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2003 Upper Arlington Annual Report
The following links are pdf files from the original 2003 Annual Report
City Manager Message | City Council | 2003 Community Survey | Pools | Business & Development | Community Awards | Financial Details | Additional Achievements
City Manager's Message
At first blush, one might think last year was relatively quiet for the City. The start of 2003 marked the end of two important, complicated and time-consuming issues that had caused much community debate. Upper Arlington voters had not supported a property tax to construct a community center, and City Council and Staff were working through the intricate details attached to the proposed purchase of a portion of Kingsdale, which ultimately did not occur.
However, 2003 proved an equally busy year, in part as a result of these issues and the lively debate surrounding them. It was a year of reaching out and re-connecting with residents, of building upon existing programs and community-relations activities. It was a year for “Tuning in to UA.”
A major means for tuning in was the 2003 Community Survey, designed to gauge resident satisfaction with services and obtain feedback on policy issues. Survey results will be used throughout the organization, to help us enhance service delivery and prioritize projects.
Another opportunity for dialogue arose when the City assumed ownership of the three outdoor pools, and immediately began long-ranging planning, with a community visioning process. The most significant result of this process is the City’s plan to renovate Hastings Pool in the coming months.
A third significant outreach effort arose in the form of a four-part Public Forum Series, designed to inform us all about challenges our community must address head on as change inevitability occurs locally and regionally. Topics included a review of Master Plan progress, regionalism, issues facing older first suburbs, and new urbanism principles developed to create successful town centers with a sense of place.
In addition to the regular course of City business, the year brought several challenges resulting from a series of adverse weather conditions. From heavy snows at the start of the year, to an endless occurrence of storms that resulted in flooding and downed tree limbs, throughout these unusual weather events our Staff worked quickly to restore order and offer advice to residents whose properties had been affected.
When I look back at the year 2003, I feel honored to be part of this healthy and vibrant organization. City departments and staff members take great pride in the work they do, and it shows in the high level of service they consistently provide our residents. What is most remarkable to me is seeing them rise to the challenge time and again when special projects and issues are brought forward. Each draws on the expertise of others in the organization to help plan and successfully implement the tasks at hand. We have become an organization strengthened by partnerships, always with an eye on the future.
Looking ahead to the coming year, the City is in a strong financial position and remains focused on making significant progress with important issues that our residents have helped us prioritize. We look forward to another season of significant infrastructure improvements throughout the community, and efforts to expand our commercial tax base and seek ways to facilitate the redevelopment of Kingsdale will continue to be of utmost importance.
We will continue to tune in to UA, but it requires two-way communication to truly be successful. I invite and encourage you to participate in your local government – let us know your thoughts and ideas, please join us for public meetings, forums and events, or consider a more formal role by serving on a Board or Commission. Help us shape the Upper Arlington of tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Virginia Barney
City Manager
City Council
Upper Arlington’s City Council is comprised of seven citizens elected at-large to serve a maximum of two four-year terms. The Council selects a President and Vice President from among its ranks to serve two-year terms.
In January 2003, David Varda submitted his resignation as a City Council Member and President of Council due to a possible conflict of interest that could have arisen with his new full-time position of Deputy State Auditor. City Council selected Clark Pritchett to complete the term of President and James Winfree to complete the term of Vice President, and began its search for a new City Council member to complete Mr. Varda’s un-expired term. This search was concluded with the selection of Mary Ann Krauss from a pool of 11 candidates.
Master Plan
Since its adoption in March 2001, much work has been undertaken to implement and realize the goals of the Master Plan, to ultimately preserve and enhance the community’s overall quality of life while assuring fiscal stability over the long term.
Interpretation and implementation of the Master Plan will take many decades, dependent on changing market forces as redevelopment opportunities arise, and as needs and desires of the citizenry evolves. To that end, the Master Plan must remain a flexible, living, breathing document, reviewed regularly to keep it current, realistic and attainable.
In 2003, City Council passed 200 ordinances that met with Master Plan objectives. In addition, Council identified and initiated several key projects driven by the Master Plan and covered in more detail later in this report. They include:
• Assuming ownership of the community’s three outdoor pools and planning for their future.
• Seeking voter approval to become a natural gas aggregator.
• Supporting and creating opportunities for economic development growth.
