(PHOTO BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
NEW TRASH TAGS … ARS Corporate Sales Manager Michele Ryder shows members of the Delta Village Council images of two of the new trash tags set to be implemented in the village on March 1. The new tags, which include unique serial numbers and are die cut, are intended to prevent residents from fabricating counterfeit tags.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
The Delta Village Council shared its support for a face value trade for residents’ remaining trash tags as Archbold Refuse Service prepares to switch to a new tag system in March.
According to ARS Corporate Sales Manager Michele Ryder, the new tags are die cut and have unique serial numbers in order to prevent residents from fabricating their own counterfeit tags, an issue they have faced in multiple areas they serve.
Assistant Finance Director Marlena Allwood said the replacement consideration was necessary as some residents purchased tags ahead in case prices went up or, in some cases, as Christmas gifts for family and friends. Some residents, she said, had as much as $100 worth of unused tags, more than could be used before the cutoff date of March 1.
The current cost is $27.50 for 10 tags. New tags can be purchased from the village and replacement tags should be available during the third and fourth weeks of February, until the cutoff date.
NEW VILLAGE POLICIES
Village Administrator Chris Frazer brought potential new policies covering credit card use and the return of village-issued property by departing employees as well as the preliminary version of a lease agreement for the Delta Youth Sports Association to use village office space to the council for discussion and guidance.
The credit card policy, the pursuit of which was requested by the council, pulls verbiage from a similar policy from the city of Rossford.
According to Frazer, the policy would include the requirement that anything other than emergency purchases be covered under purchase orders, whether specific to the purchase or for a blanket total amount to the vendor. Receipts would also continue to be required.
“This at the very least would give the council assurance that we have a policy in place to let everybody know … who has to use a credit card that this is what we expect them to use it for, and nothing else,” Frazer said.
A finalized version of the policy rewritten specific to Delta will be brought to a future council for approval. No specific issues with credit card use were reported prior to the recommendation that a policy be pursued.
Frazer drafted the returned property policy due to issues he reported with former staff returning items issued to them, specifically past employees wearing clothing bearing the village seal, leading residents to erroneously believe they were representing the village at the time.
Although both the possibility of withholding final paychecks if village property is not returned or deducting the value of the property from the final paycheck were discussed, the legality of such actions under state and federal law were not.
The council gave verbal approval for Frazer to move forward with a lease agreement with the DYSA to use vacant office space in the village offices for meetings and to potentially receive mail at a cost of $1 per month.
LOVE’S TRAVEL STOP
Council Member Robert Shirer raised concerns about potential stormwater runoff into Bad Creek upstream of the village’s intake for its drinking water from the tributary during an update on the project by Frazer.
“Because we don’t have an automatic shutoff, if there was ever an issue at Love’s, there’s contamination of the drinking water supply for the village of Delta, and that is not something I am willing to compromise on to have a truck stop,” Shirer said.
Frazer said he is working with the law director on who is able to issue a stormwater runoff permit and whether such a permit would be enforceable and by what agency.
He also said he has brought engineering consultancy The Mannik & Smith Group Inc. out of Maumee on board, and that they have agreed to represent the village’s interests in the project.
SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER
Police Chief Samuel Chappell shared an update on his pursuit of the creation of a school resource officer position to serve the Pike-Delta-York Local School District.
Chappell said that while the village had an SRO in the past, it is currently the only community in the county without one, following the creation of an SRO position by the village of Swanton.
According to Chappell, who said he has had preliminary conversations with Superintendent Jonathan Burke, the initial estimate is that the position would be paid $44,000 per year with a 3 percent annual increase, to be paid by the school district.
OTHER BUSINESS
An emergency ordinance to authorize the expenditure of roughly $44,000 for a new police department vehicle was tabled in order to correct a discrepancy between the cost shared with council by Frazer and the cost listed in the ordinance, and to add a second section authorizing the expenditure of slightly more than $18,000 to outfit the vehicle with the necessary equipment to function as a police vehicle.
The council approved on second reading a measure authorizing parking on the south side of Main Street between Wood Street and Madison Street.
The council approved on second reading both a contract with Shank Concrete to crush leftover concrete from pool demolition and residential dumping at a cost of $28,000 as well as an ordinance appropriating the $14,000 in the pool fund to be used for half of that cost.
Delta Community Fire Department Chief Jeremy Gillen reported the department responded to 1,064 calls for service in 2024 – 745 EMS incidents and 319 fire incidents, slightly less than in 2023 but in line with the average over the past several years.
The next regular meeting of the Delta Village Council will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, February 3, 2025, at 401 Main Street in Delta.
