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May 5, 2011

CW gets ready for new rules as ‘city’ By MICHAEL J. MAURER ThisWeek Contributor

By Paul Vernon/ThisWeek

Allie Brown Jr. votes in Canal Winchester on May 3. Franklin and Fairfield county voters rejected the school district’s 14.78-mill emergency levy.

$3.7 million in cuts coming after school levy’s failure By JENNIFER NESBITT ThisWeek Community Newspapers

The $3.7 million in budget cuts approved by the Canal Winchester school board last month will stand following the defeat of an emergency levy May 3. Voters in the Canal Winchester Local School District rejected a three-year, 14.78-mill re-

newal levy that would have raised an estimated $6.4 million per year for the district. The levy failed by 50 votes, according to unofficial results, with 1,784 voters (50.71 percent) casting ballots against the levy and 1,734 (49.29 percent) casting ballots in favor of it. School board president Debra Waites called the outcome “disappointing,” but she expressed her gratitude to those who voted for the levy.

“I am very, very appreciative of the ones who showed their support,” Waites said. “We are very appreciative of the ones who support the district.” The district has already approved a $3.7 million reduction in costs in reaction to state funding cuts. The cuts include the elimination of 49 See CUTS COMING, page A3

Zoning change allows dog, cat groomers By MICHAEL J. MAURER ThisWeek Contributor Canal Winchester’s finance committee on May 2 approved changes to the city zoning code to allow doggrooming businesses to open as a conditional use. Zoning officer Andrew Dutton said the new code would create an additional zoning definition for “animal grooming or training” applicable to grooming such domesticated animals

as dogs and cats. Farm animals are explicitly excluded from the definition. “Planning and zoning had a matter come before them last February, when someone was attempting to set up an animal-grooming facility, and we did not have anything in the code that was appropriate,” finance director Nanisa Osborn said. “Planning and zoning asked Andrew to set out something separate in the code.” Kennels may not be within 200 feet of most residential uses, whereas

grooming facilities may be within a residential area if they do not have any outside facilities for the animals. “If it’s all inside, it can be as close as they want,” Dutton said. He said the commission would have to approve any grooming business. “It’s a conditional use in general commercial that still has to go through planning and zoning,” he said. In the language approved May 2, Dutton borrowed existing language applicable to commercial kennels but

changed the zoning designations in which such uses are permissible. “This ordinance separates commercial kennels from animal grooming and training facilities,” Dutton said. “It looks like a lot (of text), but the first part just adds a definition and the rest of it is not changed at all. If you have anything outside, it has to be 200 feet away from a residence.” Osborn said the primary distinction

Canal Winchester’s legislative body held its first meeting as a city council May 2. The village became a city following the Secretary of State’s certification of the 2010 Census results. Council president Marilyn Rush-Ekelberry called for a report of the village solicitor from law director Gene Hollins, but Hollins declined. “There will be no report from the village solicitor,” Hollins said, “because A closer look at this point, I don’t believe there is a vil- Finance director Nanisa lage solicitor. Osborn said Ohio law states Congratula- that cities are subject to tions on your civil-service requirements, first city coun- including mandatory testing and other steps related to cil meeting.” In another filling employee positions. consequence of Canal Winchester’s new city status, the newly minted city council heard the first reading of an ordinance to establish a personnel board of review that would assume duties previously handled by the village council. Finance director Nanisa Osborn said Ohio law provides that cities are subject to civil-service requirements, including mandatory testing and other steps related to filling employee positions. Villages are given more leniency to have mayors and managers hire employees without formal civil-service requirements. “The charter required that when we became a city that a personnel board of review be established,” Osborn said. “Cities are subject to civil-service rules. The personnel board of review will administer the civil-service rules.” Under civil-service rules, employees who act more or less as managers are considered “unclassified,” whereas all other employees are considered classified. Classified employee positions may be filled only following testing and various rules set forth in city employment policy, and appeals from city decisions are made to the personnel board of review. When the board is established following the third reading, it will consist of three appointees and the mayor, but the mayor will not have a vote on board decisions. Civil service is unrelated to collective bargaining. Canal Winchester has 32 full-time em-

See PETS, page A2

See CITY STATUS, page A2

Officials hold first workshop on downtown By BRITANY BYERS ThisWeek Community Newspapers The first of three Canal Winchester public workshops attracted 10 community members on April 26. The aim of the workshop was for residents to learn about the current downtown zoning codes and preservation area guidelines, and to allow them to comment and make suggestions to revise them.

Representing Canal Winchester at the meeting were Chris Strayer, development director; Andrew Dutton, zoning officer; and Joe Abbott, Planning and Zoning Commission member. Strayer was happy with the first meeting’s turnout. “We tried to do this before and no one showed up,” Strayer said. “So getting 10 people here is definitely a start, but we want to make sure we get more here for the next meetings.”