Council
Meeting Minutes
Meeting called to order at
Roll call: Robert
Ortman – Present; Nona Buskirk – Present; Roger Aubery – Absent; Mary Barber –
Present; Warren Simpson – Present; Kim Duncan – Present; Jo-Ann Hite – Present;
Aaron Reedy – Present.
Joni Hines, 2076 Main St. was present. They have been taking care of a piece of land
behind her house which looks like is on her property. The land is behind the old Firehouse on First
Street that belongs to the Village. She
asked for permission to use that property if she maintained it. Mary made a motion to allow her to use the
property as long as she maintained it.
Nona second. All yea.
Chief Mike Jackson was present for Fire Department
business. He announced that Santa would
be at the Firehouse on Sunday, December 16th, from 1p.m. – 3
p.m. Mike also gave a personal
invitation to the Mayor, Council and families to the Fire Department Christmas
Dinner on Saturday, December 15th at 5:00 p.m.
Mike said that the Township Trustees had voted to hire TG
Fire Services to evaluate the Fire and EMS protection in Walnut Township. That project has been postponed. It will be up to the new trustees if they
wish to pursue the project.
JoAnn announced that we received $37,000 from the Township
Trustees on 11/17/2001.
Mike gave the “End-Of-Year” status for the fire
department. He said everything is
running smoothly and they are within their budge. He also asked Lowell for an updated map of
the Village water system showing fire hydrants, etc.
Robert made a motion to approve the November 2001
minutes. Nona second. All yea.
Warren made a motion to approve the November 2001 financial
statement. Mary second. All yea.
JoAnn passed around a letter from a lawyer, Keller.
JoAnn said that on 11/15/2001, she got a call from the state
auditor’s office about having an audit every year instead of every 2
years. They need a letter after a vote
from Council. Mayor and Council President
must sign, then needs to be returned to the auditor’s office within the month
of December. JoAnn had a call in to Tara
Logan of Trimble, Julian & Grube for a price, but hasn’t received a call
back yet. Mary made a motion to start
having audits every year starting with Fiscal Year 2001. Robert second. All yea.
Warren made a motion to adopt Ordinance # 2001-12-13-1, replacing ordinance # 500 with an ordinance to adopt a cash performance bond to cover repair of village infrastructures due to personal or business construction projects and the declaration of an emergency. Robert second. All yea.
Warren made a motion to adopt Ordinance # 2001-12-13-2, to
appoint a village solicitor for the Village of Thurston, Ohio, to fix the
compensation to be paid, and the declaration of an emergency. Nona second.
All yea.
Warren made a motion to adjust appropriations to move $200
from fund 5781-591-610-0000 to fund 5781-591-620-0000 to be able to refund
utility deposits. Robert second. All yea.
Robert made a motion to adjust appropriations to move $50
from fund 2901-591-321-0004 to fund 2901-511-311-0000 to pay the electric
bill. Warren second. All yea.
JoAnn announced that someone found a “Children At Play” sign
on 4th street. Was brought to
Mayor’s house on 11/22/2001.
JoAnn announced that on 11/23/01, D&B Paving fixed &
repaved Broad Street & Main St. She
also said the men from Darby Creek have been working on the sidewalks and
streets and are now working on the electric.
Council discussed raise for Clerk/Treasurer and possibly
adjusting pay scale of other elected positions as of next term. A letter was received from the Solicitor
stating that the Clerk/Treasurer could receive an in-term raise, but other
officials could not. Robert made a
motion to go into Executive Session to discuss.
Warren second. All yea.
At 7:50 p.m., the Council went into Executive Session to
discuss a salary increase for Aaron.
At 8:05 p.m., the Council came out of Executive
Session. They took a secret ballot vote
to increase the salary for Aaron by $30 per month. The vote was 3 – No, 2 – Yes. The raise is not approved.
JoAnn asked JT if he had anything to talk about. He asked about the snow removal contract, and
if we were going to hire an outside contractor.
JoAnn said we would probably wait until an agreement could be made with
the new Trustees.
JT also asked about police protection here in the
Village. There have been some auto
break-ins around the area. He was also
concerned about speeding and other traffic violations. He discussed possibly contracting with the
Sheriff to come through town every so often.
JoAnn said they do that now, but it doesn’t do any good. Discussion continued.
Aaron shared letters with the council from Ohio Dept. of
Commerce regarding liquor licenses. Also
a letter from Ohio BWC regarding a possible 6% in 2002. Also a letter from PEP regarding committee
nominations. No actions were taken.
Mary said we needed to get signs out front of the Municipal
building so that people will quit leaving their vehicles there for long periods
of time. A van has been parked out there
for a very long time. Mayor wants to
know what we want as far as signs.
Lowell will order them. They
discussed what kind of signs to put up.
JoAnn said there is one seat open on the Board of Public
Affairs. There will also be 3 seats on
the Village Council as of January 1st.
Since there was no other business to address, Nona made a
motion to pay bills and adjourn. Warren
second. All yea. The time is 8:35 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
_______________________________
Aaron L. Reedy, Clerk