LORI CUNARD
March 27, 2022
Meeting Minutes (6-2-21)
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
June 2, 2021
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield met in RegularSession on June 2, 2021.
I. Roll Call:
Present: Council Members Dale English, Tom Kirkland, Jamie Hill, Carol Hehr, Anthony McDaniel; Mayor Mike Ricer, Solicitor Bill Frank, Village Administrator Kevin Brooks, Interim Fiscal Officer Lori Cunard.
Absent: Ray Hughes.
II. Pending Meeting Minutes Approval:
Councilman Dale English made a motion to Accept the May 17, 2021 Meeting Minutes. Tom Kirkland second. Motion passed by vote 5-0.
III. Registered Visitors/Guests:
Chief Corey Jones attended to inform Council that Officer Tyler Stephens resigned as of May 21, 2021, Jones asked Council for a motion to accept Stephens resignation.Councilwoman Carol Hehr made the motion to accept the resignation as of May 21, 2021 of Tyler Stephens. Dale English second. Motion passed by vote 5-0.Secondly, Chief Jones asked for motion from Council to post for a Full-time Officer to fill Stephens position. Councilman Jamie Hill made the motion to post for a Full-time Officer to fill Stephens position. Tom Kirkland second. However, Jones retracted that request for motion and corrected that he would like a motion from Council to post for hire 2 Full-time Officers, one to fill Officer Stephens position and another to cover a split shift position. The Police Department is consulting with CT Consultants to apply for a grant that will fund the first 3 years of an Officer so now they will apply to fund for 2 Officers. Jamie Hill amended the motion he had made and Tom Kirkland second. Jamie Hill then made the motion to post for 2 Full-time Officers for the Police Department, one to fill Tyler Stephens vacant position and one to cover a split shift position. Tom Kirkland second. Motion passed by vote 5-0.
IV. Old Business:
None
V. Village Administrator Report:
Kevin Brooks reminded Council that he had notified them of a major water leak at the Pool. The crew will be starting to remove the concrete, they are suspecting a leak on one of the service lines under the deck of the Pool. We are losing about 4,000 gallons of water per day. The options were to fix the leak and delay the Pool opening by a week or two or let the leak go and loose about 250,000 gallons of water along with all the Pool chemicals. Mr. Brooks said because of the size of the leak he is worried about collapse so he has the crew starting tomorrow on repair and they will be devoting all time on this project until completed.
Kevin Brooks then brought up City Park. He said that since the Park has been closed through the month of May there has been no vandalism to report. Brooks is asking for a motion from Council to resume normal operation at the Park effective immediately. Councilman Tom Kirkland made the motion to resume normal operation at City Park effective immediately. Anthony McDaniel second. Motion passed by vote 5-0.
Mr. Brooks wanted to bring to Council’s attention that the sewer discharge problem with the County Jail is still ongoing. Dale English, Tom Kirkland and Brooks have met with the County Commissioners twice regarding the issue and have been told that it will be fixed. Mayor Ricer
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
June, 2, 2021
has also met with at least one Commissioner and was assured the problem would be takencare of. To date no engineering contract has been signed and they are not moving forward to resolve the problem. When they met with Commissioners they were given an April 1 deadline or they would be taken off the line but they still have no course of action. Kevin Brooks is asking Council for a decision on what they want to do about this issue. Brooks stated that E. L. Robinson gave the Commissioners a proposal 2 months ago but it has not been acted on. Council agreed that the Commissioners will be given a June 21st , 2021 deadline to act on this issue or the County Jail will be taken off the sewer line.
The next issue that Kevin Brooks brought up is the ODOT Project. There was an erroneous article in the Time-Leader stating in effect that the islands are staying. Also the article was very mis-leading that the constituents group is making all the decisions, neither of these statements are necessarily true. ODOT did a presentation with the Village a couple of weeks ago and it was made very clear that the Village has 4 options. The first option is to walk away from the project, the second option is that the northbound left turn lane would be eliminated, the third is that the north and southbound turn lanes on Main Street would be eliminated. The last option is to go back to ODOT and tell them that none of the previous options are acceptable and we would like to re-visit the islands being removed. Mr. Brooks stated that the traffic study that was done was from an office setting, no one from ODOT actually visited the Village. Also the traffic patterns that were studied were from several years ago and aren’t respective of today’s traffic in the Village. ODOT is asking for a definite answer by June 21st and the Village will very unlikely be offered this kind of grant funding again for a project such as this.
