Illegally parking in a handicap spot in Delaware may eventually cost drivers $250 on the first offense — more than six times the current fine.

“It brings us into compliance with the Ohio Revised Code,” said Delaware police Chief Bruce Pijanowski during City Council’s Monday meeting.

The current fine structure is $40 for the first violation, $65 for the second and $1,000 for the third. Under the proposed ordinance, the fine would be $250 on the first offense, $300 for the second and $500 for the third.

Pijanowski said the maximum fine allowed by state law is $500, half of the city code’s current fine.

Additionally, the proposed legislation would tweak the language of other parking and traffic laws of the city.

The legislation would include a $25 fine for parking outside of the lines to the fee schedule.

It would prohibit parking 20 feet of a mid-block crosswalk. Pijanowski said the exclusion was realized after police started issuing parking violations for cars parked on North Union Street, which had an increase in street parking because of nearby construction.

And the ordinance would clear up language regarding the parking of a commercial vehicle. City code now prohibits trucks or commercial vehicles of a rated weight of more than “one ton” from parking. Pijanowski said the one ton terminology is outdated and the legislation would replace it with vehicle classes.

Council scheduled a public hearing and second reading of the legislation for 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26.

But no one spoke from the public during the hearing on requests from Delaware Housing Corp. to rezone .88 acres near Londontown Apartments, which Council approved. DHC purchased the acres in 2014 to expand to the complex’s parking lot by 20 spaces with with the inclusion of a 1,400-square-foot play area, all of which would be surrounded by a security fence and connected to the exiting clubhouse and sidewalk.

In other development news, Council approved Pulte Homes’ final subdivision plans and plats for three sections at the Communities of Glenross, located between the Glenross Golf Course and railroad on Cheshire Road. The three sections combined consists of 97 single-family lots and more than 32 acres,

Council also approved Pulte’s final development plans and plats for the Heatherton project. The phase for the project consists of 32 single-family lots on 9.020 acres which are accessed by streets in Elbridge and Clymer streets and a street in Burgoyne Street.

Both of Pulte’s requests were approved on the second reading, while Westport Homes’ requests to approve final subdivision plats for Lantern Chase development were tabled for a second reading. The plats consists of 80 single-family lots on about 39 acres located on Gelmsbury Drive, Connaught Place, Cedar Creek Street and Lanthorn Pond Drive; and Connaught Place and Marblehead Drive.

In other business, Council:

• Approved the sale of a Street Department 2000 International 4900 Dump Truck that has outgrown its useful serviceable life at a minimum bid of $5,000.

• Approved the additional funding of $40,000 from the general fund to engineering to cover the costs for cleanup and repairs of City Hall’s basement, which was flooded with 10 inches of water due to a severe storm. The majority of the expense occurred to stored records and mechanical equipment including the elevator. The city will be submitting an insurance claim and is expected to be able to recover the majority of flood related cleanup and maintenance expenses. It’s been recommended to no longer store any critical records within the basement levels of City Hall, nor the former Gazette and Engineering buildings.

• Authorized the city manager to enter an agreement with the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program. The Delaware Police Department currently has two detectives assigned to the Delaware County Drug Task Force, where they conduct narcotics investigations related to drug trafficking within the City of Delaware and Delaware County. At times, these cases are adopted for federal prosecution due to interstate or international connections. The OCDETF program allows for reimbursement of local overtime costs related to these joint investigations.

• Authorized the city manager to have a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations. The MOU would confer limited federal authority to the detectives assigned to the drug task force and allowing them to work cooperatively with state and federal partners on local cases that are ultimately federally prosecuted. It also ensures the city is elgible for federal reimbursement of overtime costs associated with the investigations.

• Authorized the city manager to enter into an MOU with Multi-Agency Crisis Intervention Team, which is a broad group of local law enforcement, medical, and social service partners/stakeholders that meet and work collaboratively to provide services to Delaware County residents suffering from mental illness.
• Provide funding for the Rutheford B. Hayes memorial’s conceptual drawings. The cost of the designs is $5,000 with the city contributing $500. Donations were collected by the Delaware County Foundation but the city is acting as a the pass through of funds in order to make payments to the design firm.

• Approved additional funding of $20,000 to the Department of Administrative Services, which administers the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation program for the city. The department sometimes consults with outside legal counsel that specializes in BWC matters and third party medical providers to conduct medical examinations to support the city’s position. The department has experienced an increase over past years in the number of cases, which require outside professional services, but lack the funds to complete the work needed in 2016.

• Transferred $18,000 in funds to the Court Indigent Driver Interlock Alcohol Monitoring fund. The transfer was needed because of an error in posting municipal court indigent alcohol treatment fees. The IDIAM fees are used to pay for electronic monitoring devices for alcohol related offenses.
• A resolution to accept changes to the agreement with the Ohio Council #8 American Federation of State, County and Municipal and Local 3934, which includes a 2-percent wage increase each year, which is consistent with other contracts, according to city attorney Darren Shulman.