Village of Edgerton Council Meeting Minutes
Wednesday, September 20, 2023 @ 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 | ABS |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
5 Members Present
Other Village Representatives Present:
- Denise Knecht-Fiscal Officer; Dawn Fitzcharles-Village Administrator; Ken Jacob-Police Chief, Matt Krill – Capt
Media Present:
- Cindy Thiel – Edgerton Earth, Liam Jackson – Bryan Times, Anna Wozniak – Village Reporter
Public Present:
- None
- Motion to Approve Meeting Minutes from 09.06.23:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y M |
| Bowsher, Lance | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y 2 |
| Wallace, Chuck | ABS |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion Passes 5-0
Council Member Wallace entered at 5:32PM
Mayor Update by Robert Day:
- Tree Commission Meeting held on 09/08/2023 – hitting it on two fronts; short-term we are putting trees in the ground; long-term is for tree commission to put together a master plan for the community. Chuck Wallace, tree commission member, is going to send information on this. Looking ahead to Arbor Day in April 2024 planning something community wide such as tree give away.
- Halloween Trick-or-Treat, a Chamber event, is scheduled for Tuesday, October 31st, door to door and trunk-or-treat in front of town hall, both from 5-7PM
Administrator Update by Dawn Fitzcharles:
- Moving forward with our projects; closed out several grants this week
- Naloxone Training by Maumee Valley Guidance Center was held today
- Received authorization today form OSU to make application for order of Narcan kits through Ohio Healing Communities Initiative Grant
Fiscal Officer Update by Denise Knecht:
- Credit Card statement 08/16/23-09/15/23
- Ohio BWC Safety Intervention Grant– hose reel and lift gate have been received and put into use. Funds were appropriated in June for these purchases. Implementation and Purchasing Reports have been submitted to BWC per grant agreement.
- Council Member VanAusdale asked to be reminded of what the Gerhart Park ADA seating was on the bills list. This project was made possible by receiving a NatureWorks Grant for benches, picnic tables, and concrete slabs at Gerhart Park. We advanced funds for this project and are now in the process of completing reimbursement reports so that we can pay back the advance. This project a great addition to the park. We also planted a few new trees there as well.
- Motion to pay bills 09.20.23:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y 2 |
| Bowsher, Lance | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y M |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion Passes 6-0
Police Chief Update by Ken Jacob:
- Working on Body Cam Grant available through the State of Ohio with funding at 100% no match
- Working with Lexipol to get the new policy and procedures pushed out to officers
- Department has been more visible in the school area and on Depot Street with Rail crossing closure; with police presence and new signs this has slowed down the traffic
- Still looking for a full-time officer
- Mayor Day noticed that the railroad was laying asphalt today
- K-9 Ruin loves the place; Chief did a demonstration with him at the 9/11 gathering downtown
- Chief has been working with Captain Krill to compete the project of outfitting rifles and handguns
- Dawn congratulated Chief Jacob for being awarded the Ohio Law Enforcement Body Armor Grant; Two new vests are needed for officers. The grant is for 75% and the Village pays 25% which is great. Ballistic vests are tailored to each individual fit and have a 5-year expiration. We will request appropriation for this purchase later during the meeting.
Finance Commission Meeting 09/15:
Administrator Fitzcharles gave the update about the recent Finance Committee meeting held on 9/15/2023. Topics of discussion were 2023 budget items in progress as well as the projected 2024 budget items; health insurance, property and risk management insurance, proposed developments, and 2024 capital plans. On October 4th when the Wage and Comp Committee meets, we will schedule additional budget meetings with council and committees.
Part Time General Laborer: Recently our part time general laborer resigned and went to work for Village of Montpelier which left an open position. Council previously authorized advertisement for this position. We found a candidate to present to Council. Justin Thiel lives in Edgerton, graduated from Edgerton High School, has experience operating chain saws, brick laying and other equipment. Formerly, Justin was a firefighter in Edgerton. He specifically desires part time as he already has a fulltime position on weekends. Justin job shadowed with us and we feel he would be a great fit for the team. The recommendation to council is to hire Justin as probationary part time general laborer, not to exceed 29 hours per week, at proposed rate of pay of $15.80 per hour effective 9/20.
