Village of Edgerton Council Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, April 18, 2023 at 7:00 PM
- Mayor Day called the meeting to order at 7:00PM with the Pledge of Allegiance and Prayer.
- Y – Yes, N – No, A – Abstain, Abs – Absent
- Roll Call:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Bowsher, Lance | Absent |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
5 Members Present
Other Village Representatives Present:
- Chris Walker – Law Director; Denise Knecht – Fiscal Officer; Dawn Fitzcharles – Village Administrator; Gray Plotts – Police Chief, Scott Blue – Fire Chief; Fabian Aguilar – PD
- Media Present:
- Cindy Thiel – Edgerton Earth, Liam Jackson– Bryan Times, Daniel Cooley – Village Reporter
Public Present:
- Chris and Kathy Pearson, Bill Priest, Edward Bohn, Williams Co Commissioners Lew Hilkert and Bart Westfall, Apryl McClaine and Heather Mercer from Williams Co EMA
- Motion to Approve Meeting Minutes from 04.04.23 with correction noted that Councilwoman Blinzler reported that she received a complaint regarding a junk car on Depot Street, not Councilwoman VanAusdale:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y 2nd |
| Bowsher, Lance | Absent |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y Motion |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion Passes 5-0
Mayor Day welcomed all of our distinguished guests with us this evening; Chris Pearson – Edgerton Forge, Lew Hilkert and Bart Westfall, Williams County Commissioners, Apryl McClaine and Heather Mercer with Williams County EMA, and guest speakers Ed Bohn and Bill Priest.
Administrator Fitzcharles introduced the guest speakers and gave the floor to Ed Bohn. Ed provided a slide presentation and information regarding The Anatomy of a Train Derailment. Bill Priest spoke on the importance of a Public Information Officer for press releases and news outlet. Train derailments have been a very hot topic in the state of Ohio.
Guest speaker Bohn informed all that this is not a certified 1st responder class and is not endorsed by CXS or Norfolk and Southern. The goal is to provide information of events that should take place in the first two hours of a derailment.
Railway Statistics-
- 160K miles of railroad track in the US; Ohio ranks 3rd in the US with 5,135 miles of track
- 6% of commodities transported by rail are hazardous materials
- Average number of derailments annually resulting in railcar incidents is 1,200; with less than 5 requiring large scale response
- Establishing local response
- 99% of commodities transported by train are delivered without incident each year
Identify State agencies to provide support-
- Upon a derailment 911 dispatches 1st Responders – Fire Department, Law Enforcement, EMS and EMA. The 1st Responders identify any potential hazards of the derailment and determine level of response required. Local agencies include Haz-Mat Team, Emergency Management Agency Office, Law Enforcement – Police, Sheriff, OSP, Public Works, Co Engineering Office, ODOT, Elected Officials, Public Information Officer.
- Per ORC. 3737.80 The Fire Chief or highest fire official on scene has command of the on-scene activities of all agencies.
Ed turned the program over to Bill Priest to discuss the importance and the function of a Public Information Officer. Bill described the duties of a PIO and the responsibilities of communicating with the public and the media, and coordinating with the other agencies about the logistics. Bill is with us today because of his experience with a train derailment incident which occurred on Sunday morning, January 17,1999. In the extremely foggy conditions one train ran into the rear of another train traveling at a lower speed in front causing a multiple car derailment and a pile up blocking the tracks. Then a third train traveling in the opposite direction collided and caused additional multiple car derailments. Three locomotives and 34 cars derailed and two people lost their lives. Bill served as the PIO. News media wanted to get to the scene. The investigation needed to be complete as to not jeopardize the scene. Most were very understanding. A press conference was set up for the afternoon. Later in the day reporters were allowed on the scene to get their story. Bill has volunteered as a PIO for the County since 1976 and has been in several different situations but this was the first fatal accident. Most people will not see an accident on this scale in their lifetime. A Public Information Officer is necessary to allow for responsiveness and providing updates to the public and to get the correct information to the media in a fair process. Ed continued with the rest of the presentation.
Basic Rail Corporation responsibilities-
- No matter who is at fault for derailment the Rail Company will cleanup. Public safety is priority #1, getting the track open as quickly and safely as possible is #2, and clearing the wreckage, potentially hazardous waste and restoring the area is #3
- 1st responders are compensated by railroad for manpower hours, apparatus on scene and equipment. Administrative documentation must be kept for reimbursement
Several typical train derailment videos were shared with the group-
- The Norfolk Southern rail line going East and West has an average of over 125 trains that travel through from Sunday night to Saturday morning
- 75% of derailments consist of car wheels coming off the track occurring in rail yards when connecting cars for travel
- Speed of train 50mph; Amtrack can exceed
- Unit Train carrying hazardous materials/highly flammable liquids 35mph
- Length of train average is 1 mile
- Typical derailment is less than 5 cars, with most incidents less than 20 unlike the recent 50 car derailment in East Palestine, Ohio in Feb 2023
Mayor Update by Robert Day:
- Shout out to the local Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts for assisting local residents with cleanup projects to improve our community
- Arbor Day 4/28 @ 10am tree planning in memory of Thomas Kitchen at Edgerton Local Schools
- Village Day of Prayer 5/4 from 12:15-12:45pm @ Village Hall Gymnasium with local pastors leading prayer
Administrator Update by Dawn Fitzcharles:
- Moving forward with Edgerton Metals Project and working out details
- Large Trash drop off 4/15 was successful and low volume; details to be provided next meeting; Mayor Day noted that Dawn engineered a system for drop off that worked very well and he enjoyed interacting with the community.
