Minutes of West Lafayette Village Council Regular Meeting on October 8, 2001

West Lafayette Village Council met in regular session at 7:00 P.M., in the municipal building with Mayor Jack Patterson presiding.

Pledge of Allegiance

Roll Call:        Steve Bordenkircher, Kelly Gossett, Ron Lusk, Dave Rogers, Roger Warne and Jan Shannon

(4 members present)

Gossett / Lusk made and seconded a motion to excuse council members Rogers and Warne from the meeting.

(R.C. 4 yes)

Motion to approve minutes as amended by Council Member Shannon of meeting held on September 24, 2001.

            Made and seconded by: Lusk / Gossett                                                 (R.C. 4 yes)

Motion to approve minutes of Special meeting held on September 28, 2001.

            Made and seconded by: Bordenkircher / Lusk                                      (R.C. 4 yes)

Correspondence:

            The Mayor set “Trick or Treat” night for Wednesday, October 31, 2001, from 5:30 P.M. to 6:30 P.M. Residents wishing to participate should have their porch lights on during this period. The fire department was instructed to sound the siren for the start and finish of the event and to post trucks at each end of the village to alert incoming motorists to be cautious.

            Betty Dean sent the Mayor a letter making a formal complaint regarding the property at 421 West Main Street.  The property is in dilapidated condition with the yard serious over grown.  The Mayor instructed the Village Administrator to have it brush hogged and investigate the option of having it razed as an abandon property.

            There have been several complaints recently concerning the Time Warner Cable Company ranging from service interruptions to lost channels to inability to contact them via the 800 number provided on the billing statement. The Mayor is going to call Bill Randles and voice those complaints directly to him.

            At 7:07 P.M. Bordenkircher / Lusk made and seconded a motion to go into executive session to discuss immanent litigation and the village solicitor and administrator were invited to join them. (R.C. 4 yes)

            At 7:30 P.M. Bordenkircher / made a motion to return to regular session with no action. (R.C. 4 yes)

Citizens Comments – A representative of Village Pizza requested that the village pave the section of Memco

Street next to the business.  They have invested several thousand dollars in the business and the dust from Memco Street is causing considerable damage and possibly a health hazard to their customers. The approximate cost would be about $2500 and the VA was instructed to see if the funds were available.

Ordinances:

            First reading – 27-2001 An ordinance to amend the 2001 pay scale for the fire department officers and expense reimbursement rate of the volunteer fire fighters of the Village of West Lafayette, Ohio, to repeal ordinances and resolutions in conflict therewith and to declare an emergency.

First Reading -  28-2001 A resolution accepting the amounts and rates as determined by the budget commission and authorizing the necessary tax levies and certifying them to the county auditor.

Reports:

            Village Administrator – The VA had a meeting with Dale Hartle of ORDC and Mr. Hartle informed him that the balance of the funding for the River Fronts Estate project should be in place within the next 4 to 6 weeks. The apparent low bidder on the King Street paving project was Apache Aggregate and there would be about $2000 left to pave some adjacent areas.  Cherokee Excavating has begun the Phase III water line replacement project on Main Street. A general discussion followed regarding other areas around the village that were in need of paving and or patching.  Prior to the paving of King Street there will be a storm drain installed to alleviate standing water in a low spot.

            Police Chief – Gave monthly report for September, which is attached to and made part of these minutes.

The department had made arrests last week for the recent purse thefts.

            Community Service (Shannon) – The benches and poles have been installed on Main Street for the “New Gates” project. There will be a meeting Tuesday night to plan a kick off event for the project. A general discussion followed concerning the current placement of benches and where additional benches were to be placed in the future.  The library is celebrating their 65^th Anniversary on October 10, 2001.  A flagpole and flag have been donated to them.

            Grant (Lusk) – During a conversation with Fred Wachtel, the county engineer, he suggested we may want to reduce our grant request for the Phase IV water line replacement project to half now and half later. It was the consensus of the council that they would rather take their chances on the getting the whole project.

            Utility (Bordenkircher) – He felt it would be necessary to have a committee meeting with the village administrator to discuss security issue around the village.

Committee Meetings Set:          Utility               4:30 PM           10-11-2001     Village Offices

Bordenkircher / Lusk made and seconded a motion to approve payment of the bills as presented. (R.C. 4 yes)

Bordenkircher / Lusk made and seconded a motion to adjourn until the next regular meeting on October 22, 2001 at 7:00 P.M. (R.C. 4 yes)

                                                                                    _____________________________

                                                                                    Mayor Jack L. Patterson

Attest:

___________________________

Clerk / Treasurer

Village of West Lafayette