Council Meeting Minutes September 8, 2020

Village of Edgerton Council Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, September 8, 2020 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:

6 Members Present

Other Village Representatives Present:

• Charles Butler – Solicitor
• Denise Knecht – Fiscal Officer
• Zachary Dohner – Village Administrator
• Amanda Herman – Administrative Assistant

Media Present:

• Jeremy Scott, The Village Reporter
• Cindy Thiel, The Edgerton Earth

Public Present:

• Tom Kochert, Williams County Sheriff
• Kermit Riehle, Edgerton Local Schools
• John Courtney, Courtney & Associates LLC
• Scott Wieging, Courtney & Associates LLC
• Motion to Approve Meeting Minutes from 08.17.20:

Motion passes 6-0

Kermit Riehle, Edgerton Local Schools Superintendent was in attendance with an update from the school. The bathroom project at the football field is complete and looks great. The Spring musical originally scheduled for April of 2020 that was cancelled due to COVID is planned to be rescheduled for the Spring of 2021. The Drama department is however planning 2 smaller “one act” theatrical dramas the weekend of November 13/14, 2020. Leader In Me is a curriculum that equips students with essential leadership and life-readiness skills that can be used as an adult. Trainings are held the 1^st Wednesday of the month among staff members and Riehle commented that they have hit the ground running this year. The School has a Capital Campaign that has successfully raised $55,000 so far which has covered the cost of a new Discus Pit and resurfacing the Varsity Track. The program has not been promoted as of late, but Superintendent Riehle is looking forward to get back up and running and hoping gain monetary support to build a new press box at the football field. Multiple protocols have been put in place to attempt a successful COVID free school year. Many staff members were involved in the diligent planning of being able to open school this fall. Edgerton Schools has received $160,000 in financial aid to purchase

PPE and other COVID related needs. This is especially important as school funding took a significant cut both last fiscal year and this fiscal year. Lastly, Kermit extended a huge Thank You to the Village for providing bleachers from Gerhart Field to the HS football field which allowed more seating capacity which raised the number of tickets available. The school has also been able to livestream sporting events giving access to those who are unable to attend due to the capacity restrictions.

Sheriff Tom Kochert was next up to give an update from the Williams County Sheriff’s Department. Kochert began with thanking Council for allowing him to be in attendance at this meeting. He wanted to provide an update on some of the changes and progress that has been happening in the Sheriff’s Department since he was appointed Sheriff Deputy on June 9^th. Kochert explained that he took an inventory of what was happening within the department and realized the Deputies workload was too much and needed to be reduced. He devised a plan that would bring in the Ohio Highway State Patrol to assist with traffic crashes. The next step was to assign each Deputy to stay roughly within the same amount of miles, so zones were designed and Deputies on all shifts would be responsible for only that zone. Lastly, Kochert teamed with the head of the MAN unit and the Williams County Prosecutor to carefully devise a detective position that will be able to focus on major cases needing extra attention. When Kochert was appointed in June, there were over 200 open cases, and there are currently less than 100. His goal is to provide faster, better service to Williams County residents. Through the CARES fund, the Sheriff’s Department has secured 4 brand new 2020 SUV police vehicles and only at the cost of some striping the crusiers. Sheriff Kochert feels that things are going pretty well and if there are ever concerns, residents shouldn’t be afraid to approach him.

John Courtney from Courtney & Associates was also present to discuss the water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer rate analysis that John’s office conducted this year. This rate study is to observe if the Village is meeting the revenue requirements. Courtney’s office used multiple years of data to project sales, project revenues at the current rates, as well as the projected revenue requirements. Information gathered in order to determine the projected revenue requirements include but are not limited to: historical data, changes in operations, debt service, inflation (3% per year), and capital improvements.

WATER– In order to make accurate projections, data was separated by three rate classes; residential, commercial/industrial, and bulk water. Based on Courtney’s gathered data, the projected revenues at the Village’s current rates are NOT sufficient to meet near-term revenue requirements. Revenues need to be increased by approximately 14% in order to meet 2024 projected revenue requirements. It was recommended that the Village consider increasing water revenues by 3% per year effective 1/1/21.

SEWER– Data was presented by three classes; inside-metered, outside-metered, and non-metered. Comparing projected revenues at the current rates to the projected revenue requirements were again NOT sufficient to meet near-term projections. Revenues need increased by approximately 7% to meet projected 2024 revenue requirements. The recommendation is to consider increasing sewer revenues by 3% per year effective 1/1/23, as existing rate structures and charges are reasonable through 2022.

STORM SEWER– Current storm sewer rates are $2.00 per month plus 10% of the customer’s water bill. Courtney informed Council that storm water rates are typically based on the property’s impervious surface area. The determination was that projected revenues are NOT sufficient to meet near-term revenue requirements. The revenues need to increase by approximately 72% in order to meet 2024 projected revenue requirements. It was recommended that storm sewer revenues be increased by 20% per year for three years effective 1/1/21. It was also recommended to develop a new storm sewer rate that would be based on the impervious surface area of the customer’s property.

Discussion Ordinance No 1056: With four months still left in 2020 we have already used 88% of the Solicitor budget in the salary line #101-7300-52101. Based on the calculation of invoices received so far in 2020 we are estimating that we still need to increase appropriations by $7,500.00 to cover the monthly salary and the last four invoices payable in 2020. That is, if our invoices continue to come in at the average of the past four months which has been $1,850.00. The solicitor salary amount is the same each month at $1,093.00. However, the fees for matters handled vary based on our needs for services. This guesstimate may be on the high side but I would rather only make the appropriation increase once in hopes to cover the rest of 2020 since there is a fee each time legislation is completed and advertised.

