By Jake Weber: The Village Reporter
(April 13th, 2015): STRYKER — Mayor Daniel Hughes and the Stryker Village Council brought the Stryker Village Council meeting to order for the month of April at 6:00 on Monday the 13th. After reviewing the minutes from last month’s meeting, Councilman Terry Wieland motioned to accept and present the minutes with no questions or clarifications necessary.
The council moved on to discuss the financial report from April 2014 to present day. Village Fiscal Officer Beth Rediger recognized year-to-date expenses were marginally smaller than overall revenue for an overall gain of $39,188.61. Rediger also broke down the income tax totals compared to last year at this date with a total gain of $26,440.41. Water was a gain of $15,936.76; sewer approximations were deceiving due to the large volumes of severe leaks accumulated this year. Residents were credited off the sewer while still paying water. Overall, Rediger feels that the village is doing exceptionally well financially especially for the first quarter.
Following was a request from a representative of Stryker Welding. The company asked the committee to consider approving a 10-year CRA tax abatement for the address of 106 West Mulberry St in Stryker. Deciding an expansion to be necessary, Stryker Welding’s proposed $350,000 expansion would include a 6,400 square-foot addition, requiring demolition of a run-down house and garage. Also noted were plans to invest in two machines totaling $40,000 and hiring two new workers with a starting wage of $12 per hour to accommodate the increased workload. Councilman Sperling motioned to approve the proposal which was seconded by councilman Blevins. The motion was approved unanimously.
The council confirmed that a new business group meeting will be held at the Village of Stryker offices on Defiance Street April 28th at 5:30pm. The meeting will focus on brainstorming ideas for opportunities and initiatives to bring new and more businesses to the city of Stryker.
Legislation was the next topic of the meeting. A resolution was prepared for consideration by the council’s current solicitor. The proposal is a simple resolution to add three-tenths of a percent to the income tax in which all proceeds would go into the General Fund.
Fiscal Officer Beth Rediger expressed her thoughts on the subject proposing the idea of the village holding off until the completion of a loan in 2017. Suggesting to reallocate capital on existing without losing what the village already has if the vote were to be unsuccessful. Village Administrator Gary St. John confirmed that it is permissible to take the proposal to voters and if the proposal did not pass there would be no loss as the proposal is a reallocation measure.
Rediger noted that, in the event of a successful reallocation, a transfer from General Funds to Capital is plausible; however, a transfer from Capital to General Funds is not. Rediger explained that the process is essentially taking funds from the loan and placing it into the General Funds, which could then be transferred back into Capital.
Councilman Joe Beck noted that many residents in Stryker were not in favor of a 0.3% income tax increase, despite his reassurance of what the taxed money would be going towards. Councilman Wieland agreed with Beck quoting “No matter what, it’s a tax. They don’t care if it’s for safety or street, it’s a new tax and they don’t want to pay it”—referring to voters. A motion to stop the process for continued information regarding reallocation was made by councilman Mike Fox and seconded by councilman Richard Wityk. In the roll-call, the council voted: Fox–yes, Sperling–no, Beck–no, Wityk–yes, Blevins–no, Weiland–no.
A motion by councilman Sperling was soon after made to pass Ordinance No. 2015-01 to make appropriations request pass emergency to cover audit expenses, seconded by councilman Fox. In the roll-call the vote was a unanimous yes.
Chief of Police Steven Schlosser updated the council on the latest department activity. Schlosser described with enthusiasm that the Active-Killer training at Stryker Schools went extremely well. The department intends to have another training session with the school in the near future as well as a possible training scenario with a few local manufacturing facilities to broaden skill sets and become familiar with the layout of the buildings. The department also received a $500.00 donation from the Bryan Eagles that will go directly into the K-9 fund. In the Event Disposition Report, there were 92 complaints, 23 traffic warnings, 4 arrests, and 3 citations.
Other minor items discussed during the meeting
- During the Administration Report, Gary St. John brought to light the increasing amount of job postings in the area; many billboards being posted as well as a job fair hosted by the Stryker Sauder plant.
- A tree stump that had been causing a large piece of sidewalk to protrude in front of the local Baptist Church has recently been removed and repaired
- A Judiciary Meeting will be held before the council meeting on Monday, May 11th at 5:00pm
After no further discussion, a motion to end the meeting was made by councilman Beck and seconded by councilman Blevins.