ThisWeek Reynoldsburg 3/24

Page 1

March 24, 2011

Lower fees considered for park facilities By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers The Reynoldsburg community development committee discussed the possibility March 21 of changing the fees it charges sports organizations to use the city’s baseball and soccer facilities. The topic was introduced by parks and recreation department director Jason Shamblin, who said current fees of $70 per day for residents, $100 for nonresidents, seem to be a deterrent.

As a result, Shamblin is proposing the fee structure to be changed to $20 for every two hours with a cap of $60 if an event runs longer than six hours. “We work with a lot of outside groups and we’ve really tried to encourage participation in the parks,” he said. “One of the obstacles that I’ve run into with these organizations is the fees.” He cited two reasons for the proposed change: to avoid forcing an organization to commit to using a facility for an entire day and to provide the opportunity for more organizations to use the

facilities when they are vacant. The city has three parks — Civic Park, Huber Park and Kennedy Park — that have baseball and soccer fields available to rent to various organizations for tournaments during the spring and summer. Shamblin said the available facilities include 18 baseball diamonds and potentially about a dozen or so soccer fields. He said many times, tournaments last a couple of hours or maybe a little more. “After research on how some other communities are established, I decided

to propose changing that fee,” Shamblin told the committee. Council president William Hills asked Shamblin why a cap of $60 was put on his proposed fee structure. He said this change seems unusual with the economy the way it is. “We say to the public, ‘we charge this amount,’ but now we’re going to start charging less and this probably isn’t the time or the economy with a whole lot of people charging less,” Hills said. Shamblin said based on his research, the $60 cap is still a bit high for youth

sports organizations. However, he said, the change could encourage more use of city sports facilities. Before the proposed changes can be considered for approval, Shamblin said he will be working with city attorney Jed Hood to modify language in the current city ordinance. Once that is done, Shamblin said he will resubmit the proposed changes to the community development committee for further discussion. dowen@thisweeknews.com www.ThisWeekNews.com

Council to vote on new director of engineering By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers Reynoldsburg City Council is expected to vote March 28 on the appointment of a new director of engineering. Current safety-service director Jim Miller told council’s safety committee on Monday, March 21, he has recommended that Mayor Brad McCloud appoint Elmer (Mark) Vogt II to the post. Miller said if Vogt is confirmed by council, he will be responsible for the city’s general engineering projects and will provide construction administration services. McCloud decided in January to have Miller, then director of Elmer Vogt engineering, succeed former safety-service director Pam Boratyn, who left to accept a position as general counsel with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. That left Miller taking on both the engineering and safety service director duties until McCloud could decide on finding a replacement. Vogt should start his new position on April 18 with a starting salary of $60,000, Miller said. Vogt, 67, a native of Massillon, currently resides in Worthington. He has been in the construction engineering business for the past 44 years. He recently contracted with the Mannik and Smith Construction Group as a construction administrator, overseeing Reynoldsburg’s 2010 street program and reconstruction of Rosehill Road. Vogt graduated from Ohio Northern University in 1967 with a bachelor of science degree in

By Chris Parker/ThisWeek

Bus driver Maryellen Theaumont plans to retire in June after 39 years driving school buses in Reynoldsburg.

Bus driver to retire after 39 years By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers After almost 39 years of driving thousands of miles, Reynoldsburg school bus driver Maryellen Theaumont plans to retire in June. Theaumont, now 72, was hired as a driver on March 26, 1973. Before then, she acknowledged, driving a school bus was the last thing she ever envisioned herself doing. “That was the furthest thing in the world from what I would have thought I would have ever wanted to do,” Theaumont said. “And here I am today, crying because I’m choosing to give it up.” She said she “loved the job from the day I started … except having to check out the bus at 6:15 a.m. in frigid, zero-degree weather when everything is covered with ice.” The most important thing about the job, she said, is the interaction she has with the children. “The parents that I’ve met through those children, and the coaches and the teachers throughout those years, I’ve had a very close relationship with them,” she said.

See DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING, page A3

Site plans submitted for BW3 on Taylor Road By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers A new Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar (BW3) could be open across from the Taylor Square shopping center as soon as this fall. The Reynoldsburg Board of Zoning and Building Appeals approved major site plans March 17 for a 6,000-square-foot BW3 restaurant at the southeast corner of Taylor Road and Taylor Square Drive. The 1.3-acre parcel is currently an open field. Plans for the restaurant include space for 139 parking spots and a large indoor-outdoor patio facing Taylor Road. See TAYLOR ROAD BW3, page A2

That was the furthest thing in the world from what I would have thought I would have ever wanted to do. And here I am today, crying because I’m choosing to give it up.

MARYELLEN THEAUMONT Reynoldsburg school bus driver

It will also be hard to leave the relationships she’s forged with her fellow bus drivers, Theaumont said. “We’ve got 45 drivers right now that are the closest, most concerned, helpful group of drivers you could possibly have, and I‘m going to hate giving that up,” she said. Born and raised in Whitehall, Theaumont moved to Reynoldsburg in 1959 where she and her late husband, Joe, raised five children: Mary

See BUS DRIVER RETIRES, page A2

‘Wasted in Margaritaville’

April 8 murder-mystery event is RACC fundraiser By DAVID S. OWEN ThisWeek Community Newspapers The Reynoldsburg Area Chamber of Commerce will host “Wasted in Margaritaville,” an interactive murder-mystery dinner theater event April 8 at the Tall Timbers Banquet & Conference Center. The fundraiser will feature a tropical paradise theme and is open to the public.

Event co-chair Dave Reidel said everyone who attends is encouraged to wear their best “parrothead” or tropical attire and be ready to solve a murder mystery. Reidel said “Wasted in Margaritaville” is an interactive play put on by the Columbus-based Creative Dynamics play troupe. Cast members will act out a fictitious murder mystery story while participants are eating dinner. The event was an idea Reidel said he brought

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to the chamber’s board last year just to try something different and maybe raise funds for the RACC. “This is primarily, No. 1, to have some fun, and No. 2, if we make some money, fine. It will help us to continue to promote the chamber’s ongoing agenda to help its members,” Reidel said. “Not to my knowledge in Reynoldsburg have

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Jo (Justus), Judy (McCormick), Frank, Theresa, and Jackie (DeCicco). She said all five children spent one year in the Reynoldsburg school system then eight years at St. Pius and four years at Bishop Hartley High School. Her husband, who was a mail carrier for 32 years and a custodian for Reynoldsburg schools, passed away in 2005 at the age of 68. Theaumont said although she may do some substitute driving after she retires, she wants to spend time with her hobbies and her family, which now includes 11 grandchildren. “I also love gardening and woodworking and remodeling, and I got a lot of things to finish and to stay involved with. All of that takes time,” she said. District transportation supervisor Mike Rosenberger said Theaumont has been a great driver and a respected person throughout her long career. “She’s a wonderful driver and a wonderful person and she is very caring about the chil-

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