IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH? … Mayor David Borer cracks up his audience prior to delivering the 2021 Fayette State of the Village Address. (PHOTO BY TIM KAYS, STAFF)
By: Tim Kays
The February 24 meeting of the Fayette Village Council was dominated by the annual State of the Village address presented by Mayor David Borer. In opening, Mayor Borer couldn’t resist taking a final swipe at the COVID crippled train wreck that we all came to remember as 2020.
“My grandma always told me if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,” Mayor Borer quipped. “So, is that good enough?”
In the midst of the ensuing laughter, the Mayor began in earnest, saying, “That was my original plan, then I got to thinking…”
When most think of 2020 it’s a nightmare, but I’ve tried to think about the good that has come out of it. Well, how about the fact that we had no rioting, no looting and no businesses burned.
Even better, our income tax receipts were only down $15,464.05 despite losing an employer, so in my book that still looks very strong for us going into 2021, especially coming off of a record high in 2019.
Other good news in January, we received a call from our State Representative for District #47, Derek Merrin. Representative Merrin was reaching out to let us know that there would be state funds available in the 2021-2022 capital budget for certain projects. He explained that smaller municipalities such as ours aren’t usually aware of the availability of these funds.
Typically, he sees applications from the Lucas County area for these funds but he felt Fayette could possibly benefit. The only downside was that there was a very short window to apply. So, we decided to apply for funding to support a splash pad.
A splash pad would bring an additional attraction to people visiting the area such as guests form Harrison Lake State Park as well as fun activities for the families residing in the village and surrounding area. Ultimately, we hoped that this could be the start of some much-needed revitalization in our park area.
In February, we were notified by Maumee Valley Planning Organization that our CDBG South Cherry Street Improvement Project had been accepted by the State, awarding us $18,000 for the project.
Then in March, life as we knew it changed for the foreseeable future as COVID-19 caused us to close the office under the Governor’s stay-at-home order. Administrator Genna Biddix stepped up, and kept us going with virtual meetings and kept everyone informed with text messages.
Then on April 8, we were contacted by Kelly O’Brian from ConnectGEN Energy, which is one of the solar companies looking to install a solar field east of Fayette. Kelly had a small grant fund of $2,000 that she was looking to distribute to the Fayette area.
Administrator Biddix nominated our Police Department for a portion of the funds and we were notified on April 15 that they had awarded $500 to the Fayette Police Department.
In May, we took delivery of the water plant back-up generator. Armstrong Excavating provided the heavy equipment we needed to unload and set the generator in place, so we give them a huge thank you.
In June, the generator came into service at the water plant. It will come on line in the event of any power outages automatically to power the plant and notify our Public Works Staff of the power failure.
It will give them a lot of peace of mind, as it was utilized a couple of times last summer.
Our registration was accepted for the Federal CARES Grant Program, resulting in the Village of Fayette receiving the first distribution of $40,959.95 from the Fulton County Auditor via the Local Government Fund.
September brought us another challenge financially; with a broken-down storm drain on East Main Street US 20. The engineers estimate came back at $117,000 after a camera inspection showed the scope of the problem.
Once again, our staff came together and secured emergency grant funding of $60,000 OPWC and $40,000 CDBG, effectively making the Village’s share $17,000.
October brought us two more CARES Act Grants, bringing our total award to $106,160.27. Ohio Workman’s Comp also sent us a COVID-19 reimbursement totaling $49,600.
Rounding out the year, State Representative Derek Merrin notified us that we will be receiving $50,000 in State Capital Bill funding for project years 2021-2022. Our original total project estimate was for $85,000.
We applied for $70,000 and planned to kick in $15,000 of our own money to complete the project. Our Finance Committee decided to plan for $100,000 as a worst-case scenario. We are very fortunate to receive this Capitol Bill funding, but we will continue to look for added funding for the project.
The Fayette Police Department has done an outstanding job adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic and remaining fiscally responsible.
They received several grants again this year, including one for $2,000 from the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Service, a Body Armor Grant of $1,800 for new ballistic vests for Officer Nicole Ferguson, Chief Jason Simon, and Sergeant Bill McConnell, an OCJS Grant of $5,776 for new body cameras, desktop computer and an in-car camera, a DARE Grant of $470.00 for Sgt. McConnell’s payroll reimbursement for teaching the DARE program at school and a Four County ADAMs Board Grant of $1,000 for DARE supplies and training.
With the help of the US Department of Justice, the Village Council, VFO Karin Sauerlender, Chief Simon and Ohio Means Jobs, the Department was awarded a COPSFAST Grant, which allowed for the addition of another officer.
The grant specified that a Community Resource Officer be hired and the Village would be awarded $125,000 to help pay for this officer’s wages and benefits for the next four years.
This award will benefit the community for many years to come. Officer Nicky Ferguson, who is well known in the community, was hired for this position and is doing an outstanding job.
The Village has received $11,623 from the US DOJ for 2020. The Department also received $45,000 in 2020 for the School Resource Officer agreement. The Impound Lot brought in $1,186 in storage fees for impounded vehicles.
The Department also received $3,550 in donations. Sgt McConnell will continue to apply for grants through all means available to benefit the Village of Fayette.
On the Public Works front, we took delivery on a new backhoe last summer and a self-contained leaf vacuum last fall that will continue to speed up leaf pick up for many years to come.
The new snow box has made snow cleanup this winter go a lot smoother and the salt spreader in the 1-ton truck has proven to save a lot on road salt.
We are also looking forward to the new roll off truck system with the valve exerciser and vacuum excavator to make maintenance of the underground infrastructure easier.
We had a catastrophic water main break a week ago and another one the next night, that sent repairs into the wee hours of the morning on Friday.
I’m very proud of our staff on all fronts for pulling together and calling in resources from everywhere possible to get the jobs done.
I’m even more proud of the citizens of Fayette for their understanding of the situation and the outpouring of compassion by bringing hot drinks and food during the day and evening. I know that the crew really appreciated it.
Once again, thank you for your trust as we journey into another uncertain year.
In other actions, Council approved the payment of bills totaling $87,529.34. The third reading of Ordinance 2021-02, allowing for permanent appropriations for 2021, was heard and subsequently adopted.
Council suspended the rules of reading and passed Ordinance 2021-03, increasing estimated revenues.
Tim can be reached at tim@thevillagereporter.com