(PHOTO BY JENNIFER JOHNSON, STAFF)
By: Jennifer Johnson
On February 26, at 6:00pm the Fayette City council meeting was called to order. Attending were Mayor David Borer, council members: Chris Meeker, Suzette Boesger, Linda Short, David Wheeler, and Bryan Stambaugh. Absent from the meeting was council member: Rodney Kessler. Visitors attending were Village Administrator: Genna Biddix, Village AttorneyMr. Thompson, Village resident: Karen King, State Line Observer: David Green.
Mayor David Borer read the State of the Village Address:
“It’s hard to believe we’re 20 years into this century. In 1999 I wasn’t sure we would make it this far. Predictions were that at midnight on December 31st the world as we know it would be coming to and end, they called it Y2K. Which meant that all the computer systems wouldn’t be able to make the transition from ‘99 to ‘00 but nothing of the consequence happened.
We were supposed to run out of oil and gas by 2020 according to the New York Times report in 1989. Recently, that same reporter commented that, “People only think about how we can solve things with current technology. They underestimate human ingenuity.”
“The Artic Ocean is warming up, icebergs are growing more scarce, and some places the seals are finding the water too hot according to a report to the Commerce Department yesterday in Bergen, Norway. Great masses of ice have been replaced by moraines of earth and stones and many glaciers have entirely disappeared.
Very few seals and no white fish are found in the Eastern Arctic, and vast shoals of herring and smelt, which have never ventured so far North, are encountered in the old seal fishing grounds. That statement come from the Washington Post in (oh wait) 1922.
Which was about the same time period as our Water Tower and supply line were being installed. I feel very fortunate to still be here, let alone have the opportunity to work toward the replacement of our one~hundred-year-old infrastructure.
On that note, lets look back at where 2019 took us. In January we upgraded our chlorine supply system at the Water Plant to Univar-the MiniBulk storage system minimizes employee exposure to hazardous materials using a 250- gallon double walled containment tank, preventing uncontained spills and protecting the environment as well. We also completed the last phase of upgrades planned to the master telemetry system.
The upgrade provided a new remote telemetry unit at the main sewage lift station replacing an older more antiquated (but operational) unit that we may be able to repurpose and use in a different location that is currently unmonitored by the main telemetry system. A new ultrasonic level sensor/transmitter was also installed to monitor the level of liquid in the wet well.
In April, May, and June we went through the CD86 process in the hopes of making street improvements. The purpose ofthis proposed project was to repair a very heavily traveled section of South Cherry Street that is a direct route to the Fayette Post Office. The existing asphalt has far exceeded its useful life, it is cracked and pitted and can no longer be repaired using methods such as crack sealing or durapatching.
One storm sewer located on this section of street is deteriorated to the extent that it has eaten a hole into the asphalt to the North of it, indicating that this storm sewer infrastructure is no longer working as designed and must be repaired to function properly. It is recommended that this section of street be milled and resurfaced.
We must also repair and reconstruct the catch basin on the East side of street. An estimated 2-inch mill and resurface is needed, requiring 80 tons of asphalt. This section of street is approximately 120 feet (L) by 37 feet (W).
The engineer’s estimate is $25,400, we were requesting a 90/10 split; $22,800 request for CDBG funds and $2540 would come from the (D5) Street Improvement Fund. In June we were notified that the Fulton County Commissioners awarded us $18,000 for this much needed project.
In June, Fulton County purchased a Mass Notification system called CivicReady, through their current website vendor CivicPlus (which is also the Village of Fayette’s website provider), each community in Fulton County will be able to access the system too, at no charge.
The Village of Fayette will utilize CivicReady to keep citizens informed about critical and important events within the community. CivicReady can be used to disseminate important messages regarding the safety or welfare of the community. Examples would include water service emergencies, weather emergencies, and hazardous situations that impact safety, property or welfare of our citizens.
This service will allow Village officials to send out emergency notifications by phone, text, email and other contact methods (or any combination thereof) to any resident (or non-resident) within minutes, to those that have opted-in to the program.
