Fostoria council discusses zoning complaints

During Tuesday evening's Fostoria City Council meeting, several members of council had a discussion with members of the public about local zoning issues and complaints. With the upcoming winter storm, Fire Chief Brian Herbert and Councilman Don Mennel also gave advice about clearing snow from sidewalks and fire hydrants. Herbert asked Fostoria residents to dig out any fire hydrants on their property, noting that access to that water is crucial in case of a fire. There are hundreds of hydrants throughout Fostoria, Herbert said, and it's much easier for the fire department if each citizen pitches in to clear out the hydrants near them. Mennel gave kudos to the street department for cleaning up after snow events, as well as to small businesses and nonprofits for cleaning up their sidewalks. However, Mennel mentioned several businesses by name that did not plow their sidewalks after the last snow event, forcing schoolchildren to either walk in the street or fight the snow. Mayor Eric Keckler said the zoning department will check those businesses in particular on Monday and Tuesday of next week to make sure their sidewalks have been cleared. Additionally, the department will check downtown and residential areas that have had problems clearing snow in the past. Keckler said there will be a post on the city's social media page on Saturday reminding citizens and businesses about the 24-hour grace period after snow events, and asking them to plow their parking lots and sidewalks as soon as possible. Several members of the public also weighed in on other zoning issues — namely, properties that have fallen into disarray. One person stated that zoning should not be a "political tool" to manage the town, and requested a solution outside of government where only direct neighbors of properties would be allowed to file complaints. Councilman Greg Cassidy disagreed with that sentiment. "The idea that a neighbor should be the one to complain about stuff, but not somebody across town is ridiculous," Cassidy said. "We all live in this community, we all have pride in this community and we'd like to see the community prosper." Cassidy said he'd seen photos of some of the zoning complaints in question, and was not pleased. He said the goal was to have the whole community be visually appealing when anyone drives through. "You live in this community, you pay taxes, you want to see this community move to the next level," he added. "We're not doing it with this kind of crap." Councilman Ed Logsdon agreed with Cassidy, saying no block has an excuse to be "shabby." Another member of the public also spoke up about zoning issues. Charles Hall, a local attorney, said sat in on almost all of the zoning commission's meetings and prosecuted most of the zoning cases. He said he also worked with Fostoria's last four zoning inspectors. Hall said before Mayor Keckler was elected, zoning was used as a weapon. "This mayor is so careful about not wanting to step on people's toes," Hall said. "Nobody on this council, in this administration, has aimed any political get-back at anybody." Hall noted the responsibility to enforce the law falls on the mayor, council and Safety Service Director. He expressed his discontent with property owners complaining that zoning complaints they received didn't come from direct neighbors. "If you take on more houses than you can repair, stop!" Hall said. "Piling up fines isn't the goal of this city — it's cleaning up your crap. You have to work pretty dang hard to get a zoning charge." Several ordinances about zoning were read for the second time during the meeting. One would amend the schedule of fees for all applicants for certificates, permits, appeals, variances, amendments and other matters pertaining to the city's zoning code, while another would amend the Registration of Contractors section of the city charter. The third zoning-related ordinance would amend the section of the charter titled "Penalty." Each of the three ordinances will be voted on after their third readings at the next council meeting. In other old business, council passed a resolution to authorize the disposal of personal property, machinery and equipment not needed for public use via internet auction in 2022. They also had a second reading of an ordinance about medical marijuana dispensaries and the potential to have one in Fostoria. In new business, council passed an ordinance to amend the Permanent 2022 Appropriations by decreasing appropriations and taking from unappropriated funds in the CHIP 2021 Fund, Local Fiscal Recovery Fund and Water Fund. Councilman Mike Shaffer asked for more information on the appropriations going forward, saying he scheduled a meeting with the state auditor later in the month to learn more. Law Director Stephanie Kiser said she doesn't receive any more information about the appropriations requests from the state — just that they need to be passed as emergencies. Council President Steve Kauffman asked Shaffer to tell the state auditor they would appreciate the information in a more timely manner. In committee updates, the finance committee noted that their next meeting will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers, just before the city council meeting at 6 p.m. The public affairs committee, which is co-chaired by new council members Amy Mendoza and Mike Shaffer, recapped their first meeting, which took place last Tuesday. Mendoza said there was an open discussion with several members of the public at the meeting, largely about the charter amendments which will be on the ballot in May. Additionally, Mendoza said she and Shaffer created a public affairs committee objective sheet, and they wanted to help the other committees create objective sheets as well. Shaffer is working on revamping the council website at the moment, and said each objective sheet would be available on the site. Shaffer's website improvement plan is already uploaded to fostoriaohio.gov. Additionally, the city council web page now lists all the committees each member of council is on, and there are three new pages for each committee, as well as a page for the ballot for the upcoming election. All meeting minutes, reports and agendas from committee meetings will also be posted on the new site. "I feel like we're moving in a good direction," Shaffer said. Mendoza said the committee is also working on scheduling several upcoming town hall meetings, mainly to discuss the charter amendments further. In the future, Public Affairs Committee meetings will take place twice a month on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month. The public is welcome to attend all meetings, which take place in the second floor conference room of the Municipal Building. The next session will be Tuesday, Feb. 8. As for the Law and Ordinance Committee, their last meeting was Jan. 19 at 6 p.m. The committee decided Thomas Lake will be chair and Ed Logsdon secretary. At that meeting, the committee discussed the possibility of removing several city traffic lights and replacing them with four-way stop signs, as well as creating bicycle lanes downtown and replacing several road signs. The next Law and Ordinance meeting will be Wednesday, Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. in the conference room. During Mayor Keckler's report, Keckler noted that the ProMedica Red Dress Luncheon originally scheduled for this Friday has been moved to Friday, April 1 at noon due to inclement weather. Additionally, Keckler noted the upcoming ribbon cutting for the Urban Market inside Thistle Exchange, which is scheduled for Saturday Feb. 5 at 11 a.m. Keckler also noted that the city engineer will be present at the next council meeting to deliver a water quality report. Additionally, he said that the city has a grant application out that would allow them to study and potentially replace the current 120-year-old brick raw water line. The city also has a grant application out for several sidewalks and yellow flashing lights at intersections where children cross to get to school. Joshua Clark, the Director of Public Service and Safety, announced the police department's newest hire, Cole Noftz, who started in the position on January 24. Clark also noted that he just received eight new applications for the water treatment plant manager position. Additionally, Clark said a new open position at the water distribution department will be posted soon. Finally, Clark noted that sign-ups for a text alert system for weather conditions and road closures are now available on the city website. Paul Allison addressed the council to announce the Records Commission's upcoming meeting on Thursday, Feb. 17 at 2 p.m. in the conference room. The commission works to dispose of obsolete materials like financial records on a schedule. In miscellaneous business, the council chose not to schedule a liquor license hearing for Jiana Enterprise, Inc. Additionally, they added John Schuld as a community partner and Don Mennel as a council representative for the Fiscal Recovery Task Force. The next Fostoria City Council meeting will take place Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 6 p.m.