• The proposed purchase of the Kingsdale core, ultimately terminated when details indicated the purchase was not in the City’s best interests at that time.
• Continued support of a significant capital improvements to upgrade the community’s aging infrastructure.
• The update of the City’s Property Maintenance Code.
As a result of many of these and the previous year’s activities, the 2002 Master Plan Annual Report (produced spring 2003) indicated that more than 50 percent of the 184-implementation strategies had been addressed in a meaningful way in the first two years, with the trend sure to continue in 2003.
Community Outreach
City Council identified enhanced community outreach efforts as an important 2003 priority, with many interrelated activities taking place in addition to the pools visioning process:
• A four-part Public Forum Series was scheduled in the fall that pertained to Master Plan progress, regional issues and new urbanism.
• The 2003 Community Survey was undertaken to gauge how satisfied residents are with existing City services and obtain feedback on a variety of policy and communication issues.
• The City’s 80-plus Board and Commission members were recognized for their volunteerism and willingness to lend their expertise to the community in a number of ways. As part of this event, members were asked for ideas on how the Boards and Commissions could better serve Upper Arlington citizens, and were encouraged to participate in Council’s outreach efforts.
The beginning of 2004 brought a change in City Council members. Having taken on the role of Council President and Mayor early in 2003, Clark Pritchett was again selected by his peers to serve a full two-year term. Jeffrey Kurz has stepped in to the role of Vice President. Mary Ann Krauss was elected at the November 2003 election to serve her first full term, Timothy Rankin to serve his second term, and we welcomed new Council Member Ed Seidel, replacing term limited Paula Brooks.
Our City Council members continue to work hard for the community, providing us with strong leadership and clear direction on the many projects that touch us all. It is in no small part a reflection of their diligence that our organization enjoys healthy finances and stability, and remains an excellent place to work.
2003 Community Survey
Staff at the City of Upper Arlington takes great pride in its responsiveness to the community’s needs, and the high caliber of services provided to residents. Periodically surveying residents allows the City to measure how it’s performing and to identify where adjustments or a change in direction might be needed to stay in tune with the overriding desires of the community. In 2003, the City commissioned a community survey to measure residents’ views of:
• Upper Arlington’s quality of life.
• Satisfaction with existing City services.
• Perceptions of the challenges currently facing Upper Arlington, and how the City might address them.
• Identifying or reaffirming important goals for the City.
• How residents want the City to communicate with them and what types of information they want.
For the 2003 Community Survey, 2,000 households were selected at random and invited to participate. More than 600 completed surveys were returned, yielding a response rate of 33%. Demographic information from these completed surveys was compared to 2000 U.S. Census data to verify those who completed the survey were in alignment with the demographic makeup of the City as a whole.
The key findings outlined below are excerpted from the 2003 Community Survey Executive Summary, prepared by the Strategy Team. The entire survey document is available at local libraries or can be viewed at the City’s website, at www.ua-ohio.net.
The City’s core purpose is to provide services that keep its residents safe and thriving. Overall, residents are pleased with the quality of City services. Public safety services top the list in services perceived to be of high quality, as do recycling and weekly refuse collection, snow removal, neighborhood parks, and senior programs. Additionally, overall quality of life in Upper Arlington continues to be rated highly. Each of these City services received quality ratings of "6" or higher on a 7-point scale, with 7 = very high quality.
For the great majority of City services included in this survey, quality ratings have remained stable over the past three years, indicating the City is continuing along the right path. A few City services, however, seem to be decreasing in ratings of perceived quality. Over 30% of the residents who participated believe the condition of City streets/roads and the condition of sidewalks has declined in the past three years. Also, 21% believe the quality of leaf collection has declined.
From the post-survey focus group, residents see the City as taking an active role to improve the condition of City streets/roads. Additionally, the majority of focus group participants report feeling satisfied with the quality of leaf collection and snow removal, among other City services.
When asked to consider a variety of issues that confront the City and could affect residents’ quality of life, a sizeable majority of participating residents believe the City should focus efforts on attracting new businesses to Upper Arlington (67%) and on redeveloping Kingsdale Shopping Center (63%). Residents also want more attention paid to improving Upper Arlington’s infrastructure, both surface and underground (56% and 53% respectively). These preferences were consistent with concerns voiced elsewhere in the survey.
