Mayor Pro Tempore Owen Best called the February 8, 2024, Village of Attica Council regular meeting to order at 7:30 PM.
Roll Call: Ed Beamer, Owen Best, Nicole Lenhart, Keith Hopple, Kirk Stanfield
Others Present: Maintenance Superintendent Tom Scott, Cindy Brookes- RCAP, and James and Alverta Kuhn of 24 Lemmon St.
Absent:
Approval of Warrants: None presented.
Approval of Minutes: None presented.
Written & Oral Communication: Cindy Brookes was present to share we should be receiving an MOU soon for GIS Mapping. She also shared that she met with Dylan Wyatt to discuss nominating water projects to the EPA. James Kuhn reported he and his wife have lived on Lemmon St. for 50 years. 3 years ago, the village paved Lemmon Street, and Mr. Kuhn reported getting water in his driveway ever since when there was rain or flushing of hydrants. Mr. Kuhn reported the water will freeze in the winter, making his driveway icy. He said the Mayor and Gary W. were down to observe some time ago, stating they would take care of it. Mr. Kuhn said it hasn’t been fixed. Councilman Beamer reported this is the first he is hearing of it; he agreed to stop down and look at it. Tom Scott presented to update on his accomplishments, ask clarifying questions, and share plans for the upcoming future. Tom is reviewing equipment for stuff that can be sold at auction. Councilman Beamer said we would have to the Solicitor to discuss the process for putting stuff up for bid.
Public Safety: None.
Streets & Properties: Councilwoman Lenhart shared her neighbor Chad Burger reached out and asked if the village needs a tree guy.
Parks: Councilwoman Lenhart reported talked to Nick Ritter about the bleachers. He wants the new bleachers at Myers Park. He had some ideas to rearrange the bleachers. Councilwoman Lenhart shared this information with Tom since baseball practice will start mid-March. Councilwoman Lenhart reported she helped clean out the pool house. The Attica Events committee announced their spring event, Blooms and Brunch, that will be Saturday, May 11th.
Trees: None.
Fire: Councilwoman Lenhart shared there is an eclipse planning meeting Saturday at 10 am.
EMS: Councilwoman Lenhart shared there is a meeting Wednesday.
Cemetery: Councilman Hopple reported there is a meeting Monday.
Personnel: Councilman Best reported there are two interviews scheduled next Monday and Tuesday for the village administration and one scheduled for the water operator. Councilman Hopple asked if the village administrator position was full or part time. Councilman Best reported part time. FO Hatfield shared the EPA issued a violation for lack of succession planning for a water operator. FO Hatfield said to satisfy the violation, Council should create an assistant operator position. Councilwoman Lenhart moved to create an assistant operator position; Councilman Beamer seconded. Vote: 5-0. Motion carried. FO Hatfield shared updated quotes from our insurance representative. Council requested the Fiscal Officer get clarification on the plans labeled MEWA. She reported she would. Councilwoman Lenhart reported she is still working on the job description binder.
Zoning Commission: None.
Finance and rule: Cash balances were not presented today. FO Hatfield reported talking with the bank about getting a new credit card. The bank reported needing authorized users included in meeting minutes. Councilman Beamer stated he thought Tom Scott and the Fiscal Officer should be authorized users on the credit card. Councilman Beamer agreed. Councilman Beamer moved to have Thomas Scott III and Natasha Hatfield as authorized users on the Sutton Credit Card, Councilman Hopple seconded. Vote: 4-0 with Councilwoman Lenhart abstaining. Motion carried. FO Hatfield reported she submitted the year end report to the State. She stated she put notice in the paper regarding the financial statements being available for review.
Water & Sewer:
Councilman Beamer reported water leaks have been consuming the village the last few weeks. On average we make 100,000 gallons a day, there were a couple of days where we are making 300,000 gallons a day, and some days where we were making 200,000 gallons a day. Councilman Beamer reported there was a leak on the north end of town, one in Siam, and one on Stump Pike. They would find a leak and fix it and another one would pop up down the pipe. There was one leak not coming to the surface, it was draining in a storm drain. Councilman Beamer reported the GIS mapping would be helpful for water leaks like this to find tiles. Cindy Brookes stated these leaks should be documented. Councilman Beamer reported there was more lead lines found on RT 4 when they were replacing shut off valves, they did get those lead lines replaced. There is a house in Caroline just past the tracks, the last house on our service, is without water due to a leak. Councilman Beamer reported he expects the repairs going under the railroad tracks could be expensive. They are reviewing our options. Councilman Beamer reported talking to Dylan today. He does have a draft for the waterline going to Willard. The estimate is 2.3 million dollars, which includes engineering, land acquisition, and construction. Currently, our plant can produce 500,000 gallons a day. Dylan reported to Councilman Beamer that we could use a 6-inch line, which would get us 400,000 gallons a day and save us $400,000 in construction. Councilman Beamer reported our booster pump would need to be near Willard’s 10-inch line. The next step is to go to Willard and negotiate Councilman Beamer reported. Councilman Beamer said Dylan reported it is possible to be finished by next spring. Cindy Brookes thought that was a little confident. Councilwoman Lenhart asked if we heard any more about the village hooking into sewer. Cindy reported they are working on that process now. FO Hatfield asked if Cindy forecasted her suggested rate changes and when we would see an impact. Cindy reported she thought the changes would bring in roughly $3,000-$4,000 a month, she reported the winter months would be higher. FO Hatfield expressed concerns about that amount not being enough to cover what is needed. Councilman Stanfield asked Cindy what she expects the interest rate to be on the potential loan to regionalize with Willard. She believes it will be below market rate but will depend on if we can pull grant money.
Village Website & IT: Councilwoman Lenhart asked if Council was interested in doing a contest on the Village logo. Council discussed the current logo being done by Mary Jane Brakeall. Council had no objection about collecting submissions and reviewing, stating we could always keep what we have or change after review.
Unfinished, Old Business and New Business: None.
Executive Session:
Next meeting: Thursday, February 22, 2024, at 7:30 PM.
Motion by Councilman Beamer, seconded by Councilwoman Lenhart to adjourn the meeting. Time: 9:00 PM. Vote: 5-0. Motion carried.
