By: Timothy Kays
At their May 4 teleconference, members of the Edgerton Village Council continued to move forward with budgetary changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to the meeting, a joint Cemetery Board and Village Council session was convened which saw Andy Curry hired as a part time caretaker, and Councilor Chuck Wallace named as a Council Representative to the Cemetery Board of Trustees.
The sole financial measure passed on the evening was Ordinance 1052, allowing for appropriation increases. “Discussion was held by the Mayor regarding the increase request for the police department,” said Village Fiscal Officer and Clerk of Council, Denise Knecht. “The increase was due to the fact that we chose to not spend general fund capital dollars on a purchase of a new police cruiser this year as we previously had planned on before the COVID-19, and the reduction in income taxes received.”
“We had put in the budget for a cruiser; we decided to put that item on hold to see what was going to happen here with our net profit earnings from income tax, and our payments from income tax.”
“We’re kind of afraid to jump the gun there so we decided to put that on hold, but to increase the vehicle maintenance because we do have a few aging vehicles on the police force. We will be able to take care of some repairs that a couple of those older vehicles need to maintain them and keep them safe.” The amount of the increase was $6,000.
“The other increase was in the uniform line in the police fund to get some updated uniforms,” Knecht continued. “They increased the budget to accommodate for new uniforms…a couple of sets per officer.” The final increase was for the purchase of personal protection equipment (PPE) in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The increases for the uniforms and the PPE were $1,150 and $2,000 respectively, bringing the total appropriation increase to $9,150.
Council accepted the resignation of Councilor Jackie Perry from Council. Ms. Perry submitted her resignation as she will be moving out of the village, and cannot continue on Council. Council also approved a motion to remove Utility Clerk Colleen Hennessey from probationary status.
Council awarded a bid to M&M Asphalt of Edon to grind and resurface Unger Street this summer. “It’s a small block in town that is low travel based on the number of residents that live there,” said Knecht, “…but the road is in poor shape and poor condition.”
Village Administrator Zachary Dohner reported on the Laubach Drive project for this summer, saying that they are working on the surveying now, and that bidding will be coming soon. Dohner also informed Council that he has been in contact with OPWC to keep them up to date on grant funding.
Dohner said that as of the end of last week, the underground work is complete on East and West Hull Street. The surface work is next in line.
Ms. Knecht said, “My update was that the April financials were completed and they were sent out electronically to all Council members last week. Normally at Council meetings, we’d pass around a sheet and all of the Council members would sign off that they received it.”
“And then the 2019 audit,” Knecht continued, “…we had our exit conference on May 4 in the morning with the state auditor and a senior auditor, Council members, the Mayor and anybody that wanted to come. It was actually an online conference as well. The audit should be released within the next two weeks, and then it will be public record and available on the site.”
Items in Council discussions included an update by Mayor Robert Day on the proposed backhoe purchase. “We agreed at the end of February to go with a Case backhoe,” said Ms. Knecht. “We got the quote and all the goods along with it. It was something that worked; it was from the state purchasing program, so the price worked well.”
“Everything was going along well, but now we have found that we can’t receive it for several months. So we’re looking into other options since we’re having some issues with the backhoe that we have now. Of course we only have one of that type of equipment in a small village like this, and we need to have an operational piece of equipment. Mayor Day was going to be checking with some different vendors.”
Mayor Day announced that yet another ‘Utility Angel’ has come forward in the village. The Mayor expressed his gratitude for the Village of Edgerton and the community.
He stated that, “Not only is COVID-19 contagious, so is the kindness of others. We had yet another individual that left monetary donation in the drop box in an envelope, stating that it was for somebody who was struggling to pay their utility bill.”
This was the third time in the last 45 days an act of kindness and generosity of this sort has taken place in the village. A $600 donation was reported at the previous Council meeting; the anonymous donation this time was $200.
Council discussed the format for the upcoming meeting as to whether they should continue teleconferencing or return to meeting in person. Councilor Gruver said that he felt that meeting in person is better, as long as they can maintain safety for everybody.
Council also discussed the possibility of doing some updating to the town hall, especially in the front office where customers are received, as well as a possible upgrade to the parking lot.
Councilor Wallace questioned what the village’s standpoint is on opening or reopening the parks, and the availability of having any type of ball. Mayor Day said that he preferred to see what is to come in the next few weeks.
Mayor Day announced that garage sales are once again open and allowable in Edgerton. The Mayor called the Williams County Health Department and posed the question, because he had some questions from residents.
Council retired into executive session to discuss the vacancy left by the departure of Ms. Perry. While no action was undertaken, Council is still actively soliciting candidates for the position.
Interested candidates can either email the Village Administrator at zacharyd@edgerton-ohio.com, bring their résumés to the town hall at 324 North Michigan or mail them to P.O. Box 609 Edgerton, Ohio, 43517. The deadline for submission is May 15 at 4 pm.
Timothy can be reached at tim@thevillagereporter.com