E-News
September 2016
Last Day of Brush Collection

The Village's Maintenance Department crew will concentrate on bulk leaf collection during mid-October through December.    The last pick-up day for residents will be their regularly scheduled pick-up day during the week of October 3 through October  7.  Brush pick-up will resume in January.  

SJS Packaging Expands Services 
For the past 25 years, SJS Packaging Group has been located on Wiehe Road in the Village.  We are pleased to share with residents that SJS recently acquired a Kentucky based graphic art company, Patron Graphics and has relocated to their Amberley Village facility.

In addition to the acquisition, SJS has added new digital printing and die cutting equipment to expandservices and allow for faster delivery of their products.  The new high speed Heidelberg ProMatrix 106 CS die cutter is the first to be delivered in the United States.  This press allows for large 40 inch sheets at speeds up to 8,000 per hour.

This expansion of services adds the capabilities of digital printing and wide format printing for signage, banners and point-of-purchase displays.  Their new Canon Digital C700 printing press allows for quick production of small quantity printing at far less cost than offset printing with faster completion of orders.  An on-staff graphic designer is available for producing concept through production for customers.

The Village congratulates SJS Packaging and appreciates their reinvestment into our community.
Upcoming Public Hearing
Re-Zoning 17 Acres at 2100 Section Road

At its August 1 meeting the Planning Commission recommended approval of the Port Authority's request to re-zone 17.6 of its 56-acre property from Residential A and B to Industrial A to create a uniformly zoned parcel and match the balance of the property's zoning.

Next, Village Council will hold a public hearing on September 12 at 6:30 p.m. to receive public input on the proposed re-zoning as described in Ordinance 2016-13 to amend the zoning map to re-zone the Port Authority's 17.6 acres located at 2100 Section Road.  Residents wishing to speak will have an opportunity to sign up at the meeting.

WHEN: Monday, September 12 at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE: Amberley Village Municipal Building,                 7149 Ridge Road, Council Chambers

Questions may be directed to the administration office at 531-8675. 
Water Main Replacement in Aracoma Neighborhood

Delayed from the anticipated August 1 start date, Greater Cincinnati Water Works (GCWW) notified the Village that plans will proceed in mid-late September to replace the water main in the Aracoma neighborhood.  The project includes Aracoma Drive, East and West Aracoma and Aracoma Forest Drive and is estimated to take approximately 6 months.  The diameter of the water main will increase from 6 inches to 8 inches.

Greater Cincinnati Water Works will replace the older cast iron water main with new ductile iron pipe which is a more durable material and is longer lasting.  The project will result in better water flow to fire hydrants and residential users.  The Village has purchased new fire hydrants to be installed by Cincinnati Water Works as a part of the project, which provides a cost savings to the Village for the installation.

Greater Cincinnati Water Works will post signage to direct and maintain traffic.  During construction hours, a segment of the road being worked on may be closed to through traffic, at times, which will be re-routed temporarily.  The entire road will be open and available for traffic during non-construction hours.

During the months of construction, metal road plates and temporary patching will be utilized throughout this major construction project.  After the completion of the water main work, final resurfacing of these streets will be performed, which is a cost shared between the Greater Cincinnati Water Works and Amberley Village's annual road rehabilitation program funds for the pavement replacement.  
Filling Potholes & Sealing Cracks 
The Maintenance Department's street maintenance program includes crack sealing on several streets throughout the Village which began in late August and will continue through September this summer. The department's crack sealing program slows the deterioration of Village Streets, reduces the potential development of pot holes and strengthens the roadways for the winter season. 

This maintenance prevents water from getting into the cracks and base layer of the street.  Preventing the water from entering the surface of the pavement prevents the freezing and thawing in the cracks and the weakening of the base layer, both causing pot holes and deterioration of the street.   Water intrusion is the most damaging element to roadways, thus crack sealing is a vital step in maintaining Village streets.
 
As part of its ongoing multi-faceted approach to street maintenance, the Department also continuously fills potholes in the roadways throughout the year. Filling potholes and sealing cracks provides relief to drivers and prolongs the life of the street by several years.
 
With this combination of preventive maintenance and rehabilitation programs the Village continues the legacy of caring for its largest capital investment, our infrastructure.  
 
ROADS SCHEDULED FOR CRACK SEALING
 
Streets
Beechlands Drive
Ridgeway Close
Winding Way (East)
Elbrook Ave. (South of Section)
Creekwood Lane
Knoll Road
Burning Tree Lane
Whitetree Circle
Arborcrest Drive
Hudson Pkwy. (Ridge to Farmcrest)
Sorrento Drive
Lansdowne Fire Lane
Fair Acres Drive
 
THIS PROGRAM IS SCHEDULED TO RUN FROM AUGUST THROUGH SEPTEMBER
 
Tennis Court Repairs 
Repairs will be performed on the tennis courts located next to the municipal building in September.  

Please call ahead at 531-8675 to ensure the courts are available for play. 
Thanks to Our Police Intern!
 
P.O. Mercer, Raven Jackson, and P.O. Gehring
Thanks to our intern Raven Jackson for joining us for the summer!  The Amberley Village Police-Fire Department's second shift officers had the pleasure of having a student intern riding along over the summer.

