* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] OKAY, WE WILL CALL TO ORDER THE REGULAR DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9TH, 2026 TO ORDER. JENNY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE MS. LUDO? HERE. MAYOR AROSE GROOMS. HERE. VICE MAYOR DEROSA. HERE MS. JOHNSON. HERE. MS. CRAM HERE. AND DR. LAMB HERE. [ADJOURNMENT TO EXECUTIVE SESSION] OKAY. I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR THE PURPOSE OF PERSONNEL MATTERS, CONSIDERING THE APPOINTMENT OF A PUBLIC OFFICIAL AND TO CONSIDER CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION RELATED TO A REQUEST FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE THAT INVOLVES PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT IN WHICH EXECUTIVE SESSION IS NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE POSSIBLE INVESTMENT OR EXPENDITURE OF PUBLIC FUNDS TO BE MADE IN CONNECTION WITH THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT AND CONSIDERING THE PURCHASE OF PROPERTY FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. THANK YOU. JENNY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE VICE MAYOR DEROSA? YES. MS. JOHNSON? YES. DR. LAMB? YES. MAYOR AROSE GROOMS? YES. MS. CRAM? YES. MS. A LUDO? YES. I WILL REMIND THE LISTENING PUBLIC THAT WE WILL RECONVENE THIS MEETING IN THIS LOCATION AT 7:00 PM OKAY. [RECONVENE] WE WILL RECONVENE THE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9TH, 2026 REGULAR DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL MEETING. AMY, WOULD YOU PLEASE LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE TO THE FLAG OF THE INDICTED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE. OKAY. WE [SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS/RECOGNITION] WILL BEGIN THIS EVENING. WE HAVE TWO SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, AND THE FIRST WE WILL HEAR IS A LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FROM, UH, STATE REPRESENTATIVE BRIAN LORENZ. PLEASE COME FORWARD, STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS INTO THE RECORD AND LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR THOUGHTS. THANK YOU, MAYOR GROOMS. MY NAME IS BRIAN LORENZ. ADDRESS IS 4 1 1 1 VILLAGE CLUB DRIVE IN POWELL. UM, MAYOR GROOMS MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH YOU THIS EVENING. FOR THOSE I HAVE NOT HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH DIRECTLY. I CURRENTLY SERVE AS THE STATE REPRESENTATIVE FOR OHIO'S 60TH DISTRICT, AND THERE'S ONLY FOUR PRECINCTS IN THE CITY OF DUBLIN THAT ARE ALL IN DELAWARE COUNTY, UH, BUT WE'RE STILL IN DUBLIN. UH, IN THE OHIO HOUSE, I SERVE ON KEY COMMITTEES THAT ADDRESS LOCAL GOVERNMENT, LAND USE, AND FISCAL POLICY, WHERE I FOCUS ON ISSUES DIRECTLY AFFECTING CITIES LIKE DUBLIN, RESPONSIBLE GROWTH INFRASTRUCTURE, PUBLIC SAFETY AND TAX POLICY. IN MY ROLE, I WORK CLOSELY WITH HOUSE LEADERSHIP AND LOCAL OFFICIALS TO ENSURE STATE LAW SUPPORTS RATHER THAN HINDERS EFFECTIVE LOCAL GOVERNANCE. IT'S MY HONOR TO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE OF OUR DISTRICT AND I SINCERELY VALUE THE PARTNERSHIP WE SHARE WITH THE CITY OF DUBLIN. YOUR COMMITMENT TO THOUGHTFUL PLANNING, RE RESPONSIBLE GROWTH AND STRONG LEADERSHIP REFLECTS THE SAME PRINCIPLES I WORK TO ADVANCE IN THE STATE HOUSE. MY LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES ARE GROUNDED IN FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, LOCAL CONTROL, AND ENSURING GOVERNMENT WORKS AS A PARTNER, NOT AS AN OBSTACLE TO THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE. OVER THE PAST TERM, I'VE WORKED DILIGENTLY TO BRING MEANINGFUL STATE RESOURCES BACK TO OUR DISTRICT, SUPPORTING INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS, PUBLIC SAFETY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES THAT STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITIES WITHOUT INCREASING THE TAX BURDEN OR FAMILIES ON FAMILIES AND BUSINESSES. THE PROPERTY TAX RELIEF REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST URGENT ISSUES FACING OUR RESIDENTS. SHARP INCREASES IN PROPERTY VALUATIONS HAVE DRIVEN TAX BILLS HIGHER, EVEN WHEN TAX RATES HAVE NOT CHANGED. I'VE SUPPORTED REFORMS AT BUILD ON PROTECTIONS, ADVANCE TRANSPARENCY, AND ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES SUCH AS HOUSE BILL 180 7 AND WORK THROUGH THE STATE OPERATING BUDGET TO LIMIT THE IMPACT OF VALUATION SPIKES ON HOMEOWNERS. THESE EFFORTS ARE FOCUSED ON RESTORING PREDICTABILITY IN ENFORCING RESTRAINT, AND ENSURING OUR TAXPAYERS ARE NOT PENALIZED SIMPLY FOR REMAINING IN THEIR HOMES. NO OHIOAN SHOULD BE TAXED OUT OF THEIR PROPERTY DUE TO UNCHECKED VALUATION GROWTH. AND I WILL CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR DURABLE LONG-TERM PROPERTY TAX REFORM. PUBLIC SAFETY IS ANOTHER AREA WHERE I HAVE FOCUSED MY LEGISLATIVE WORK. I WAS PROUD TO ADVANCE KEITH'S LAW, WHICH STRENGTHENS ACCOUNTABILITY AND REINFORCES PROTECTIONS FOR OHIO [00:05:01] FAMILIES. THIS LEGISLATION REFLECTS A COMMON SENSE APPROACH STANDING WITH VICTIMS UPHOLDING THE RULE OF LAW, AND ASSURING OUR COMMUNITIES HAVE THE TOOLS THEY NEED TO REMAIN SAFE. AND I'D ALSO LIKE TO SPEND A MOMENT ON HOUSE BILL 360 1, WHICH I PERSONALLY AUTHORED, AND WHICH REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF MY WORK IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY. AS THE ONLY ZONING PROFESSIONAL AND REGISTERED PLANNER CURRENTLY SERVING IN THE ENTIRE OHIO LEGISLATURE, I BRING FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE WITH THE CHALLENGES LOCAL GOVERNMENT FACES WHEN THIS, I'M SORRY, WHEN NAVIGATING OUT OUTDATED OR INCONSISTENT LAND USE LAWS. RECOGNIZING THIS, THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE HAS CHARGED ME WITH DELIVERING MEANINGFUL REFORM IN THIS AREA. HOUSE BILL 360 1 IS DESIGNED TO MODERNIZE ZONING AND LAND USE PROCESSES, REDUCE UNNECESSARY RED TAPE, AND REINFORCE LOCAL DECISION MAKING AUTHORITY. IT REFLECTS PRACTICAL CONSERVATIVE GOVERNANCE, RESPECTING THE EXPERTISE OF LOCAL OFFICIALS, IMPROVING CLARITY IN STATE LAW, AND ENSURING THAT DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS ARE PREDICTABLE, FAIR, AND WORKABLE FOR BOTH COMMUNITIES AND PROPERTY OWNERS. THIS LEGISLATION IS ABOUT EMPOWERING CITIES LIKE DUBLIN TO CONTINUE PLANNING FOR GROWTH ON YOUR OWN TERMS WITHOUT UNNECESSARY STATE LEVEL INTERFERENCE. I FIRMLY BELIEVE THE BEST OUTCOMES OCCUR WHEN STATE AND LOCAL LEADERS WORK TOGETHER IN GOOD FAITH. DUBLIN IS A MODEL OF RESPONSIBLE DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNITY INVESTMENT, AND I REMAIN COMMITTED TO BEING A RELIABLE PARTNER AND ADVOCATE FOR YOUR PRIORITIES IN THE STATE HOUSE. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THIS COMMUNITY, AND I CONTINUE TO LOOK FORWARD TO THE OPPORTUNITY TO RESENT, REPRESENT THE PEOPLE WE ALL SERVE. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING OUR COLLABORATION. APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND, UH, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER THOSE. WELL, THANK YOU, REPRESENTATIVE. WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE YOU. UH, THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. AND I WOULD NOTE, UH, YOUR HONOR, IF I MIGHT, UH, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS NOW AND MEGAN PROBABLY RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM OUR OFFICE OF THE CAPITAL BUDGET. UH, AND THAT IS THE ONE TIME ANNUAL BIANNUAL POT OF MONEY, UH, GEARED TOWARDS CIVIC PROJECTS. UH, NOT AS MUCH IN THIS, UH, BIENNIUM BY ALL MEANS IS THE LAST ONE, BUT STILL AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO PARTNER ON, ON PROJECTS THAT WILL BENEFIT THE CITIZENS. SO I, WE'VE TALKED THE LAST TIME AND I'M SURE WE'LL, WE'LL GET ON EACH OTHER'S CALENDARS AS WELL, BUT JUST WANTED TO NOTE THAT, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M TRYING TO PROMOTE TO ALL THE COMMUNITIES THAT I REPRESENT IN THE 60TH DISTRICT. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. THANK YOU SO MUCH, AND I'M SURE WE WILL HAVE A PROJECT TO SUBMIT FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. THANK YOU. OKAY, UP NEXT WE HAVE, UH, OUR HOSPITALITY AND RESTAURANT INDUSTRY UPDATE. IT'S GONNA BROUGHT, BE BROUGHT FORWARD BY OUR VERY OWN SCOTT DRINK, AND HE'S ACCOMPANIED BY, UH, BY MON WELCOME, IAN MONTGOMERY. GOOD EVENING. GOOD TO SEE ALL OF YOU. THANK YOU FOR YOUR OPPORTUNITY. UH, BEFORE I GIVE YOU A QUICK UPDATE ON VISIT DUBLIN, I'M GONNA INVITE, UH, IAN MONTGOMERY, UH, TO COME ON UP AND GIVE YOU A LITTLE RESTAURANT UPDATE OF DUBLIN'S RESTAURANTS, UM, YOU KNOW, FROM FIDO, BUT I THINK MORE IMPORTANTLY THAT WHAT HAVE PASSED, UH, ARY CHEER, THE DUBLIN IRISH FESTIVAL. SO HE'S GONNA GIVE YOU A QUICK UPDATE ON WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH OUR RESTAURANTS HERE IN DUBLIN. OKAY. THANK YOU SCOTT. AND THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME A COUPLE OF MOMENTS TO SPEAK ON BEHALF OF THE RESTAURANTS HERE IN DUBLIN. UM, AS YOU KNOW, COMING OUT THROUGH COVID, UH, THE RESTAURANTS, WE FELT A SQUEEZE. UM, MOST OF US THANK GOODNESS SURVIVED AND HERE WE ARE TODAY. UM, OUR COST OF OPERATIONS HAVE GONE UP, OUR MARGINS SQUEEZED. WE ALWAYS FELT THAT THEY WOULD GO BACK TO WHERE THEY WERE. UM, THEY DEFINITELY WENT BACK, BUT NOT TO WHERE WE WOULD'VE PROJECTED OR DEFINITELY HOPED. UM, SO HERE WE ARE IN THIS KIND OF CRAZY WORLD WE'RE IN TODAY AND LOOKING AT REPORTS, PROJECTIONS OVER THE NEXT 12, 24 MONTHS FOR OUR INDUSTRY. UM, THERE LOOKS LIKE THERE WILL BE SOME MODEST GROWTH IN CERTAIN SECTIONS, BUT IT'S NOT ACROSS THE BOARD. UM, AND I WILL SAY FOR ESPECIALLY SMALLER ENTITIES LIKE THE ONE I RUN OR WHATEVER, THAT DON'T HAVE HUGE BUDGETS, UM, BEING STABLE FOR THE NEXT YEAR, TWO YEARS WOULD BE A WIN. UM, I DON'T THINK WE'VE EVER SAID THAT IN OUR INDUSTRY BEFORE, BUT IT'S KIND OF SURVIVAL. AND THEN I TALK ABOUT SCOTT AND VISIT DUBLIN AND WHAT THEY DO FOR US. UM, EVEN IF WE LOOK JUST LOCALLY, [00:10:01] UM, HOW THEY INFORM DUBLINS OF WHAT'S ON THEIR DOORSTEP AND WHAT THEY CAN AVAIL OF, I THINK SOMETIMES IS MISSED OUT ON. UM, WE NEED ALL THE DUBLINS, BUT FOR OUR INDUSTRY IT'S A NUMBERS GAME. THERE'S JUST NOT ENOUGH DUBLINS. YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO HAVE MORE DUBLINS. SO WE NEED THAT CONSTANT INFLUX OF PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE THE CITY TO FILL UP OUR HOTELS, TO SHOP IN OUR SHOPS, OBVIOUSLY, TO EAT IN OUR RESTAURANTS. UM, THIS CITY HAS ALWAYS BEEN VERY PROACTIVE OF MAKING THIS CITY OF WHAT WE ARE NOW. UM, WITH EVERYTHING IN PLACE. I'D SAY IF YOU LOOKED AT ANY LIST IN WHATEVER REGION YOU WANT TO PICK, THAT WE'RE IN DUBLIN'S UP HERE IN PLACES TO WORK, PLACES TO VISIT PLACES TO LIVE, WE'RE UP THERE. UM, WHAT VISIT DUBLIN DOES FOR US, FOR THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY IS A HUGE PART OF THAT EQUATION. UH, WE NEED THEM, UM, WE NEED TO STAY TOP OF THAT LIST. UM, SO THANK YOU SCOTT AND YOUR TEAM FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE FOR US. BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, THANKS TO THE CITY OF DUBLIN FOR YEARS WHO HAVE WORKED AND HAD A GREAT WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH VISIT DUBLIN AND CONTINUE TO DO SO. UH, AGAIN, IT IS A GAME CHANGER. VISIT DUBLIN IS THAT LITTLE ACE UP THE SLEEVE THAT WE HAVE COMPARED TO PEOPLE WHO WANT TO TAKE THAT BUSINESS AWAY FROM US. SO AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT. THANK YOU MONTE. THANKS MONTY. UM, I'M GONNA KIND OF DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT, KIND OF GIVE YOU A VERY HIGH LEVEL, UM, LOOK AT WHAT VISIT DUBLIN DOES, THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT WE GIVE YOU, UM, WHY, HOW ALL THE PIECES KIND OF FIT TOGETHER, CONNECTING THE DOTS. UH, WE HAVE A STAFF OF FOUR, UM, HERE IN DUBLIN. UM, THERE IS SOMETHING CALLED A HOTEL, UH, BED TAX. YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF IT. SO EVERY VISITOR IN THE CITY, DUBLIN, ONE OF OUR 18 HOTELS, PAYS A 6% TAX. UH, THE CITY OF DUBLIN COLLECTS THAT TAX AND IT IT'S DISTRIBUTED TO THREE PRIMARY ENTITIES, UH, THE CITY OF DUBLIN, THE DUBLIN ARTS COUNCIL. AND THEN, UH, VISIT, VISIT DUBLIN. UM, WE ARE THE ONES, LEMME GET THIS THING, SORRY. WE ARE THE ONES THAT KIND OF DRIVE THE ENGINE THAT KIND OF DRIVES THAT BED TAX GROWTH. UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE BED TAX IS VERY IMPORTANT BECAUSE ONE, IT'S A NON-RESIDENT TAX, SO OUR RESIDENTS ARE NOT PAYING THIS TAX. OUR VISITORS ARE, IT'S GENERATING ALL KINDS OF EVENTS FOR THE CITY, OUR ARTS AND CULTURE. IT'S CREATING, UM, ECONOMIC IMPACT THROUGH TOURISM, ET CETERA. SO IT'S AN IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT WE DO AS WELL. UM, EVERY DAY WE'RE WORKING TO DRIVE THAT BED TECHS, UH, WE WORK TO BRING IN EVENTS, CONFERENCES, TRADE SHOWS, BUS TOURS, SPORTING EVENTS, UM, LEISURE TRAVELERS, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE TO, TO STAY IN OUR HOTELS AND, AND GENERATE THAT IMPACT. UM, ONE THING THAT WE DO, WE, WE HAVE A COUPLE MEASUREMENTS THAT WE USE. UM, HERE'S THE ONE MEASUREMENT IS THE AMOUNT OF BED THAT WE GENERATE. SO THIS IS THE BED TAX AS A WHOLE, AND YOU CAN SEE THE LAST FIVE YEARS, UM, YOU KNOW, YEAR OVER YEAR, IT'S BEEN ABOUT AN AVERAGE, ABOUT AN EIGHT TO 10% INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR. SO WE CONTINUE TO, UH, TO SEE GOOD GROWTH WITH THAT BED TAX REVENUE AS A WHOLE. ANOTHER METRIC WE USE IS HOTEL OCCUPANCY. SO THIS IS THE NUMBER OF ROOMS, PERCENTAGE WISE, THAT ARE OCCUPIED AS PART OF OUR 18 HOTELS. SO YOU COULD SEE 68%, UM, IS WHERE WE ENDED LAST YEAR. UM, AND TO GIVE YOU ON RELATIVE TERMS, THAT MIGHT NOT SEEM GREAT, BUT THAT INDUSTRY AVERAGE ACROSS THE COUNTRY IS 62%. SO WE'RE WELL ABOVE THE INDUSTRY AVERAGE, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE 30% OR SO TO, TO BECOME TOTALLY FULL. SO, UM, WE'RE TRENDING VERY WELL AND THOSE ARE THE REAL TWO METRICS THAT WE USE. SO THAT'S A LOT OF THE ROI THAT WE HAVE. UM, IN TERMS OF BED TECHS, ANOTHER THING THAT WE DO IS WE REALLY RAISE, UH, WORK ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND THE WORLD IN THAT MATTER, TO RAISE THE PROFILE OF THE CITY TO REALLY BE A, UH, UM, A GLOBAL CITY OF CHOICE. AND WE DO THIS BY A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS. ONE IS WE TRY TO WORK AND, AND PLACE ARTICLES AND FEATURES ON THE CITY OF DUBLIN ON THESE NATIONAL INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS ACROSS THE WORLD. UH, WE HOST MEDIA, UM, TO COME INTO TOWN, AND THEN THEY GO BACK TO THEIR PUBLICATIONS AND WRITE ABOUT FEATURES ON THE, ON THE CITY OF DUBLIN. WE DO BROADCAST TV, RADIO INTERVIEWS. UH, WE HAVE A VERY INDEBT INFLUENCER, UM, OR BLOGGER NETWORK WHERE WE BRING IN BLOGGERS AND INFLUENCERS THAT COME IN TO OUR CITY AGAIN, RIGHT ABOUT THE CITY AND SEND IT OUT TO THEIR HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF FOLLOWERS AS WELL. ALL OF WHICH TO RAISE THE PROFILE AND AWARENESS OF CITY, OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN ACROSS THE GLOBE. A METRIC WE USE AS IMPRESSIONS. AND LAST YEAR WE HAD 2.1 BILLION. THAT'S WITH THE B MALE IMPRESSIONS. SO THAT MEANT, THAT MEANT 2.1 BILLION EYEBALLS, HAD SOME KIND OF VISIBILITY, UH, FOR THE CITY OF DUBLIN, UM, A ACROSS THE, ACROSS THE WORLD. UH, ONE AREA THAT WE DO THAT KIND OF TOUCHES BOTH OF THOSE IS OUR REGIONAL CAMPAIGN. UM, THIS CAMPAIGN WORKS TO ATTRACT PEOPLE TO OUR HOTELS AND OUR CITY AND ALSO RAISE AWARENESS. UM, WE'RE VERY MUCH A REGIONAL DESTINATION WITHIN THREE HOURS. IF YOU DRAW A CIRCLE AROUND DUBLIN, UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE MARKETS WE GO AFTER. SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE RAISING AWARENESS THROUGH A CAMPAIGN. IT RUNS THROUGH APRIL THROUGH THE END OF BEGINNING OF JULY. [00:15:01] UM, MARKETING AND SELLING THE CITY OF DUBLIN, UM, THROUGH THAT AS WELL. ANOTHER THING WE DO IS WE WORK TO REALLY BOOST THE ECONOMY THROUGH, UM, LOCAL OR SUPPORTING LOCAL BUSINESSES AND REALLY BE A RESOURCE TO OUR RESIDENTS. UM, I'VE BEEN A RESIDENT NOW FOR, WHAT, 25 YEARS. AND I CAN TELL YOU THIS, THESE TRAILS ARE REALLY AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US AS RESIDENTS TO GO AROUND, EXPLORE OUR CITY, UM, AND TELL AND SHOW ALL THE THINGS, GREAT THINGS WE HAVE TO DO IN THE COMMUNITY. THE FERRY DOOR TRAIL IS A GREAT EXAMPLE. UM, WE HAVE 13 BUSINESSES IN DOWNTOWN DUBLIN HAVE LITTLE SMALL FERRY DOOR TRAILS IN THEIR OFFICES OR IN THEIR STORES. UH, WE HAVE A PER PEOPLE GO, THEY HAVE A LITTLE PASSPORT, THEY GO AROUND AND GET ALL THE NAMES OF THE FERRIES COME TO THE OFFICE AND THEY GET FREE T-SHIRTS. SO THIS IS THE 10TH YEAR WE'VE DONE THIS. WE'VE HAD NEARLY 20,000 PEOPLE DO THE TRAIL, WHICH IS A LOT OF T-SHIRTS, BUT IT'S HUGE ECONOMIC IMPACT. 