Village of Edgerton Council Meeting Minutes
January 20, 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 |
Y |
6 Members Present
Other Village Representatives Present:
- Charles Butler – Solicitor
- Denise Knecht – Fiscal Officer
- Zachary Dohner – Village Administrator
- Amanda Herman- Administrative Assistant
Media Present:
- Cindy Thiel, The Edgerton Earth
Public Present:
- Kathy Day, Jeff Childress, John Nihart, Pam Fitzcharles, Kim Gaskill, Scott Hartley, Scott Blue, Jason Blue
- Catherine Reed, Russ Doseck, Emily Hesselbein- American Red Cross
- Motion to Approve Meeting Minutes from January 6, 2020 :
|
Muehlfeld, Roger |
Y 2nd |
|
VanAusdale, Leslie |
Y |
|
Thiel, Dean |
Y |
|
Wallace, Chuck |
Y Motion |
|
Gruver, Jason |
Y |
|
Perry, Jackie |
Y |
Motion passes 6-0
Catherine Reed and Emily Hesselbein with the American Red Cross were in attendance to honor and say ‘Thank You’ to Fire Chief Scott Blue. Catherine applauded Chief Blue for working relentlessly to make homes safer in the Village by installing 677 alarms in 242 homes throughout the Edgerton Community, since the tragic and fatal fire almost one year ago. She stated the Red Cross is thankful for Chief Blue and his unwavering support of the Sound the Alarm program and presented him with a Certificate of Appreciation.
There was discussion on the topic of the Laubach Drive Project and as Administrator Zachary Dohner planned to make a motion to enter into a contract with Poggemeyer Design Group. Council member Jackie Perry asked if it was smart to move forward with another project at this time, given the current Hull St Improvement Projects debacle. Council President Jason Gruver agreed with Jackie, adding he doesn’t feel we should overcommit the Village to multiple projects that could be potential moving targets. Mayor Day’s thoughts are to put the project on hold and let Poggemeyer know that the Village is dissatisfied with our recent collaborations dealing with the Hull St Projects. Chuck Wallace expressed his desire to look at other engineering firms. Leslie VanAusdale inquired if Poggemeyer has always been used by the Village and what other firms are out there. Zach said he would have to confirm the grant process with Donna at OPWC to ensure the Village would not lose funding if the project was put on hold. Jackie stated that making a motion to enter into contract is worth postponing at this meeting, and that would allow Zach time to get some more information to bring up and discuss at the next Council meeting.
Discussion: East/West Hull Street Improvement Projects
Council members each presented input regarding the only bid that was received from Bryan Excavating- which was roughly $60,000 or 7% over Poggemeyer’s total estimate.
Jason Gruver began by expressing that this process has obviously been frustrating, but because the roadways are in such bad shape and the underground mains are original from the 1930’s he feels that we need to follow through and find a way to make it happen.
Roger Muehlfeld followed stating we basically only have 2 choices, for the Village to come up with the difference and complete the project or to turn the bid down and give up grant funding from OPWC that we have already received two extensions on.
Denise Knecht responded to Council by telling them that she spent time over the weekend plugging in actual numbers to the cash flow and informed them it is her opinion that the general fund can handle the difference and still keep Unger St on the table if Council so chooses. Mayor Day feels Poggemeyer should be held accountable for their portion of the frustration, and that the Village has been taken for granted. Overall, Council agreed the timing has not been in the Village’s favor from the beginning.
Jackie Perry recommended moving forward with the bid right now, and ‘holding Poggemeyer’s feet to the fire’ later. The problem is obviously timing and without discussion with Poggemeyer we don’t know exactly where the hiccups occurred. If we do not move forward now, it could be a very long time before the Village receives any type of future funding.
Chuck Wallace gave his input stating as soon as curbs were taken out of the project, the whole project went south. Curbs were taken out to save money and now we’ve had to come up with extra funding of $160,000. Curbs should have been left in there and the project could have been started 2 years ago.
Dean Thiel agrees with Jackie, he would hate to see the Village turn away grant funding so it is his opinion to move forward now and shop around in the future for a new engineering firm because we can’t afford to do this again.
Leslie VanAusdale asked Zach what Poggemeyer is saying to the questions being asked, what are they saying the issue is? Zach responded that a big issue with the original estimate was that it did not include the hauling of materials. As far as the original bid, a big factor was bad weather and contractors that got put behind because of that. The Village didn’t know that the project estimate was too low because it was never put out to bid. When it was, we did not receive any bids. Leslie’s suggestion was to move forward and not lose the money that has been and will be given to us through OPWC.