Raven Jackson, a 2014 graduate of Walnut Hills High School is currently attending her third year at the University of Cincinnati in the Criminal Justice Bachelor Degree program. Raven aspires to become a defense attorney someday and chose to spend her summer riding with the Amberley Village Police Department.  She logged a total of one hundred-twelve hours! She responded with officers to many types of emergency calls, traffic stops and assisted with paperwork. 

Raven characterized her experience as interesting, exciting and extremely educational.  She described the police department as fair, relaxed, professional and a great mix of officers. Raven stated that she enjoyed interacting with residents but her favorite aspect of her internship was responding to emergency calls with officers in the fire truck.   We wish her all the best!
Check Your Speed
 
Amberley Village Police Department has been responsive and proactive to enforcement of the speed limit in the Village.  While speed monitoring devices are able to alert drivers to slow down and assist our officers in curtailing speeding, each individual driver can control their speed and adhere to the speed limits on our roadways.  Village Police are aware through their efforts to reduce speeding that residents should also slow down.

Speeding is a controllable factor incumbent upon the individual driver to maintain the posted speed limit, which ranges from 25 to 35 mph for most Village roadways.  The Department will continue to enforce the speed limit to reduce driving speed in the Village and would like to heighten residents' awareness of their own speed as we continue to work together to keep our roadways safe.
Fall into Compost
  
WHEN : Wednesday, September 28 from 7-8 p.m.

WHERE : Amberley Village Municipal Building
 7149 Ridge Road
 Community Room (lower level entrance)

WHY :    Autumn is the best time of year to gather leaves for                 your compost pile!

At this seminar you will learn the basics of backyard composting.  Participants learn how to balance a compost bin, what materials are compostable, and some troubleshooting.

At the end of the hour, Hamilton County residents will receive a free kitchen collector, a "Simple Guide to Composting in Your Backyard" booklet, and an "I heart compost" magnet.

Sponsor:  The Environmental Stewardship Committee.  For more information and to reserve your spot, call 531-8675 or email Kathie Kraemer.

Reservations are needed to ensure enough seats and supplies.
MSD Response to Sewer Backups

During the recent heavy rainstorms the Metropolitan Sewer District reported an intense increase in sewer backups and has shared the following information on how to report a backup to help them respond efficiently in these situations:
  • If possible, report sewer backups online in lieu of using the MSD telephone hotline.  MSD received over 500 reports of potential sewer backups in a recent storm event.  That's about one report per minute.  As a result, their telephone hotline (352-4900) experienced an extreme volume of calls.  Please use their online reporting system at http://sbu.msdgc.org/sbu/page/report-sewer-backup.aspx. MSD does not handle flooding or overland flooding, so please do not report these types of incidents.
  • Let them know if you have standing sewage.  If you have standing sewage in your home or business, please report this ASAP, including depth of the sewage at http://sbu.msdgc.org/sbu/page/report-sewer-backup.aspx. MSD will send out crews to pump out standing sewage from basements.  In the interim, please stay out of any areas with standing sewage.
  • Arrange for your own cleanup, if at all possible.  It could take days for an MSD crew to visit your home and investigate the sewer backup incident.  You are encouraged to contact your own restoration contractor for cleanup.  MSD will reimburse you for reasonable costs, provided the sewer backup was caused by a capacity issue in the public sewer.  This is determined through an investigation by MSD crews.  MSD will look at the amount of rainfall in your area and the capacity of the sewer.
MSD can alert you when conditions are likely for sewer overflows and basement backups.  There are two ways to receive alerts:  

By phone: Call the CSO Information Line at (513) 244-5116 to listen to the latest notification. By email: If you would like to sign up to receive a CSO advisory by email, please click on this link from the MSD website: http://bit.ly/298MJUj.  For more information, visit http://www.msdgc.org/.  
Print Newsletter in October

The Village sends a print newsletter via regular mail twice per year to every household to ensure that it reaches out to all residents.   The next print newsletter is scheduled to arrive in mailboxes in early October.
Political Signs

Another opportunity for citizens to express their right to vote is approaching with the November election.  Amberley Village Code regulates the placement of outdoor election signs.  The following guidelines will be helpful as you express support for your preferred candidates this upcoming election season:

Political signs should be erected in a safe and secure manner and cannot be posted in the Village's right-of-way.  The Village right-of-way typically extends to the area where the utility poles are located.  In the absence of utility poles, assume the Village right-of-way is 12 feet from the pavement into the yard.  Signs should also be kept off of utility poles.
 
In some areas, the right-of-way may not be apparent by utility locations.  In such instances, the first priority is safety and the Village will immediately remove signs that impede sight lines for traffic.  Signs illegally posted on any utility pole or posted within the area of the street and utility poles or Village right-of-way, will be removed by Village crews. 
 
Confiscated signs will be stored for seven (7) days on the south side of the Service Garage behind the Village Municipal Building at 7149 Ridge Road.  If you believe your signs have been removed due to being in the right-of-way, the signs can be retrieved from behind the Village Municipal Building before they are disposed of after seven 7 days.