PHOTOS BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
WHAT’S THE DAMAGE? … Swanton Police Chief John Trejo leads members of the Swanton Village Council on a tour of the fire damaged village offices before their regular meeting June 22. Shown are, from left, Trejo, Councilman John Schmidt, Swanton Fire and Rescue Division Chief Cuyler Kepling, and Councilman Noah Kreuz.
BARELY HOLDING UP … Charred and warped rafters provide reduced support to the roof of the Swanton village offices, which were damaged in a January fire.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
Members of the Swanton Village Council were given a brief tour of the burned village offices by Police Chief John Trejo and Swanton Fire and Rescue Division Chief Cuyler Kepling prior to their regular meeting June 22.
Charred and warped rafters, smoke stains, and other damage were visible throughout the building, which was heavily damaged during a fire in January.
In a cabinet still inside the building, outlines of its former contents made by smoke damage could be seen.
Council members noted the building’s 2-by-4 construction, where commercial building code requires the use of two by sixes, and also wondered aloud whether the building’s wiring had been damaged inside the metal conduit where it could not be seen.
All those factors along with other damage, including melted internals of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units, led Village Administrator Shannon Shulters to turn down an initial reimbursement of $600,000 offered by the village’s insurance company.
A subsequent inspection by engineers hired by the village led to their own estimate of between $1.8 million and $2 million.
CAT ORDINANCE
Council members passed on first reading an ordinance codifying the village’s trap, neuter/spay, vaccinate, return/rehome, or “TNVR” program, designed to manage the village’s stray cat population.
Through the program, which is operated by the Fulton County Humane Society on behalf of the village, the cats are trapped, given veterinary care, and released back to their respective colonies, rehomed, or euthanized if too ill to treat.
All set traps are observed directly and immediately picked up when successful so no cats are left unattended in the traps.
After treatment, the cats’ left ears are clipped so they can be identified if trapped again in the future.
The ordinance includes authorization for program staff to complete all necessary actions included in the program at any property where residents are caring for stray cats.
That wording was added in order to address issues where residents have been refusing the village access to their properties in order to trap and manage the animals.
Reporting on the ongoing efforts of the village’s TNVR program, Councilman Deacon Dzierzawski said about 50 cats had been trapped so far, with roughly 80 percent being released back to their respective colonies and 10 to 15 percent rehomed, mostly as barn cats.
He said the number returned to their colonies was high due to the animals being too feral to be rehomed.
Upon questioning by other council members, Dzierzawski said that the program’s funding is holding out as far as he knows.
SHORT-TERM RENTAL BAN
Council members approved on first reading an ordinance banning the use of properties in R1, R2, and R3 residential zones for short-term rentals such as those offered through popular services Airbnb and Vrbo.
When asked why R4 and R5 districts were not included in the ban, Shulters said those districts are for multifamily properties such as apartment complexes, making their use as short-term rentals not at odds with the zoning designation’s purpose.
Council members agreed on some changes to the proposed regulations, eschewing time-frame restrictions determining when citations would be issued in favor of a per-violation basis.
They also agreed that the fines should be increased. The proposed ordinance states that each day a violation continues is considered a separate offense.
ORDINANCE VIOLATIONS
Council members approved on first reading an ordinance standardizing and applying to all ordinance violations fines and penalties in order to give the village more options to address such issues.
Shulters said the original version of the regulations updated by the ordinance had been in place since 1992 but did not properly define or outline possible punishment for violations.
Councilman Noah Kreuz said many violations currently only resulted in door hangers being left notifying offending residents of their violations.
As the ordinance set fines on an “up to” basis, council members said the proposed fines should be increased, as they could always decide to charge a fine below that maximum amount.
With the possibility of vehicle seizures increasing as a result of the ordinance, Trejo said the village’s impound lot would likely need to be expanded, as it held a maximum of 10 vehicles and was “about maxed out already.”
Responding to a question from meeting attendees, council members confirmed that when village staff went onto residents’ property to address a violation, they were limited to the task at hand and could not snoop around looking for additional violations.
Councilman John Schmidt called such extracurricular activities a violation of residents’ fourth amendment protections against unlawful search and seizure.
E-BIKE ORDINANCE
Council members passed a proposed e-bike ordinance on first reading only despite its passage being requested on an emergency basis in order to correct its wording from “amending” to “replacing” certain sections of the village code.
The ordinance was proposed due to concerns regarding and a recent uptick in the use of the vehicles throughout the village, with Mayor Neil Toeppe calling it a serious safety concern. Village Solicitor Kent Murphree said e-bikes “are basically motorcycles.”
