WESTLAND AREA COMMISSION

February 17, 1999

The meeting was called to order at 7:00pm. Present were Daniel Province, chair, Jerry Billman, Hank Canello, Ginny Frank, Mike Hurd, Glen Hymer, Dorothy Jantzen, Brian King, Mike McKay, Jamie Mueller, Jan Province, and Dr. Bob Rinehart. Cooper, Makar, Saxton, and Wilder were excused. Also present were Leo Abston, Norma Abston, Sgt. David Eing, Dick Fischer, Marian Hymer, Bob Johnson, Tim Madison, Michelle Shemp, Jim Voyles, Jeff Woodson, and others.

Jantzen moved to approve the January 1999 minutes. Rinehart seconded. Approved.

Province notified everybody that election petitions are available now, though the bylaws state that they must be available by March 3. The election rules are unchanged from last year. The dates are the same as last year, except they are one date back. The election will take place May 1. Province asked for a motion to approve those dates. Canello so moved. Jantzen seconded. Approved. Province reminded everyone that the voting will take place on May 1, 1999, from 10:00am to 3:00pm, in the lobby of Doctors Hospital West.

The petitions must be filled out with at least twenty signatures. Commissioners whose terms are expiring are Carol Makar, Dorothy Jantzen, Ted Wotring, Michael Hurd, Glen Hymer, Debbie Wilder, and Jerry Billman.

Zoning Committee (Saxton): Province reminded everyone that last month WAC approved Z98-101, a request for a carwash with a brick exterior. The applicant has returned to seek approval of a change to this plan.

Madison reintroduced Johnson, Fischer, and Shemp. Madison said that, when he was heard last month, the chair asked whether they would commit to brick exteriors on the buildings. Madison's error was that he did say they would commit to brick. The architect's drawing that he showed to WAC did appear to indicate that there would be brick. However, there never was any intention to build a brick carwash, due to the enormous cost associated with building in brick.

Madison brought samples of the actual building material they intend to use. It looks very similar to brick, and passers- by would think it is brick.

Madison said that the builder intends to copy an existing carwash. He passed around a picture of that carwash.

The building material does not consist of large blocks. Each piece is about the same size as an ordinary brick, except in width. A brick is about 7 3/4 inches in width, while these blocks are 15 5/8 inches wide.

They have not chosen a color yet, but it will not be white or one of the lighter grays. It will be a dark color. They will build with the smooth side out, rather than the rough side. There will be no painting; the color is actually in the material. (The Thornton's gas station building next door is painted).

Rinehart asked what the Thornton building is made of.

It is about the same material as this, but they bought it without color, and painted it. That is a much less expensive way to go.

Province said it is gray, much like the pharmacy on the corner of Norton and Hall.

Was brick written into the original text?

Province said it was not. Province noticed this, and he suggested that WAC would approve the carwash if it were made of brick. Since the applicant agreed, the motion was approved with the provision that the carwash be made of brick. Since the plan is different, WAC cannot take its approval to the Zoning Commission as it is. Therefore, he asked the applicant to come back to this meeting.

Madison said that the original text did not specify the building material. When they realized that they could not commit to brick, he called, and was told to come back. They are not trying to do anything underhanded. It was an honest mistake.

What would brick cost?

Madison doesn't know. The architect said the cost would be prohibitive, though.

Johnson said that it is the same architect who built the carwash on Frank Road. He drew the pictures that we are looking at. They never discussed using real brick. The architect recommended this material, which has acceptable colors, and is water-repellant.

Shemp said the material will be custom-made with the water- repellant chemical added in. It will hold up better and look better than brick, which does not have additives for water- repellancy. This is a special building material created specifically for use in a carwash.

Abston asked whether this building material is cinderblock.

Madison replied that it seems to be in the same family. It is much denser, though, than ordinary cinderblock, and it is less porous. The color goes clear through, so that chips will not be noticeable. They don't want to have to paint it.

Cinderblocks are hollow in the middle, and these blocks will be solid.

They have not yet chosen a color yet. They haven't chosen a scheme for the carwash yet. It will be modeled after the carwash on Frank Road.

