FACADE GRANT DETAILS Mayor Grime left speaks on the proposed facade grant If approved by the CIC grant funds would be available to downtown merchants for improving their storefronts
By: Amy Wendt
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
amy@thevillagereporter.com
On Monday, March 18, Archbold Village Council convened at its temporary meeting location, the Scout Cabin at Ruihley Park.
Gary Dominique, Chad Kern, Kevin Eicher, Karla Ball, and Aaron Babcock were present while Councilor Vaughn Bentz was absent. Also in attendance were Mayor Brad Grime, Village Administrator Donna Dettling, and Assistant Village Administrator Aaron Alt.
Council started off the evening by approving Minutes from the March 4, 2024 meeting, as well as Bills & Payroll in the amount of $605,421.47.
The Economic Development Coordinator for the village, Jim Wyse, was on hand to provide background history on past Archbold Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) projects. He also planned to share information on initiatives currently in the works.
Wyse began by thanking council for increasing funding to his department. In January, council passed Ordinance 2024-05 providing for a deposit of $50,000 from Income Tax to the CIC’s fund.
The $50,000 was an increase recommended by the Finance Committee from $20,000 deposited in previous years.
During the summer of 2006, while Wyse was serving as mayor, the outgoing Fulton County Economic Development Director approached him intending to transfer a project to the village before his departure.
The project involved the Northwest Ohio Computer Association (NWOCA), which was housed at the Four County Career Center and was facing space constraints.
The Northwest Ohio Educational Service Center (NWOESC), which maintained offices in each county seat within the four-county area, became involved in the discussions as they sought to consolidate their various offices into a single location.
Following three rejections regarding the organizations’ relocation of operations to Archbold, Wyse approached the council to request assistance in providing incentives.
The main reason for offering these incentives was that the community could see a potential of $5 million in payroll, which is about $75,000 every year.
Shortly thereafter, both organizations chose to proceed with the relocation and have been operating in Archbold since that time.
“We’ve enjoyed the benefit of that in our income tax collections for a number of years,” Wyse added.
Shifting to a current CIC project, Wyse shared more details about the Gerald Grain Company (GGC) relocation which has been in negotiations for about four months.
In December 2023, GGC informed Wyse of their decision to move their operations due to overcrowding at the current facility.
Upon meeting with GGC, Wyse’s directive was to find a building for purchase, preferably in the downtown area.
GGC settled on the former Pennycrest building, with plans to house offices on the first floor and utilize the upstairs space for staff training and meetings with farmers and agricultural partners.
Renovations are still in the planning phase and GGC aims to complete the move before the 2024 harvest.
Wyse and the village’s administrative team are also presently working on a facade grant for the downtown area. The application and parameters for this project will be presented to the CIC Board during its quarterly meeting on March 26 for formal approval.
If approved by the CIC, downtown business owners could access up to $15,000 in funds through the grant, provided that $30,000 is invested.
Wyse noted that once everything is finalized, he will begin communicating the details to downtown merchants.
In legislative matters, council addressed two companion items relating to the village cemetery: Ordinance 2024-19 to adjust rates to be charged for cemetery or burial spaces and other related charges, and Ordinance 2024-20 establishing provisions for indigent burials.
According to Dettling, the adjustment outlined in the first ordinance (2024-19) is based upon a recommendation from the Building & Grounds Committee and is “nothing too drastic, just trying to make it more operationally work for us.”
The second ordinance (2024-20) was also based on recommendations by the same committee. Both legislation items were passed following a declaration of emergency.
Council then adopted Resolution 2024-21 in support of the Fulton County 911 Plan. Dettling noted that the legislation was a housekeeping item and a it must be passed on an emergency basis to meet the county’s deadline.
Committee and board minutes before council for review included the Police & Fire Committee Minutes from March 4, the Building & Grounds Committee Minutes from March 4, and the Planning Commission minutes from March 11.
Assistant VA Alt reported that the Planning Commission met on the 11th primarily to conduct a conditional use hearing for T&B Industrial Supply, which also sells golf carts.
The business petitioned the commission to allow them to begin renting golf carts, and the commission approved their request.
Alt also noted that the commission discussed the Vacant Property Registry recommendation which will come before Council at the April 1 meeting.
The Planning Commission also discussed the possible consolidation of the planning board with the zoning board. “By bringing these boards together, we can engage them a little bit more,” added Alt.
Council also reviewed the monthly Fire & EMS Response report for February 2024 and there was a brief discussion about the Residential Electric Aggregation.
Prior to adjourning the meeting, Alt updated council on the Municipal Building Renovation project noting the contractors are on track for the September Certificate of Occupancy target date.
The next Archbold Village Council meeting will be held on Monday, April 1, 2024, at 5:30 p.m.