Village of Edgerton Council Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, October 2, 2024 at 5:30 PM
- Mayor Day called the meeting to order at 5:30PM 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 | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | ABSENT |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
5 Members Present
Other Village Representatives Present:
- Denise Knecht – Fiscal Officer; Dawn Fitzcharles – Village Administrator (per phone); Ken Jacob – Police Chief
Media Present:
- Brian Koeller – Bryan Times; Cindy Thiel – Edgerton Earth; India Kenner – Village Reporter
Public Present:
- None
- Motion to Approve Meeting Minutes from 09.18.24:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y MOTION |
| Bowsher, Lance | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y 2ND |
| Wallace, Chuck | ABSENT |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion passed 5-0
Council Member Chuck Wallace and Cindy Thiel – Edgerton Earth entered at 5:32pm
Mayor Update by Robert Day:
- Halloween events will be held on 10/31. Chamber is putting together a map of participating homes. Look for form online or contact chamber member
- Mayor Day just returned home from AMP annual conference; will share details at next meeting
India Kenner– Village Reporter entered @ 5:35pm
Administrator Update by Dawn Fitzcharles:
- Water Department is scheduled to compete townwide main flushing beginning 10/7; includes hydrant flushing and valve exercising weather depending. This process is a requirement of our asset management program and is estimated to take approximate 5 days. Residents are reminded to remove screens from faucets to remove any sediment and flush their internal system by opening cold water to flush lines until clear. The water is safe to drink.
- Water Tower warranty work is scheduled to be completed in the next few weeks.
- Full town leaf pickup has begun and will continue until the weather changes or leaf pick up is done. Residents are reminded to rake leaves to the tree lawn along the streets, do not pile leaves on catch basins. Please do not include other yard waste in piles; also, no trash and no root balls.
- Oak Street Sidewalk Project walkthrough will be held tomorrow with engineer, project manager and village administration; punch list for work yet to be performed before closing the project will be developed.
- OPWC County Meeting is coming up on 10/3; we have an application in for a joint project with St Joseph Township and Williams County Engineer’s Office.
- Committee Meeting for Budget planning will be set up soon.
- Thank you for support and prayers. Office hours will resume on 10/7/24 for Dawn.
Fiscal Officer Update by Denise Knecht:
- September Financial Reports emailed to council on 10/2; please sign circulated as proof of receipt
- On Dec 4th we would like to request the council members begin arriving at 5pm with laptops. E K Computers will be onsite to help members with set up of upgrade to M365.
- Motion to pay bills 10.02.24:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y 2ND |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Bowsher, Lance | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y MOTION |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion passed 6-0
Police Chief Update by Ken Jacob:
- Police Department Fall Rifle Range qualifying is this Saturday
- Body Cams have been implemented and are up and running
- NRA grant recently opened; we are applying for equipment
Volunteer Firefighter Hire:
The Fire Department would like to bring on Cloey Whitman as a volunteer Fire Fighter. Cloey is from Edgerton. She is a trained EMT and runs with the Hicksville and Williams County squads. Cloey will be enrolling in Fire Fighter Training.
- Motion to hire Cloey Whitman as probationary part time volunteer firefighter effective 10.01.24 @ $10.45/hr:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Bowsher, Lance | Y MOTION |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y 2ND |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion passed 6-0
Police Department resignation: Patrol Office Ashley Kunesh submitted her resignation as of 9/23/2024. The Village is grateful for her service to our community and wishes her well in her future endeavors.
- Motion to accept resignation of full-time police department employee, Ashley Kunesh effective 09.23.24:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y 2ND |
| Bowsher, Lance | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y MOTION |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion passed 6-0
With the resignation causing a vacant position we would like to request permission to advertise for a full-time patrol officer.
- Motion to advertise for the full-time police department patrolman position:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y 2ND |
| Bowsher, Lance | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y MOTION |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion passed 6-0
Village Administrator Fitzcharles shared some information she received regarding our medical insurance. The health insurance premium increase was set at 2% for 2025. However, there was a deductible increase to the High Deductible health plan from $3,200 to $3,300 per IRS guidelines.
Council Discussion:
Councilman Wallace had a few items for discussion.
- Questioned if the tree commission meeting had been rescheduled. Mayor Day will look into this.
- Made aware of a few residents with stumps remaining in their yards. Village Administrator requested that he email the addresses to her for comparison with list in her office to be taken care of.
- Inquired if school contacted Dawn regarding trees, Dawn said no.
- Motion to adjourn at PM:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Bowsher, Lance | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y MOTION |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y 2ND |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion passed 6-0