VW City Council looks at CRA request

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Although Van Wert missed out on a Family Dollar distribution center earlier this year, the city could at least see a Family Dollar store in its future.

Mark Brown of Brown Contracting LLC came to a meeting of City Council’s Finance Committee Monday evening seeking tax abatement under the city’s Community Reinvestment Area program. Brown’s company plans to build an 8,000-square-foot store where the former Van Wert Armory building now stands in the 200 block of South Washington Street.

Brown and his firm are seeking a 90-percent tax abatement for 10 years as part of the agreement, and would create at least 10 jobs with the $850,000 project, which Brown said he hoped would be operational by April 2012.

Legislation was later approved by a vote of 6-0, with Third Ward Councilman Jon Tomlinson abstaining to approve the terms of the CRA abatement.

Council members also unanimously approved a 2-percent wage hike for both bargaining unit and non-bargaining unit city workers.

City Council first adopted legislation approving a collective bargaining agreement with the Van Wert Police Department’s bargaining unit and later adopted legislation giving non-union city workers the same increase.

Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming said the raise was well earned, noting that city workers hadn’t had a raise in nearly two years and had cooperated fully in keeping costs down during the recession.

While City Auditor Martha Balyeat said she had some concerns with General Fund revenues remaining mostly flat — especially with a planned 50-percent state cut in Local Government Funds over the next two years and the curtailment of the state inheritance tax — she had no problem with giving city employees a raise.

Balyeat said the 2-percent increase would likely only cost the city about $20,000 a year.

Council also approved allowing the city administration to apply for approximately $440,000 in Issue 1 funding that would be used for a variety of local infrastructure projects. Several supplemental appropriations were also approved.

Committee meetings were also scheduled to hear a request for $20,000 from the Community Improvement Corporation and to hear information from Bill Badish of Palmer Energy aimed at providing electrical energy savings to the city.

Per a Property and Equipment Committee meeting held prior to the regular City Council meeting on Monday, Council members decided to amend language in a city policy for use of city-owned vehicles, allowing them to be used for both city business and personal use, within set parameters.

Law Director Greg Unterbrink was also asked to research possible wind turbine zoning issues within the city.

City Council also approved the tax budget following a public hearing in which no opposition was raised.