Village of Thurston

Council Meeting Minutes

February 13, 2003

 

 

Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm by Mayor Hite.  Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

 

Roll call:  Robert Ortman – Present; Nona Buskirk – Present; Roger Aubery – Absent; Warren Simpson, Jr. – Present; Warren Simpson, Sr. – Absent; JT Hilliard – Present; Jo-Ann Hite – Present; Aaron Reedy – Present.

 

JoAnn handed the meeting over to Chief Mike Jackson.  Mike wants to schedule a general-information meeting with the Safety Committee.  He would like more communication between the Mayor, Council and the Fire Department.  Everyone on the committee agreed to meet at 7:00 p.m. on Feb 20th at the firehouse.

 

JoAnn announced that Warren Simpson, Sr. has resigned as of January 6, 2003.  Letter was dated 1/6/2003.  Envelope was stamped 1/10/2003.  There is now an open seat on Council.

 

JoAnn asked Aaron to read a letter she received from Terri Vandevoort regarding an upcoming meeting with other Township and Village entities.  They will be gathering to discuss issues that affect the entire county. The letter was passed around.

 

JoAnn asked if anyone was interested in hearing about the FairCATS program.  She got a letter from the director, and will make an appointment with him.

 

JT made a motion to approve the January 2003 minutes.  Nona second.  All yea.

 

JT made a motion to approve the January 2003 financial statement.  Nona second.  All yea.

 

Nona moved to adopt Ordinance # 2003-4, An Ordinance Establishing an Appropriations Ordinance for Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2003 and the Declaration of an Emergency.  JT second.  All yea. 

 

First Reading for Ordinance 2003-5, An Ordinance to Increase the Salary for the Position of Mayor.  JT made motion.  Warren second.  All yea.

 

JoAnn asked if anyone heard anything about Long Street.  JT said he called Leitnaker about the drains.  The question arose whether the Village can tap into the drain Keller put in.  The issue is that we may not be able to, or Keller won’t let us.  We still need ME to check the project.  Aaron will call Keith Doll to see if he can meet with us at either a committee meeting or Council meeting.  JoAnn said the Village Engineer contract has been signed and mailed.

 

JoAnn announced that we just got the Fire Department’s $5,000 CD out last month and deposited it into checking.  The $10,000 Fire Department CD is coming out tomorrow, and she would like to do the same.  Mike didn’t have a problem with that.  It would be better to apply it to the new fire truck than what we would get out of another CD in interest.

 

JoAnn said we’d like to put more money in from the General Fund and a couple other funds into a CD this week.

 

JoAnn announced that the Walnut Creek Sewer Board would like to make another change to the Sewer Contract.  They changed Sections O & V.  Nona made a motion to accept the revised contract.  JT second.  All yea.

 

JT asked if the issue regarding an officer that wasn’t attending any training or meetings that was raised from the last Council meeting had been taken care of.  Mike Jackson said that Jimmy Barber stepped down as an officer last night.  He is now a regular firefighter.  Jimmy told Mike he didn’t have the time to devote to it.

 

At 7:30 p.m., bids for a new fire engine/rescue were opened.  One proposal was received from Dills (Smeal) for a vehicle meeting the specifications.  The proposal was for $241,989.00.

 

JT made a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss issues with Walnut Township Trustees.  Nona second.  All yea.  The time is 7:35.

 

At 7:57 p.m., JT made a motion to come out of Executive Session.  Robert second.  All yea.

 

JT told Mike that we need a new loan proposal from Dublin Capital since the current one expires 2/17/2003.  Mike said he’s already talked to the president, and he has every intention of extending the time period.  We will also get current quotes from Fairfield National and Commodore Bank.

 

JT made a motion to put $62,000 down payment towards the purchase of the new engine/rescue, pending the Village Solicitor’s review of the contract with Smeal Fire Apparatus.  Warren second.  All yea.  The Walnut Township Trustees plan to send us another $20,000 to put with that for a total down payment of $82,000.

 

JoAnn announced that we were still waiting on a revised contract from Waste Management.  Nona said three different trash companies are picking up trash in town.  Rumpke drops trash and leaves it lay.

 

JoAnn said we should vote to accept Warren Sr.’s resignation.  JT made a motion to accept.  Nona second.  All yea.

 

JT said we should get shirts that say “Village of Thurston”, our names, and titles.  Others seemed to like the idea, but feel we should take care of some other issues before we do so.  Council would also like to look into putting a new municipal building up by the firehouse, and selling the current building.

 

Since there was no other business to address, JT made a motion to pay bills and adjourn.  Nona second.  All yea. 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

 

_______________________________

Aaron L. Reedy, Clerk