So, just
uh uh be be patient if you can. Mr.
Hurley, strategic and health.
>> Uh thank you. So, um, from the, I guess,
health committee perspective, um, I want
to, I guess, preview, um, a couple
things I'll be working on and hopefully
introducing,
I would like to say by the next council
meeting, but but a couple things I want
to I definitely want to get done by the
end of the year. Uh, one of which I'd
like to do in tandem with the budget. It
kind of builds off what the mayor talked
about working on. Um the first would be
uh an ordinance to form um through
through our partnership with Franklin
County Public Health, we have the the
ability to form something called a
community health action team or a chat
um and bless too. And these um and the
these exist throughout Franklin County
in various communities and they they
really formed by you know Upper
Arlington or White Hall or whatever to
tackle a specific community problem. Um,
this is something I've kind of had in
the back of my head for a while. Ever
since I started attending board of
health meetings, uh, in light of recent
events involving uh, some of the safety
issues with the schools, this has kind
of been brought to the forefront. My
vision for a Beexley chat would be to
really do two things on the behavioral
health front. The first would be to
provide information, resources the
through the or to the community through
things like tableabling at community
events, maybe a resource page on the
city website, partnerships with the
library, the schools, the police
department, things like that. So, just
kind of being present and giving people
a resource if they're looking for help.
Um, and the second would be um
leveraging some of the volunteerism of
some of our community residents who have
uh a professional background in Beaver
Healthcare. I've had people come forward
in recent days to me ask, you know, hey,
look, I see, you know, you have this
individual, you have other people
struggling. How can I help? I'm a
counselor. I'm a psychologist, what have
you. So, how do we leverage that? So,
that's an ordinance I've been working
on. I've been in conversations with Joe
Misole and his team at Franklin County
Public Health. Um, I understand that
many, many years ago, Beexley actually
had a chat. I don't quite know the focus
of it. Um, but I understand it it kind
of imploded. Um, so I would look to
succeed where that one failed,
>> right?
Um and then and building on that uh you
know the mayor talked about having um a
budget ask around what what what sort of
I understand professionally to be crisis
stabilization. So you have these
instances where an individual is having
a mental health episode. They're in
crisis. Maybe they're contemplating self
harm or suicide. Maybe they're
contemplating violence. They're posting
on social media. We again this is a very
real example from very recently. um and
having the ability for mental health
providers to come out almost like an
emergency first responder. Uh Mr.
Silverman's been researching this a lot
and he shared a lot of resources with
me. I know the mayor's been researching
this for years. So, in tandem with what
the mayor is working on in the budget
with funding, I'd like to bring a
resolution or some type of mechanism
where council can actually put their
stamp on here's what we would like to
see in this role. Um don't have a lot of
specificity on that because obviously
the mayor's done a lot of work on that.
I want to speak with him. might want to
collaborate with Mr. Silverman and
others, but um I'd like council to have
a have a say in kind of the design of
this role. Um I don't think we would
sustain a full-time or part-time person.
I think this is probably something we'd
contract with. But again, it's a model
that exists in other communities. And um
in light of recent events, I think uh I
think we need to take a good hard look
at it. I was really excited when I
reached out to the mayor to hear him say
he's already contemplating this in the
budget. That was, you know, it's always
good when you have an idea and you talk
to the mayor and other colleagues on
council and they're already five steps
down the road and you're playing
catch-up. That's a that's a great
position to be in. So, end of report,
but thank you all.
>> Thank you so much, Mr. Hurley. Uh, Miss
Fible, Recreation and Parks.
>> Yeah, know that's great to hear that
he's working on it, that you're working
on it, that you're working because
clearly clearly the news is just
bombarding us with with this kind of
very frightening. It's it's it's not
just guns. Yes. And you know, we've got
to we've got to figure these things out
and we've got to, you know, figure out
their health. Um I want I hope everybody
noticed walking in our we walked we
worked so hard trying to decide how to
handle the whole idea of turning your
cars off so that the exhaust isn't
happening. And I so wanted that to be
some kind of a piece of legislation. But
I listen to all of you and I do believe
that this is a much better um option for
our community. A warmer, kinder, and
takes uh the pressure off of the police
and it being punitive, but more of an
educational piece, which it's so much
more in in keeping with who Beexley is.
Um I um wanted to this reminded me this
uh the sweetness of um the new year. I
want to wish all of our Jewish um
individuals in our community a happy and
healthy.
Um, for those of you that are not
Jewish, that um, part of a Russia sha
meal starts with apples and honey and I
would have loved to have this spicy
stuff because the 19 people around my
table needed a little spicy.
So anyway,
and thank you also um, for your sweet
words because and Snyder Park is such a
dear dear part of my
council tenure.
There was a lot of angst and and and
creating that park and I'm not sure that
anybody other than maybe the Louiswis's
were there for it. Were you?
And it it was it was a little angsty and
we had some fighting and I think that
there is not a single person in this
room that would say a child that lives
in that community are them. They are
ours. And that was something that
happened in this, you know, those
people. It's not those people, they are
people. And it is so special that there.
And I talking about crying every time I
go down there and I see people laying.
Although I really don't want them on the
teeter totter because I helped build it.
Be careful.
>> Good to know. Just stay on the teeter
totter.
Now, it makes me cry when I see people,
you know, and I've taken my great
nephews down to run through the water
and it just makes me so so happy. And um
Smoke and Fire was your baby and it is
just and it's all about shared community
experiences and that is what really
builds a warm and wonderful community.
So, I'm happy that I started it. I am
glad that I had lots of a a wonderful
team that just made it happen. Uh join
us next Wednesday if you feel like it uh
for a wreck board meeting. We have
changed it from the senior center
because there'll be things going on
there. It will be at uh Jeffrey Mansion.
So uh end of report.
>> Thank you so much, Miss Fible. Um did
Mr. Marcelino leave a committee report
with any council member? No. All right.
We will hear from him at the next time.
Uh, council, our next meeting is October
14th. So, if you can please note your
calendars. I'd like to thank our Beexley
Police Department for joining us this
evening. And with that, I will move to
adjourn. Can I please have a second?
>> Second.
>> Second. I'm going to give it to Mr.
Silverman. All in favor say I. I. Anyone
opposed? We are adjourned.
Yes.