by Sue Miklovic
The July 10th Village Council gathering, which was a “Council of the Whole” meeting, started with the topic of the village recycling program. Several members connected to the North Baltimore Masonic Temple were present to “discuss” the program they have operated for the last 25 plus years in the community. They shared that they had a meeting with the Wood County Commissioners on Tuesday morning, but the Commissioners would not share the information in a prepared letter with them, until the council members had the opportunity to read it. The letter was hand delivered to the village at 4:00pm. The scheduled meeting began at 5:30.
After a lot of back-and-forth rehashing of who does what, who gets paid for what, who owns what, etc. it basically boiled down to this: The Council wants to have the Masons continue leading the recycling effort in town, but there needs to be an official agreement. No one has been able to produce one, although the Masons say there is one in existence. The Commissioners said in their letter, they are willing to transfer the ownership of the county-owned equipment to the Village. The per-capita funding will remain available to the village to assist with the costs of the program. This per-capita funding is given to the Masons each year by the Village when they receive it from the County. The Masons also receive the per-capita funding from Henry Township.
“We do it for the good of the community and the good of the environment,” said Masonic member Bill Credicott.
Other topics discussed at the meeting included:
Vacation cost coverage–Required when Utilities Department Head Brian Roberts wants vacation because we have to have a qualified, licensed operator available. None of the current employees have the necessary credentials, although they are working towards it. Roberts is not using his vacation time because”I don’t want us to have to pay for someone who will just come in and sit behind a desk but do nothing” EMS Chief Phil Walter also has a lot of unpaid time that he puts in. “That sounds like burn-out rate waiting to happen. I don’t think that is right,” said Councilwoman Leisa Zeigler.
G-I-S system– Mr. Roberts gave a presentation of an available GIS system that would make easy work of marking the location of every water line and meter in town, which would especially helpful in the winter. A $6500 Antenna can pinpoint the water main within 6 inches.
Computer updates, Security cameras–Prices and options were discussed
Street Inventory- lots of paving and waterline replacement issues throughout the village were discussed.”We replaced a fire hydrant in front of Mike Frost’s house that was dated 1911. The Northwest corner of town (waterlines) is bad”, said Brian Roberts.
Vehicle Maintenance—The Police department needs another vehicle. The EMS is willing to transfer their Ram Truck with 4600 miles on it to the NBPD. “Our vehicles cross the tracks 50 times per day,” said Chief Baer.
Finance–The village charges $13 for a NSF check fee to the customer. The bank charges the village $30 for this transaction. This will be updated. The Village needs to revisit the contract with Henry Township for EMS services. The amount charged was determined by percent of EMS runs. “They paid $ 42,500 and we spent $70,000” said Councilman Aaron Patterson. “How about a levy?” asked new Finance Officer Melanie Lee. “We have a 1% tax on people who work out of town “ added Councilman Matt Beegle.
The Village received $11,000 back from BWC (Bureau of Workman’s Compensation)
Tree-Commission—there are three trees that need cut down
Request for Reasonable Accommodation—The person requesting this lives on an alley and has access to parking behind their home. It was suggested a sign be put up at the curb in front of the home requesting people not park there.