'CAUSE IF YOU TALK TO LIKE LINDA AT OUR CUPCAKE, ERY OR UH, AN ANUS AT DEYA EMPORIUM, THEY RELY ON THESE TRAILS BECAUSE ANY, ANYTIME THEY COME IN THERE, PEOPLE ARE SPENDING MONEY IN THEIR STORES. IF THEY'RE NOT SPENDING THE TIME, THEY'RE COMING BACK AND SPENDING MONEY. SO IT'S A HUGE ECONOMIC BOOST, UM, TO THOSE STORES AS WELL. WE ALSO HAVE THE CELTIC COCKTAIL TRAIL, THE DUBLIN PARK PASS, WHICH CELEBRATE DUBLIN 64 PARKS AND THEY GET, UM, A GIFT FROM OHIO HEALTH. WE WORK WITH THE DAC, THE ARTS COUNCIL. THEY DO AN ART IN PUBLIC PLACES AS WELL. AND THE ONE THING I REALLY LOVE ABOUT THESE TRUCKS, IT'S SO TRACKABLE. SO WE HAVE AN APP THAT TRACKS ALL THESE PEOPLE SO WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE DOING. ONE GREAT EXAMPLE OF THAT IS THE ESPRESSO MARTINI TRAIL THAT WE LAUNCHED THIS NOVEMBER. THAT'LL END IT THIS MONTH. UM, AND AGAIN, WE CAN TRACK EVERY TIME SOMEONE PURCHASED A A MARTINI TRAIL, A MARTINI, THE ESPRESSO MARTINI. UM, THIS MORNING, AS OF THIS MORNING, WE HAD $135,000 OF MARTINIS. SO APPARENTLY OUR VISITORS AND RESIDENTS LIKE ESPRESSO MARTINIS, AND THAT IS JUST ONE MARTINI. SO THAT IS JUST ONE. THEY PAY ONE MARTINI AND THAT'S, THAT'S HOW IT'S TRACKED. OUR, OUR RESTAURANTS TELL US THAT OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE PROBABLY SPENDING HAVING MAYBE A COUPLE MORE DRINKS. THEY'RE HAVING LUNCH, BREAKFAST APPETIZERS. UH, THEY ESTIMATE THE WHOLE IMPACT IS CLOSE TO 400 TO $500,000 IN THAT IMPACT. SO, AND ALL WE'VE SPENT IS ABOUT A LITTLE UNDER $10,000 WITH THE, THE PRIZE, THE HAT THAT THEY GET SOME MARKETING. SO I'LL LET YOU DO THE MATH, YOU KNOW, 400,000 DIVIDED BY 10,000, THAT'S PRETTY GOOD RETURN ON YOUR INVESTMENT ON WHAT WE'RE DOING, GETTING PEOPLE TO, TO RUN AROUND TOWN AND DO THAT STUFF AS WELL. UM, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE THE BIG PICTURE IS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE THE ENGINE THAT HELPS BID TAX REVENUE, UH, GENERATE, UH, WE'RE HELPING BE A HUGE RESOURCE FOR OUR DUB AND RESIDENTS. WE'RE GENERATING ECONOMIC IMPACT AS WELL. WE'RE HELPING PUSH THE, THE NAME OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN ACROSS THE GLOBE AS WELL, AND ALL OF WHICH BENEFITS OUR MOST IMPORTANT, UH, STAKEHOLDER. AND THAT'S DUBLIN RESIDENTS. SO, AND IT'S, AGAIN, EVERY DOLLAR YOU SPEND, UM, YOU GET 16 IN RETURN AND IT'S TELL THE LAST EXAMPLE WITH, UH, ESPRESSO TRAIL, A VERY CONSERVATIVE NUMBER AS WELL. UM, I'M JUST GONNA GO QUICKLY THROUGH A COUPLE QUICK THINGS OF WHAT WE HAVE GOING ON THIS YEAR. UM, AS YOU MIGHT, UH, KNOW THAT I SHOWED YOU THE OCCUPANCY AND WE CAN TRACK THAT OCCUPANCY, OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TIMES AND NEED THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE YEAR. AND I MIGHT BE SHOCKING TO HEAR, BUT JANUARY AND FEBRUARY ARE A HARD TIME TO SELL DUBLIN AS A TOURISM DESTINATION. SO WE HAVE TO DO A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS TO, TO GENERATE BUSINESS. ONE THING WE'RE DOING IS SOMETHING CALLED LOVE IN DUBLIN, WHICH WE HAVE A MOCK KIND OF DATING APP ON OUR WEBSITE THAT ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO DO VARIOUS THINGS AROUND TOWN, RESTAURANT SHOPS, ET CETERA. UM, OUR SALES PERSON, JOSH, WILL TRAVEL OVER 8,000 MILES THIS YEAR, GOING TO TRADE SHOWS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, TRYING TO GET BUSINESS, IF IT'S BUSINESS TRAVEL, SPORTS TRAVEL, BUS TOURS, LEISURE, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE AS WELL. UM, THANK YOU FOR SPORTS OHIO. UM, YOUR INVESTMENT, MEGAN'S LEADERSHIP, UH, KENDALL'S LEADERSHIP IN, IN MAKING THAT HAPPEN. UM, I KNOW SFC WAS HERE, I BELIEVE LAST MEETING TO GIVE YOU GUYS AN UPDATE ON THAT, AND THEY'VE DONE A GREAT JOB BEING, BEING ON THE JOB FOR, UH, THREE OR FOUR MONTHS. UM, WE'VE SOLD DUBLIN AS A SPORTS DESTINATION FOR 25 YEARS. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR RELATIONSHIP IS NOT GONNA BE, UM, DUPLICATING WHAT SFC IS GONNA BE. ABSOLUTELY. UM, WORKING WITH THEM, COLLABORATING WITH THEM. UM, A GOOD EXAMPLE IS ONE OF THE FIRST EVENTS THAT WE, UH, SENT TO THEM WAS THE, UH, DRIVING LONG DRIVE CONTEST THAT CAME FROM A LEAF US THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING YEARS TO GET TO SPORTS OHIO, BUT THE PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATION WOULDN'T WORK WITH US. SO THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF HOW WE BRING NEW LEADS, UM, TO THEM AS WELL. AND KEEP IN MIND TO THAT, WE'RE PROMOTING ALL OF DUBLIN AS A SPORTS DESTINATION, NOT JUST SPORTS OHIO. WE WORK WITH MATT, WITH EMERALD FIELDS, AVERY PARK, THE UM, REC CENTER. WE WORK AT DUBLIN CITY SCHOOLS TO BRING EVENTS TO THE FACILITIES THERE AS WELL. SO IT'S NOT JUST SPORTS OHIO THAT WE'RE BRINGING, IT'S IT'S ENTIRE CITY. SPEAKING OF SPORTS, WE'RE DIPPING OUR TOES IN THE NIL WORLD OF COLLEGE ATHLETICS. UM, AND THE REASON WE'RE DOING IT IS THAT WE SPOKE WITH OHIO STATE AND THE DUBLIN SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS MORE STUDENT ATHLETES AT OHIO STATE THAN ANY OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY. UM, SO WE THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY THERE SOMEPLACE TO, TO WORK SOME KIND OF MARKETING MAGIC YET TO BE DETERMINED, BUT WE'RE GONNA, UM, PLAY ON THAT AS WELL AND SEE [00:20:01] WHAT WE CAN DO THERE. UM, THANK YOU, UM, FOR ALL YOUR, THE CHRIS KENDALL MART THAT IS HAPPENING THIS YEAR. UM, THANKS, UH, VICE MAYOR DEROSA FOR YOUR VISION ON, ON THAT. UH, IT'S SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, UM, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT FOR TWO, IT'S GONNA BE A GREAT AMENITY FOR OUR RESIDENTS WHEN THEY FIRST, WHEN THEY SEE IT. I WAS SURPRISED WHEN I WENT TO CARMEL. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WHAT WE WERE GETTING INTO, BUT IT'S GONNA BE AMAZING AMENITY AND EVENT FOR, FOR OUR RESIDENTS. AND TWO, UM, DECEMBER IS THE WORST MONTH FOR US IN TERMS OF OUR OCCUPANCY FOR OUR HOTELS, SO IT'S GONNA REALLY BE A BOOST FOR OUR LOCAL ECONOMY DURING THAT TIME AS WELL. WE'RE WORKING WITH MARIE AND THAT TEAM, UM, ON BUS TOURS. WE WORK A COUPLE YEARS AHEAD, SO WE'RE WORKING ON GETTING BUS TOURS THERE, MARKETING, HELPING HER FOR SOME SPONSORSHIP AND OTHER STUFF AS WELL. SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT. UM, AND AGAIN, THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT. UH, WE WILL WORK WORKING WITH H AND S AND MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT AND MEGAN AND HER TEAM AND A LOT OF COOL STUFF DOWN THE ROAD THAT WE WILL, UH, WE'LL BE DOING THAT AS WELL. WE WILL, UH, INTRODUCING THAT HERE IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS. UM, FINALLY JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK WORLD CLASS, WE EXPECT THINGS IN DOUBLING TO BE TOP OF WORLD CLASS AND BEST OF CLASS AT EVERYTHING WE DO. UM, THERE ARE 4,500 CONVENTION VISITORS BUREAUS IN THE UNITED, IN THE COUNTRY OR IN THE WORLD, I'M SORRY, ONLY 6% ARE OF RE HAVE BEEN ACCREDITED AND WE'RE ONE OF THE 6% WHO'VE BEEN ACCREDITED FOR, FOR SINCE 2008. SO, UM, FROM OUR INDUSTRY STANDARD, WE'RE DOING IT THE RIGHT WAY, UM, AS WE WOULD EXPECT EVERYONE HERE IN THE DUBLIN TO BE DOING IT. AND, UM, WITH THAT I ALSO MENTIONED THAT, UM, OUR LEASE, WE'VE RENEWED OUR LEASE IN HISTORIC DUBLIN, UM, UNTIL 2031. UH, WE WERE THE FIRST TENANT IN THAT BUILDING IN BRIDGE AND HIGH 26 YEARS AGO, SO WE'RE EXCITED TO CONTINUE THAT TRADITION, UM, FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. THANK YOU. WELL, THANK YOU SCOTT AS A FUN LITTLE BEANIE FOR, UH, FOR THE ESPRESSO TRAIL AND TO KEEP OUR HEADS WARM. SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU DO FOR THE CITY AND, UM, WE DO KNOW THAT EXPECTATIONS HERE REALLY HIGH, BUT YOU MEET 'EM, SO WE APPRECIATE YOU DOING THAT. THAT'S NOT AN EASY TASK. AND UM, YOU KNOW, I I THINK THERE ARE, UM, GREAT THINGS AHEAD I THINK FOR HOPEFULLY OUR RESTAURATEURS IN THE CITY AND, AND, AND, UH, HOTELS AND SHOPS AND EVERYBODY ELSE. SO QUESTIONS FOR SCOTT. THANK YOU. NO, I WOULD JUST SAY THANK YOU FOR THE METRICS AND THE NUMBERS. I THINK IT'S, IT'S VERY HELPFUL AND VERY USEFUL, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. OKAY, THANKS SO MUCH. OKAY, THIS BRINGS US TO THE CITIZEN'S [CITIZEN COMMENTS] COMMENTS PORT OF OUR PORTION OF OUR AGENDA. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO CITIZENS, FOR CITIZENS TO COMMENT ON ANY TOPIC THAT IS NOT ON THIS EVENING'S AGENDA. UH, HOPEFULLY YOU HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SIGN IN AT THE KIOSK ON YOUR WAY IN. IF NOT, WE WILL RECOGNIZE YOU, UH, ONCE THOSE THAT HAVE SIGNED IN ARE RECOGNIZED. SO WE WILL START WITH LINDSAY. DO WE HAVE ANY? YES, WE HAD ONE CITIZEN SIGN IN FOR COMMENTS AND ALSO ONE SUBMITTED ONLINE. SO I WILL START WITH THAT. IT WAS FROM SANDY MACINTOSH, 5 7 9 2 TRAFALGAR LANE, DUBLIN, OHIO 4 3 0 1 6. AND HER SUBJECT IS WID. COMMENTS AS FOLLOWS. GOOD EVENING COUNCIL MEMBERS IN ADVANCE OF YOUR JANUARY 5TH, 2026 MEETING. I WROTE TO EXPRESS MY CONCERN WITH APPROVAL OF COUNCIL'S 2026, GOAL NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS TO CATALYZE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE WEST INNOVATION DISTRICT. DURING THE DISCUSSION OF THE GOALS AT THAT MEETING, SEVERAL COUNCIL MEMBERS NOTED GOAL FOUR IS A BROAD GOAL AND IT IS ABOUT THE ENTIRETY OF THE WID, NOT ONE PARTICULAR PORTION. I AM HERE TONIGHT TO ASK YOU TO FOCUS ON ONE PARTICULAR PORTION THAT IS THE PORTION ADJACENT TO RE PRIMARILY ON THE WEST SIDE OF COS GRAY ROAD, SOUTH OF SHIRE RINGS ROAD COUNCIL MEMBER JOHNSON NOTED AT THE JANUARY 5TH MEETING THAT THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES WITHIN THE ESTABLISHED PROCESS TO CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER AND REALIZE OUTCOMES THAT WORK FOR RESIDENTS AND ALSO FOR THE CITY. I BELIEVE THAT COMMENT IS IN REFERENCE TO THE ONGOING WORK ON THE CODE LANGUAGE. THE ROADMAP FOR SOME OF THAT CODE LANGUAGE WAS PRESENTED TO THE CITY'S PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION ON JANUARY 22ND. IT WAS CLEAR FROM THE QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS MADE BY THE COMMISSION MEMBERS AT THAT MEETING THAT THEY FEEL BEHOLDEN TO THE ENVISION DUBLIN COMMUNITY PLAN, WHICH CALLS FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE AREA. I MENTIONED BECAUSE OF THAT, I DO NOT BELIEVE THAT GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS OF REVISING CODE LANGUAGES GOING TO RESULT IN AN OUTCOME THAT IS SATISFACTORY TO THE RESIDENTS OF BALL. ANDRE, YOU AS CITY COUNCIL MUST DIRECT CITY STAFF TO CONSIDER THE BASIC NOTION THAT INDUSTRIAL ZONING IS NOT APPROPRIATE ADJACENT TO RESIDENTIAL AREAS. I WON'T BELABOR THE POINT MADE IN MY JANUARY 4TH, 2026 LETTER OTHER THAN TO NOTE THAT EXPANSION OF THE WID SOUTH OF SHIRE RINGS WAS SUDDEN AND IT WAS NOT APPROPRIATELY AND PUBLICLY VETTED AS I BELIEVE MAYOR GROOMS HAS STATED. THE ENVISION DUBLIN PLAN IS A LIVING DOCUMENT. THE PLAN ITSELF STATES IT IS NOT A STATIC DOCUMENT, AND THAT IF COMMUNITY ATTITUDES CHANGE, THEN THE PLAN SHOULD BE REVISED AND UPDATED ACCORDINGLY. MY REQUEST IS THAT YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THE COMMUNITY [00:25:01] ATTITUDE IS NOT IN FAVOR OF EXPANSION OF THE WID, SOUTH OF SHIRE RINGS ROAD AND DIRECT CITY STAFF TO REVISE AND UPDATE THE ENVISION PLAN ACCORDINGLY. THANK YOU. AND FURTHER, WE HAVE SCOTT HERRING REGISTERED IN TO SPEAK. VERY GOOD. PLEASE COME FORWARD. STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS INTO THE RECORD. GOOD EVENING. MY NAME IS SCOTT HERRING. I LIVE AT 32 80 LILY MAR COURT OFF OF THE MARTIN PARKWAY. WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PREVIOUS SPEAKERS? DUBLIN DOES DO A LOT OF THINGS. EXCELLENT. AND THAT IS MARVELOUS. IT'S PART OF THE REASON I STAY HERE AFTER 30 YEARS, BUT I'M COMING BACK TO THIS PLANNING AND ZONING PROCESS THAT I'VE MENTIONED BEFORE. WE DO SO MANY THINGS. GREAT. IT'S OKAY TO SAY, UH, WE MISSED THE MARK ON THIS ONE. FIRST I WANNA SAY THANK YOU AMY CRA AS THE LIA AGENT TO THE PLANNING AND ZONING. I APPRECIATE THAT YOU GOT THAT, UM, LETTER TO ME. UM, AFTER TWO WEEKS I WAS GETTING A LITTLE CONCERNED, SO THANK YOU FOR PICKING UP AND TAKING THE INITIATIVE THERE AND THAT, THAT HAD FOLLOWED UP ON MY INITIAL LETTER OF NOVEMBER 10 AND THEN JANUARY 16. SO HERE'S MY REQUEST AS A FRACTIONAL SHAREHOLDER IN THIS ENTITY KNOWN AS THE CITY OF DUBLIN. CAN WE GO BACK AND LOOK AT THIS? YES. MY SPECIFIC CASE IS THE Y BLOCK AND THE PLANNING, UM, PRELIMINARY DEVELOPMENT PLAN, BUT IN A VERY BROAD WAY. AND FOR MY NEIGHBORS WHO WERE IN THE WATERFORD DISTRICT AND GOING THROUGH, UM, A PROJECT THERE AND THE BALANCE TRADE FOLKS, I, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS HERE. THE NOVEMBER 6TH MEETING OF THE PLANNING AND ZONING THAT PDP WAS APPROVED WITH EIGHT WAIVERS AND SOME OF THEM WERE WHOPPERS JUST ENORMOUS. IT JUST NOT GOOD. SO THANK YOU AMY FOR GETTING ME THE MINUTES OF THAT P AND Z MEETING. PAGE 10 IN THE MINUTES NEATLY LISTED THE EIGHT WAIVERS AND ALL THE RELEVANT CODE SECTIONS. NOW IF SOMEONE ONLY READ THE MINUTES, THEY'D BE VERY SURPRISED TO SEE THE VIDEO OF THE MEETING AND THAT ONLY A VERY ABBREVIATED SUMMARY WAS PUT UP ON A SCREEN. MY QUESTION IS, COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE, AND AMY, THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT YOU DID WATCH A MEETING. HAVE YOU WATCHED THAT MEETING? IT JUST WAS TERRIBLE. NOVEMBER 6TH, WHY SO MANY WAIVERS AND WHY SO LENIENT? SO OVER AND OVER I JUST KEEP GOING BACK. THE WAIVER REMARKS, SAY SECTION K, SECTION FIVE, SECTION B, THAT A WAIVER IS TO GENERALLY MEET THE SPIRIT AND INTENT. AND THEN THERE'S A LOT OF WORDS THAT ESSENTIALLY SAY THE PLANS OF THE CITY. SO JUST HERE'S A FEW EXAMPLES REAL QUICK. WAIVER ONE, LOTS AND BLOCKS. 1750 FEET MAXIMUM PERIMETER IS ALLOWED, BUT 32 60 GRANTED BY WAIVER. SO THAT'S ALMOST DOUBLE. OKAY, THAT'S ONE. AND NUMBER FOUR, HOTEL PARKING STRUCTURE. THREE EXIT LANES REQUIRED WAIVER FOR TWO. OKAY, TWO THIRDS OF THE CODE, BUT ALSO NUMBER FIVE, CONDO FRONTLINE COVERAGE, 75% COVERAGE. EXPECTED WAIVER TO DO ONLY 27%. SO THAT'S ONE THIRD OF THE REQUIREMENTS NOT GOOD. THEN THERE WAS ONE AT SEVEN X, BUT THEN THERE WAS ONE AT ZERO. NO FRONTLINE PROPERTY COVERAGE. IT'S JUST SILLY. SO IT'S THAT KIND OF GIGANTIC GIVEAWAY. I DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND THAT THAT CAN'T POSSIBLY MEET THE SPIRIT OF THE CODE. AND I JUST ASK, CAN WE GO BACK AND LOOK AT HOW WE NOT HAVE THIS HAPPEN AGAIN? THANK YOU. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. UM, IF YOU, IF YOU DO HAVE REQUE, UH, SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS. I, AMY HAD REPLIED, UM, WONDERFUL REPLY ABOUT MOVING FORWARD, WHAT, WHAT THE ABILITIES ARE AND WHAT THEY AREN'T. SO, UM, BY KENDALL WOULD BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY, UH, ADDITIONAL COMMUNICATION THAT YOU WOULD LIKE AND, AND RELAY THAT BACK TO US. SO THANK YOU. UH, ANYONE ELSE LIKE TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT THIS EVENING BEFORE WE BEGIN INTO THE BALANCE OF OUR AGENDA? HEARING NONE, UH, IS THERE A REQUEST TO REMOVE [CONSENT AGENDA] AN ITEM FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA CONSISTING OF THE JANUARY 20 MEETING MINUTES AND A LIQUOR TRANSFER? HEARING NONE, I WILL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. THANK YOU. JENNY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE MS. CRAM? YES. MAYOR AROSE GROOMS? YES. DR. LAMB? YES. MS. SALUTO? YES. MS. JOHNSON? YES. VICE MAYOR OSA? YES. OKAY. THIS BRINGS US TO THE SECOND READING, [Ordinance 01-26] PUBLIC HEARING ORDINANCES ORDINANCE 0 1 26 AMENDMENTS TO SECTION 72.213 2.033 [00:30:01] AND ADDING SECTION 72 2 TO CHAPTER 72 OF THE CO DUBLIN CODIFIED ORDINANCES TO ADDRESS VE VEHICULAR AND ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. OUR STAFF REPORT WILL BE FROM JEANNIE WILLOW. WELCOME. THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. UH, TONIGHT WE ARE PLEASED TO BE BACK FOR THE SECOND READING TO AMEND THE VARIOUS NOISE SECTIONS OF THE NOISE ORDINANCES AS INITIALLY DISCUSSED AT THE JANUARY 20TH, 2026 CITY COUNCIL MEETING AS PRESENTED DURING THAT MEETING, UPDATES ARE PROPOSED TO THREE EXISTING CODE SECTIONS, UH, 72 0 2 1 LOUD NOISE FROM A MOTOR VEHICLE, NO ENGINE BRAKE PERMITTED IN SECTION 72 0 2 2, WHICH IS A NEW SECTION DISORDERLY CONDUCT. AND, UH, WHICH IS SECTION 1 32 0 3. AND THEN FINALLY IN SECTION 1 53 0 7 6 PUBLIC NUISANCE. THESE CHANGES ESTABLISH, UH, AIM TO ESTABLISH CLEAR MEASURABLE STANDARDS ENHANCE THE CITY'S ABILITY TO RESPOND TO COMMUNITY CONCERNS AND OBJECTIVELY EVALUATE DISTURBANCES BASED ON THE DIRECTION RECEIVED AT THE JANUARY 20TH MEETING. SOME MINOR CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE AND SOME CLARIFICATIONS TO THE DRAFT HAVE BEEN INCLUDED. THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THESE UPDATES ARE IN SECTION 72 0 2 1 LOUD NOISE FROM MOTOR VEHICLES. THERE ARE TWO AREAS WITH CHANGES. ONE FOLLOWING COUNSEL'S DIRECTION. THE DEFINITIONS FOR MOTORCYCLE AND MOTOR VEHICLE IN SECTIONS 72 0 2 1 HAVE BEEN AMENDED. SPECIFICALLY THE MOTORCYCLE TERM HAS BEEN DELETED AND THE DEFINITION OF MOTOR VEHICLE HAS BEEN AMENDED TO EXPLICITLY INCLUDE MOTORCYCLES. THESE CHANGES WERE MADE TO RESOLVE ANY AMBIGUITIES AND REMOVE UNNECESSARY DEFINITIONS FROM THE EXISTING CODE IN SECTION, EXCUSE ME, IN SECTION 1 3 2 0 3, DISORDERLY CONDUCT STAFF ALSO REVISED, UH, LANGUAGE RELATIVE TO DISORDERLY CONDUCT TO CLARIFY THE USE OF THE 50 FOOT DISTANCE IN BOTH QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF NOISE. THE UPDATED CODE WAS INCLUDED WITH THE PACKET MATERIALS. AND FINALLY, THERE HAVE BEEN NO CHANGES MADE TO SECTION 72 0 2 2 REGARDING NO ENGINE BRAKES PERMITTED OR SECTION 1 53 0 7 6 REGARDING PUBLIC NUISANCE NOISE. IN ADDITION, AS REQUESTED BY COUNSEL, STAFF HAS INCLUDED THE BENCHMARKING THAT HAD BEEN COMPLETED FOR THIS POLICY REVISION. THE TABLE SHOWN ON THE SCREEN AND THAT WAS INCLUDED WITH THE PACKET, UH, COMPARES HOW DUBLIN AND NEIGHBORING COMMUNITIES REGULATE VEHICLE NOISE, ENGINE BRAKING, DISORDERLY CONDUCT, AND PUBLIC NU PUBLIC NUISANCE NOISE AS SHOWN DUBLIN'S PROPOSED CODE, UM, PROVIDES A COMPREHENSIVE AND BALANCED APPROACH TO NOISE ENFORCEMENT BY ESTABLISHING BOTH, AGAIN, QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE ENFORCEMENT AVENUES. THE PROPOSED CODE PROVIDES MEASURABLE NOISE LIMITS AND ALLOWS FLEXIBILITY TO ADDRESS PERVASIVE OR DISRUPTIVE NOISE THAT MAY BE THAT MAY FALL BELOW THE SPECIFIC DECIBEL THRESHOLD. QUANTITATIVE VEHICLE SPECIFIC NOISE STANDARDS ARE UNCOMMON AS SHOWN IN THE TABLE AND ENGINE BRAKE PRO PROHIBITIONS ARE RARE IN OUR REGION FOR QUANTITATIVE LAND USE NOISE REGULATIONS ONLY A FEW CITIES HAVE CODIFIED A QUANTITATIVE ENFORCEMENT APPROACH TO COMPLEMENT THE QUALITATIVE APPROACH. THE PROPOSED FRAMEWORK IMPROVES PREDICTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, GIVING RESIDENTS, DRIVERS AND ENFORCEMENT STAFF A SHARED UNDERSTANDING OF OUR EXPECTATIONS. AND WITH THIS I DO RECOMMEND, UH, ADOPTION TONIGHT AT OUR SECOND, UH, READING PUBLIC HEARING AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. THANK YOU. VERY GOOD, THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYONE PRESENT FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK RELATIVE TO THIS LEGISLATION? HEARING NONE COUNCIL QUESTIONS, DISCUSSION? I JUST HAVE A QUICK QUESTION AND IT'S MORE ON IMPLEMENTATION NOW THAT WE'RE GETTING TO THIS POINT. SO NOW THAT WE'VE ADDED UNDER 1 53, THE PUBLIC NUISANCE STUFF, HOW WOULD RESIDENTS ACTUALLY, I WOULD SAY COMPLAIN OR SUBMIT THE, OR DO THOSE GO TO LIKE THE POLICE NON-EMERGENCY LINE? IS THAT WHAT THAT THEY WOULD GO TO? YES, I BELIEVE THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING BECAUSE, 'CAUSE PARTICULARLY I THINK THE NEWEST THING IS THAT WE'VE ADDED ANIMALS. SO LIKE THE BARKING DOGS BEFORE, I THINK OUR WEBSITE TELLS PEOPLE TO GO CALL FRANKLIN COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL OR DEAL WITH FRANKLIN COUNTY. I BELIEVE IT'S WHAT'S OUT THERE NOW. 