Mayor Nathan Frisch called the March 23, 2023 Village of Attica Council regular meeting to order at 7:30 PM.
Roll Call: Ed Beamer, Lynn Love Louis Sanders, Kirk Stanfield
Others Present: Cindy Brooks and Brandon Evans representing RCAP, Heather Heyman Niedermeier-Solicitor
Approval of Warrants: Motion by Councilman Beamer, seconded by Council Sanders to approve the warrants for payment. Vote: 4-0. Motion carried.
Approval of Minutes: Motion by Councilman Beamer, seconded by Councilman Sanders to amend the minutes. Vote: 3-0. Councilwoman Love abstained. Motion carried.
Motion by Councilman Beamer, seconded by Councilman Sanders to approve the amended minutes. Vote: 3-0. Councilwoman Love abstained. Motion carried.
Written & Oral Communication: None
Public Safety: None.
Streets & Properties: 1st Read: RES 2023-5 Adopt the Ottawa, Sandusky, Seneca Joint Solid Waste Management Plan.
Parks: Councilwoman Love shared Mr. Bowerman reached out to her to thank the Village for having the porta pots set as baseball/softball season has started. FO Hatfield did let Council know the porta pots went up $10 a unit. Mayor Frisch asked if the Coaches plan to help put together the bleachers. Councilwoman Love said she will check.
Councilwoman Love reported she had a request Eric Williams for grant funds to purchase crushed brick for the fields, she offered to help look for grants, but the Village doesn’t have the funds to help.
Trees: None.
Fire: Councilman Sanders reported fire had 9 calls in February.
EMS: Councilwoman Love reported she attended a meeting last week. Total runs on east side was 63 runs. Currently the new district is paying for training, even EMR’s can attend training. This will make the whole district stronger. They are preparing for the eclipse. The land on 224 is being soil tested currently.
Cemetery: Councilman Sanders reported the caretaker of the cemetery resigned. With spring coming, they are looking for a replacement.
Personnel: Mayor Frisch interviewed someone interested in contract operator of record the sewer side of things. His name is Darrin Brown. He currently does this for Bloomville, Republic, and Cranberry Hills. He is willing to provide his services for $2,235 a month. Darrin did express to the Mayor the fee would go down to $2,035 after a couple of months and he familiarizes himself with all of the pumps and gets the initial EPA paperwork done.
Councilwoman Love moved to hire Darrin Brown at $2,235 for the first two months, $2,035 following, provided the contract checks out with the Solicitor, Councilman Sanders seconded the motion.
Vote: 3-0. Motion carried.
Zoning Commission: None.
Finance and rule: Cash balance: $1,521,435.04. All funds includes CDs and reserved or restricted funds, and debt reserve funds. FO Hatfield presented a request for amended appropriations RES 2023-6. This request is due to the new water operator of record will be a contract employee. Funds will be moved from the payroll line and carryover into contract services.
1st read RES 2023-6 Amended Appropriations.
Water & Sewer: Cindy Brooks and Brandon Evans were in attendance to present on behalf of RCAP. They were approached by the Village to explore loan and grant options through EPA, OWDA, Ohio Department of Development, USDA, and Ohio Public Works. RCAP explores financial feasibility in regard to the water utility operation to ensure the community could afford additional debt as a part of their process. RCAP was exploring loan and grant options to allow the Village to explore regionalization or other ways to allow the Village to maintain the water utility system. Their review confirmed the water utility cannot sustain any new loans or debt obligations at this time. There is a grant option the Village may be eligible for in the future. RCAP stated since we are losing about 8 million gallons of water a year, they plan to explore the Village’s water infrastructure through a system audit. They also go through the billing system and make sure the billing system is working effective and efficient. Councilman Stanfield left after their presentation.
The Mayor reported the EPA recently visited and said we must get rid of our dump pile. Mayor Frisch stated we have a week to get it cleaned up. He asked for permission to get a dumpster to clean up what can’t be burnt. The Mayor then stated he would like to gate the drive after cleaning it up. He asked if he could call Republic for a dumpster and pay for it out of sewer, Council agreed. Mayor Frisch also asked the paper representative to put something in the paper.
The Mayor reported Councilman Stanfield reached out last week to request the Mayor attend a meeting with Rural Water. The gentleman offered to help look for funding, the Mayor is expecting to hear back.
FO Hatfield let Council know she had a request to pay Jeret his 2023 License pay. She reported paying his 2022 License pay at the beginning of 2023. She didn’t feel comfortable paying him for two years’ worth of license pay in a short period of time. Council was hesitant as well, so the asked to table it. Councilwoman Love moved to table.
Mayor Frisch suggested asking to prorate it.
Mayor Frisch reported Dakota failed his class one operator license test by 2 points. He plans to retake in a month.
Councilwoman Love thanked the Mayor and Councilman Beamer for their work on the water and sewer situation.
Village Website & IT: none
Unfinished, Old Business and New Business:
Unfinished Business: 3rd Read ORD. 2023-2 Adopting and Enacting American Legal Publishing’s Ohio Basic Code, 2023 Edition, as the code of Ordinances for the Village of Attica, Ohio. Councilman Beamer moved to approve, Councilman Sanders seconded. Vote: 3-0. Motion carried.
Next meeting: Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 7:30 PM.
Motion by Councilman Beamer, seconded by Councilman Sanders to adjourn the meeting. Time: 9:00 PM. Vote: 3-0. Motion carried.