VILLAGE OF EDGERTON ORDINANCE NO. 1048
AN ORDINANCE ACCEPTING THE BID OF BRYAN EXCAVATING LLC FOR THE EAST AND WEST HULL STREET IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS, AUTHORIZING THE VILLAGE TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH BRYAN EXCAVATING LLC, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.
- Motion to suspend the rules for Ordinance No. 1048:
|
Muehlfeld, Roger |
Y |
|
VanAusdale, Leslie |
Y |
|
Thiel, Dean |
Y |
|
Wallace, Chuck |
Y |
|
Gruver, Jason |
Y 2nd |
|
Perry, Jackie |
Y Motion |
Motion passes 6-0
- Motion to pass and adopt Ordinance No. 1048 :
|
Muehlfeld, Roger |
Y |
|
VanAusdale, Leslie |
Y |
|
Thiel, Dean |
Y 2nd |
|
Wallace, Chuck |
Y |
|
Gruver, Jason |
Y Motion |
|
Perry, Jackie |
Y |
Motion passes 6-0
Fiscal Officer, Denise Knecht informed Council that she will proceed by encumbering the funds for the purchase orders for both East/West Hull Street Projects. The money is in the budget as it is early in the budget season and capital money has not been spent yet. If Unger St is going to be an attachment to this project, Denise will have to come back with an Ordinance to increase the budget for capital for the amount of the project, and it would have to come out of the General Fund. Mayor Day asked if it would be possible to adjust some of the Capital outlay for 2020. Denise explained only certain funds can pay for the project.
Discussion: Mitigation plan
Edgerton would be part of this plan as our Town Hall gym and/or Miller Park Shelter House would be a facility that could be utilized in Williams County in the case of an emergency or natural disaster, such as tornado relief.
VILLAGE OF EDGERTON ORDINANCE NO. 1049
AN ORDINANCE APPROVING AND ADOPTING THE 2019-2023 COUNTYWIDE ALL NATURAL HAZARDS MITIGATION PLAN PREPARED BY RFG ASSOCIATES, INC.
- Motion to waive the three reading rule on Ordinance No. 1049:
|
Muehlfeld, Roger |
Y Motion |
|
VanAusdale, Leslie |
Y |
|
Thiel, Dean |
Y |
|
Wallace, Chuck |
Y |
|
Gruver, Jason |
Y 2nd |
|
Perry, Jackie |
Y |
Motion passes 6-0
- Motion to pass and adopt Ordinance No. 1049:
|
Muehlfeld, Roger |
Y |
|
VanAusdale, Leslie |
Y 2nd |
|
Thiel, Dean |
Y Motion |
|
Wallace, Chuck |
Y |
|
Gruver, Jason |
Y |
|
Perry, Jackie |
Y |
Motion passes 6-0
Jackie Perry exited at 7:38 pm. Re-entered at 7:39pm.
Administrator Update by Zach Dohner:
- Will be entering contract with Efficiency Smart, rebates are available to community members in multiple beneficial programs; LED lightbulbs for $.99, refrigerator/freezer rebate, Meter loan/bill explanation to help understand usage & charges
- Would like to start a Facebook page for the Village to provide updates that will be beneficial information to the community. Only office staff will be able to post.
- Coffee Shop update- plans have been submitted to state. Plumbing plans have been approved.
- Meeting with Megan @ WEDCO– Talks of Cooper Farms bringing a facility South of Edgerton, Zach is going to reach out to find out when and what this might entail from the Village so we can be prepared. Would like to start utilizing more services that WEDCO provides.
Fiscal Officer Update by Denise Knecht:
- Credit Card Review16.19-01.15.20 is ready to be reviewed and signed
- Joint Cemetery meeting will be February 3rd, 2020 at 6:45PM for the selection of council member seat on the Maple Grove Cemetery Board. Denise explained that the annual joint meeting will still be held in May and the meeting on 2/3 is specifically to get a board member appointed.
Council Discussion:
The replacement/repair of the backhoe was the first topic of Council discussion. Dean Thiel voiced that he thinks the Village should put the backhoe on hold right now and concentrate on funding Unger Street. Chuck Wallace said if the backhoe is unsafe it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later, before it breaks down or becomes a more serious safety concern. Councilman Thiel passed out 3 different quotes to Council members for the purchase of a new backhoe. Mayor Day input that with the limited amount of hours that are put on the backhoe, he feels at this time is should be fixed instead of replaced. He would like for Public Works Superintendent, Kip Pahl to attend the next meeting on February 3rd to get his opinion regarding the backhoe.
Councilman Wallace thanked the Village employees that helped move snow over the weekend. Conditions were not ideal but they did a great job.
Leslie VanAusdale- Denise provided Leslie with the Village of Edgerton handbook and she looks forward to reading through it and is ready to get started on committee assignment meetings.
