ADMIN CHANGES … Current VA Donna Dettling (left) submitted her notice of retirement to the council, effective September 1, 2024, at which time Assistant VA Aaron Alt (right) will succeed her as Village Administrator. (PHOTO BY AMY WENDY / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
By: Amy Wendt
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
amy@thevillagereporter.com
Archbold Village Council convened on Monday, July 15, with several legislative items on its agenda.
Council members Gary Dominique, Kevin Eicher, Vaughn Bentz, Chad Kern, Aaron Babcock, and Karla Ball were at the table while Mayor Brad Grime, Village Administrator Donna Dettling, and Assistant Village Administrator Aaron Alt were present representing the village’s admin team.
Following a quick date change correction, council signed off on the council minutes from its July 1, 2024 meeting. The payment of bills & payroll in the amount of $925,930.25 and June 2024 Financials as presented were also approved.
In preparation for Village Administrator Donna Dettling’s upcoming retirement, council addressed a few pieces of legislation to help the transition go smoothly.
Council accepted Dettling’s official Notice of Retirement in Resolution 2024-35 and also approved Resolution 2024-36 to amend the Village of Archbold Employee Pay Plan Manual.
Aaron Alt, the current Assistant Village Administrator, will succeed Dettling as the head of administrative matters. Council approved Ordinance 2024-37 authorizing the mayor to execute an employment agreement with Alt.
Prior to serving as the Assistant VA for the past year, Alt held the position of Planning Director with the village.
Alt will move to his new post on September 1st and Dettling will shift to an “administrative advisory role” for the remaining six months of her employment before retirement.
Mayor Brad Grime shared with Dettling, “We appreciate everything you’ve done for us,” to which Dettling responded, “And I’ve appreciated being here. It’s been—it’s been a dream job.”
In real estate matters, council accepted Ordinance 2024-33 which accepts the annexation to the village approximately 50 acres of land located on East Lutz Road across the street from the police department.
According to Alt, the process started several months ago, has been okayed by the Fulton County Commissioners, and is now before council for final approval.
“The new property owner, the Petitioner – they do not have any concrete plans as far as what they’re doing (with the property) which is why it is being brought in as ‘S1.’ S1 really is the most restrictive. It will prevent them from doing anything without going before the Planning Commission.”
“And then ultimately, if a rezone is required depending on what they want to do, then that rezone, if recommended by the Planning Commission, comes back to Council for Council’s approval. So it does have a process that it has to go through.”
“But, at the end of the day, it would be wonderful to see that half of that block come back into Archbold – come to Archbold—just for the sake of all of our utilities that are already there.”
Moving on to Resolution 2024-34, Council gave the go-ahead to accept a $144,207.03 renewal contract from Public Entity Pool of Ohio, to provide property and liability insurance.
The East Lutz Road Agriculture Runoff Treatment System Project is moving ahead with council passing Resolution 2024-38 which accepts a bid from Rychener Excavating, LLC of Pettisville to construct the wetland.
Alt noted that the engineer’s estimate was $271,215 and the winning bid came in well below that approximation at $212,162.55.
“Rychener Excavating—much smaller shop but an excellent track record. One of the contractors that I know have worked with the owner as well as—I was working for Sauder Village when they constructed the other two wetlands that are right in the vicinity of this, and I remember without a doubt that we had no issues with Jason.”
“He did great work, easy to communicate with, he was on time, interpreted the plans just as expected. With this project, it will help—not significantly—but it will help also with the localized flooding for that watershed as well,” shared Alt.
Dettling added that in 2022 the village received a grant for partial funding from the Federal Government through the Ohio EPA and a smaller grant was obtained from Fulton County Soil and Water to help complete the project.
Council then received updates from the meetings of the Finance Committee on July 1 and July 8, 2024, and the Police & Fire Committee on July 1, 2024.
June 2024 reports before council for review included the Fire & EMS Call Response, Police Department Call for Service, and Street Department Labor & Fleet Report.
Village Zoning Inspector Grant Schaffner was also on hand to provide the Council with an update noting that he has sent out about 10 letters to property owners regarding the recently passed vacant property legislation.
Before breaking for the evening, a brief discussion ensued regarding the current legislation governing the operation of golf carts, under speed vehicles (USVs), and utility vehicles (UYVs) within the village.
At the July 1 council meeting, a member of the community requested council to consider modifying the current law to allow these vehicles to travel more freely around the village and to be permitted to cross the Brush Creek bridge on South Defiance Street/State Route 66.
While the current law states, “operators may cross state highways and streets where the speed limit exceeds 25 mph” they are restricted from sharing state highways within village limits with cars and trucks.
Councilor Kevin Eicher reported that the Streets and Sidewalks Committee, consisting of himself, councilor Babcock, and councilor Dominique, met with AFD Chief Davis to discuss the issue.
Since sidewalks and the deck on the Brush Creek bridge are not wide enough to accommodate these smaller, slow-moving vehicles and pedestrians safely at the same time, the committee will recommend a legislative change to allow USVs and UTVs to drive on State Route 66, enabling them to cross the Brush Creek bridge and travel south as far as the village line if they wish to do so. Some council members expressed concern about potential safety issues that this change could introduce.
The proposed legislative amendment will have its first reading at the next council meeting on August 5. This will allow council members to weigh in on the details and provide the public with an opportunity to learn more about the proposed changes.”
The next Archbold Village Council meeting will be held on Monday, August 5.