VILLAGE OF EDGERTON ORDINANCE NO 1056
AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR A SUPPLEMENT TO THE 2020 ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS

• Motion to pass and adopt Ordinance No. 1056:

Motion passes 6-0

Administrator Update by Zach Dohner:

• SCADA- waiting on quotes for electrical work
• LMI study- looking for Council volunteers to distribute LMI study forms; will go door-to-door explaining benefits of filling out form to ensure grant funding; would like commit by next Monday
• Large Trash Reminder- October 3^rd, 8am-noon; utility bills are required and trash area will be policed to prevent outside drop-offs
• Habitat for Humanity- project has been rejuvenated, need to determine zoning- R2 or R3? Surrounding residential properties are zoned R3; moving plot North allowed for better knowledge of where utilities are

Fiscal Officer Update by Denise Knecht:

• Fire Levy- AJ @ Board of Elections approved ballot language for the Fire Levy; will be placed on November 3^rd election ballot
• General Election- BOE will be using TH3 facility for St. Joseph Township and Edgerton Village precincts as polling location
• PSCA- under-collected for September bills by $15,000 based on the actual adder of 0.031494 and the adder of 0.024884 that was locked in by Council
• August 2020 Financials- complete and ready for signatures

Mayor Update:

• Planning Commission- There are 3 items that need to be discussed before Commission members; Bob will make adjustments to present members and e-mail Council.
• Halloween- still on for Saturday, October 31^st; Trick/Trunk-or-Treat from 6-7pm with Costume judging and other activities taking place @ Town Hall Gym immediately following at 7pm
• CARES Act Funding- Mayor Day would like to plan Special Meeting to discuss possible options in hopes of moving forward with the process. There have been great ideas brought up, but if they are not an approved expenditure it doesn’t mean anything. Bob is staying in active contact with surrounding Mayor’s in an effort to see what they are putting CARES Act funds towards.
• Utility Deposits- In progress of drawing up legislation, there are some updates to Rules and Regulations that need to be taken care of; would rather get updates done right, instead of fast.
• Community Work Day- Saturday, September 26 there will be a Community work day that will focus on landscaping at the Miller Park Shelter House as well as painting fire hydrants throughout town. Community members can call the Village offices to volunteer so Bob has an idea of how many will be present and possibly find other projects that can be done in the Village.
• New- There are 3 prospective new homes being built, and 2 new businesses in town; A new restaurant (The Black Cow) and a center that will offer Martial Arts. Mayor Day will be getting together with the Chamber to hold grand openings for the new businesses in the near future.

Council Discussion:

Tom Karnes questioned the current committees as the Planning Commission is not compliant right now with 2 Council members (Gruver & Karnes) since Karnes’ appointment in May. Jason Gruver recollected the committee members being assigned by the Mayor and voted/approved by Council. It would make sense for Mayor Day to make a recommendation for a public member of the Community, and then allow Council to vote. Gruver, also on the Planning Commission, agreed to step down as Karnes is interested in holding onto his position. Charles Butler will look at the ORC and advise Mayor Day of the process.

Leslie VanAusdale wanted to give a shout-out to Kip and his team for moving bleachers, allowing the school to have extra seating at football games which provided extra tickets for parents of sports participants on Friday nights.

Leslie VanAusdale exited at 8:57pm.

Roger Muehlfeld asked that the Village attempt to advertise the one large item pickup on the 4^th Friday of the month to try and help residents get rid of a large item 12 times a year. Hopefully this would cut back on volume during large trash pickup in the Spring.

Roger Muehlfeld questioned if the Village would be participating in the LMI study with Poggemeyer. Zach Dohner informed Council that the study would be conducted through Maumee Valley Planning Commission, not Poggemeyer, at a substantially lower cost. Denise Knecht asked if a Purchase Order had been established yet, Dohner will look into it.

Chuck Wallace voiced his opinion that the restrooms at Miller Park need to be opened. They should be unlocked every morning and locked every evening. The police can assist. There have been recent cases of vandalism at the park deterring administration from keeping the restrooms open. Wallace added that he spoke with a gentleman from Edon that put cameras on their outdoor restrooms and it has deterred a large majority of activity so maybe that is an option Edgerton needs to think about.

Councilman Gruver spoke with John Engler and he would like to hold the sign dedication for Sharolee Huet on October 11^th @ 3pm in front of TH3. All of Council is invited to attend.

Gruver also brought up discussion on Town Hall debt structure. Currently the Village is making annual principal payments that are severely backloaded over the next 7 years with an interest rate of 2.65%. There is an option available to have a normalized principal payment with an interest rate of 1.5% that Jason is recommending to Council. A motion was made.

• Motion to move forward with Thomas Wilson @ Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP, Legal Counsel to restructure Town Hall Debt @ $625,000 with a 7 year term @ 1.5% interest from 2021-2027 with principal payments due June 1 and interest payments due June 1 and December 1 of each year :

Motion passes 5-0

• Motion to pay bills 09.08.20:

Motion passes 5-0

• Motion to adjourn at 9:24 PM:

Motion passes 5-0