By Sue Miklovic
Village Council met Tuesday night at Council Chambers for the monthly “Committee of the Whole” meeting. Council President Art Patterson was absent. Councilman Matt Beegle filled in as President Pro-tem.
Tom Clemons, Director of Wood County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board gave a brief presentation of the upcoming tax levy replacement which will be on the November ballot. He mentioned there has been an increase in suicide deaths in Wood County this year, with men between 35-55 years old being the most common victim. He also talked about the opiate problem and said they were spending over $800,000 to fight this battle.
Some of the topics discussed by council members included:
$- Plans to finish a design for a new water tower for the community. This has been started by Poggemyer Design and is approximately 60% complete. The council is deciding if they want to abandon the project or move forward, after what seems to be miscommunication about the method of pay for the design work.
$-The village budget for 2019 will hopefully be presented in November by Finance Officer Melanie Lee.
$- The continuing saga of the recycling operations was discussed.
$- Councilman Aaron Patterson said The Eagleville Road Ditch still has some trees that are to be removed. It was discussed making sure some money is budgeted in 2019 and 2020 for continued cleanup of that area.
$ It was suggested to put $5000.00 into the Park budget for 2019.
$ Councilwoman Leisa Zeigler shared information on economic development, and reminded other council members there is a need to move forward on the removal of dilapidated houses in the village.
$-Utilities Director Brian Roberts was seeking permission to purchase services to help move crushed concrete from Eagleville Road to the reservoir #1 area. The weight of the concrete was deemed to be too heavy for the village owned equipment.
$- Personnel and Policy Committee Chair Ty Carles discussed payout of unused vacation time for village employees who are unable to take the time due to restrictions on who is eligible to replace them because of licensing requirements. Three employees are currently in this situation.
$-Mayor Goldner said 70 applications had been received for the vacant Village Administrator position. They are being reviewed in order to begin interviews.
$- Ten residents have paid for trees as part of the village Tree Commission’s Set Back program. The trees will be purchased and planted through North Branch Nursery.
$-The village is still trying to move forward on the purchase of security cameras for the Village Hall and the Park.
$-There are plans to update the Village’s Brush Pick Up policy before the 2019 calendar is completed.