Jackie Perry- Congratulated Chief Blue and his efforts and achievements with Sound the Alarm, and thanked the crew who came in over the weekend to plow snow.
Roger Muehlfeld- would like to get committee assignments worked out so we can start moving forward with SCADA and Asset Management, Roger’s 2 favorite subjects.
Jason Gruver- Also would like to commend Chief Scott Blue, and express sentiments on how fortunate we are to have him as our Fire Chief, works well with surrounding towns.
Mayor Robert Day- Working on getting the webpage updated, and would like to post official Meeting Minutes on our website to make them available to the public and allow the ability to keep up with us if the public is unable to make it to a meeting. Also working to update Ohio checkbook.
- Motion to pay bills for January 20, 2020:
|
Muehlfeld, Roger |
Y 2nd |
|
VanAusdale, Leslie |
Y |
|
Thiel, Dean |
Y |
|
Wallace, Chuck |
Y |
|
Gruver, Jason |
Y |
|
Perry, Jackie |
Y Motion |
Motion passes 6-0
- Motion to enter into executive session #1 for the purchase or sale of property to be considered @ 8:05PM:
|
Muehlfeld, Roger |
Y |
|
VanAusdale, Leslie |
Y |
|
Thiel, Dean |
Y 2nd |
|
Wallace, Chuck |
Y |
|
Gruver, Jason |
Y Motion |
|
Perry, Jackie |
Y |
Motion passed 6-0
- Motion to exit executive session #1 @ 8:35PM:
|
Muehlfeld, Roger |
Y Motion |
|
VanAusdale, Leslie |
Y 2nd |
|
Thiel, Dean |
Y |
|
Wallace, Chuck |
Y |
|
Gruver, Jason |
Y |
|
Perry, Jackie |
Y |
Motion passed 6-0
No action taken regarding executive session #1
Mayor Bob Day announced the resignation of part-time police officer Austin Cape and the status of the explosives upon Austin’s departure, as Austin was a member of the tactical team and certified in handling these types of materials. After Mayor and Council members had discussion about the resignation letter it was accepted.
- Motion to accept the letter of resignation from Austin Cape:
|
Muehlfeld, Roger |
Y Motion |
|
VanAusdale, Leslie |
Y |
|
Thiel, Dean |
Y 2nd |
|
Wallace, Chuck |
Y |
|
Gruver, Jason |
Y |
|
Perry, Jackie |
Y |
Motion passed 6-0
Mayor Day opened discussion about the subject of the Village Administrator not living in the Village. With the recent public questioning regarding this matter he suggests that this body, Council, makes a decision, possibly grant a waiver and get it documented. Mr Butler will look into the matter and prepare legislation.
Next Mayor Day requested discussion regarding the Ordinances that went into effect in 2016 which hold the land owners responsible for tenant’s delinquent utility bills. A landlord was just notified of a large delinquent bill as a current limiter was being installed in effort to reduce the electrical consumption until the resident can get it caught up. Normally the landlords receive a copy of the tenant’s delinquent tag when it is issued, however in this case, the resident was not issued a delinquent tag because they called prior to tag delivery date to make a payment arrangement before tag delivery. Council came up with the idea of the utility department preparing a form letter that would be sent to landlords when a tenant makes a payment arrangement outside the normal tagging process so that we have clear communication and no surprises for the land owner. Denise and Amanda will work with Colleen to prepare a form letter.
- Motion to enter executive session #2 for discussion of employment/discipline of a public employee/employees @ 9:20PM:
|
Muehlfeld, Roger |
Y |
|
VanAusdale, Leslie |
Y |
|
Thiel, Dean |
Y |
|
Wallace, Chuck |
Y |
|
Gruver, Jason |
Y |
|
Perry, Jackie |
Y |
Motion passed 6-0
- Motion to exit executive session #2 @ 9:22PM:
|
Muehlfeld, Roger |
Y |
|
VanAusdale, Leslie |
Y Motion |
|
Thiel, Dean |
Y |
|
Wallace, Chuck |
Y |
|
Gruver, Jason |
Y 2nd |
|
Perry, Jackie |
Y |
Motion passed 6-0
No action taken after executive session #2
- Motion to adjourn at 9:23PM:
|
Muehlfeld, Roger |
Y 2nd |
|
VanAusdale, Leslie |
Y |
|
Thiel, Dean |
Y |
|
Wallace, Chuck |
Y Motion |
|
Gruver, Jason |
Y |
|
Perry, Jackie |
Y |
Motion passed 6-0
______________________________ ______________________________ Mayor Fiscal Officer/ Clerk of Council