By: Timothy Kays
Although they had already been practicing multiple elements of it through the directives of Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Health, the Village of Fayette was officially declared to be under a state of emergency during their Village Council meeting on the evening of April 8.
Convened via teleconference due to the social distancing restrictions established as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting provided the platform from which Mayor David Borer proclaimed that effective immediately, a state of emergency exists in the Village of Fayette due to the effects of the coronavirus.
“I know that this is stressful and very trying times right now,” Mayor Borer said prior to reading the declaration. “And I just want everybody to know that if there’s anything going on, any questions or concerns about anything, you can still get ahold of (Village Administrator) Genna (Biddix). You can still get ahold of (Chief of Police) Jason (Simon) or me at any point.”
The first four pages of the declaration being primarily a timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic and the state and federal actions taken in response to date, Mayor Borer read the five points of the final page into record, which state…
1.A State of Emergency is declared for the entire Village of Fayette to protect the lives and well-being of the citizens of Fayette as well as those who work, attend school, or otherwise visit the Village, from the dangerous effects of COVID-19.
2. This Declaration shall be broadly interpreted to make the Village, its employees, citizens, and businesses eligible for all grants, funding, loans, discounts, or any other type of benefit related to the COVID-19 pandemic from any federal, state, or local governments; or from any private company, organization, or citizen offering such benefits.
3. I hereby order all Village of Fayette government buildings shall be closed to public access.
4. I hereby order all Village of Fayette law enforcement officers, employees, and all other Emergency management personnel subject to Village control to cooperate in the enforcement and implementation of the provisions of this Declaration, all applicable local ordinances, state and federal laws, and all federal, state and local public health directives.
5. I hereby order this Declaration to be: (a) distributed to the news media and other organizations calculated to bring its contents to the attention of the general public; (b) to be filed with the Fayette Clerk of Council and Village Administrator; and, (c) to be distributed to others as necessary to ensure proper implementation of this declaration.
Mayor Borer continued, “I signed this Executive Order of Proclamation on April 8, 2020, in Fayette, Ohio, and it shall take effect immediately and remain in full force and effect until the emergency no longer exists, such time to be determined by the Governor of the State of Ohio as determined by the Director of Health of the State of Ohio, and the Executive Director of the Emergency Management Agency of the State of Ohio.”
He added, “Another thing I’d like to point out too is that any small businesses that are in town that have had to lay off employees, there is federal and state money available.”
“To add to the Mayor’s report,” Ms. Biddix said, “I know that the Fulton County Economic Development Corporation is also providing some assistance to business owners, and I believe that’s even if you are not members of their organization.”
“So as we get more information on some of these programs that the government has rolled out, we’ll do our best to try to get some information out there. I can even try to see if there’s a way to put together some links on our website or something as we start to gather some information.”
Turning to her report to Council, Ms. Biddix said, “As of yesterday, April 7, 2020, our CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) South Cherry Street project was listed on the Maumee Valley Planning Organization’s website for bid. The total estimated project cost of $25,400, $18,000 of that…is CDBG grant money, is under the dollar amount that makes it subject to advertising.”
“So Maumee Valley will just be contacting some area contractors for us to see if they’re interested in bidding in the street project. The bid notice explains to interested contractors that this will be received at Maumee Valley Planning Organization located at 152 South Fulton Street Suite 270 Wauseon, Ohio 43567. This is the Commissioner’s Office. They’re due by May 20, 2020, at which time they’ll be meeting, and placed bids will be opened publicly and read aloud.”
Continuing, Ms. Biddix said, “Triangular Processing let us know that all recycling locations in Fulton County, Wauseon, Swan Creek, Pettisville, Metamora, Lyons, Archbold and Fayette, shut down as of March 18. There will be no cardboard trailers available, and all recycling will be suspended until further notice.”
“They are asking their residents please do not take your recycling to those locations and set them on the ground. Once Triangular Processing is cleared by local health officials, all recycling and locations will be back up and running as normal. Here in Fayette, the Public Works Committee will be assessing if any changes can be made to our setup or location of the recycling center.”
“So we may keep recycling services suspended even after the end of the pandemic so arrangements can be made. This is something that we discussed last year for a brief time, and we’re going to circle back to that discussion in Public Works. More will be coming on that at some point.”
Giving Council an update on the zoning code, Ms. Biddix reported that the Government Affairs Committee was cancelled in April, but they are hoping to be back to meet in person by May. The zoning code rewrite is still underway, and Ms. Biddix has received the first eight sections, using a restructured format for review and comments. “I haven’t reviewed everything sent to me so far, but it looks pretty good,” Ms. Biddix said. “I’ll get through it all eventually.”
Amongst the items in her report, Fiscal Officer Karin Sauerlender reported that all liquor permits in the village will be expiring on June 1. Council approved a renewal of all permits, as well as the payment of bills totaling $58,740.76.
Council heard the second reading of Ordinance 2020-03, a measure replacing Section 303.08 regarding the impound, storage, and redemption of impounded vehicles. Council then retired into executive session for the discussion of hazard pay for the Fayette Police Department.
Upon returing to regular session, Council approved a motion to pay police officers hazard pay in the amount of an additional ten percent of their salary or hourly wages, retroactive to March 23, and extending until the end of the Ohio Stay-At-Home Order due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Timothy can be reached at publisher@thevillagereporter.com