'CAUSE WE WEREN'T ABLE TO ENFORCE LIKE THE DOGS THAT BARKED ALL DAY BEFORE, BUT NOW WE CAN UNDER THIS NEW YEAH, I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE TO CALL THE NON-EMERGENCY NUMBER AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. AND EVEN IF IT IS ROUTING THAT CALL TO A MORE APPROPRIATE, UH, POINT OF RESOLUTION, UH, YOU CAN ALWAYS START WITH US AND I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE OUR RESIDENTS TO MAKE US AWARE OF THE CONCERNS THAT THEY HAVE. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. [00:35:06] UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR DOING THAT COMPARISON. I WAS A BIT SURPRISED AT HOW UNC QUANTITATIVE IT WAS, AND MAYBE I SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN BECAUSE WE WERE IN THE SAME BOAT FOR, FOR QUITE SOME TIME, BUT, UM, HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHARE SOME OF THIS AND LEARN FROM EACH OTHER ON THIS BECAUSE WE KNOW FROM WHERE WE ARE, WE'RE NOT ALONE. BUT I, I FOUND THAT VERY USEFUL AND I KNOW THAT TOOK SOME WORK. SO I THINK STAFF FOR PULLING THAT TOGETHER FOR US. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. I JUST HAD A, A QUICK QUESTION AS I REREAD THROUGH THIS AGAIN. UM, AFTER THE SMALL CHANGES, JUST DO WE HAVE, UM, BENCHMARKING IN OUR, OUR ENTERTAINMENT AREAS? I, I'M, I'M JUST A LITTLE CONCERNED THAT WE'RE POSSIBLY PAINTING OURSELVES INTO A CORNER WHEN IT COMES TO THE BRIDGE STREET DISTRICT AND SOME OF THE NEWER DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING MAYBE IN Y BLOCK OR EVEN IN THE NORTH HISTORIC DISTRICT IS AS LONG AS YOU TELL ME THAT WE'VE BENCHMARKED THAT AND WE'RE PREPARED. BUT I I'D LOVE TO HEAR A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THAT IF I, SO IN TERMS OF BENCHMARKING WHAT OTHER CITIES ARE DOING, WHAT WE HAVE IN THE DOCUMENTS ALL WE HAVE, BUT, UH, THERE'S STILL, IT, IT IS ENFORCEABLE IN THE DISTRICT EITHER WITH THE DECIBELS OR THE QUALITATIVE. I GUESS I DIDN'T ASK MY QUESTION IN THE RIGHT WAY. DO WE, DO WE FEEL CONFIDENT THAT A SUSTAINED NOISE ABOVE, ABOVE 80 DECIBELS FOR 15 MINUTES OR LONGER IS SOMETHING THAT'S GOING TO OCCUR RARELY IN BRIDGE STREET, YOU KNOW, ON A, ON A FRIDAY NIGHT OR A SATURDAY NIGHT? DO WE HAVE ANY TYPE OF UNDERSTANDING ABOUT CURRENT NOISE LEVELS AND, AND WHERE WE MIGHT BE PERMITTED? EVENTS WOULD BE SEPARATE FROM THIS? YES. SO IF IT WAS A PERMANENTED EVENT, THEN THAT WOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO, TO THESE RULES AND REGULATIONS? THAT IS CORRECT. ARE YOU REFERRING MORE SO OF LIKE AMPLIFIED MUSIC ON A PATIO? YES. THANK YOU. YEAH, I'M SORRY. SO DO WE KNOW SHE, WHAT SHE'S TALKING ABOUT IS THE ARE PATIOS THAT DO MUSIC IN THE EVENING. WHAT IS THEIR TYPICAL SOUND VOLUME? SO SPECIFIC NOISE STUDIES IN BRIDGE PARK TO GATHER. WE, WE HAVE THE UP CITY NOISE METERS THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, ASSOCIATED WITH THE, UM, ON STREET CAMERAS FOR PARKING. THAT GIVES US THAT RELATIVE THRESHOLD. AND WHAT THAT DATA SHOWS US IS THAT THOSE VOLUMES TYPICALLY FALL UNDERNEATH THAT 80 DECIBEL LEVEL. THANK YOU. OKAY. THAT'S, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS LOOKING FOR. APPRECIATE THAT. OTHERS, I'M HOPEFUL THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS HAS BEEN SUCH A DRIVER OF PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, FOR QUITE SOME TIME, PARTICULARLY RELATIVE TO VEHICULAR NOISE. SO I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE DO SOME, UM, PUBLIC ADDRESS SORT OF MESSAGES OUT SO THAT PEOPLE WILL UNDERSTAND THAT THERE HAS BEEN LEGISLATION THAT'S NOW IN PLACE THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM BEFORE AND THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE ENFORCEMENT MECHANISMS AVAILABLE TO US NOW AND THAT WILL BE DOING THAT. SO I THINK BECAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE CONTACTED US FOR SO LONG, I THINK IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE THAT WE COMMUNICATE, UM, THIS BROADLY TO THE COMMUNITY THAT IS PART OF OUR PLAN. THANK YOU. WONDERFUL. WELL I APPRECIATE THAT. ANYTHING ELSE? JENNY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE MAYOR AROSE GROOMS? YES. MS. CRAM? YES. MS. JOHNSON? YES. VICE MAYOR DEROSA? YES. DR. LAMB? YES. MS. SALUTO? YES. OKAY. I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO WAIVE [Ordinance 02-26 & Ordinance 03-26] THE COUNCIL RULES OF ORDER AND READ ORDINANCES ZERO TWO DASH 26 AND ZERO THREE DASH 26 TOGETHER. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND JENNY WOULD PLEASE CALL THE ROLE VICE MAYOR DEROSA? YES, MAYOR AM. ROSA. YES. MS. JOHNSON? YES. DR. LAMB? YES. MS. ALU? YES. MS. CRAM? YES. ORDINANCE ZERO TWO DASH 26 AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AND ACCEPT NECESSARY CONVEYANCE DOCUMENTS AND CONTRACTS TO ACQUIRE A 0.006 ACRE TEMPORARY RIGHT OF WAY EASEMENT FROM ROCO PROPERTIES LLC AND OHIO LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY FROM THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 36 DASH 38 NORTH HIGH STREET FOR THE PUBLIC PURPOSE OF CONSTRUCTING AND IMPROVING ROADWAY INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH SHALL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WITHOUT CHARGE. ORDINANCE 0 3 26 IS REGARDING A 0.005 ACRE FEE. SIMPLE WARRANTY DEED FOR RIGHT OF WAY WITH RESERVATION OF EXISTING ACCESS RIGHTS AND IS 0.006 ACRE PERMANENT UTILITY EASEMENT AND A 0.024 ACRE TEMPORARY RIGHT OF WAY EASEMENT FROM 72 DUBLIN, LLC AND OHIO LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY FROM THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 20 NORTH STREET. VERY GOOD. AND WE WILL STICK WITH JEANIE FOR THE STAFF PRESENTATION. THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN. UH, THERE HAVE BEEN NO CHANGES TO THESE ORDINANCES SINCE THE FIRST READING ON JANUARY 20TH. STAFF RECOMMENDS ADOPTION OF ORDINANCES ZERO TWO AND ZERO THREE DASH 26 THIS EVENING AS THESE ORDINANCES WILL ALLOW THE [00:40:01] NORTHERN HISTORIC DISTRICT INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT TO REMAIN ON SCHEDULE AND PROCEED TO CONSTRUCTION. THANK YOU AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. VERY GOOD. IS THERE ANYONE PRESENT FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THIS EVENING THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK RELATIVE TO THIS LEGISLATION? HEARING NONE COUNCIL QUESTIONS DISCUSSION. JENNY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL DR. LAMB? YES. MS. A LUDO? YES. MS. CRA? YES. MS. JOHNSON? YES. VICE MAYOR OSA? YES. MAYOR AROSE GROOMS? YES. OKAY. I [Ordinance 04-26 - Ordinance 06-26] WILL MAKE A MOTION TO WAIVE THE COUNCIL RULES OF ORDER AND READ ORDINANCES ZERO FOUR DASH 26 THROUGH ZERO SIX DASH 26 TOGETHER. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. THANK YOU. JENNY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL? MS. JOHNSON? YES. DR. LAMB? YES. MS. SALUTO? YES. VICE MAYOR DEROSA? YES. MS. CRA? YES. MAYOR AROSE GROOMS? YES. ORDINANCE FOUR DASH 26 APPROPRIATE A 0.008 ACRE FEE. SIMPLE WARRANTY DEED FOR RIGHT OF WAY WITH RESERVATION OF EXISTING ACCESS RIGHTS AND 0.005 ACRE TEMPORARY RIGHT OF WAY EASEMENT FROM PAPPY BRIAN CELL LC AND OHIO LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY FROM THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 16 NORTH HIGH STREET. FROM THE PUBLIC PURPOSE FOR THE PUBLIC PURPOSE OF CONSTRUCTING AND IMPROVING ROADWAY INFRASTRUCTURE, WHICH SHALL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WITHOUT CHARGE. ORDINANCE FIVE DASH 26 IS REGARDING A 0.009 ACRE FEE. SIMPLE WARRANTY DEED FOR RIGHT OF WAY WITH RESERVATION OF EXISTING ACCESS RIGHTS AND A 0.007 ACRE TEMPORARY RIGHT OF WAY EASEMENT FROM FADI ABU AND BUI FROM THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 24 26 AND 28 NORTH HIGH STREET. ORDINANCE SIX SIX DASH 26 IS REGARDING A 0.053 ACRE PERMANENT UTILITY EASEMENT AND A 0.010 ACRE TEMPORARY RIGHT OF WAY EASEMENT FROM STJ 3 1 9 HOLDINGS. LLC AN OHIO LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY FROM THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 40 NORTH HIGH STREET. VERY GOOD. IT ISN'T BROKE, I'LL FIX IT. RIGHT. WE WILL STICK WITH JEANIE WILLS SO THAT OUR STAFF REPORT. THANK YOU. ONE MORE TIME. UH, AGAIN, THERE HAVE BEEN NO CHANGES TO THESE ORDINANCES SINCE THE FIRST READING AGAIN ON JANUARY 20TH. STAFF RECOMMENDS ADOPTION OF ORDINANCES ZERO FOUR THROUGH ZERO SIX DASH 26 THIS EVENING AS THESE ORDINANCES WILL ALLOW THE NORTHERN HISTORIC DISTRICT INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT TO REMAIN ON SCHEDULE AND PROCEED TO CONSTRUCTION. I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. VERY GOOD, THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYONE PRESENT THIS EVENING FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK RELATIVE TO THIS LEGISLATION? HEARING NONE COUNCIL QUESTIONS DISCUSSION. JENNY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE MS. LUDO? YES. MS. JOHNSON? YES. MAYOR AROSE GROOMS? YES. DR. LAM? YES. VICE MAYOR OSA? YES. MS. CRAM? YES. INTRODUCTION, PUBLIC [Resolution 03-26] HEARING VOTE RESOLUTIONS RESOLUTION ZERO THREE DASH 26 ACCEPTING THE LOWEST AND BEST BID FOR THE PAVEMENT MARKING SERVICES. 2026 THROUGH 2028. PROJECT SET. THANK YOU. AND OUR STAFF REPORT WILL BE BROUGHT FORWARD TONIGHT BY BRIAN GABLE. WELCOME. GOOD EVENING. MEMBERS OF COUNCIL STAFF CONDUCTED A COMPETITIVE BID PROCESS FOR THE PAVEMENT MARKETING SERVICES 2026 THROUGH 2028 PROJECT. THIS PROJECT PROVIDES FOR THE REAPPLICATION OF PAVEMENT MARKINGS IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS WITHIN THE CITY AND IS FUNDED FROM, EXCUSE ME, FROM THE 2026 OPERATING BUDGET IN THE AMOUNT OF $175,000. SINCE THIS CONTRACT LASTS FOR UP TO THREE YEARS, IT IS CUSTOMARY FOR STAFF TO BID CONTINGENCY ITEMS INTO THE CONTRACT SO THAT STAFF HAS PRICING FOR ITEMS THAT MAY NOT BE UTILIZED IN 2026. UM, AFTER RECEIVING BIDS, STAFF FOUND AN ERROR IN THE ENGINEER'S ESTIMATE THAT RESULTED IN AN ADJUSTED ENGINEER'S ESTIMATE OF $233,000. ON DECEMBER 18TH, 2025, ONE BID WAS RECEIVED IN PUBLICLY OPENED GRIFFIN PAVEMENT. STRIPING INCORPORATED SUBMITTED THE LOWEST AND BEST BID OF $235,429 AND 35 CENTS. WHILE THIS BOAT BID IS OVER, THE AMOUNT BUDGETED STAFF, UH, INTENDS TO NON PERFORM SOME OF THE CONTINGENCY QUANTITIES TO REDUCE THE 2026 CONTRACT AMOUNT, UH, DOWN TO A AMOUNT WITHIN THE BUDGETED, UH, FUNDS AS HAS BEEN CUSTOMARY WITH THIS PROJECT. THERE ARE TWO SEPARATE ONE YEAR RENEWAL PERIODS ON EACH EXPIRATION DATE EXPIRING AT THE END OF THE YEAR IN DECEMBER 31ST WITH THE OVERALL CONTRACT EXPIRING IN ON DECEMBER 31ST IN 2028. STAFF RECOMMENDS COUNSEL APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION ZERO THREE DASH 26 ACCEPTING AS LOIS AND BEST THE BID OF GRIFFIN PAVEMENT STRIPING INCORPORATED IN THE AMOUNT OF 100, EXCUSE ME, IN THE AMOUNT OF $235,429 [00:45:02] AND 35 CENTS. I'D BE GLAD TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS COUNSEL MAY HAVE REGARDING THIS RESOLUTION. VERY GOOD, THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYONE PRESENT FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THIS EVENING THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK RELATIVE TO THIS LEGISLATION? HEARING NONE COUNCIL QUESTIONS DISCUSSION. JENNY, WOULD YOU CALL THE WORLD MS. CRAM? YES. MS. SOLUDO? YES. DR. LAMB? YES. MAYOR AROSE GROOMS? YES. VICE MAYOR DEROSA? YES. MS. JOHNSON? YES. RESOLUTION ZERO [Resolution 04-26] FOUR DASH 26 ACCEPTING THE LOWEST AND BEST BID FOR THE PEDESTRIAN TUNNEL MAINTENANCE 2026 PROJECT. HI. THANK YOU. AND OUR STAFF REPORT WILL STAY WITH BRIAN GABLE. THANK YOU AND GOOD EVENING AGAIN. STAFF CONDUCTED A COMPETITIVE BID PROCESS FOR THE PEDESTRIAN TUNNEL MAINTENANCE 2026 PROJECT. THIS PROJECT PERFORMS MAINTENANCE AT TWO PEDESTRIAN TUNNELS. EXCUSE ME. THESE TUNNELS ARE UNDER E EMERALD PARKWAY JUST WEST OF DUBLIN ROAD AND UNDER DUBLIN ROAD, JUST SOUTH OF RIVER FOREST ROAD. MAINTENANCE THAT THESE TUNNELS INVOLVES THE REPLACEMENT OF DETERIORATING STONE VENEER AND CAPS REPAIRS TO METAL FENCING, REPLACEMENT OF TUNNEL JOINTS AND CONCRETE REPAIRS. FUNDING FOR THIS PROJECT IS FROM THE 2026 THROUGH 20 20 30 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM IN THE AMOUNT OF $603,000 FROM THE PEDESTRIAN TUNNEL MAINTENANCE PROGRAM. THE ENGINEER'S ESTIMATE FOR THE PROJECT IS $600,000. ON DECEMBER 17TH, 2025, TWO BIDS WERE RECEIVED AND PUBLICLY OPENED. POMMEL CONSTRUCTION SERVICES SUBMITTED THE LOWEST AND BEST BID OF $516,453 AND 47 CENTS. CONSTRUCTION IS EXPECTED TO COMMENCE IN MARCH OF 2026 AND BE COMPLETED BY THE END OF JULY, 2026. STAFF RECOMMENDS COUNCIL APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION OH FOUR DASH 26 ACCEPTING AS LOIS AND BEST THE BID OF PUMMEL CONSTRUCTION SERVICES IN THE AMOUNT OF $516,453 AND 47 CENTS FOR THIS PROJECT. I'LL DO MY BEST TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS COUNSEL MAY HAVE REGARDING THIS RESOLUTION. VERY GOOD, THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYONE PRESENT THIS EVENING FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK RELATIVE TO THIS LEGISLATION? HEARING NONE COUNCIL QUESTIONS, DISCUSSION. I WAS JUST CURIOUS, I KNOW THE TUNNEL NEAR BY EMERALD HAS PUBLIC ART IN IT. DOES THIS PROJECT LEAVE THE PUBLIC ART IN PLACE LIKE THE, BECAUSE THERE ARE TILES AND I DON'T KNOW IF THEY GO BY THE SEAMS OR NOT, OR WHERE THE CONCRETE WORK'S BEING DONE? YEAH, THERE'S, THERE'S TWO TYPES OF ART IN THERE. THERE'S COUPLES, UH, THERE'S SOME THAT ARE ON PANELS THAT ARE A LITTLE BIT LOWER. UM, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA CAREFULLY REMOVE SOME OF THE PANELS AND THOSE WILL BE PUT RIGHT BACK UP AFTER THE PROJECT IS DONE. 'CAUSE WE NEED ACCESS TO THE JOINTS TO REPAIR THE TUNNEL JOINTS. UM, THE TILE, UM, WE HAVE SOME STAFF THAT WAS HERE WHEN IT WAS INSTALLED. UM, WE WERE HOPING TO TRY AND KEEP IT A LITTLE FURTHER FROM THE JOINTS. UM, BUT UNFORTUNATELY SOME OF IT'S A LITTLE TOO TIGHT TO THE JOINTS. