Village of Edgerton Council Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, March 2, 2021 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:
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Thiel, Dean | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Karnes, Tom | Y |
5 Members Present
Other Village Representatives Present:
- Chris Walker – Law Director
- Denise Knecht – Fiscal Officer
- Dawn Fitzcharles – Village Administrator
Media Present:
- Cindy Thiel – Edgerton Earth
- Rebecca Miller – Village Reporter
- Lucas Bechtol – Bryan Times
Public Present:
- Justin Coffman
- Motion to Approve Meeting Minutes from 02.18.21 :
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Thiel, Dean | Y 2nd |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y Motion |
| Karnes, Tom | Y |
5-0 Motion PASSED
Mayor Day made mention of Stephen Smith’s attendance at the Special Council meeting on 2/25. The Mayor appreciated that Mr Smith came up from Dublin, Ohio to put on a presentation regarding the rules and duties of Council, at no cost to the Village. This is normally a large presentation given for newly elected government officials state wide. It was very generous of Mr Smith to come to Edgerton to present to our small group. The discussion was very informative and added clarity to our duties as public servants.
- Motion to Approve Special Meeting Minutes from 02.25.21 :
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y Motion |
| Thiel, Dean | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y 2nd |
| Karnes, Tom | Y |
5-0 Motion PASSED
Dixon Engineering: Village Administrator Dawn Fitzcharles began by highlighting the proposed agreement with Dixon Engineering & Inspection Services of Lafayette, IN, to provide design technical specifications, contractual documents, and project administration and weld observations on both the Industrial and Riveted water towers for the project known as Water Tower Rehabilitation Project #1. The Ohio EPA is aware of the project and has given the go ahead. The anticipated project completion is this fall. Request for permission to bid the project will come at a later date.
- Motion to approve agreement for Design Technical Specifications, Contractual documents, Project Administration and Weld Observations with Dixon Engineering:
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y Motion |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Thiel, Dean | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Karnes, Tom | Y 2nd |
5-0 Motion PASSED
AMP Key Account Services: The proposed agreement is for the replacement of the current program, but for the same cost with added available services for Edgerton Large Power customers. The Direct Connections program will no longer be available and is being replaced by the Key Accounts Services. Since 2000, Edgerton has participated in the AMP Direct Connections program. This program provides utilities and large power customers (key accounts) specialized technical services to help customers conserve energy and provide cost saving opportunities. By utilizing the program as an extension of the utility, these services help to develop and enhance our relationships with our key account customers. The agreement includes support such as information, education, guidance and technical services to include energy audits and financial grant applications to help our local industries. The services provided will be different for each customer based on their needs, circumstances, etc. for our 11 key Accounts and also provides 9 hours of AMP labor to assist.
- Motion to approve agreement with AMP for Key Account services:
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y 2nd |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Thiel, Dean | Y Motion |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Karnes, Tom | Y |
5-0 Motion PASSED
Exhibit A – Electric Rules & Regulations: The Electric Department would like to add electric pans to our Electric Rules and Regulations- Exhibit A list of eligible sales in the amount of $200.00. Having them in stock is Industry standard and allows for us to provide better service to our customers.
- Motion to approve update to Electric and Water/Sewer Rules & Regulations Exhibit A to add Electric meter pans for $200.00:
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y 2nd |
| Thiel, Dean | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y Motion |
| Karnes, Tom | Y |
5-0 Motion PASSED
Load Management Devise Removal: In 1999, Edgerton entered into an agreement with AMP and Cannon Technologies for electric load control switches as part of a load management system, which netted the Village and its customer’s substantial savings on their electric bills. The contract was for the term of 1999 to 2005 and included the installation of 258 switches on residential homes. Under the terms of the contract, Edgerton was responsible for the installation, maintenance, replacement and removal of the devices. In 2005, the contract expired, and the devices were not immediately removed. Since that time, only faulty devices have been removed. Village Administrator and Electric Superintendent have developed a plan to remove 50 devices per year, not to exceed $7,500 per year. Get Comfortable Heating and Air Conditioning will handle contacting property owners and scheduling removal. Some devices are located within the home and some are located outside the home. Council approved to enter into an agreement with Get Comfortable Heating and Air Conditioning for the removal of the load management devices.
