Mayor Nathan Frisch called the November 12, 2020 Village of Attica Council regular meeting to order at
7:45 PM.

Roll Call: Lynn Love, George Yakoubian, Ed Treft, Tim Bulger*, Kirk Stanfield
*Councilman Bulger exited the meeting at 9:25pm, prior to adjournment at 9:36pm.

Others Present: Village Administrator Greg Martin, Water/Wastewater Superintendent Gary Weis (Weis
only present through Written & Oral Communications.)

Approval of Warrants: Motion by Councilman Bulger, seconded by Councilman Yakoubian to approve
the warrants for payment. Vote: 5-0. Motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: Motion by Councilman Bulger, seconded by Councilman Yakoubian to approve
both sets of minutes. Vote: 5-0. Motion carried.

Written & Oral Communication: Utility Billing Clerk Sheryl Hamilton was present to discuss a few utility
accounts on which she needs guidance. The first is the Attica Good Knights/Knights of Columbus. The
leaky toilet problem was fixed, but it spanned over two billing periods. There is a period of 8 days that
was on this last bill, so the bill that just went out is around $211. Per the minutes from a few meetings
ago, their bill is usually around $65. The last bill was $916, and the whole sewer amount of $409 was
forgiven by Council. Some discussion was had, and Councilman Love expressed that Council has helped
over and above with their bill.
Motion by Councilman Love, seconded by Councilman Yakoubian that the Knights of Columbus bill
stands as is, and they pay the whole amount. Vote: 4-1, with Councilman Stanfield voting no. Motion
carried.
Hamilton also stated that Council set up a payment plan with a resident, Mary Gruber, a few meetings
back. She was to pay $100 extra on a high bill for 12 months, or until the balance was caught up. A
payment of $200 was received on 9/28 but nothing since. That means that she has one month unpaid
and a bill was just sent out for another month’s service, and she is now on the delinquent list. Hamilton
would like to know how to proceed with the account, given that Council had previously made an
arrangement. Some discussion was had on the matter, including letter Gruber catch up on the plan and
also the thought that the agreement was broken.
Motion by Councilman Love, seconded by Councilman Bulger to void Mary Gruber’s payment plan and
require the account to be paid in full to avoid shutoff, expressing she can come to Council with
questions. Vote: 3-2, with Councilmen Treft and Stanfield voting no. Motion carried.
Hamilton’s third account in question was Frontier Communications. They filed bankruptcy back in the
spring and a balance of $89.31 has been hanging in limbo. The new third party company paying their
bills can’t pay it, because it’s before the bankruptcy was finalized. Frontier was supposedly to pay
utilities during the process, but we can no longer collect on it. At this point, Hamilton needs to know if
she can make the account penalty exempt or what to do. W/WW Super Gary Weis suggested dropping
the amount to a new account so that it doesn’t continue to accrue penalties in the system. Hamilton will
look into that.
The last account Hamilton discussed was for resident Laurie Puckett. Earlier in the year, a computer
entry error caused Puckett’s account to be flagged as a final bill and no new charges were created on
the account. It has been corrected, but the cumulative charges for those three months are $271.86.
Hamilton is asking Council to do something with the account so that Puckett does not incur penalties on
the balance and has time to pay it off. If so, the entire account would be penalty free, not just that
portion of the balance.
Motion by Councilman Bulger, seconded by Councilman Love to make Laurie Puckett’s utility account
penalty exempt for three months to allow her to catch up the balance. Vote: 5-0. Motion carried.
Hamilton also stated that the Village was given a flier about COVID Relief, which she placed in all of the
delinquent notice envelopes this month. She also stated that a landlord had questioned if they were
able to get bills sent to them for all tenants. Terms have changed on this over the years. Councilman
Stanfield suggested referencing ORD 1988-4. Mayor Frisch advised we need to look into it and confirm
with the solicitor.
Councilman Yakoubian asked Hamilton about the utility billing office hours. They were reduced during
the COVID pandemic and haven’t gone back up to “normal” hours. Hamilton stated that when she took
the job, she was assured that it would be worked around her other job, which is her main source of
income. She will consider adding another day and communicate back. Councilman Yakoubian stated that
his main concern is that operations change and don’t get passed to Council.

Public Safety: Councilman Bulger stated that another agency in the area is interested in purchasing one
or both of the police vehicles. Mayor Frisch will continue looking into what needs to be done in order to
sell them.
Bulger also brought up the idea of a town constable instead of a contract with the sheriff. It would be a
lot less expensive and on an as needed basis. This position would be able to serve ordinance
enforcements and is a certified law enforcement officer. Councilman Yakoubian stated there would
need to be a mechanism to report issues. This issue needs more information.