With regard to economic development, a great majority of respondents agree Upper Arlington needs an expanded commercial tax base (82%), that Kingsdale Shopping Center should be redeveloped into a town center with a variety of uses (78%), and the City should take an aggressive role in the redevelopment of Kingsdale (69%). A majority of residents (62%) also believe the City should offer financial incentives to lure businesses to Upper Arlington in a manner similar to other cities in Central Ohio.
The post-survey focus group confirmed the zeal with which many residents want to see progress made on redeveloping Kingsdale. Although the City has made the effort to zone the area as "mixed use," it may be beneficial to continue this thinking and present some alternative visions for how the Kingsdale Shopping Center could be transformed. This would be in spirit with the City’s increased engagement of residents in community issues (i.e., Master Plan forums, pools visioning process) over the past year, and may help the community better understand what the City is trying to accomplish with the redevelopment of this area.
From the post-survey focus group, residents see the City as beginning to address some important infrastructure issues (e.g., increased activity in running new sewer lines, patching/resurfacing City roads), and are satisfied with these efforts so far.
Opportunities exist for increased communication from the City and City Council to residents. Many survey participants (59%) agreed with the statement, "City staff is responsive to the needs of residents." During the post-survey focus group, nine out of 10 participants had contacted the City at some point with a question or issue (the other participant had a neighbor who contacted the City). These participants were very pleased with how quickly they received accurate information back from City staff. In general, it seems that when residents do take the time to contact the City and get information, they are satisfied with the results.
Few of the post-survey focus group participants, on the other hand, have contacted the City’s elected officials and leaders. In fact, many of these focus group participants did not know who the Mayor or Council members are. This may explain the responses of those who participated in the 2003 Community Survey when asked to report the extent to which they agree with the following statement: "Current City Council effectively represents the attitudes and opinions of Upper Arlington residents." Overall, 41% of respondents reported a "neutral" or "don’t know" response to this statement. This lack of knowledge indicated an area of opportunity for both City Council members and City residents.
When it comes to preferences for City information they would like to learn more about, survey respondents want to hear more about infrastructure updates (68%), Master Plan updates (62%), economic development activities (57%), and City Council policy decisions (56%). Note, these preferences are consistent with the attitudes and concerns shared throughout the survey - i.e., the focus on the City’s economic development and concern about City infrastructure. The post-survey focus group confirmed these interests.
Upper Arlington residents express a strong preference for receiving City news and information via weekly newspapers - 87% of the survey participants would prefer to receive such information via the Upper Arlington News. As was learned from both the community survey and the post-survey focus group, Upper Arlington residents do not have strong opinions about the manner by which they should receive the City Newsletter. The City may need to look at all available facts regarding this issue and make a distribution decision that is best for the City.
Results from the Community Survey will be used throughout the organization in the coming months, to help enhance service delivery, prioritize projects and increase efforts to inform residents of important issues. For example, plans to reevaluate and adjust various communications channels to better relay City information to residents are already being implemented.
Outdoor Pools
In early 2003, the City of Upper Arlington assumed ownership of the community’s three outdoor aquatics facilities from a pools trust held by the Upper Arlington School District. Having managed them for several years, the City was limited in what it could do to maintain and upgrade these aging facilities, which have not undergone any significant improvements since 1976. Assuming ownership enabled the City to take a long-range look at how best to enhance these facilities, as part of the community’s recreation and leisure facilities, a process that began immediately.
With direction from City Council, Staff set out to develop a long-range plan for the three aquatics facilities to restore them to a high standard, include adequate plans for ongoing maintenance, and provide a set of facilities, amenities and programming that would increase membership/pool usage and community pride. To successfully achieve this, the visioning process was designed to incorporate extensive community involvement so that residents could actively participate in creating a plan that truly met their needs and desires.
The visioning process included focus groups, public meetings, and several versions of a pool survey. The City received feedback from over 700 residents, with a key set of themes emerging:
• Residents are happy with the existing set of facilities at each location but would like them brought up to date (main pools, lap lanes, wading pools, diving boards/diving wells)
• To have separate wading pools, maintained on separate filtration systems
• To upgrade restroom/changing room facilities
• To add concessions
• To expand and enhance aquatics programming
• To enhance safety and cleanliness standards
• To make various aesthetic improvements such as outdoor furnishings, more shaded areas, enhanced lighting, outdoor showers, large clocks, upgrade landscaping
A January 2004 report to Council outlined the 2003 visioning process and made a series of recommendations on how to proceed with renovations. A three-phase approach was proposed, with a complete reconstruction of Hastings Pool as the first phase. Based on this and other recommendations in the report, City Council formed a Pools Council Committee and directed Staff to proceed with the project.
