200 South Hamilton Road

Gahanna, Ohio 43230

City of Gahanna

Meeting Minutes

Committee of the Whole

Trenton I. Weaver, Chair

Merisa K. Bowers

Jamille Jones

Nancy R. McGregor

Kaylee Padova

Stephen A. Renner

Michael Schnetzer

Jeremy A. VanMeter, Clerk of Council

Monday, August 25, 2025

7:00 PM

City Hall, Council Chambers

CALL TO ORDER:

Gahanna City Council met for Committee of the Whole on Monday, August

25, 2025, in Council Chambers. Vice President of Council Trenton I. Weaver,

Chair, called the meeting to order at 7:20 p.m., noting Council’s adjournment

from a Special Meeting delayed the opening of Committee of the Whole. The

agenda was published on August 22, 2025. All members were present for

the meeting. There were no additions or corrections to the agenda.

Vice President Weaver reminded members that the next Regular Council

meeting would be on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, as City of Gahanna

offices are closed on Monday, September 1, 2025, in observance of Labor

Day.

ITEMS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES:

RES-0035-2025 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF GAHANNA TO EXIT

THE JOINT SELF-INSURANCE AGREEMENT WITH THE CENTRAL

OHIO HEALTH CARE CONSORTIUM (COHCC)

Miranda Vollmer, Senior Director of Administrative Services, presented

information about employee health insurance and summarized a memo and

recommendations from the City of Gahanna’s benefits advisor, NFP. She

said the City of Gahanna contracted with NFP in 2024 to assess the financial

and operational implications of transitioning to a self-funded model and that

NFP conducted an RFP (Request for Proposal) for health benefit services in

2025. Vollmer said staff and partners conducted finalist interviews for

pharmacy benefit management and that about 25 city employees and union

partners participated in finalist demonstrations for a wellness program.

Vollmer said NFP recommended that the City of Gahanna exit the Central

Ohio Health Care Consortium (COHCC) effective January 1, 2026, and

establish a standalone self-funded program. She said the proposal would

preserve UMR for health insurance and RxBenefits for prescription drug

coverage, maintaining the same vendors the City of Gahanna used through

the COHCC so employees would experience no disruption. She said the City

of Gahanna would run an RFP for a stop-loss carrier in August 2025 with

stop-loss coverage to take effect January 1, 2026. Vollmer stated NFP

recommended exiting the contract with OSU for urgent care and wellness

and transitioning to First Stop Health for 24/7 virtual urgent care,

PeopleEQ/WellnessIQ for an enhanced, technology-driven wellness

program, and CuraLinc for employee assistance services. She said CuraLinc

would provide employees and dependents with 24/7 access to certified

mental health professionals and that first responders would receive a

dedicated SupportLink phone line staffed by trauma-informed counselors.

Senior Director Vollmer summarized projected financial impacts. She said

the top chart in the NFP report compared estimated 2026 costs under the

proposed vendor arrangements (green) with the costs of remaining in the

COHCC (orange). She said the City of Gahanna transitioned ancillary

benefits, which included dental, vision, and life insurance, to MetLife in 2024.

Vollmer said the transition would produce projected savings of roughly

$800,000 as a minimum for 2026. She said UMR projected a 4.2 lower

spend compared with consortium levels, that pharmacy costs could fall up to

8.1% below the consortium agreement, that First Stop Health would offer

significant savings compared with OSU urgent care (OSU proposed a $270

per-visit fee while First Stop Health would cost about $13,000 for the entire

year), and that the wellness program would yield more than $10,000 in

savings. She said NFP projected a 0% premium increase for employees in

2026 under the proposed model. Vollmer said the City of Gahanna would

include all appropriations for the program in the 2026 operating budget that

staff would present in October. Vollmer outlined two resolutions staff

requested: one to exit the COHCC under the joint self-insurance agreement

(with notice required by October) and a second to establish a health benefits

self-insurance program, authorize Mayor Jadwin to execute related

third-party administrative agreements for health, prescription drug, and

stop-loss services, and authorize the Finance Director to establish an

internal service fund for the self-insurance program.

