COUNCIL … Mayor Huner discusses items included in her annual report that was presented to members of council.
By: Jacob Kessler
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jacob@thevillagereporter.com
The Wauseon City Council held their meeting on Monday, March 4th. The meeting began at 5:00 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance and a moment of silence.
Council first moved to approve minutes from the council meeting held on February 19th, along with minutes from the Committee of the Whole meeting held on February 29th.
The finance committee report was then presented to council and included the following items for discussion. A price had been received that would see two ball fields at Biddle Park switched to multi-use fields.
This would entail the stripping of grass off the field, and the cost to complete the project would be around $38,000 to $39,000.
This item was tabled due until further conversation could be had with the Rotary, who may look into the idea of donating land at the north edge of Biddle Park.
This land could then be used to put in two new fields on the land given to the city by Wauseon Rotary. More discussion will be held on the matter.
The topic then shifted to the JAG grant, with a proposal being presented to council for their approval. Body cameras were also discussed at the same time, with Police Chief Chittenden informing council of the department’s need for cloud storage and camera upgrades. The department’s current cameras are passed the point where additional warranty years can be added.
A motion was put forward to update the body camera and patrol car cameras to a cloud-based system at a cost of $26,000 per year.
A second motion was also put forward and approved by council for the appropriation of funds for the JAG grant.
Department head reports followed, with Fire Chief Phil Kessler stating a meeting will take place that Wednesday with the Clinton Township Trustees, in order to sign the fire agreement with Clinton, Dover, and Wauseon.
Chittenden gave his report next and informed the council that a Dodge Charger police vehicle was recently donated to Four County Career Center after recently being taken out of service. The car was donated to the school’s automotive class.
Public Service Director Keith Torbet was then next to speak and said that new fencing had been put up at the city’s pickleball courts. Two more gates still need to be installed along with windbreaks before it is complete.
The Homecoming Park playground project with the Rotary is getting started, with the wall being cut down and stone being added for better drainage.
Torbet also spoke about some vandalism being done to city playground equipment. An insurance agent will be out to make sure everything is compliant and up to date. Lastly, brush pickup is currently slated to take place during the first full week of April.
Finance Director Jamie Giguere then informed council of needed financial report information before Law Director Thomas McWatters III gave updates regarding upcoming legislative actions.
Council then moved to approve the First Reading of Resolution 2024-9 accepting the annexation petition for nine parcels.
The Mayor Kathy Huner then discussed her annual report that was presented to council, before a motion was approved to place Keith Torbet on the District 5 Integrating Committee for a term of three years.
Approval of the bills took place next before council moved to adjourn at 5:37 p.m.