In addition to notifications related to emergency situations, residents, businesses, and other stakeholders can also choose to opt-in to receive time-sensitive non-emergency notifications about community events, activities, and important updates.
At this time, there are two groups that citizens can sign up for: Boil Advisories, and General Alerts. Also in June, we hosted a group from Moldova that were touring the United States to get ideas on how Village government works and how we help support small business.
In July, through another partnership with Roberta Streiffert from GLCAP (Great Lakes Community Action Partnership) we helped to send four Fayette High School students to Northwest State Community College for a 4-day Entrepreneurship Summer Camp designed for grades 6-12.
The camp was designed to empower learners by exposing them to entrepreneurial thinking while immersing them in entrepreneurial experiences that will enable them to develop creativity and critical thinking, effective problem solving, communication, teamwork, networking, and other entrepreneurial skills – skills that will enable them to succeed regardless of their chosen path.
The Village (Mayor and Administrator) hosted all 6 students that participated in the Camp (4 from Fayette, 2 from Defiance) to discuss the function of local government. During their visit, the Mayor and I talked about local government structure in general, and the role that the Mayor, elected officials, and Administration play in regard to making decisions for the community.
We also spoke candidly about the local economy (including our specific struggles in Fayette) and what we are trying to do to support entrepreneurship. On the last day of camp, Genna received an email from Lisa Becher with two presentations put together by the kids for business ideas they had for Fayette. The kids did some market research regarding demographics, cost analysis data, real estate locations and valuations, along with high level business plans, etc.
One business plan was for a coffee house/community center called the Eagle Nest, and the other business plan was for a drive-in movie theatre called Open Woods. I’m thankful that NSCC provided the opportunity for us to help show these kids what possibilities and opportunities can be created locally. This was a great experience for the kids and for us, and we look forward to helping facilitate more learning opportunities for our local youth.
In October, Ohio RCAP (WSOS/GLCAP) once again sponsored communities in their RCDI program to participate in the Startup Experience and we were lucky enough to be invited back (the event was held November 14-16, 2019 at Paulding School). Fayette School had the largest representation of students at this event in 2018.
The school recruited 13 students and the same two mentors (teachers Lisa Hints and Sheila Killam) that went along with them in 2018. New in 2019, Mrs. Hintz and Mrs. Killam both took part in a “Train the Trainer” event the day prior to the students’ arrival. They will now be able to facilitate this program on their own this year (2020) and for years to come.
Also in October, all the fall zone protection work was completed at Hatcher Park and the playground area between the ball diamonds at the main Park facilities. This was a large project for our Public Works crew. It took several days, several people, and 8,795 sq. feet of engineered wood fiber to complete. They did a great job, it looks wonderful!
In November, we made the very important decision to purchase a back-up generator for the water plant. The best quote for a new generator came from Ohio Cat and Woolace Electric. They are estimating a total cost of $69,730.
The bulk of the cost of this project is the generator itself (175kW) at $53,680, which is coming from a Federal purchasing program called Sourcewell that the Village was already a member of. Woolace’s quote includes a concrete pad, a crane to set the generator, and labor and material to wire it into service and debug.
Woolace will also work with the Bergren Associates to hook everything into the Master Telemetry. We should be able to deter some cost by doing the additional concrete work ourselves and by contracting the crane ourselves as well. The generator is currently in production and we hope to have it installed sometime in the first quarter of 2020, weather permitting.
In December, Council passed an Ordinance to change the zoning district of all parcels of land in the Armstrong Addition East of Cynthia Drive from R-1 to R-2. Discussion began for this change in September of 2019 when Tim and Kirsten Dennis approached us with a desire to build a high-end duplex on a lot zoned for single family homes/use only.
Following council’s initial recommendation to make the change, the Village’s Planning Commission met and approved the change as well before sending it back to the elected officials for their final consideration. Letter were mailed explaining the proposed zoning map amendment to all contiguous property owners and other interested parties.
