VW Council looks at park project funding

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert City Council approved funding for park projects from State Capital Improvement money, while cancer survivor Carole Motycka attended Council to receive a mayoral proclamation on colon cancer awareness on Monday.

Council heard Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming speak about Ohio Department of Natural Resources capital improvement money the city received for park improvements. Van Wert originally received $35,000 for Smiley Park, $50,000 for Jubilee Park, and another $50,000 for the Rotary Soccer Complex on John Brown Road.

Fleming noted that the $50,000 for the soccer complex was originally earmarked for bike path paving at that location. However, with other funding paying for that project, he is in the process of asking the ODNR to allocate that money to Jubilee Park, bringing the total for that park to $100,000, which would help pay for a new playground set-up at that park.

To do that, Fleming is in talks with ODNR, and asked Council to approve an ordinance allowing him to sign an agreement with the state agency to transfer the soccer complex money to Jubilee Park. Council approved the measure on Monday on first and final reading.

During his report, Fleming also noted that the city would be conducting a brush pick-up this coming Monday, March 4, to aid in clean-up from the windstorm that hit the city over the weekend.

Mayor Jerry Mazur read a proclamation proclaiming Friday, March 1, as “Dress in Blue Day” throughout the city in recognition of Colon Cancer Awareness Month in March.

The mayor joined with Motycka, a survivor of Stage 4 cancer, in noting that colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S., and third most common cancer in women.

Mayor Mazur said that, this year, there will be an estimated 60,200 new cases of colon cancer and an estimated 2,110 deaths associated with the disease in Ohio.

“We can save people by screening, and this is the most important part: making people aware,” the mayor added.

Motycka will be traveling to Washington, D.C., to talk about her stage 4 cancer diagnosis and recovery before Congress.

“It’s not a life sentence anymore,” she said. “I’ve had a liver transplant and I’m happy to say I’m doing well.”

Council also adopted an ordinance allowing police officers to also cite people for code violations within the city, while also reading the city’s permanent appropriations ordinance for the first time, and passing legislation for two fund transfers.

A public hearing was also scheduled for 6:20 p.m. Monday, March 11, to provide input on a proposed agricultural district designation within the city.

The next meeting of Van Wert City Council will be at 6:30 p.m. March 11 in Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building, 515 E. Main St.