Negotiation items for Riverlea annexation
MEMORANDUM
April 15, 2011
To: City of Worthington Annexation Commissioners: Bob Chosy Lou Goorey Robert Schmidt
From: Village of Riverlea Annexation Commissioners: Scott Gordon Eric MacGilvray Kirk McHugh
Cc: Matt Greeson, City Manager, City of Worthington Steve Mershon, Solicitor, Village of Riverlea Mike Minister, Law Director, City of Worthington
Re: Negotiation items for Riverlea annexation
Listed below are five issues that the Riverlea Commissioners have identified as key items to be negotiated in putting together an annexation proposal, and a brief statement of our position with regard to each of them.
(1) Taxation. We propose that in the event of annexation Riverlea residents be taxed no differently than other residents of Worthington. In particular, we believe that there should not be a special assessment placed on Riverlea property owners for infrastructure repairs. The condition of the infrastructure in Riverlea is not substantially different from the conditions that exist in much of Worthington, and a special assessment would create a "double taxation" situation, as Riverlea residents would be paying taxes into the general fund for improvements elsewhere in Worthington while being taxed separately to finance improvements within Riverlea itself.
The March 2011 "Preliminary Evaluation of Riverlea Annexation" that was prepared by the Worthington staff proposes to add Riverlea to Worthington's annual street
improvement program (p. 8). According to the April 8 2011 "Updates" memo that was prepared by Robyn Stewart and Mike Minister, the City Engineer proposes to perform a simple grinding and re-paving of streets in the Village, as suggested by Bird+Bull, in lieu of the full street base replacement suggested by Burgess & Niple. The memo indicates that the Bird+Bull approach "is very similar to the strategy the City of Worthington used when addressing similar issues with some of its streets a number of years ago." (p. 2) In other words, by the City's account the street repairs that are envisioned in Riverlea are no different in scope or kind from repairs that have been performed in Worthington in the past, and that are likely to be performed in the future.
The "Preliminary Evaluation" also proposes additional evaluation of Riverlea's water lines and storm sewer system. Again, there is every reason to believe that these systems were constructed at the about the same time and are in about the same condition as those in central Worthington. It would be unfair for Riverlea residents to pay taxes to repair infrastructure outside ofRiverlea while also being taxed separately to repair their own.
As Mr. Myers pointed out at the April 10 Worthington Council meeting, the cost to Worthington residents of the projected street repairs in Riverlea would be modest; just over $33 ($20Q,000/6QOO) per household per yea.r over aIJeriod 9f 10 years. Iht:project5d sanitary sewer repairs would add an additional $5.40 ($32,350/6000) to that amount over a period of 30 years.
(2) Entity status. In order to preserve the character and identity of the Village, we propose that in the event of annexation it continue to be referred to as the Village of Riverlea, that the entrance signs at Riverglen Drive, Southington A venue and Olentangy Boulevard remain in place, that no streetlights, sidewalks, or other amenities be installed without the consent of a majority of Riverlea residents, and that the current footprint of streets in the Village remain unchanged.
(3) Zoning. We do not wish to add the non-High Street properties in Riverlea to Worthington's Architectural Review District. We may be interested in exploring the possibility of creating a separate review district for Riverlea, but would like to postpone discussion of this issue until we have had a chance to consult further with our constituents.
(4) Assets and liabilities. In order to protect Village officials and residents from legal exposure we propose that in the event of annexation Worthington assume full responsibility for all of Riverlea's assets and liabilities, as well as assume any ongoing contracts to the extent permitted by Ohio law.
(5) Representation. Reading the Worthington City Charter against the timing of the proposed annexation suggests that current Riverlea residents would not be able to vote on municipal officials until the 2013 election, and may not be candidates for elective office in Worthington until the 2015 election. We would like to explore the possibility of creating an exception to these rules.
April 15, 2011
To: City of Worthington Annexation Commissioners: Bob Chosy Lou Goorey Robert Schmidt
From: Village of Riverlea Annexation Commissioners: Scott Gordon Eric MacGilvray Kirk McHugh
Cc: Matt Greeson, City Manager, City of Worthington Steve Mershon, Solicitor, Village of Riverlea Mike Minister, Law Director, City of Worthington
Re: Negotiation items for Riverlea annexation
Listed below are five issues that the Riverlea Commissioners have identified as key items to be negotiated in putting together an annexation proposal, and a brief statement of our position with regard to each of them.
(1) Taxation. We propose that in the event of annexation Riverlea residents be taxed no differently than other residents of Worthington. In particular, we believe that there should not be a special assessment placed on Riverlea property owners for infrastructure repairs. The condition of the infrastructure in Riverlea is not substantially different from the conditions that exist in much of Worthington, and a special assessment would create a "double taxation" situation, as Riverlea residents would be paying taxes into the general fund for improvements elsewhere in Worthington while being taxed separately to finance improvements within Riverlea itself.
The March 2011 "Preliminary Evaluation of Riverlea Annexation" that was prepared by the Worthington staff proposes to add Riverlea to Worthington's annual street
improvement program (p. 8). According to the April 8 2011 "Updates" memo that was prepared by Robyn Stewart and Mike Minister, the City Engineer proposes to perform a simple grinding and re-paving of streets in the Village, as suggested by Bird+Bull, in lieu of the full street base replacement suggested by Burgess & Niple. The memo indicates that the Bird+Bull approach "is very similar to the strategy the City of Worthington used when addressing similar issues with some of its streets a number of years ago." (p. 2) In other words, by the City's account the street repairs that are envisioned in Riverlea are no different in scope or kind from repairs that have been performed in Worthington in the past, and that are likely to be performed in the future.
The "Preliminary Evaluation" also proposes additional evaluation of Riverlea's water lines and storm sewer system. Again, there is every reason to believe that these systems were constructed at the about the same time and are in about the same condition as those in central Worthington. It would be unfair for Riverlea residents to pay taxes to repair infrastructure outside ofRiverlea while also being taxed separately to repair their own.
As Mr. Myers pointed out at the April 10 Worthington Council meeting, the cost to Worthington residents of the projected street repairs in Riverlea would be modest; just over $33 ($20Q,000/6QOO) per household per yea.r over aIJeriod 9f 10 years. Iht:project5d sanitary sewer repairs would add an additional $5.40 ($32,350/6000) to that amount over a period of 30 years.
(2) Entity status. In order to preserve the character and identity of the Village, we propose that in the event of annexation it continue to be referred to as the Village of Riverlea, that the entrance signs at Riverglen Drive, Southington A venue and Olentangy Boulevard remain in place, that no streetlights, sidewalks, or other amenities be installed without the consent of a majority of Riverlea residents, and that the current footprint of streets in the Village remain unchanged.
(3) Zoning. We do not wish to add the non-High Street properties in Riverlea to Worthington's Architectural Review District. We may be interested in exploring the possibility of creating a separate review district for Riverlea, but would like to postpone discussion of this issue until we have had a chance to consult further with our constituents.
(4) Assets and liabilities. In order to protect Village officials and residents from legal exposure we propose that in the event of annexation Worthington assume full responsibility for all of Riverlea's assets and liabilities, as well as assume any ongoing contracts to the extent permitted by Ohio law.
(5) Representation. Reading the Worthington City Charter against the timing of the proposed annexation suggests that current Riverlea residents would not be able to vote on municipal officials until the 2013 election, and may not be candidates for elective office in Worthington until the 2015 election. We would like to explore the possibility of creating an exception to these rules.
posted by Bonk at Home at 6:54 AM
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