Pending the Hastings Pool Renovation Project proceeding according to schedule, work will begin in the fall of 2004, with the new and much-improved facility re-opening at the start of the 2005 swim season.
A significant number of residents recognize and appreciate the value the City’s outdoor pools bring to the community. As owners, the City is now able to restore these community gems to a high quality for current and future generations to enjoy, and to incorporate them fully into the community’s multi-faceted recreational and leisure opportunities.
Business & Development
The 2003 Community Survey confirmed that City Council and Staff are on track by prioritizing economic development activities to attract new businesses to the community. When asked to consider a variety of current issues, two economic development items rose to the top as primary concerns:
• Attracting new businesses to UA.
• Redeveloping Kingsdale Shopping Center.
When probed further:
• A majority of residents agree the City should expand its commercial tax base.
• They believe Kingsdale should be redeveloped as a town center with a variety of uses, and the City should take an aggressive role facilitating this redevelopment.
• Residents agree the City should use business tools such as Tax Increment Financing to lure businesses to UA in a manner similar to other communities.
2003 Economic Development Highlights
• The Orthopedic Center of Excellence had its grand opening celebration in May 2003, and now contributes substantially to the City’s income tax revenues.
• The City utilized economic incentives with several new businesses in 2003, including Merrill Lynch, America’s Urgent Care, Ohio Plastic Surgeons, United Collection Bureau, and Ohio Cosmetic Dentists. Combined, these companies represent over $8.8 million in new payroll.
• First Community Village reaffirmed its commitment to Upper Arlington by announcing plans for a multi-phase comprehensive redevelopment of its campus, moving its focus from a traditional care-based community to a lifestyle-focused neighborhood that will better meet the changing needs of older adults. This represents a $38 million project, spread over several years.
• The Shops on Lane Avenue renovations made significant progress, with close to 30 establishments open for business by the close of the year. Renovation work has reconfigured the shopping center, with an outdoor pedestrian courtyard bordered by restaurants, and attractive new facades that provide direct access to many of the businesses.
• Arlington Falls, LLC announced plans to develop an office park at the corner of Henderson Road and Riverside Drive. The development will consist of 68,000 square feet of office “condominiums,” allowing smaller businesses to purchase their own space.
• Plans were announced for an expansion of the Sunny 95 facility, as its parent company brings another radio station into UA. This exciting project represents $3 million in retained payroll, with more than $1.8 million additional payroll anticipated.
• Staff worked with several Lane Avenue property owners regarding annexation to the City from Clinton Township. Efforts to bring this project to conclusion will continue in 2004.
• City Council took action to amend two existing incentive agreements. An existing Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) agreement was assigned to Rolling Rock Investment Partners, when it purchased a newly constructed office building on Sawmill Road from Long and Wilcox, LLC. Council also amended an existing CRA agreement with Horizons Companies to reduce its tax abatement incentive.
• At the close of the year, Horizons was in the process of selling a portion of its property to Professional Planning Consultants, bringing over $2 million in annual payroll to the City.
Kingsdale Shopping Center
The start of the year marked the City’s termination of its proposed purchase of 14 acres at the Kingsdale Shopping Center. Through a due diligence period, it became apparent that certain parameters or requirements within some tenant leases reduced the amount of control the City would have had over the piece of land being purchased. While these issues could likely have been resolved under the right set of circumstances, it was not feasible within the given timeframe.
Facilitating the redevelopment of Kingsdale into a thriving town center made little progress in 2003, however this important Master Plan goal remains a City priority. City Council and Staff clearly heard from the survey that residents want to see Kingsdale revived, and they agree a mixture of uses such as shops, businesses, housing and public uses are key to creating a central gathering place that will serve us all over the long-term.
This opinion was further validated by a study by Bird & Houk that confirmed a mixed-use development at Kingsdale would be financially feasible for the private and public sectors. How to achieve it is the challenge – timing, market forces, plans of the current property owners and numerous other business considerations will all play a role in what ultimately could occur at this site.
