PHOTOS BY AMY WENDT / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
PLAYGROUND UPDATE … Officials from the Village of Archbold plan to focus on upgrades for Ruihley Park in 2027, which may feature updated playground equipment.
DAVID K. AESCHLIMAN MEMORIAL … The monument located in Memorial Park, which was originally constructed by the Archbold Area Jaycees in 1976, has recently undergone restoration.
By: Amy Wendt
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
amy@thevillagereporter.com
The Archbold Village Council met on Monday, July 20, for its second regular meeting of the month with council members Kevin Eicher, Aaron Babcock, Chad Kern and Karla Ball at the table while Councilor Mike Evans attended by phone. Council member Gary Dominique was absent.
Mayor Brad Grime, Village Administrator Aaron Alt, Finance Director Kathy Rupp and Clerk Cassie Storrer were also on hand.
PARK IMPROVEMENTS
With few items on the agenda, discussion of the village’s many parks was the primary topic of the meeting.
Village Administrator Aaron Alt said that going forward, he would like to see the village take a more proactive approach to maintaining and improving its park system and that the administration plans to assess each of the community’s six parks to develop a maintenance and improvement strategy.
“I’ve spent some time with Parks and Rec – Jen and Steve – going over just some expectations and where shortfalls have been falling with maintenance tasks and focus and effort,” Alt began.
The Street Department helped with further upgrades by cutting down and trimming back overgrown brush and trees in Memorial Park, following the recent restoration of the David K. Aeschliman monument.
Alt outlined some of the efforts already underway and noted that the maintenance staff has cleaned and reorganized the maintenance shop and removed unused equipment and scrap.
He said the village also plans to sell or repurpose lumber milled from trees, including some white oak, removed during the Ruihley Park pickleball court project to help recover processing costs.
Much of the discussion centered on balancing maintenance priorities and addressing years of deferred maintenance.
Alt pointed out that the Parks and Rec staff spend a considerable amount of time maintaining ball fields, including high school varsity baseball and softball fields, resulting in significant overtime and limiting the department’s ability to address other park maintenance.
According to Alt, the Parks and Rec staff have been directed to track expenses and time needed to maintain ball fields primarily used by the district to determine whether the current arrangement is sustainable.
He would also like the village to explore whether hiring seasonal maintenance workers could help reduce overtime and strain on department employees and increase efficiency.
Councilor Chad Kern weighed in, “I think the parks boils down to the fact that it’s good to have good ball fields. It’s good to have good soccer fields. But what do people use year-round? Do they use the pavilion year-round? Yes. Do you use the playground equipment nine months out of the year? Yes…
“I’m all for keeping them looking nice and all that, but that should not be the focus.
“More people go to the playgrounds than go to the ball fields on a yearly basis. There’s no doubt. And I just think ball fields can look good, but they don’t have to be perfect.”
The conversation then turned to Ruihley Park, including the need for repairs to the restroom facilities, evaluating aging pavilions and playground equipment, and preserving existing assets.
Alt said in 2027 the village will focus on improving Ruihley Park and future discussions will include an update to the playground equipment and possibly relocating the park’s Civil War-era cannon to an appropriate historical organization so the existing shelter house could then be repurposed for public use alongside the renovated playground.
ROUTINE MATTERS AND LEGISLATION
Addressing routine matters, council approved the minutes from its July 6 regular meeting. The June 2026 financials were then approved, and the payment of $883,276 in bills and payroll was authorized.
Alt pointed out that in addition to payments for health insurance and ARS refuse, large payments for various improvement projects were also included in the last period’s expenditures. “So, we’re in that time of the year that bills and payroll will be seeing an uptick,” Alt added.
Moving on to legislation, following a declaration of emergency, the council approved Resolution 2026-25 authorizing the Village Administrator to renew the insurance proposal of Ohio Plan Risk Management, Inc. through Hylant Administrative Services for the village’s property, liability, and cyber security insurance policies.
Alt confirmed that all village-owned items have been reviewed and will be under the policy that covers approximately $100 million. He added that the village saved $60,000 last year by switching to Ohio Plan.
POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORT
The Archbold Police Department’s June 2026 monthly report stated officers attended a combined 192 hours of training in areas such as legal update, critical incident debriefings, suicide and PTSD awareness, barricaded subjects and commercial motor vehicle enforcement.
Interim Assistant Chief Bradley Merillat graduated from the Police Executive Leadership College, which consisted of 105 class hours.
In June, APD officers issued 13 traffic citations, made six arrests or filed charges for various juvenile and adult offenses, and a total of 148 reports were taken.
NEW BUSINESS
In new business, Alt told council members that they will see an unusually large refund included with bills and payroll at the next meeting after the village was required to return approximately $237,000 in municipal income tax to a local business.
He explained the refund stems from a reconciliation of the company’s 2024 taxes, and he added that changes in the state’s reconciliation process could make similar refunds more common in the future.
The council also reviewed the village’s quarterly investment report, with Alt noting that while interest rates have declined from a 5.5% high in 2024, consistently growing cash reserves have helped maintain strong interest earnings that are offsetting revenue shortfalls in other areas.
Mayor Grime asked if the village should “shop around” at other banks in search of a better investment rate.
Finance Director Kathy Rupp pointed out that the village’s five-year depository agreement is set to expire later this year, so it would be an appropriate time to review banking options.
The Archbold Village Council will hold its next meeting on Monday, August 3 at 5:30 p.m. in the municipal building.