Mayor Louis Sanders called the August 8, 2024, Village of Attica Council regular meeting to order at 7:30 PM.
Roll Call: Ed Beamer, Keith Hopple, Nicole Lenhart, Kirk Stanfield
Others Present: Superintendent Tom Scott, Maintenance Employee Will Gates, Water Operator of Contract Jaime Mendoza, Ryan Keen Citizen interested in open council seat, Dorothy Treft interested in open council seat
Absent: Owen Best
Approval of Warrants: Motion by Councilman Beamer to approve the warrants, seconded by Councilwoman Lenhart. Vote: 4-0. Motion carried.
Approval of Minutes: Motion by Councilman Beamer to approve 7/25/24 minutes, seconded by Councilman Hopple. Vote: 4-0. Motion carried.
Written & Oral Communication: Jaime Mendoza reported that he responded to the EPA on July 26th regarding the notice of violations. He shared he did get approval from the EPA to excavate the lagoons and allow the sludge material to dry in windrows before being hauled off to the landfill. Councilman Stanfield asked how much the sludge removal is expected to cost. Jaime indicated he received a quote for $175,000, to excavate the sludge from both lagoons, press the water from the sludge, and haul to landfill. He said this method of allowing it to dry will allow the process to be split over two budget years. Councilman Stanfield because if the sludges is going to be left to dry, in turn leaching into the ground, can’t the sludge just be left. Councilman Beamer spoke up indicating the village would be saving the cost of having the sludge pressed of the liquid. Jaime responded that he didn’t think leaving the sludge on the ground would be permitted. Councilman Beamer pointed out that dry sludge will cost less to dispose of as the landfill charges by weight. The village will be saving money by not having the sludge pressed. Councilman Stanfield continued to pushback, asking why the village don’t just fill the “thing” in. Councilman Beamer further indicated we are following the directives of the EPA. Councilman Stanfield said the EPA isn’t considering our position. Councilman Beamer said they are considering our position because they are allowing us to do what Jaime suggested, by excavating the sludge and allowing it to dry. Councilman Stanfield still maintained this is needless spending money. Mayor Sanders reported it was time to move the conversation on. Jaime also reported he has someone with a Class II water operator license who is looking for a job. He reported having their resume if Council was interested. Dorothy Treft was in attendance because she is interested in the open council seat. She said she has lived here for over 30 years and very invested. She said there is a lot she would like to see done here. She is willing to take the free grant writing course and interact with other villages to see how they are funding stuff. She said it seems like there were more activities when they first moved to town. Councilman Beamer asked what her top priorities would be if seated on council. She spoke of more activities for the youth. She spoke about sidewalk issues and handicap accessibility. She said she would be willing to go after grants. Dorothy stated she is retired so she has time to work on council tasks. FO Hatfield asked how she felt about implementation of an income tax. She indicated an income tax would be a fair way to fund stuff. She said she doesn’t believe the farmers should be providing all the revenue via property tax, she believes an income tax would be a more fair and equitable way to establish revenue. Councilman Beamer asked both candidates interested in the open seat how they would go about determining the amount of income tax to implement. Councilman Stanfield asked what they would do on council, reminding them that they would represent the people of the village. Ryan Keen indicated he believes there are things that could be done to save some money, such as keeping work in-house as opposed to hiring it out. Councilman Stanfield asked Ryan how long he has lived in Attica. Ryan indicated 2 years. Councilman Beamer moved to nominate Dorothy Treft; Councilman Hopple seconded the motion. Vote: 2-1 with Councilman Stanfield abstaining, Councilwoman Lenhart voting no. Councilman Beamer encouraged Councilman Stanfield to vote. Councilman Stanfield refused. Both candidates at this point offered to opt out. Councilman Beamer continued to press Councilman Stanfield to vote. Councilman Stanfield moved to nominate Ryan Keen to the open council seat, Councilwoman Lenhart seconded. Vote: 2-2 with Councilman Beamer and Hopple voting no. Ryan Keen offered to withdraw. Dorothy also offered to withdraw. She didn’t want to cause any discord. Councilman Beamer shared disappointment that there are two individuals interested and Council was unable to decide. It was decided to wait until the next meeting when Councilman Best returns to decide. Councilman Hopple moved to table the open council seat nomination; Councilman Beamer seconded. Voted: 4-0.
Public Safety: Admin Shock shared the regional planning paperwork was not turned in for the grant to purchase the digital speed signs. He asked if the village wanted to move forward with purchasing the signs out of the state highway fund. No one opposed.
Streets & Properties: Councilman Beamer indicated he would be meeting with Bucyrus Road Material next week to get a game plan together for paving.