(The sample block that was passed around bore the brand name "Wellnitz" and a telephone number 276-2631).

Do they own the structure on Frank Road?

No. It is a nice-looking building.

They got their ideas from that building. The landscaping is good, the lighting is good, and the whole operation is very low-maintenance.

Province asked for a motion to amend the approval of last month.

Mueller asked Province about the intent of his original comment. He brought it into the text of the original approval. Did he just haphazardly mention brick?

Province said it was not haphazard. The architectural drawing seemed to show brick, while the text did not mention the building material. There is already a carwash on Norton Road near Sullivant Avenue. He wondered whether this carwash would look the same or similar, so that there would be some uniformity as you drive down the road.

You were satisfied with the look of theirs?

Correct.

It looks like brick.

D. Province said he would prefer if the building looked like brick.

J. Province said that the architectural drawing seemed to show brick, and the handouts we were given included a picture that was based on the same drawing. The written text did not say anything about the building material.

D. Province said that it looked like brick, so he wanted to clarify the matter, last month. The written text did not specify the building material, so he asked. A cinderblock building often looks much cheaper than a brick building.

J. Province said it is in the minutes.

King said that, so long as the building isn't white or "cement gray" he would still be inclined to approve it.

He doesn't want the building to look like the CVS Pharmacy, which is the color of cinderblock.

Province said the CVS Pharmacy is at the corner of Norton and Hall. It is offensive to many people.

Madison said that that is not the look he is going for, anyway. They want to build a nice, appealing building, for themselves and for, hopefully, the millions of customers who will use the carwash. It will be similar to the picture.

Canello moved to approve the building, so long as it will not be gray. It should be one of the darker colors of this material. Jantzen seconded. Approved.

Community Services Committee: Voyles reported that the Ohio Twelfth Grade Proficiency testing is over. The students do not have to pass the tests to graduate. However, if a student passes all five sections of the test, he receives a $500 scholarship from the State of Ohio, to be used at an institute of higher learning within Ohio. This is the first time this has been offered. It is intended to encourage the students to take the test, and to take it seriously. It is not mandatory to pass the test. It is mandatory to take it.

The Ninth Grade Proficiency Tests will be administered during the first week of March.

The tests mess up three weeks of instruction.

Everything is moving fast and furious regarding the coming bond issue.

Everyone knows about the new high school that is to be built. It will be the fourth high school in the system. There was an all-day brainstorming meeting today. They started by hearing ideas, and then they will begin whittling them down.

Money has been allocated to each high school to upgrade their outdoor athletic facilities, and some money has also been allocated for music in each high school. Each auditorium in each high school will be upgraded. It seems like a lot of money, and they think they will get a lot done, until they see what today's prices are. Then, the computers all need to be updated, and the Y2K issue has to be taken care of. Half of the computer hardware in the schools were donations. That means they were hand-me-downs. They have no speed, no memory, and they can't access the Internet or run certain software. They're eclectic, which means they can't communicate with each other. ODOT just gave them 42 computers, but they are not all the same kind. Of course, their memories are wiped before they are donated. They have some Macintosh, some IBM, and every other brand you can think of, and they are not all compatible.

The new 5th-6th grade schools are planned for completion a year from this coming November, if all goes well. The environmental studies have been done. The closest school to us will be just past Frank's Nursery, in that housing development. Or, perhaps the site at Big Run and Holt is closer.

The soil testing and all of the other environmental tests have been done on the Big Run and Holt site, and they are all approved.

What kind of school will be built near Frank's?

It will be in the housing development just past Frank's. It will be a school for 5th and 6th grades. The developer donated 7.1 or so acres.

Economic Development Committee (McKay): McKay extended an invitation to anyone to join this committee.

Province said that Hurd talked to the director of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce at the WABA meeting the other day.

