Minutes of Regular Council Meeting

February 4, 2008, at 7:00 p.m.

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Larry Haver.

The Pledge of Allegiance was repeated by all present. Present were: Mayor, Larry Haver; Council members, Amy Haver, Ron Jones, Ed Foster, Ron Beverly, Mick Pocratsky and Bruce Hart; Solicitor, Troy Essex; Administrator, Kent Miller; and Clerk/Treasurer, Diane Collins.

Foster moved to approve the January 21 minutes with the correction of the time. The meeting was held at 7 p.m. not 6 p.m. Jones seconded. All voted yes.

Jones moved to approve the bills. Pocratsky seconded. Haver, Foster, Jones, Hart & Pocratsky voted yes. Beverly voted no. Collins was asked to check on the Fire Dept. Verizon bill to make sure it was correct.

Finance Committee: Jones reported the committee met prior to this meeting and audited the books.

Water/Sewer Committee: Pocratsky reported the committee met on January 28 and went over some resident issues and then met with water superintendent, Mike Scranton. Scranton is waiting for council’s passage of legislation on a Source Water Protection Plan. Essex wants the committee to review the sample ordinance passed out previously to decide what they want in the legislation.

Beverly noted that Poggemeyer Design Group did not get the completed Stormwater Management Regulation books. Essex mentioned that we need to decided if we are going to put the regulations in the codified ordinance book.

Cable TV Committee: There will be a meeting Saturday, February 9th at 8 a.m.

Police/Fire/EMS Committee: Foster set a meeting up for February 18 at 6 p.m.

Administrator’s Report: Miller reported the following:

1. The VacCon unit from Brown Equipment: It has 1,362 hours of operation and has various size tubes for catch basins and manholes (approximately 34 feet of total length). A partial list of what was done includes rebuilt hopper screens, sandblasted and relined debris hopper, new gaskets where body meets the boom, new water pump valves, new deflector plate in debris hopper, two engines serviced, new hydrostatic pump drive, transmission serviced, new engine belts and idlers, and complete paint job. Moved to authorize the administrator to purchase the Sewer vac/jet for $75,950. Beverly moved to approve. Foster seconded. All voted yes.
2. There were no bids for the old sand filters, so at some point they will be hauled away for scrap.
3. Each council member was given a copy of ODOT's letter concerning the traffic situation for the new school area.
4. Four change orders for the new fire hall were considered. All were for Steele Electric. Council voiced their concern about getting change orders after the fact. Jones moved to approve. Beverly seconded. All voted yes.
5. Miller has been hearing from some individuals regarding the sewer plant operator position.

Miscellaneous: Twenty-five landlord/property owners sent a letter objecting to enforcement of the current ordinance related to collections of unpaid utility bills. Essex noted a bill is in the legislature relating to the same issue only it puts a cap on potential liability. He stated our current ordnance is constitutional. Our problem at this time is that a number of our uncollected files are such that the application of the ordinance is not doable because of a lack of notices sent to property owners and a lack of timeliness. Council may choose to refine the policy.

Beverly moved to go into executive session to discuss possible litigation. Hart seconded. All voted yes. (7:37 p.m.- 8:10 p.m.) Returned to regular session.

Zoning inspector, Dave Schooley, was present. He reminded Council that there were 64 letters sent out last year to property owners regarding sidewalks that were a safety hazard to the community at large. He asked the Ordinance Committee or the Sidewalk Committee to make a decision about whether or not to pursue those violations. Pocratsky stated the committee met last year and decided to do nothing about sidewalks and he would pass information on to Schooley.

A copy of the proposed EMS contact was passed out. Essex said this is considered a temporary stop gap agreement.

Resolution 2008-02 authorizing the Mayor to sign the EMS contract was read by caption only for the first reading. Jones moved to suspend the rules. Pocratsky seconded. Haver, Foster, Jones, Hart & Pocratsky voted yes. Beverly voted no. Resolution 2008-02 was read by caption only for the second and third readings. Pocratsky moved to approve. Foster seconded. Haver, Foster, Jones, Hart & Pocratsky voted yes. Beverly voted no.

Clerk’s Report: The MTD/YTD Income Tax Report and Cash Reports were passed out. Income Tax collections are down 11 percent as compared to last year. Beverly moved to write off the EMS account of a deceased resident by the name of Jonathon Ridgeway in the amount of $516. Beverly moved to approve. Pocratsky seconded. All voted yes. Collins told council about the Auditor of State conference in March. A 2007 year end EMS report was shared with council.

Police Report: No report was given.

Fire Department: Chief Elwood passed out a fire report.

EMS Department: No report was given.

Mayor’s Report: Mayor Haver told council they are invited to the Fire Department’s Annual Appreciation Dinner to be held February 16th. The Gingrich Road dump site will be open this Saturday since they were closed last Saturday due to snow. Mayor Haver commended the Village employees on the great snow removal job last week. Pocratsky reminded citizens to take care of their sidewalks.

Motion was made and seconded to adjourn.

MAYOR
CLERK