Continental Village Council met in regular session on October 22, 2024 with Mayor Miller officiating. Members present were: Armey, Smith, Sullivan, Varner & Williamson. Also, present were Mayor Miller, Parliamentarian Welch, Administrator Prowant, Fiscal Officer Darby, Trainee Cindy Troyer, Trevor Leis. Visitors: Jerica & Mike Brown. Council President, Streicher was absent. The meeting opened with the pledge of allegiance.
Minutes: Varner moved to accept the minutes and Smith seconded the motion. Five yeas, motion carried.
Bills: Varner made a motion to pay the bills as presented and Armey seconded. Five yeas, motion carried. Additional bill for D & M Fencing $16,950.00. Smith made a motion to approve the addition. Seconded by Armey. Five yeas, motion carried.
Then & Now PO Over $3000: A PO was opened for $20K, an estimated cost of services, to repair various water leaks from October 11 & 14th. Varner moved to approve and Smith seconded the motion. Five yeas, motion carried.
Receipts: Smith made a motion to approve and Sullivan seconded. Five yeas, motion carried.
Building Permits: Two permits were received. One for Steven Clementz, located at 103 S. 4th St. for the addition of a deck on the south side of home. The second was for Cody Donaldson, located at 405 S. 7th St. for a 40×40 garage, replacement windows & door, sidewalk, front porch & back patio. Motion to approve both permits was made by Armey and seconded by Sullivan.
OLD BUSINESS
Recycling Site: Mayor Miller reported that last Friday, October 18th, D & M Fencing had placed the post for the construction of the fence at the recycling site. He voiced the concerns of a farmer about access to his farm. Trevor suggested that they could throw some tile & stones in the service ditch to allow him a drivable access around the fenced in area. A motion to approve the down payment of $16,590 to D & M Fencing was made by Smith and seconded by Armey. Five yeas, motion carried.
Buckeye Park: Mayor Miller briefed us on the meeting from last Thursday at Buckeye Park and requested the council’s approval for the Village to use the $60k awarded from State Capital Budget along with an additional $40k from the general fund for a total of $100k, as leverage to get another $100k from the Federal Land & Conservation Fund. The application is due November 7th. It was noted that the person, who is assisting in acquiring this, will do this pro-bono. The idea is to put these funds towards creating an ADA parking and access to the shelter house, a walking path around the pond, a well to help replenish the water in the pond when needed and possibly sidewalks extending from the Village to the park. Varner made a motion to approve the use of the $100K to pursue another $100K towards this project. Sullivan seconded it. 5 yeas, motion carried.
Review Board Update: The Review Board met today to discuss the nuisance legislation that Mr. McDougal provided to them to possibly post signs in violator’s yard regarding situations such as unkept lawn. It was tabled as they are down 2 committee members. They have 2 potential candidates they would like to contact. Once the 2 positions are filled, then they can start working more on that. Mayor Miller also stated that the Review Board also spoke on the issue of sidewalks. They compared our guidelines of 4ft x 3in thick to the ORC’s guidelines and they align. Going back to the possibility of adding sidewalk access from the Village to Buckeye Park, there is an ODOT grant that is 100% funded and does not need to be along a state highway. The exact location of where the sidewalk would be constructed will need further investigation. They are looking into if replacement sidewalks could qualify for this grant as well.
MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT UPDATES
Jeannite Paving: Mayor Miller, and several others, agreed the work done looks great! Councilman Williamson inquired, and discussion took place, if they could have extended the road up to the sidewalk on East Rice between Main & 6th Street by Wollam Ag & TDS. There is an existing sidewalk there but it is covered by stone. The sidewalk would need to be deepened to be level with the surrounding gravel.
