ACT OF INTEGRITY Aubree Miklovic Aria Miklovic and Kendal Miklovic were honored by Mayor Leu and thanked by the West Unity Village Council for their act of integrity and thoughtfulness wherein they returned a lost church donation they found while on a walk
By: Anna Wozniak
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
anna@thevillagereporter.com
The West Unity Village Council met last Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. Councilor Terri Lebowksky later joined councilors Kevin Gray, Nathan Massie, Stephen Marvin, and David Short. Councilor Shawn Blaisdell was absent.
Police Chief JR Jones, Village Administrator Joshua Fritsch, Fiscal Officer Sarah Higdon, and Mayor Don Leu were present as well.
The first thing council did was approve the bills as presents and the minutes from their December 14, 2023 meeting before thanking three local girls for their act of “integrity and thoughtfulness.”
Kendal Jones, Aubree Miklovic, and Aria Miklovic found a bag with a large sum of money in it. Instead of keeping it for themselves, they did the honorable thing, and worked with the local police department to locate the owners.
It turned out that the money was a missing church donation, lost in the parking lot between the donor’s vehicle and the church. Mayor Leu thanked them personally and gave them certificates for their act of integrity.
The evening’s legislation was then read, with two resolutions and one ordinance getting their second reading and an ordinance passed on its first reading after a suspension of the rules and declaration of emergency.
Ordinance 2024-1 amended the village’s codified ordinances to be compliant with updated state regulations with regards to taxation and HB33.
Administrator Fritsch then gave his report, sharing that East Church Street is mostly done. He also shared that the chipper listed for sale has sold, while the altitude valve has not.
Fritsch then shared the details of getting the engineering done for refinishing the roads and wanted to know whether council wanted to pursue a few roads at a time or consider the whole village, aside from the roads recently constructed.
Council gave Fritsch permission to proceed before he shared that he was going to apply for a grant to repair the concrete at the Kissell Building, and another senate grant is being looked into.
The problem tank was also discussed, with the mayor sharing that the other involved party is aware of the decision to give the tank back to them, and that they may see a visit from them at the next meeting.
It was then that Administrator Fritsch shared that one of the Williams County Port Authority properties would be asking for a variance to build a residence at such a position that the door and / or garage would be less than the admittedly excessive 30-foot village regulation, which has been approved in the past.
He was wondering if council would approve the variance as a motion or if they would have to go through the Planning and Zoning Committee first.
He then asked if they would be willing to waive the fees for the committee to meet, if that was the course of action they decided to take.
Councilor Massie asked of the fees waived for the WCPA already, sharing that there were “local contractors that can build houses” there, while still paying all related fees and taxes.
The mayor stressed that other municipalities are waiving the fees and that a lot of help is needed to combat the current housing crisis and that he wouldn’t risk the village’s partnership with the WCPA “for a one-hundred-something-dollar fee.”
It was then that council made a motion to no longer waive fees for the WCPA, sharing their disappointment with being “the last priority” after interest was shown in multiple lots earlier in the year, upset that houses were being built across the county instead of on the lots wherein interest was shown in the village.
Fritsch then moved on to share that council should soon see a comprehensive report on the state of the water utility, specifically to compare water usage to residential rates.
Fiscal Officer Sarah Higdon then gave the 2023 financial year end report, as well as the RITA tax reports, and council thanked her for what they would call “the best report” they’ve seen from the village’s financial sector.
A lot more non-filers were brought up to date this year, with the amount of tax forms filed almost doubling in amount.
Higdon then brought up a request for a tax abatement from a recent widow, who had lost the business she shared with her late husband when he passed.
Council agreed to approve the abatement and waive her late filing fees, sharing that they “don’t need to kick her any while she’s down” as she faces this difficult chapter in her life.
Mayor Leu shared that there were some seminars and conferences in March that may be advantageous for council to attend before presenting his State of the Village address.
Council then shared how well 2023 went, especially with all of the updates recently seen to downtown with the new lights.
Everyone involved was thanked for their hard work, and the longevity of the filling placed at Jacoby’s was discussed, as was the water pooling problem at Church and Rose Streets before the West Unity Village Council voted to adjourn at 8:45 p.m., set to meet next February 8, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.