Councilmember Schnetzer asked for clarification about the consortium and

the City of Gahanna’s role in it. Vollmer confirmed that the COHCC had

twelve members and that Gahanna stood among the largest members. She

said, by contrast, the consortium faced a minimum projected 9% increase for

2026 while the City of Gahanna’s proposed standalone arrangement would

allow a 0% premium increase for employees. Vollmer explained that,

historically, the City of Gahanna performed well on its health insurance

experience over the past three to five years and that when the City of

Gahanna’s claims fell below premiums, the excess premiums flowed into

consortium reserves, which the consortium used to pay other members

whose claims exceeded premiums. Schnetzer asked whether the City of

Gahanna would remove itself from the consortium pool and rely solely on its

own employees, and Vollmer confirmed that the City of Gahanna would

become its own pool. He asked whether NFP would act as the actuary and

run the calculations to determine required contributions, and Vollmer

confirmed that state code required NFP to run actuarial calculations annually

and report recommended reserve levels. She said she, Director Bury, and

Senior Deputy Director Wybensinger were working on seeding the internal

service fund in the 2026 budget to protect against unexpected catastrophic

claims and to avoid a steep premium increase in 2027. Schnetzer asked

about risks to a self-insurance model and whether the City of Gahanna could

layer reinsurance in the early years. Vollmer said the City of Gahanna would

purchase stop-loss coverage with a deductible of $100,000 so that any claim

exceeding that amount would qualify for stop-loss reimbursement.

Councilmember Renner asked whether the proposed change meant the City

of Gahanna would remove OSU urgent care and move entirely to virtual

care. Senior Director Vollmer replied that the City of Gahanna currently paid

about $200,000 per year to OSU Urgent Care so employees and their

dependents could receive certain services at no charge. She explained that

the City of Gahanna would fund First Stop Health at 100 percent, that First

Stop Health would provide a virtual appointment and arrange partner labs

when necessary, and that those services would fall under the $13,000

annual fee. Vollmer said employees could choose to visit another urgent

care or an emergency room, but those visits would run through UMR medical

claims. She added that the City of Gahanna expected First Stop Health

usage to keep charges off the medical plan and that First Stop Health would

reimburse the City of Gahanna if utilization did not meet agreed milestones.

Councilmember Renner noted the City of Gahanna would increase wellness

programming and encouraged better health behaviors; Vollmer confirmed

the City of Gahanna planned to expand wellness offerings. She described

PeopleEQ’s wellness platform, including a gamified app and website, short

instructional videos, and an annual strategy review that would use biometric

data to recommend targeted well-being programs.

Councilmember McGregor asked where employees would obtain X-rays or

blood draws if they used First Stop Health. Vollmer said First Stop Health

would use partner providers to perform labs and imaging and that the First

Stop Health clinician would follow up with the employee; she reiterated that

employees could instead seek care at an urgent care facility or emergency

room of their choice. Vollmer observed that many employees remained on

high-deductible plans early in the year and that providing a free virtual option

encouraged cost-conscious care and kept plan claims lower. She added that

Human Resources and she reviewed First Stop Health’s partner locations

and found partners throughout the outer belt of the Columbus area.

Councilmember Jones asked whether employees would experience other

changes beyond the switch from OSU to First Stop Health and how

seamless the transition would be. Vollmer said employees would experience

no disruption because the City of Gahanna would remain on the UMR

(UnitedHealthcare) medical network and continue prescription coverage

through RxBenefits/Express Scripts. She said staff would implement the

administrative transition away from the consortium, that employees would

receive new insurance cards in January, and that the visible changes for

employees would be the new EAP, the virtual urgent care, and the new

wellness program.

President Bowers noted that the HSA (Health Savings Account) would

remain in place and that contributions would remain the same for the

moment; Vollmer confirmed that statement.

Vice President Weaver summarized that he was not hearing any decrease in

benefits for staff; Vollmer agreed and added that the plan would increase

benefits while lowering cost.

Councilmember McGregor asked what financial exposure the City of

Gahanna faced if the plan experienced a catastrophic claim. Vollmer

explained that insurers evaluated premiums using data from the last five

years, the last three years, and the last year, and that actuaries could

identify one-time high-cost claims (for example, a premature baby) and treat

them as one-time costs rather than ongoing expenses. She said the City of

Gahanna would fund a self-insurance reserve similar to the existing risk

insurance fund and could request additional Council appropriations if a

catastrophic loss occurred in the first year. Vollmer noted that employees

paid a monthly premium (the single plan cost ran about $850) and that the

City of Gahanna would draw from the reserve to pay claims that exceeded

premium collections each month.

Recommendation: Introduction/Adoption on Consent Agenda on 9/2/2025.

RES-0036-2025

RESOLUTION

SELF-INSURANCE

EMPLOYEES AND

PROGRAM

AUTHORIZE

ESTABLISH

HEALTH

CITY OF

MAYOR TO

BENEFITS

GAHANNA

EXECUTE

FOR

THE

RELATED AGREEMENTS FOR THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATIVE

SERVICES FOR HEALTH AND PRESCRIPTION DRUG COVERAGE

AND STOP LOSS INSURANCE EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2026; AND

TO AUTHORIZE THE FINANCE DIRECTOR TO ESTABLISH AN

INTERNAL SERVICE FUND

Recommendation: Introduction/Adoption on Consent Agenda on 9/2/2025.

