(PHOTO BY BRIANNA BALOGH / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
MONTPELIER VILLAGE COUNCIL … Deputy Manager Justin Houk presents the Safe Routes to School Application resolution.
By: Brianna Balogh
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The Montpelier Village Council meeting, held on February 24th, was promptly called to order at 6pm. Roll call was taken with members Don Schlosser, Nathan Thompson, Chris Kannel and Kevin Motter. Also attending were Molly Collert, Clerk of Council, Nikki Uribes, Director of Finance, and Justin Houk, Deputy Manager. Following roll call, was a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Motter led the meeting with the first item to approve being the agenda for the meeting. With no additions or corrections, the motion was made by Kannel and approved by all members.
The second agenda item was approval of the minutes from the February 10th meeting. The motion was made to approve by Schlosser. The meeting minutes were approved by all members.
With no audience comments, Kannel provided a brief update from the recent Chamber of Commerce Banquet.
He stated it was well attended with many great presenters and demonstrated the positive attitude happening within the Montpelier community.
Business moved along to the suspend and pass a vote on the Safe Routes to School Application. Kannel briefly explained the proposed route which would connect Municipal Park with the Recreation Center at the school, which is about 1/4 mile.
The suspension vote is due to the grant application being due the first week of March. The grant awarded has been expanded to $1,000,000, explained Thompson.
This amount would cover the current $805,000 budget for the project. It was assured by Kannel that this would include lighting, as that had been a previous concern.
The council has been working with OHM, an engineering firm they have worked with in the past on different projects.
Thompson also informed that approval had been received by the school and an easement had been requested as some of the path through the historic tree grove is not owned by the village. Both motions to suspend and pass were approved by all members.
The final item on the night’s agenda was the village manager’s report, presented by Deputy Manager Justin Houk.
Houk mentioned two new employees had been hired by the village, one in the water department and one in the street department, as well as a second employee receiving their CDL.
Two additional employees are in the process of achieving their CDL as well. He updated on letters that had been sent at the first of the year regarding dilapidated buildings with eight letters in total being sent.
Responses were received on five of them, with one being already taken down. He informed that Frontier had begun the fiber boring process and excavation also began on removing log jams from the river with more to come.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:10pm, motioned by Schlosser and seconded by Kannel.