By: Bill O’Connell
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
In a surprise move, the Swanton Village Council voted unanimously to table the second reading of Ordinance 2016-23, authorizing the Village Attorney to Petition the Board of County Commissioner of Fulton County to change township lines. The need for further discussion before taking the next step was the reason given for the decision and ran counter to the decisions arrived at in the villages of Archbold and Delta which have identical ordinances pending in a collaborated effort with Swanton.
With the legalization of medical marijuana signed into law by Governor John Kasich set to take effect on September 6, 2016 Mayor Roth reported that the Swanton Area Coalition Committee (SACC) is spearheading an initiative to prevent the sale of the drug in the Village. If the Council agrees with the SACC initiative, it may decide to draft an ordinance to ban or limit the sale of medical marijuana in all zoning districts.
A motion to approve the hiring of J.D. Rahmnan for the position of Part-Time Patrol Officer at a rate of $14.71 per hour passed 6-0. The hiring is contingent upon a background check, drug testing and is subject to a one-year probationary period.
Two recently hired Village employees, Jeff Harmon of Fayette and Cody Crabb of Walbridge, were in attendance and introduced to Council members. Both will be operators in the Water Treatment Plant.
The Browning Road/County Road 1-3 paving project has been awarded to Gerken Paving of Napoleon for $105,491. The Village will pay 42% of the 25% local share match with Swancreek Township paying 58%. An official start date is to be determined.
The Pilliod Park paving contract was awarded to Allied Paving in the amount of $30,933. A grant of $24,000 from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources will cover a substantial portion of the cost. Work is scheduled to begin this sometime month.
In new business, Council unanimously passed Emergency Ordinance 2016-29 to set fees for the rental of Village facilities, including the new Swanton Community Center. The Village conducted research on local rental facilities to determine where to set fees that will allow them to directly compete with several Swanton businesses.
The Community Center will charge $100 for residents and $125 for non-residents during the week and $150 for residents and $175 for non-residents on weekends. There will also be a $50 reservation fee.
For the enclosed pavilion at Memorial Park the fees will be $50 for residents and $60 for non-residents during the week and $75 for residents and $85 for non-residents.
There will be no fee charged for the open pavilion at the park.
The next Council meeting is scheduled for July 11, 2016 at 7:00 PM.
Bill O’Connell may be reached at
publisher@thevillagereporter.com