By: Amy Wendt
On Wednesday, March 22, 2023, Fayette Village Council met for a regular meeting with all members present except for Chris Meeker.
Mayor David Borer delivered his State of the Village address. According to the mayor’s address, the splash pad will be arriving this spring and a new fence along the well field will be installed.
The water line replacement will soon commence, and the multi-year project includes 40,725 linear feet of water mains, new fire hydrants with all new valves, and service connections.
As a part of the project, all lead and galvanized service lines will be replaced at no cost to the residents.
Borer’s address also pointed out that the police department has been utilizing grant funds for the School Resource Officer, Community Resource Officer, and the DARE Program.
Much of the safety equipment used by FPD has also been updated by obtaining grant funds. The police department now uses the Gov.deals website to sell surplus and unused equipment.
Recycling will be returning to the village once a month beginning on Sunday, April 23 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
Many volunteers will be involved in this project including village and township residents as well as Fayette school students.
The address noted that many volunteers have helped make improvements to the Village including the Bull Thistle Committee, CDC, Bean Creek Valley History Center, Normal Memorial Library, and the newly formed Garden and Beautification Club to make this summer’s sesquicentennial celebration a success.
Mayor Borer’s address continued, “We as village officials and employees get wrapped up in the tasks of trying to fix our zoning, infrastructure, and our funding issues.”
It’s nice to have the support of village and township residents to make our town a great place to live and raise a family.”
“In my 13 years of public service, this is the most engaged I have seen our citizens and I, for one, really appreciate all that you are doing to improve our village.”
Mayor Borer also noted in the mayor’s report that the village is asking that residents fill out waterline surveys as soon as possible. The link to the survey is https://arch.is/qCPWa.
Borer shared the following upcoming Fayette events:
March 25 – 7:00 pm – Fayette Opera House – The Good, the Bad, and the Blues Concert
March 31 – 9:00 – Midnight – One More Bar and Grill – Live Music with Lee Warren
April 1 – Noon – Fayette United Methodist Church (Newborn to 3rd grade)
April 21 – 10:30 am – 11:30 am Normal Memorial Library – Building Club
April 29 – Bull Thistle 5K Run
Visitor Lisa Stambaugh inquired of the council about the possibility of creating a Fayette Community Calendar that consolidates events for Fayette schools (non-athletic events), the Lions Club, the American Legion, Fayette Opera House, and any other organization that would like to be included.
Stambaugh said she has considered the possibility of a hard copy of the monthly calendar included with the water bills, leaving copies at the post office and the library.
She also added that the monthly calendar can be posted to the What’s Happening in Fayette Facebook page and pinned at the top so it is easy to find for those who use Facebook.
Stambaugh expressed she just wanted to speak with the council and get their thoughts about what information should be included in a community calendar.
Karen King was present on behalf of the CDC and shared that CDC 150 Celebration Committee will meet on Thursday, March 23.
She also shared that the Garden Club and CDC are working on getting the community involved in cleaning up the area.
Another visitor was present to speak about the problem of trash on properties around town and asked the council if there were any consequences for those who disobey village ordinances concerning unkempt properties.
She noted that some residents comply for a short time after receiving a citation from the village however results do not last long and within a short time, their property is back to a state of disarray.
Priestap explained that the council is currently working on revising all ordinances to make sure they cover all of the issues concerning trash on properties. It was also noted that upon revision of the ordinances, they would have to be codified before they can be enforced.
In the village administrator’s report, Ric Beals noted that there was a pre-construction meeting for the well field fencing project and construction will start once the weather is favorable.
Beals also shared that approval plans have been received from Ohio EPA for the water replacement project and the discharge permit for wastewater has also been accepted by the EPA.
Engineering from Circle K will be on-site to review the potential expansion of the store.
Beals noted Stryker and West Unity are working on a mutual aid agreement between their communities to help each other during water main breaks or other disasters and they asked if Fayette would consider joining.
The agreement would allow the smaller communities to pool resources and get back up and running quickly in the event of a civil emergency.
Karin Sauerlender shared the monthly fiscal officer report and went over the details of the final 2023 appropriations with the council.
Sauerlender also noted that years ago, a separate fund was set up for unclaimed security deposits.
According to law, those funds must remain in the unclaimed funds account for five years. November 2023 will mark five years so the unclaimed funds in the amount of $13,388.77 will be transferred into the General Fund at that time.
During the meeting, council also approved or accepted the following items:
-Minutes from March 8, 2023 meeting.
-Public Works/Finance Committee minutes from March 15, 2023 meeting
-Administrator’s Report
-Village Fiscal Officer’s Report including the payment of bills
-Ordinance 2023-02 for 2023 Permanent Appropriations
-Ordinance 2023-02 authorizing a cooperative agreement for the planning of a water project between the Village of Fayette and the OWDA
-Motion to increase wages of Trey Keefer from $15.00 per hour to $17.00 per hour effective March 6, 2023.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:01 pm.
The next Fayette Village Council Meeting is scheduled for April 12, 2023, at 6:00 pm.
Amy can be reached at amy@thevillagereporter.com
