(PHOTO BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
GETTING COVERED … Hylant Administrative Services Client Executive Conrad Beck addresses the Delta Village Council during its meeting Monday evening prior to a vote on renewing the village’s property and liability insurance.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
The Delta Village Council chose to allow all its proposed ordinances related to a new park levy die during its meeting Monday evening after discovering the current levy doesn’t expire until 2027.
By the decision of council members not to make any motions to pass the items, they killed an ordinance to put a renewal levy with an incorrect date on the November ballot as well as two ordinances seeking the numbers necessary from the county auditor’s office to create corrected ballot items for a renewal levy and a replacement levy.
Council members decided it did not make sense to ask residents to vote in November on a tax that wouldn’t take effect until 2027, after the current levy expires.
FIRE HALL SALE
Council members took a vote showing their general support for waiving competitive bidding on concrete repair work at the Delta Community Fire Station prior to its sale to York Township.
Two bids already received for the work came in at just below $44,000 and just over $53,000, although the second bid included slightly more work than the first.
That is at least $8,000 more than bids for the same work in 2023, according to Village Administrator Chris Frazer, who said concrete prices have risen and continue to rise.
Other work to be done prior to the sale of the building includes the replacement of overhead door openers and roof repairs – although the roof work is supposedly to be completed at no cost according to Mayor Allen Naiber, who is also an employee of the fire department.
Contract stipulations previously approved by the council limit all repairs to the building funded by the village to a total of $75,000, to be paid from the fire fund.
Only Councilman Robert Shirer voted against the measure, arguing that the village should have a signed contract of sale in hand before deciding to waive competitive bidding.
Despite the general vote in favor of the waiver, the item will come back before council members in the form of an ordinance to approve the contract for the work and officially waive competitive bidding, providing another opportunity for discussion and public input.
The land would remain the property of the village, with the building sold for $1 but rent on the land being charged at $1,500 per quarter.
The council also voted to approve on an emergency basis a supplemental appropriation to make usable the fire fund money for the designated repair expenses.
POLICE UPDATES
Police Chief Samuel Chappell reported the paperwork has been filed and approved to expand the school zones on Taylor Street to eliminate a gap between the zones for the high school and the elementary and middle schools.
The school zone signs can be moved now, while new flashing signage will wait until an application can be submitted for a grant in August. With a six-month wait time on materials, the new signs will likely not be installed for a year, assuming the grant application is successful.
The council voted to approve Chappell’s plan to hire a third part-time officer to focus on traffic enforcement with an eye specifically toward truck traffic. The approval comes after Chappell sat down with Frazer to confirm there is room in the existing budget for the additional officer.
Chappell also reported two new felony indictments – one for a burglary from 2022 and another for a more recent crime.
OTHER BUSINESS
The council voted to approve on an emergency basis the renewal of the village’s property and liability insurance coverage with The Ohio Plan.
According to Hylant Administrative Services Client Executive Conrad Beck, the policy includes a $5 million liability limit and will go into effect on July 1.
The premium for the policy is $68,508, but with a $6,888 discount, the village will only owe $61,620. That compares to last year’s premium of $58,374 with a credit of $8,451 for a total cost of $49,923.
After a brief discussion, the council indicated it would like Frazer to represent them at a meeting with the Pike-Delta-York Local School District Board of Education to discuss the potential residential tax increment finance district proposed for the new Delta Acres development.
The council voted to put a trash levy on the November ballot for voters a 0.25-mill levy to fund the village’s bulk garbage pickup program.
Cost for residents, if passed, would be $9 per $100,000 of assessed property value. Council members Anthony Dawson and Lynn Frank voted against the measure, which is estimated to raise $16,700.
The Park Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, June 29th at the park in its final meeting before its annual three-month summer break.
The next regular meeting of the Delta Village Council will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, July 7, 2025, at 401 Main Street in Delta.