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May 3 - 10, 2006
School district celebrates operating levy victory
News photo by Erin Yakunich
Gahanna Jefferson Public Schools officials keep an eye on election results Tuesday night. Officials (from left) Treasurer Julio Valladares, school board Vice President Jeff Carson, board member Windy McKenna and Superintendent Gregg Morris watch as early returns show the district's 7.9-mill levy request is passing.
By PAMELA WILLIS
Campaign volunteers and district officials cheered in celebration in the Lincoln Library late Tuesday night as a close vote revealed a victory for Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools.
With 46 of 48 precincts reporting by 11:30 p.m., Gahanna voters cast 5,128 votes (52.87 percent) for Issue 1 and 4,571 votes (47.13 percent) against the issue, according to unofficial results from the Franklin County Board of Elections.
Issue 1 is Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools 7.9-mill continuing operating levy request.
The issue will cost homeowners an additional $241 annually per $100,000 in property valuation and generate about $12 million per year for the school district.
Treasurer Julio Valladares said revenue from the levy will fund operating expenses for the district for about three years.
Superintendent Gregg Morris spoke to the volunteers, teachers and staff members Tuesday night who gathered in the library.
"Your enthusiasm speaks to the fiber of this community," Morris said.
"There is an attention to children and education, which is certainly gratifying to see. I think the vote speaks to strong schools and a strong community."
Morris said the levy funds will help the school district keep improving.
"We can expect to keep moving forward with academic gains and strict budgeting," he said.
"This whole effort was a community effort. We had well over 500 to 600 people involved in this campaign. It is an exciting evening for the young people in the district. "
Morris admitted he was alarmed at first by how close the race was as the precinct reports began.
"The number 'for' and 'against' actually ended up close to what we projected for each precinct," he said.
According to the latest five-year financial forecast, the district was projected to experience a budget deficit of about $9 million in 2008, without funds from the new levy issue.
Voters approved the district's last levy request, for 6.3 mills, in 1998. That levy is still being collected, at 4.4 mills.
Phil Koppel, co-chairman for Citizens for Quality Schools, the committee that campaigned for Issue 1, said volunteers worked hard to convince people to vote for the levy.
"You don't know what one yard sign may have done, or what a conversation with one or two voters may have caused," he said.
"I came here in the '70s because I felt it was the best place to be. It's nice to see that all over Gahanna, people are putting children first."
Board of education President Ted Carr said the victory "speaks loudly of the commitment of people to the school district."
"As a board member, it is a pleasure to be on a board and in a community where people put their money where their mouth is," he said.
Gahanna Mayor Becky Stinchcomb also was at the victory celebration.
"Without a strong school, we don't have a strong city," Stinchcomb said. "We are a partnership and our city and schools have always worked well together."
"Taxpayers are taxpayers -- we owe cooperation and teamwork to our taxpayers," she said. "As a parent, as well as mayor, I am thrilled this issue has passed."
Morris said voter turnout was as he expected.
"Voter turnout was where we thought it would be, based on numbers we gathered from other primary elections," Morris said.
"Eight years ago, about 9,123 people voted when we had our last tax issue on the ballot."
City goes smoke-free
News photo by Jef Vidmar
A lit cigarette in an ashtray at Gahanna Grill Monday is something customers should not expect to see again. Gahanna's smoking ban went into effect Tuesday.
By KATRINA NIENBERG
Local businesses are adapting to going smoke-free as enforcement of Gahanna's new clean air ordinance began Tuesday.
Manager Jimmy Star said the Gahanna Grill, 82 Granville St., allowed smoking until Tuesday, when all ashtrays were removed and "no smoking" signs posted, as required by the ordinance.
A third ordinance requirement, the implementation of smoke-free workplace policy, was already drafted and discussed with employees, Star said.
The city of Gahanna received an $8,400 Ohio Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation grant to offset costs of creating 1,200 clean air information packets to distribute to every Gahanna business in an effort to educate the community about the new ordinance.
Mayor Becky Stinchcomb said Feb. 13 at City Council Committee of the Whole the city expected to mail out packets to businesses who had not yet received them last week.
Even though the majority of Gahanna Grill employees are smokers, telling them they will have to step outside for a cigarette was not a problem, Star said.
However, it will be more difficult to ask loyal customers not to light up inside the business, he said.
"You don't want to fight with your clientele," Star said.
