Continental Village Council met in regular session on April 9, 2024 with Mayor Miller presiding. Members present were Smith, Armey, Williamson, Varner and Sullivan. Also, present were Mayor Miller, Administrator Prowant, Solicitor Welch and Fiscal Officer Darby. Councilmen Streicher was late. Visitors: Josh McCauley, Elizabeth, Michelle & Steve Burgei, Gwyn Kohls, and Chuck & Kelly Mercer. The meeting opened with the pledge of allegiance.
Varner made a motion and Smith seconded to approve minutes of previous meeting, five yeas, motion carried. Armey made a motion to approve payment of all the bills and Varner seconded, five yeas, motion carried. Smith made a motion and Varner seconded to approve the receipts since the last meeting, five yeas, motion carried. Then & Now Purchase Orders over $3,000: Anthem $3,741.87 health insurance premium. Management Reports presented, approved by signature.
Old Business
Aggregation Update: The Opt-out letters were approved and will be sent out soon to residents who are not under contract with another electric supplier. There is no cost to opt out if a resident is happy with the current rate they are paying. The aggregation rate is .06700/kWh and will be in effect from the June 2024 meter read until the June 2025 meter read.
Water/Sewer Bills: The current billing for water/sewer went into the mail on March 27th. However, USPS sent some of the bills to Convoy, Ohio. These bills had to be sent back to Columbus and then on to Continental. Residents who have not received their bills, should reach out to the Village to find out your balance. Because of this an extended grace period until April 24th will be granted before late fees will be added. Mayor Miller asked the billing clerk to check with her software provider, about the feasibility of doing a hybrid billing of mailed and electronic.
Tap Fees: Council reviewed a short survey of area community tap fees for water & sewer and inside and outside the corporation. After discussion on the rising costs for equipment and supplies and that the Council did not want have to make incremental increases over several years, Armey suggested raising the tap fees for both water and sewer to $1000 each for inside the corporation and then the fee is double for outside the corporation. Several Councilmembers agreed. Armey made a motion to approve the first reading to amend the Tap Fee Ordinance to reflect the above rate and Sullivan seconded. Five yeas, motion carried.
Water Main Leak: On Friday, April 5, the village had a water main leak in the alley by Helena. It was on the old 4-inch cast iron line. The tap was not being used so once the water pressure was taken off the line it was a pretty easy repair.
Hearing of the Public: Gwyn Kohls, asked for an update on the storm water issue near her house at the corner of 6th and E. Rice. Mayor Miller explained that he had been in contact again with the contractor but because we need to coordinate with the business owners to the west of 6th Street, it will take a little bit of time. She asked about what we were going to do about the broken tile behind her house? Mayor Miller stated that the tile was not broken, it had been clogged but we have cleaned it out two years in a row and when the contractor is in, he will check it again. The contractor is clearing his schedule and looks to give us an estimate late April or early May. (Councilmember Streicher entered)
Residents & parents of the owner of 20687 Rd. E, gave the village a copy of the final invoice for the remediation of their crawlspace after the water leak. They were told that we have turned it over to our insurance company and they will be handling the investigation and any possible reimbursements.
Chuck & Kelly Mercer, children of the former owner spoke next about all the problems their mother had with water under the house. She had contracted with Ever-Dry to maintain the crawl space and had sump pumps running under the house and told the Mayor that she thought the water was just recirculating. Mayor Miller stated the village had put in a catch basin just down from the house to help mitigate the water issue and the home owner never contacted the village after that so as far as the Village knew, it was repaired.
New Business:
Building Permits: None
Certificates of Deposits: The Village had invested in two 11-month (CD)
Certificates of Deposit last year with (FJSB) Fort Jennings State Bank. These are maturing this month and Fiscal Officer Darby asked council if they want to reinvest in new CDs? (Mayor Miller stepped away from the Council table) She picked up a current rate sheet and FJSB has two with good rates, a 7-month with an interest rate of 4.89% (5% APY) or a 11-month for 4.65% (4.75% APY). Discussion held on the current economic climate. Varner made a motion to roll the CDs into two 11-month CDs and Smith seconded. Six yeas, motion carried.
Water leak: Utility Billing Clerk Prowant presented a request from a resident for a reduction to an average bill on the sewer portion of their bill on a rental they own after a leak was discovered and repaired. She recommended reducing the bill to $270.12. Varner accepted her recommendation and moved to do so. Streicher seconded the motion, six yeas, motion carried.
Executive Session: Smith made a motion to go into executive session to discuss certain personnel matters pertaining to hiring or appointment of a public employee. Armey seconded the motion. Roll call vote: Williamson – Yea; Smith – Yea; Varner – Yea; Armey – Yea; Sullivan – Yea; and Streicher – Yea. Six yeas, motion carried.
Smith made a motion to come out of executive session and Williamson seconded, six yeas, motion carried. Let the record show no action was taken in executive session.
Varner made a motion to adjourn with no further business; Williamson seconded it. Six yeas. Meeting adjourned.
