{"id":202529,"date":"2026-02-10T21:31:19","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T02:31:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=202529"},"modified":"2026-02-10T21:31:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T02:31:21","slug":"council-talks-about-snow-removal-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2026\/02\/10\/council-talks-about-snow-removal-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Council talks about snow removal, more"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

While discussion of the data center took up much of Monday night\u2019s meeting of Van Wert City Council, there was other business and discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A reminder was given to residents and businesses to clear sidewalks after snow comes down and Councilman At-Large Hall Block asked Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming about snow emergencies for downtown parking. Currently, no legislation exists that requires cars be removed from downtown streets after a snow emergency, but Fleming said the city is in need of it. He said parking by downtown tenants during the recent snow made it difficult for the city to clear the streets in that area.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
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Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming talked about snow removal and more during Monday’s council meeting. VW independent file photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cI tried to make a request to see if we could get them to move,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m very (much) in favor of towing people who just sit there in the street and especially if they\u2019re tenants of specific buildings, they can\u2019t be parking on Main and Washington anyway,\u201d Block said. \u201cThat\u2019s in our code so I hope the people in charge know that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fleming also said in half-jest that he wishes the city could pass an ordinance asking everybody to put their cars in their yard or the driveway when 2-4 inches of snow falls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe number of cars that we bury and are still buried today and the aggravation is causes us to try to weave around them \u2013 it\u2019s quite frankly kind of ridiculous,\u201d he said. \u201cIt happens that way all over town.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fleming acknowledged legislation requiring the removal of cars downtown because of snow won\u2019t be ready in time for the remainer of this winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a different topic, Van Wert\u2019s Reservoirs are at 10 and 11 feet respectively, putting both above 50 percent, according to Fleming. He said those levels should rise with snow melt and perhaps a February rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Fleming also requested a $350,000 supplement to the budget for the design and surveying for the upcoming S. Walnut St. reconstruction project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s expensive but it\u2019s pretty detailed,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s probably going to eclipse (being) a $7-8 million project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project, which will likely take place in 2030, calls for the reconstruction of S. Walnut St. from E. Ervin Rd. to Hospital Drive. It will include new sidewalks, stormwater system replacement, upgraded utilities, new curbs and gutters, and enhanced pavement markings and signage. The city has been awarded a $2 million grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation\u2019s Small City Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City Auditoir Erika Blackmore noted the city\u2019s hotel-motel tax revenue increased by 3.8 percent in 2025, and she requested that a pair of \u201cthen and now\u201d invoices be approved by council:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • $3,471 to Wallace Plumbing for an issue at Van Wert Municipal Court.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • $7,460 to Century Trading for a purchase by the Street Department.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Council members also approved, on third reading, a resolution authorizing the sale of city owned property that is not needed for public use, is obsolete or unfit for the use it was acquired via internet auction this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The next meeting of Van Wert City Council will be held at 6:30 p.m. Monday, February 23, in Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building, 515 E. Main St.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor While discussion of the data center took up much of Monday night\u2019s meeting of Van Wert City Council, there was other business and discussion. A reminder was given to residents and businesses to clear sidewalks after snow comes down and Councilman At-Large Hall Block asked Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming about snow emergencies […]<\/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-202529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-26 08:23:31","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\/202529","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=202529"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202529\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":202560,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202529\/revisions\/202560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}