- Motion to hire Justin Thiel as probationary part-time general laborer @ $15.80 effective 9/20/23:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y 2 |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Bowsher, Lance | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y M |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion Passes 6-0
Oak Street Resurfacing: We are on a three-phase plan for Oak Street Improvements. Phase I, a Storm Sewer upsize, was completed in 2018. Phase II was completed last year when we did the sidewalk project. Phase III is on the radar as we received funding through the community block grant for road resurfacing. We are going to resurface Oak Street from East River to East Indiana Street. We have been funded at 100% from East River to East Hull Street at about $154,000. In order to meet time frames when money is available, we’d like to have this project out for bid in March to get on contractor’s schedule early with construction period from June 1- Aug 15 to avoid school traffic. With provisions of the grant, we need to contract an engineer for services including preconstruction, bid documentation and design. The proposal to council is to go with OHM Advisors for $18,000. This is a new company but an engineer that we’ve worked with before. The current agreement is in draft form. Chris Walker will review terms and conditions. The village admin would like permission to move forward with OHM Advisors for the engineering of the Oak Street Resurfacing Project.
- Motion to move forward with OHM Advisors for the Oak Street Resurfacing Project:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y 2 |
| Bowsher, Lance | Y M |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion Passes 6-0
Public Power Week: Every year we celebrate Public Power Week. Being able to employ local community members is an added benefit. Our line workers are best in class and are part of our community which results in better reaction time when we experience service disruptions. Kudos to them!
VILLAGE OF EDGERTON RESOLUTION NO 2023-011
A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING PUBLIC POWER WEEK, OCT 1-7 A WEEKLONG CELEBRATION OF EDGERTON ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT’S YEAR-ROUND SERVICE TO THE VILLAGE OF EDGERTON
- Motion to pass and adopt Resolution No 2023-011:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Bowsher, Lance | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y M |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y |
| Wampler, Pam | Y 2 |
Motion Passed 6-0
2023 Supplement-Police vests:
We have a request to pass an ordinance providing for a supplement to 2023 appropriations. This is in reference to the Body Armor Grant secured by Chief Jacob. We’re asking for an increase in estimated revenue for the grant amount of $2,603 and also, we are asking to increase expense Capital Outlay police fund in the amount of $3,500 for the cost of the vests.
VILLAGE OF EDGERTON ORDINANCE NO 1126
AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR A SUPPLEMENT TO THE 2023 ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS
- Motion to pass and adopt Ordinance No 1126:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | M 2 |
| Bowsher, Lance | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y M |
| Wampler, Pam | Y |
Motion Passed 6-0
Village Administrator Fitzcharles told the group that the fire department had an ice cream social and it was very nice. It was noted that we definitely need additional volunteers in the fire department. Chief Blue shared some statistics at the social. One of them is that the fire department is already at 97 runs to date and typically we end the year at that number.
We have a draft proposal from Environmental Design Group available for view on the (O); drive. Council does not need to take action at this time. We are working through the process with the Ohio Dept of Transportation for our pedestrian safety infrastructure project. More information will be provided at the next meeting. It sounds like in order to approve it we will enter into an agreement with ODOT and then the consultant will enter into an agreement with ODOT and direct bill. The details are still being worked out.
Council Discussion:
Chuck provided information about the proposed netting at Gerhart Park since balls are being hit into the playground area. He was contacted by the owners of Cattle Creek Winery (formerly the golf course on Co Rd C). They have old netting available to be used, possibly donated. We are invited to come take a look at it. Mayor Day suggested the planting of more trees in the future at Gerhart Park to help with the foul ball issue.
- Motion to adjourn at 5:53 PM:
| Blinzler, Sharon | Y |
| Gruver, Jason | Y |
| Bowsher, Lance | Y |
| VanAusdale, Leslie | Y M |
| Wallace, Chuck | Y |
| Wampler, Pam | Y 2 |
Motion Passes 6-0