MAYOR PRO TEMPORE Council President Karla Ball center presided over the meeting in the absence of Mayor Brad Grime
By: Amy Wendt
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
amy@thevillagereporter.com
On Monday, April 1 Archbold Village Council met for a regular session at its temporary chambers, the Scout Cabin in Ruihley Park.
Present were Councilors Gary Dominique, Chad Kern, Kevin Eicher, Aaron Babcock, Vaughn Bentz, and Karla Ball. Also on hand were Village Administrator Donna Dettling, and Assistant Village Administrator Aaron Alt.
Mayor Brad Grime was absent, so Council President Karla Ball took charge of the gavel, presiding over the meeting in the mayor’s place.
Tackling the first items on the evening’s agenda, council approved the March 18 meeting minutes, as well as the payment of bills and payroll totaling $71,532.27.
Jason Martz, the village’s Street Department Superintendent, came before council to outline duties and responsibilities taken on by his team throughout the year and also took the opportunity to provide updates on some current projects.
Martz began by noting that 2024 marks the 41st year of the village’s recognition as a Tree City USA and Arbor Day is Friday, April 26.
He added that a small Arbor Day gathering will be held at Ruihley Park with the Archbold Middle School 5th grade class and a tree will be planted east of the swimming pool.
At the conclusion of the event, each student will receive a seedling provided by the Fulton County Soil and Water Department to plant at home.
As spring arrives, the street crew will begin to work on sealing cracks on the village streets using nearly 7,000 pounds of sealant.
When sealing is finished, they will move on to centerline striping streets in need. As the weather continues to warm up, the crew will mow various areas of the village, while winter will bring the need for salting roads and plowing snow.
Throughout the year, the department is responsible for locating storm sewers as well as the maintenance and repairs of storm sewers, catch basins, street signs, and sinkholes.
The department also spends a couple of days each week collecting and chipping fallen brush and branches resulting in a lot of mulch.
Mulch that is not used by the village is stockpiled at the street department and residents are welcome to reach out to his office to make arrangements to pick up what they need free of charge.
He wrapped up his update by sharing that he has a great crew who takes a lot of pride in their work and also thanked Council for providing the street department with updated equipment that they need to get their job done efficiently.
Moving on to legislative items, following a declaration of emergency, Council adopted Resolution 2024-22 which awarded the 2024 Miscellaneous Sidewalk Improvements Contract (3-2024) to J & S Concrete, LLC. It was noted the bid came in at $51,480 which was 10% below the Village Engineer’s estimate.
Council then approved Ordinance 2024-23 which rescinds Ordinance 2010-19, a measure passed in 2010 implementing an income tax credit program for the village.
Dettling elaborated that Ordinance 2024-23 came in response to a recommendation of the Income Tax Advisory Council and also noted Conagra is the only business currently taking part in the program.
“The Committee really felt strongly that this was not a good fit for our community to use this kind of incentive program anymore,” Dettling added.
Heard for its first reading was Ordinance 2024-24, which is a piece of legislation to create a new section of the Archbold Codified Ordinances – Chapter 154 “Vacant Property and Building Registration.”
If approved, the addition would provide for the registration, security, maintenance, and abatement of properties within the village.
Alt noted the proposed measure is based on a recommendation from the Planning Commission. “We don’t want to see vacant homes or properties in the community. Those are homes that people could occupy and add to the vibrancy of what this community is,” he continued.
He also noted that because the legislature is up for three readings, it is a fluid document, and amendments may be made should Council have any changes.
“If it passes, the village staff would have the opportunity to work with all the vacant properties that we have identified, which is probably around 20, get the contact information, register them, and then in 12 months is when – if that property is still vacant without any justification as to why, then a penalty and fee implementation would occur with these properties,” explained Alt.
Dettling added, “At the end of the day, it really isn’t our goal to overly assess fees and penalties on people. I think we are trying to incent change.”
After a brief discussion on the matter, councilor Kern expressed concern about the proposed legislation, “I’m glad we are having three readings on it because I think it will open up a few things to talk about as we go through this,” Kern commented.
Addressing its final piece of legislation, council adopted Resolution 2024-25 which approves four parcels of farmland for renewal in the Agricultural District.
Committee and board minutes before the group for review included the Income Tax Advisory Council and finance committee minutes from March 18. The Park Board Packet and minutes from its March 19 meeting were also before council to review.
Councilor Kern, liaison to the Park Board, relayed key points from the meeting, highlighting the installation of signs in village parks to prohibit cannabis usage. He also shared there have been discussions about adding a dog park.
Council took a look at the Income Tax Receipts for March 2024 with Dettling noting numbers are up 6.5% overall from March 2023.
Archbold Village Council’s next meeting is set for Monday, April 15, 2024, at 5:30 p.m.
