Garrettsville – Village officials present at the village council meeting on August 12th were Village Solicitor Michele Stuck, Mayor Rick Patrick, Assistant Fiscal Officer Deb Wordell, and Councilpersons Tom Hardesty, Chris Knop, Jeff Kaiser, Larry Beatty, John Chambers and Tom Collins. Due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements the meeting was held in person with no audience, however the meeting was streamed to Facebook for the public.
After the meeting was called to order by Mayor Patrick, the minutes of the July meeting were reviewed. Following the approval of the minutes, council reviewed the financial reports and income tax receipts. Income Tax is within 2% of the previous year, allowing the Village to spend money on road projects this year. Hardesty has shared that revenue has, so far, outpaced spending for the year. Kaiser expressed some concern about how the numbers would look in 2021. Beatty asked about bills that could be paid out of the COVID-19 relief fund. Wordell explained that there was a resolution in line for approval that night.
Ordinance 2020-08 was tabled again. The ordinance relates to water retention basins in the village and their maintenance. Hardesty explained that the Planning Commission is continuing to hold discussions on the ordinance and needs more time to research everything. The ordinance as it was originally intended, focused on the Fox Hollow development; however, there are multiple basins in the village that could, or should, be impacted by the ordinance.
Ordinance 2020-19 was postponed indefinitely on it second reading. The ordinance which would ratify prior transfers from the water operating fund to the water improvement fund and authorize future annual transfers of $12,000.00 from fund #5101 to fund #5701 was not needed as Wordell located the original ordinance from 1982.
Ordinance 2020-20 was approved and enacted on first reading. This is a yearly approval made by council to accept the village’s “green book” update. The ordinance approves the recodification, editing and inclusion of certain ordinances as parts of the various component codes of the codified ordinances of Garrettsville, Ohio.
Ordinance 2020-21 was approved and enacted, amending ordinance 2020-07 entitled “Annual Appropriation Ordinance” to increase appropriations for current expenses and expenditures for the village during the fiscal year ending December 31, 2020. This change is due to the village receiving its local share of the Portage County Coronavirus Relief Distribution Fund in the amount of $64,285.46; and revenues and appropriations in the Local Coronavirus Relief Fund must be increased by $64,285.46 to allow for expenses eligible to be paid with these funds as set forth in Ordinance 2020-14.
Council authorized the Mayor and the Fiscal Officer to execute an agreement authorizing Arcadis US, Inc. to provide design and bidding assistance for phase one of the South Street water main replacement at a cost not to exceed $63,000.00. On Monday, August 10, the Board of Public Affairs shared that the project qualified for grant money and a thirty-year 0% loan. Hardesty mentioned that the water main project would be divided into two phases, with phase one running from the top of the hill (past Save-4-Store) and ending at South Park. Phase two would run from South Park to Kepich Ford. He went on to explain that having the entire project engineered and bid at one time will help expedite the process as more grant money becomes available.
Water & Sewer Billing Dates Changed
In passage of ordinance 2020-23, council has amended sections 921.08 and 923.11 of the Codified Ordinances of the village of Garrettsville as they relate to water and sewer bill due dates. On Monday, August 10, the Garrettsville Board of Public Affairs amended its rules and regulations to require that water and sewer bills shall be due and payable within twenty-two (22) days of the billing date; and the corresponding sections of the Streets, Utilities and Public Services Code of the Village of Garrettsville Codified Ordinances must be amended in order to maintain consistency with the Rules and Regulations of the BPA.
Section 921.08 of the village’s Codified Ordinances has been enacted as follows:
921.08 COLLECTION OF CHARGES; DELINQUENT BILLS. Charges for services furnished the Village and its inhabitants and other users by the Village water supply system shall be rendered and collected monthly by the Board (of Trustees) of Public Affairs. Should the bill for any service rendered by the water supply system remain unpaid for a period of twenty-two (22) days, a penalty of ten percent (10%) of such billing shall be added thereto. The Board of Trustees of Public Affairs is authorized to cut off water service to the premises involved if the bill remains unpaid for the time period set forth in their Rules and Regulations, and service shall only be resumed upon compliance with said Rules and Regulations. Further, if such bill is not paid as provided in the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Public Affairs, the Fiscal Officer is authorized and directed to certify the delinquent bill to the County Auditor for collection as and at the same time that other taxes and assessments are collected.
Section 923.11 of the village’s Codified Ordinances has been enacted as follows:
923.11 COLLECTION OF CHARGES; DELINQUENT BILLS. Charges for services furnished the Village and its inhabitants and other users by the sanitary sewerage system and sewage disposal plant shall be rendered and collected monthly by the Board (of Trustees) of Public Affairs. Should the bill for any service rendered by the sanitary sewerage system and sewage disposal plant remain unpaid for a period of twenty-two (22) days, a penalty of ten percent (10%) of such billing shall be added thereto. The Board of Trustees of Public Affairs is authorized to cut off water service to the premises involved if the bill remains unpaid for the time period set forth in their Rules and Regulations, and service shall only be resumed upon compliance with said Rules and Regulations. Further, if such bill is not paid as provided in the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Public Affairs, the Fiscal Officer is authorized and directed to certify the delinquent bill to the County Auditor for collection as and at the same time that other taxes and assessments are collected.
