Street paving and more discussed by council

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

A wide and varied number of topics were covered during a sometimes animated meeting of Van Wert City Council on Monday.

Among the items discussed – a de-annexation request by a resident at the corner of Hospital Drive and Greenville Road. The resident told council members he doesn’t receive city water or sewer services and wished to be removed from the city limits.

First Ward Councilman Jeff Agler noted his opposition to the idea and expressed his frustration with “islands” or pockets of property that are in the city limits but are not actually considered part of the city.

After discussing which other nearby homes are and aren’t in the city limits, council members agreed to have City Law Director John Hatcher look into the matter.

Another item discussed was forming a union cemetery district for Woodland Cemetery. By law, a cemetery district is required to be in place, something that has not been done locally. More discussion on the matter is expected at the next meeting and at some point, a related tax levy could be placed on the ballot.

The topic of increasing wages for elected officials – council members and members of the administration – was brought up during the meeting. Fourth Ward Councilman Andrew Davis led the discussion and said it’s been more than two terms since such wages have gone up. He also said he wants public input on the matter. More discussion is expected at the next regular meeting.

Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming provided council members with a list of streets scheduled to be repaved and repaired this year:

• Ervin Rd. from Jennings Rd. to the bridge
• Ervin Rd. from Washington St. to Shannon St.
• First St. from Monroe to Cherry St.
• Monroe St. from First St. to Center St.
• Woodstock Drive
• Westchester Court

He also said Elm St. from Ervin Rd. to Webster Ave. could be added to the list. Alternate plans call for Maplewood from Ervin Rd. to Spencer; Chestnut St. from Spencer to Crawford, and Chestnut St. from Crawford St. to Main St.

All told, the work is expected to cost approximately $1 million. Council members approved legislation allowing Fleming to advertise and accept bids for the project.

Fleming also said letters are going out to water customers explaining the upcoming water meter replacement project and he provided an update on reverse angle parking along Jefferson St.

“We’ve got the drawings back from the (Van Wert County) Foundation’s engineer so we’re just trying to get a date from the streets painters as to when they can fit that into their schedule,” he said.

Fleming told council members a portion of W. Main St. should reopen by Thursday. The closure is for water line work connected to the downtown renovation project.

During a brief report to council, Mayor Ken Markward said postcards have gone out to city residents who are in new wards due to the redrawing of the city’s ward boundaries. The change was made to balance out each of Van Wert’s four wards. He also noted the city has gone from 15 to 10 precincts due to the changes, which means some city residents may have a new polling place.

Council members approved payment of a pair of “then and now” invoices: $25,565 to Roofing Innovations LLC and $42,450 Solomon Diving for work at the water plant.

Van Wert City Council will hold a meeting to discuss the tax budget at 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 20. The next regular meeting will be at 6:30 p.m. June 26, in Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building, 515 E. Main St.