(PHOTO BY AMY WENDT / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
CELL TOWER … (L to R) Councilors Aaron Babcock, Chad Kern, and Karla Ball hear information about a possible buyout of the Verizon cell tower easement located behind the village’s street garage on Holland Street.
By: Amy Wendt
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
amy@thevillagereporter.com
On Monday, May 5 the Archbold Village Council met for its first regular meeting of the month with all council members in attendance as well as Mayor Brad Grime and Village Administrator Aaron Alt.
With no public comments to address, the council approved the minutes from its April 21 meeting, authorized the payment of $437,541.58 in bills and payroll, and accepted the April 2025 financial reports.
While reviewing expenses, Councilor Karla Ball inquired about a $3,440 bill to Homier’s Monument. Alt explained that the cost covered repairs following damage caused by an auto accident last fall when a vehicle left the roadway and struck multiple headstones at the cemetery. The expense was reimbursed by the driver’s insurance.
Moving on to legislation, on its first reading, the council heard Resolution 2025-23 which would authorize the village administrator and finance director to enter into an agreement with VB Acquisitions, LLC for a perpetual lease of a Verizon Wireless cell tower site located on Holland Street behind the village’s street garage.
Sharing background information, Alt noted that the lease began in 2015 and since that time, has been generating around $1,000 in revenue per month for the village. VB Acquisitions has recently proposed to buy out the lease easement for $152,500.00.
“The thing with cell phone towers is they might not stay there forever and again, $1,000 in revenue is not going to impact the General Fund the way that $150,000 could toward special projects.’
“If we proceed forward with this, the money would be earmarked for communication improvements for the town,” Alt added. No action was taken and a second reading of the legislation will take place at the next meeting.
The council also heard two items for second reading beginning with Ordinance 2025-20 which would provide for a wastewater rate increase effective the July 2025 usage and August 2025 billing period.
Alt clarified that the legislation will not call for an actual increase, rather it will remove tiers from the village’s current wastewater billing structure.
Also heard was Resolution 2025-21 which would authorize the administrator to enter into a sanitary sewer service agreement with Ridgeville Township Water & Sewer District. No action was taken on Ordinance 2025-20 or Resolution 2025-21.
Council approved Resolution 2025-22 authorizing the village administrator and finance director to advertise for bids for Contract 4-25, North Street Waterline. The project is intended to improve the village’s aging water infrastructure which has experienced several line breaks in recent years.
Moving along to the review of board minutes, Councilor Aaron Babcock offered highlights from the April Park Board meeting and shared that all projects “are moving along quite nicely.”
The Memorial Park and South Street shelter houses are seeing improvement, pickleball courts are progressing, and the pool house renovations will begin soon. Councilor Vaughn Bentz added that people in the community have been asking about the changes and seem to have positive feedback.
Reporting on April 2025 Income Tax numbers, Alt explained that while that revenue was down early in the year, it rebounded in April to end up 2.29% ahead of last year.
He’s cautiously optimistic but warned against loosening budgets too much, especially with recent layoff announcements that could potentially impact income tax receipts.
Council also reviewed Fire & EMS Calls for Service and Street Department Fleet Reports for April 2025.
Before adjourning, the council held an informal discussion on concerns about unauthorized advertising signs, commonly called “snipe signs,” appearing in public right-of-ways.
While no action was taken, council members emphasized the need for timely removal and public education about placement rules.
The council also briefly discussed the future of two village-owned rental properties. While no decisions were made, members weighed the long-term costs of maintaining the homes against possible infrastructure changes, including traffic improvements and property sales.
Archbold Village Council will reconvene on Monday, May 19, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. at the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building.