Mayor Louis Sanders called the August 22, 2024, Village of Attica Council regular meeting to order at 7:30 PM.
Roll Call: Ed Beamer, Owen Best, Keith Hopple, Nicole Lenhart, Kirk Stanfield
Others Present: Superintendent Tom Scott, Maintenance Employee Will Gates, Ag Pro Representative
Absent: Natasha Hatfield Fiscal Officer
Approval of Warrants: None presented
Approval of Minutes: Motion by Councilman Beamer to approve 8/8/24 minutes, seconded by Councilman Hopple. Vote: 4-0 with Owen Best abstaining. Motion carried.
Written & Oral Communication: An Ago-Pro Representative was present to share lease information for a skid steer and mini excavator. He presented Council with pricing information. Discussion followed about how this equipment could save the village money. Councilwoman Lenhart asked how often we call in a contractor to do work that could be done with this equipment. Supt. Scott indicated it depends. The discussion continued. Council agreed, while the deal sounded enticing, they agreed to get with the Fiscal Officer on the finances before deciding.
Public Safety: Admin Shock thanked North Central Electric for changing the traffic light that was out. He also thanked the City of Willard for allowing the Village to borrow a light until they could get some.
Streets & Properties: Councilwoman Lenhart indicated she spoke to the Fiscal Officer about moving forward with the welcome sign project after reviewing the grant paperwork. She asked if Council wanted her to do a couple of mockups. Councilman Best suggested potentially asking the public for designs with no guarantee of designs being choose. Councilman Best pointed out the signs will be here for a long time, should we really use a logo. Councilwoman Lenhart agreed. She shared that going with
“Welcome to Attica” might allow for easier logo transition in the future. Councilwoman Lenhart is going to prepare a few mockups.
Mayor Sanders asked what the status was on the digital speed signs. Admin Shock reported FO Hatfield was supposed to appropriate the money.
Parks: Councilwoman Lenhart reported the Autumn Village Day has a little over 30 vendors. They will have “Touch a Truck” event and food trucks. She shared the Legion is doing a beer garden. They will also be doing a pie baking contest. The events committee is working on the Christmas event which will be held on November 16th. The Farmers Market will be held September 1st, 2024, from 2-5 in Myers Park. She does need vendors.
Trees: Supt. Scott shared there was a tree on Seneca Street that the branches are blocking the streetlight they want to trim the branches from around the light. There was further discussion on problem trees in the Village. Admin Shock shared a resident on North Main called and asked if a blind drive sign could be installed.
Fire: Councilwoman Lenhart shared there were 26 calls in July 16 were Attica rescues. AVR Auxiliary is looking for new members.
EMS: None.
Cemetery: None.
Personnel: Councilman Best shared he was talking with Jaime about the potential hire of a class II operator for a reduction in hours. Jaime shared with Councilman Best that he thought the village could get a 20-hour reduction. Council agreed Councilman Best could move forward with an interview.
Zoning Commission: None.
Finance and rule: None.
Water & Sewer: Councilman Best indicated that he and Councilman Beamer have not met with Willard yet, but they will be soon to further negotiate rates. Councilman Beamer asked if the administrator had the ordinance that established tap in fees. Admin Shock reported he thought he gave it to Councilman Beamer. Councilman Beamer indicated he spoke to Attorney Dooley who indicated $3000-$4000 is standard tap in fee. Councilman Beamer believes ours is set at $1000. Council agreed the fee should help cover the cost. Supt. Scott shared he had a salesman come in who sells meters. He indicated the individual deals in brass Neptune meters that could be rebuilt.
Village Website & IT: Councilwoman Lenhart shared there were rumors started that electronic billing isn’t a free service. Councilwoman Lenhart said she did a press release to clear up the rumors. Councilwoman Lenhart also shared Alyssa is working on auto pay. The Billing Clerk is also now able to take credit card payments in the office. She then asked how Council feels about livestreaming the meeting and if not live streaming, how about posting the minutes. Council agreed to posting the minutes on Facebook. They will discuss further live streaming of the meeting in the future.
Unfinished, Old Business and New Business: Supt. Scott shared they just serviced the Silverado and the zero turn and worked on the Backhoe. Supt. Scott shared what he and Will have been working on. Supt. Scott shared he found some other stuff for the auction. Councilman Beamer asked what format the village would be using, Councilwoman reported they prepared the flyer indicating the village would be accepting sealed bids. Councilman Beamer asked the Solicitor to confirm that Council must approve material valued over $2000, she replied, not to quote her, but she believed $1,000. She suggested to be safe the Village council could pass legislation approving everything the Village is disposing of. Supt. Scott shared he has found some more items to get rid of in the Auction. Councilman Beamer suggested putting a list together, so legislation could be passed. Councilman Beamer asked Councilman Hopple how opening the compost site went on Saturday. Councilman Hopple shared it went well. He had 11 drop offs, and many thanks!!
Executive Session: None.
Next meeting: Thursday, September 12, 2024, at 7:30 PM.
Motion by Councilman Best, seconded by Councilman Hopple to adjourn the meeting. Time: 8:39 PM. Vote: 5-0. Motion carried.
