Mayor Nathan Frisch called the September 24, 2020 Village of Attica Council regular meeting to order at 8:28 PM. 

Roll Call: Lynn Love, George Yakoubian, Ed Treft, Louie Sanders, Tim Bulger, Kirk Stanfield Others Present: Village Administrator Greg Martin, Village Solicitor Heather Niedermeier Heyman
 
Approval of Warrants: Motion by Councilman Bulger, seconded by Councilman Sanders to approve the warrants for payment. Vote: 6-0. Motion carried.
 
Approval of Minutes: Motion by Councilman Bulger, seconded by Councilman Love to approve both sets of minutes. Vote: 6-0. Motion carried
 
Written & Oral Communication: none
 
Public Safety: none 
Streets & Properties: FO Gullett reported that all three projects presented at the previous meeting could be done, appropriation amendments are in front of Council tonight to adjust accordingly. Motion by Councilman Yakoubian, seconded by Councilman Bulger to move forward with the paving of West Walnut and South Woodwind and the tile project on Woodwind. Vote: 6-0. Motion carried.

Parks: VA Martin advised the fence is up and looks great. Mayor Frisch reminded everyone that the fence project was funded through a grant and the ball club. VA Martin advised that two park benches have been stolen. These are benches that were purchased years ago with recycling money. Councilman Love asked if that was something to claim on our insurance. FO Gullett will ask.
 
Trees: none
Fire: Councilman Yakoubian reported: had meeting and paid bills, hose testing Monday, a truck needed new brakes and tires, and a live burn will happen on 10/3. 

EMS: Councilman Love reported: had meeting and paid bills, scheduled a meeting in Republic for 9/27 to discuss more coverage in the area, would like a more local focus on joint coverage. 

Cemetery: Councilman Sanders reported: had meeting and paid bills, trying to get a grant to fix the mausoleum. 
 
Personnel: W/WW Superintendent Gary Weis was invited to the meeting to discuss his sick time payout issue. Councilman Bulger explained the payout information that was approved a few meetings ago, with a one-time payout of 120 hours at 40% of pay. Weis expressed that he was not interested in that solution. Weis still feels the handbook says differently regarding the payout request, but Solicitor Heyman stated that the handbook refers to retirement. Heyman stated that she has given her legal opinion on the matter. Weis questioned whether or not any employee can request 120 hours and Heyman advised no. The Village can create a policy to address different situations but we do not currently have such policy. 
 
Zoning Commission: none 
 
Finance & Rule: Cash balance of all funds $ 1,385,179.83. FO Gullett advised that needs to make a decision on whether or not to participate in the Social Security tax deferral program. Those expenses are already planned for this year, and they would have to be paid back next year whether or not the employee is still with the Village. It would also add a lot more work and complications to participate in the program. Motion by Councilman Sanders, seconded by Councilman Bulger to not participate in the social security tax deferral program. Vote: 6-0. Motion carried. FO Gullett presented amended appropriations for 2020 to Council, explaining they account for the remaining increase for the paving/tile projects, the receipt of additional Coronavirus Relief funds, the pole replacement project, anticipated sick time payout requests, and the receipt of the advance from SRPC for the Veterans Memorial Park. In consideration of the Veterans Park construction and Coronavirus Relief funds with a timeline, Council should consider passing as an emergency. 1 st Read: RES 2020-16: 2020 AMENDED PERMANENT APPROPRIATIONS. Motion by Councilman Sanders, seconded by Councilman Yakoubian to suspend the three read rule on ORD 2020-17. Vote: 6-0. Motion carried. Motion by Councilman Sanders, seconded by Councilman Yakoubian to declare an emergency on ORD 2020-17. Vote: 6-0. Motion carried. Motion by Councilman Sanders, seconded by Councilman Bulger to adopt ORD 2020-17. Vote: 6-0. Motion carried. Village Income Tax – The question was asked about a tax board and the wording in the tax ordinance. The board would need to be formed if the tax was enacted. Solicitor Heyman advised the ordinance was a lot of boiler plate wording with RITA, but also standard with the state of Ohio. Councilman Yakoubian expressed that he would like to table the income tax ordinance until the Village goes through the budget process for the following year. He feels that residents should attend more of those meetings and see the process to understand more about how it works and why we would need the income tax. Motion by Councilman Yakoubian, seconded by Councilman Stanfield to table the income tax ordinance (ORD 2020-14) until we get through the budget process. Vote: 6-0. Motion carried.
 
Water & Sewer: none 
 
Village Website & IT: FO Gullett stated that a resident asked for the minutes to be updated on the website. Councilman Yakoubian will get that done.
 
Unfinished, Old Business and New Business: FO Gullett advised that we’ve had “junk day” on the agenda for a while and have information from Rumpke. She did find some information from years ago on pricing from S&R but they are no longer in business, and most companies are wanting to push for a roll off and not curbside service. Motion by Councilman Bulger, seconded by Councilman Love to table the “junk day” discussion until spring. Vote: 5-1, with Councilman Treft voting no. Motion carried. Trick or Treat for the Village of Attica was set for Saturday, 10/31/20, from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM. 1st read: ORD 2020-17: A RESOLUTION DECLARING THE NECESSITY FOR A RENEWAL LEVY AND DETERMINING TO PROCEED TO LEVY A TAX IN EXCESS OF THE TEN MILL LIMITATION FOR PROVIDING PARK OPERATION (A RENEWAL LEVY) AND CERTIFYING THE SAME TO THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS OF SENECA COUNTY, OHIO; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. This is to approve a slight wording change made by the Board of Elections when the ballot language was published. It does not change the nature of the language. Motion by Councilman Love, seconded by Councilman Sanders to suspend the three read rule on ORD 2020-17. Vote: 6-0. Motion carried. Motion by Councilman Love, seconded by Councilman Sanders to declare an emergency on ORD 2020- 17. Vote: 6-0. Motion carried. Motion by Councilman Love, seconded by Councilman Sanders to adopt ORD 2020-17. Vote: 6-0. Motion carried.
 
Next meeting: October 8, 2020 at 7:00PM
 
Motion by Councilman Yakoubian, seconded by Councilman Bulger to adjourn the meeting. Time: 9:19 PM. Vote: 6-0. Motion carried.
 
____________________________________ ______________________________ Mayor Nathan Frisch Fiscal Officer Michelle Gullett