Council Meeting Minutes April 6 2020

by | Apr 6, 2020 | Council Minutes

Village of Edgerton Council Meeting Minutes

Monday, April 6, 2020 at 7:00 PM

  • Mayor Day called the meeting to order at 7:00PM with the Pledge of Allegiance
  • Y – Yes, N – No, A – Abstain, Abs – Absent
  • Roll Call:

Muehlfeld, Roger                                  

Y

VanAusdale, Leslie

Y

Thiel, Dean

Y

Wallace, Chuck

Y

Gruver, Jason

Y

Perry, Jackie

Absent

5 Members Present

Other Village Representatives Present:

  • Charles Butler – Solicitor
  • Denise Knecht – Fiscal Officer
  • Zachary Dohner – Village Administrator

Media Present:

  • Ryan Squanda – The Bryan Times
  • Cindy Thiel – The Edgerton Earth
  • Jeremy Scott – The Village Reporter

Public Present:

  • None
  • Motion to Approve Meeting Minutes from 03.16.20:

Muehlfeld, Roger                                  

Y

VanAusdale, Leslie

Y

Thiel, Dean

Y

Wallace, Chuck

Y MOTION

Gruver, Jason

Y 2nd

Perry, Jackie

Absent

5-0 Motion passed

 

VILLAGE OF EDGERTON ORDINANCE NO. 1051

 

AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE RATES TO BE CHARGED TO ELECTRIC CONSUMERS FOR SERVICES SUPPLIED BY THE ELECTRIC SYSTEM OF THE VILLAGE OF EDGERTON, OHIO

  • Motion to approve 2nd reading of Ordinance No 1051 :

 

Muehlfeld, Roger                                  

Y  MOTION

VanAusdale, Leslie

Y  2nd

Thiel, Dean

Y 

Wallace, Chuck

Y

Gruver, Jason

Y

Perry, Jackie

Absent

5-0 Motion passed

 

Discussion: Resolution 2020-002 Salt Agreement – this is our annual ODOT Road Salt contract the Village enters in to each spring. Kip Pahl, the Public Works Superintendent, estimated our required amount at 75 ton based on prior usage. The reason for the emergency language is to get this complete and submitted to the State by the April 24 deadline.

 

VILLAGE OF EDGERTON RESOLUTION NO. 2020-002

A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING PARTICIPATION IN THE ODOT ROAD SALT CONTRACT AWARDED IN 2020 AND DECLARING IT AN EMERGENCY

  • Motion to suspend the rules for Resolution 2020-002:

Muehlfeld, Roger                                  

Y

VanAusdale, Leslie

Y

Thiel, Dean

Y  2nd

Wallace, Chuck

Y

Gruver, Jason

Y  MOTION

Perry, Jackie

Absent

5-0 Motion passed

 

  • Motion to pass and adopt Resolution 2020-002 as an emergency:

Muehlfeld, Roger                                  

Y  2nd

VanAusdale, Leslie

Y  MOTION

Thiel, Dean

Y

Wallace, Chuck

Y

Gruver, Jason

Y

Perry, Jackie

Absent

5-0 Motion passed

 

Administrator Update by Zach Dohner:

  • Laubach Drive Project update will be given as soon as we have advertisement and bid dates
  • Unger Street repaving was to be completed as an addendum of Hull Street Project but due to the amount of milling required on East and West Hull it will need to be completed at a later date. This work could possibly be completed this summer along with another project that Bryan Excavating has in our area. Tom Lingvai will be getting a quote to Zach. The engineering quote from Poggemeyer is $37,700.
  • Hull Street Projects – We have experienced a few hiccups in the process; a few service line issues and 2 suck holes. There is a potential for a change order.
  • AMP Scholarship – Edgerton High School Student Eric Gruver has been awarded a scholarship in the amount of $3,000 to be awarded at a later date.

 

Fiscal Officer Update by Denise Knecht:

  • March 2020 Financials – Information was distributed by email on 4/2/20. Council Members were asked to sign off as having received the information. Denise suggested that we set up a Financial Committee Meeting in the near future to review the first quarter of 2020.

 

Council Discussion:

Mayor Day referenced the sheet that he made available to the public. See details below:

 

Edgerton Village Resident Information

 

1) Local, State and Federal Income Taxes are not due until July 15th.

2) Late Fees on Utilities Bills are being waived until further notice.

3) If you feel you may have an issue with paying your utility bill beginning with the bill due April 10th, 2020, please contact the Village office to work out a payment plan. No penalty will be added to delinquent bills. Arrangements will be handled in a case by case manner.

