Franklin City Council members approved several Historical and Architectural Review Board (HARB) certificates of appropriateness, including one retroactively for residents who said they had not known they needed one before painting their home, during their meeting this week.
After the approval, council member Ryan Rudegeair wondered whether the city could create a separate HARB application for residents of the historic district who were in the same situation, saying he appreciated residents putting money into home improvement and he’d hate to ask them to undo it.
Deputy mayor Donna Fletcher wondered if property buyers weren’t being informed their properties were in the historic district and inquired if there were penalties for applying for a certificate late.
City manager Tracy Jamieson pointed out that if the city enforced the fine for one property owner, it would have to enforce it for everyone.
Council member Todd Zahner suggested some uniform means of notifying property owners that their property lies within the historic district, although council didn’t come up with a definitive answer at the meeting.
Council also heard concerns from Franklin resident Scott Kennedy, owner and operator of Here-2-There Taxi, about mercantile licenses.
Kennedy said that under current regulations, of which he was not aware until recently, he needs a mercantile license from every municipality where he travels, which is not financially feasible for him.
Kennedy said he knew others without a mercantile license, and he was in an “odd situation” because most other companies have a storefront and only occasionally deliver to other cities.
He wondered if council would consider coming up with some exception, adding that Oil City Council is in discussions about that. Baker told Kennedy council would “think about it a bit and talk amongst ourselves.”
Spaid added that if Kennedy knows anyone else without a mercantile license to call the city and let them know.
“That’s usually how people who don’t have a license find out,” Spaid said. “Someone else calls us.”
Rudegeair also brought a motion before council to look into a feasibility study for a walking trail from the heights into downtown. The motion was approved after some debate.
The study would cost about $40,000 if funded by a grant from DCNR, and the trail would be required to be ADA-accessible, Jamieson told council. She asked if city staff would be required to fix the trail in the event of washouts.
Rudegeair said the purpose of the feasibility study would be to assess these kinds of concerns. He added that currently, many people without cars are traveling down Bully Hill and 15th Street, which is dangerous.
“I want to at least get a motion going to look into it,” he said.
In other matters at this week’s meeting:
- Jamieson said the Franklin Industrial & Commercial Development Authority (FICDA) board has requested that the city allow FICDA to mill and pave the city portion of Howard Street along with its own portion of the street.
FICDA offered to pay the upfront cost of the city’s share of the paving work, followed by a 5-year prorated reduction in management fees from FICDA.
No vote was taken as the item was not on the agenda.
- Spaid told council he would research a potential city fireworks ordinance and bring it to the August meeting, following resident complaints about consumer fireworks.
- Council member Christian Marshall said Franklin resident Teresa Nestor had emailed him asking the city to change the leash laws at Riverfront Park, which he was open to doing if it was “something the public would like to see done.”
- Fletcher asked council to look into bike ordinances regarding electric bikes, citing speeding concerns and some pulling children in trailers on the street.
- The date of the first fiscal year 2022 Community Development Block Grant public hearing was set for 7 p.m. before the regular Aug. 1 council meeting.
- Baker reappointed Rick Beith to the Shade Tree Commission and Robert Bowen and Reinaldo Santiago to the Commission to Remember Our Heroes (CROH), and park and parade assembly requests were approved.
- Marshall told council a resident asked if the city had rules for AirBNBs, citing concerns about an AirBNB on Franklin Avenue.
Marshall said it would be great to have an ordinance but the city doesn’t have the staff to enforce it.
- Jamieson said she had requested a conceptual plan for the combined sewer overflow project that would address a sewage overflow situation at a manhole near the 13th Street bridge.
It would cost $17 million and begin in 2023. Jamieson will bring the plan before the panel in August.
- Jamieson also advised that council plan for improvements to deteriorating roads and brick-lined gutters in Miller Park in coordination with a water line replacement project from the General Authority.
The project would replace the water line on Sibley Avenue in Miller Park running up to Wiley Avenue and then Old Mercer Road.
- Council approved the appointment of Cohen Law Group at a cost of $9,860 to assist the city with renegotiating its cable franchise agreement with Spectrum.
- Jamieson told council that two city vehicles had been sold at auction for $11,885.
- A West Park Street easement request was approved for redirecting a resident’s sewer line onto city property.
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