The Village of Weston Council
March 7, 2016
The council meeting was called to order by President Pro-Tempore Shad Kendall at 5:35pm. The earlier meeting (published as 5:30pm) was set to allow additional time for the review of applicants for both the full and part-time/seasonal maintenance positions.
All in attendance said the pledge of allegiance, and a roll call of council members was taken: Mr. Greg Stevens, Mrs. Sarah Easterwood, Mr. Shad Kendall, Mrs. Dawn Blandy, and Mrs. Danelle Langley were all present. (The Mayor arrived at 6:03pm.)
The minutes from the 2/16/16 council meeting were read aloud and approved with no corrections.
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At 5:42pm, Mr. Kendall made a motion to go into executive session to review and discuss the applicants for the open maintenance positions. Mr. Stevens seconded the motion, all were in favor; passed. Candidates were called into the session individually. / At 7:01pm, Mrs. Easterwood made a motion to go back into regular session, seconded by Mr. Kendall, all were in favor; passed.
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Visitors:
· Deputy Bonnough attended the meeting and presented council with the monthly report.
· Carl Knipp, who lives across the street from Merrill Park, expressed the need for speed bumps or some other solution to get traffic to slow down in that area. He just doesn’t want to see kids get hurt. It was noted that this has been brought up in the past and discussed at length. The matter will be referred to the street committee as soon as the committees are in place.
· Tim Schroeder asked council if they had taken the time to review the letter he had sent to each of them in relation to back pay and vacation time. They acknowledged that they had received it, and stated that they will take some time to review it. He requested that it be discussed in open session, per his rights under ORC Section 731.46. However, Mr. Stevens pointed out that this would not apply. The matter was tabled, but will be addressed at the next meeting. Mr. Schroeder then asked why his application was not considered for the part time position, noting that he did not even receive an interview. Mr. Kendall stated that they decided to interview individuals that were not previous employees of the Village in order to give other applicants a chance. Mr. Schroeder likened this to the recent situation with the Fire Chief position, saying that he was very qualified and should at least have been considered.
· Leslie Head was in attendance with her children, Sam and Sedona, to officially request permission for their 4H miniature goat project. They handed out packets of information to each member of council, which included the signature of their advisor and permission from the surrounding neighbors. They plan to get 2 of the small goats in April and continue the project from year to year. Mr. Stevens noted his apprehensions, and pointed out that they did not come 45 days in advance as the ordinance requires. He asked for more time, and that we wait until the next meeting to vote on this. Mrs. Head asked that they make a decision ASAP, due to the need to report their project to 4H by March 15th. Mrs. Easterwood made a motion to approve the project for 1 year, which was seconded by Mrs. Langley. Four were in favor with one opposed (Stevens); motion passed. They will need to come back again next year to request approval as well (around February).
Mrs. Head then talked about the WCESC’s Youth Employment Program (for youth ages 16-24), which she will be involved with again this year. Their funding starts May 1st. If we have any work that could be done by these individuals, she encouraged us to let her know.
· Three individuals--- Kate Finkenbiner, Bill Barnhart, and Ken Taylor--- were interested in the open council seat. They were each given a chance to tell a bit about themselves…
1. Kate Finkenbiner stated that she has lived here for 12 years, and loves small towns. She is retired from Cooper Tire, so she now has more free time and would like to give back to the community. She cited her safety training and good people skills. She feels she has a lot to offer the community and wants to see it thrive.
2. Bill Barnhart has lived here since 1994. He is married with 2 kids, and feels that Weston has been a great place to raise his family. He is a graduate of UT with a degree in electrical engineering, and he works for the Hancock/Wood Electric Co-op as the VP of Engineering & Operations. He has lots of experience with people, city franchises, hiring, and other legal matters that could be of great value to the Village.
3. Ken Taylor has lived here since 1981. He worked for the City of BG and for the Planning Commission for 8 years. He has been the BG City Surveyor since 2010.
Mrs. Easterwood made a motion to open the floor for nominations, seconded by Mrs. Blandy, all were in favor; passed. Mr. Stevens nominated Mr. Taylor, and Mrs. Blandy nominated Mr. Barnhart. Mrs. Langley made a motion to close the nomination floor, seconded by Mrs. Blandy, all were in favor. A roll call vote of the members was then taken: Mr. Stevens- Taylor; Mrs. Easterwood- Barnhart; Mr. Kendall- Taylor; Mrs. Blandy- Barnhart; and Mrs. Langley- Barnhart. Mr. Barnhart was sworn in by the Mayor and took his seat with council.
· Dana Garno, Joe Schroeder, Robert Nesbaum, Bill Baker, and Jason Worthen were also in attendance, but brought no new business before council.
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The payment register (chk #47288 for the Cemetery land purchase, plus a BWC AWD payment, and check #’s 47299-47318, all totaling $19,917.48), was presented to council. Mr. Kendall made a motion for approval, seconded by Mrs. Blandy, all were in favor; passed.
Ordinance 2016-5, to establish the position of EMS Captain, received the second reading.
The Fiscal Officer briefly reviewed an indigent burial application and proof of income. Council had no problem with paying this. It will be included on the register at the next meeting.
Mrs. Blandy made a motion to approve the February Financial Reports, seconded by Mrs. Langley, five were in favor (Mr. Barnhart abstained since he had not had time to review these); passed.
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Mrs. Easterwood reported on the 2/22/16 Rec Board meeting. So far, 71 kids have signed up for baseball. They had talked about holding an additional sign-up day, but decided to just accept applications at any time through March 15th. April 10th at 2:00pm was proposed for a clean-up day. And they reviewed a quote from D & D for some repairs to the diamond. They will meet again on 3/14/16 at 6:30pm.
Mr. Kendall reported on the February Safety Committee meeting. The Fire Dept is looking for someone to fill the vacant officer’s spot; they’ve installed a total of 160 Red Cross smoke detectors thus far; and Chief Tolles recently finished his First Responder course. They also decided the make the festival a one day event this year, which will fall on the 25th of June. The EMS is helping out the 190 ambulance until they get their drug license; they’re working on a few different grants; and they’ve had 57 runs so far this year.
The need to hold a zoning board meeting was discussed. It was tentatively set for 6:30pm before the April 18th council meeting. They will discuss the re-split of the Baty parcel on Oak Street.
The sample/draft background check guideline sheet was presented to council for review. Mr. Stevens pointed out two items that should be moved to different tiers. This will be edited and put up for approval again at the next meeting.
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The hiring of new maintenance employees was then brought up for council’s official vote. Mr. Barnhart abstained, as he was not a part of the interview process and had no information. For the part-time position, all five were unanimously in favor of Dana Garno. For the full-time position, all five were in favor of Zach Pahl. It was noted that they would like to remove the “seasonal” working from the part-time title, and that it was ok to continue to call them “Maintenance Techs”. Pay would be set at $16 for full-time and $13 for part-time. Mr. Garno was in attendance, but the Mayor will contact Mr. Pahl to let him know of his hire.
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No further business was brought before council. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm.
Sarah Schroeder, Jeremy Schroeder,
Fiscal Officer Mayor