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Reynoldsburg council appoints Ward 1 member, approves consulting contracts, sewer project emergency language
Summary
Council selected Julie Towns to fill the Ward 1 vacancy, named committee chairs, and approved a package of contracts and emergency ordinances including TIF consulting, a parks master plan and emergency sanitary sewer work; several items passed by unanimous vote or were forwarded to council for approval.
Reynoldsburg City Council appointed Julie Towns to the Ward 1 seat at its Jan. 13, 2025, organizational meeting and moved a set of resolutions and emergency ordinances affecting city contracts and public works.
Council received three applications to fill the Ward 1 vacancy after Shawnette Strickland became council president; Sandra Bowler withdrew her application. Applicants Hillary Conley and Julie Towns each gave one-minute presentations and answered members' questions about neighborhood safety, traffic at Reynoldsburg-New Albany Road and Broad Street, support for immigrant residents, and growth-related pressures. After discussion a council member nominated Julie Towns; the council voted to appoint Towns and she was sworn in that evening.
Council and staff also handled routine organizational business: selection of committee chairs and vice chairs (appointments across Development, Parks & Recreation; Public Safety, Law & Courts; Public Service & Transportation; and Finance & Administration), annual agent appointments and board representatives, and a proclamation recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a day of service.
On municipal contracts and projects, council considered and approved or forwarded these items: a not-to-exceed $50,000 contract with municipal adviser Baker Tilly for TIF consulting; a parks and recreation master plan contract with Pros Consulting not to exceed $125,000 (budgeted in the 2025 budget); authorization to implement a pavement-management index (PMI) program with EMH&T; and emergency ordinances for construction inspection and construction contracts related to the Summit Area Sanitary Sewer Expansion project. Director comments indicated the sewer project has partial grant funding and a developer contribution, and staff expect a preconstruction meeting and construction to begin by the end of the month if schedules hold.
Attorney Chris Shook briefed council on a resolution supporting the Ohio Municipal League's challenge to an AT&T tariff application before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio; the application would seek to shift utility relocation costs for roadway projects from utilities to municipalities, which the city and the League oppose because it could increase municipal project costs.
Votes at a glance
- Appointment of Julie Towns to Ward 1 (motion: "I nominate Julie Townes for the Ward 1 position." transcript): outcome: approved; mover/second: not specified in transcript; vote tally: not specified in transcript. Towns was sworn in that evening.
- Resolution authorizing contract with Baker Tilly for TIF consulting (not-to-exceed $50,000): forwarded and included on consent agenda; final vote recorded later as 7-0 in favor on the consent agenda.
- Resolution authorizing contract with Pros Consulting for 2025 Parks and Recreation Master Plan (not-to-exceed $125,000): forwarded and included on consent agenda; final vote recorded later as 7-0 in favor on the consent agenda.
- Resolution authorizing contract with EMH&T to implement a pavement-management index (PMI) program: forwarded and included on consent agenda; final vote recorded later as 7-0 in favor on the consent agenda. Staff described the service as an automated drive-by sensor survey that rates each street segment to guide repair and budgeting.
- Ordinance authorizing contract with DLZ for construction inspection services, Summit Area Sanitary Sewer Expansion: amended to add emergency language and forwarded for emergency approval; later included in emergency consent and approved 7-0.
- Ordinance authorizing contract with Elite Excavating for construction, Summit Area Sanitary Sewer Expansion: amended to add emergency language and forwarded for emergency approval; later included in emergency consent and approved 7-0. Staff said grant funding covers a portion of the work and a developer will fund another portion.
- Resolution supporting the Ohio Municipal League's challenge to AT&T's tariff application to the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO): forwarded and included on consent agenda; final vote recorded later as 7-0 in favor on the consent agenda. City attorney advised the resolution gives standing to the League's challenge and cited potential implications for projects such as Wagner Road widening if municipalities were required to pay for utility relocations.
- Resolution to remove a nonfunctional handheld thermal imager from the police department's fixed asset list: forwarded and included on consent agenda; final vote recorded later as 7-0 in favor on the consent agenda.
Other organizational business approved included annual appointments to local boards (for example, the appointment of an auditor and attorney to the voluntary peace officers dependent fund board), temporary committee chair assignments, and naming Bhuvan Pacquero president pro tem through January 2026.
The meeting concluded with scheduling notes—the next council meeting is Jan. 27, 2025—and customary community acknowledgements. Several agenda items were budgeted in the 2025 budget documents as presenters stated during committee discussion.
