Tree commission and data center discussed at meeting

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

After many years of dormancy, Van Wert’s tree commission may come alive again.

At Van Wert City Council’s meeting earlier this month, an ordinance was introduced by Fourth Ward Councilman Eric Hurless to strike the commission from the city’s code of ordinances, but Councilman At-Large Hall Block objected and said he knows of people willing to serve on such a commission. During Monday night’s meeting, two speakers, Bob Motycka, who lives just outside the city limits, and local resident Rachel Hoverman spoke about the benefits of trees and having a tree commission. Later in meeting, Hurless said he was surprised by the outpouring of support for the commission, changed course and said he’s willing to give it a shot.

“If it works great, if it doesn’t, we can always get rid of it in the future,” he said.

After that, council members voted 7-0 against the proposal to do away with the commission. It will have its third and final reading at the next meeting, and the vote is expected to be the same. At some point after that, Mayor Ken Markward will be tasked with selecting five people to serve on the commission.

An ordinance that would prohibit smoking in all city owned parks was also voted down on its second advisory reading. The vote was 5-2, with Block, who came up with the proposed ordinance, and First Ward Councilman Jeff Agler voted in favor. The measure will be brought back for a third and final vote at the next meeting and is expected to fail, meaning the ordinance will not go into effect.

A pair of ordinance up for second advisory readings were tabled for more revisions. One deals with private wells within the city limits while the other concerns door-to-door salespeople. The suggested revisions did not sit well with Agler.

“This should have already been hashed out and discussed before the ordinance was even prepared,” Agler stated. “Now we’ve prepared it and we’re going through all these changes…you’ve got me lost.”

City Auditor Erika Blackmore read aloud a statement after an effort to place a zoning initiative on the November ballot came up short, due to an insufficient number of valid signatures. The full statement can be found in a separate story.

Prior to Blackmore’s statement, city resident Tara Heck was listed as a public speaker on the agenda and she took the time to voice her opposition to the data center. She said she’s lived in Van Wert for over 15 years and said she’d like spend another decade or two in the city but said because of the data center, she’s not so sure.

“It’s a shame because I really enjoyed this town and the direction it was starting to go,” she said. “It was starting to put itself on the map with all the new businesses coming in, but I feel that nobody will be interested in coming or staying before long. I predict within the next few years, we won’t have a town.”

She stated data centers can cause people to become ill, too ill to work, hospitals will shut down, the police force will dissolve, factories won’t have the manpower to run and store shelves will not be stocked.

“Farmers will not have water for their crops, which is something that’s already becoming an issue across the country,” she said. “It will be interested to see where the millions of gallons of water will come from when wells run dry.”

She called the decision to allow a data center unconstitutional.

Third Ward Councilwoman Julie Moore questioned where Heck got her information, to which Heck replied “the internet.” Agler explained the data center would operate with an initial fill of 660,000 gallons of water and would use a closed loop system, which would eliminate the need for millions of gallons of water.

Later in the meeting, two frequent critics of the data center, Kelly Ripley of Convoy and David Roehm of Willshire also voiced their continued opposition.

During his report, Markward said the city will again offer vouchers that will enable residents to dispose of one large item free of charge during the month of September. Information will be included with August water bills.

The next meeting of Van Wert City Council will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, August 10, in Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building, 515 E. Main St.