The Village of Bluffton's insurance carrier has okayed an initial payment of $146,645.64 for the damage caused to the town hall as a result of the sprinkler head that broke in May.

AUG. 18 COUNCIL AGENDA AT BOTTOM OF STORY

In his report to council, Jamie Mehaffie, village administrator,  will inform council that this amount was based on an initial claim of $174,378.98 submitted by the adjustor. It was reduced by the village's $1,000 deductible and $26,733.34 in depreciation.

There are still outstanding invoices and estimates that have been submitted and
will be submitted after work is completed.

Bluffton council will hear updates on the town hall and several village projects. Here is a summary of the administrator's report to be presented to council.

Lion's Foundation Bike Path
The pathway from County Line Road to Commerce Lane being constructed by the
Bluffton Lion's Foundation is progressing well. The ground breaking was held on
July 14 and paving began Aug. 15.

Augsburger Path Update
Mehaffie met with representatives from the Ohio Department of Transportation to discuss
several issues with the proposed Augsburger Road pathway.

The initial environmental assessment performed by OES and the Departmental of Fish and
Wildlife indicated the presence of wetlands and maternal roosting trees for endangered bats within the proposed project scope area.

Further assessment will need to be completed to determine the full scope of mitigation that would be required to be undertaken to deal with these issues. Their initial estimate of mitigation costs is $30,000 to $75,000. The Pathway Board met to discuss the options available and ODOT is also reviewing the options available for this project.

Color run at Park
Trinity United Methodist Church will be holding the De Colores Dash at the village park on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 10 a.m. Having this color run at the park is somewhat of an experiment. It seems that each year there is an increased number of organizations that desire to hold a 5K race in the village.

Unfortunately, the safety requirements of holding these races on the public roadways exceeds the manpower resources of the village (and often times the organization) to properly close roadways and intersections during the event to keep participants, bicyclists, and motorist safe. The goal is to develop a 5K course that can be completely contained within the confines of the village park so that these events can be held in the park and not on the public roadways.

Sunoco Pipeline work
Sunoco Pipeline will be performing additional work in the village park beginning Monday, Aug. 18. They will be working near Diamond 3 and the County Line Road overpass.

BRWP
Representatives from the Blanchard River Watershed Partnership will address council Monday to provide a brief update on the work they have been doing and also request that the Village of Bluffton continue providing matching grant funds for their efforts.

Schedule change
The regularly scheduled council meeting on Monday, Sept. 1, is moved to Wednesday, Sept. 3. at 8 p.m. due to Labor Day falling on Sept. 1.