By: Jake Weber
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
The Village of Stryker met on February 9th at the new meeting time of 6 o’clock, as agreed upon during last month’s session. The council spent time touching base on an array of topics, most of which were minute happenings.
Mayor Hughes voiced his positive experience while attending the Elected Officials Luncheon at Four County Career Center on February 6th. He noted that the turnout was exceptionally great, with two outstanding individuals quote “truly enthused about Four County and their program, whom felt it would give them a good program to follow through into their futures”. With February being career and technical vocation month, Hughes deemed it necessary to bring the event to light and support area schools and students.
A representative from Sauder requested information about the size of a new banner advertisement in Stryker. The informative sign is to attract potential employees to the new openings located at the Stryker area plant. These positions are full-time jobs that are being filled by Sauder directly; the woodworking company will no longer be using a temp-service or third-party for the recruiting of potential candidates.
Local business owner Larry Soles returned to the council to clarify the pending common pleas suit that was aforementioned in past meetings. Mayor Hughes informed Soles that both partys’ attorneys are currently in communication with one another and are currently trying to move forward with the matters, with progress on the horizon. Mr. Soles also inquired about possible multiple usages on the water bill for his singular tenant in his building.
On Monday February 2nd, the Judiciary committee conducted a public meeting. The committee discussed the need to increase general fund revenues, which is the primary support for the entire budget of the Stryker police department. Village Administrator Gary St. John addressed the prospect of outsourcing the position of zoning inspector, thereby having an attorney assume the responsibilities in an effort to save money. St. John noted that the duties could not be carried out by the current village solicitor as there would be a conflict of interest.
The committee then elected the possibility of selling village-owned land, known as “Stryker South”. The land, 36 acres total, is currently leased to Rodney Buehrer with agricultural zoning.
Administrator John noted that the village could possibly double the original paid price per acre, therefore adding money directly into the general fund.
Also suggested was the notion of placing a proposed 0.3% increase on village income taxes for Police and Public Safety on the November 2015 ballot. This funding would go directly into the general fund to support these services. Last discussed was an additional $5.00 charge to MLVT license tax fees; however, the funding would only be available to village street details.
Mayor Hughes and the Village Council are reaching out to village residents for input on the submitted proposals. They strongly urge residents to voice their opinions on these proposals and are also welcome to alternative solutions. Council members can be reached via the contact section on the website www.villageofstryker.com or by calling the Village Hall and request to speak to the Village Fiscal Officer at 419-682-2191. The Mayor can also be reached at 419-553-9535 and mayordanielhughes@gmail.com
Other items considered and addressed by council during the meeting were:
●Semi-drivers were pleased with the new implementation of parking permits behind Village Hall.
●Several frozen water meter instances occurred in wake of the freezing temperatures throughout the harsh winter weeks. A total of 23 shut-offs
●Council Member Sperling addressed his concerns with the recent hackings of Anthem BlueCross. The council recommended to be wary of suspicious emails and phone calls, advising any current or previous customers to not give out personal and private information via email, including account numbers.
●The next council meeting will occur on Monday, March 9 at 6:00pm
Jake can be reached at
publisher@thevillagereporter.com