N. 6th St.: Trevor passed around 2 quotes for the proposal for new storm sewer tile on N. 6th St. between E. Rice and N. Elm St. The first quote was from J & M Excavating, Inc. in the amount of $11,520.00. This includes a catch basin & grate. The second quote was from Ohio Sanitary Services, LLC in the amount of $13,500.00 and did not include materials but they would be using Hydro Excavation, which helps with the concerns of the TDS cables. Williamson motions to accept J & M Excavating’s quote and for a purchase order to be created. Sullivan seconded. 5 yeas, motion carried.
Lakeland Project: Mayor Miller was in contact with Gary from Ohio Sanitary Services about tile breakdown that goes to a manhole and the issue of there not being a real cleanout.
Hearing of the Public: With Councilman Williamson leading the meeting, Jerica & Brown inquired about an updated about the fire hydrant located at the cul-de-sac of Cricket Lane. After the last meeting, this was looked into more and found there is an issue that it was not a dead-end water line & it would take a little more than just closing it off. After various discussions, it was decided that the Village needs to do whatever it takes to correct the issue concerning the extended water lines. A motion was made by Armey to proceed with the project as long as the quote/estimate comes in at less than $25K. Smith seconded it. 5 yeas, motion carried. Jerica also brought up the issue about the driveway needing to be done within 2 years. This was tabled till they look more into the cul-de-sac measurements & requirements.
OTHER/NEW BUSINESS
Trick or Treat will be on Thursday, October 31st from 5-6:30 and the Costume Contest, held by the Lions Club, will be at the school gym at 7pm.
Putnam County CIC has sent an invite to their Annual Holiday Party & 40th Anniversary Celebration. It will be held Thursday, November 21, 2024 from 5:30PM to 8:30PM at Witteborg Heritage Hall in Columbus Grove. All Village employees are invited to attend.
Water/Sewer Clerk Updates: None
Fiscal Officer Updates: Amending the 767-2024 Appropriations Ordinance via Ordinance 770-2024.
We need to increase the personal services for the General Fund, Water Fund, Sewer Fund due to the unknown addition of Cindy, as well as the personal services of the Council as we did not estimate enough appropriations to get us through the whole year. We are able to do this by reallocating monies. The proposed Ordinance 770-2024 was passed around for council to view. A motion to suspend the rules requiring three readings was made by Smith and seconded by Williamson. Roll call vote: Williamson – yea; Smith – Yea; Varner – Yea; Armey – Yea; Sullivan – Yea. Five yeas, motion carried. Smith made a motion to approve the Ordinance 770-2024 for the Amending of the Appropriations and Armey seconded. Roll call vote: Williamson – yea; Smith – Yea; Varner – Yea; Armey – Yea; Sullivan – Yea. Five yeas, motion carried.
Armey motioned to go into Executive Session with only Parliamentarian Welch & council present to discuss personal employment and Smith seconded it. Roll call vote: Williamson – yea; Smith – Yea; Varner – Yea; Armey – Yea; Sullivan – Yea. Five yeas, motion carried. Smith made a motion to come out of Executive Session and Sullivan seconded. Five yeas, motion carried. Let the record show no action was taken.
Regarding Carson Etters employment with the Village, November 11th is the end of his probation. Mayor Miller would like to extend his probationary period by another 30 days so that he can discuss with Mr. Etter, the possibility of making him a permanent employee for the maintenance department. This is the wishes of Trevor Leis and Westin Okuley as well. There has been nothing but excellent praise for the work Carson as provided thus far and it would be beneficial for the Village to add him. A motion was made by Smith and seconded by Williamson to extend the probationary period of Carson Etter out another 30 days. 5 yeas, motion carried.
Council was asked to discuss pending litigation issues. Sullivan moved to go into Executive session and Williamson seconded. Roll call vote: Williamson – yea; Smith – Yea; Varner – Yea; Armey – Yea; Sullivan – Yea. Five yeas, motion carried. Williamson made a motion to come out of Executive session and Armey seconded. Six yeas, motion carried. Let the record show no action was taken.
The next meeting will be Tuesday, November 12 at 7 pm.
With no other business for the good of the village, Varner made a motion to adjourn and Williamson seconded. Five yeas, motion carried.