Development Highlights
• Overall, the Development Department issued 2,408 residential and commercial permits, with a total construction value of approximately $43 million.
• Residents continued to demonstrate their confidence in Upper Arlington with home sales and renovations continuing at a high level, speaking to the stability and desirability of the housing stock.
• A slight raise in Development fees, implementation of a general contractor-licensing program, and the high level of building and renovation activity, resulted in more than $520,000 in permit revenues. These additional revenues enabled the Development Department to expand staffing and, ultimately customer service.
• The City’s Property Maintenance Code was updated in 2003, in essence adopting the International Code Council’s 2003 Property Maintenance Code, with some minor amendments to best reflect the City’s needs. The overhaul meets several Master Plan objectives primarily related to the preservation of residential neighborhoods, as well as providing a more streamlined, user-friendly process.
• The Code Compliance Division has moved forward with plans to implement a proactive Property Assessment and Monitoring Program in 2004, stemming from several Master Plan strategies. Under this program, Staff is inspecting the exteriors of all properties in the community, checking for compliance with requirements that protect the public’s safety and help maintain property values.
Capital Improvements Program
The City remains committed to improving its aging infrastructure through its Capital Improvements Program (CIP). Thanks to the City’s solid financial planning, CIP funding has been expanded to $5 million annually and extended through 2009, placing continued emphasis on enhancing the City’s roads, sewers, waterlines and streetlights.
The Engineering Division continued an aggressive road improvement schedule in 2003, supervising more than $5.3 million in infrastructure improvements. Sections of 75 streets underwent various improvements, including total reconstruction on nine streets.
Four arterial streets received new street lighting, with 289 poles installed along Reed, Redding and Lane roads, and Northwest Boulevard.
Federally mandated upgrades to the community’s curb ramps continued to make great strides and this program is on target for completion one year ahead of schedule, and approximately $1 million under its original budget.
2003 Community Award Winners
Business of the Year, Bellisari’s Italian Market
Annette Bellisari was recognized for her outstanding efforts to reenergize the historic Mallway shopping district, in particular through the Shop Hop events, held in October and December of last year.
Community Enrichment, Marv Moorehead Memorial Stadium Committee
This dedicated group of volunteers successfully raised the funds necessary to replace the old athletic field at the Upper Arlington High School with a safe, synthetic surface that can be used year round.
Super Senior, John Miller
Mr. Miller has been actively involved in the community for
many years, dedicating himself to projects that help children and families, and believing each person must do what he/she can to educate and mentor future generations. Some highlights of Mr. Miller’s efforts include: UA Rotary; tutoring at West Broad Elementary School; Homeless Families Foundation; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio; Tri-Village Mentor League; and the Salvation Army.
Community Safety, Project ALIVE
The goal of Project ALIVE is to place Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) throughout the community in various public facilities. To date, Project ALIVE has placed an AED in every police cruiser and almost every school in UA. The volunteers behind Project ALIVE include School and City representatives and several UA residents.
Youth Award, Maggie Germain
Maggie has volunteered in the Peer Collaboration Program and helps other students in both social and academic situations. She helped lead the way in a lunch group designed to include students who would usually eat lunch alone. Maggie is currently in the process of organizing a service project that will combine the efforts of students at Hastings Middle High School and the UA High School.
2003 Distinguished Service Award Winners
Each year, the City encourages its employees to nominate fellow coworkers who have gone above and beyond to serve the Upper Arlington community to the best of their ability. In 2003, the following individuals received Distinguished Service Awards: Lynette Santoro-Au, Cultural Arts Manager; Dean Sivinski, Development Director; Dave Curtis, Utility Worker
Awards/Achievements in 2003
Development
• The City’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) was awarded the 2003 Award for Contribution and Excellence in the “Focused Planning” category, at the 2003 Ohio Planning Conference.
Finance Department
• The department received its 16th consecutive Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for its 2002 Comprehensive Financial Report.
• It also received its 14th consecutive Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from GFOA.
Fire Division
• Firefighter Trent Kaufman was named the 2003 Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. Firefighter of the Year.
• Firefighter Jerry Scott was awarded the Dr. Mary E. Fontana Distinguished Service Award, for his commitment to providing excellent urgency medical services.
