Mantua – At the start of the meeting, Mayor Linda Clark welcomed James Carrozzi, an auxiliary officer who recently joined the village police department. Carrozzi is a Ravenna resident who graduated from the Academy at Kent State University in June of this year. Next, the Mayor reported that Congressman Joyce’s visit to tour several local businesses previously scheduled for September 30th was cancelled due to the government shut down. She will let council know when the Congressman’s visit has been rescheduled. In other news, council accepted a donation from Mantaline Corporation in the amount of $4,000. Council appropriated the donation to the Parks/Lodge fund to cover repairs and improvements.
Furthermore, council also accepted a proposal from two Crestwood High School students to ‘Light Up Mantua’ during the winter holiday season. The students, Monica Groves and Adam Haynie, will work with village Administrator David Akerly and his crew to make the village look more inviting by stringing Christmas lights along Main Street. The industrious students plan to fund this project by seeking donations from area businesses and holding fundraisers at the High and Middle Schools.
Later, the Downtown Mantua Revitalization Corporation (DMRC) informed council of a potential LGIF grant that will be available through the Ohio Development Services Agency in December. The $50,000 grant must be used for infrastructure improvements; the application is due by December 9th. DMRC members have offered to assist with grant-writing expertise, and will forward the information to council; the Service Committee will research the opportunity.
In his police department report, Chief Buchert informed council that his Department will be hosting an informative program called ‘Hidden in Plain Sight,” at the Crestwood High School on December 10th. During the program, which simulates a walk through teenagers’ bedrooms, officers will point out the obvious and the not-so-obvious items that could be a sign of a drug abuse or behavior problems for teens. The program is aimed at educating parents and the community about looking closely at common household items that could be used to administer drugs or hide other contraband items in a teenager’s room. More details will follow as the event draws near. Chief Buchert also announced that trick-or-treat will be held in the village on October 31st from 6 to 8 pm.
As a part of his village Administrator’s report, David Akerly suggested that council discuss the potential of enacting legislation to implement a policy regarding secondary water usage meters to be used by high-volume water users within the village. After much discussion, the proposed resolution will be returned to the Service Committee for further investigation.
In Committee Reports, John Clark noted that the Shade Tree Committee needs three members. Marty Hura noted that the Parks Committee needs one additional member. Interested residents should contact the mayor’s office.
The next regular council meeting will be held on November 19th at 7 pm.
