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Marietta Council addresses blight

RINEHART

Eleven more concentrated minds will be working to address property code enforcement and blight abatement in Marietta following the hiring of a new code enforcement official and the appointment of two ad-hoc advisory committees.

Wayne Rinehart, 58, of Marietta, joined the ranks of city administration Nov. 28 as a part-time employee. Rinehart had previously worked for the city’s engineering department for 32 years prior to his retirement four years ago. He will now serve as the code enforcement official for the city, taking on the responsibility in full in January.

“When this position became available the second time around, I was looking to get back to either part- or full-time work and it aligns with much of my background,” explained Rinehart. “When I was with the city before I did a lot of the duties and monitored demolition and code enforcement and regulations with the engineering department.”

The city administration had previously hired Bret Thomas, 45, of Marietta, on Oct. 6, but following a few days researching the duties of the position, Thomas resigned.

In a second round of receiving applications, Mayor Joe Matthews said Rinehart’s qualifications put him “head and shoulders above the rest.”

“Wayne’s a good worker and his knowledge of the city is great,” said Matthews. “Currently he’s learning the process alongside Beth Tullius in the health department and will take the reins fully come spring.”

Rinehart holds several certifications with the State of Ohio pertaining to inspection and planning of residential zones and flood plain management.

“It was a good fit for me and I hope to be a good fit for Marietta,” said Rinehart.

At Marietta City Council’s Planning, Zoning and Annexation Committee Thursday, Josh Schlicher, president of council, also announced the members of the two ad-hoc committees concerning blight and code enforcement.

“I went through two weeks of working on both of these and tried to pick out the best combination of people who have experience both with business and with low-income housing interests,” he explained. “I did also include one person on each committee who does not currently live within city limits, but both have previously and both hold real estate within the city.”

Chair of the committee, Sarah Snow, R-at large, said she will next set guidelines and goals for each committee in conjunction with city administration.

Other business

Marietta City Council’s Water and Sewer Committee also met jointly with Finance Committee Thursday to discuss water and sewer rates for 2017. Assistant Safety-Service Director Bill Dauber explained to council that while volume rates saw a slight increase for sewer usage, the administrative fee had declined in an effort to keep rates flat.

“But we cannot guarantee that will remain flat in the coming years after the renovation of the wastewater treatment plant is complete and we need to begin paying back the debt service,” Dauber explained.

Sewer bills in 2017 will have a $15.01 administrative fee attached to each bi-monthly bill on top of a $5.38 rate per 100 cubic feet of usage. In 2016 the administrative fee was $15.63 per bi-monthly bill and the volume rate was $5.30 per 100 cubic feet of usage.

Water rates will remain the same as this year with the three-tier billing system still in place a rate of $5.09 per 100 cubic feet for first 7,000 cubic feet of usage, $4.23 per 100 cubic feet for 7,001 cubic feet through 24,999 cubic feet of usage and $3.79 per 100 cubic feet for the usage of 25,000 cubic feet and above.

Committees

Marietta Property Code Task Force Committee 2017:

≤ John Lehman, Marietta commercial and residential rental property owner, owner and president of Alliance Industries Inc., an employer in Marietta.

≤ Bob Forbes, Marietta resident and property owner.

≤ Stanley Lang, Marietta resident and property owner.

≤ Jon Grimm, Marietta resident and property owner.

≤ Bret Allphin, Marietta resident and property owner.

Source: Josh Schlicher, president of Marietta City Council.

Marietta Blight Removal Task Force Committee 2017:

≤ Bryan Waller, Former Marietta resident,  current Marietta business and property owner.

≤ Kathy Boersma, Marietta resident, property owner and brings 40 years of experience with a government organization serving low income residents and tenants.

≤ Bill Standish, Marietta resident, Marietta property owner and current member of the city Building Enforcement Board.

≤ Susan Boyer, Marietta resident and property owner.

≤ Bill Gossett, Marietta resident and property owner.

Source: Josh Schlicher, president of Marietta City Council.

Marietta water and sewer rates 2017

≤ Water billing tier structure and rates per 100 cubic feet:

≤ Tier 1: $5.09 for first 7,000 cubic feet.

≤ Tier 2: $4.23 for 7,001 cubic feet through 24,999 cubic feet.

≤ Tier 3: $3.79 for 25,000 cubic feet and above.

≤ Typical residential water bills:

≤ Home use of 500 cubic feet:

≤ Bi-monthly: $25.45.

≤ Annual: $152.70.

≤ Home use of 1000 cubic feet:

≤ Bi-monthly: $50.90.

≤ Annual: $305.40.

≤ Home use of 1500 cubic feet:

≤ Bi-monthly: $76.35.

≤ Annual: $458.10.

≤ Total water usage in Marietta per year based on previous consumption rates – 581,033,250 gallons.

≤ One person averages 200 to 600 cubic feet of water use every two months.

≤ 100 cubic feet equals approximately 7.5 gallons.

≤ Sewer billing structure and rates:

≤ Administrative fee: $15.01.

≤ Volume rate per 100 cubic feet of sewage: $5.38.

≤ Typical residential sewer bills:

≤ Home use of 500 cubic feet:

≤ Bi-monthly: $41.91.

≤ Annual: $251.46.

≤ Home use of 1000 cubic feet:

≤ Bi-monthly: $68.81.

≤ Annual: $412.86.

≤ Home use of 1500 cubic feet:

≤ Bi-monthly: $95.71.

≤ Annual: $574.26.

Source: Assistant Safety-Service Director Bill Dauber.

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