Council discusses unannexed property

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert City Council held a discussion on unannexed property within the city limits, as it pertains to fire and EMS coverage, and also approved legislation enabling another round of the state’s CHIP program during meetings held Monday evening.

In response to a request by Councilman At-Large Jeff Agler, Council’s Judiciary and Annexation Committee held a meeting on unannexed property within the city limits, with Van Wert Fire Chief Jim Steele and local businessman Randy Thompson among those attending the meeting.

Chief Steele provided an update on how fire district coverage works, with the chief noting that each township with property inside the city limits contracts with a fire department to provide fire and EMS coverage.

Unannexed property along West Ervin Road in the city is in Pleasant Township, which contracts with Ohio City Fire Department, while unannexed property that is in Ridge Township would be covered by Middle Point Fire Department.

Having fire departments that are miles away can result in possible delays in responding to fire and EMS runs; however, Ohio City and Middle Point fire departments can ask Van Wert Fire Department to respond via mutual aid agreements if they feel quicker action is needed than they can provide.

While the process, in itself, can lead to delays as fire departments decide whether mutual aid is needed, the only remedies are to annex the property into the city or craft agreements with the townships to allow Van Wert Fire Department to be the primary responder to any fire or EMS runs within the city.

Annexation is a less likely prospect for the West Ervin Road properties, among them Van Wert Bedrooms, owned by Thompson. An attempt a few years ago to forcibly annex the properties into the city to eliminate “pockets” of unannexed properties within the city limits failed when Pleasant Township voters defeated the ballot issue.

Council members and city officials would prefer coming to some kind of agreement with township trustees to allow city fire and EMS personnel to become the primary responders for the area. Meetings will be scheduled with trustees to see whether an agreement can be worked out on the issue.

Also Monday, Council unanimously adopted legislation authorizing Mayor Don Farmer to apply for the latest round of the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) grant program and also adopted changes to the city’s “nuisance” building legislation on third and final reading.

The city’s permanent appropriations ordinance for 2013 will be up for passage at Council’s March 25 regular meeting.

Council also adopted a resolution authorizing city officials to negotiate a long-term lease with the Van Wert Parks District for the site of a parking lot adjacent to the city soccer fields. The lease agreement is a legal necessity to obtain a grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation to pave the lot with stone. The Parks District can obtain funding for the parking lot since it is along a local bicycle path administered by the district.