{"id":131955,"date":"2020-06-09T03:54:10","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T08:54:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=131955"},"modified":"2020-06-10T03:55:16","modified_gmt":"2020-06-10T08:55:16","slug":"vw-city-council-talks-about-charter-and-airport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2020\/06\/09\/vw-city-council-talks-about-charter-and-airport\/","title":{"rendered":"VW council talks about charter, airport"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent writer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert City Council has taken steps toward the possible establishment of a charter form of government in the city. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Monday night\u2019s meeting, council members heard the first reading of legislation asking city voters to establish a charter commission, then, if approved, having voters select 15 people to serve on the commission. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Van Wert Mayor Ken Markward shows city council the ball he used to throw out the first pitch of the 2020 Van Wert Youth League baseball season. Scott Truxell\/Van Wert independent<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The measure must have two more readings before it becomes official and the question of establishing a commission would likely appear on the November ballot. If it passes, charter commission members would be voted on at this time. The earliest an actual charter could be voted on is 2021. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

City council has discussed a charter form of government since the fall of 2018 and in a memo to council members, Garry Hunter, legal counsel for the Ohio Municipal League strongly encouraged city council to allow citizens to decide on the matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn my opinion (the charter) will preserve to the citizens of Van Wert the maximum ability to operate its city in accordance with local input,\u201d Hunter wrote in the memo. \u201cIf a charter is not adopted, Van Wert will remain a statutory city, therefore, what is the harm in allowing the citizens a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Council members also heard a presentation from Chuck Koch about plans to build a new terminal at the Van Wert County Regional Airport, which is owned by the city, except for about 80 acres at the Leeson Avenue site, and the city leases the land to the Airport Authority for $1 a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Koch said the terminal is in the final planning stages, but an issue that came up is the additional cost tied to paying prevailing or union wages for the job. He told council a way to lower costs would be a sublease with the Van Wert County Port Authority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Airport Authority being a government agency would be subject to that (prevailing wages), however, the Van Wert Port Authority is actually charged with the ability to be involved with construction projects,\u201d Koch explained. \u201cThey are specifically exempt from prevailing wage application should they be any way involved in the construction of a new building such as what we\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough the use of a series of leases, development agreements and contractor agreements, the proposition is for the Airport Authority to lease the footprint of where this new terminal is going to sit to the Port Authority,\u201d Koch continued. \u201cBy authorizing the Port Authority to accept a ground leage from the Airport Authority, then can in turn by law enter into an agreement that authorizes the construction of a terminal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Koch added the Van Wert County Foundation is getting involved and he noted that fundraising efforts have netted more than $1 million dollars to go toward the project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The matter will be discussed further by city council during a committee of the whole meeting on July 22, and a sublease agreement could be up for a vote that night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other business, Auditor Martha Balyeat told council members COVID-19 budget projections remain on track, with losses expected to total about 10 percent, and she noted a mandated tax budget public hearing will be held July 13. She also reminded council members that required Sunshine Law training will be held via a webinar on Tuesday, June 16. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During his report to city council, Mayor Ken Markward said 30 minutes before the meeting, he threw out the first pitch to begin this year\u2019s edition of Van Wert Youth League Baseball, and he gleefully noted the pitch was a good one, with a bit of help from the catcher. He also said playgrounds, including basketball courts and splash pads will be able to open on Wednesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safety Service Director Jay Fleming informed council members that brush pickup will begin on June 29.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next meeting of Van Wert City Council will begin with a committee of the whole meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 22, followed the regular meeting at 6:30.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent writer Van Wert City Council has taken steps toward the possible establishment of a charter form of government in the city. During Monday night\u2019s meeting, council members heard the first reading of legislation asking city voters to establish a charter commission, then, if approved, having voters select 15 people to serve on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-131955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-02 13:32:16","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131955\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}