By Sue Miklovic
The Village Council of North Baltimore held a “special” meeting on July 16th, with a very limited agenda. All council members except Art Patterson were present for the meeting.
The First order of business was to approve an ordinance to accept the cost proposal from Richland Engineering Limited for providing Construction Administration, Inspection, and Materials Management Services of the North Main Street CBD Enhancement Project.
This project, which is about to begin, will include reconstructing the 100 block of N. Main Street (From RR tracks to Broadway) new pavement, curb and gutter, decorative sidewalk, new street lighting and traffic signal replacement, along with new signage, pavement markings, storm sewer installation and restoration.
This ordinance went into effect immediately on its passage as an emergency measure, which allows it to begin soon and be completed in a timely manner to improve the safety and wellbeing of the public, using an ODOT pre-certified firm. Estimated timeline is approximately 12 weeks of work, with no work anticipated after October 30,2019.
The second ordinance approved for the meeting, was an authorization for the Village Administrator to enter into an agreement to purchase a pick-up truck needed by the utilities department for ongoing maintenance and operations.
Under new business, Dan Thornton, PE with Civil Engineering Solutions, gave a presentation on a Wholesale Bulk Water Rate Study that was completed for the purpose of economic development in our area.
This is NOT for water costs for our village residential consumers.
This information shared is to create a wholesale rate for potable (drinkable) water for potential High- End Bulk water users (more than 200,000 gallons/day) that would be located adjacent to the Village.
Council Member Aaron Patterson said, “We want to encourage bulk users. Let’s not think of only one or two users.”
Mayor Goldner added, “We’ve been working on this for quite a while. I’m excited to see where this takes us.”
2 Responses
Will anything be happening to the buildings? Does NB have an ordinance that enforces standards for the outside appearance of downtown buildings? If not maybe it’s something that could be looked into. Too many of the buildings/businesses look rundown and unappealing.
Harley C, we now require a full name to post comments. You should ask the mayor or village administrator if you really want an answer to your question. I can tell you that this is a long-running battle, in most small communities. Unfortunately, some of the building owners don’t have the money and/or the “pride” to take care of their properties. It has been a while since we had a downtown sprucing on a Saturday, with the chamber of commerce, other organizations and citizens chipping in. I think it is time for another one! I need some young people to help me get it going… are you interested? (are you young?) I can tell you, it is not easy owning and maintaining these old beat up and oft times worn out buildings… Especially with Wood County codes being very stringent!