As the season changes, village employees switch their work from fall to winter.

At the Dec. 14 Bluffton council meeting Jamie Mehaffie, village administrator, told council members that leaf pickup is completed. "We have received quotes for the grinding of the brush dump," he said. "The low quote was $9,125 and the high, $13,625. My plan is to have this completed as soon as possible so that that material will be ready for spring."

The administrator told council that he delivered memos to downtown business owners. The memos advised them not to use rock salt or ice melt products on the new concrete sidewalks this winter.

"I had asked Jeff Kantner from Family True Value Hardware to check with his supplies to see if there is a product that could be used on new concrete," said Mehaffie. "He checked and I consulted numerous concrete people, and no one recommended using anything other than sand or cat litter the first year, to prevent damage to the concrete."

The village has been working on evaluating the numbers used to calculate Bluffton water rate with Ottawa.

"I am still waiting on some production numbers from Ottawa," said Mehaffie. "Once those numbers are received and incorporated into the rate calculation formula, I intend to meet with officials from Ottawa to review the numbers."

Council meeting dates

Dec. 16 - Employee appreciation dinner, 6 p.m.

Dec. 28 - Steet and alley committee, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 28 - Council, 8 p.m.