Parks & Recreation
• Parks & Forestry received its 14th consecutive Tree City USA Award and a Tree City Growth Award.
Public Services
• The City’s refuse and recycling program received the 2003 Hall of Fame Award from Keep Franklin County Beautiful.
• The Utility Division’s Manhole Rehabilitation Program received national recognition in PublicWorks Magazine. This program has enabled the division to bring repair and maintenance activities in-house, realizing significant cost savings and increasing repair productivity.
• In March, the Engineering Division was proud to see one of its members, Jim Palmer, leave for a tour of service with the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 26 as part of the Iraq war effort. After more than six months, Jim returned safely to family and co-workers.
• Heavy snows at the start of the year put snow removal crews to the test, passing with flying colors. As part of City efforts to secure alternative funding, the Public Services Department applied for and received monies from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to support clean up costs.
Staff Updates
Gerald Smith, Assistant City Manager
In March, Gerald Smith filled the vacant position of assistant city manager, moving to Upper Arlington from Illinois. Smith had previously served as assistant village manager for the Village of Deerfield, a community with similar demographics to Upper Arlington, and as administrator for the City of North Chicago and the Village of Riverdale. He has a Masters in Public Administration from Northern Illinois University.
Boards and Commissions
Community volunteer service is exemplified by those citizens who donate their expertise and time serving on the boards and commissions appointed by City Council. The City of Upper Arlington wishes to thank these individuals for their contributions to the community in 2003.
Summary of 2003 Budget Activity
Receipts
Operating Revenues:
Income Tax $ 12,276,221
Property Tax 8,778,247
Estate Tax 2,326,605
Local Government Fund 2,452,369
Gas Tax & Motor Vehicle License 1,349,711
Water & Sewer Surcharges 985,085
Stormwater Management Fees 555,943
Licenses and Permits 623,641
Solid Waste Stickers 1,511,381
Investment Earnings 1,423,270
Other Revenue 4,043,555
Total Operating Revenues $36,326,028
Other Receipts:
Sale of Notes 10,101,955
Total Receipts $ 46,427,983
Expenditures
Operating Expenditures
Public Safety $ 11,769,499
Parks & Recreation 3,128,967
Public Service 4,456,583
Development 701,951
Administrative Direction 2,210,911
Administrative Support 3,262,883
General Administration 1,199,983
Other Operating Expenses 182,479
Total Operating Expenditures $26,913,256
Capital Expenditures:
Capital Equipment $1,266,386
Capital Improvements 7,914,253
Total Capital Expenditures $9,180,639
Debt Service Payments $ 15,582,326
Total Expenditures $ 51,676,221
Excess of Revenues over Expenditures $(5,248,238)
Additional Achievements in 2003
Parks & Recreation Department
Aquatics Division
In addition to long-term planning for the pools, assuming ownership enabled the Aquatics Division to move forward with several immediate improvements, which included:
• New concrete and grass decks (replacing asphalt).
• A new filtration system and heater at Devon.
• Outdoor showers.
• New landscaping.
• A new three-meter diving stand and safe ladder
system at Devon.
An innovative and successful new programming element was added with a “Doggie Dip” offered to dog owners as each pool closed for the season.
Cultural Arts Division
Cultural Arts continued its mission to provide and promote a diverse and lively arts environment in Upper Arlington. Regular programming included gallery exhibits, a free summer concert series and workshops in the schools. Of note in 2003:
• Arts programming was expanded to include a literary lecture element and interactive discussions with Concourse Gallery exhibitors.
• Repairs were made to elements of the City’s Permanent Art Collection, three new pieces added, and efforts made to place more of the collection on permanent display at the City’s various facilities.
• The Upper Arlington Labor Day Arts Festival fell victim to the unusually wet summer, however the event went ahead with patrons braving the elements to purchase artworks from their favorite vendors.
LifeLong Learning & Leisure Division
This self-funded division provides the largest adult education and enrichment program in Central Ohio. A series of partnerships with local businesses and organizations enhanced 2003 programming. The division also expanded its online information to include instructor biographies, and prepared to be the first City division to offer online program registration.
Parks & Forestry Division
Improvements to the community’s parks continued in 2003, including:
• Complete restoration of the Fancyburg Park tennis courts.
