By Paula Scott
The Village Of Ada Council held a regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 5. In the absence of Mayor Dave Retterer, council president Jeff Oestreich chaired the meeting. (The meeting packet is available HERE.)
With no ordinances or resolutions on the agenda, the meeting was relatively brief. The first action was unanimous approval of three claims registers, which allows the Village to pay these bills.
When the floor was opened to the public, a representative from Northwest Real Estate presented water bills for apartments on Northernview St. that he believed were in error. He said that some 39 thousand gallons of water were listed as used. Staff vacations and the holiday had prevented him from making an appointment with the Village. Jamie Hall, village administrator, said that he would contact the meter manufacturer to see if the units could be tested and that there is a village ordinance that allows for an adjustment of unexplained usage.
In the mayor’s absence, Oestreich offered “Kudos to the village for a nice 4th of July weekend event,” the Pride of Ada Fireworks at War Memorial Park.
OLD BUSINESS
Councilor Bob Simmons shared that Village employees Mike Steele public works and Eileen Peterman averted a dangerous situation with an unsupervised young child on the railroad tracks.
CONTINUES
Simmons also reported that holiday decorations referred to as “Magic on Main” received the support of Hardin County Commissioners, who voted to provide $30K for the project ($40K in village funds is encumbered for the new Beautification fund).
COMMITTEES
Councilor Simmons called for an executive session to discuss terms of employment with action expected. Following the session, council approved motions to offer employment to two police officer candidates, Clayton Eichman and Aaron Everhart, pending physical and psychological evaluations. Council also approved ending Police Chief Alec Cooper’s probationary period with a 5% pay increase effective at the next pay period.
STAFF REPORTS
Fiscal Officer Patty Navin noted that pre-season sale of pool passes were up $5,100; she felt that as a result daily user charges were down, but that two weeks of “yucky” weather had also limited pool use.
Police Chief Alec Cooper reported that since the last council meeting there had been 73 calls for service, 16 incident offense reports and 2 vehicle accident reports. He thanked the public and members of council who attended Chief Michael Harnishfeger’s retirement open house. Cooper noted that last week he graduated from police executive leadership college. He also reported that in the second quarter of the year, Patrol Officer Penny Keller-Clark participated in 20 community events.
Village Administrator Jamie Hall provided the council with information on two quotes from Precision Concrete to use a specialized saw to repair sidewalk trip hazards of two inches or less. The cost of repairs averaged from $130-140 each. Hall asked council for direction at a future meeting on the process of notifying property owners of the need to do repairs and the time period allowed before the Village would contract for repairs and charge the owners. Councilor Oestreich noted that a committee meeting would be needed.
Before the meeting was adjourned, Councilor Simmons noted that the July 2 Patriotic Pops, which was supported by a donation from the Village, drew an exceptionally large crowd to the Lima Symphony Orchestra performance at King Horn sports center on the Ohio Northern campus.
The next regular meeting of Council is at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 18.
