WATER TOWER REPAIRS COMPLETED … Repairs were recently completed on Swanton’s water tower, seen here. A new access hatch, new vent, interior cleaning, and exterior painting were all part of the effort.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
The Swanton Village Council approved on first reading local assessments for leaf collection and street lighting and gave final approval to estimated tax levy rates provided by the county auditor at its October 10 meeting.
According to the proposed ordinances, residents will be charged $15 for leaf collection and $32 for street lighting, charged on a per-parcel basis.
The council approved county auditor estimated tax levies of 2.30 mills for the general fund from within the 10-mill limitation set by the state as well as levies of 1.20 mills and 2.00 mills for the park fund and fire/ALS/rescue funds outside the limit. Levies outside the 10 mill limit must be approved by voters.
Village Administrator Shannon Shulters said the village is no longer collecting the 2.00-mill fire levy, despite its approval.
NUISANCE PROPERTIES ADDRESSED
The council heard updates on an Airport Road property and also voted to declare another property a nuisance for the purposes of collecting funds expended by the village to clean up the property.
The Airport Road property has been the source of multiple complaints, and the owner has said she cannot afford to clean up the property despite having received multiple abatement letters from code enforcement.
Shulters reported the woman has been trying to get her pool cleaned and a truck moved off her property (in which it is reported a man has been living), but that neither have happened yet.
According to Shulters, a contractor was being sent in by the village the following day to clean up the property, while another would be sent at a later date to fix a fence sagging onto a neighboring property and also potentially address the pool.
Another village property which had to be addressed in the past due to overgrown vegetation was the subject of the nuisance resolution as the same issue had arisen again.
“The property owner did come in and pay after overgrown shrubbery was cleaned up (in the past),” Shulters said.
She said that was what happened again this year, although not to the same extreme. A contractor hired by the village has cut down and hauled away the vegetation and the owner has been billed, but Shulters said the owner has not yet paid.
The nuisance property resolution indicates the bill will be assessed as a lien on the property.
OTHER BUSINESS
Shulters reported repairs to the village water tower have been completed. The work included a new access hatch at the base of the tower, a new vent on the top of the tower, a cleaning of the interior, and repainting of the exterior. It was tested and put back into service at the end of September.
Shulters reported that the last of the new water meters for village residents have been installed, one for a particularly resistant resident.
Despite that resistance, she said the contractor installing the meter was also able to repair a water leak for the resident, which should reduce their bill from roughly $150 per month to just the $67 monthly base fee.
Mayor Neil Toeppe swore in new Fire Chief Cuyler Kepling.