4) No water meter will be disconnected for nonpayment at this time.

5) No electric meter will be disconnected for nonpayment at this time but a limiter may be installed.

6) The interior Village Offices will remain closed to the public until May 1st.  The employees will still be working and may be reached at 419 298 2912 for any questions you may have.  The drop box is accessible to drop off your utility payment (check or exact cash) or you may pay by phone with your credit card at this time.

7) All Playgrounds inside the Village will be closed until May 1st.

8) During this time, Future Council Meetings and Committee Meetings going forward will be held by teleconference, details to come.

9) We are working to update our Village Webpage but until it is ready you can find out pertinent information at the Mayor’s Facebook Page, Robert Day.

 

Facebook – Leslie VanAusdale voiced concerns about Mayor Day using a personal Facebook page to represent Village information to the community. Is this a personal page or a public page? She questioned the policy and procedure necessary to establish a Village Facebook page and suggested a “like” page instead of a page which allows posts and comments. She appreciates the Mayor’s attempt to get information out to the public but recalls recently when the Village did something that the public didn’t approve, how quickly numerous derogatory comments were posted on “you know you’re from Edgerton” Facebook page. This is something we need to be careful of. We do not need public bashing. Denise stated that from her understanding we need to use an archival system to retain all Facebook posts for public records retention. Charles Butler will look into the policies and rules for the Village to establish a Facebook page.

Village Website – Leslie also stated that our website needs to be revamped/updated. Mayor Day commented that this was one of the first things he noticed back in January and he has been in communication with Richard Hanson to complete the update. Denise commented that the village employee and council photos taken by Tori Flower are to be uploaded to the Dropbox this evening. Bob will follow up with Rick and get the process moving.

Committee Meetings – VanAusdale requested that we schedule Rules Committee Meeting as soon as possible so that we can get the Employee Policies and Procedure Manual updated. Mayor Day stated that Zach is looking into setting up Go-to-Meetings to be able to move forward with these meetings by teleconference due to the Covid-19 restrictions that are in place.

Utility Credit – Councilman Muehlfeld requested a discussion about issuing a utility credit to residents during this time due to the Covid-19 issue. Mayor Day suggested we wait until we are able to gather more information and our financial status can be reviewed.

Finance Committee Meeting – Council President Gruver suggested this would be a good time to have a finance committee meeting and also it is time to discuss the note of TH3. Jason asked Chuck when might be a good time since he is the Chair of the Finance Committee. Chuck commented just say when and that he would like to pass the Chair on to Jason. After discussion the Mayor announced that the Finance Committee will meet at 5:00PM on Thursday, April 16th. The Rules committee will follow at 6:00PM. Both meetings will be public and held by teleconference.

Employee Rotations – Councilman Wallace inquired about how the rotation of employees was going with the Covid-19 situation. Village Administrator Zachary Dohner confirmed that all was going well. We did have to call in a water/sewer department employee on their off rotation to assist with the Hull Street Projects.

Brush Pickup – Wallace asked if we are picking up brush. Dohner replied yes, we are using two vehicles so that the guys maintain a safe physical distance from each other. Therefore we are using more fuel but still diligently working. He requested that we have understanding from the community that this may be a little slower process than normal.

Employees – Chuck asked “Do they feel safe? Do they know that they can take time off for Covid-19?” Zach informed all that he and the Mayor have been in communication with department heads and employees to keep our work place as safe as possible and keep everyone informed.

Asphalt – Chuck noticed that we apparently received EPA approval to use asphalt grinding for the approach to Gerhart Fields. It looks very nice and is appreciated.

Gathering in Parks – Councilman Wallace and Mayor Day talked of the growing concern of the public gathering in the parks now that the weather is warmer. He has seen groups of kids gathering. While he does not want to close the Parks, he is contemplating putting up yellow police tape on the playground equipment areas, basketball & tennis courts and ball fields to encourage people to not gather. The Park could remain open to walkers.

 

  • Motion to pay bills 04.06.20:

Muehlfeld, Roger

Y  MOTION

VanAusdale, Leslie

Y

Thiel, Dean

Y

Wallace, Chuck

Y  2nd

Gruver, Jason

Y

Perry, Jackie

Absent

5-0 Motion passed

  • Motion to adjourn @ 7:36PM:

Muehlfeld, Roger

Y

VanAusdale, Leslie

Y

Thiel, Dean

Y  MOTION

Wallace, Chuck

Y  2nd

Gruver, Jason

Y

Perry, Jackie

Absent

5-0 Motion passed

 

______________________                ______________________________
Mayor                                                                        Fiscal Officer/ Clerk of Council