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO CUT SOME OF IT OFF. UM, HOWEVER, WHEN WE REVIEWED IT, STAFF BELIEVES WE WON'T HAVE TO NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE OVERALL ARTWORK THAT'S THERE. UM, FOR EXAMPLE, I KNOW LIKE THE N OF DUBLIN IN ONE SPOT, IT'S PRETTY CLOSE. UM, IN THOSE INSTANCES, I THINK WE CAN JUST REMOVE THREE TO FOUR INCHES AND NOT ACTUALLY GET INTO THE OVERALL ARTWORK, KIND OF JUST THE EDGE OF IT. UM, AND STILL MAINTAIN THE OVERALL AESTHETIC. BUT IN THOSE LOCATIONS, WE DON'T PLAN TO PUT BACK THE TILE OR OTHERWISE. OKAY. THANK YOU. READY? UM, I UNDERSTAND AND RESPECT THE DECISION TO WANNA COMPLETE THIS WORK PRIOR TO THE START OF THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT. UM, HAS THE IMPACT ON, UM, STUDENTS BEEN ASSESSED AND AND DETERMINED TO BE MINIMAL AT THIS POINT? YEAH. UM, I DON'T THINK EITHER TUNNEL IS OVERLY USED, UM, IN TERMS OF STUDENTS, BUT YES, WE, WE'VE TAKEN THAT INTO ACCOUNT. SO THE EMERALD TUNNEL, UM, IS MORE OR LESS A BYPASS FOR CROSSING THE INTERSECTION THERE. SO THE INTERSECTION'S STILL A VALID CROSSING, UM, AND IS ONE THAT, THAT WILL STILL WORK EFFECTIVELY AND OPERATE, UH, ACCORDINGLY. UH, AT RIVER FOREST IS THE ONLY CONNECTION FOR THE RIVER FOREST NEIGHBORHOOD ACROSS AND UNDER DUBLIN ROAD. UM, SO WITH THAT, WE, UM, MANEUVERED OUR, OUR PLAN NOTES TO ONLY CLOSE THE TUNNEL FOR A LIMITED AMOUNT OF PERIOD WHEN WE'RE DOING SOME WORK WITHIN THE TUNNEL ITSELF. UH, OUTSIDE OF THAT, WHEN WE'RE WORKING ON THE, THE HEAD WALLS AND SOME OF THE OTHER STRUCTURE, WE REQUIRE THE CONTRACTOR TO MAINTAIN HALF OF THE TUNNEL OPEN AND PROTECT ANY PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC. UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH BRIAN FOR THE REPORT. I WAS ACTUALLY QUITE SHOCKED AT THE DISPARITY BETWEEN THE TWO BIDS. ONE WAS 15% OVER AND THE OTHER ONE WAS 14% UNDER A HUGE DIFFERENCE, UH, [00:50:01] FOR THAT. SO MY QUESTION IS, IS DO WE HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH PUMMEL CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, THE QUALITY OF WORK, AND WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS AND THE STAFF'S THOUGHTS? AT A 14% UNDERAGE OF OUR OWN, UM, ENGINEERS ESTIMATES? YEAH. UH, WE'VE SEEN A V OF VARYING BIDS OVERALL. UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, UH, COMPANIES THAT REALLY WANT TO GET INTO THE AREA, WE'LL SEE SOME MORE AGGRESSIVE BIDS. UH, FOR CERTAIN, UM, OVERALL WE, WE DID, WE'VE NOT WORKED PREVIOUSLY WITH PUMMEL. UM, SO OUR STANDARD PROCESS THERE WHEN WE DON'T WORK WITH SOMEONE PREVIOUSLY IS TO CALL, UH, ANY AND ALL REFERENCES THAT ARE, UH, PROVIDED WITHIN THE BID. UM, WE MADE INQUIRIES WITH, UH, NUMEROUS COMPANIES AND, UH, OTHER, UH, PUBLIC AGENCIES AND ALL OF THOSE RESPONSES CAME BACK FAVORABLE. UM, THERE WAS ONE THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST SAID, YOU KNOW, THEY DID A GREAT JOB AND THEN THEY TRIED SOME, A MUCH LARGER PROJECT WITH THEM AND THERE WAS SOME HANDHOLDING THERE. BUT, UH, THEY SAID WHEN THEY TALKED TO THEM, THEY REALLY WORKED VERY WELL WITH THEM AND HAD, UM, YOU KNOW, OVERALL POSITIVE EXPERIENCE EVEN THOUGH THEY THOUGHT THEY GOT A LITTLE OUTSIDE THEIR LIMITS THERE. UM, THAT WAS SOUND FROM DISCUSSING THAT THAT WAS A MUCH LARGER PROJECT THAN WHAT WE'RE AIMING FOR HERE. SO, UM, STAFF IS CONFIDENT EVERY TIME THAT, YOU KNOW, WE GET A NEW CONTRACTOR, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO CERTAINLY HELP THEM UNDERSTAND KIND OF THE DOUBLING WAY AND SOME OF OUR, OUR METHODS AND, AND, UM, PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS. UH, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN, UH, PROVIDE THAT AND HELP THEM THROUGH THE PROJECT. UM, I JUST HAVE, I HAVE ONE QUESTION. HAVE WE CONSIDERED A, AN ALTERNATE MATERIALS? SO THE SYNTHETIC LIMESTONE THAT WE TEND TO PUT ON THOSE HEAD WALLS SEEMS TO BE FAILING RATHER QUICKLY? IT, HAVE WE TAKEN ANY STEPS OF CONTEMPLATING, UH, OTHER MATERIALS OR PERHAPS REAL STONE EVEN THAT MIGHT HAVE A LONGER LIFESPAN? YEAH, SO, AND I'D HAVE TO LOOK TO PAUL TO WHEN WE CHANGE, BUT, UM, THE ORIGINAL INSTALLATION METHODS FOR THAT STONE, UH, UNFORTUNATELY DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF, UH, FACING BEHIND IT. UM, SO NOWADAYS WE PUT IN AND INSTALL WHAT'S, WHAT'S KIND OF MORE OR LESS REFERRED TO AS CHICKEN WIRE. UM, AND THAT'S SECURED TO THE ACTUAL CONCRETE ITSELF. UM, AND THEN IT GETS MORTARED ONTO IT. SO, UM, WE DO BELIEVE THAT WHAT'S BEING INSTALLED NOW AND PROBABLY OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, UM, IS MUCH IS GOING TO LAST A MUCH LONGER PERIOD. UM, SOME OF THESE, WHEN YOU HAVE ONE SECTION THAT STARTS TO FAIL, IT JUST KIND OF CASCADES DOWN THE REST OF THE WALL FACE WHEN THERE'S NOTHING ELSE KIND OF HOLDING IT TO IT. SO THAT CHANGE ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, UH, WE HAVEN'T HAD TO GO BACK TO ANY OF THOSE AND REALLY TOUCH THEM UP AT ALL, SO. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? JENNY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL ROLL DR. LAMB? YES. VICE MAYOR DEROSA? YES. MS. CRAM? YES. MS. LUDO? YES. MS. JOHNSON? YES. MAYOR AROSE GROOMS YES. RESOLUTION [Resolution 05-26] ZERO FIVE DASH 26 INTENT TO APPROPRIATE A 0.090 ACRE EASEMENT FROM JAMES, A RAVE FROM THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 6 1 1 4 SHIRE LANE FOR THE PUBLIC PURPOSE OF CONSTRUCTING A SHARED USE PATH, WHICH SHALL BE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC WITHOUT CHARGE. I'LL INTRODUCE IT. AND ANOTHER THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING. MEMBERS OF COUNCIL, THE SHIRE RINGS ROAD, IMAN ROAD TO COS GRAY ROAD SHARED USE PATH PROJECT WILL CONSTRUCT A SHARED USE PATH ALONG THE SOUTH SIDE OF SHIRE RINGS ROAD, CONNECTING TWO EXISTING SHARED USE PATHS AND IMPROVING THE OVERALL SHARED USE PATH NETWORK CONNECTIVITY IN THE AREA. IN 2024, THE CITY ENTERED AN AGREEMENT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE OF THIS PATH PATH WITH WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. THE TOWNSHIP SUBMITTED AND RECEIVED LINK US GRANT FUNDING IN 2020, UH, FOUR FUNDING IN 2026. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY INTERESTS FROM NINE PROPERTY OWNERS, UH, IN THE PROJECT AREA IS NECESSARY TO CONSTRUCT THE PROJECT. THE RESOLUTION FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION THIS EVENING, UH, IS THE FIRST LEGISLATION NECESSARY TO COMMENCE THE APPROPRIATION OF AN EASEMENT ON ONE PROPERTY. THE NEXT LEGISLATION FOLLOWING THIS RESOLUTION WILL BE AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE APPROPRIATION, WHICH WILL BE PRESENTED FOR FIRST READING AT THE FEBRUARY, 2020 THIRD. COUNCIL MEETING. SHOULD TONIGHT'S, UH, RESOLUTION BE APPROVED, ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT THE OWNER OF THIS PARCEL OR ANY AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF RECORD HAVE BEEN UNSUCCESSFUL. STAFF CERTAINLY HOPES TO NEGOTIATE THIS ACQUISITION WITH THE PROPERTY OWNER. HOWEVER, THE LEGISLATION, THIS LEGISLATION ALLOWS THE CITY TO PROCEED WITH THE APPROPRIATION PRO PROCESS. SHOULD CONTACT WITH THE OWNER NOT BE FEASIBLE, SHOULD THE OWNER BE FOUND, THE CITY WILL WORK TO ACHIEVE A FAIR SETTLEMENT ON THIS ACQUISITION. STAFF RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION OH FIVE DASH 26 TO COMMENCE THE, THIS APPROPRIATION TO ALLOW THE PROJECT TO REMAIN ON SCHEDULE AND PROCEED TO CONSTRUCTION. I'D BE GLAD TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS COUNCIL MAY HAVE. VERY [00:55:01] GOOD, THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYONE PRESENT THIS EVENING FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK RELATIVE TO THIS LEGISLATION? HEARING NONE. COUNCIL QUESTIONS DISCUSSION. JENNY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE MAYOR AMBROSE GROOMS? YES. VICE MAYOR DEROSA? YES. DR. LAMB? YES. MS. JOHNSON? YES. MS. CRA? YES. MS. SALUTO? YES. RESOLUTION [Resolution 06-26] ZERO SIX DASH 26 ACCEPTING THE LOWEST AND BEST BID FOR THE 2026 MUIRFIELD LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE CONTRACT. HONOR THANK YOU. AND OUR STAFF REPORT WILL BE BROUGHT FORWARD THIS EVENING BY MATT EARMAN. WELCOME, GOOD EVENING. MEMBERS OF COUNCIL ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 2026. THREE BIDS WERE OPEN FOR THE MUIRFIELD LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE CONTRACT. THIS CONTRACT PROVIDES MOWING, PLANTING, BED MAINTENANCE, WEED CONTROL, FERTILIZATION, AND SPECIFIC AREAS WITHIN MUIRFIELD. THE MAP DISPLAYS IDENT OR DISPLAYED, IDENTIFIES THE AREA IN RED, UH, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE CONTRACT. ACCEPTANCE OF THIS BID WOULD ESTABLISH A CONTRACT FOR UP TO THREE YEARS WITH ANNUAL RENEWAL OPTIONS SUBJECT TO MUTUAL AGREEMENT AND PERFORMANCE. STAFF HAS REVIEWED THE BIDS RECEIVED AND, AND DETERMINED THAT THE LOWEST AND BEST BID SUBMITTED WAS FROM R AND R LAWN CARE AND LANDSCAPING LLC IN THE AMOUNT OF $119,500, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 19% LESS THAN A BUDGETED AMOUNT OF $149,000. THIS CONTRACTOR HAS COMPLETED PRIOR PROJECTS TO THE CITY, AND STAFF HAVE EVALUATED THEIR WORK AS SATISFACTORY. UH, THE CONTRACTOR DEMONSTRATES A STRONG UNDERSTANDING OF THE REQUIRED SERVICE STANDARDS AND THE SCOPE OF THE CONTRACT. STAFF RECOMMENDS IT, UH, RECOMMENDS APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION OH 7 26, ACCEPTING THE LOWEST BEST IN BEST BID FOR THE MERE FAILED LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE CONTRACT SUBMITTED BY R AND R, LAWN CARE AND LANDSCAPING IN LA UH, IN THE AMOUNT OF $119,500. HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS? VERY GOOD, THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYONE PRESENT THIS EVENING FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK RELATIVE TO THIS LEGISLATION? HEARING NONE COUNCIL QUESTIONS, DISCUSSION? I HAVE ONE, MATT, WHO WAS, UH, THE PREVIOUS CONTRACTOR ON THIS CONTRACT. IT WAS ACTUALLY MANAGED BY THE MEREFIELD ASSOCIATION, UM, THROUGH A REIMBURSEMENT CONTRACT BASED ON THE ESTIMATE FOR THE WORK THAT NEEDED TO BE DONE. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. OKAY, JENNY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL A ROLE VICE MAYOR DEROSA? YES. MS. JOHNSON? YES. MS. CRAM? YES. MAYOR AROSE ROOMS? YES. MS. SALUTO? YES. AND DR. LAMB? YES. SOLUTION RESOLUTION [Resolution 07-26] ZERO SEVEN DASH 26 ACCEPTING THE LOWEST AND BEST BID FOR THE 2026 FACILITIES LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE CONTRACT. INTRODUCE IT. THANK YOU. AND WE'LL STICK WITH MATT. THANK YOU. MEMBERS OF COUNCIL ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 20TH, 2026. UH, SEVEN BIDS WERE OPEN FOR THE FACILITIES LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE CONTRACT. THIS CONTRACT INCLUDES MOWING, PLANTING, BED MAINTENANCE, WEED CONTROL, AND FERTILIZATION FOR THE DESIGNATED AREAS OR SURROUNDING CITY OF DUBLIN FACILITIES. UH, THE MAP DISPLAYED IDENTIFIES THE MAINTENANCE AREAS INCLUDED IN THE CONTRACT. ACCEPTANCE OF THIS BID WOULD ESTABLISH A CONTRACT FOR AN INITIAL TERM OF UP TO THREE YEARS WITH AN ANNUAL RENEWAL OPTION EACH YEAR. SUBJECT TO MUTUAL AGREEMENT AND PERFORMANCE. STAFF REVIEWED ALL THE BIDS RECEIVED AND DETERMINED THAT THE LOWEST AND BEST BID WAS SUBMITTED BY ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED IN THE AMOUNT OF $138,875, WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY 6% LOW BELOW THE BUDGETED AMOUNT OF $149,000. IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE LOWEST BID SUBMITTED BY ROSIE'S HOME AND LAWN CARE LLC WAS DETERMINED TO BE NON-RESPONSIVE AND WAS THEREFORE REJECTED THE SECOND LOWEST BID SUBMITTED BY R AND R. UH, LAND, UH, LAWN CARE AND LANDSCAPING WAS ALSO REJECTED. MATT STAFF, UH, STAFF MET WITH THE REPRESENTATIVES FROM R AND R WHO WAS BEING RECOMMENDED FOR ANOTHER CITY CONTRACT, WHICH WAS JUST APPROVED, UH, OF SIMILAR SCOPE DURING THE SIMILAR OR SAME TIMEFRAME. FOLLOWING THIS DISCUSSION WAS MUTUALLY DETERMINED THAT THE R AND R DID NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO PERFORM BOTH CONTRACTS WITHOUT AN INCREASED RISK OR DELAY, UM, AND PERFORMANCE ISSUES. R AND R SUBSEQUENTLY SUBMITTED A LETTER ACKNOWLEDGING AND AGREEING TO THIS DETERMINATION. THEREFORE, THE THIRD LOWEST BID SUBMITTED BY EMI WAS DETERMINED TO BE THE LOWEST AND BEST BID. THIS DETERMINATION FOLLOWED VERIFICATION OF THE FIRM'S PROPOSAL AND CONFIRMATION OF ITS QUALIFICATIONS AND CAPACITY SUPPORTED BY EMI, SUCCESSFUL PERFORMANCE ON PREVIOUS CONTRACTS. THEREFORE, STAFF RECOMMENDS, UH, ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION OH 7 26, AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. VERY GOOD, THANK YOU. IS THERE ANYONE PRESENT THIS EVENING FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK RELATIVE TO THIS LEGISLATION? [01:00:02] HEARING NONE COUNCIL QUESTIONS DISCUSSION? MATT, CAN YOU TELL ME WHO THE PREVIOUS CONTRACTOR WAS ON THIS? UH, CLMS. OKAY, THAT'S GOOD THAT THEY WERE VERY COMPETITIVE PRICING THEN AND WITH A KNOWLEDGE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF WORK. GOOD. THIS IS MORE OF AN EDUCATION QUESTION FOR A NEW COUNCIL MEMBER, WENDY JOHNSON. WHY DON'T WE DO THIS? OUR, WHY DON'T WE DO THIS WITHIN CITY STAFF? LIKE WHY ARE, YOU KNOW, WE DO MOWING, WE DO MULCHING, WE DO WEEDING, WE DO PLANT MAINTENANCE. WHY, WHY DON'T WE EXECUTE THAT AS, AS A FUNCTION OF THE CITY? PRIMARILY? IT IS. IT COMES DOWN TO A COST, UM, BENEFIT ANALYSIS OF WHAT THE COST WOULD BE IF THE CITY WERE TO CONDUCT THESE TYPES OF SERVICES. IT WOULD REQUIRE ADDITIONAL FULL-TIME STAFF OR PART-TIME STAFF, UM, AND THEN ALL OF THE OTHER ASSOCIATED, UM, COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE STAFFING OF, OF THESE TYPES OF CONTRACTS. SO THANK YOU. I ASSUMED THAT THAT WAS PROBABLY THE CASE, BUT THANK YOU FOR CONFIRMING THAT. ABSOLUTELY APPRECIATE IT. ABSOLUTE. OTHER QUESTIONS. JENNY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE MS. JOHNSON? YES. DR. LAMB? YES. VICE MAYOR DEROSA? YES. MAYOR AM. ROSE GRMS? YES. MS. CRAM? YES. MS. SALUTO? YES. OKAY. THIS BRINGS [OTHER BUSINESS] US TO THE OTHER BUSINESS PORTION OF OUR AGENDA AND WE WILL BEGIN WITH THE SPOOKTACULAR DISCUSSION. THAT'S A BIG TITLE. OKAY. GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. UM, I'M HERE TONIGHT TO TALK ABOUT SPOOKTACULAR AND THEN AFTER THAT IRISH FESTIVAL. SO WE'VE GOT A COUPLE THINGS TO DISCUSS TONIGHT. UM, FIRST JUST TO GIVE SOME BACKGROUND ON THE SPOOKTACULAR EVENT. IT WAS FOUNDED FIRST AS A RECREATION PROGRAM. UM, SO DUBLIN CITY SCHOOLS ALWAYS HAS A FRIDAY OFF IN OCTOBER, AND THE STAFF AT THE REC CENTER AT THAT TIME, UM, STARTED AS A MIDDLE SCHOOL DANCE AND UM, IT SORT OF JUST KEPT GROWING AND GROWING. UM, AND THEN AT ONE POINT OUR COMMUNITY EVENTS DEPARTMENT TOOK OVER IT AND, UM, TOOK IT MORE OF AN OUTSIDE EVENT. AND THEN AFTER COVID, UM, WE HAD HAD A LOT OF CROWDS AT THIS EVENT ON JUST THE THURSDAY NIGHT. SO WE, UM, MADE IT SO THAT IT WAS ALSO ON FRIDAY IN 2021. SO THAT WAS THE FIRST YEAR WE DID THAT. SO THIS YEAR WE HAD IT IN OCTOBER. IT WAS A GORGEOUS DAY. UM, IT WAS ONE OF OUR BEST, I THINK. UM, AND AGAIN, FRIDAY WAS THE DAY OF OFFICE SCHOOLS. SO WE KNOW THAT WE HAD AN ESTIMATED 9,200 PEOPLE. THURSDAY NIGHT WE HAD 5,400 GUESTS. AND THEN ON FRIDAY WE ESTIMATE 3,800 AND WE GET THAT INFORMATION FROM THE PLACER DATA THAT WE GET THAT HAS THE CELL PHONE INFORMATION. SO IN THE COMMUNITY EVENTS ROADMAP, UM, SPECTACULAR WAS REVIEWED. AND, UM, THE THREE, UH, BULLET POINTS THERE ARE WHAT CAME OUT OF THE, THE ROADMAP. AND THE FIRST WAS THE INVESTMENT SHOULD BE ADJUSTED TO REDUCE NET COSTS. UM, WE HAD QUITE A LOT OF PEOPLE, UH, WHO WANTED TO SPONSOR THE EVENT, WHICH YOU'LL SEE IN THE NEXT BULLET POINT. AND SO WE ARE, WE'RE ALSO ABLE TO LOOK AT OUR EXPENSES AND KIND OF ADJUST A FEW THINGS, GET SOME DISCOUNTS BY BEING A TWO DAY EVENT. UM, SO OUR COST RECOVERY ACTUALLY RE INCREASED TO 30% FROM 15% THE YEAR BEFORE. UM, AND THEN YOU SEE A LOT OF THAT IS BECAUSE OF THAT INCREASED SPONSORSHIP FROM 22,000 WHEN IT WAS PREVIOUSLY 12,000. THE, THE ROADMAP ALSO SUGGESTED TO SCALE THE EVENT BACK TO TWO DAYS, WHICH COULD CUT, CUT COSTS, BUT STAFF WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST KEEPING IT TWO DAYS FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS. SO A COUPLE OF THE COST SAVINGS THAT YOU WOULD SEE, UM, WOULD BE THAT ON FRIDAY IT, WE WOULD HAVE THE EVENT BECAUSE IT'S CHEAPER FOR A VARIETY, VARIETY OF REASONS, WHETHER IT'S THE OVERTIME, UM, LESS ON FRIDAY 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT DOING THURSDAY EVENING ALSO. AND YOU CAN SEE EVEN IN THE PICTURE, LIGHTING IS A BIG THING ON THURSDAY NIGHT AND WE WOULD, UM, REDUCE OUR ELECTRICIAN COSTS AND OUR LIGHTING COSTS IF WE DID IT JUST DURING THE DAY. WHAT YOU DO SEE THOUGH, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A ONE DAY AND A TWO DAY, JUST BECAUSE OF THE COST SAVINGS, UM, FOR A TWO DAY, IF WE HAVE A ONE DAY, WE ESTIMATE THAT IT COSTS ABOUT $8 AND 83 CENTS A PERSON WHERE IF WE HAVE THE TWO DAY EVENT BY SPREADING OUT THOSE COSTS, IT'S A $5 AND 30 CENTS PER PERSON COST. YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKDOWN HERE. SO THE BIGGEST CHANGE, UM, AND WE'LL GO OVER SOME OF THAT IS WE EXPECT THE SPONSORSHIP REVENUE TO GO DOWN. UM, JIM LOCKE ON OUR STAFF ALREADY HAS, I THINK FIVE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO SPONSOR THE, UM, SPECTACULAR. AND, UM, THEY'RE [01:05:01] WAITING JUST TO SEE WHETHER IT'S GONNA BE A ONE OR TWO DAY BECAUSE THAT WILL IMPACT THEIR INVESTMENT. AND THEN YOU WILL SEE THAT THERE'S OBVIOUSLY A DECLINE IN SALARIES AND WAGES AND OVERALL EXPENDITURES, BUT BECAUSE OF THAT CHANGE IN SPONSORSHIP, YOU DON'T REALLY SEE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE COST RECOVERY BETWEEN OUR, OUR TWO DAY ESTIMATE AND THE ONE DAY ESTIMATE. THE STAFFING COST AS YOU SEE HERE, A GOOD PERCENTAGE OF 'EM, THE 19,226, THAT IS THE COST TO SET UP THE EVENT AND TEAR DOWN THE EVENT. SO THAT WOULD NOT CHANGE WHETHER IT WAS A ONE OR TWO DAY EVENT. AND THEN YOU SEE THAT DIFFERENCE I MENTIONED BEFORE ABOUT THE COST ON JUST THURSDAY VERSUS THE COST ON FRIDAY. SO A TWO DAY EVENT, WE ESTIMATE STAFFING COSTS JUST OVER 36,000 AND THE ONE DAY JUST OVER 26,000, THE DIRECT EXPENSES, UM, THAT YOU SEE HERE TOO, THE TWO DAY COSTS ARE 36 AND THE ONE DAY IS 22. WE SEE THE REDUCTION, AND THIS IS SPECIFICALLY, UM, HAVING IT ON FRIDAY. IF IT WAS THURSDAY NIGHT, THAT COST WOULD BE UM, I THINK, I THINK IF THIS IS CLOSE TO 14, 15,000, UM, IT WOULD BE MORE LIKE 8,000 IF WE HAD IT ON THURSDAY NIGHT INSTEAD OF ON FRIDAY BECAUSE OF THAT EXTRA COST FOR THE ELECTRICIANS AND LIGHTING THE TRUNK OR TREAT EVENT FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN THERE BEFORE, UM, TRUNK OR TREAT, UH, IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST PARTS OF THE EVENT. WE HAVE TIME TICKETS THAT RESIDENTS CAN GET ONLINE DURING THE WEEK OF THE EVENT. THEY ARE FREE TICKETS, UM, RESIDENTS GET FIRST SHOT AT IT AND THEN IF WE HAVE ANY LEFTOVER, WE OPEN THAT UP ON WEDNESDAY BEFORE THE EVENT. UM, WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED THIS YEAR, AND IT'S HAPPENED THE LAST TWO YEARS, THURSDAY SELLS OUT, UH, BEFORE IT GOES TO THE, THE GENERAL PUBLIC. SO WE KNOW THAT RESIDENTS ARE PREFERRING THE THURSDAY NIGHT AND THEN FRIDAY DOES NOT SELL OUT. THERE ARE 30 SPOTS PER DAY PER FOR ORGANIZATIONS. SO IT'S A VARIETY OF, UM, LIKE YOU'LL SEE HERE, SUNNY 90 FIVES HERE. THE SCHOOLS HAVE A BOOTH, WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP IS HERE. THERE'S A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT, UM, ELEMENTARY OR PRESCHOOLS. UM, JUST A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS. AND SO IF WE ELIMINATED THE FRIDAY, IT WOULDN'T ELIMINATE THE FULL 30 SPOTS BECAUSE OUR SPONSORS AND OUR PARTNERS LIKE SCHOOLS IN WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP GET 'EM BOTH DAYS. UM, BUT 17 SPOTS WOULD BE ELIMINATED BY ELIMINATING A DAY. AND THEN THIS YEAR OUR BIG THING WAS OUR TWO TOP SPONSORS WERE $5,000 EACH. AND THEN WE HAD A LOT OF SPONSORS THAT WERE IN THE 1500 OR A THOUSAND DOLLARS RANGE. UM, THAT IS SIMILAR TO WHAT WE CHARGE FOR A PARTNERSHIP IN OUR PARADES. UM, SO A LOT OF 'EM WERE JUST THERE FOR ONE DAY, BUT THAT WAY WE WERE ABLE TO SELL MORE OF 'EM 'CAUSE WE COULD SELL THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. UM, THE TWO $5,000 SPONSORS WERE THERE BOTH DAYS. SO STAFF RECOMMENDS CONTINUING TO HOST THIS SPOOKTACULAR AS A TWO DAY EVENT. UM, WE DO BELIEVE THAT THE COST DIFFERENCES IS ENOUGH THAT, UM, WE DID NOT BUDGET FOR THAT IN THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT WITH OTHER COST SAVINGS WE HAVE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR IN OUR EVENTS BUDGET, WE LIKELY WOULD NOT HAVE TO COME BACK FOR TO COUNCIL FOR A SUPPLEMENTAL. UM, BUT WE DO WANNA POINT OUT THAT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE THERE. BUT WHAT REALLY, WHAT'S GREAT ABOUT IT, IT DOUBLES OUR TIME. IT MORE THAN DOUBLES THE ATTENDANCE BY HAVING THE TWO DAYS AND IT REALLY CREATES MORE OF AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOWCASE OUR BUSINESSES. AND OF COURSE IT FOSTERS COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S, IT'S ONE OF THOSE EVENTS THAT PEOPLE REALLY COME WITH THEIR FAMILIES, THEIR NEIGHBORS, YOU KNOW, IT'S JUST ONE OF THOSE TRADITIONS THAT PEOPLE LOVE. AND I CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU. YOU WANNA TAKE A MOMENT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? IS THERE ANYONE PRESENT THIS EVENING FROM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK RELATIVE TO THIS TOPIC? HEARING NONE COUNCIL QUESTIONS, DISCUSSION. SO FROM THE NUMBERS YOU PROVIDED, IT SEEMS LIKE, UM, THE MAJORITY OF FRIDAY MOST LIKELY ARE DUBLIN CITY SCHOOL, UM, PARTICIPANTS. 'CAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT DON'T HAVE SCHOOL. RIGHT. AND UM, SO THIS YEAR WAS THE CHANGE WE MADE. IT USED TO BE DUBLIN'S UH, CITY SCHOOL RESIDENTS COULD ALSO GET IT THE SAME DAY OR COULD UM, RESERVE THE TIME SLOTS. BUT THIS WAS THE FIRST YEAR THAT DUBLIN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICTS, NOT DUBLIN RESIDENTS THAT WERE NOT DUBLIN RESIDENTS COULD RESERVE BEFORE. RIGHT. BUT IT DIDN'T SELL, I GUESS WHAT MY QUESTION, IT DIDN'T SELL OUT THURSDAY, SOLD OUT DUBLIN RESIDENTS ONLY. CORRECT. FRIDAY DID NOT SELL OUT DUBLIN RESIDENTS ONLY. AND THEN WHAT PERCENTAGE WAS DUBLIN CITY SCHOOLS? UM, SO WE KNOW THAT ON FRIDAY, WE KNOW FRIDAY DUBLIN RESIDENTS WAS CLOSE TO 70%. SO THE REST IT COULD HAVE BEEN OTHER PEOPLE. 'CAUSE SOME OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS, [01:10:01] I BELIEVE EVEN HILLIARD MIGHT HAVE HAD THE DAY OFF. UM, SO IT COULD HAVE BEEN OTHER, UM, PEOPLE. BUT WE DO KNOW BECAUSE OF THE INTEREST AND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WE HEARD FROM, A LOT OF IT WAS DUBLIN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT RESIDENTS. BUT 70% WAS STILL ON FRIDAY. WAS STILL DUBLIN RESIDENTS? YES. MM-HMM . OKAY. AND HAD WE HAVE, WE REACHED OUT TO THE SCHOOL TO SEE IF THEY WOULD SUPPORT IT MORE OR BE SPONSORS OF IT MORE. CONSIDERING IT'S A LARGE PORTION OF THE SCHOOL KIDS THAT ARE COMING TO THIS EVENT. WE HAVEN'T. UM, IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN CERTAINLY CONSIDER. A LOT OF IT THOUGH, WE TALK ABOUT IT, THIS IS ALSO A VERY POPULAR, UH, EVENT WITH PRESCHOOL AND YOUNGER AGE CHILDREN AS WELL. NOT THAT THEY WOULDN'T BE INTERESTED, BUT WE ARE FINDING THAT UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF VERY SMALL CHILDREN THAT, THAT COME WITH THEIR FAMILIES. OKAY. SO, UM, I PART I'VE PARTICIPATED IN SPECTACULAR BEFORE AND I HAVE TO SAY IT IS A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL EVENT. WHEN I TALK WITH COMMUNION MEMBERS UNANIMOUSLY THEY LOVE THIS EVENT. AND SO I WOULD BE IN FAVOR OF KEEPING IT AS A TWO DAY EVENT AS WELL. I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS SLIGHTLY EXTRA COST, BUT I THINK THE BENEFIT WE GET FROM JUST THE JOY IT BRINGS KIDS, UM, AND ALSO EVEN THE PARTICIPANTS WHO DO IT, THEY REALLY ENJOY THIS. AND I THINK IT REALLY IS A GOOD COMMUNITY BONDING EVENT. ONE QUESTION I HAD FOR YOU THOUGH IS, WAS THERE ANY THOUGHT AS FAR AS UM, WHAT WE ACTUALLY CHARGED THE SPONSORS OF INCREASING THAT TO MAKE UP A LITTLE BIT OF THE DIFFERENCE IN IN THE COST? YEAH, AND THIS, THIS WAS THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE DID THE $5,000 SPONSORSHIPS. UM, THAT WAS NEW AND THAT REALLY DID HELP US INCREASE. UM, AND, AND JIM ON OUR STAFF, HE HAS ACTUALLY SAID HE'S ALREADY HAD PEOPLE ASK FOR THE 12, AT LEAST 12,000 ALREADY AND HE HASN'T EVEN TRIED TO SELL IT YET. THESE ARE PEOPLE COMING TO HIM. SO WE WILL LOOK AT AT WHAT THAT RANGE IS GOING TO BE. AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE DO WITH ALL OUR EVENTS, WE LOOK AT ARE WE MISSING SOME SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES? I THINK ONCE JIM STARTED TO GO OUT AND SELL THIS EVENT, WE REALIZED HOW POPULAR IT WAS, UM, WHICH IT WAS JUST NOT SOMETHING THAT WE HAD REALLY INTENDED TO DO. AND NOW HE, HE SEES THAT MARKET AND HE KNOWS. SO KIND OF LIKE WE DO AT IRISH FESTIVAL, WE LOOK AT EVERY, YOU KNOW, EVERY STAGE, EVERY ELEMENT. AND WE TRY TO GET A SPONSOR FOR IT. I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE DOING MORE AND MORE WITH SPOOKTACULAR, SO I ALREADY GETTING HALF OF HIS SPONSORS WITHOUT EVEN TRYING TO SELL IT. I THINK WE CAN DEFINITELY INCREASE THAT SPONSORSHIP VALUE. OTHERS, UM, SO ALLISON, WHAT IS THE BUDGET DELTA? WE ONLY PLAN FOR ONE DAY. SO WHAT WOULD BE THE BUDGET DELTA THAT WOULD BE MISSING? YEAH, LET ME, IT'S, I THINK IT'S FIFTH. I THINK IT'S, OH ACTUALLY I THINK IT'S 15 SOMETHING. FIFTEEN OH SIX FOUR. OKAY. UM, I RECALL WHEN WE HAD THIS DISCUSSION AS PART OF THE BIG UMBRELLA. UM, I THINK IT WAS THE, UM, UH, THE FOLKS THAT DID THE WORK FOR US SAID, YOU KNOW, WE LOOK AT THE IMPACT AND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE AND THE AMOUNT OF IT ISN'T JUST THE DOLLAR AND CENTS, IT BECOMES A TWO DAY EVENT. WE DON'T HAVE, OTHER THAN THE IRISH FESTIVAL, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE TWO DAY EVENTS. THIS WAS AN ANOMALY. UM, AND BECAUSE IT REALLY WASN'T SELLING OUT THE SECOND DAY AND BECAUSE THURSDAY NIGHT IS HIGHLY PREFER PREFERABLE. I MEAN THERE WERE JUST A LOT OF REASONS THAT SAY, YES, PEOPLE LOVE IT, BUT THEY CAN LOVE IT ON THURSDAY NIGHT AND IT IS THEIR ROOM ON THURSDAY NIGHT. SO IF WE WERE TO DO IT BACK TO, I THINK WHAT WAS THE RECOMMENDATION AND WHAT WAS THE BUDGET AND ONE DAY AND WE WERE TO DO IT ON THURSDAY NIGHT, WHAT WOULD BE THE ESTIMATE OF THE PERCENTAGE OF FOLKS WE THINK WE COULD NOT SERVE ON A THURSDAY NIGHT? UM, SO IF I'M, I'M GONNA DO BACKWARDS MATH BECAUSE I THINK I HAVE THAT NUMBER. UM, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S NECESSARILY SPELLED OUT. UM, SO IF WE SAID WE HAD 3,800 GUESTS ON FRIDAY, IF 70% OF THAT WAS DUBLIN RESIDENTS AND THAT'S JUST WHAT WE'RE GUESSING. 'CAUSE WE DON'T KNOW AF AFTER WE OPEN IT UP TO THE ONLY RESIDENTS, A RESIDENT COULD STILL GET A TICKET, BUT WE DON'T TRACK IT AFTER THAT POINT. UM, SO 70% OF THAT 3,800, SO WHAT IS THAT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD IS I SHOULD KNOW THIS, LIKE 3000, IS THAT RIGHT? SOMEBODY HAVE A CALCULATOR . BUT IF WE, IF THEY DIDN'T KNOW THERE WAS A FRIDAY OPTION, I'M JUST LOOKING AT THE CAPACITY I GUESS I COULD SAY. UM, AND 'CAUSE THURSDAY IS THE NIGHT PEOPLE LIKE THE BEST, RIGHT? YEAH, THAT IS, I MEAN IF YOU HAD TO PICK, YOU'D PICK THURSDAY, RIGHT? AND FRIDAY WASN'T FULLY SUBSCRIBED. AGAIN, I THINK THAT WAS SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WE GOT FROM THE CONSULTANTS IS, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE DOING A TWO DAY EVENT, YOU CAN DO IT. UM, [01:15:01] BUT IS IT WORTH, I MEAN IF YOU SAY IT WAS A ONE DAY, IT WENT FOR QUITE SOME TIME, RIGHT? AND PEOPLE WERE SERVED MM-HMM . SO IS IT WORTH THE CITY TIME AND EFFORT AND ALL OF THAT TO DO IT FOR TWO DAYS? IT ISN'T SO MUCH ABOUT SAVING $10,000 OR WHAT HAVE YOU. UM, I, I RECALL THAT AS, AS, AS A, UM, PART OF THE DISCUSSION IS, IS IT REALLY A ONE DAY EVENT WE'RE MAKING INTO TWO DAYS OR IS IT A TWO DAY EVENT? AND THAT WAS THE QUESTION AT HAND. AND WHEN I READ THIS, I'M, I STILL THINK IT, IT FEELS LIKE A ONE DAY EVENT ON THE THURSDAY NIGHT WHEN PEOPLE LOVE IT AND MAKE IT DOUBLE IN RESIDENCE. I MEAN, IT, IT STILL SEEMS TO FIT WHAT I THOUGHT WAS THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE, THE, THE FOLKS THAT LOOKED AT IT. BUT I, I DO KNOW THAT. UM, SO WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO, WE HAVE, WE HAD LOOKED AT DOING THAT BEFORE EXPANDING THE UM, HOURS TO UM, SEE IF WE COULDN'T GET IT IN. YOU KNOW, SO IF WE, RIGHT NOW WE'RE, YOU KNOW, SIX TO NINE I THINK, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT NOW, I SHOULD KNOW THAT, UM, ON THURSDAY NIGHT, AND WE HAVE PLAYED WITH THOSE TIMES WHEN WE'VE GONE EARLIER, WE FIND THAT PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY JUST DON'T BRING IN THE EXTRA PEOPLE. IT'S US EXPANDING THE HOURS AND PAYING MORE TO, YOU KNOW, OUR EXHIBITORS AND STUFF. AND PEOPLE ARE JUST NOT SHOWING UP BECAUSE THEY'RE TRYING TO GET HOME AND THEY'RE TRYING TO GET THEIR KIDS FED AND, AND THOSE KIND OF THINGS. AND WE'VE TRIED TO GO LATER AS WELL. UM, EVEN THIS YEAR WHEN IT WAS WARMER, UM, WE THOUGHT MAYBE PEOPLE WOULD STICK AROUND AFTER WE ENDED BECAUSE YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD THAT AT OTHER EVENTS, BUT THEY PRETTY MUCH, YOU KNOW, IT WAS LATE ENOUGH AND THEY TOOK OFF. SO WHAT WOULD HAPPEN ON WHAT WE USED TO HAVE HAPPEN IS WE COULDN'T TAKE CARE OF EVERYBODY ON THURSDAY NIGHT. SO WE WOULD HAVE PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO GO THURSDAY NIGHT WHO WERE DISAPPOINTED 'CAUSE THEY COULDN'T GET THE TRUNK OR TREAT TICKETS, UM, THAT WERE DOUBLE IN RESIDENCE. AND IT, IT JUST IS KIND OF ADDS TO THE CONGESTION OF THE EVENT. WHAT ARE THE FRIDAY HOURS? ONE TO FIVE AND YOU SAY ON THURSDAY IT WAS LIKE, STARTED AT I THINK FOUR TO NINE. I THINK. WAIT, THEY WERE BOTH FOUR. I SHOULD KNOW THIS. FOUR TO EIGHT BECAUSE THEY WERE BOTH FOUR HOURS, FOUR TO EIGHT. I, I AGREE THAT MANY OF THE KIDS, I, YOU KNOW, I HAND OUT CANDY PRETTY MUCH EVERY YEAR AT THIS EVENT AND IT'S A HIGHLIGHT. I REALLY ENJOY IT. IT'S, BUT MOST OF THE, NOT MO A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF THE KIDS ARE, ARE PRESCHOOL AGE KIDS. SO, BUT YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE IF A THURSDAY, AN EARLIER START ON THURSDAY. WE TRIED IT FOR YEARS. WE UM, I THINK AT ONE POINT WE EVEN STARTED AT, UH, TWO 30 AND THREE AND IT JUST, WE WERE NOT GETTING THAT. THEY JUST WEREN'T COMING. IT, IT JUST, FOR WHATEVER REASON, AND MAYBE IT WAS BECAUSE THE PARENTS HAD TO GET HOME OR, OR WHAT, IT, IT JUST, IT KIND OF DIED AND WE WERE STANDING AROUND, YOU KNOW, WAITING FOR PEOPLE TO SHOW UP AND IT SEEMED LIKE A WASTE OF OUR EFFORTS TO BE THERE. UM, THE OTHER THING WE'RE ABLE TO DO ON FRIDAY, BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THAT FIRST HALF HOUR IS A LITTLE SLOW TOO. WE ARE ABLE TO DO THE, UM, SILENT OR NOT SILENT, BUT WE TURN OFF ALL THE MUSIC AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF. SO WE'VE, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF LUCK WITH THAT, BRINGING IN SOME KIDS WHO ARE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THAT FIRST HALF HOUR ON FRIDAY WHERE IT'S JUST A LITTLE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE FOR THEM. I WONDER WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE WENT ON FRIDAY FROM TWO TO TO EIGHT AND WE LOOKED AT THAT. OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM IS GONNA BE IF THERE'S FOOTBALL GAMES. 'CAUSE THEY DO STILL HAVE FOOTBALL GAMES, EVEN IF THEY DON'T HAVE SCHOOL ON THAT FRIDAY. SO IT JUST, WE WOULD ALWAYS BE WAITING TO SEE IF THERE WAS A FOOTBALL GAME. OKAY, NO QUESTIONS. WELL, WE HAVE A DECISION TO MAKE FOLKS, SO THE REQUEST FROM STAFF IS TO MAINTAIN IT AS A TWO DAY EVENT. OUR BUDGET HAS BUDGETED FOR A ONE DAY EVENT. I KNOW, I KNOW WE SUGGESTED ONE DAY ONLY. I WOULD SAY THURSDAY WOULD BE THE DAY, BUT THEN WE'RE ONLY SAVING PROBABLY WHAT, $8,000 BY DOING AWAY WITH FRIDAY. AND FOR $8,000, ANOTHER 3,800 GUESTS CAN'T GO. I GUESS WHAT I'M SAYING IS MAYBE WE CAN MAKE UP THE $8,000 IN SPONSORSHIPS AND THAT'S WHY I WAS THINKING MAYBE THE SCHOOLS COULD SHIP IN SOME MORE OR SOMETHING. I MEAN, I WOULD THINK WE COULD FIND, I DUNNO, SAVING $8,000 DOESN'T SEEM LIKE MUCH OF A SAVINGS. YEAH, I I, I'M KIND OF THINKING ALONG SOME SIMILAR LINES THERE. AMY. I ALSO THINK I, I'M REALLY APPRECIATIVE JUST BECAUSE I'VE GOT SOME, SOME [01:20:01] FRIENDS WHO HAVE SOME KIDDOS WHO NEED SOME OF THAT ADAPTIVE TIME. UM, FROM A STIMULATION PERSPECTIVE, I WOULD REALLY HATE TO SEE US HAVE TO DO AWAY WITH THAT, WITH THAT EXTRA TIME FOR THOSE KIDDOS TO BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE SOMETHING THAT THEY OTHERWISE NORMALLY WOULD. IT WOULD BE AN OVERLOAD FOR THEM. UM, SO I'M REALLY SUPPORTIVE OF THAT. I'D EVEN BE SUPPORTIVE OF EXPANDING THAT TIME LITTLE BIT IF WE FEEL FELT LIKE WE NEEDED IT. UM, AND IN ALL HONESTY, LIKE 3,800 GUESTS, NO, IT'S NOT A TON OF PEOPLE. IT'S CERTAINLY A LOT LESS THAN THURSDAY, BUT MY FEELING IS IF WE HAVE RESIDENTS WHO SIMPLY CAN'T GO, THAT HURTS MY HEART A LITTLE BIT. SO I, BEFORE THIS CONVERSATION, I WAS REALLY KIND OF ON THE, LET'S JUST KEEP IT AT A DAY. WE, WE WERE SUCCESSFUL WITH IT FOR A LONG TIME. THEN AGAIN, WE'VE ALSO GROWN QUITE A BIT AS A CITY AS WELL. SO I, I REALIZED THAT TOO. BUT UM, WHEN I STARTED THINKING ABOUT THAT, THAT ADAPTIVE TIME SLOT, I WAS LIKE, GOSH, IT WOULD BE A REAL SHAME IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT ABILITY FOR THOSE KIDDOS WHO REALLY NEED THAT QUIETER TIMEFRAME TO BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE, UM, SOMETHING SIMILAR TO TO TO KIDDOS WITH MORE NORMAL PROFILES SO THAT I WOULD BE OKAY WITH KEEPING IT AT TWO DAYS. BUT LIKE AMY, I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT EXTRA EFFORT ON THE SPONSORSHIP SIDE. YEAH, YOU HAD ME AT THE ADAPTIVE HOUR. UM, I AGREE WITH THAT WHOLEHEARTEDLY. AND I WOULD ACTUALLY ALSO RECOMMEND EXPANDING IT TO AN HOUR IF POSSIBLE. UM, MAYBE GIVE IT ANOTHER YEAR AS A TWO DAY EVENT AND SEE IF WE CAN MAKE UP THAT DIFFERENCE IN THE SPONSORSHIPS. UM, AND RET THIS, NOT RET THE DECISION, WRONG WORDS, BUT CONSIDER PUTTING THE DECISION OFF TILL WE SEE HOW A SPONSORSHIP GOES IN THIS NEW YEAR. UM, AND AND TO ME IT ISN'T ABOUT THE $15,000 OR THE $8,000. TO ME IT WAS, IT JUST THE AMOUNT OF WORK AND EFFORT FOR TWO DAYS FOR A PROGRAM. IF, ARE WE SERVING OUR RESIDENTS? ARE WE SERVING A LARGER, ARE WE SERVING NON-RESIDENTS? AND AGAIN, THAT WAS A LOT OF THE, THE DISCUSSION WAS IT, ARE WE SERVING OURSELVES OR ARE WE SERVING THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE AND ARE WE USING ALL OF OUR STAFF TIME TO DO THAT? SO TO ME IF I, I WOULD, IF WE COULD FIGURE THOSE NUMBERS OUT, ARE YOU A DUBLIN RESIDENT OR NOT WHEN WE'RE GETTING THE TICKETS, I, I THINK THAT WOULD HELP US ANSWER THAT QUESTION. AND THAT TO ME IS THE, IS THE ESSENCE OF IT. IT ISN'T THE $15,000 IT WAS, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT ARE THESE REGIONAL EVENTS OR ARE THESE FOR OUR COMMUNITY? SO THAT WOULD BE MY REQUEST EVEN MORE SO THAN THE SPONSORSHIP IS LET'S, LET'S SEE IF THAT IN FACT IS THE CASE. OKAY, THANK YOU. I'LL SECOND THAT. I THINK IF, IF WE CAN TRACK WHO BOUGHT THOSE TICKETS ON FRIDAY, YOU SAID LIKE AFTER IT GETS OPENED TO ALL. I THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD. YEAH, WE CAN DO THAT. OKAY. WELL IT LOOKS LIKE THEN I WILL MAKE A, IF I'M COUNTING CORRECTLY, TAKE OFF MY SHOES TO COUNT MORE THAN 10. BUT, UH, I WILL MAKE A MOTION TO CONTINUE HOSTING SPOOKTACULAR AS A TWO DAY EVENT. IS THERE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND. THANK YOU. JENNY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLE MS. A LUDO? YES. DR. LAMB? YES. MAYOR AROSE GROOMS? YES. MS. JOHNSON? YES. MS. CRAM? YES. VICE MAYOR DEROSA? YES. OKAY. AND, UH, NOW WE WILL CONTINUE WITH THE DUBLIN IRISH FESTIVAL 2025 REVIEW IN 2026 TICKET PRICING CONVERSATION. AGAIN, THANKS FOR HAVING ME. UM, IN YOUR LAST CITY MANAGER UPDATE, WE HAD A LINK TO THE DUBLIN IRISH FESTIVAL ANNUAL REPORT. UH, WE HAD A FANTASTIC YEAR, SO I JUST KIND OF WANTED TO GO OVER SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR. SO, UM, MANY OF YOU WHO WERE THERE KNOW IT WAS, WE WERE BLESSED WITH GORGEOUS WEATHER LAST YEAR WAS GOOD FOR US. UM, BUT, AND OUR ATTENDANCE INCREASED BY 10%. UH, BUT OUR REVENUE INCREASED ACTUALLY BY 24%. AND, UM, SO WE WERE ABLE TO GIVE BACK $108,000 TO THE SHARING OF THE GREEN PROGRAM. THERE WERE 9.9 TONS OF FOOD AND A RECORD BREAKING $16,000 GIVEN TO THE DUBLIN FOOD PANTRY. AND WE HAD MORE THAN A THOUSAND VOLUNTEERS THAT DONATED CLOSE TO 10,000 HOURS, I LIKE TO SAY. SO IN OUR SURVEYS, UM, JUST OVER 95% RATE, THE FESTIVAL IS TERRIFIC OR GOOD AND 96.1% ARE RETURNING, ARE PLANNING TO RETURN IN 2026. UH, WE ARE VERY PROUD THAT WE WON THE USA TODAY TOP CULTURAL FESTIVAL. WE'LL MENTION YOU CAN VOTE NOW FOR US FOR THIS YEAR. AND, UM, WE ALSO RECEIVED FOR THE FIRST TIME THE AMERICAN BUS ASSOCIATION, BEST OF THE BEST FESTIVALS AND EVENTS. SCOTT DREN, HIS STAFF HELPED US GET THAT RECOGNITION. UH, SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS ARE COMPOSTING INCREASE BY 42%. OUR RECYCLING ROSE BY 8% AND WE HAD A 32 INCREASE IN BIKE PARKING. [01:25:01] I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS THE WEATHER OR WHAT, BUT THAT JUST KIND OF WENT OFF THE RAILS THERE. UH, SO YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION IN OUR ANNUAL REPORT AND WE WILL BE GETTING THAT OUT TO THE MEDIA THIS WEEK. SO AGAIN, GOING BACK TO THE EVENTS ROADMAP, UM, THEY HAD SUGGESTED THAT WE HAVE A POSITIVE NET GOAL, UM, OF $300,000 IN THE NET IRISH FESTIVAL. UM, AND THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FOR 2026. THEY GAVE US A TWO YEAR RAMP FOR THAT. AND THIS YEAR WE ACTUALLY, UM, GREATLY EXCEEDED THAT WE WERE AT $484,520,000. UM, AND WE DID THAT THIS YEAR. SO A YEAR EARLY, OUR COST RECOVERY WAS 101%. THAT IS THE FIRST TIME THAT OUR COST RECOVERY HAS BEEN OVER A HUNDRED PERCENT SINCE 2017. AND SO WE WERE VERY PROUD OF THOSE NUMBERS. UM, YOU CAN SEE THE, THE CHARTS HERE, SO YOU CAN SEE THE YEARS, UM, AND HOW OUR EXPENSES, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS MANY TIMES, HOW OUR EXPENSES, UH, GREW AFTER COVID AND SOME OF THE INCREASES AND THE, UM, THE THINGS THAT WE'VE SEEN. UM, BUT HOW OUR COST RECOVERY HAS KIND OF CHANGED OVER THOSE YEARS. WE ARE ALWAYS AT THE, UM, AS WE KNOW, 24 WAS A BAD WEATHER YEAR. UM, SO WEATHER IMPACTS US. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE KNOW THAT EVEN THOUGH INFLATION HAS GONE UP, UM, BY 25% SINCE 2019, IF YOU LOOK AT AT COSTS, UM, BUT THAT, UH, IF WE WOULD USE THAT OUR IN OUR EXPENSES SHOULD BE OVER $3 MILLION IF WE JUST WENT WITH REGULAR INFLATION NUMBERS. UM, SO WE HAVE BEEN KEEPING THAT NUMBER DOWN. EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE GROWN, WE HAVEN'T GROWN AS MUCH AS INFLATION WOULD INDICATE THAT WE SHOULD HAVE. SO THIS YEAR OUR EXPENSES WERE UP 2%. UM, A LOT OF THAT WAS BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOT OF EXPENSES THAT ARE RELATED TO, UM, WHEN WE MAKE MORE MONEY, UH, THE EXPENSES GO UP. FOR EXAMPLE, OUR CREDIT CARD FEES, THE COST OF THE, UH, BEVERAGES AND THE MERCHANDISE THAT WE SELL, ALL THAT GOES UP. AND, UM, THOSE WERE UP 15% THIS YEAR. SO THAT DID, UM, KIND OF INCREASE US A LITTLE BIT. OUR STAFFING COPS COSTS WERE UP JUST 1.5%, WHICH IS BELOW WHAT THE, UM, STAFF SALARY INCREASED. SO WE DID HAVE A SLIGHT DECLINE IN ACTUAL NUMBER OF HOURS AND, UM, WE IMPLEMENTED CASHLESS OPERATIONS AT ALL OF OUR LOCATIONS. IN THE PAST WE WENT WITH THE BEVERAGES, BUT THIS YEAR, UM, YOU COULDN'T USE CASH ANYWHERE AT OUR OPERATION SITE EXCEPT INSIDE THE REC CENTER. SO THAT HELPED US CUT STAFFING DRAMATICALLY, BOTH IN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT AS WELL AS THE POLICE. UM, AND JUST THE AMOUNT OF CASH HANDLING WENT DOWN JUST RIDICULOUS AMOUNT. I MEAN, INSTEAD OF HAVING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON SITE, YOU KNOW, IT WAS JUST MUCH SAFER NOT TO HAVE THOSE DOLLARS. HERE OUR REVENUE WAS UP 24%. AS I MENTIONED, THIS WAS THE HIGHEST REVENUE WE EVER HAD, EVEN THOUGH WE JUST HAD THE 10% INCREASE IN ATTENDANCE, WE DID HAVE A SEVEN PER PERCENT INCREASE IN NON WEATHER DEPENDENT REVENUE. THIS IS SOMETHING WE TRACK EVERY YEAR BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE CAN'T CONTROL THE WEATHER. SO A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE IN THERE ARE OUR VENDOR FEES, OUR SPONSORSHIP, UM, AND THOSE THINGS REALLY MADE A DIFFERENCE THIS YEAR. OUR VENDOR FEES WERE UP QUITE A BIT, UM, BECAUSE WE INCREASED THE PRICE OF THOSE AND THE SPONSORSHIP HAS JUST CONTINUED TO GROW. SO OUR CUSTOM RECOVERY FOR THIS YEAR, SOME OF THE THINGS WE ARE PLANNING, ONE OF THE BIG THINGS IS THAT WE'RE FOR THE FIRST TIME, WELL IN MY HISTORY, UM, REDUCING THE NUMBER OF HOURS OF THE IRISH FESTIVAL, UM, OUR PLAN IS TO CLOSE ON SATURDAY NIGHT AT 11:00 PM INSTEAD OF MIDNIGHT. UH, WE NOTICE WE'VE BEEN TRACKING IT FOR YEARS, UM, EVEN THOUGH FRIDAY THROUGH MIDNIGHT STAYS FAIRLY STRONG BECAUSE WE HAVE THAT SHORTER NUMBER OF HOURS. WHAT WE'RE FINDING ON SATURDAY NIGHT IS PEOPLE ARE JUST NOT STAYING PAST. EVEN THOUGH WE HAD GREAT ATTENDANCE LAST YEAR AFTER 11 O'CLOCK, YOU STILL SAW THAT DROP OFF. UM, IT'S SOMETHING WE'RE SEEING IN FESTIVALS. I STARTED DOING SOME BENCHMARKING AND WE COULDN'T FIND A FESTIVAL THAT GOES TO MIDNIGHT. WE WERE PRETTY MUCH THE ONLY ONES THAT WERE STILL GOING TO MIDNIGHT. IT'S A NATIONAL TREND THAT PEOPLE ARE DOING THINGS EARLIER AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE JUST KIND OF HAVE TO MAKE THAT CHOICE AND, AND CHANGE THAT A BIT. SO WE'VE ALREADY, UM, SEEN SOME, WE HAVE OUR ENTERTAINERS, UM, MOSTLY BOOKED AND WE'RE EXPECTING TO SEE ABOUT A $10,000 REDUCTION BETWEEN THE STAFFING AND JUST THE ENTERTAINERS THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO BOOK IN THAT LAST HOUR. EXCUSE ME. UM, YOU'LL ALSO SEE, UH, WE'VE TALKED TO LIKE OUR SHUTTLE COMPANIES, OUR SOUND COMPANY, ANY OF THOSE COSTS THAT ARE BASED ON THEIR STAFFING COSTS, THEY SHOULD ALL HAVE A SLIGHT DECREASE. WE DID SAY IT'S ONLY [01:30:01] 5% OF OUR TOTAL HOURS. THAT ONE HOUR IS 5% OF OUR TOTAL HOURS. SO EVEN IF WE SEE THAT 5% DECREASE, THAT SHOULD HO HOPEFULLY OFFSET ANY INCREASE THAT, THAT WE MIGHT HAVE SEEN THROUGH INFLATION. UM, AND ALSO WE, WE'VE LOOKED AT OUR BEVERAGE SALES AND OUR TICKET SALES DURING THAT TIME AND THEY'RE, THEY, WE DON'T EXPECT TO SEE A LOT OF IN DECREASE IN THE REVENUE FROM THAT TIME. SO I MENTIONED SPONSORS BRIEFLY, BUT UM, WE DID HAVE ALL TIME RECORDS IN OUR SPONSORS AND THEY, THE CASH INCREASED BY 10%. SO WE WERE AT $365,000 IN CASH, 227,000 IN, IN KIND DONATIONS. SO THAT COULD BE ANYTHING FROM THE DINNERS AT THE EMERALD CLUB OR, UM, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, THE TENT COMPANY GIVES US A PERCENTAGE OFF, YOU KNOW, AT, AT CERTAIN LOCATIONS. WE ALSO HAD 12 NEW SPONSORS. AND THE FIVE YOU SEE HERE ARE OUR, UM, TOP SPONSORS. WITH WENDY'S BEING OUR LONGEST SPONSOR. THEY'VE BEEN WITH US FOR OVER 30 YEARS. SO THE BE THE BEV REVENUE FROM BEVERAGES , UM, WAS ALSO RECORD BREAKING THIS YEAR. UH, AFTER LAST YEAR, WE WENT BACK AND LOOKED, UH, WE WERE REALLY SEEING SOME INCREASES IN THE PRICE OF THE PRODUCT. UM, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, A LOT OF THAT HAD TO DO WITH THE PRICE, PRICE OF PLASTIC LAST YEAR. UM, SO WATER WENT UP AND WE STARTED DOING SOME BENCHMARKING. SO A LOT OF OUR PRODUCTS WENT UP BY ABOUT A DOLLAR LAST YEAR. UM, SO WE DID HAVE A 30% INCREASE IN OUR TOTAL BEVERAGE REVENUE, IF YOU REMEMBER THAT STILL JUST WITH A 10% INCREASE IN ATTENDANCE. UM, AND WE REALLY, YOU KNOW, WE SOLD A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT I THINK A LOT OF IT WAS, IS GETTING AHEAD OF IT AND KNOWING THAT WE NEEDED TO INCREASE THOSE PRICES ON THOSE SO THAT WE WEREN'T LOSING THERE. UH, WE HAD SOME DISCUSSION LAST YEAR ABOUT THE CUP SIZE INSTEAD OF RAISING THE PRICE. UH, AT THE TIME WE, WE HAD SO MANY CUPS LEFT OVER FROM THE YEAR BEFORE THAT IT WASN'T, IT WAS KIND OF GONNA BE COST PROHIBITIVE, BUT WHAT WE REALIZED, WE THOUGHT THAT, UM, RAISING THE PRICE WOULD HAVE AN IMPACT ON SALES, WHICH WE REALIZED IT REALLY DIDN'T. UH, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT IS A KIND OF A GREAT THING THAT WE LIKE TO TALK ABOUT AT THE IRISH FESTIVAL IS WE HAVE THOSE REUSABLE MUGS AND PEOPLE CAN BRING 'EM BACK EVERY YEAR AND THEY SAVE SO MANY EXTRA POUNDS IN THAT LANDFILL OR RECYCLING. UM, AND WE JUST CAN'T FIND A MUG THAT WOULD BE IN THE SMALLER SIZE THAT WOULD MAKE SENSE. UM, AND WE'RE AFRAID TOO, IF WE HAD SMALLER PORES, PEOPLE WOULD BE COMING BACK INTO THE LINE MORE OFTEN. UM, SO BECAUSE OF THAT AND BECAUSE WE RAISED THE PRICE LAST YEAR, WE THINK IT MAKES SENSE TO KEEP THE CUP SIZE AS IT IS. UM, AND, UH, JUST KIND OF KEEP LOOKING AT THAT. WE'RE GONNA KEEP REVIEWING THAT BECAUSE WE ALSO HAVE A LOT MORE INFORMATION NOW. UM, THE LAST TWO YEARS, UH, WE HAVE BEEN ON THIS, THE SQUARE PRODUCTS, ACTUALLY IT'S THE LAST THREE YEARS. SO WE HAVE SO MUCH MORE INVENTORY AND DATA THAN WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST. SO WE'RE ABLE TO KIND OF TRACK THOSE TRENDS AND SEE WHAT PEOPLE ARE BUYING AND WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN. WHAT WE HAVEN'T TRACKED, WHICH WE'RE GOING TO DO, IS HOW MANY PORES GO INTO THOSE RECYCLED MUG OR THE REUSABLE MUGS. WE HAPPEN TO KNOW HOW MANY REUSABLE MUGS WE'VE SOLD, BUT UNTIL THIS WILL BE THE FIRST YEAR THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY TRACKING HOW MANY TIMES THOSE COME BACK. SO, UM, WE'VE ALREADY WORKED OUT HOW WE'RE GONNA DO THAT ON OUR SQUARE SYSTEM. SO WE HAVE THAT INFORMATION TO SEE WHAT AN IMPACT THAT DOES HAVE ON THE FESTIVAL. SO GOING INTO TICKETS, UM, JUST TRANSFERRING INTO, YOU CAN SEE LAST YEAR WHERE OUR TICKET BUYER DISTRIBUTION WAS. I WANTED TO PERSONALLY CALL THAT PERSON IN WYOMING AND SEE WHAT THEY'RE DOING OUT THERE, . BUT YOU CAN SEE WE, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF AN INTERESTING SPREAD. UM, OBVIOUSLY WE STILL HAVE, UH, MOST OF OUR PEOPLE FROM OHIO, BUT WE ARE PULLING, ESPECIALLY FROM OUR SURROUNDING STATES. AND, UM, THIS DATA, BOTH THE SURROUNDING STATE DATA AND THE OHIO DATA, IS HELPING US FOCUS OUR MARKETING FOR THIS YEAR. SO WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR MON MARKETING COMPANY TO KIND OF GO OUT IN SPECIFIC MARKETS AND USING THIS DATA TO TARGET WHAT THOSE MARKETS MIGHT BE. SO WE'VE LOOKED AT LIKE DAYTON, WHICH WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, IN STILL IN OHIO, BUT THEN WE'RE ALSO LOOKING AT INDIANAPOLIS AND SOME OF THOSE, UH, DETROIT, SOME OF THOSE OTHER SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES, UM, WITH THE HELP OF SCOTT DURING AND HIS TEAM TOO, AS TRYING TO SEE WHERE DO THEY KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM. SO WE CAN FOCUS OUR MARKETING ON THOSE MARKETS. SO FOR THIS YEAR, WE DON'T, UM, RECOMMEND ANY CHANGES IN THE TICKETS. THE GENERAL TICKETS, WE, UM, DID LOOK AT THE COMPARABLE TICKETS. UM, OBVIOUSLY SOME OF THESE PEOPLE MAYBE HAVEN'T PUT UP THEIR TICKET PRICE FOR THIS YEAR, BUT WHAT'RE HEARING IS THAT PEOPLE AREN'T REALLY, UM, MAKING A HUGE CHANGE THIS YEAR. AND I THINK A LOT OF THAT, SO WE HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT SINCE 2024. SO THIS WILL BE THE THIRD YEAR AT THIS TICKET RANGE BECAUSE [01:35:01] OF THE PRICE OF INFLATION. WE WILL PROBABLY COME BACK TO YOU NEXT YEAR AND ASK FOR A SLIGHT INCREASE. UM, WE'VE NEVER DONE LIKE A 50 CENTS, BUT IT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE LOOK AT OR WE MAY LOOK AT TIERING THEM A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. BUT WE KNOW THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE DON'T FALL BEHIND LIKE WE HAD IN PREVIOUS YEARS ON INFLATION AND, AND THE TICKET PRICES. SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR IT, BUT WE DON'T RECOMMEND ANY CHANGES IN THE TICKET PRICING THIS YEAR FOR THE GENERAL TICKETS. ALLISON? YEAH. UM, HOW SUCCESSFUL WAS THE FLASH SALE? IT IS VERY SUCCESSFUL. I, I, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBERS. I CAN GET THAT. UM, BUT IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS, AND I ACTUALLY WAS SAYING THIS YEAR I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO, NOW THAT WE'VE USED THE SAME TICKETING COMPANY A COUPLE YEARS, SEE HOW MANY OF 'EM ARE REPEAT BECAUSE, UM, I THINK THOSE FLASH SALE PEOPLE AND WE ARE MOVING IT UP. THAT IS ONE THING WE'RE CHANGING. WE HAVE THE LAST COUPLE YEARS STARTED ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY AND FOLLOWED THROUGH, UM, THE REST OF MARCH. WE ARE GONNA JUMP OUT AHEAD OF THAT AND DO MARCH 2ND. ONE OF THE THINGS AGAIN, UM, WHEN WE WERE TALKING TO PEOPLE AND, UM, WE WERE TALKING TO OUR MARKETING COMPANY, THE, THE NEWS MEDIA IS INTERESTED IN TALKING TO US BEFORE ST. PATRICK'S DAY, UM, BECAUSE IT'S JUST TIMELY. I ACTUALLY WAS, UM, ON UM, FOX 28 THIS WEEKEND BECAUSE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE USA TODAY, BUT THIS, THIS IS THE TIME THEY'RE LOOKING FOR THE IRISH STORIES, SO WE THINK WE'RE GONNA REALLY CAPITALIZE ON IT. I CAN GET YOU THE EXACT NUMBER, BUT IT'S BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL. BUT I ALWAYS WANNA KNOW HOW MANY OF 'EM ARE REPEAT BECAUSE THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO KNOW THEY'RE GONNA BE THERE FROM THE MINUTE THEY GET THERE TO, YOU KNOW, FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THE END OF THE DAY ON SUNDAY. SO NEXT WAY I WANNA TALK ABOUT THE VIP CLUBS 'CAUSE WE DID DO SOME EXTENSIVE LOOKING AT HOW WE WANNA MOVE THOSE GOING FORWARD. UM, WE HAD SOME MAJOR DISCUSSIONS ABOUT, AS YOU CAN SEE, YEAR OVER YEAR THE DUB CLUB HAS BECOME LESS POPULAR. AND WE WERE, WE DID SOME SURVEYING TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THAT MIGHT BE. UM, WE DID SURVEYING OF ALL THE CLUBS AND THERE ARE SOME SMALL CHANGES THAT WE'RE MAKING. UM, FOR EXAMPLE, A LOT OF THE COMMENTS WE HAD, ESPECIALLY AT THE CELTIC ROCK CLUB WAS THAT THEY DIDN'T LIKE THAT PEOPLE WERE SAVING SEATS. WE ACTUALLY HAD SOMEBODY THIS YEAR PRINT UP THEIR OWN CHAIR BACKERS AND PUT 'EM ON THE BACK OF A SEAT TO SAVE THEIR SEAT. UM, THAT WAS AUDACIOUS . 'CAUSE I WALKED OVER AND SAID, HMM, I DON'T THINK WE DID THAT . UM, SO WE ARE, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE DOING IS INTERNALLY WE WE'RE GONNA ENFORCE THE POLICY OF YOU CAN'T SAVE SEATS. UM, WE'RE CHANGING ACTUALLY THE LAYOUT OF HOW THE TABLES ARE GONNA BE IN THERE. SO IT'S LESS, LIKE, IT'S NOT AS BIG A DEAL TO GET IN THAT FRONT ROW AND GET THE TABLE. SO WE'RE WORKING ON THOSE INTERNAL THINGS. WE'RE ALSO, THE OTHER THING WE LEARNED IS, UM, AS THEY'VE GOTTEN MORE POPULAR, WE NEED TO INCREASE THE BATHROOM CAP CAPABILITIES. UM, BOTH ESPECIALLY AT CELTIC ROCK CLUB, BUT ALSO AT DUB CLUB. UM, SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT. THE OTHER THING THAT WE'RE FINDING THAT WE USED TO HAVE AT CELTIC ROCK CLUB WAS A RESERVED TABLE WE USED TO HAVE BEFORE WE OPENED IT UP TO THE PUBLIC COMPANIES COULD RESERVE A SECTION OF THE CELTIC ROCK CLUB. UM, IF YOU REMEMBER, THE CITY OF DUBLIN EVEN HAD A SECTION, UM, WHERE WE COULD HOST PEOPLE AND IT'S SOMETHING WE HAVEN'T HAD AS AN OFFERING. SO INSTEAD OF COMPLETE, WE WERE GONNA AT ONE PO WE HAD DISCUSSED POSSIBLY GETTING RID OF THE DUB CLUB, BUT WE THOUGHT THIS YEAR WHAT WE MIGHT TRY TO DO IS GO BACK TO ALLOWING THAT TO HAVE SOME RESERVE TABLES. SO IF YOU WANNA RESERVE A TABLE FOR YOUR COMPANY, YOUR FRIEND GROUP, YOU KNOW THAT TABLE IS FOR YOU. AND SO IT'LL BE DIFFERENCE WHERE YOU WON'T BE ALLOWED TO RESERVE A TA, YOU KNOW, SEATS IF YOU DON'T HAVE THESE RESERVE TABLES. BUT WE ARE OFFERING YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET A WHOLE TABLE THAT IS YOURS FOR THE WEEKEND. THEY'LL BE BEHIND THE OTHER TABLES. UM, BUT THAT'S KIND OF HOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT. WE'RE GONNA TRY THAT TO SEE IF THAT MOVES THE NEEDLE AT ALL ON THAT DUB CLUB. UM, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE'RE FINDING HAS JUST NOT PERFORMED LIKE THE OTHERS. I MEAN, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS CHART HERE, YOU'LL SEE, UM, YOU KNOW HOW THE DUB CLUB HAS FARED, IT IS OUR NEWEST CLUB, BUT, UM, THE EMERALD CLUB, FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU LOOK AT THAT CHART, THAT 2019 NUMBER IS KIND OF OFF BECAUSE THAT'S BEFORE, THAT'S WHEN IF, IF YOU REMEMBER, ALCOHOL WAS UNLIMITED FOR YOUR TICKET PRICE AND WE WEREN'T ABLE, WE DIDN'T TRACK THE ALCOHOL THAT WAS GIVEN AWAY IN THERE. SO, UM, THAT WHEN WE CHANGED THAT POLICY AND, AND WELL WE DID IT, YOU KNOW, IN COVID. UM, BUT THAT OBVIOUSLY DROPPED THE, THE RE RETURN ON THAT ONCE WE KIND OF WERE TRACKING WHAT THAT, WHAT THOSE BEVERAGE SALES WERE. ONE OF THE THINGS WE SAY ABOUT EMERALD CLUB, I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER THE EXACT NUMBER, I THINK IT'S 40% OF THE MEMBERS OF EMERALD CLUB RECEIVE THAT, THAT TICKET THROUGH THEIR SPONSORSHIP. SO IN OTHER WORDS, [01:40:01] THE PEOPLE WHO ARE BUYING THE EMERALD CLUB MEMBERS ARE ALMOST PAYING FOR OUR VIP HOSPITALITY FOR OUR SPONSORS AND OTHER PEOPLE. UM, SO IN A SENSE, ANY DOLLAR WE MAKE ON THE EMERALD CLUB IS GRAVY BECAUSE IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT'S REALLY PAYING FOR A HOSPITALITY AREA THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR FOR OUR SPONSORS ANYWAY. SO INSTEAD OF US PAYING FOR IT, THE MEMBERS ARE PAYING FOR THAT. SO ANYTHING WE MAKE ON EMERALD CLUB, WE'RE VERY HAPPY WITH, UM, CELTIC ROCK CLUB. AGAIN, I THINK WE ARE, WE'RE KIND OF FINDING OUR FOOTING THERE AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THAT WORKS. AND I THINK REALLY OUR ADJUSTMENT IS ON THE DUB CLUB. THE OTHER THING WE STARTED LOOKING ACROSS, UM, AND YOU'LL SEE ON THIS NEXT SLIDE, UM, WHAT PEOPLE ARE CHARGING FOR ONE DAY VERSUS A WEEKEND PASS. SO WE MADE ADJUSTMENTS AND YOU CAN SEE THE YELLOW COLUMN ARE ALL THE THINGS THAT CHANGE. GRANTED, SOME OF THEM CHANGED $25, SOME OF THEM CHANGED $50, BUT WE DID SOME REAL RESEARCH INTO WHAT OTHER FESTIVALS ARE DOING ON THE ONE DAY VERSUS THE MULTI-DAY, WHICH HELPED, UM, KIND OF INFORM WHAT WE WANTED TO DO THERE. UM, AND THEN ALSO YOU'LL SEE THE RESERVE TABLE THAT WE ADDED AT THE DUB CLUB. THE OTHER THING WE'RE DOING, UM, PREVIOUSLY ONLY EMERALD CLUB MEMBERS COULD DO THE ADD-ON BEVERAGE PACKAGE. SO WE ARE GONNA OPEN THAT UP SO THAT ALL THE BEV, ALL THE CLUBS CAN DO THAT. THAT DOESN'T GET YOU, IT SAYS HERE IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT AN UNLIMITED PACKAGE. WE, WE WON'T OFFER UNLIMITED AGAIN, BUT IT DOES GIVE YOU THREE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES PER DAY. SO A LOT OF PEOPLE JUST, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE USING IT FOR A HOSPITALITY TO GIVE TO CLIENTS OR FRIENDS, THEY WANNA PAY FOR THAT UPFRONT. UM, BUT WE HAVEN'T OFFERED IT IN ANYTHING BUT EMERALD CLUBS. SO WE HAVE ADDED THAT AND AGAIN, ARE NOW AN ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES WILL BE REMAIN TO BE FREE. SO THOSE WILL ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE IN THOSE CLUBS. SO I THINK WHAT, WHAT, THE BIGGEST THING HERE IS WE'RE GONNA SEE HOW THIS WORKS WITH THE CHANGE IN DUB CLUB TO SEE IF IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN OUR REVENUE AT THAT CLUB. AND THEN IF NOT, WE WILL, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR AND BASED ON OUR SURVEYS. SO, UH, AT THIS POINT, UH, STAFF IS RECOMMENDING THE APPROVAL OF OUR FESTIVAL PRICING STRUCTURE AND I CAN ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE. QUESTIONS, WAIT, TAKE A MOMENT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. UH, IS THERE ANYONE PRESENT THIS EVENING THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK RELATIVE TO THIS TOPIC? HEARING NONE COUNCIL QUESTIONS, DISCUSSION? I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. SO ALLISON, ALL THE WAY BACK AT THE BEGINNING, I'M NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND THE, THE NUMBER CALCULATION OF THE NET COST RECOVERY. IF ON THE NEXT SLIDE, COST AND EXPENSES ARE THE SAME. IS THAT ALL SPONSORSHIPS? IS THAT, IS THIS ON THIS SLIDE HERE? YEAH. UM, SO SOME OF IT, IT'S, IT'S BOTH. SO ORIGINALLY IN THE ROADMAP THEY HAD SAID INCREASE REVENUE BY $150,000 AND DECREASE EXPENSES BY $150,000. UM, AND AT THE TIME WHEN WE WERE LOOKING AT THAT, WE JUST KIND OF MADE IT AS A, A GROUP 300,000. SO SOME OF IT IS THE, UM, OBVIOUSLY OUR EXPENSES DID GO UP 1%. UH, BUT SO MOST OF THAT IS THE BEVERAGE SALE INCREASES, IT'S THE SPONSORSHIP INCREASES, IT'S THE REVENUE AND TICKET SALES AS WELL. SO IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THIS IS WHAT I'M CONFUSED ABOUT THE NEXT SLIDE THAT SAYS REVENUE AND EXPENSES ARE JUST ALMOST HUGGING EACH OTHER. RIGHT? RIGHT. SO THE ONLY THING THAT WOULDN'T BE IN HERE WOULD BE SPONSORSHIPS. NO SPONSORSHIPS IS IN THERE. SO, WELL, THE DIFFERENCE, WHAT WE'RE SAYING IS WE'RE MAKING UP THE GAP. SO LAST YEAR THE GAP BETWEEN THESE TWO, UM, WAS 500,000, AROUND 500,000. AND THEY WANTED US TO REDUCE THAT GA GAP BY 300. OKAY. THAT'S, SO IT'S, IT'S, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE SAYING. THAT'S YOU'VE REDUCED THE GAP. WE REDUCED THE GAP THAT POSITIVE GOT, OR WE GOT RID OF THE GAP IN THIS CASE. YEAH. OKAY. UM, SO YOU, YOU KNOW, IT'S INTERESTING, IT'S, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN FIVE YEARS WE'VE WE'RE IN THE, AND IT WAS A PERFECT WEATHER DAY, WHICH JUST REMINDS US THE TENUOUS NATURE OF THIS. THE, THE OTHER NUMBERS THAT ARE NOT IN HERE IS THE REVENUE FROM OUR VENDORS. AND WHAT DID THAT LOOK LIKE THIS YEAR COMPARED TO PAST YEARS? DO YOU HAVE THAT DATA? WE DON'T TRACK THE REVENUE OF THE VENDORS. OUR, OUR, UM, WE WENT UP WHAT WE GOT, WE, WE UP, BUT WE GOT, WE WENT UP, UM, 20% BECAUSE OF, WE ADDED SOME VENDORS AND WE INCREASED THEIR RENTAL FEE. SO WE, UH, WE WENT UP 20% THIS YEAR. WE DON'T GET A CUT OF THEIR SERVICE. I KNOW. YEAH. YEAH. SO OUR, OUR NET TAKE WENT UP 20%. MM-HMM . WHAT WOULD THAT NUMBER BE? JUST REMIND ME WHAT THAT REVENUE WAS IS I'D HAVE TO LOOK IT UP. I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME. I THINK THAT'S A NUMBER, AND I, I'VE SAID THIS FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, I'LL SAY IT AGAIN. UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, SO MANY OTHER ORGANIZATIONS LOOK AT A PERCENT TAKE PARTICULARLY OF THE FOOD [01:45:01] VERSUS THE FLAT AMOUNT. AND OUR, OUR AMOUNTS ARE PRETTY LOW. I MEAN, IT'S PRETTY LOW. I, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT INCLUDED IN, IN HERE WHEN WE LOOK AT THIS BECAUSE THAT IS ONE AREA WHERE WE HAVE SOME PLAY THAT, THAT, AGAIN, I, I KNOW OTHERS ARE DOING THAT. AND I KNOW WE SAID LAST YEAR THERE WASN'T ENOUGH TIME. APPARENTLY WE'RE NOT DOING IT THIS YEAR. I, I, I THINK IT WOULD BE WORTH LOOKING AT AGAIN AND HAVING THAT DISCUSSION. SO THAT'S, THAT'S A PIECE OF THIS PIE I THINK. I MEAN THEY HAD TO DO INCREDIBLY WELL THIS YEAR. YEAH. AND I CAN PULL OUT, WE HAD A PRICING, UM, IT WASN'T THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME LAST YEAR. WE DID HAVE A PRICING BREAKDOWN OF HOW MUCH THE STAFFING AND THE SYSTEMS AND STUFF WOULD COST, BUT WE COULD PULL THAT BACK OUT AND LOOK AT IT AGAIN. BUT NOW WITH SQUARESPACE OR WHAT ALL OF THESE ARE, I, I CAN'T IMAGINE THAT THERE AREN'T, I'M, WHAT I'M TOLD IS THOSE ARE GENERATED NUMBERS NOW, RIGHT? WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT WORK. THAT'S THE RESPONSIBILITY OF INTER I I'M TOLD AGAIN, I JUST THINK THERE'S SOME OPPORTUNITY THERE THAT WE NEED TO LOOK AT IF WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL THE CORNERS. 'CAUSE IF WE GO BACK TO THAT FIRST CHART, I MEAN, WE'RE LOSING MONEY. WE'RE FLAT OUT LOSING MONEY. SO IS IT, IS THERE NOT AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK HERE? AND THAT'S THE ONLY OTHER AREA I THINK THAT THE SPONSORSHIPS ARE GROWING. THAT SEEMS TO BE THE AREA TO ME THAT WOULD BE A USEFUL DISCUSSION FOR THIS GROUP NEXT YEAR. SO, UM, THANK YOU AND CONGRATULATIONS. IT WAS A GREAT YEAR LAST YEAR AND IT WAS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GREAT COST RECOVERY. SO, UM, WELL DONE. SO I DON'T, I'M NOT TRYING TO BE CRITICAL. I'M JUST SAYING AS WE'RE LOOKING AT THE, THE, THE ROADMAP HERE, WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE PERFECT WEATHER EVERY, EVERY TIME WE KNOW THAT. SO WHAT ARE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES? AND IS THERE, IS THERE OPPORTUNITY? THERE IS THE, THE QUESTION. THANK YOU. SO CONGRATULATIONS. THESE NUMBERS ARE SIMPLY INCREDIBLE. I MEAN, A 24% INCREASE IN REVENUE, 30% INCREASE IN BEVERAGE REVENUES ONLY A 2% INCREASE IN EXPENSES. UM, WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE THIS INCREDIBLE GROWTH THIS YEAR? AND DO YOU ANTICIPATE THE SAME INCREASES FOR THIS UPCOMING YEAR? 'CAUSE I THINK THIS WILL ACTUALLY KIND OF HELP US DECIDE ABOUT KEEPING THE PRI THE TICKET PRICING THE SAME MM-HMM . WHAT, WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? SO I, I DO SAY A, A GOOD PERCENTAGE OF THAT WAS, UM, SO 2024 WAS, UM, A VERY BAD, UM, WEATHER YEAR. SO, UM, EVEN THE, SO WE WERE UP 30%. UM, IF WE LOOK AT THE PREVIOUS YEAR, WE WERE STILL UP, UH, I SHOULD PROBABLY REMEMBER WHAT THAT EXECS, BUT WE WENT FROM, WE GOT AN EXTRA A HUNDRED AND SOMETHING THOUSAND DOLLARS FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR. SO WE WERE UP, UM, NON WEATHER REVENUE DEPENDENT. SO A LOT OF IT WAS OUR SPONSORSHIPS AND LOOKING AT THE PRICING OF OUR PRODUCTS. UH, THAT WAS SOMETHING WE SPENT A LOT OF TIME LAST YEAR. SO WE WOULDN'T GUESS THAT WE WOULD HAVE A 30% INCREASE, BUT WE STILL ARE SHOOTING TO HAVE A 10% INCREASE THIS YEAR IF EVERYTHING WORKS OUT, YOU KNOW, IN OUR FAVOR. SO THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS. AND A LOT OF THAT COMES FROM WE'RE, YOU KNOW, CUTTING SOME ON THE, ON THE EXPENSE SIDE, BUT ALSO TRYING TO SEE WHERE WE CAN MAKE THAT EXTRA MONEY ON THE REVENUE SIDE. YEAH. AND, AND TO THAT END, YOU KNOW, UM, ONE QUESTION I HAVE IS AS FAR AS, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT SPONSORS, BUT WHAT ARE THE THOUGHTS ABOUT INCREASED INCREASE THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS THAT COME TO THE IRISH FESTIVAL? YEAH, THANK YOU. YEAH, SO WHAT, THAT'S WHAT, SO, UM, LAST YEAR WE WERE AT 85,000, UM, BEFORE COVID. WE HAD SOME YEARS THAT WE WERE ACTUALLY AROUND A HUNDRED THOUSAND, I THINK THE HIGHEST MIGHT HAVE BEEN 104,000. UM, AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE SEEING IS A NATIONWIDE TREND THAT NOT AS MANY PEOPLE ARE GOING OUT TO SOME OF THESE EVENTS. UM, AND SO WE KNOW MAYBE WE'LL NEVER BE AT THAT 104,000 AGAIN, BUT SOME OF THE TARGETED MARKETING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO TO BRING IN THOSE OUTSIDE GROUPS. UM, ONE OF THE THINGS TOO, AND I DIDN'T MENTION IT, IS IN OUR ANNUAL REPORT WE HAD, UH, WE WORKED WITH A NEW MARKETING COMPANY LAST YEAR, APPROACH MARKETING THAT DID A REALLY GREAT JOB. AND OUR MEDIA IMPRESSIONS WERE UP. I THINK THEY WERE UP CLOSE TO 30 TO 40%. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GONNA TRY TO CONTINUE THAT SUCCESS IS TO GET THAT WORD OUT THERE. BUT WE WANNA EXTEND IT BEYOND JUST THE CENTRAL OHIO COMMUNITY. WE WANNA GET OUT TO THE CINCINNATI'S AND THE DAYTONS AND THE, YOU KNOW, THE, WE'RE LOOKING AT AKRON AND, AND THOSE THAT WE REALLY WANNA BRING IN THAT'LL COME IN AND SPEND THE DAY AND HOPEFULLY SPEND THE NIGHT IN OUR HOTELS. 'CAUSE WE DO HAVE, AS WE ADD MORE HOTELS ON, ESPECIALLY IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS, WE, UM, ARE GONNA HAVE ROOM FOR THEM. THERE WERE MANY YEARS, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE WERE AT THAT 104,000 AND WE HAD LESS HOTELS, WE JUST COULDN'T TAKE ANY MORE PEOPLE BECAUSE THERE WERE NO MORE HOTELS. UM, BUT NOW THAT OUR NUMBER OF HOTEL ROOMS HAVE INCREASED, WE ARE ABLE TO LOOK BACK AT THAT AND TRY TO BRING THOSE OUT OF TOWN PEOPLE BACK IN. AND I THINK THERE'S ALSO A GOOD OPPORTUNITY JUST, UM, WITHIN OUR DUBLIN RESIDENTS OR LOCAL RESIDENTS AND INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF PEOPLE COMING. I WONDER [01:50:01] IF OUR MARKETING DOES ANY, UM, ANALYSIS ASKING PEOPLE IF THEY DON'T COME TO THE FESTIVAL, WHY NOT? IS IT BECAUSE THERE'S NOT ENOUGH FREE SHUTTLES GOING TO THE LOCAL, UM, COMMUNITIES, YOU KNOW, ONLY THE FREE SHUTTLES FOR THE METRO CENTER. IS IT BECAUSE OF THE COST OR YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT IS? 'CAUSE THAT MIGHT BE AN OPPORTUNITY. AND, AND THIS ALSO LEADS ME TO ANOTHER POINT, AND THIS IS MORE FOR CHIEF PECE, IS THAT I KNOW THAT AMONGST THE FESTIVAL ORGANIZERS ALL THROUGHOUT COLUMBUS, THERE'S BEEN A GROWING CONCERN OF CRIME CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES AND ALSO POLICE INCIDENCES. DO WE TRACK THE NUMBER, NUMBER OF POLICE INCIDENCES AT THE IRISH FESTIVAL? SO I, FOR INSTANCE, LIKE I'VE TALKED WITH ORGANIZERS FOR THE TACO FEST ASIAN FESTIVAL, SOME OF THESE OTHER THINGS. AND ACTUALLY NOW THERE'S ORGANIZED, UM, PEOPLE THAT WILL COME TO ACTUALLY CREATE DISTURBANCES AND THEN TIME IT, SO ANOTHER GROUP WILL COME AND CREATE DISTURBANCES AT ANOTHER PART OF THE FESTIVAL ITSELF. AND SO WE'RE SEEING MORE ORGANIZATION TO THIS. AND I KNOW THAT THAT'S ACTUALLY DISSUADED SOME PEOPLE FROM ATTENDING SOME OF THESE FESTIVALS. AND I WONDER IF THE SAME IS TRUE FOR THE DUBLIN IRISH FESTIVAL. UM, YEAH, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION. WE DO TRACK THE NUMBER OF INCIDENTS WE HAVE, UM, AT THE IRISH FESTIVAL AND THEN, AND THEN ALSO KEEP A CLOSE, UM, CONSIDERATION OF THE THINGS THAT ARE PERIPHERAL TO THE FESTIVAL GROUNDS ITSELF AND THE PARKING AND, UM, THINGS OF THAT NATURE. AND, AND WE DON'T TEND TO HAVE VERY MANY INCIDENTS, UH, FORTUNATELY, UM, AT THE IRISH FESTIVAL, BUT CERTAINLY PREPARED TO, UH, PREVENT OR RESPOND AND ADDRESS THOSE IF NECESSARY. GREAT. THANK YOU. OTHER QUESTIONS? WELL, IT CERTAINLY, WELL, ARGUABLY IT WAS THE THREE MOST BEAUTIFUL DAYS OF THE YEAR OR THE IRISH FESTIVAL. IT HAD BEEN, IT HAD BEEN, OH MY GOODNESS, HOT BEFOREHAND. AND, UM, AND AFTER NOT SO DESIRABLE EITHER, BUT IT WAS REALLY, THIS SHOULD BE A HIGH WATERMARK FOR CERTAINLY THE EFFORTS THAT YOU'RE DOING ARE APPRECIATED AND, AND WE MIGHT DRIVE SOME MORE, BUT THE ODDS OF HAVING THE, UM, THE BACKDROP IF YOU WILL, OF THAT WEATHER, WE, YOU KNOW, WE CAN HOPE, BUT, UH, IT'S CERTAINLY NOT LIKELY. SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THAT. UH, I DON'T BELIEVE THERE'S ANY MORE COUNCIL QUESTIONS, DISCUSSION. I, I WOULD ONLY ADD, I WAS AT THE, UM, CELTIC ROCK STAGE A COUPLE OF THE EVENINGS, AND I DON'T, I THINK MAYBE THAT EXPERIENCE IS GOING PAST WHAT IT MAY BE A VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE FOR, AND I THINK MAYBE SOME OUTSIDE SECURITY MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE THERE. I, I HAPPEN, HAPPENED TO BE THERE WHEN PEOPLE HAD SET THEIR RESERVED, YOU KNOW, THE LITTLE TOWELS THAT THEY HAD PRINTED UP ON THOSE CHAIRS AND THE VOLUNTEERS HAD GONE UP AND SAID SOMETHING TO 'EM AND IT WASN'T TERRIBLY WELL RECEIVED. AND, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A VOLUNTEER COMING UP AND YOU DON'T WANT TO PUT THEM IN A POSITION WHERE IT GETS TO BE CONFRONTATIONAL. SO THE ONLY THING I MIGHT SUGGEST IS THAT WE ADD PERHAPS SOME PRIVATE SECURITY, UM, MAYBE EVEN JUST IN THE LATER PORTIONS OF THE NIGHT, MAYBE FROM NINE TO 11 OR SOMETHING. UH, WHEN IT GETS, GETS A LITTLE, UM, CONTENTIOUS THERE. YEAH. UM, 'CAUSE WE DON'T WANT OUR VOLUNTEERS TO FEEL LIKE THEY HA LIKE WE'RE PUTTING THEM IN A DIFFICULT SPOT WHERE MAYBE THEY WOULD FEAR FOR, YOU KNOW, SOME LEVEL OF CONFRONTATION THAT THEY WEREN'T UNCOMFORTABLE WITH ON A VOLUNTEER BASIS. SO, UM, THAT WOULD, THAT'D BE MY ONLY, YEAH, I APPRECIATE THAT. SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DEFINITELY LOOK AT. AND THE COST ON THE PRIVATE SECURITY FOR A COUPLE HOURS IS NOT REALLY THAT MUCH. AND IT WOULD MAKE DEFINITELY THOSE VOLUNTEERS FEEL SAFER. YEAH. EITHER THAT OR, OR MAKE IT MORE LIKE A CONCERT VENUE WHERE YOU HAD AN ASSIGNED SEAT. AND I'M NOT SURE HOW YOU WOULD DO THAT. I THINK IT MIGHT TAKE AWAY FROM IT MORE THAN IT WOULD ADD TO IT, BUT SOMETHING TO DIFFUSE THAT, THAT CONTENTIOUS NATURE THERE USUALLY AROUND THE LAST ACT OF THE EVENING. SO, UH, THAT'S MY ONLY 2 CENTS ON THAT PORTION. SO WITH THAT, I WILL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE IRISH FESTIVAL PRICING STRUCTURE AS PRESENTED. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND. THANK YOU. JENNY, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE RULE? MS. CRAM? YES. MS. JOHNSON? YES. DR. LAM? YES. VICE MAYOR OSA? YES. MS. SALUTO? YES. MAYOR AROSE GROOMS? YES. OKAY. THIS [STAFF COMMENTS] BRINGS US TO OUR STAFF COMMENTS PORTION OF OUR AGENDA, AND I WILL TURN IT OVER TO CITY MANAGER O' KELLYANN. GOOD EVENING, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL. I HAVE SEVERAL STAFF COMMENTS THIS EVENING. THE FIRST BEING ABOUT THE IRISH FESTIVAL. UM, THE IRISH FESTIVAL HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR THE FOURTH TIME IN THE USA TODAY, 10 BEST READERS POLL. LAST YEAR THE FESTIVAL WON FIRST PLACE, SO WE ARE CERTAINLY LOOKING FOR A REPEAT SHOWING. UM, VOTING BEGAN FEBRUARY 2ND AND WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MARCH 2ND, SO YOU CAN VOTE EVERY DAY ON EACH OF YOUR DEVICES. [01:55:02] WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON MARCH 11TH, SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING THAT TO GOOD NEWS. UM, NEXT, I AM PLEASED TO SHARE THAT DUBLIN'S RECIPIENT OF THE STATE AND LOCAL CYBERSECURITY GRANT PROGRAM ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND ADMINISTERED BY CYBER OHIO. THE CITY APPLIED, UM, FOR THIS GRANT AND HAS BEEN AWARDED THE MAXIMUM OF 20,000 WITH A $5,000 MATCH. AND THIS WILL BE USED IN EXECUTION OF OUR CYBERSECURITY POLICY, UM, IN 2026, OUR CYBERSECURITY PLAN. SO I'D LIKE TO THANK THE IT TEAM FOR THEIR WORK IN PURSUING THAT GRANT OPPORTUNITY. STAFF IS ALSO ADVANCING DESIGN PLANS FOR THE NEW HIGHLAND GLEN PARK, WHICH IS A NEW NEIGHBORHOOD AND GATEWAY PARK AT THE INTERSECTION OF HIGHLAND CROIX AND POST ROAD STATE ROUTE 1 61. THE PARK WILL FEATURE A COMMUNITY LAWN, A LOOP TRAIL, CONNECTING TO THE BROADER PATH SYSTEM IN OTHER PARTS OF DUBLIN. UH, THERE'LL BE SOME SEEDING, SOME LANDSCAPING, AND WE'LL ALSO BE RESTORING THE HISTORIC BARN AND GRAINERY STRUCTURES. THIS WAS ALL DISCUSSED, UM, AS PART OF THAT HIGHLAND GR GLEN DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. UM, AN AN INITIAL NEIGHBORHOOD INFORMATION LETTER WAS SENT IN NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR, AND WE ARE PREPARING TO SEND AN UPDATE LETTER ON THIS PROJECT TO, UH, NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE VICINITY OF THIS PARK. AND THAT LETTER WILL GO OUT LATER THIS WEEK. SO I WANTED TO GIVE COUNCIL A HEADS UP. UM, CONSTRUCTION BIDDINGS ANTICIPATED IN THE THIRD QUARTER. THE BUDGET IS IN THE CIP AT 955,000 PROJECT COMPLETIONS TARGETED FOR THE FOURTH QUARTER. THAT IS WEATHER DEPENDENT AND ALSO CONTINGENT UPON GETTING GOOD BIDS. AND WE'RE ALSO GOING TO BE INITIATING, UH, RESTORATION WORK ON THE BARN AND THE GRAINERY STRUCTURES. UM, AND THAT WORK IS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN THIS SPRING. THAT WORK WILL OCCUR AHEAD OF THE PARK CONSTRUCTION LATER IN THE YEAR IN FURTHERANCE OF THE EVENTS ROADMAP. AND SINCE WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT SPONSORSHIPS TWICE THIS EVENING, UM, WE HAVE ISSUED AN RFP TO DEVELOP A CITYWIDE SPONSORSHIP STRATEGY. THE GOAL IS TO CREATE A MORE COORDINATED APPROACH TO SPONSORSHIPS THAT INCREASES NON-TAX REVENUES, STRENGTHENS COMMUNITY AND CORPORATE SPONSORSHIPS AND SUPPORTS CITY PROGRAMS, FACILITIES, AND EVENTS. THE SELECTED FIRM WILL EVALUATE OUR CURRENT ASSETS AND SPONSORSHIP EFFORTS, IDENTIFY NEW REVENUE OPPORTUNITIES, AND DELIVER AN ACTIONABLE STRATEGY ALIGNED WITH THE CITY'S BRAND VALUES AND COMMUNITY GOALS. THE TIMING OF THIS, UH, ISSUANCE OF THE RFP IS INTENTIONAL. UM, WE HAVE THE PREMIER ATHLETIC AND RECREATION CAMPUS CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK NEARING COMPLETION, AND WE ALSO HAVE A NEED TO ALIGN OUR CITYWIDE OR OUR CITY SPONSORSHIP E EFFORTS WITH THOSE OF SPORTS FACILITIES COMPANIES AS THEY BEGIN WORKING ON THEIR SPONSORSHIP STRATEGIES FOR SPORTS OHIO. SO, TIMING'S PERFECT, UH, TO COORDINATE THOSE EFFORTS. AND WE CERTAINLY KNOW THAT THE SPONSORSHIP EFFORTS OF SPORTS OHIO IN THE FUTURE, UM, RECREATION CAMPUS WILL IMPACT SPONSORSHIPS, UM, THAT WE CONDUCT ELSEWHERE IN THE CITY. UH, THE RFPS ADVERTISE NOW AND PROPOSALS ARE DUE MARCH 4TH. THERE WILL BE A CROSS DEPARTMENTAL INTERNAL TEAM THAT WILL OVERSEE THE PROPOSAL, REVIEW, SELECTION, IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGY, AND WE WILL, OF COURSE, UM, ENGAGE WITH CITY COUNCIL AT CERTAIN MILESTONES THROUGH THAT PROCESS AND THEN ULTIMATELY PRESENT A FINAL STRATEGY TO COUNCIL FOR ADOPTION. SO WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT PROCESS. UM, STAFF'S GONNA BE CONDUCTING A PUBLIC MEETING WITH PROPERTY OWNERS IN THE VICINITY OF THE RIVERSIDE DRIVE WATER, SANITARY AND SHARED USE PATH AREA THREE PROJECT ON MARCH 18TH, UM, AT SIX 30 IN THE CITY'S DEVELOPMENT BUILDING. THE PROJECT'S GONNA BE PERFORMING WATER MAIN EXTENSIONS, TWO AREAS THREE A AND THREE B SANITARY SEWER MAIN EXTENSIONS TO AREAS THREE C, THREE A THREE C, AND PORTIONS OF THREE B SHARED USE PATH CONNECTIONS BETWEEN TANTE DRIVE AND WYANDOT WOODS BOULEVARD AND STREET MAINTENANCE WORK WITHIN THE DREXEL HILLS AND WOODLAND SUBDIVISION. SO WE'RE LEVERAGING SEVERAL OPPORTUNITIES TO ACCOMPLISH THOSE INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS. UM, TIMING FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THIS PROJECT WILL BE DETERMINED THROUGH THE UPCOMING CIP PROCESS AND THIS PUBLIC MEETING. THE PURPOSE OF IT IS INTENDED TO DISCUSS THE OVERALL PROJECT SCOPE, THE PROPOSED ALIGNMENTS, AND ADDRESS PROJECT RELATED CONCERNS. INVITATIONS ARE GONNA BE MAILED TO PROPERTY OWNERS WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF THE PROJECT ON FEBRUARY 10TH. AND THEN FINALLY, I WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO RECOGNIZE BOTH THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RECENT WINTER STORM FERN EVENT AND THE EXCEPTIONAL WORK OF OUR ENTIRE TEAM. THIS WAS THE MOST SUBSTANTIAL WINTER STORM WE'VE EXPERIENCED SINCE 2008. AND IN ADVANCE OF THE STORM, WE CONDUCTED EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PRACTICES TO ENSURE THAT WE WERE [02:00:01] FULLY PREPARED. WE CONFIRMED COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS, CLARIFYING ROLES, COORDINATED ACROSS PUBLIC SERVICE, POLICE, WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, FIRE RECREATION SERVICES, COMMUNICATIONS. UH, THIS REALLY WAS A TRUE CITYWIDE EFFORT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE TOWNSHIP. THAT PREPARATION, UM, ALL POSITIONED US TO RESPOND QUICKLY AND COHESIVELY AS THE CONDITIONS TEST INTENSIFIED THROUGH THAT STORM. SO THE EVENT BEGAN AT 9:00 PM ON JANUARY 24TH. CREWS TRANSITIONED INTO 24 HOUR OPERATIONS THROUGH JANUARY 28TH. WE ADJUSTED OUR STANDARD PROCEDURES DUE TO THE SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF SNOWFALL, AND WE INITIALLY PRIORITIZED MAKING OUR ROADWAYS PASSABLE FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES, UM, THAT NEEDED ACCESS. WE HAD PROLONGED EXTREME COLD THAT LIMITED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF OUR MATERIALS, WHICH IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN MANY OF OUR EVENTS. AND THEN FROM THERE, ONCE WE HAD PASSABLE STREETS, OUR CREWS WERE ABLE TO CONTINUE THEIR EFFORTS, UM, TO WORK ON SYSTEMATICALLY WORKING THEIR WAY ACROSS THE COMMUNITY TO RESTORE ACCESS, UM, TO RESIDENTS BUSINESSES, AND THEN FOCUS ON DETAILED CLEANUP AND GOING BACK TO OUR, UM, CITYWIDE STANDARD OF CURB TO CURB, UH, TREATMENT WHERE FEASIBLE. THEY IMPROVED INTERSECTION VISIBILITY, CLEARED CATCH BASINS, UM, HAULED SNOW FROM CONSTRAINED AREAS IN THE BRIDGE STREET DISTRICT. AND THAT'S AN ENTIRE OPERATION IN ITSELF. IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN THAT. THAT'S PRETTY IMPRESSIVE AND PRETTY RARE THAT WE NEED TO DO THAT. UM, SO JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THE EFFORTS OF THE ENTIRE TEAM. IT TRULY WAS A CITYWIDE EFFORT, PLANNING, COORDINATION, EXECUTION, FOLLOW UP MONITORING. WE RESPONDED TO A LOT OF, UH, CITY REQUESTS AND WERE ABLE TO, UM, FOLLOW UP AND ACCOMMODATE VERY MANY, MANY OF THOSE. UM, I'M EXTREMELY PROUD OF ALL THE PROFESSIONALISM, THE RESILIENCE, UH, LONG WORK HOURS IN VERY STRENUOUS CONDITIONS. UH, GREAT COLLABORATION WAS DEMONSTRATED BY OUR ENTIRE TEAM. ALL THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS WORKED AROUND THE CLOCK FOR MANY DAYS, EXTREME CONDITIONS, UM, AND IT'S ALL IN FURTHERANCE OF KEEPING OUR COMMUNITY SAFE AND MOVING AND ALLOWING OUR RESIDENTS TO LIVE THEIR LIVES. AND THEN ONCE WE WERE DONE WITH THAT, MORE SNOW CAME. SO, UH, AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO BE PREPARING THIS WEEK FOR ALL THAT SNOW TO MELT. AND SO OPERATIONS AND FOCUS WILL START TURNING TOWARDS, UH, DRAINAGE ISSUES. UH, BUT WE, WE ARE PREPARED TO MANAGE THAT. AND THAT IS ALL I HAVE. THANK YOU. WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. UH, OKAY. COUNCIL REPORTS. [COUNCIL REPORTS] WE HAVE JUST ONE THIS EVENING FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE. UH, A REPORT WILL BE DELIVERED BY VICE MAYOR ROSA. THANK YOU. THE ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE MET ON FEBRUARY 3RD, AND WE REALLY HAD TWO TOPICS AND THE FIRST, THIS IS BOARD AND, UH, COMMISSION RECRUITING SEASON. AND, UM, THE COMMITTEE AND STAFF HAVE WORKED HARD TO, YOU KNOW, CONTINUE TO IMPROVE OUR OPERATIONS IN TERMS OF RECRUITING AND GETTING INFORMATION TO RESIDENTS. AND WE TURNED SOME ATTENTION TO WHAT IMPROVEMENTS COULD WE POTENTIALLY MAKE TO OUR WEBSITE, WHICH WE'VE HAD UP AND AROUND FOR A WHILE AND HAVE LEARNED A LOT OF THINGS. SO WE ENGAGED WITH STAFFED AND LOOKED AT HOW COULD WE POTENTIALLY IMPROVE NAVIGATION, LOOK AT POTENTIALLY POSSIBLY INTEGRATING THE VOLUNTEER PORTION OF THE WEBSITE AND THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS BECAUSE IT'S ALL SERVICES THERE. OPPORTUNITY THERE, LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, AS DEVICES HAVE IMPROVED COMPATIBILITY, CLARIFICATION, ET CETERA, ALL IN AN EFFORT TO MAKE IT EASY FOR OUR RESIDENTS TO ENGAGE AND UNDERSTAND. UM, STAFF HAS AGREED TO, UM, BRING BACK A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH AND OPTIONS TO ADDRESSING SOME OF THESE. AND WE'LL PRESENT THAT TO THE COMMITTEE AT A FUTURE MEETING AND THEN WE'LL BRING THAT BACK TO THIS GROUP. SO WE THANK STAFF FOR, UM, THE ONGOING WORK. IT'S NOT AS HARD AS SNOW REMOVAL, BUT IT IS ONGOING WORK. SO THE SECOND THING THE COMMITTEE DID IS, UM, IT IS A RECRUITING SEASON AND AS WE KNOW, WE HAVE HAD AN OPENING ON THE, UM, ARCHITECTURE REVIEW BOARD VACANCY. SO, UM, WE DID SOME RECRUITING FOR THAT AND WE EXPECT TO BRING FORTH A RESOLUTION TO COUNCIL FOR THEIR APPROVAL AT THE FEBRUARY 23RD MEETING. SO, UNLESS MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD, THAT IS THE REPORT FOR THIS EVENING. GREAT. THANK YOU. VERY GOOD. OKAY, WE WILL NOW MOVE ON [COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE] TO COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE. AND I WILL START DOWN ON MY FAR RIGHT. I ACTUALLY DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SHARE. I WILL ASK IF WE COULD GET THE STAFF COMMENT SLIDES IN BOARD PACK, BECAUSE TOMORROW MORNING WHEN I FORGET WHAT YOU SAID, THEN I CAN LOOK IT UP. I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU. THANKS. UM, YES, THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR STAFF FOR THE HELP WITH THE SNOWSTORM. IT WAS AMAZING WHAT YOU DID. JUST ONE REALLY QUICK NOTE. THE, UM, SPORTS OHIO STEERING COMMITTEE MET WITH SPORTS FACILITIES TO JUST TALK ABOUT AND WORK THROUGH SORT OF A BRANDING EXERCISE. SO I WANNA THANK MEGAN FOR PUTTING THAT TOGETHER, BECAUSE IT HAPPENED TO BE ON THAT MONDAY OF THE SNOWSTORM, [02:05:01] SO WE HAD TO DO IT VIRTUALLY, BUT IT WAS A GREAT EXERCISE AND I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, SEEING WHAT THEY COME UP WITH, UM, AS WE MOVE THAT PROJECT FORWARD. THAT'S IT. OKAY. UM, SO JUST TWO, TWO ISSUES THAT I WANT TO BRING UP. WERE JUST TWO THINGS. UH, SO NUMBER ONE, I'VE REACHED OUT TO ALL OF OUR, UM, HOAS AND COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS WITHIN WARD THREE. AND I MET WITH ONE, THE RESERVE ASSOCIATION ON TUESDAY, THE THE THIRD. AND I WANT TO THANK MEGAN AND THE STAFF FOR ADDRESSING A LOT OF THE CONCERNS THAT THEY BROUGHT UP. UH, THE STAFF WAS AMAZING. THEY ADDRESSED IT LITERALLY THE NEXT DAY. UM, AND SO THEY WERE REALLY, REALLY ATTENTIVE. SO THANK YOU. AND ALSO THANK YOU TO STAFF TO YOU AND ALSO ALL THE CITY EMPLOYEES FOR THE TREMENDOUS JOB YOU DID WITH THE, UH, SNOW REMOVAL. THE ONLY REASON WHY I BRING UP THE MEETING THOUGH, IS BECAUSE IT WAS INTERESTING, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE WERE HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, UM, BIG INITIATIVES HERE IN DUBLIN, SURPRISINGLY, I GUESS PERHAPS SURPRISINGLY, A GOOD NUMBER OF PEOPLE WERE NOT AWARE OF SOME OF THE BIG INITIATIVES SUCH AS THE WI THE, UH, PREMIER, UH, ATHLETIC CAMPUS AND ALSO THE METRO CENTER CENTER, UH, REVITALIZATION. UM, AND I ONLY BRING THIS UP BECAUSE I THINK IT ILLUSTRATES A POINT THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT A LOT, AND IT HAS TO DO WITH COMMUNICATION. YOU KNOW, WE THINK WE DO A GREAT JOB, AND INDEED WE DO. IN FACT, WE'VE WON AWARDS FOR OUR COMMUNICATION, BUT IT POINTED OUT THAT THERE'S STILL A DISCONNECT AND PERHAPS THERE'S MORE THAT WE CAN DO, UM, TO HELP WITH COMMUNICATING TO OUR RESIDENTS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE. I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S JUST CAPITALIZING ON SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE OR MAYBE NEW INNOVATIVE WAYS. I KNOW, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER JOHNSON HAD TALKED ABOUT DOING A, UM, A NEWSLETTER, UH, WITH THE RESIDENTS. UM, BUT IT JUST, AGAIN, JUST POINTING OUT TO ME THAT ALTHOUGH WE DO A FANTASTIC JOB, UM, THERE'S STILL A GOOD AMOUNT OF OUR RESIDENTS THAT JUST AREN'T AWARE OF WHAT WE'RE DOING OR JUST AREN'T HEARING IT. AND I WONDER IF IT'S INCUMBENT UPON US TO ACTUALLY REACH OUT OR INCUMBENT UPON THEM. I DON'T KNOW. BUT I JUST, UM, POINTED OUT THAT MAYBE THERE'S SOME WORK THAT WE CAN DO ON THAT. THE SECOND THING I WANNA, UH, JUST MENTION IS THAT, UM, ON SATURDAY I HAVE THE GOOD FORTUNE OF ATTENDING THE LUNAR NEW YEAR, UH, CELEBRATION WITH COUNCIL MEMBER JOHNSON AND, UH, MAYOR GROOMS. UM, THEY HAD AMAZING CULTURAL PERFORMANCES AND IT REALLY, UM, IMPRESSED ME THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF THE DEEP CULTURAL ROOTS RIGHT HERE IN DUBLIN. UM, EV EVERYTHING FROM LIKE THE WATER LILY DANCE TO THE SHU ARTS EVEN HAD AN AUTHENTIC CHINESE ORCHESTRA WITH THREE OF THOSE, UH, PLUCKED ZITHER STRING INSTRUMENTS. UM, I THINK IT'S CALLED THE . I LOOKED IT UP AFTERWARDS, BUT ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. AND I WANT TO PARTICULARLY THANK MAYOR GROOMS FOR HER, UM, WORDS OF WELCOME. UM, AT THE VERY BEGINNING, YOU KNOW, SHE TALKED ABOUT HOW DUBLIN IS BUILT ON DIVERSITY. IT STANDS FOR DIVERSITY, IT CELEBRATES DIVERSITY. UM, SHE MENTIONED THAT THAT'S WHAT MAKES OUR COMMUNITY STRONG, AND I COULD NOT AGREE MORE. SO I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THOSE WORDS. THANKS. UM, AMY AND I, AMY FORGOT TO MENTION, WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, PARTICIPATE IN A CHAMBER EVENT LAST WEEK. UM, WAS ENTITLED UNDERSTANDING THE SCOPE OF GOVERNMENT TIER TEARS, T-E-A-R-S-T-I-E-R-S, I DON'T KNOW, UM, I THINK T-I-E-R-S. UM, UH, WE WERE JOINED BY, UH, JEROME TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE, UH, WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE AND OHIO SENATOR, UM, UH, ANDREW BRENNER WAS THERE. AND SO WE GOT TO MEET WITH THE CLASS FOR A COUPLE HOURS. AND AS YOU SAID, AS AS FAR AS EDUCATION AND INFORMATION, THERE'S JUST A LOT TO BE SHARED ABOUT, UM, HOW GOVERNMENT WORKS AND HOW WE WORK TOGETHER. SO I THANK THE CHAMBER FOR THAT OPPORTUNITY. IT WAS REALLY FUN. I ENJOYED THAT VERY MUCH. AND I WOULD LIKE TO ALSO ADD MY THANKS TO THE SNOW WARRIORS AS I WAS OUT THERE FOR A MERE TWO HOURS, UM, CURSING AT MY SHOVEL WHEN REMOVING SNOW. I THOUGHT I, I CAN'T IMAGINE THE, THE 24 HOURS AND ANOTHER 24 AND ANOTHER 24. AND I THANK EVERYBODY FOR THEIR HEROIC AND FABULOUS WORK. SO, UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. WELL, THANK YOU. UM, I HAD A COUPLE THINGS. UM, AS YOU KNOW, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY AT THE INVITATION IN EXPENSE OF THE MID OHIO REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, TRAVEL TO WASHINGTON, DC LAST WEEK. AND, UH, WE, IT, IT WAS A REALLY INFORMATIVE TRIP. WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH THE US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS LEAD. UM, WE HAD AN FSP, UH, GRANT FOR PASSENGER RAIL THAT WAS DUE LAST FRIDAY. SO SHE GAVE US SOME VERY TIMELY ADVICE AND INSIGHTS ON HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THAT GRANT PROCESS. SO, UM, THAT GRANT IS IN, IT SAYS $6 MILLION GRANT PLANNING GRANT. SO, UH, HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE HEARING ON THAT. UM, IN THE NEAR TERM, I DID ALSO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT THE, UM, FCCI SERVE ON THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, UH, FOR THE FCC. IT HAPPENED TO BE THE SAME DAY THAT ELON MUSK FILED 1 MILLION, UH, UH, SATELLITE, UM, LICENSES. THANK YOU. WOW. UH, IT'S LATE. UM, SO HE FILED IT FOR 1 MILLION [02:10:01] LICENSES FOR SATELLITES ON THAT DAY. AND I THINK THAT WILL HELP MAYBE INFORM SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS WE HAVE ABOUT HOW DATA IS GOING TO MOVE AROUND THIS COUNTRY IN THE NEAR TERM. SO, UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THAT SORT OF CONVERSATION MAYBE AT A WORK SESSION OR SOMETHING, UM, IN THE NEAR FUTURE BECAUSE IT, IT SURPRISED EVERYBODY THERE. AND, UM, IT, IT IS GOING TO PROBABLY CHANGE THE WAY, UM, DEVELOPMENT MAYBE HAPPENS, UH, LARGELY HERE AROUND THE DEVELOPMENT PRESSURE THAT WE'RE SEEING. WE ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH ALL EIGHT, UH, CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES, UH, IN CONGRESS AND IN THE SENATE SIDE. UH, WE MET WITH SENATOR MORENO AND SENATOR HUSTED. WE ALSO MET WITH REPRESENTATIVES KERRY, JORDAN BEATTY, TAYLOR, ALDERSON, AND SYKES, ALL OF OF WHOM REPRESENT A PORTION OF THE MORS C REGION. WE PRESENTED TO THEM THE, UM, COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE PROJECTS THAT MORSEY WOULD BE BRINGING FORWARD IN THIS YEAR. THERE'S A COUPLE OF INTEREST FOR US IN DUBLIN, ONE OF THEM BEING LINK US, AND THEN THE OTHER BEING THE PASSENGER RAIL FOR MIDWEST CONNECT IN THE THREE C AND D. SO, UM, ALSO HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO A DC METRO TOUR WHERE, UH, CERTAINLY LEARNING SOME LESSONS ABOUT TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT AND, AND HOW TRANSIT CAN IMPACT, UM, THE WAY THAT PEOPLE MOVE AND THE PATTERNS AT WHICH THEY CHOOSE. UM, I TOO, WE ENJOYED THE LUNAR NEW YEAR. I WAS GIVEN, UM, MY, MY ZODIAC FOR THE YEAR. UH, MY, IT'S MY, UH, PER THE, HELP ME OUT WITH THE, THE ZODIAC SYMBOLS ARE, ARE NOT, ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE, THE MORE EUROPEAN ZODIAC SYMBOLS, BUT THEY, THEY DON'T LINE UP. I SAID, WELL, I'M A PISCES. AND THEY SAID, WE DON'T HAVE A PISCES. WELL, I, I APPARENTLY AM, AM A PIG IN THE, THE LUNAR NEW YEAR. UM, IT SAYS THAT MY SOCIAL CALENDAR WILL BE PACKED. SUCCESS THIS YEAR WILL COME DIRECTLY THROUGH CONNECTIONS, AND IT'S A GREAT YEAR FOR WEDDINGS OR EXPANDING YOUR FAMILY. SO MY SONS WILL BE REALLY EXCITED, UM, WHEN I SHARE THIS WITH THEM. NO PRESSURE. UH, WE'LL, WE'LL SEE WHAT THAT BRINGS. UM, I TOO WANNA EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION FOR THE, THE, THE HERCULEAN EFFORT IT REALLY TAKES TO DO SNOW REMOVAL. MEGAN HAD 12 INCHES ON HER. UM, ON HER SLIDE PRESENTATION, I MEASURED 15 INCHES AT MY HOUSE ON THE, ON THE BACK PATIO. SO I, IT WAS A, IT WAS A SNOW LIKE WE HAVEN'T SEEN HERE IN, IN QUITE SOME TIME. SO, UM, HAVING BEEN HERE FOR THIS SNOW EVENT AND GOING TO DC WHO HAD A SIMILAR SNOW EVENT, UH, THEY, THEY CERTAINLY COULD COME AND TAKE A NOTE OR TWO BECAUSE THEY CALLED IT, UM, SNOW CREEK THERE BECAUSE IT FELL AND IT FROZE AND NOBODY MOVED ANY OF IT. SO THEY'RE STILL LOCKED IN. THERE'S SNOW CREEK POSITION. SO I DO WANT TO SAY, UM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KEELER WANTED TO PASS ALONG HIS THANKS FOR THOSE EFFORTS AS WELL. AND HE LEFT A NOTE TO SAY, UH, EXPRESS SUCH, UM, I WANNA CONGRATULATE OUR CITY MANAGER ON FRIDAY. WE HAD OUR COMMA MEETING AND SHE WAS VOTED THE VICE CHAIR OF THE, UH, CENTRAL OHIO MAYORS AND MANAGERS ASSOCIATION. SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR LEADERSHIP IN THAT SPACE. UH, AND THEN FINALLY, WEDNESDAY'S A BIG DAY FOR OUR VERY OWN DR. LAMB. SO THIS IS ON BEHALF OF ALL OF YOUR, YOUR CITY FELLOW, CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. WE WISH YOU A WONDERFUL DAY, UH, AND HOPE THAT IT IS JUST FULL OF JOY AND GOOD EXPERIENCES. THANK YOU FOR MY 35TH. 35TH. I'VE HAD A LOT OF THOSE. AT ANY RATE, UH, I THINK IF THERE'S NOTHING FURTHER FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER, WE WILL STAND AJOUR. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.