Minutes: President Pro Tempore Nicole Lenhart called the February 26, 2026, Village of Attica Council regular meeting to order at 7:30PM.
Roll Call: Steve Tanner, Ed Beamer, Nicole Lenhart, Jim Gray, Keith Hopple, Kirk Stanfield
Others Present: Village Administrator Shock, Maintenance Supervisor Scott, Cindy Brookes
Absent: Mayor Sanders
Approval of Warrants: Motion by Councilman Beamer to approve the warrants for payment, seconded by Councilman Gray. Vote: 6-0, motion carried.
Approval of Minutes: Councilman Gray moved to approve 2/12/2026 meeting minutes, Councilman Tanner seconded the motion, vote 4-0, Councilman Stanfield & Councilman Beamer abstain, motion carried.
Written & Oral Communication: Village Administrator Shock provided an update from the application for state budget allocation from Representative Click, noting that uses could not be for infrastructure. Councilwoman Lenhart volunteered to gather quotes for Legion Park improvements and constructing a walking path to surround the water reservoir.
Councilman Stanfield suggested a path to connect the school and the village or upgrades to the park as requested, such as a skate park. Village Administrator Shock opined that insurance companies would frown upon park additions that could increase injury liability.
Public Safety: None
Streets & Properties: None
Parks: None
Trees: None
Fire: None
EMS: Councilman Gray provided an update on the county EMS system noting 2025 was the first year ending in the black.
Cemetery: None
Personnel: Councilman Gray noted employee Will Gates passed his water licensure examination and inquired with the rest of Council on their opinion of increasing Will’s compensation to be competitive with other licensed operators, suggesting an $8/hr pay increase. Councilman Beamer noted that he believes Maintenance Supervisor Scott deserves a pay increase if Will is getting one. Councilman Beamer also noted that although Will has passed the test, he is still considered in-training until his service hours requirements are met. Councilman Beamer suggested that high of a pay bump should be reconsidered when Will takes on the responsibility of being the operator of record and answering to the EPA. RCAP representative Cindy Brookes noted that with Will’s passing of the water exam his marketability is very high and the Village should be careful not to lose him to other employers. Councilman Beamer suggested a $3/hr raise for Will and a $1/hr raise for Tom.
Councilman Gray moved to raise Will’s rate of pay $3/hr and Tom’s $1/hr effective 2/22/2026. Councilman Beamer seconded the motion. Vote 5-0 with Councilwoman Lenhart abstained, motion carried.
Zoning Commission: None
Finance and rule: None
Water & Sewer: RCAP representative Cindy Brookes provided updates on the NORW regionalization project, most notably, projected timeline updates. Bidding for the construction of the project is slated to start in March giving the EPA through April to review submissions, OWDA loan approval to come in May, and contracts executed in June. Current estimates for the construction portion total $1,565,000 of which will all be grant funded. There will be an $85K additional cost for admin / design / engineering costs to Makeever & Associates, on top of that, contingencies will be required. With the refinancing of the corrosion control study / design / engineering loan, and any potential costs for the decommission of the current water plant all being wrapped into this new loan application. This loan will be a 30-year loan at 0% interest. In total, the entire project is estimated to be $1,956,500 with $1,600,000 in grant funding the Village’s new loan would be for roughly $356,500, if contingencies are needed it could grow up to ~$800K. This would add a new annual debt payment of $12K to $25K to the Village. With this new debt added, the Village’s debt payments would still be less than the prior debt payments from before the USDA to OWDA refinancing. Cost savings from regionalizing with NORW compared to Village water production is expected to more than offset the new debt costs.
The outstanding item continues to be a rate agreement between NORW and Attica, understandably, this can’t be done until treatment can be fully determined by the corrosion control study.
Councilman Beaner noted easements being addressed in relation to the NORW regionalization. Councilman Beamer also noted the desktop portion of the corrosion control study is completed and the EPA continues to require more in-depth analysis, Cornwell (Makeever Subcontractor) has started to pushback on the EPA. Cornwell also noted that if everything goes to plan, Attica could be connected and up and running with NORW in January 2027.
Lastly, Councilman Beamer noted discussion on sewer regionalization with the Village of Bloomville have resumed. Councilman Beamer and Councilman Gray agreed to meet with them on March 17th.
Village Website & IT: None
Train Derailment: None
Unfinished, Old Business and New Business: None
Executive Session: None
Next meeting: Regular meeting on Thursday, March 12th at 7:30 PM.
Motion by Councilman Beamer, seconded by Councilman Gray to adjourn the meeting. Time: 8:35 PM. Vote: 6-0, Motion carried.
____________________________________ ______________________________
Mayor Louis Sanders - Fiscal Officer Isaac Phillips
