CLARIFICATION: The Village of Bluffton is conducting inspections of all structures served by a public sanitary sewer with a focus on the presence of sump pumps and their connections.
Letters have not yet been sent out to all addresses. Every property in town will receive a Sanitary Compliance Inspection Request that must be completed before this project is complete. Please keep an eye open for these communications.
By Andy Chappell-Dick
The agenda and packet for this meeting is available HERE.
In an unusual move at the top of the June 27 meeting, Council did not pay its bills for the previous two weeks. Fortunately, the cause was innocuous. Fiscal Officer Kevin Nickel (a very good name for a Fiscal Officer) was out of town, and unable to prepare the slate of payments. It's a reminder of the array of skilled employees who keep our village running smoothly. Council was only too happy to schedule a Zoom meeting later in the week to approve the bills upon his return. The remaining agenda for this meeting was light.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Mayor Rich Johnson opened the floor to Committee Reports.
Street, Lights, Alleys and Sidewalks / Joe Sehlhorst: The project to realign the Bentley Road/Main Street intersection has entered the bidding phase, despite ongoing tweaks to the design. Crosswalks have been added, and talks have begun regarding extending a sidewalk to Harmon Road.
A new project to identify streetlight needs around town is underway, and a list of dark intersections and shadowy corners is making the rounds. The planning is subject to a convoluted set of policies of AEP, the electric provider who will actually perform the installations, which is gradually switching to efficient LED fixtures while also heavily subsidizing obsolete conventional bulbs.
A future project was introduced: reconstruction of crumbling curbs on Jackson Street, essentially between the schools. With initial estimates running to several hundred thousand dollars--just for curbs--the Committee noted that by incorporating other improvements such as crosswalks the project may become eligible for outside funding.
On the matter of curbs, the Committee is also planning how to handle the repair of South Main Street curbs in advance of next year's ODOT resurfacing of SR 103.
Parks and Recreation / Ben Stahl: At their latest meeting, this group continued managing the construction of the Bluffton Disc Golf Course at the Village Park. Many improvements have been made, all paid for by grants and donations, and the course is nearly complete.
The Committee worked out an agreement with BFR to have their day camp kids use the Village Pool.
In a large ongoing project, progress was made on property acquisition for the SR 103 Pathway which will eventually provide bike and pedestrian access to the businesses at I-75.
LEGISLATION
Next on Mayor Johnson's agenda was a single piece of legislation: an emergency authorization for Village Administrator Jesse Blackburn to seek bids for the Bentley Road intersection realignment.
Why emergency? Typically, bills follow a deliberate path of three readings over several meetings, a legislative convention that encourages careful debate and allows time for input. There are times when deadlines arise unexpectedly or circumstances simply demand an accelerated passage. Council has the option to vote to suspend its own rules and skip the three readings.
In this case, Blackburn was hoping to squeeze in the possibility of construction happening yet this fall, and running the normal course would put the bid process too late in the season. Council granted this request, and passed the legislation by emergency.
ADMINISTRATION REPORTS
Blackburn, with the help of Assistant Administrator Bryan Lloyd, gave his report next.
Sump-Sanitary Sewer Compliance and Sidewalk Letters
The Village-wide Sanitary Compliance Inspection is 22% complete. The whole idea is to get sump pump discharge out of the sanitary sewer, which is now illegal and also ends up costing taxpayers a lot more when the sewer plant gets overwhelmed in storms.
Homeowners will be assessed $200 on their water bill for not responding to the letters. In another mailing, homeowners are once again receiving notices if their sidewalks contain certain hazards; the letters contain detailed options for what to do about them.
Conditional use hearing for 152 W. Riley St at Spring St.
The administrators also highlighted a June 28 public meeting regarding a zoning Conditional Use at a property on Riley Street. The meeting is to consider a future construction project, but a member of the public interjected that there are issues regarding the owner's plan to raise the elevation of the property by adding fill. Much if not all of the property is in a flood plain. The administrators stated that building in a flood plain is legal, but acknowledged that village laws are not as comprehensive as they should be in the matter.
EMS AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS
Chief Jan Basinger stated, again, that run numbers remain high. At the same time, the active roster of volunteers has declined to 13. Fire Chief Jon Kinn reported on the recent lengthy power outage in the village, stating wryly that "we're getting good at this." The fire and public works departments had labored to keep village services running with fuel for generators, along with many impromptu patches to keep life bearable on such a hot day.
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Police Chief Ryan Burkholder highlighted the July 23 bike rodeo for grades K-5, beginning at 7:30 a.m. at Buckeye Park. Chief Burkholder also pleaded with parents to intervene with their kids' activities at the Buckeye's shuffleboard court; the court's surface has been heavily damaged recently with evidence of bikes, scooters, and, most destructively, remote control cars. Please tell your kids to stay out of the shuffleboard enclosure. It's for old folks. To play shuffleboard.
At the request of Chief Burkholder, Council left the room to hold an executive session regarding personnel, one of a handful of topics that can be discussed without the public present. They emerged a few minutes later and adjourned.
