Hiram – At the September 11th council meeting, Patrolman Katherine Case was sworn in by Mayor Lou Bertrand. Later in his Police Report, Chief Brian Gregory shared that on August 6th, Patrolman Vincent Polverine was sworn in to the Hiram Police Department as well. He noted that Patrolman Yoder has been hired to a full-time position. He also noted that $6,000 has been raised so far for the purchase and training of a K9 officer. In other news, Chief Gregory noted that traffic citations increased in August, attributed to completion of roadwork on State Route 82. Lastly, the Chief noted that the department’s annual Shop with a Cop program for area youth and their families will be held at the Streetsboro Target on December 15th.
In his Fire Report, Chief Bill Byers reported that his department went on a total of 35 calls in August, with an average response time on under seven minutes. He noted that the majority of calls (19) occurred in the township. He also noted that engines 1, 2, and 3 had undergone preventative maintenance and had returned to service without incident.
In his report, Village Administrator James McGee reported that the village is working on documenting boundaries with the township on Ryder Road. He noted that clarification of what was referred to as a ‘handshake’ agreement would be required in order to determine which entity is responsible for maintenance issues on the road and ditch. It was noted that roughly one-half a mile of the road resides in the village, while the remaining portion is located in the township.
In other news, Mr. McGee noted that a Standard Operating Procedure has been implemented to insure that corporate water users like Mantaline will call the village to procure a permit prior to conducting testing of their suppression system, since this activity sends a ‘shockwave’ through the water lines, which can cause leaks in the system.
In his report, Mayor Lou Bertrand reported that the village is in discussions with representatives from the Hiram Christian Church to discuss the potential purchase of approximately 7/10ths of an acre of property from the church. After sharing some conditions put forth by the church for the potential sale, council asked the mayor to provide a counter-offer for non-conditional use. The mayor will report to council when any progress has been made.
Lastly, it was noted that the village received a grant in the amount of $2,028 from NOPEC (Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council). The grant is to be used to implement energy efficiency or energy infrastructure projects, and can be used in 2019. As of the last council meeting, no decision had been made on how to use the NOPEC grant.
The next regularly scheduled village council meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 9th at 7 pm.