ITEMS FROM THE SENIOR DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS:

RES-0039-2025 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN

ELECTRIC

FOLLOWING

RECOMMENDATION

AUTHORIZING

AGREEMENT

SUPPLY

TRADITION

AGREEMENT

ENERGY'S

FOR

PRICING

CITY

FACILITIES

ANALYSIS

AND

EFFECTUATE

(OMNIA

PARTNERS

ACTIONS

PROCUREMENT)

Senior Deputy Director Corey Wybensinger reported that the resolution

before Council would authorize Mayor Jadwin to enter into an electric supply

agreement for City of Gahanna facilities. He stated that the agreement would

cover 67 electric utility accounts for municipal buildings, park facilities,

streetlights, lift stations, and other citywide operations. He reminded Council

that Senior Director Schultz and he discussed the citywide accounts on the

May 12, 2025, agenda and said this action followed from those

conversations. Wybensinger explained that staff engaged an independent

energy advisor, Tradition Energy, through the Omnia Partners consortium to

secure competitive pricing and favorable contract terms. He said Tradition

Energy provided market analysis and indicative pricing and that recent

market variables flattened pricing. He reported that staff planned to pursue a

12-month term rather than lock into a longer contract, and that staff obtained

pricing for both 100 percent renewable and traditional energy, to compare

the data. Wybensinger stated that, based on current indicators, staff

intended to pursue 100 percent renewable supply for all 67 accounts for the

December 2025 to December 2026 term if the pricing proved cost feasible.

He said the current numbers showed roughly a $9,600 differential for

converting about 4 million kilowatt-hours to 100 percent renewable. He

described the procurement timeline: staff expected the item on the

September 2, 2025, agenda, Tradition Energy would solicit market bids on

September 3, 2025, staff would receive pricing between 10:00 a.m. and

noon that day, and staff typically needed to return a signed agreement

between 4:00 and 4:30 p.m. to lock those rates. He added that staff would

not have to accept unfavorable pricing and that the market could place staff

under greater pressure in October 2025 if pricing did not arrive favorably. He

noted an indicative price of approximately $0.07 per kilowatt-hour and that

Tradition Energy could leverage bundled purchases to obtain better rates.

He requested that Council adopt the resolution authorizing the Mayor to

enter the electric supply agreement in accordance with Tradition Energy’s

analysis and recommendation.

Councilmember Renner thanked Wybensinger for the thorough presentation,

noted the market volatility, and asked whether staff would report back with

the options and final decision. Wybensinger replied that the resolution

required staff to provide Council with a copy of the signed agreement within

ten days, which would include terms, conditions, and rates.

Councilmember McGregor confirmed the approximately $9,600 difference

between renewable and traditional options, and Wybensinger replied that the

differential reflected consumption of just over four million kilowatt-hours.

Recommendation: Introduction/Adoption on Regular Agenda on 9/2/2025.

ITEMS FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY:

RES-0038-2025 A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY ATTORNEY TO ENTER

INTO THE PURDUE DIRECT SETTLEMENT

City Attorney Tamilarasan explained that she requested a resolution

authorizing her to enter into the Purdue direct settlement, a national opioid

settlement. She recalled that Council adopted a resolution in 2021 that joined

the One Ohio plan to allocate state-distributed settlement funds among

participating municipalities. She reported that the City of Gahanna accrued a

little more than $123,000 in the opioid settlement fund to date and that the

City of Gahanna had not yet expended those funds. She noted that new

national settlements continued to emerge and that each settlement required

participating entities to submit a new participation form. Although she

believed the original ordinance implicitly covered participation in One Ohio

settlements, she requested explicit Council authority to participate in the

Purdue settlement to ensure Council knew of and approved of the action.

Tamilarasan stated that she planned further research into permissible uses

of the opioid settlement funds and the associated reporting requirements.

She observed that the funds generally targeted remediation of the opioid

crisis, with emphasis on prevention and treatment, and she likened the

anticipated program to a grant model that would fund gaps in prevention and

treatment services. She reiterated that the settlement payments accrued

over time and represented an additional opportunity for the City of Gahanna

to accept available funds.

President Bowers asked whether the roughly $123,000 represented the

funds the City of Gahanna already received from prior settlements or an

expected additional amount from the Purdue settlement. Tamilarasan replied

that the figure represented the aggregate amount the City of Gahanna

accrued so far through all settlements and added that the City of Gahanna

participated in about a dozen settlements by virtue of its One Ohio

membership.

Councilmember Jones asked whether the City of Gahanna faced any time

limit for using the accrued funds. Tamilarasan answered that the City of

Gahanna held the funds with no immediate deadline to spend them,

explained that individual payments tended to be relatively small and accrued

over time, and noted that the City of Gahanna had about four years of

accrued funds. She added that the City of Gahanna faced strict time limits

for reporting and monitoring any funds once it deployed them.

