Garrettsville – Village officials present at the village council meeting on March 10th were Village Solicitor Michele Stuck, Mayor Rick Patrick, Assistant Fiscal Officer Deb Wordell and Councilpersons Tom Hardesty, Chris Knop, Sheri Johnson, John Chambers, Jeff Kaiser and Tom Collins. Due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements, the meeting was held in person with no audience. The meeting was streamed to Facebook for the public. Patrick is hopeful that regular attendance at meetings will be able to return to normal attendance in July.
The minutes of the regular and special meetings in March were reviewed and accepted as written. Following the approval of the minutes, council reviewed the financial reports and income tax receipts. The reports were accepted as presented.
Ordinance 2021-09 received a second reading. The ordinance amends chapter 1199 of the codified ordinances of the village and permits the village to undertake correction of exterior maintenance violations. The ordinance was passed to council by the Village Planning Commission, which drafted the amendments to the Exterior Maintenance chapter of the Codified Ordinances of the Village of Garrettsville relating to these powers, and has recommended their adoption of this council. The legislation targets residents leaving multiple items out on the curb for extended periods of time. Council hopes to reduce the time frame for dealing with the trash piles from six weeks to two. The trash piles often appear at rental properties when renters move on, sometimes due to eviction or other short notice. This ordinance will have a public hearing and vote by council in June.
Resolution 2021-16 was approved and enacted and authorizes the Village to participate in the ODOT road salt program next winter. Hardesty asked Wordell about the pricing as the village would be blindly accepting the bid from ODOT. Wordell explained that over the last few years ODOT’s rates have been reasonable. Kaiser said ODOT’s program has always worked in this way. Knop suggested that the purchasing power of the group [of municipalities] buying into the program should keep the costs down in comparison to purchasing as a stand alone municipality.
Resolution 2021-17 was approved and enacted. This permits the village to participate in and benefit from the county’s disaster mitigation plan, and also permits the village to apply for emergency grants through FEMA and work with the county if there were to be an emergency.
Ordinance 2021-18, naming Michele Stuck as solicitor, was approved and enacted at the meeting.
Ordinance 2021-19, was discussed and approved. The ordinance is intended to prevent anyone from disposing of materials in the storm sewers. In the past the village has had issues with construction contractors washing cement into the drains which then solidifies in the pipes.
Ordinance 2021-21, received a first reading at the meeting. The Ordinance would establish a designated outdoor refreshment area (DORA) in the historic Main Street district. DORAs are established to allow people to legally consume alcohol in specific parts of a municipality. If approved, Garrettsville’s DORA would extend from the intersection of Main Street and State Route 88, up Main Street to the Eagles Club parking lot on Water Street, and the south side of the Windham Street bridge. The alley connecting High Street to Center would also be included in the DORA. Council set a public hearing for May 12 at 7:00pm, and a special council meeting to enact the legislation is scheduled for May 19.
Patrick noted that the DORA concept has worked well in Kent and clarified that appropriate signage and additional outdoor trash receptacles would be required. Under the ordinance each business would need to provide clear cups embossed with DORA and the name of the business. Council was also made aware of an online training program through the Portage Mental Health & Recovery Board that would help bar employees recognize when potential customers have overindulged. The group had also asked council to consider adding “Please drink responsibly,” to the DORA cups.
Council passed a resolution (number 2021-21) to establish a unified fund for the South Street Water Main project, allowing Council to get a good look at the project.
With the passage of Resolution 2021-22 the village is now open to solicitations for bids on this year’s slate of paving projects:
- High Street will be paved from Maple to Center.
- Park Avenue will be paved from Liberty to Maple
- Wolff Drive will be paved through the cul-de-sac
- Garfield Drive will be paved along the stretch of road to the right of the entrance. The first 300 or so feet which do not currently have gutters will also be receiving curbing. If more funding becomes available, the project may include up to 1300 feet of paving.
Hardesty would like to award contracts at the May 12 meeting. The total cost of the projects above comes in at around $300,000. Hardesty has a list of additional road projects that could be pursued if additional funding becomes available this year.
Knop shared that he received a call from a resident enquiring about a program for people to buy plaqued trees (planted in memory of loved ones) for the cemetery. This lead to a discussion on the Park Cemetery’s trees. Hardesty lamented the loss of the larger “stately” trees that have been dying off. Kaiser would like to add more ‘autumn glory’ maple trees. Hardesty would like to specify what types of trees are planted in the cemetery “so there isn’t a hodge-podge.”
Knop also brought up personal recycling programs and asked if anyone on council knows of other providers. Wordell will call around to get pricing for personal and community-wide service but reminded council that most residents are against being forced into a curbside recycling service. Council has not received any updates from the Portage County Solid Waste District.
Hardesty suggested adding a community trash day in May so that people are not inconvenience by the July pickup. Patrick asked Hardesty to coordinate this with Randy at the Street Department. Community clean up days are scheduled for May 6th and July 1st. Please do not include: batteries, tires, hazardous materials, construction debris, yard waste or paint cans. Two large appliances are permitted. Refrigerators and freezers must have freon removed and be properly tagged.
The Hardesty Park restroom/playground project is underway. Hardesty shared that he will have permits and plans at the May meeting. The project will see the construction of a storage building for the tractors & equipment, a public restroom, and playground (featuring equipment donated by the Greater Cleveland YMCA).
Collins has received a grant for native landscaping at the trailhead of Headwaters Trail. He is working with naturalist Adam Wohlever to build a pollinator garden.
Wordell shared that Wohlever had purchased rhododendrons and native plants to replace the invasive plants at the entrance to the Garrettsville Boardwalk.
The Garrettsville Hiram Rotary is exploring the purchase of bike racks similar to what Mantua has around their village.
Council approve the purchase of a new mower for the street department. The Skag mower will be purchased from S&K in Garrettsville.
Police Sergeant Keith Whan was present to request permission to hire a part-time administrative assistant. Council will approve the employee retroactively after they are hired.