- The pesky mosquito has made its arrival and we have implemented our mosquito control program
- Water Tower Project in final stages; contractor deployment should be in the next few weeks
- Oak Street Reconstruction Project for next year; grant is in last round of planning and to be determined
- BWC ergonomic grant available and applied for funding for new floor mats for the gym with an automatic storage roller to replace our manual process
Fiscal Officer Update by Denise Knecht:
- Credit card review 03.16.23-04.15.23
- Motion to pay bills 04.18.23:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y Motion |
| Bowsher, Lance | Absent |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y 2nd |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion Passes 5-0
Police Chief Update by Gary Plotts:
- Jaxx is with us this evening; came through emergency surgery last week and is doing well.
- Inoperable Vehicles – identifying and working on the list
- Full time officers recently took Taser training with all participating; should have taser policy reviewed by Mr Walker and ready for Council at next meeting. Councilman Wallace referenced that the department used to carry tasers years ago and was curious why we are going back to them now. What has changed? Chief Plotts explained that he is all for providing officers with an additional tool before going to deadly force.
- Bike Patrol is coming back in May
- Dana Phipps has met his 6-month required probationary period. He has been a great addition. He brought DARE back to the schools and the recommendation is to reclassify him as regular parttime patrol officer.
- Motion to approve Police Department employee status change for Dana Phipps from probationary to regular part-time patrol officer effective 5/1/2023:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y Motion |
| Bowsher, Lance | Absent |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y 2nd |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion Passed 5-0
Ordinance #1119 CRA residential: This is the 2nd reading to amend the originally passed CRA. Originally it was passed with commercial provisions only. We have worked with the school to come to an agreement with the residential housing aspect.
VILLAGE OF EDGERTON ORDINANCE NO 1119 (2nd reading)
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 1085, IMPLEMENTING SECTIONS 3735.65 THROUGH 3735.70 OF THE OHIO REVISED CODE, ESTABLISHING AND DESCRIBING THE BOUNDARIES OF COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT AREA IN THE VILLAGE OF EDGERTON, OHIO, DESIGNATING A HOUSING OFFICER TO ADMINISTER THE PROGRAM, AND CREATING A COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT HOUSING COUNCIL
- Motion to give second reading Ordinance NO 1119:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y Motion |
| Bowsher, Lance | Absent |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y |
| Wampler, Pam | Y 2nd |
Motion Passed 5-0
Ordinance #1120 Real Estate to Williams County land bank- Requesting to transfer the second parcel on Oak Street, known as parcel #1, to the Williams County Land Bank. The property will be used through the land bank to be redeveloped and hopefully a home built. Last year this parcel was being considered to be transferred to Habitat for Humanity but this did not happen so we ask council to transfer to land bank for the next best use for the property.
VILLAGE OF EDGERTON ORDINANCE NO 1120
AN ORDINANCE OF THE VILLAGE OF EDGERTON, OHIO AUTHORIZING THE CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN REAL ESTATE TO THE WILLIAMS COUNTY LAND REUTILIZATION CORPORATION AND PROVIDING FOR AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE
- Motion to suspend three reading rule for Ordinance No 1120:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Bowsher, Lance | Absent |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y Motion |
| Wampler, Pam | Y 2nd |
Motion Passed 5-0
- Motion to pass and adopt Ordinance No 1120:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Bowsher, Lance | Absent |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y Motion |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y 2nd |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion Passed 5-0
Establishment of new fund– This request is to create an ODD Brownfield Fund #408 to separately track and account for the funds for this grant. At the next meeting we will be bringing contract appropriations. Another reason for creation of fund is that there is rumor in the future there may be additional grant funds available. We have been in contact with AOS regarding this matter. New information is developing and we are all learning as we go. As part of the contract negotiations, we are not going to advance funds for this project due to the large dollar amount ($4.9 million). It’s not feasible for the Village to do so. To provide an idea of how the process will go, first the contractor will complete the work and file reports with us. We will submit funding request to ODD. ODD will send disbursement to VOE and VOE will have funds to pay the contractor.
VILLAGE OF EDGERTON RESOLUTION NO 2023-007
A RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW FUND CONSISTENT WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF ORD 5705.09(F)
- Motion to pass and adopt Resolution No 2023-007:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y 2nd |
| Bowsher, Lance | Absent |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y Motion |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion Passed 5-0
Council Discussion:
Mayor announced that the footer has been poured for the construction of the first home on Oak Street. A nice home will soon be available through the Port Authority if you know anyone interested in purchasing a home in Edgerton.
Councilman Wallace commended the Village on a job well done with the accident on St Rt 6 last Friday. Before the State arrived, we were assisting with blocking roads and rerouting. He was amazed by how many people stopped at the Fire Hall to see if food or water was needed. Seeing this type of positivity from our community was great. Thank you.
- Motion to adjourn at 8:21PM:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Bowsher, Lance | Absent |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y Motion |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y |
| Wampler, Pam | Y 2nd |
Motion Passed 5-0