Council held a public hearing and had a final vote on legislation to update our zoning code as it relates to care washes. The new amendments now only allows for car washes to be conditionally permitted in the C-5, Highway Services commercial district, this was an update from it previously being permitted by right. The amendment also removed the conditional permission for car washes in the C-3, Community Retail and C-4, General business districts. On top of reducing the commercial district permissions it also put a limit on the number of car washes in the City at a limit of 1 per every 10,000 residents or portion thereof. These changes do not mean another car wash could never open in Stow, however, it does provide a layer of protection in the approval process that would require the approval of a variance by Planning Commission and City Council for additional car washes. The request for a variance allows for more discretion by the Planning Commission and Council than allowing a use by conditional right. The car wash issue is probably the one thing that majority of Stow residents can agree on, and I feel that these changes in the zoning code address the concerns of the residents.
Another large item for discussion was a potential levy for a new to go on the ballot in November for a community recreation center and for improvements for operating and maintaining our parks and recreation system. Currently, the information provided by the administration is that both items together would be for a $4.4 million per year levy, which would cost a homeowner $12.38 per month for every $100,000 of total market value. This would be $153.96 per year tax increase per $100,000 of home value. The current memo provided did not share details such as the build cost, expected membership fees, or operating deficit that was used for the levy calculation. I stated in the meeting that I have long believed we do have a need in our community for a community center that can be used for youth sports, senior, and other parks and recreation programming as currently we really do not have space tailored to these types of events. The Parks and Recreation department often relies on use of our school gyms and our other parks facilities such as the Silver Springs Lodge and Heritage Barn. These options really are not ideal because the schools obviously take use of their facilities for their uses as a first priority, and the other city facilities we are not designed for many of the activities they are used for and also limits their availability for rental. With that said, I do see a need for a facility, however, with the information we have now, I am hesitant to put this before the voters. I believe if this is something we want to put to the voters it should be done with the best information otherwise we are setting it up for failure; not because of people being against it but because there isn’t enough information for them to make an informed decision.
In 2022 the City created a Parks Master Plan, part of which included about 1,400 survey responses that prioritized the parks and rec needs of our City. The top 3 responses were maintenance of our current park facilities, maintenance of our current trail systems, and the addition of a recreation/community center. The idea behind this levy request would be to address all 3 of these top things, including a park improvement levy for an annual investment to maintain our parks along with the funds to build and operate a new community rec center. The results of the Parks Master Plan led the City to complete a feasibility study related to community rec center for the City of Stow and also to have the Parks and Rec Board look at a 10 year capital plan for our current park system.
The full Parks Master Plan can be found here: City of Stow Parks Master Plan
The feasibility study was done in 2023 and included a concept drawing of the facility along with potential amenities, building costs, operating expenses, etc. There were several things that still needed to be defined as result of this feasibility study, the largest one being what the use of the proposed aquatics area would be. This question was not answered until our meeting last night where it was stated verbally that it would be aimed at more recreational/family use with a few lap lanes included. It would not look to be used for competitive swimming training or events. This final information on the facility still has not been presented to the Parks and Rec Board for their feedback.
The Feasibility Study can be found here: City of Stow Feasibility Study for Rec Center
In addition, the Parks and Rec Board is also still looking at the details from the Parks Master Plan to create a 10-year capital improvement plan for our current park system. This would include maintenance that is outstanding and critical items along with some additional development and growth at our park facilities. It is unclear whether this will be something that could be completed prior to the November 7, 2023 election.
Right now, it seems like the proposal of putting this to the voters, which was requested by the Mayor, not Council, is simply to check the box that we did it to be responsive to resident feedback in the survey, not because it is a want of the administration. In addition, it seems that linking the two different wants of the residents together (i.e., the parks improvements and the community rec center) really does not best propose the issues to the voters. I asked for the law department to separate these two issues for the creation of two separate ballot issues, one of which would be for a community rec center levy, the other of which would be for a parks improvement levy.
Based on this lack of details and the request for this item to be separated out into two separate ballot issues, this legislation remained in the Finance Committee and was not voted on by Council. This will be something we continue to discuss to ensure we have the proper details needed for it to go onto the voters.
Council approved the Fire Department to proceed with a promotion to Lieutenant with an upcoming retirement in their department and also approved the hiring of three replacement fire fighters based on this and several other retirements. This items were approved ahead of the firefighters retiring to allow for training time and to help cover the busy summer months to reduce the amount spent on overtime to ensure our City is properly staffed. The Law Department also recently selected a new Executive Secretary from our current City staff and so now the employee’s current position, Building Clerk II, was approved to be back filled.
Last, but not least, Council President Mr. McIntire introduced a resolution recognizing Memorial Day which takes place on Monday, May 29, 2023 this year. The City of Stow will host a Memorial Day ceremony at the Stow Cemetery on Kent Road at 10:15 AM on Monday. Please take a moment on Monday to remember those who gave their all to defend our country and freedom.