City Council looks at funding for MSVW

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

With downtown development crucial to the economic health of Van Wert, City Council was asked to continue funding for the cash-strapped Main Street Van Wert program by Interim Program Manager Adam Ries.

Ries, who noted that Main Street Van Wert receives funding from a number of sources, pleaded with Council members to continue its funding — $25,000 annually in previous years — for the coming year.

“You probably all know, Main Street is not a new program here in Van Wert; in fact, it’s been around for at least 10 years,” Ries said, adding that local residents have been positive in their support of the agency, with more than 700 volunteer hours logged for the organization.

“But you know as well as I do that it takes more than volunteer hours to achieve revitalization, it truly takes financial support to accomplish our goals,” Ries told city officials.

While the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization does receive funding from other sources, including fundraisers, Ries said he hoped the city would continue its support of the entity. A number of supporters of the program, including Chamber Executive Director Susan Munroe, Economic Development Director Nancy Bowen and some downtown business owners were also on hand to support Ries’ request for funding.

In addition, while Ries said Main Street Van Wert does seek, and obtain, grants to help fund its operation, city funding is also crucial to obtaining the competitive grants.

“These grants are extremely competitive and I feel that continued support from the city is crucial to make sure we can apply for these grants and have a really good chance of winning these grants,” he noted.

City officials agreed that it was important to maintain funding for Main Street Van Wert, but the problem is where such funding might come from.

City Auditor Martha Balyeat said funding for the agency has historically come from inheritance tax dollars, but added that those funds were down this year. The base for inheritance tax revenues was set at $150,000 this year, while revenues only came in at $170,000, leaving only $20,000 to fund agencies such as Main Street Van Wert.

Balyeat also warned Council members that the state inheritance tax would disappear altogether after 2012, leaving city officials to find another source of revenue to make up for those dollars. The city auditor also noted that it’s unclear at this point just what impact the failure of Issue 2 will have on the city budget in the coming year.

Finance Committee Chair Dick Shultz told Ries that a committee meeting would be scheduled for early in 2012, and after next year’s budget was closer to being finalized, to discuss what funding might be available for Main Street Van Wert.

Trash was again a subject for City Council, with North Jefferson Street resident Kevin Bair coming to Council to complain about a dumpster being placed in the front yard of an apartment complex in the 200 block of North Jefferson.

Bair, who lives across the street from the complex, asked whether the city’s new trash ordinances covered dumpsters, and was assured that they do. However, the fact that the dumpster in question may exceed the setback requirements of the legislation, now on second reading, was a concern to both Bair and City Council.

Annexation and Judicial Committee Chair Don Farmer wondered aloud if maybe it would be prudent to amend pending legislation addressing trash issues to eliminate the setback rule and make any trash receptacles in a front yard a violation of the ordinance. Council read trash-related ordinances for the second time on Monday, with a third and final reading set for the next Council meeting on November 28.

That proposal received some approval, but not all Council members appeared to be in favor of changing the pending legislation at this time.

Law Director Greg Unterbrink provided a sample of the city of Bowling Green’s trash legislation, more specifically how that ordinance deals with civil penalties related to violations of the measure.

During her regular report, Balyeat noted that opposition by a number of cities to a state initiative to have all municipal income taxes collected at the state level has caused some state officials to reconsider such a plan. The city auditor also noted, while the Ohio General Assembly continues to look at implementation of such a plan, it now appears that any centralized income tax collection proposal would likely be “revenue neutral,” instead of costing municipalities significantly more than current collection efforts do, as was the case with the original plan.

Pete Weir, who will become Fourth Ward councilman in January, brought up a question concerning derelict houses in the city and specifically sought action related to an abandoned property on Wayne Street. Fleming said he would prefer that any discussion of the issue be postponed until Weir and other new Council members took office.

Also on Monday, City Council learned from Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming that there is some confusion over the electricity aggregation program approved by voters in the recent general election, with AEP itself now offering its customers an 8 percent decrease in rates, which is equal to what Palmer Energy, the company voters approved for electric aggregation, is offering.

Council President Gary Corcoran noted that more information would likely be forthcoming in time for two public hearings that must be held in connection with the program.

In the legislative portion of the meeting, Council approved two ordinances dealing with the definition of a tower and making that the placing of towers — including personal wind turbines — a conditional use under city zoning laws. An ordinance establishing standards for the oversight and permitting of small wind energy systems was read for the second time on Monday.