Record of Proceedings

Minutes of West Lafayette Village Council Regular Meeting on January 27, 2003

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:          Dave Rogers, Roger Warne, Kelly Gossett, Ron Lusk, Christie Maurer and

Steve Bordenkircher (6 members present)

A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes from the January 13, 2003, council meeting. (RC 6 yes)

The Mayor received a letter from William Owens regarding the demolition of the condemned house located on East Main Street rear. There seems to be some confusion as to who files with the county auditor for property tax assessment so the village can get reimbursed for the costs incurred. The Village Administrator will check with the county health board and Mr. Owens to see that the proper paper work is filed.

Resolutions / Ordinances

2002-24 AN ORDINANCE CREATING THE POSITION OF VILLAGE FISCAL OFFICER was given a third reading. A motion was made and seconded to adopt Ordinance 2002-24. (RC 6 yes)

            2003-2 AN ORDINANCE TO ADOPT A SECTION 150 BUILDING CODE, SECTION 155 SUBDIVISION REGULATION, AND SECTION 156 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT RELOCATION ASSISTANCE PLAN AS PART OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE VILLAGE OF WEST LAFAYETTE was given a second reading

            2003-03 AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING THE WATER AND SEWER RATES, MISCELLANEOUS CHARGES AND FEES FOR 2003 FOR THE VILLAGE OF WEST LAFAYETTE, OHIO, AMENDING ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS IN CONFLICT HEREWITH AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY was given a first reading. A motion was made and seconded to suspend the rule regarding three readings. (RC 6 yes) A motion was made and seconded to adopt Ordinance 2003-03. (RC 6 yes)

Reports:

            Village Administrator – A FY2003 CDBG / Formula II meeting was attended with council member Lusk. The village is applying for 3 grants: $49,000 paving project, WWTP renovation, and a downtown revitalization project. Any fund awarded would not be available until spring of 2004. The VA received a quote from William Albert Inc to raze the Gress building on Main Street. The cost for demolition, disposal, and fill material would be $5000. A motion was made and seconded to approve the expenditure of $5000 to have the building razed by William Albert Inc. (RC 6 yes) A general discussion followed regarding the metal storage building on the property and the size of the property. The VA wanted to remind everyone that the Penn-Michigan project public hearing would be held on February 27, 2003, at 6:00 P.M.

            Community Service (Maurer) – A sample of the village newsletter was presented to council with the consensus being quite favorable. For a quantity of 1200 per mailing and 4 mailings per year the approximate cost will be $1500 per year. The first mailing will hopefully be out around February 7, 2003.

            Finance (Warne) – The committee has review the financial reports for December 2002 and approves them as presented. The committee will have a regular meeting at 6 pm each month prior to the second council meeting of the month. A general discussion followed regarding the financial problems of the state and county and how that might affect the village. At this time it was the clerk’s opinion that the effect would be minimal in terms of estimated revenue for 2003. The council also expressed its concern about increasing costs for employee health insurance.           

            Chamber Rep (Rogers) – The chamber will be holding its annual banquet Thursday night.

            Utility (Bordenkircher) – A resident on North Oak Street has requested a streetlight in that area now that it is within the village limits.

            Clerk’s Report – The clerk announced that the state auditors will start the 2001 – 2002 audit on Wednesday or Thursday and be on site until it is completed. The clerk via memo informed the council of the review of the contract with GGC Engineers for the Wastewater Treatment Plant renovations. The contract was approved and executed at the last council meeting prior to review. The clerk forwarded a copy to the village solicitor the following day. The clerk’s main concern was the lack of a contingency to be released from the contract in the event funding is not received. Mr. Owens communicated to clerk that Mr. Carder of GGC was of the opinion that the OPWC funds had been committed. Mr. Carder was also under the impression that the village had funds available to pay for the surveying and preliminary engineering work. The clerk reported that no funds had been appropriated for 2003 for any engineering services for the WWTP renovation project. The reason being, the OPWC application for grants and loans included all the engineering fees for the project, so it was the understanding of the finance committee was that no local funds would be required. Council member Bordenkircher recommended a utility committee meeting with Mr. Carder present to sort out the confusion. It was also recommended that the village solicitor prior to execution and or council approval review all future contracts.

The mayor reported on conversations with Mr. Dale Hartle regarding the wetlands project on Johnson Road. It seems that Waste Management can’t apply for grants to develop the area as originally reported. That would require the village to pass a resolution for an option to purchase the property, pay approximately $2500 for a state certified appraisal and have the application in by the February 14, 2003 deadline. It was the understanding of the council that the village would basically be uninvolved for 5 years while the property was developed. At that time the village would take possession and be responsible for the property. It was the consensus of the council that with these changes in the conditions of the project and the economically uncertainty of the times, it would not be in the village’s best interest to commit to purchase the property or expend money for an appraisal at this time.

Committee Meetings:    Bicentennial                  6 PM               2-6-03             Council Chambers

                                    Ordinance                    6 PM               2-10-03                       “

                                    Finance                        6 PM               2-24-03                       “

                                    Utility                                       To be announced

A motion was made and seconded to approve the payment of bills as presented. (RC 6 yes)

A motion was made and seconded to adjourn until the next regularly scheduled meeting on February 10, 2003, at 7 PM in Council Chambers. (RC 6 yes)

                                                                                    ___________________________________

                                                                                                Jack L. Patterson, Mayor

Attest:

________________________________

Bruce E. Fouch

Clerk/Treasurer

Village of West Lafayette

I, Bruce E. Fouch, Clerk of the Village of West Lafayette, Ohio, do hereby certify that the foregoing is taken and copied from the Record of Proceedings of said Council meeting; that the same has been compared by me with Ordinance / Resolution on said Record and that it is a true and correct copy thereof.

Witness my signature, this ___________ day of _______________ 2003.

__________________________________

Bruce E. Fouch, Clerk / Treasurer