WARM WELCOME Sgt Brad Merillat who was recently hired as APDs 2nd Shift Supervisor was formally introduced to council at the October 2 meeting
By: Amy Wendt
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
Archbold Village Council convened on Monday, October 2, 2023, with a full agenda. Council members Kevin Morton, Kevin Eicher, Vaughn Bentz, Brad Short, and Karla Ball were present, while Councilor Chad Kern was absent.
In addition to Council, Mayor Brad Grime, Village Administrator Donna Dettling, and Assistant Village Administrator Aaron Alt were also in attendance.
The meeting was held in the Ruihley Park Scout Cabin which is being used as the temporary Council Chambers while renovations to the village hall are being completed.
The extra space in the Scout Cabin was put to good use as members of the public and Archbold Police Department were in attendance to witness the formal introduction of the newest APD addition, Sgt. Brad Merillat.
Council approved Resolution 2023-45 accepting the electric aggregation rate secured by Fulton County from Dynegy for the Archbold Community Electric Aggregation Program.
In September 2022 Council authorized the Fulton County Board of Commissioners to act as purchasing agent and governmental aggregator for electric power rates for the village.
Increasing electric rates are on the minds of many residents. “I know one of the things that is a huge concern, and it should be, because this is one of the things, I get the most calls about at the office. I probably fielded at least a dozen maybe two dozen calls from people concerned about the electric rates,” noted Dettling.
According to the village’s energy consultant, Amy Hoffman of Palmer Energy, Toledo Edison’s rate is currently at $0.098/kWh through December 2023.
The village’s current rate through the Fulton County aggregation program is $0.0479/kWh with Energy Harbor. The new rate of $0.0655/kWh with Dynegy will be in effect from June 2024 through December 2025.
Residents may opt out of the Archbold Community Aggregation Program and will begin receiving letters around March.
However, the village cautions against doing so, emphasizing that claims of obtaining a more competitive rate outside the program may not hold true.
Council also gave the green light to Resolution 2023-41 approving the 2024 residential refuse service agreement between the Village of Archbold and Archbold Refuse Service, Inc (ARS).
Prior to approval, Michele Ryder, VP of Sales and Marketing for ARS was on hand to answer any questions and concerns of Council.
Under the new agreement, the Village of Archbold will gradually transition to an automated pickup route similar to other communities such as Stryker, Montpelier, Edgerton, and Pioneer. ARS anticipates that the move to the new system will be complete by the end of 2024.
Customers will receive detailed information from ARS about the transition to automated refuse pickup and will be given a 35-, 65- or 95-gallon refuse container at no cost.
Customers will also receive from ARS guidelines for the new automated pickup including instructions for trash container placement on pickup day.
If a resident has special circumstances that make it difficult for them to place their trash receptacle in the designated curb pickup area, other arrangements can be made by contacting ARS.
Following the successful deployment of the automated refuse collection system, a similar system will be implemented by ARS for picking up recycled materials.
First readings were held on Ordinance 2023-42 providing for a water rate increase effective January 1, 2024 billing (December 2023 consumption period) and Ordinance 2023-43 providing for a wastewater rate increase effective January 1, 2024 Billing (December 2023 consumption period).
Dettling added, “Normally we do rate increases in June each year. We decided to forgo that and start doing them annually with the January billing, which is our December consumption period, so we have a full 12 months to look at when we budget and try to figure out what revenues are going to look like.”
The anticipated increase is 3% for both water and wastewater services.
It was also noted that compared to the surrounding communities, Archbold’s fees for both services remain on the lower end.
Council approved Ordinance 2023-44 accepting a recommendation from the Archbold Planning Commission to re-zone 100 Woodland Drive from B-2, Highway and Commercial Business to R-3, Medium Density Residential.
According to Assistant Administrator Alt, Marty and Cindy Rupp are heading up the project which consists of the construction of eight duplexes with a total of 16 apartments at that location.
Also passed by council was Resolution 2023-46 accepting the amounts and rates as determined by the Budget Commission, authorizing the necessary tax levies, and certifying them to the County.
Council also approved a motion to waive the hearing before the Fulton County Budget Commission regarding the apportionment of the Undivided Local Government Fund.
The minutes of the September 18, 2023, Village Council meeting and Bills & Payroll in the amount of $1,136,601.84 were also approved.
Income Tax Receipts in September 2023 were overall up 13.43% however withholdings were down 1%.
Before Council for review were minutes from the Police & Fire Committee and the Utility Committee meetings held on September 18 as were the Park Board minutes from its September 13 meeting. The Archbold Community Garden (ACG) also submitted a report to Council for review.
A Planning Commission Meeting will be held on Monday, October 9, 2023, at 3:30 p.m. and there will be a German Township Trustee Meeting also on Monday, October 9, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. The next Archbold Village Council Meeting will be held on Monday, October 16, 2023, at 5:30 p.m.
Amy can be reached at amy@thevillagereporter.com
