LEGAL ADVICE … Holiday City Village Attorney, Cara Wall, recommended the hiring of special council to assist in the legal details of dealing with land and home development within the village. Village Administrator Blair Campbell and Mayor Pam Clark are seen listening during her explanation at the November 17, 2022 council meeting. (PHOTO BY REBECCA MILLER, STAFF)
By: Rebecca Miller
“So, we really did basically raise the warning siren from the dead?” Jarrett Funk asked at the November 17, 2022 Holiday City Village Council meeting after Mayor Pam Clark and others shared how amazed they are by what has been accomplished by Funk and fellow councilor Beau Zuver concerning the broken-down siren.
He shared during the Safety Committee report that he and Beau had been able to get the sound back but have still not been able to get it to rotate.
They got some advice from a technician to check if there is a nest or something stuck in it, and if not, to replace the motor.
He priced a new motor assembly for a little under $1000, whereas it would cost $22,000 to replace the whole siren.
He recommended that they buy the motor and rent a lift to go up and check what is wrong. If it is just something that is stuck in it, they can clean it out, but if it needs the new motor they would be ready to put it in. It was suggested that even if they didn’t need it, it would be wise to keep it in case it is needed in the future, instead of sending it back and paying the 10% fee to restock it.
“With Beau’s radio expertise, we have found that the antenna also needs to be moved up to the top, instead of where it is presently,” he said.
Village Administrator Blair Campbell said that the cost of a lift is $200 a day with a $175 fee to deliver and pick it up at the end of day.
It has been going off since the charger was changed, but is still not rotating so they agreed to go ahead and purchase the motor and go ahead with repairs.
Council began the meeting at 7:08 p.m., with the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. A motion was approved to excuse Shawn Clark who was absent.
Also approved were the minutes from October 20, 2022; payment of bills; second reading of Ordinance 2022-8 amending compensation for officers and employees of the village; Resolution 2022-18 authorizing a then and now payment order (suspended and approved); Resolution 19 approving a change order for an increase for engineering services; and Resolution 20 approving a project change order for the 20/20 Project.
Fiscal Officer Laurie Rupp presented her report to council for the month of October – Deposits of $749,801.58, expenses of $705,080.30 and remaining balance of $3,884,040.50.
She also presented the letter from the Department of Commerce asking about approval for Hutch’s Carry Out.
Following a short discussion, council agreed to approve the Liquor Permit.
In legal report, Attorney Cara Wall informed council that she has met with Lane Williamson from Eastman & Smith and recommended that they hire him to take care of the things in which he specializes, which for Holiday City would be to be special council in the development of real estate space.
His hourly rate is $345, which she said is relatively low considering the amount of experience he has in this area.
She explained the contract and let them know they can take their time to read over the information and bring questions to the next meeting.
Campbell informed council that he had gotten a letter from Sean Rupp representing the Williams County Port Authority, asking what is happening with this situation of the possibility of land development.
Wall said that her understanding is, “The village is still exploring its options and is not committed to any one particular path or arrangement for what to do with the land, but is definitely still looking into its options.”
Campbell said he would get that info back to Rupp.
Mayor Pam Clark reported that WEDCO (Williams County Economic Development Corporation) is working on hiring a new director and on getting the budget settled, as the two are coinciding.
She also said that she is still working in depth with One Ohio and the next meeting is coming up soon. Wine Fest was a great event despite the bad weather.
Administrator Campbell reported that Menards did fill in the sinkhole that was discussed at the last village council.
He also informed council that he got quotes from David Designs for the new signs out by SR 15, with the Holiday City sign costing $1610 and the Jefferson Township sign costing $1100.
Campbell answered questions saying that they do both need to be replaced and will be done with better materials.
It was agreed to inform Kelly Gray who is in charge of the Jefferson Township/Holiday City Visitors Bureau, and find out if she has funds to assist with that small project.
In unfinished business, Funk said that the wire they talked about last meeting is still hanging dangerously.
Wall said she has still not heard back at all from Frontier and will continue to pursue in the hopes of getting someone’s attention.
In new business, councilor Zuver asked if there was an interest in putting up a village page on Facebook.
Mayor Clark and attorney Wall explained that due to the possibility of legal problems and the need for someone to continually be on top of it, they did not think it was a good idea.
Clark said that there actually is a static page that is under the auspices of the Visitor’s Bureau, which is being updated.
With no further business, the meeting adjourned a little after 8 p.m.
Rebecca may be contacted at rebecca@thevillagereporter.com