Council hears update on park projects

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

There was a lot more discussion than action Monday night, with updates on a new ballfield and concession stand at Jubilee Park the highlights of Van Wert City Council committee meetings, and even more talk on the trash and junk situation in the city.

Council also later approved legislation to designate handicap parking spaces on North Shannon Street and a loading zone on West Central Avenue.

Local businessman Eric McCracken, who is involved with the Van Wert Youth Baseball program, provided a report on the progress being made with a new baseball diamond that organization is constructing in Jubilee Park during a Parks and Recreation Committee meeting Monday evening.

Although wet weather has delayed seeding the diamond with grass, McCracken noted, the group is still hoping to have the diamond operational by the third week of July, in time for the Don Bachman Memorial Baseball Tournament.

City Parks Director Sue Heppeard was also on hand to provide an update on a combination concession stand-restroom-storage facility also planned for Jubilee Park. Heppeard said the Van Wert Lions Club will be providing the labor to build the facility, but city workers must first prepare the site and pour a concrete slab floor for the building.

She also noted that, while several businesses and individuals have donated funds to pay for materials to be used in the facility, it’s possible restrooms won’t be a part of the first phase of the project if another $10,000 isn’t raised in the relatively near future.

An issue that has become an intractable nemesis — the trash-junk issue — was again the topic of discussion for a Health-Service-Safety Committee.

Law Director John Hatcher has done some legal research on the issue, including a conference call with Committee Chair John Marshall with Middletown Law Director Les Landen, to discuss what that city has done to deal with junk vehicles and trash-laden properties.

Council members were given legislation to review before another committee meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, April 23.

Water and Sewer Committee Chair Brent Crone also distributed information related to an inspection of the city’s water treatment plant by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. A summary of the inspection noted that, while there were some deficiencies at the plant, no regulatory violations were found. Recommendations by the Ohio EPA centered mostly on actions that could be taken for optimum operation and to reduce the potential for future violations or contamination.

City Auditor Martha Balyeat also noted during her report to Council that city revenues were down a bit, with General Fund revenues declining more than $22,000 and spending outstripping revenues so far by $64,000 through February.

“We’re hoping that tend doesn’t continue but we’re keeping our eye on it,” Balyeat told Council members.

Mayor Don Farmer announced that Van Wert’s Japanese Sister City, Sumoto, Japan, would be sending a student delegation here on July 26-29. Host families will be needed for 8-10 students and chaperones.

City Council also unanimously adopted two resolutions on third and final reading. One resolution designates handicap-only parking in the first two parking spaces on the west side of North Shannon Street, immediately south of Jackson Street and adjacent to Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5803, while the other creates a loading zone on the north side of West Central, just west of the alley adjacent to First United Methodist Church.

Council also passed an ordinance on second reading that allows Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming to sell unused, unneeded, obsolete or unfit vehicles via an Internet auction.

Council members also approved the annual plan developed by the Van Wert Solid Waste Management District.