Continental Village Council met in regular session on November 28, 2023 in the fire station meeting room with Mayor Miller presiding. Members present were: Knipp, Varner, Armey, Sullivan & Streicher. Councilman Bartley was absent. Also present were Mayor Miller, Administrator Prowant, Fiscal Officer Darby, Police Chief Hardy & Solicitor Welch. Visitors were: Toby Sullivan, Rowdy Howell, Jim Fry, Chris Baden, Curt Hedrick, Damon Schmidt and Jennifer Momenee.
The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Varner made a motion and Knipp seconded to approve minutes of previous meeting, five yeas, motion carried. Armey made a motion to pay all the bills and Varner seconded, five yeas, motion carried. Streicher made a motion and Knipp seconded to approve the receipts since the last meeting, five yeas, motion carried. Then & Now Purchase Orders over $3,000: J & M Excavating for $3,000 for leak on Ash & 5th. Streicher made a motion to approve and Armey seconded, five yeas. Motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS:
TextMyGov: Streicher asked if this service is up and ready to be used to notify residents. Mayor said yes, we just need to get residents to sign up. This service will be used by the Village to notify residents of various things, such as road closures, water issues, boil alerts, and other emergency situations. He will post the information on the Facebook page and on the digital sign. There is also a widget on the village website for those wanting to receive text alerts from the Village.
Ash & Fifth Street Leak: The village experienced an eight-inch water main break on November 18th on Ash & 5th streets. The leak blew through the road. Due to the timing of the leak with darkness descending, it was difficult to locate all of the valves needed to isolate that section of the main. So, they closed the ones they could locate and isolated the water tower from the system to bleed pressure off the line. J&M was called and quickly repaired the line.
Pending Litigation Update: Oral arguments were scheduled but the opposing counsel was not going to appear, so our outside counsel did not either. Both parties feel the district court will find the case moot since the building has been removed. Since it is no longer a possible safety hazard to people on the road and sidewalk, this becomes a nuisance violation and the Administrator will send a letter with a time frame on when the foundation will need to be removed, dirt hauled in and smoothed out, as is required through the Village zoning.
Aggregation Public Meeting: The Aggregation ballot issue passed, so we move to the next step of the process. We will hold two required public meetings on Tuesday, December 12th, one at 4:30 and the second at 5:30 pm to explain the next steps. All residents are encouraged to attend.
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Zoning Board Met: The zoning board met prior to the meeting to discuss a zoning change request on Sixth Street. A local business purchased the commercial building at 101 S. Sixth St and has recently purchase the dilapidated home to the south of it. They want to tear the house down and change the zoning on the property to commercial for a future business opportunity. Zoning board recommended granting the change to Council. Streicher made a motion to grant the request to change the property from residential to commercial and Sullivan seconded. Five yeas, motion carried.
Zoning also continued the discussion on how much of a lot can be covered by buildings, the current is 40% but they would like to limit how many outbuildings on one property. The solar ordinance was also discussed, and zoning recommended following the guidelines that Monroe Township has put in place.
Demo Grant: Putnam County received $500,000 to offer for grants for demo of blighted buildings within the County. The new owners of the above-mentioned home will be applying to receive help with the removal of the home.
Water/Wastewater Grant Authorization: Mayor Miller asked Council for permission to pursue a grant for a water project through this recent grant that became available. As of this time, we do not know the parameters of the grant but authorization must be given before the deadline. Armey made a motion to allow the Mayor to pursue a grant for the water and to sign any paperwork needed. Varner seconded the motion. Five yeas, motion carried.
Capital Budget Request: In January of 2022, the Village had applied for a State budget request of $50,000 (according to the application it was $200,000, this information was not available during the meeting but is added here for reference purposes) for 2023-24. We received a congratulations letter that our project for Buckeye Park had been funded for $50,000 (The letter stated $75,000, this information was not available during the meeting but is added here for reference purposes) in June of 2022. Then we received notice that it was a mistake and we were not funded. Through some contacts the Mayor and Fiscal Officer have, we have been encouraged to attempt this again.
Solar/Breach of Contract: Ongoing discussion held on what restrictions the Village will include in the Solar ordinance. The consensus was to request a copy of Monroe Township’s Ordinance and proceed with finishing our Ordinance for a final read on December 12th. The tabled discussion from last meeting on the breach of contract issue was discussed in more detail. In exchange for the Village paving the following streets in the Homier subdivision, Daisy Dr., Cardinal Lane, Cricket Circle and Meadow Drive, Homier Farms will annex the area of the current solar field (a total of 265.429 acres, this information was not presented at the meeting but is added here for reference purposes) into the Village. Discussion held on what the cost versus benefit to the Village will be and if the Village will grant an extension on the contract or pursue breach of contract legal action. Also discussed was how the bond can be activated when the field is decommissioned and who starts the process. Sullivan would like to see updated numbers on the benefit to the village. Sullivan then moved to table the issue until December 12th and Streicher seconded the motion, five yeas, motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS:
Police Officer: Trevor Williamson has been elected to the Village council and will have to resign from the Police Department so Police Chief Hardy requested that Council approve the hiring of Randy Weller, a former officer with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. Armey made a motion to hire Weller and Sullivan seconded. Five yeas, motion carried.
Depository Contract: The Village’s contract with the Fort Jennings State Bank is set to expire next year. Sullivan made a motion to allow Council President Streicher and Fiscal Officer Darby to enter into contract with Fort Jennings State Bank for a period of five years. Armey seconded the motion, five yeas, motion carried.
Next Council meeting: Tuesday, November 14 at 7 p.m. in the fire station meeting room.
Bonuses & Wage Evaluations: Darby will be issuing year-end bonus checks next week per Ordinance 691-2018 requirements. Darby also provided council with a spreadsheet of current wages and two wage surveys spreadsheets from around the county that a neighboring fiscal officer put together.
Next meeting is Tuesday, December 12th at 7 pm and a reminder that the last meeting of the month has been moved to Thursday, December 28th at 7 pm.
Varner made a motion to adjourn with no further business; Armey seconded it. Five yeas. Meeting adjourned.