Streets & Properties: VA Martin advised that a grant was approved from ODOT and the Village will be
receiving street signs, posts and parts. They are mostly things like stop signs and regulatory signs.
Martin also stated that he was informed an excavating company has been working with the land bank,
and an abandoned property will be coming down in town. It’s one that the Village has had to mow for at
least 8 years.
Martin also reported that the Woodwind Drive tile project is underway.
Councilman Treft asked if any signage could be placed on the street behind his house. People speed
down it quite a bit, so he suggested maybe a Kids at Play or 15 MPH sign.

Parks: VA Martin advised the parking lot at Myers Park is coming along and stone is going in.

Trees: Tree Committee Member Lance Drummond advised that he called around to get some trees cut
and trimmed but hasn’t found anyone available yet. He will try to find tree trimmers.

Fire: Councilman Yakoubian reported: had meeting, paid bills. A request from the county came in that in
order for EMS to run, an EMR must be on the schedule. If both are not scheduled, they will be
considered out of service.

EMS: Councilman Love reported: had meeting, paid bills. Reiterated the request from the county and
stated that due to liability, there is no gray area with it.

Cemetery: none

Personnel: none

Zoning Commission: none

Finance & Rule: Cash balance of all funds $ 1,374,379.74. October Bank Reconciliation was passed for
review and approval. FO Gullett stated that the state provided UAN computer is up for replacement and
she needs to choose laptop or desktop. Councilman Yakoubian expressed concerns about information
leaving the building, even if it would only happen if absolutely necessary. Councilman Love stated that
the Personnel Committee would create a policy regarding the use of laptops and remote work.
Motion by Councilman Bulger, seconded by Councilman Love to allow FO Gullett to choose a laptop for
UAN computer. Vote: 3-2, with Councilmen Yakoubian and Treft voting no. Motion carried.
Motion by Councilman Treft that the laptop stays in the office at all times, died for lack of a second.
FO Gullett gave an update on Coronavirus Funds. The copier has been installed and the security project
approved. After speaking with the IT company, they suggested that enabling Bit Locker on Windows
would secure the information on laptops. The policy that will be created would also apply to these
computers, in the event of remote work.
Motion by Councilman Love, seconded by Councilman Bulger to move forward with the laptop project to
enable remote work. Vote: 5-0. Motion carried.
Gullett also advised that after consulting with Verizon, the Village would be able to drop the pool cell
phone line without penalty, and also upgrade to unlimited talk and text for $0.31 more per line each
month. It would be beneficial to Village communications. A prepaid cell phone can be purchased for the
pool to use.
Motion by Councilman Bulger, seconded by Councilman Love to upgrade the service on the lines to the
$30 plan and drop the unused pool line. Vote: 5-0. Motion carried.
1
st Read: RES 2020-21: 2021 PERMANENT APPROPRIATIONS.
FO Gullett also presented insurance renewal information and advised that the Finance Committee has
recommended doing a 90/10 Village/employee payment on health insurance starting in 2021. That
information is in the budget numbers. Council needs to decide on renewing with UHC or moving to
Medical Mutual, which is less expensive. VA Martin also reviewed the health insurance rates and agrees
with the switch.
Motion by Councilman Love, seconded by Councilman Bulger to switch employee health coverage to
Medical Mutual. Vote: 5-0. Motion carried.
Village Income Tax – none

Water & Sewer: VA Martin stated that a fluoride grant was approved for the Village. It’s a 90/10 grant
and will purchase a new scale and lab meter.
Councilman Yakoubian advised that a representative from RCAP would be attending the next meeting to
discuss how they can assist in the process of selling water operations. Councilman Stanfield stated that
Rural Water would do an assessment and give a valuation but was reminded by Mayor Frisch that it
would need to be a third party, as Rural Water has an interest in buying operations.

Village Website & IT: none

Unfinished, Old Business and New Business: 3
rd read: ORD 2020-19: A RESOLUTION OF ATTICA VILLAGE
COUNCIL ADOPTING THE FEDERALLY APPROVED SENECA COUNTY ALL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN.
Motion by Councilman Love, seconded by Councilman Bulger to adopt ORD 2020-19. Vote: 5-0. Motion
carried.
Councilman Treft asked if there was any building space open to house the police cruisers during the
winter. VA Martin will have to look.
Resident Lance Drummond suggested an “open” sign for Village Hall, as well as an update to the LED
sign out front. Drummond also stated that the Veterans Park next door is coming along.

Next meeting: November 24, 2020 at 7:30 PM
Motion by Councilman Love, seconded by Councilman Treft to adjourn the meeting. Time: 9:36 PM.

Vote: 4-0. Motion carried.

____________________________________ ______________________________
Mayor Nathan Frisch Fiscal Officer Michelle Gullett