He said he moved to Central Ohio from New York City, where business employees were not permitted to approach police to assist with smoking ban enforcement.
"Here you can, but we don't want to call the cops on customers," Star said.
At a city smoking ban forum Feb. 7, Gahanna Police Chief Dennis Murphy said if an unruly customer refuses to comply with terms of the ordinance, police may be called to assist without the business being cited for a violation of the code.
"No smoking" signs must be clearly legible and display the Franklin County Board of Health violation reporting phone number, 614-462-4AIR.
When a report of a violation is received, the board will issue a warning letter to a proprietor.
A copy of the warning will be sent to Gahanna police, and officers will begin doing compliance checks both in uniform and plain clothes at the offending business.
After a business has received a warning, a second violation witnessed by an officer is considered a misdemeanor and could be punishable by a maximum fine of $150, plus court costs.
The fining system does not make sense, Star said.
"If they fine, they should fine the establishment, but also the customer," he said.
Doug Vance, owner of Gatsby's, 151 N. Hamilton Road, said he does not believe complying with the new ordinance will be a big issue, but he feels the city has been unclear about whether or not permits will be needed if a proprietor wishes to put up an outdoor structure to allow shelter for smokers.
"All the avenues aren't worked out yet," Vance said.
For smoking to be permitted outside a business, if an outdoor enclosure has four walls, it cannot have a roof. If it has a roof, it can have no more than two walls, said Mitzi Kline, director of communications for the health board.
Business owners with questions about outdoor enclosures should contact Gahanna Planning and Zoning Administrator Bonnie Gard at 614-342-4025.
"I just hope a lot of the nonsmokers come in and have dinner with us now," Vance said. "We have a smoking and a nonsmoking section. The smoking section is outside."
Cheryl Purpen, manager at Flanagan's Tavern, 3001 Reynoldsburg-New Albany Road, in Blacklick said the business made the decision to expand to add a nonsmoking section before Gahanna voters approved that city's ban Nov. 8.
Indoor smoking is still permitted in Jefferson Township, where the business is located.
Purpen said Flanagan employees would like to think their business might increase if Gahanna smokers decide to leave the city rather than deal with the ban, but there is no way to say for sure.
"That's just a prediction. We just try to go with the flow," Purpen said.
Council OKs annexation, tax-increment financing
Thursday, January 5, 2006
By MIRIAM SEGALOFF
Enterprise Staff Writer
Gahanna City Council last week approved the annexation of about 40 acres from Jefferson Township and creation of a tax-increment-financing district for the land.
The property, near the intersection of Clark State and Reynoldsburg-New Albany roads, is to be developed into about 60 single-family homes by developer Manor Homes Inc.
The Dec. 27 unanimous vote on the annexation and 6-1 vote on the tax-increment financing district, or TIF, wrapped up nearly a year of negotiations between the developer, city and surrounding property owners.
Council member Nancy McGregor voted against the TIF.
A TIF typically allows new property taxes from a specific area to be diverted from the usual recipients - such as county mental health agencies, public libraries and township fire departments - and used to fund infrastructure improvements.
In this case, a portion of the TIF district proceeds will be used to bring water and sewer service to the project site.
The TIF district approved last week is expected to generate about $13.6-million during its 30-year life span. About $8.2-million of that amount will go to the Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools. The remaining $5.4-million has been earmarked for road improvements, public utility improvements and development of the Hannah Farms Park on Clark State Road.
In August, the city signed a pre-annexation agreement with Manor Homes. That agreement calls for the city to use TIF proceeds to buy 8.96 acres of open space adjacent to the park from Manor Homes for about $580,000, or $65,000 an acre. City officials have estimated planned improvements to the park will cost an additional $2.5-million.
Tuesday night's approval of the TIF district came just in time for the city to avoid losing as much as 50 percent of the anticipated TIF proceeds.
The Dec. 27 meeting was not originally on city council's schedule but was called by council to avoid the effect of new, more stringent state laws governing TIFs that took effect Jan. 1.
Council passed legislation creating the TIF as an emergency, which means it took effect immediately. Had it not received six votes, it would have passed as ordinary legislation and gone into effect 30 days after the mayor signed it. In this case, that would be some time in late January or early February and after the new state laws were in effect.
The earliest council could have voted on the annexation and TIF was Dec. 26. The city could not act until 60 days after the Franklin County Board of Commissioners approved the annexation on Oct. 25.
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