City Council OKs Westwood speed hike

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert City Council split on the issue of raising the speed limit on Westwood Drive, but voted 5-2 to approve legislation that would increase the speed limit to 35 mph on a portion of the street from Ervin to Fox roads.

Prior to the vote, local attorney Aaron Baker, who has his offices in that portion of Westwood Drive, said he supported raising the speed limit to 35 mph on the street.

“I’m of the opinion that 35 mph is reasonable for that street,” Baker told Council, adding he has not seen any problems on Westwood in the six years he has had offices there.

He said the issue has been exacerbated by “speed trap” activities by troopers from the local Ohio State Highway Patrol post on Westwood that has added significantly to an already-clogged Van Wert Municipal Court docket.

Council members voting for the speed increase include Streets and Alleys Committee Chair Steve Trittschuh, First Ward Councilman John Marshall, Third Ward Councilman Ken Markward, and Councilmen At-Large Fred Fisher and Warren Straley. Those opposed included Second Ward Councilman Joi Mergy, who said before the vote she felt the issue in not raising the speed limit was primarily one of safety, and Councilman At-Large Jon Tomlinson.

In other legislative action, City Council also unanimously approved the tax budget for 2017 and also confirmed Nicholas “Sticky” Rammel and VWHS Principal Bob Priest as city representatives on the Van Wert Area Economic Development Corporation.

Also speaking at Monday’s Council meeting was Van Wert County Humane Society President Brenda Hoffman, who requested $1,000 from the city to help fund a Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program that would provide better control for Van Wert’s large cat population.

Hoffman noted that there has been an “explosion” in the city’s cat population, which is mirrored by the fact the local humane shelter currently has 54 cats in an area originally meant to hold 18 animals. She added that an informal survey of the community found more than 200 cats in plain sight, not counting those animals hiding from surveyors.

Hoffman also added that this was the first year she has seen young kittens being dumped into the community.

The TNR program would set traps to catch cats in a particular area over a two-day period, with residents of the affected area notified by door hangers. Cats caught in the traps would then be neutered and later released into the area from which they were taken.

Hoffman said euthanizing the cats could have negative effects on the area in which they were found.

“If you get rid of them, you cause what is called a ‘vacuum effect’ and you are going to be inviting something a lot worse than the neighborhood cats,” she noted.

Council President Pete Weir assigned the Humane Society request to the Finance Committee for further action.

During his report, Mayor Jerry Mazur said he, Marshall, and Law Director John Hatcher would be touring the city on Wednesday afternoon to identify residences where code violations are occurring. The tour is part of the mayor’s and Marshall’s efforts to enforce weed and junk ordinances within the city.

Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming talked about a Municipal Building telephone system crash on Monday that hampered city workers in doing their jobs, while noting that the building’s 13-year-old phone system needed to be replaced.

Fleming also reminded city residents that the Ervin Road/Washington Street intersection would be closed starting July 5 and remain closed for 40 days as contractors work in the area, and noted that paving could be completed around the Franklin Park site by the end of the week.

The safety-service director also commended Water Department workers for renovations they completed in the water office.