If you’re going to do something, you might as well do it right the first time. At the April 10 meeting of the Pioneer Village Council, four proposals were put forward to do just that.
Village Administrator Al Fiser reported the infrastructure for the Clark Street Extension Project is done and in place. This project will extend Clark Street north to create an eastern loop around the Pioneer Industrial Park, but as Mayor Ed Kidston noted, additions needed to be made to the project to accommodate heavy truck traffic, and diversify access points to all parts of the park. Those additions would up the price tag of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) Grant-funded project by over $230,000, but would also save resurfacing needs in the future.
Mayor Kidston asked for the addition of more concrete in the front of Premier Concrete Admixtures, as well as at Pioneer Forge. It is believed that the heavy trucks employed by these companies will destroy standard blacktopping. “The way Forge’s trucks come in,” Mayor Kidston said, “…they come in off of State Street, and then they make the corner and they back up to Forge’s docks,” he said. “I’m just afraid that if that is only blacktop up there, that they’re just going to tear it up. I’m absolutely convinced that they are. They are big trucks.”
Additional work will entail resurfacing the decaying 100 block of Michigan Street, and the addition of a curb.
The lynchpin addition to the program though, would be the construction of a new road to diversify the access points to buildings at the industrial park. A representative of Pioneer Transformer Corporation reportedly told Mayor Kidston that they would rather have their trucks come down Industrial Avenue and access the back part of their building. Currently, the trucks are making the tough turns at Michigan Street and Cedar Street, but the new road would greatly ease access. The Village already owns the land needed for the construction of the road, and it is estimated that the addition of the road would cost around $140,000.
Council agreed to the additions without dissent, and also approved three late addition resolutions, two of which were directly tied into the project. Resolution 103-2017 placed the village into the ODOT road salt program for the upcoming year. Resolution 104-2017 authorized a $450,000 line of credit to be secured through the Edon State Bank, where the village currently holds $500,000 in investments. Resolution 105-2017 advances $200,000 from the General fund to the EDA Grant Fund. Earlier, Council approved Ordinance 04-2017 amending appropriations for 2017.
At the request of Fire Chief Dennis Fackler, council unanimously approved Rachel Oxender as a first responder. Council tabled the discussion of the possibility of vacating an alley, along with the discussion of property lines along that alley. Mr. Fiser reported that the village has agreed to an three-year service extension with ARS for trash removal services at the current rate. He also reported that $7,900 has been received in damage settlements for the library roof, which was damaged in a recent high wind event. Finally, Council discussed the formal naming of the Industrial Park, with the name Bruce Kidston, the man credited with starting the park, being forwarded. No decision was made, and the topic was tabled for future discussion.