Councilwoman Lenhart shared the Village was awarded the OSS Recycling grant for the welcome to village signs. She indicated she gave the paperwork to the fiscal officer for review. The village has one year to complete the project.
Parks: The next market is September 1st. She needs vendors. She reported the August market was cancelled due to only having one vendor. Councilwoman Lenhart reported she and Councilman Best have been working with Fostoria Economic Development on possibly applying for the Nature Works Grant. Councilwoman Lenhart reported receiving a quote from Clouse for filling in the pool in the amount of $49,500. This would include pushing in the concrete from around the pool then filling it with 1580 tons of stone. The quote for the for one pickle ball court was $17,000. Councilwoman Lenhart indicated the grant is for $47,000 and it sounds like no one else is running for it. She said the grant is due on the 16th. She said it is a reimbursement grant. Council decided to hold off on applying for the grant since it is a reimbursement grant.
Trees: Councilman Beamer shared that he was approached by a gentleman who agreed to cover half the cost of removing a tree in front of his property a few years ago to say he was going to issue a check to the village for that expense in the amount of $900. Councilman Hopple offered to set down at the compost site one Saturday a month for a few hours to allow people to dump yard waste. He was approached by a resident about having access. Council didn’t object. It was decided he will sit down there on the 3rd Saturday of the month from 9 am to 1 pm. Councilwoman Lenhart was going to put it on Facebook and make up a flyer.
Fire: None.
EMS: None.
Cemetery: Councilman Hopple said there will be a meeting next Monday.
Personnel: None.
Zoning Commission: None.
Finance and rule: Cash balance: $1,469,793.50 All funds include CDs and reserved or restricted funds, and debt reserve funds.
FO Hatfield reported she received the invoice from PEP for Liability Insurance. This year’s premium is $62,200.30. She reported complaining to PEP about the continued increased cost. Councilman Stanfield asked what fund it would be paid for out of. FO Hatfield replied to Councilman Stanfield all the accounts, largely water and sewer. She said she is pressed to pay the invoice because it is dated May, although the insurance representative indicated she messed up and was supposed to send it in May. FO Hatfield shared the water fund balance will not allow her to pay it today though. Mayor Sanders said to pay when she can.
Councilman Beamer moved to accept the 2024-2025 PEP Anniversary Contribution; Councilwoman Lenhart seconded. Vote: 3-1 with Councilman Stanfield voting no. Jaime suggested checking with the representative to see if the cost will be reduced when we go from making water to just selling water. The FO Hatfield reported she would check.
Water & Sewer: Councilman Beamer reported he will be receiving a preliminary water rate from Willard, so they can start negotiations. Councilman Stanfield indicated Scott Thornsberry was citing codes at the last meeting. Councilman Beamer said, Heather looked it up and it is related to the public utilities commission. Councilman Stanfield said he looked it up. He said the village obeys some and ignores others. Councilman Stanfield went on to say Thornsberry was concerned with punitive and dictatory nature of the turn off procedures, in which we are violating in many areas. Councilman Beamer asked Councilman Stanfield what he is proposing. Councilman Stanfield asked to review the policy to allow people protections from dictatory government. Councilman Beamer said we can request the Solicitor Heather look at it. Councilman Stanfield exclaimed, “You are beating the crap out people in this village with illegal billing and all kinds of water and sewer procedures, and I have been saying it for years. It is time for you people to start looking at the laws and using common sense.” Mayor Sanders indicated it was time to move on. Councilman Stanfield then stated it was time for someone to run for Mayor. He asked Louis if he was running for Mayor. Mayor Sanders indicated next year when there is a regular municipal election. Jaime shared the water plant water usage should be metered. Jaime said the problem is we would probably need a 4-inch meter. Councilman Beamer indicated he doesn’t see a need if the plant is going to be closed in a year and a half. FO Hatfield asked if the Maintenance crew was done with the GIS locates. Supt. Scott said they were done. She reminded them to make sure the meters are a priority. Councilman Beamer said they need to come with a Saturday to do switch outs and possibly send letters indicating people will be disconnected if they don’t allow access.
Village Website & IT: Councilwoman Lenhart indicated she got the website updated to include the link to pay utility bills.
Unfinished, Old Business and New Business: Supt. Scott indicated he would like to move forward with purchasing the mini excavator and skid steer. Councilman Beamer asked where the money would come from. FO Hatfield reported it would probably have to be financed. Councilman Beamer indicated that we can not buy something that we can not pay for. Councilwoman Lenhart reported she was working on preparing auction items to go up for sealed bid.
Executive Session: None.
Next meeting: Thursday, August 22, 2024, at 7:30 PM.
Motion by Councilman Beamer, seconded by Councilman Hopple to adjourn the meeting. Time: 8:57 PM. Vote: 4-0. Motion carried.
