CORRECTION New Ottawa water rate is $3.98 per 100 cubic feet of water.

By Paula Pyzik Scott

The Village of Bluffton held a regular meeting on Monday, October 26, with Mayor Rich Johnson presiding. Council member Ben Stahl and village legal counsel were absent. Business included a water rate increase from the Village of Ottawa, an electric aggregation program rate increase, and professional tree-lighting services for the 2026 Blaze of Lights.

WATER RATES
Council accepted a 2027 price increase for water provided by the Village of Ottawa. The new price charged by Ottawa will be $3.98 per cubic feet of water [corrected], which is more than Bluffton currently charges customers. The last water customer rate increase was made in 2015.

Council member Joe Sehlhorst reported on a video conference with the Waterworks consultants to create a plan for water rate billing updates. Recommendations are expected in November-December.

OTHER LEGISLATION
Council passed the first reading by emergency of an ordinance establishing electronic W-2 filing requirements for employers. New software will enable the village to receive W-2s electronically, as is required by the State of Ohio and the IRS.

Council passed the first reading of a resolution to allow a park improvement grant application.

PLANNING COMMISSION PUBLIC HEARINGS
Council member Tom Downey reported on two October 19 public hearings held by the Village Planning Commission.

Chestnut Lane
The commission unanimously approved a request to add a single dwelling unit at the cul-de-sac end of Chestnut Lane. During the council meeting, a public hearing on the project was announced for December 14.

Rezoning request at Main and Parkview
The commission unanimously denied a request to rezone an undeveloped parcel to R-II residential for a financial services office with a parking lot. 

NEW ELECTRIC AGGREGATION AGREEMENT
Village Administrator Jesse Blackburn reported that Palmer Energy has announced a new electric aggregation agreement with Dynegy at a program rate of 11.4C per kilowatt-hour. This is a rate increase of 1.96 cents per kilowatt-hour. The rate is good through the June 2029 billing period.

SHELTER HOUSE BIDS
On October 15, the Village received two bids in excess of $500K for the shelter house project at Legacy Park. Both exceeded the amount that could be awarded. The Village is working with Encompass to re-bid the project.

BRIDGE CONTRACTOR SEEKS 2026 CONSTRUCTION DATE
With related gas line work scheduled to begin on Columbus Grove Rd. this week, the contractor for bridge construction work west of Kibler/Bentley Rd. is asking the Allen County Engineer for permission to replace the bridge over Little Riley Creek ahead of schedule.

BLAZE OF LIGHTS
The Village Cultural Affairs committee, which coordinates the setup of the Blaze of Lights decorations in the yard of Bluffton Presbyterian Church, has presented a quote for professional tree lighting. The service is not in the original 2026 budget, which has previously been done by a crew of some 9 or more volunteers with rented lift trucks at an expense of $9,000. 

Council members discussed at length the challenge of maintaining volunteer support and the liability of using volunteers to climb trees and hang lights on the large evergreens. Council passed a motion supporting an additional expense of about $5,000.

NEXT MEETING
The next regular Council meeting is Monday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m.