PD age range, more discussed by council

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

If all goes as expected, the age range for new police officers in Van Wert will expand.

During Monday night’s meeting of Van Wert City Council, council members heard a request from Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming on behalf of the police department and the Civil Service Commission to lower the minimum age from 21 to 20 and raise the maximum applicant age from 36 to 43. The Civil Service Commission has already agreed to the change, but it needs final approval from Van Wert City Council in the form of an ordinance change. Legislation to change the age range will likely appear on the next agenda.

Fleming delivered some good news about Phase II of the Leeson Avenue improvement project, slated for 2027. The city is now scheduled to receive an additional $1.3 million grant for the second phase of the project. 

In other business, council members voted 5-2 in favor of an ordinance that would ultimately do away with council’s seven three-member committees (finance, streets and alleys, judiciary and annexation, properties and equipment, parks and recreation, health service and safety and economic development) and replace them with special committees on an as-needed basis. According to Councilman At-Large Jeff Kallas, who proposed the legislation, those special committees would be dissolved once the task at hand was complete. However, it will ultimately take six “yes” votes to change the current committee system. The “no” votes were cast by Councilwoman-At-Large Judy Bowers and Third Ward Councilwoman Julie Moore. The legislation is scheduled for two more readings.

Council members also approved the appointment of Randy Baer to the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals through the end of this year. The board has five members, all recommended by the mayor and all approved by city council. They serve staggered five-year terms.

A ban of marijuana, cannabis and THC projects at city parks, and city-owned buildings and parking lots was given approval, and council moved to rescind a ban of medical marijuana dispensaries within the city limits. A story on those developments can be found here.

Due to the Memorial Day holiday on Monday, May 27, the next regular meeting of Van Wert City Council will be at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 29, in Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building. Prior to that, a “Committee of the Whole” meeting will held at 6 p.m. to discuss potential legislation dealing with so-called “tiny homes.”