Aug 8 Election

Jul 29, 2017
By Councilman John Michels, Finance Chair
Reprint from the Aug 2017 Villager newsletter

On Tuesday, Aug 8, Minerva Park will have a special election to RENEW a longstanding 5-mill property tax levy that is expiring. Similar to recent ballot levies, this is NOT AN INCREASE to your tax bill, but the Village is required periodically to place its property levies before voters to re-approve. The General Fund revenues generated by renewing this levy - estimated by the Board of Elections at $169,181.10 annually - would be used for various vital operating services for residents: public safety, code enforcement, engineering, parks, pool, etc.

A public hearing was held on July 10 for the purpose of presenting the 2018 Annual Tax Budget. Residents’ questions were answered at the hearing, and subsequently the legislation was passed by Council and submitted to the County Auditor. In keeping with the principle of government transparency, we have posted the monthly financial statements, recent audits of Village finances, and the current five-year forecast.

 

Jul 18, 2017

The election is Tuesday, Aug 8 (6:30a to 7:30p). You may download Minerva Park's ballot (also available in the Aug 2017 Villager newsletter), mark your preferences, and take it with you to the polls.

Residents of Minerva Park vote at the North Park Church of Christ, 4938 Westerville Road.

Check your registration at the Franklin County Board of Elections.

 

 

2999 E. Dublin-Granville Road

May 21, 2017
By Lynn Eisentrout, Mayor

The Village recently had the opportunity to purchase 2999 E. Dublin-Granville Road - an office building in Village “city limits" - supported by a strong financial analysis:

  • Construction costs for a new similar building - appx. 22,000 sq.ft. 3-story office building - would be between $4-$5 million, compared to the purchase price of the existing 1974 building at appx. $657,500 (less than the listed sale price) plus construction build-out costs of appx. $942,500.
  • Remodeling the existing appx. 2,688 sq.ft. Community Building, built in 1960, would be impractical, having to add on to the building and bringing the existing portions up to today’s code and complying with ADA standards.
  • Tenants will provide a revenue stream of appx. $112,800 annually, helping to offset any costs of acquisition and/or maintenance, which will be explained fully.

What will the building be used for?  With the annexation of the golf course and its development, the Village needs to look forward for the next 50 years.  We continue to hear from residents the importance of our Police Department, which will relocate to the space, providing adequate facilities for their needs.  The Village administration and Council also can take advantage of these facilities … and tenants will round out the occupancy.

Residents attended a meeting on Sunday, Jun 4, at the Community Building to learn more. The presentation is linked right below, Exhibit 2, followed by the 2 hours and 24 minutes of the audio..

As always, information about Village government activities has been and will continue to be available on minervapark.org … both in Council work packets for upcoming meetings (minervapark.org/#packets) and passed legislation (minervapark.org/legislation).  Residents are encouraged to attend Council meetings on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month … and Coffee with Council on the 3rd Monday of the month, an open forum wherein residents can discuss Village issues with their Council members and Mayor. 

Jun 21, 2017
By Lynn Eisentrout, Mayor
Reprint from the Jul 2017 Villager newsletter

On June 4, residents attended a public meeting to learn about the Village’s purchase of 2999 E. Dublin-Granville Road. The Village administrative offices and the MP Police Dept. would relocate to that building … Council and resident meetings, Mayor’s Court, and other activities, would be held there, etc. And income-producing tenants would round out the occupancy.

The presentation and an audio of that meeting are uploaded to the website, minervapark.org, along with the financials and legislation. Here are some key take-aways from that meeting.

  1. This information has been available on the website since the February 27 Council work packet was posted (minervapark.org/#packets). Indeed, Council and your Mayor have been working diligently for several months, giving due consideration to this purchase, investigating the feasibility and financials so as to make responsible decisions on your behalf as your elected officials, along with Legal, Fiscal, and the Village planner.
  2. As was demonstrated at the June 4 meeting when some residents couldn’t get in because of the limited space and the Fire Code’s imposed maximum capacity of only 50 people, the current 2,688 sq.ft. Community Building (built in 1960) has outlived its originally intended purpose. It is no longer up to code, and it is not ADA compliant with the 1990 federal legislation. Even if these issues could be remediated, consideration must be given to the Village adding 250 homes, even further taxing the building’s ability to serve the residents for the next several decades.
  3. Financing would be provided by selling bonds (minervapark.org/legislation/2017/13-2017_bonds.pdf). Tenants will provide a revenue stream of appx. $112,800 annually, helping to offset any costs of acquisition and/or maintenance.
  4. As a comparison, construction costs for a new building of like kind - appx. 22,000 sq.ft. 3-story office building - would be between $4-$5 million, compared to the purchase price of the existing 1974 building at appx. $657,500 (less than the listed sale price) plus construction build-out costs of appx. $942,500.

 

May 24, 2017 - Exhibit 1 - Financials
Jun 4, 2017 - Exhibit 2 - Jun 4 Meeting Presentation
Jun 4, 2017 - Audio of resident meeting - 4 hours, 24 minutes   

Jun 13, 2017 - Exhibit 3 - Ratifying purchase of 2999 E. Dublin-Granville Rd. - Resolution 2017-17.
Jun 7, 2017 - Exhibit 4 - Financing, excerpted from the May 22 Council Work Packet - Ordinance 13-2017.

 

 

 

Community Association Officer Elections for 2018

Jul 31, 2017
by Community Association President Dani Wolf

Community Association officer elections will take place at the September 13 meeting, 7p. Open officer positions include treasurer and vice president. I would love to talk to anyone that may be interested and answer any questions about the roles or the organization. We would love to see some new (or old!) faces on the team. Please email me if you would like to meet. We would love to have someone chair the Garage Sale Committee. Duties include organizing garage sales, tallying registrations, updating the map, making and distributing packets, placing advertising, and collecting revenue. We would love help with the directory and the website, as well as a volunteer coordinator to help connect with volunteers.