Beatty expressed concern that residents could be penalized for non-payment and end up with their water shut-off in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. He mentioned that all the larger public utility companies have foregone shut-offs and wondered if the BPA could work with residents to avoid shutoffs. Stuck informed council that BPA has reinstated their policy to allow for shut-offs if necessary, but they are taking a more relaxed and sympathetic view of conditions right now. BPA includes in their Rules and Regulations the ability for struggling customers to get onto a payment plan for the remainder of the calendar year. Hardesty also reminded council that the United Way offers payment assistance for utility expenses. Wordell shared that of the ten people who would have received a shut-off on August 7th, all of them either paid their outstanding balance or had signed up for a payment plan by August 11th. She also shared that there are no more delinquencies than a normal year.
Council moved on to the second reading of Resolution 2020-24, accepting the amounts and rates as determined by the budget commission and authorizing the necessary tax levies and certifying them to the county auditor. No action was taken at the meeting.
N.E.S. Corporation of Cleveland was accepted as the lowest bidder for the repaving projects on Clover Lane and Maple Avenue. The company has a good reputation and was recommended by the village of Mantua. N.E.S.’ bid came in a $136,430 and beat out bids from Burton Scott ($171,205), Barbicas ($174,178.50), Chagrin Valley Paving ($149,297.50), Ronyak ($152,594.25), Herron ($175,281). Hardesty went on to explain what the projects would entail. There are several sections on Clover Lane that will be done. Areas near the intersection of Clover Lane and Meadow Run will be ground out for full depth repair as needed before being finished to match the current grade of the curbing. Other areas of Clover Lane will be repaired and blended as needed. On Maple Avenue the road will be repaired from Park Avenue to the intersection with SR 88. Hardesty would have preferred to grind out the road to re-expose the curbs, but doing so without repaving the entire road would have left a severe crown on the road. There will be no exposed curb, but it is still there and provides a backstop for the asphalt.
Patrick shared that Casey Timmons has resigned from her job at the Garrettsville Police Department. Council passed a motion to allow the department to fill the now vacant position.
Roundtable Wrap-up
Knop asked Patrick about a $1,800 bill for sidewalk work at the digital sign plaza at the intersection of SR 82/SR 88. He does not have an issue with it but would have liked to know about it before it happened. Patrick explained that there was a quick turnaround time needed for the sidewalk replacement and he had run it past Wordell. The Chamber of Commerce spent $25,000 on the sign and brick enclosure and the village provides electricity and funded the concrete sidewalk.
Hardesty shared that the Liberty Street sidewalk project is moving along and that sidewalks will extend to the exit of the Sky Plaza drive-thru.
Beatty asked if there was any possibility of providing a portion of the village’s COVID-19 fund to the James A. Garfield Local Schools for use in purchasing PPE or offsetting the cost of distance learning. Wordell and Stuck have been looking into this but cautioned that doing so would put the village into the position of a fund administrator. The village would be required to monitor the school’s compliance and ensure that the money is used properly. The village would be responsible for any misuse of the funding provided to the schools or emergency services. Stuck would recommend that the schools submit a proposal that could be reviewed for compliance.
Patrick informed council that one of the benches at the Chamber of Commerce’s new sign had been damaged by skateboarders grinding on it. There have also been complaints about skateboarders. He has asked the Police Department to remind skateboarders that they cannot use the sidewalks or structures for skateboarding – the village has a skateboard park on Park Avenue. The village parks are open from dawn to dusk year-round.
Beatty was informed by Jon Fletcher that there is another tree dying on Main Street. In addition to the blight issue some of the existing pear trees are experiencing, they are non-native invasive plants. Adam Wohlever, park ranger at Eagle Creek Preserve and Nelson-Kennedy Ledges, shared a couple of options for trees that would be better for the area, including an open mix of red bud or service berry. Patrick will talk to Wohlever about planting new trees.
Knop shared that there are several trees encroaching on the boardwalk behind Subway.
Kaiser would like to plant more “October Glory” maple trees around Park Cemetery. He also shared that some residents are having trouble reading the new water bills. Wordell shared that the Post Office has been applying a barcode sticker for mailing overtop of the amount due. She shared that the bill layout will be adjusted based on feedback the Water Department has received.
Wordell mentioned that the summer intern has done a “phenomenal job” of sorting through records and organizing the documents. Records date all the way back to 1954 – Wordell shared that they found a record for an employee born in 1898 (Virgil Bloomer). Hardesty would like to start transitioning to a digital system to further reduce the amount of paper being stored.
The meeting was adjourned following the roundtable.
