The September 2 regular meeting of the Wauseon City Council opened with Mayor Doug Shaw administering the Oath of Office to Martin Estrada, who was unanimously selected by Council during the prior meeting to fill the remainder of the term of Don Mathews to December 31, 2014.
Following Estrada’ s oath, council moved on to hear from the Street Committee, who after hearing from a concerned citizen about a concern with visibility and safety, was recommending that a sign be put up to push parking back an additional 20 feet at the southeast corner of Cherry Street and Franklin. Council unanimously approved the recommendation.
During department head reports, council learned that:
~A mass press release of the grant deadline will soon be out to inform interested persons about the Downtown Revitalization Grant recently awarded to the city. A total of $270,000 to be used in the target area was recently awarded. Projects that can be completed by August 2016 may be eligible for assistance through the grant funds, which offer a 1:1 matching program. Any funds not used by the City will be forfeited so business owners are strongly encouraged to take part in the program.
~It is hoped that construction on the playground at Sara’s Garden will begin early if funds are received sooner than anticipated.
~The Wauseon Police Department recently received a grant through the Attorney General’s Drug Abuse Prevention Grant to help fund the cost of the School Resource Officer (SRO) placed at Wauseon Schools. The grant helps to pay 25% of the wages for the SRO. Police Chief Keith Torbet noted that this brings the total coverage of costs to about 50%. The SRO is in the schools approximately 6 hours per day and also handles all juvenile issues at the department.
In legislative matters:
~Resolution 2014-13, Accepting the Amount and Rates as Determined by the Budget Commission and Authorizing the Necessary Tax Levies and Certifying Them to the County Auditor, passed on first reading under emergency language and is now in effect.
~Resolution 2014-14, Providing a Grant in the Amount of $75,000 from the Wauseon Revolving Loan Fund to Sara’s Garden for the Purchase and/or Construction of a Playground, passed on first reading.
~Resolution 2014-15, Amend Ordinance 2013-17 Annual Appropriation Ordinance by Authorizing the Director of Finance to Increase or Decrease Certain Line Account Appropriations within the Various Funds Listed within the Year of 2014 (Biddle Park Allocation), passed and is now in effect.
~Resolution 2014-16, Amend Ordinance 2013-17 Annual Appropriation by Authorizing the Director of Finance to Increase or Decrease Certain Line Account Appropriations within the Various Funds Listed within the Year of 2014 (tax refund), passed and is now in effect.
~Resolution 2014-17, Authorizing the Mayor to Enter into an Agreement for Police Services between the City of Wauseon and the Village of Whitehouse passed on first reading. The agreement is for mutual aid.
In new business, council accepted the Mayor’s appointments of Shane Chamberlin to the Wauseon Union Cemetary Board for the unexpired term of Fred Allen to January 1, 2017, Paul Harmon for the unexpired term of Mike Zunk to December 31, 2017, and Martin Estrada to the INTV Board.
A motion to accept the apportionment of the Undivided Local Government Fund was also approved. The motion was made that the City of Wauseon waive any hearing before the Fulton County Budget Commission regarding apportionment of the Undivided Local Government Fund pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 5757, and to agree to the Fulton County Budget Commission alternate plan of apportionment of said Local Government Fund on the basis of need and prior years’ apportionment, and to further agree to accept the sum of $126,066.78 from the Undivided Local Government Fund as the City of Wauseon’s share from said fund. Director of Finance Jamie Giguere noted that the figure is slightly higher than in years past but may be decreased.
The next meeting of the Wauseon City Council will be held on Monday, September 15 at 5:00 PM in Council Chambers.