PHOTO BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
WATCH OUT FOR THAT TREE … One of several commercial trucks driving down streets in Delta not intended for truck traffic recently struck a tree at a property at the intersection of Palmwood Street and North Madison Street, seen here. Police Chief Samuel Chappell has been pursuing multiple options to try to curb the behavior.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
A sudden increase in commercial trucks driving on no-truck residential streets in Delta has led to property damage and additional enforcement.
TRUCK TRAFFIC CONCERNS
Delta Police Chief Samuel Chappell, speaking to the Delta Village Council at their meeting Monday evening, said he is unsure as to why the activity is up so much.
He said officers have been stopping several trucks each day over the past several days, and that at one point two were stopped at different locations at the same time.
Chappell said several of the vehicles stopped by officers have been traveling to or from Nova Steel, but noted that the drivers work for different carriers.
Chappell has since contacted Nova Steel and asked them to address the issue with drivers servicing the business.
Additionally, a truck driver was recently caught on a doorbell camera as he struck a tree, tearing off a large limb and damaging the sidewalk at a property at the intersection of Palmwood Street and North Madison Street.
The driver was subsequently located by an officer and stopped. Chappell said the tree may have to be removed as a result.
According to Chappell, some of the drivers stopped have blamed GPS units, which they said have directed them down the streets.
He said that some signage has been updated and several signs have been added in an attempt to correct the issue, and encouraged residents to share any photos or footage of trucks driving on inappropriate streets with the police department.
Chappell’s report was emphasized when a truck passed by the village offices during the meeting as it was driven southbound on Wood Street, visible from the council chambers.
FINANCIAL UPDATE
Finance Director Joanne Clapp provided a brief update on the status of the village’s finances, stating that the general fund balance as of July 15 was -$295,902.01.
Clapp recommended council members treat it as an urgent matter and suspend all non-essential spending. She further said she would be stopping all payments out of the general fund due to the lack of available cash as required by state law.
Payments may still be made from other funds which currently have positive balances for those expenses authorized under the law.
According to a memo provided to the council and the mayor by Clapp, each fund has its own legal purpose, and just because one fund has a positive balance doesn’t mean it is available to be used for general fund purposes.
“Village funds are not one large pot of money,” Clapp wrote. “The general fund pays for general operations, restricted funds must be used only for the purpose for which the money was received, and enterprise funds are tied to specific utility-type services.
“Therefore, money in a street, water, sewer, or other restricted fund cannot automatically be used to pay general fund expenses. We must spend each fund according to its legal purpose and Ohio law.”
Clapp also recommended council members read chapter 118 of the Ohio Revised Code to familiarize themselves with the processes involved in a declaration of local fiscal emergency.
OTHER BUSINESS
Council members approved on an emergency basis the first step in bringing to voters a ballot item shifting an existing 0.5 percent income tax from the water fund to the general fund for police department and other expenditures.
If the measure were to fail, the tax would remain until expiring in 2035, but would continue being deposited into the water fund.
Council members approved on an emergency basis the transfer of bulk water revenue from the water fund to the water capital fund.
Council members approved a $29,850 expense to update and obtain the necessary Ohio Environmental Protection Agency approvals for a Fernwood Street rehabilitation project that has been on the back burner since 2016, in order to be prepared to apply for a grant for the project next year.
Council members approved the June financials as well as $270,426.41 in invoices.
Council members approved on final reading a pair of resolutions establishing a water capital fund and transferring $2.9 million into the fund.
Council members approved on final reading a pair of resolutions establishing a sewer capital fund and transferring the monthly industrial sewer rate increase into the fund.
Council members approved on final reading the creation of an employee earned benefits line to house funds to cover the payout of employee benefits at retirement as well as “other than normal payroll” payments, and a resolution transferring 5 percent of the interest earned monthly from the general operating fund into the new line.
Council members approved on final reading a pair of resolutions regarding unclaimed income tax and utility deposits, the first authorizing the transfer of the funds to the village’s unclaimed funds line and the second authorizing their transfer to the state unclaimed funds division.
Council members approved a pair of resolutions, one on final reading and one on first reading, the identification as surplus and sale of certain unneeded village property.
Council members approved on second reading an application for annexation of a property owned by Leslie Haas.
Council members approved on second reading the creation of an executive assistant position to serve both the police chief and village administrator, in order to codify and appropriately pay the existing police department executive assistant, who has already been performing both roles. Councilman Tony Dawson cast the sole dissenting vote.
Council members approved on first reading the creation of a stormwater fund.
Council members approved on first reading an ordinance authorizing the village to stop billing its own departments for municipal water usage.
Council members approved on first reading an agreement providing applicable staff access to the Regional Income Tax Agency tax authority portal.
The next regular meeting of the Delta Village Council will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, August 3, at 401 Main Street in Delta.