Province said that the Westland Area Plan public meeting was held in this room recently. Thirty-seven people from the general public came to give their opinions and input regarding the draft of the proposed revisions to the Plan. The popular opinion was that they like the plan as it stands. They did not like the proliferation of new apartments in the area. This is nothing new; the Plan never called for the construction of more apartments. That Plan will go before the Development Commission next month. They will still accept e-mail or letters from the public. There were still some people interested in the village center concept. Hopefully, if the Plan passes the Development Commission and City Council, Council will allocate some money to study the idea. It would be a great place to have a senior center and a recreational center for kids. If the plan progresses well, City Council could vote on it by late March or early April.

Hymer asked whether there are any ideas where such a center could be built.

Province said it is open to debate, now. Obviously, it won't go on Fritsche's land; he is against the idea. It could happen on Galloway Road. The problem is that it takes a chunk of land. Land is expensive when you try to build it in a big piece. It takes planning; you have to build everything at once to make the plan work.

Our original concept was "stolen" by Les Wexner to build Easton. (The village center idea was not our invention).

Canello said he just read in an airplane magazine that Wexner plans to build a shopping mall that will be bigger than the Mall of the Americas in Minnesota.

Province said that the idea is that there would be houses ranging in price from the very affordable to the hardly affordable.

Hymer said that the plan needs 700 acres.

Province said that that would be ideal, but there aren't 700 acres together anywhere, that could be serviced by water and sewers. We would be lucky to have 200 acres on which to build. In the next ten years, we will be focusing on infill development, which is not addressed in the Plan.

Community Relations Committee (Balthaser): Voyles said that the July 4 Parade is coming along. They have a theme and they have three co-chairs in charge of it. Plan A is to change the route, to go down West Broad Street from Westland High School to the Big Bear. They have to deal with three different jurisdictions, the township, the sheriff, Columbus, and ODOT to get approval for that plan. Plan B is to do what they have been doing. They have committees formed to deal with the raffle, cleanup, entertainment, and everything else you can think of. The parade will be on Saturday, July 3.

The WABA auction will be on the 27th of this month, a week from Saturday, at Gala Events. The silent auction will begin at 5:30. There will be hardly any program at all. The idea is just to earn money for scholarships. Last year, they gave out $3000 in scholarships to Westland students, and this year they hope to do better than that. There will be a live auction of vacations, golf packages, a hot air balloon ride, and many other items. Then, there will be another silent auction of small items.

Province announced that Darby Woods Apartments has petitioned for annexation to Columbus. That petition is due to be heard by City Council around March 3. It might be a good idea for us to ask City Council how they expect to provide fire and police protection to that complex without jeopardizing our neighborhood. We struggled to get two precincts in this area so that we could get more coverage. Now, they will need coverage for this area, which has been handled by the sheriff.

Sgt. Eing said he requested an additional cruiser district in this area because of that.

Province said it is not in this year's city budget. He thinks the sheriff has two cruiser districts just within Darby Woods.

Eing said he knows there is a lot of coverage in there.

Is it Franklin Township now?

Franklin Township and the county.

What is the reason for the request for annexation?

Water. City water would cost less. The annual fee right now is outrageous. The new owners want to save some money.

Would it stay in the South-Western Schools?

Yes, unfortunately.

Province said that the development is within the Greater Hilltop Area Commission's territory. He has not yet officially contacted them to learn their opinions on the issue.

Nominating Committee (Jantzen): Jantzen nominated Jeff Woodson to fill the position vacated by Gary Wills.

Woodson said he moved to the area about five years ago. He is originally from Marysville. About two years ago, his mother moved to this area. She liked the area, and by moving near her, it made it easier for her to see her granddaughter.

He plans to stay here, and he wants to become involved, to make the place the best possible for his child. He lives off Galloway Road, in Greene Countrie Phase II.

Province said that, if he is appointed now, he will have to run for election in two months.

Jantzen moved that Woodson be appointed to WAC. Canello seconded. Approved.

Province gave Woodson election petitions and promised him an introductory book.

Province said that the seat for a clergyman is still vacant. The clergy cannot attend our meeting because Wednesday evenings are impossible for the clergy. Voyles and Province have been regular attendees at the Ministerial Association meetings. It may be a good idea to appoint Voyles to the clergy seat.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:40pm.