City Council talks speed limits, finances

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert City Council discussed speed limits, moved forward on a number of financial measures and also heard some good economic development news during meetings held Monday in Council Chambers.

Council members discussed speed limits on a portion of three city streets — Walnut Street, from Ervin Road to Fox Road; Bonnewitz Avenue, from Washington Street to the railroad; and Leeson Avenue, from the airport to the city limits — during a Streets and Alleys Committee meeting held Monday.

The consensus of Council members appeared to be that the areas, all now currently with 25 mph speed limits, should have those raised to 35 mph, although there were some concerns about Walnut Street and one objection to upping the speed limit on Leeson Avenue.

Councilman At-Large Stan Agler and Second Ward Councilman Joi Mergy both had concerns about whether increasing the speed limit on Walnut Street would decrease safety on the street. Agler said he was concerned that increasing the speed limit would create a problem for residents of Willow Lane and Warren Road, since motorists there have limited visibility because of a curve in the street. Mergy, who is a runner, said she has run along the street and noted it doesn’t have much of a shoulder for walkers, bikers and runners to stay on.

Mayor Don Farmer noted that Walnut Street was probably one of the worst streets in the city to run on, in the first place, while noting that enforcement of the 25 mph speed limit on the street was difficult at best. Others said they felt upping the speed limit to 35 mph was mostly just acknowledging the fact that motorists are currently going that speed on the street anyway, with no serious safety problems reported to this point.

Just one person was in favor of maintaining the 25 mph speed limit past the airport, while Police Chief Joel Hammond has said he was in favor of the speed-limit increases.

Legislation was prepared on each of the speed limit changes, but Streets and Alleys Committee Chair Pete Weir said the measures will all be read three times in order that those opposed to the increased speed limits can voice their opinion.

City Council also approved supplemental appropriations and fund transfers, while also placing salary measures on first reading.

Mayor Farmer had some positive economic development news, noting that O’Reilly Auto Parts would be moving into the former Universal Lettering building on Ervin Road and adding that two other vacant buildings would be filled in the future, one of them the former Dave’s Market building in the Summit Shopping Center on South Shannon Street, which could soon be filled by Rural Foods, a Kroger subsidiary.

“Van Wert is moving forward a few jobs at a time,” the mayor said of the development gains.

During his report, Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming said leaf pick-up would begin Monday, November 5, while also noting that the Glenn Street water tower would be receiving its final coat of paint this week. Fleming also answered a question on what the city has been doing while the water tower has been out of commission for painting, reporting that the water plant has been running 24 hours a day to maintain water pressure in the city.

First Ward Councilman John Marshall gave the city’s code enforcement people a pat on the back, noting that 17 violations were issued this past month. Fleming also stated that a developer seeking to build a house in the city had also complimented Van Wert’s code enforcement officials, noting that Van Wert has the most “user friendly” code enforcement process of any community he has dealt with.

Law Director John Hatcher also updated Council on the hospital charge issue, noting that the problem apparently has arisen with the Van Wert County Correctional Facility over emergency room charges because the hospital’s ER has been doing more tests now than in the past, increasing ER bills from approximately $200 in the past to more than $1,300 now.

He said he was working with the hospital to lower the number of tests being done on those brought to the ER, essentially for treatment of minor injuries and for blood tests for substance abuse.