- Motion to approve agreement with Get Comfortable Heating and Air Conditioning for the removal of the Load Management devices:
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y 2nd |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Thiel, Dean | Y Motion |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Karnes, Tom | Y |
5-0 Motion PASSED
Siemens Fire Alarm at TH3: Kip has been working on an issue with the fire alarm system here at the Town Hall. The Siemens system was installed in 2012. Their nearest technician facility is operated out of Cleveland or Columbus. We are interested in entering into an annual inspection and maintenance contract with them. They will be able to monitor our system remotely and dispatch if there is an issue. The cost to have them respond is less expensive if we have them on retainer.
- Motion to approve agreement with Siemens:
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y Motion |
| Thiel, Dean | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y 2nd |
| Karnes, Tom | Y |
5-0 Motion PASSED
Edgerton Cares Fund: The last year of the COVID-19 global pandemic has affected many businesses and the economy as a whole, which has impacted the livelihood of many of our Edgerton families. Energy and housing costs can place severe and continuing stress on a family’s budget. Due to these financial circumstances the Village Council and Mayor sought out a way to assist Edgerton citizens whose income or exceptional hardships make paying electric, water, sewer, storm, rent or mortgage bills difficult. Village Administrator Dawn Fitzcharles has been working with Amber Simmons to develop a preliminary agreement with Northwest Ohio Community Action Commission to administer the program for the Village. NOCAC is a private, non-profit corporation that was created in 1965 to combat poverty in the service area of Defiance, Fulton, Henry, Paulding, Van Wert and Williams counties. This program is named the Edgerton Cares Fund. Fund raising ideas are in process and will be discussed soon. Donation forms will be available at the Town Hall office.
VILLAGE OF EDGERTON RESOLUTION NO 2021-001
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR TO IMPLEMENT A PROGRAM TO ASSIST LOW-INCOME EDGERTON UTILITIES CUSTOMERS WITH THEIR BASIC NEEDS THROUGH NORTHWEST OHIO COMMUNITY ACTION COMISSION AND DECLARING IT AN EMERGENCY
- Motion to suspend the rules for Resolution No 2021-001
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y Motion |
| Thiel, Dean | Y 2nd |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Karnes, Tom | Y |
5-0 Motion PASSED
- Motion to pass and adopt Resolution No 2021-001
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Thiel, Dean | Y 2nd |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y Motion |
| Karnes, Tom | Y |
5-0 Motion PASSED
Part-Time Laborer Position– At the January 19 council meeting Council gave authority to advertise for a part time probationary general laborer. The hours per week for this position are not to exceed 29 hours and will serve the town hall, streets, parks and possibly eventually train to provide ground work for the electric/water/sewer. Our search for a part time candidate led to a gentleman that has 6 years’ experience in the military, recently finished his mechanical engineering degree at Northwest State Community College and is ASE electrically certified. We feel his skills and abilities will complement our well-rounded team. Village Administrator Fitzcharles respectfully requested to hiring Stacey Pelland II for this position.
- Motion to hire Stacey Pelland II as a probationary Part time General Laborer at $13.00 per hour:
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y 2nd |
| Thiel, Dean | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y Motion |
| Karnes, Tom | Y |
5-0 Motion PASSED
Administrator Update by Dawn Fitzcharles:
- Many projects have begun to move forward. I anticipate that we will have many items on the agenda for business over the next several meetings.
- Council approved the Water Tower Rehabilitation Project #1. In the inspection reports, additional items were identified and will be included in a project to be known as Water Tower Rehabilitation Project #2. Project #2 includes work items such as interior power wash wax removal, sandblasting, epoxy protective layer and strip and paint the exterior of the tower. This project was nominated for funding through Ohio EPA and DEF, a grant loan combination. Estimation of the project will be around 1 million dollars. More information to come soon.
- We have started the first round of interviewing for the Full time Open street position. We have many qualified candidates and hope to have a candidate to present at the next council meeting.
- Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Plan for the Village of Edgerton community schools; Edgerton Local Schools and Saint Mary Catholic Schools. I am looking for community members to serve on the Edgerton SRTS task force. We would love to have as much public input as possible. This will be one of three ways we plan to tackle the sidewalk and intersection safety problems. We are planning to hold a kick off meeting the first week in April. Participate and make your concerns known and be a part of the solution. If interested in participating email me at dawnf@wordpress-1001173-3525711.cloudwaysapps.com
- Dawn commended our fiscal officer Denise Knecht for all of her hard work with the state auditor’s financial report. It is a huge undertaking and many communities tend to outsource the work at a considerable expense. She performed the work and got it submitted to the state of Ohio. The 2020 annual financial statements and notes are available for inspection in the fiscal office for anyone whom would like to decipher them. If you have never read our financial notes, I would highly recommend that you take some time and read them. They are a good source of information and can be very helpful with the decision making process.
- Shout out to the electric crew for their quick response on Sunday’s outage. They provide exceptional service and this is one of the great reasons to live in a public power community.
- Water/sewer/storm have the purchase of a truck in the 2021 capital appropriations approved by Council. Ron and Doug have spent the last three months trying to locate a truck/chassis and service bed. They recently located a truck and we have successfully negotiated a purchase of a 2020 Dodge Ram 3500 for $ 33,972 which was negotiated down $8,683 under list price. In the coming weeks we should receive the truck and then will schedule for a bed to be installed once we can find one. Kudos to Ron and Doug for all of their hard work with this project.
- Communicated with the principal systems integrator for the SCADA Sewer project. Seven of the nine lift stations are operational. They have a few items to be completed yet. The project and training should be complete within the next few weeks.
- The Demand Response Program Webinar has been advertised by email and newspaper. This program is for our industrial partners. We will be holding a webinar presentation for our business partners on 3/11/21 at 10 am called “Village of Edgerton – Earn Money through Demand Response”. The webinar will be to discuss the electrical grid demand response program and the opportunity for local large power customers to earn annual income by committing to electric load curtailment in the event of an electrical grid emergency. Eligible businesses will be those with the ability to curtail 100 kW or more. Contact Dawn at utility office for more information.
- The Village is in the middle of conducting a LMI (Low to Moderate Income) wage study and kindly requests participation by all residents who received the 2 question survey. By completing the short survey residents are possibly assisting their community in gaining access to additional resources when the Village applies for infrastructure funding. With over 200 surveys yet to be completed by May 1st, we are trying to catch residents as they come in the office and then we plan to go door to door.
Fiscal Officer Update by Denise Knecht:
- Denise humbly thanked Dawn and showed appreciation for Dawn’s kind words about her diligence with the annual financial report, but quickly mentioned the assistance received form Dawn and how team work is essential to the success of the Village.
- The 2020 Audit will be under way soon. We should be hearing from Doug Zimmerman with AOS office shortly.
- February 2021 Financials are complete. Council Members were asked to sign the form acknowledging receipt of the reports sent by email on 3/1/2021.
- 2020 Annual Financial Report and the Hinkle Note are complete and filed. A copy is available in the Fiscal Office for Public review.
Council Discussion:
- Metalink Fiber – Meeting is scheduled March 12th regarding the fiber.
- CRA- (Community Reinvestment Area) discussion was held with the Law Director this evening to do CRA #4 to cover the rest of the Village. Council knew there were holes and would like to create an agreement to cover Village wide. The existing agreement would stay as is. We will be creating another CRA to cover the geographical area to fall into the revised guidelines. Law Director Chris Walker informed Council that he would draft the CRA parameters/standards to be as Council would like based on the limits.
- Motion to pay bills 03.02.21:
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Thiel, Dean | Y Motion |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y 2nd |
| Karnes, Tom | Y |
5-0 Motion PASSED
- Motion to enter into executive session to discuss the employment and compensation of a public employee/employees at 7:47 PM :
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y 2nd |
| Thiel, Dean | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y Motion |
| Karnes, Tom | Y |
5-0 Motion PASSED
- Motion to exit executive session 8:34PM:
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y Motion |
| Thiel, Dean | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y 2nd |
| Karnes, Tom | Y |
5-0 Motion PASSED
No action taken
- Motion to adjourn at 8:35PM:
| Muehlfeld, Roger | Y 2nd |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Thiel, Dean | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Absent |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Karnes, Tom | Y Motion |
5-0 Motion PASSED