APARTMENTS AND POOL … Mr. Comers spoke to council about issues he has with councils plan for the Bunting Bearings property and the village pool. (PHOTO BY JACOB KESSLER, STAFF)
By: Jacob Kessler
The Delta Village Council held their meeting on Monday, April 18th. The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Council first moved to approve the minutes for the previous meeting that was held on April 4th. It was then moved by the mayor to allow any member of the public who was present to address council.
Kyle Comers, who had addressed council during the meeting held previously on April 4th, came up to address council again. Mr. Comers expressed a concern regarding the possibility of apartments going in where the Bunting Bearings property currently is.
He specifically questioned the HUD low-income housing possibility. It was stated during the previous meeting that the person looking to develop here does not participate in this program.
Mr. Comers asked what happens if later on down the road, the property is sold, and the new owner decides to participate in low-income housing.
He also spoke about the fact that a tax abatement may be available when the land is bought for the project if the new owner applies for it. A tax abatement may be applied for but must go through an approval process.
He explained that his concern with the abatement is that, while companies do not cost the school money, housing for individuals who may have children attend the school could.
“The school districts already come to us, and already has already gotten one income tax levy approved to cover shortfalls,” said Mr. Comers.
He then switched over to the issue of a new pool.
Questions were asked regarding how long the pool is open for, to which he was told it is open for 2 and a half months.
Mr. Comers stated that he thought that “Spending that amount of money on a non-essential item was foolish.”
He continued on by stated that he was at Meijer previously and saw pools available that people can buy for $800 and that for more money they could obtain a better one for over a $1,000.
Mr. Comers then spoke about how many people come to the pool that are from the village and how many come from outside of the village.
“To me if it’s even close to half, the fact that you even have to have an operating levy to make this thing work, it doesn’t cash flow to cover its operating, so you need a levy to operate it, and perhaps half if not certainly a sizeable percentage are not even from the village.”
“You might get it if you put it on the ballot and let people vote on it but the fact that it doesn’t cash flow and half the people who use it aren’t from the village tells me the village doesn’t really care.”
Lastly, Mr. Comers then asked if any of the local businesses have been approached to ask if they would like to help pay for a portion of the pool to help with the cost.
Councilman Tanner then stated that council is not yet at that point. “A lot of the things your saying, you’re making it sound like we’ve already made our decision, and that this is what were doing.”
Mr. Comers responded by stating that this was the feeling that he had gotten.
The meeting then moved on to hear any correspondence that had been received. Village Administrator Peebles stated that the only thing he had to discuss was the spring letter that will be sent out to residents.
The letter is available for them to look at before it is sent out. Mr. Peebles then gave council his Administrators report.
Mr. Peebles discussed the need for a long-range plan for the park. “I do believe, in regard to the park, I think we as a village need to take a step back and develop a long-range plan for the park that not only looks at the pool itself but also looks at our other facilities and the layout of the park.”
“It is not, in many regards, conducive to trying to keep things concise so that there is common uses for things like the concession’s facility,” said Mr. Peebles.
He continued to explain that council should perform a study and get public comments to come up with a plan that supports the desires of Delta residents.
Mr. Peebles then stated that he had a meeting to attend in Archbold and asked to be excused which was granted by council. Council then moved to approved invoices as presented as well as a lien for a property that is delinquent on the water bill.
Council member Dawson then asked how different departments were doing with their open positions and if they were being advertised out. It was stated that the positions were being advertised.
Council then moved to approve the following Resolution and Ordinances. The Third Reading for Ordinance 22-02 to supplement Ordinance 21-13 to make supplemental appropriations for the current expenses for the Village of Delta for the fiscal year ending December 31st, 2022.
The Third Reading for Resolution 22-06 authorizing the Village Administrator to execute cooperative agreement with Fulton County Landbank, Bunting Bearings Inc. and The Village of Delta for the transfer of property, environmental testing, remediation and redevelopment of the area.
The First Reading of Ordinance 22-03 to supplement Ordinance 21-13 to make supplemental appropriations for the current expenses of The Village of Delta for the fiscal year ending December 21st, 2022.
The First Reading of Ordinance 22-04 authorizing the village administrator to dispose of certain property not needed for any municipal purpose.
Council then moved to adjourn at 5:49 p.m. The next regular council meeting will take place on May 2nd, at 5:30 p.m.
Jacob can be reached at jacob@thevillagereporter.com