The letter also invited them to attend a public hearing on December 30, 2019. Following the public hearing council decided to suspend the rules and pass the Ordinance making the Zoning Map Amendment official. Fulton County GIS Supervisor, Scott Yoder will help us revise our existing zoning map to include this change, free of charge.
The Village Police Department has been keeping with the program, in that during the last year the Department has remained fiscally responsible to the Village of Fayette and the people they serve. During that time, they found it important to apply for any grant that could help the Police Department reduce cost to the village and increase needed equipment to operate more efficiently.
An example of this would be in a grant received from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Service in January 2019. This grant allowed the police department to purchase state of the art laptop computers and install them in the patrol vehicles. The grant also allowed for the purchase of N.O.R.I.S software that connected the Fayette Police Department to the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, Western District Court, and a majority of Police and Sheriff’s Department’s in Northwest Ohio.
The speedy laptop computer and software combination has allowed the department to file share over a secured network with these entities. The file sharing has not only increased productivity but also allowed the village to save money by not requiring department personnel to run traffic citations to Western District Court weekly. The citations are now transmitted to the court via the internet.
I am proud to say that the Fayette Police Department and no other department, including the Sheriff’s Department, has attempted to do this, except the Ohio State Highway Patrol. (Grant total: $6246.00)
Also, in 2019 the department was awarded a grant to improve the quality of our radios systems. We only received partial funding, as money distributed to other departments in the state was higher than anticipated. All departments took a hit.
The grant awarded to our department allowed us to replace a malfunctioning car radio in Truck 2 and replace 3 aging portable radios. This grant saved the village money from replacing them and at the same time increased officer safety. (Grant total: $6414.56)
In 2019 the State of Ohio Bureau of Workman’s Compensation opened a grant to improve safety in police departments throughout the state. The Fayette Police Department applied and received grant funding allowing the department to purchase 5 exterior vest carriers and 3 ballistic panels.
Not only was the safety of the officers increased with the ballistic panels, but the exterior vest carriers allow increased comfort for officers and decreased the potential for back injury by transferring the weight from the hips to the upper body. (Grants: $400 & $2577.38)
Other grants awarded during 2019 included funding for the School Resource Officer to provide counseling and drug awareness training to students in the Fayette Local Schools. The money from two grants ($1088.60 & $1000) comes directly to the village offsetting employee cost and material costs to run the program. These two grants should continue in the future as long as the programs exist.
The Fayette Police Department will continue to apply for grant funding through all means available attempting to be fiscally responsible to not only the Village of Fayette, but also the citizens of our village. As will the Village administrative and maintenance staff throughout the year 2020 and beyond.
I’m so looking forward to working with everyone to make the much needed improvements that we have slated for the foreseeable future as did our predecessors in the early part of the last century.
As we move forward, let’s not forget the value of human ingenuity as that is what it takes to surmount the insurmountable. So, when someone asks you when was the best time to be alive – the answer is tomorrow.
Thank you all for listening and helping to prepare the Village of Fayette for its best days.
Looking forward,
Dave Borer, Mayor
In other news, Village Administrator, Genna Biddix spoke of when the ARS spring cleanup will take place. The cost for this service will be $30 for the amount of garbage (not exceeding a pick up trucks worth).
Checks can be made payable to “ARS” and needs to be paid at the Village office by June 5th at 5pm when office closes. All garbage must be out and ready for pick-up by 7am on June 6th. Genna also spoke of Splash pad construction to begin in March.
First Reading Resolution 2020-01: Authorizing Participation in the ODOT winter contract for road salt. First Reading Resolution 2020-02: Intent for the village of Fayette to hold an internet auction for impounded vehicles, owned by the village of Fayette. Second Reading Ordinance 2020-01: Designating an Alley as one way traffic, and authorizing appropriate signage.
Motion to hire Kevin Bostelman as Park Director was approved. Effective March 2nd – October 18th.
Jennifer can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com