Our community is growing and changing, and the MPCA will be as well. We hope to add new events to traditional events, or bring back events we haven’t held in a while, but we can’t do that without your help. We love to have residents attend the meetings, we love hearing the new ideas, and most importantly we need folks to be able to commit to executing those ideas. I look forward to hearing from you!

 

 

Wine & Cheese at the Pool - Aug 19

Jul 31, 2017

Aug 19, 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. - How about an adult night out? MP adults and their guests are invited to attend another great Wine & Cheese evening at the pool. BYOW to enjoy or share. Hors d’oeuvres will be provided. $5 per person, cash at the door. Drinks by moonlight and maybe a swim. Sounds like a great evening!

 

 

Duck Award 2017

Jul 31, 2017
by Community Association President Dani Wolf

The 2017 Duck Award, recognizing outstanding volunteerism for the Village, is being awarded to Jean McCall. Jean took on the task of redesigning the resident directory, updating the cover and the information inside. Jean helped to modernize the process and organized printing and distribution of the directory. She did a great job, all on top of her efforts as MPCA secretary, Garage Sale co-chair, and overall wonderful volunteer. I’d like to thank Jean for her efforts. The MPCA would be lost without her!

 

 

Time to Cut It Out!

Reprint from the Aug 2017 Villager
By Scott Doellinger, Code Enforcement Officer

The sun has been out, the rain has been plentiful, and the plants are growing! And growing and growing.

It is always time to properly maintain and groom your property, but plants growing in the right-of-way (RoW) along the Village streets and over the pavement are especially problematic. They reduce the usable width of the street, forcing cars, bicycles, and pedestrians further out toward the center of the pavement, in turn making the street less safe. And note, it is both dangerous and illegal to obscure street signs.

Most streets are 22’ wide in a 50’ RoW, leaving a 13- to 14-foot strip of land alongside the road that is not part of the house lot. This RoW area can be used by the residents and must be maintained by the property owner, i.e., improvements placed on it, including landscaping, are regulated by Village ordinance.

Village ordinance 1278.08(b)(3) requires tree limbs extending over the street to not interfere with traffic. The maximum height for a vehicle on the road is 13’6”, requiring trees to be trimmed above that height.

Most of the offending plants are bushes and shrubs planted too close to the street that are now growing over the street. That cute little evergreen will become a 30’ mighty pine, and the flowering bush 12” high will become a flowering beauty 6’ wide.

At a minimum, plants must be trimmed back to not hang over the street and ideally should be removed or transplanted back to prevent the reoccurrence and the necessity to continually trim.

I encourage all property owners in the Village to contact the Code Enforcement Officer before planting any tree and any other landscaping material with the potential to grow into the street.

Now, it’s really time to cut it out!

 

 

MPCA Community Garage Sale Fundraiser - Sep 16

May 23, 2017

Sep 16 - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Cost - $5 plus 10% of your proceeds
Registration Deadline tba. $10 late registration fee (you will not be on the map)

Underwritten by your $20/$21 Community Association Dues. Join or donate today. - This is one of your Community Association’s biggest fundraisers. The Community Association funds several projects to enhance the Village, and your registration fee plus 10% of your proceeds are vital to that effort. The $5 registration fee (or a $10 late fee) covers the cost of local group advertising, balloons for your mailbox, and maps of participating homes for your distribution. Please register promptly.

TO REGISTER - Please drop off or send the attached form and a check for $5 payable to “Minerva Park Community Association” to the Community Building, 2829 Minerva Lake Rd. Registration packets will be delivered to sellers before the event. Volunteers (with an official MPCA badge) will collect your 10% proceeds at 4 p.m. that afternoon, so please have your envelope ready.

We need volunteers to help make this event a big success. Contact Dani Wolf (614-937-1994) or Jean McCall (614-895-0465), if you would like to help with packet creation and distribution, or advertising.

  • NO unauthorized sales, please - This event is a fundraiser for your Community Association, and it's not fair to other residents who do contribute..
  • NO food or drink sales, please - This is also a fundraiser for our own Emergency Squad. Please direct people to the Community Building from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to purchase hot dogs, hamburgers, and baked goods. No food or drink sales or give-aways at residences, please.

 

 

Dam Restoration

Jun 12, 2017

Minerva Park Dam restoration work continues. Learn more.

 

 

Villager Newsletter - Aug

Jul 31, 2017

Underwritten by your $20/$21 Community Association Dues. Join or donate today. - Download the Aug issue of the Villager newsletter.

Stories include ...

  • Time to Cut It Out!
  • Special Election on Aug 8
  • Community Association Officer elections on Sep 13
  • Wine & Cheese at the Pool on Aug 19
  • Duck Award 2017 to Jean McCall

 

Work Packets

Jul 25, 2017

Council Meetings - Residents are encouraged to attend the Council Meetings on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month, 7 p.m., Community Building. Get involved! Review Council work packets ...

Council Committee Meetings - Residents are invited to attend and observe council committee meetings. Dates and times are posted officially at the Community Building, Pool, and Playground, or call 614-882-5743.

Planning and Zoning Meetings - The Planning and Zoning Commission meets usually on the first Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m., dependent on items coming before the Commission.

  • Aug 2

 

 

Coffee with Council

Jul 29, 2017

Residents are invited to meet with Council members to discuss Village issues, usually on the 3rd Monday of the month, at the Community Building, 7 p.m. The next Coffee with Council is Aug 21.