Kevin Brooks stated that he and the Mayor had a conference call with Nikki Lude regarding the Cemetery account. Lude came across an opportunity to invest with a foundation that would give a $5,000 sign-on bonus per Board member. The Cemetery would receive a $25,000 sign-on bonus, no strings attached. Brooks said that they would like to move the Oaklawn account only to the Appalachia investment per Nikki Lude’s request. Jamie Hill made the motion to invest the Oaklawn account only with the Appalachia Foundation per Nikki Lude’s suggestion. Tom Kirkland second. Motion passed by vote 5-0.
Carla Wobschall (Monroe County Beacon) asked about the Woodsfield Savings Bank doing the free parking in town. Brooks said that the bank approached the Village about doing a community project. They asked if they could bag the meters for a 2-week period, make a financial contribution to the Village and provide free parking. Mr. Brooks told them it would be a great idea and a nice gesture on their part.
The Farmer’s Market started last week. It is on Thursday’s from 4 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. There is no charge to set up a stand.
VI. Fiscal Officer Report:
Due to the way the due dates fall for some of the bills, Lori asked if bills could be paid as they come in. There are times that bills are being paid late because of waiting on Council meeting to have the bills list approved. Jamie Hill made the motion for the Interim Fiscal Officer, Lori Cunard to pay bills as they come in so they can be paid before due dates. Carol Hehr second.
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
June 2, 2021
Motion passed by vote 5-0. Kevin Brooks said he is signing off on all bills before they are paid also. Lori also let Council know that Amy Winland is coming in on Tuesday evening and Chris Kerby will be in on Thursday for the day. We are hoping to have financials possibly by the June 21st meeting, if not then July 6th meeting.
It was brought up at this time that because of July 4th being a Sunday, the City building will be closed on Monday July 5th (as recognition of the Independence Day holiday). July 5th is the first Monday of the month, which is regular meeting day for Council. Carol Hehr made the motion to move the July 5th Council meeting to July 6th. Anthony McDaniel second. Motion passed by vote 5-0.
VII. Committee Chair/Council Reports:
English-Nothing to report
Kirkland-Nothing to report
McDaniel-Nothing to report
Hehr- Reminded Council that at last meeting she had 2 Resolutions approved for Natureworks Grants. She has decided not to pursue the one for City Park and do the walking trail only. Hehr said that the amount of the grant is for $24,614.00 for outdoor exercise equipment, 4 picnic tables, and 4 benches. The cash match would be $4,004.00 and in-kind is $2,150.00.
Hill-Nothing to report
Hughes-absent
VIII. Solicitor’s Report:
Solicitor Bill Frank referenced his written briefing (e-mailed May 28, 2021). The Solicitor’s report included 5 items for Council’s review. Anthony McDaniel asked if we were close to wrapping up the Ohio Civil Rights Commission case. Solicitor Frank responded by reporting that 1 investigation interview has been completed (former Fiscal Officer), and there are 3 more investigation interviews to be done (Mayor, Village Administrator, and Council President). Solicitor Frank indicated that there may be follow-up questions for the interviewees after the initial round of investigation interviews, but it is possible the case may move to the next phase, potentially by mid-Summer. That next phase would involve the Civil Rights Commission Investigator’s presentation of his report to the Civil Rights Commission Board. Our part (in the present stage of the proceedings) will be completed once the remaining three investigation interviews are complete.
IX. Mayor’s Report:
The Mayor asked for a motion to approve the payment of bills. Tom Kirkland made the motion. Anthony McDaniel second. Motion passed 5-0.
The Mayor reported that the Mayor’s court computer went down. The Mayor’s court collections for May was $1,703.00 and total collections year to date is $11,000.00. Jamie
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
June 2, 2021
Hill made the motion to approve the Mayor’s Court Report, May 2021. Dale English second. Motion passed 5-0.
The Mayor reported that Property Maintenance is going well. There are a few yards that the Village has been mowing and some junk vehicles that need to be moved.
The Mayor asked for a motion to approve the Income Tax Report, May 2021. Dale English made the motion. Anthony McDaniel second. Motion passed 5-0.
X. Adjourn:
Council member Carol Hehr made the motion to Adjourn from Session. Jamie Hill second. Motion passed 5-0. Meeting adjourned at 7:55 p.m.
ATTEST:
_________________________________ ________________________________
Michael Ricer, Mayor Lori Cunard, Interim Clerk of Council