Recommendation: Introduction/Adoption on Consent Agenda on 9/2/2025.

Discussion: Review of Council Rules of Procedure

City Attorney Tamilarasan reported that she undertaken a review of the

Council Rules of Procedure concerning the format of legislation, specifically

the use of ordinances, resolutions, motions, and other legislative forms. She

stated that her review considered historical trends, statutory requirements,

and practices in neighboring communities. She said she recommended

written guidelines for when to use each legislative mechanism and that,

absent a statutory need for an ordinance, a resolution would suffice.

Tamilarasan explained that she drafted a redline and solicited comments

from the Clerk of Council and administration before circulating the draft to

Council. She anticipated returning the redline for the next Committee of the

Whole for review. She noted that the recommendation to favor resolutions

helped explain why the Council recently saw more resolutions than usual.

She identified the exceptions that would continue to require ordinances,

including changes to the codified code, appropriations of funds, and the

acquisition or disposition of property. She stated that resolutions would

suffice for purely administrative actions and for authorizations such as her

authority to enter the Purdue opioid settlement or the mayor’s authority to

enter certain contracts. Tamilarasan added that she reviewed the legislative

pathway and observed that practice required legislation to originate in

Committee of the Whole and then proceed to the full body of Council, with

referrals back to Committee of the Whole occurring only when further

discussion proved necessary. She said she would examine whether the rules

clearly reflected that practice. She invited discussion and questions.

Vice President Weaver thanked the City Attorney, invited questions, and

asked Council to watch their inboxes for the redline and related materials,

noting that Council would discuss the matter in two weeks.

ITEMS FROM THE COUNCIL OFFICE:

ORD-0037-2025 AN

CORRECT THE ADDRESS FOR CENTERPOINT CHURCH FROM

670 MCCUTCHEON ROAD TO 620 MCCUTCHEON ROAD,

SUBSTITUTING EXHIBIT B WITH A CORRECTED EXHIBIT B, AND

ORDINANCE

AMENDING

ORDINANCE

NO.

0027-2025 TO

DECLARING THIS ACTION TO BE

RECORD

CORRECTION FOR THE

Clerk VanMeter explained that Council had before it a draft ordinance to

amend Ordinance 0027-2025, which Council approved on July 7, 2025. He

said the July 7, 2025, ordinance authorized Mayor Jadwin to enter into an

access easement agreement with CenterPoint Church, but the supplemental

agreement incorrectly listed the church address as 670 McCutcheon Road

rather than 620 McCutcheon Road. He stated that the title and body of the

ordinance required amendment to correct that error and allow the

supplemental agreement to proceed, and he confirmed that the easement

itself contained the correct address and parcel.

Vice President Weaver asked for discussion and, noting the correction, said

he assumed all proper filings would be made once everything was corrected.

Councilmember McGregor asked whether the error held anything up. Clerk

VanMeter deferred to the City Attorney. City Attorney Tamilarasan replied

that the supplemental agreement deadlines lay far enough in the future that

the error would not cause a delay, and she confirmed that the easement,

based on the original ordinance, could be executed and recorded.

Recommendation: Introduction/First Reading on Regular Agenda on 9/2/2025;

Second Reading/Adoption on Consent Agenda on 9/15/2025.

ITEMS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE:

ORD-0038-2025 A N

O R D I N A N C E A U T H O R I Z I N G

S U P P L E M E N T A L

APPROPRIATIONS - General Fund and OCJS Grant Fund

Director of Finance Joann Bury stated she had two items related to the

midyear review of appropriations. She requested supplemental

appropriations and explained the requests as shown on the table in the

finance report. She said the request included a transfer to the Ohio Public

Works Commission (OPWC) fund because grant and loan dollars came in

slightly under actual expenditures, which would return that fund to a positive

balance. She added payroll items for Mayor’s Court and contract services for

the Justice Fund in the Police Department. She said the department received

grant reimbursements and planned to apply those reimbursements toward

additional public safety expenditures.

Recommendation: Introduction/First Reading on Regular Agenda on 9/2/2025;

Second Reading/Adoption on Consent Agenda on 9/15/2025.

RES-0037-2025

RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS

Public Safety Contract Services and State Treasury Contract Services

to Materials and Supplies Accounts

Director Bury clarified that the second item represented a transfer. She said

projections identified a surplus on the Police Department’s contract services

line and a shortfall in materials and supplies, and she explained they would

transfer the appropriations to address that imbalance.

Recommendation: Introduction/Adoption on Consent Agenda on 9/2/2025.

ADJOURNMENT:

With no further business before the Committee of the Whole, the Chair

adjourned the meeting at 7:56 p.m.