• Playground replacement at Miller Park.
• New lighting at the Northam Park Tennis Courts, paid in part by a $79,000 NatureWorks grant from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
• New limestone/bronze signage installed at various parks.
• New ball diamond backstops and safety fencing completed at Reed, Northwest and Lane Road parks.
Recreation Division
Charged with providing recreational and leisure activities for all ages in the community, the Recreation Division spent much of 2003 fine-tuning its offerings with many new programs, including:
• A free Movie in the Park, with plans for a 2004 series.
• Free “hands on” events for youngsters, from meeting different turtle breeds to exploring various City service trucks.
• A Spring Day Camp was added, providing camp options for working families throughout the year.
• The division expanded programming for teens, with backpacking trips, rock climbing adventures and more.
Senior Center
Upper Arlington’s Senior Center became a 55-plus facility and began to focus on new programming to cater to a broader range of ages and interests, including expanded travel opportunities, local history lectures, and new health and wellness programming.
Safety Services
Fire Division
A partnership of the City and the Fire Fighters IAFF Local 1521 to raise funds for restoration of the community’s first fire truck was announced at the close of the year. The Engine 1 Restoration project aims to raise $50,000 in 2004 and to restore the engine in time for the 2005 Fourth of July Parade, in celebration of the Fire Division’s 75th anniversary. With assistance from the Information Technology Division, Fire implemented the use of hand-held computers for quick, in-the-field reporting of Emergency Medical Service runs, greatly reducing paperwork and increasing report accuracy. The division stepped up efforts to raise awareness of fire safety in community following a string of fatal house fires, and conducted five training fires in preparation for such tragic events.
Police Division
A rare and unfortunate incident occurred mid-year with the murder of an Upper Arlington resident. Police worked around the clock and was able to resolve the case within one month.
The division partnered with five other police jurisdictions to utilize a data-sharing network, enabling officers in the field to quickly access data from other jurisdictions using mobile computers installed in patrol vehicles. This system could mean the difference in quickly identifying and securing a suspect wanted for crimes in other communities.
The Communicator automated telephone call out system proved a successful upgrade for the community’s Kind Call program. It also came in use during mosquito season, providing affected households with advance notice when it was necessary to fog portions of the community.
Mayor’s Court
Serving as the judicial branch of the City, Mayor’s Court convenes weekly to address arraignments, probation revocation hearings and financial hearings. Mayor’s Court is administered by the Clerk of Courts Office, which also serves as the Violations Bureau, collecting payments for violations that do not require a court appearance. In 2003, Mayor’s Court collected more than $370,000 in fines and costs for the City. In the third quarter, the Clerk of Courts Office added a convenient service, allowing the status of Mayor’s Court cases to be checked online.
Miscellaneous City Services
The City’s Public Services Department is responsible for many critical behind-the-scenes City services.
The Streets Division performed routine maintenance on more than 298 miles of City roadways, with crack sealing, pothole repairs, street painting and curb and gutter repairs. The division continued to provide exceptional street sweeping, free leaf collection and snow removal services to the community.
The Traffic Section maintained electrical systems for numerous public facilities, upgraded several traffic signal locations, and installed video detectors and lighting at Five Points and the Lane Avenue/Northwest Boulevard intersection.
The Utility Division made significant progress with its Manhole Rehabilitation Program, performing the work in-house at a considerable cost savings to the City.
The Solid Waste Division continued to provide exception refuse removal services to the community.
Environmental Mediation Program
A partnership between the Development Department and the City Attorney’s Office resulted in the creation of an Environmental Mediation Program. One of the first of its kind in Central Ohio, the program to quickly and amicably resolve code compliance issues, for the benefit of surrounding properties, that may otherwise proceed to court.
Gas Aggregation
City Council directed Staff to proceed with the steps necessary for the City to become a natural gas aggregator on behalf of its residents, with Upper Arlington voters approving this step at the November 2003 election. As an aggregator, the City will negotiate group rates, reliability, services and other needs on behalf of the aggregate pool. It is anticipated the program will go into effect by the summer of 2004, and promises to secure a competitive rate for the supply of natural gas made possible by increasing the size of the buying pool.
Updated 08/04
City Manager's Office
City of Upper Arlington
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, Ohio 43221
Phone: 614-583-5040
Fax: 614-457-6620
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