It would ban the use of class I, II, and III e-bikes and electric scooters on sidewalks in B-2 general business district and B-3 central business district zones, and ban class III e-bikes from use on all sidewalks in the village as well as from park sidewalks and recreational paths.
E-bikes of any class would also be banned from use on all sidewalks when the motor was engaged.
Class III e-bike riders would also be required to wear helmets, and separate, lower speed limits were set for approved types in certain areas.
All vehicles covered in the ordinance would also be mandated to yield the right of way to pedestrians.
Council members also requested the proposed fines of $50 for the first offense and $100 for subsequent offenses be doubled.
HEINEMANN FAMILY
Toeppe held a moment of silence following the prayer at the beginning of the meeting in memory of Emmett Heinemann, the 13-year-old son of Fire Lieutenant Josh Heinemann who died the previous Friday following a lifelong battle with cystic fibrosis.
Later in the meeting, council members voted to accept Hunter Heinemann as a student intern at the Swanton Fire and Rescue Division.
Toeppe said Hunter planned to “follow in his father’s footsteps,” pursuing a career in emergency services.
Kepling said the program, now in its fourth year, offers two high school seniors the opportunity to learn more about the operations of the department.
He said Hunter is currently in EMT basic school and will be completing his studies within the next four weeks, and that he is set to begin fire training in mid-July.
POLICE CALL INCREASE
Trejo reported officers responded to 347 calls in May, and a total of 1,847 as of the meeting in what he called “quite an increase from years previous.”
According to Trejo, arrests had “doubled, if not tripled.” Unfortunately, society has a lot to do with it,” Trejo said. “I know some of those calls also deal with mental health, which seems to be on the increase also.”
He said grants for mental health resources were being cut which was affecting how such calls could be handled.
Trejo also said domestic violence incidents seemed to be a little bit higher than normal. He said the increased call volume had not made a significant impact on response times, but officer safety had been affected.
Trejo used as an example a recent call where a female officer responding to a call regarding a manic individual had to handle the incident alone for seven minutes before backup arrived, during which time the man picked up and threw a dresser.
OTHER BUSINESS
Council members approved on final reading the elimination of the Downtown Design Review Board and reassignment of its duties regarding the Downtown Facade Grant Program to the village administrator and fiscal officer, and the elimination of the Tree Commission and reassignment of its duties to the Public Service Department and the village administrator.
Council members approved on an emergency basis an ordinance promising the provision of water, sanitary sewer, fire, police, and other municipal services to a pair of properties recently annexed into the village.
Council members approved on first reading an ordinance requiring a fee of $200 per vehicle per month for commercial vehicles to be left on certain village parking lots.
Council members approved on first reading an updated version of an ordinance regulating mobile food vendors. The earlier version was withdrawn by the prior council in December due to concerns that they would be making it harder for food trucks to operate in the village.
Council members approved a $2,500 increase to the operating supplies and materials line of EMS funding to help cover the cost of medications to stock fire trucks after the department recently obtained authorization to carry the life-saving drugs on the vehicles.
Council members discussed how to manage dumpster violations by multiple businesses in the village which had resulted in garbage trucks driving over and damaging sidewalks to empty them, as well as other violations of existing regulations by their placement.
They considered constructing appropriate concrete pads as well as fencing — either with a standard fence or block fences — to screen the dumpsters from view, with consideration given to offending businesses being forced to share in the cost of their construction.
Shulters reported a village well will, in the near future, require a roughly $21,000 well motor pump and pipe replacement and a $20,000 deep cleaning.
Toeppe reported the village has received about 10 applications for fiscal officer during the second attempt at filling the position, with three interviews completed thus far. He said all department heads took part in the interviews.
Shulters reported the Crestwood Drive project is now slated to begin on July 6, by which point the Hallett Avenue project should be completed on the southbound side, with the northbound side closed for completion of the second half of the work.
Shulters reported a public service operator for the village was terminated as of June 9 due to various attendance and performance issues.
Councilwoman Pat Pilliod reported the recently created Friends of Swanton Parks Facebook group now had more than 330 members, having gained about 100 members following a line dancing event at the park.
She also reported the park committee is looking into fundraising events and a possible “party in the park” event.
The next regular meeting of the Swanton Village Council will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 20, at The Venue on Main, 124 N. Main Street, to be preceded by a meeting of the council’s committee of the whole at 6 p.m.
