By JONATHAN SNYDER
A petition to vacate a public alley west of Jersey Street, which includes part of the parking lot from the old Bluffton High School building, was read for the first time by the Common Council on Tuesday.
The alley runs from west of Jersey Street until the railroad right-of-way. City attorney Tony Crowell noted that the property owners have been notified of the petition and there are no utilities being affected by the vacation.
Since only four council members were physically present, they could not suspend the rules for a second reading, as they needed over two-thirds majority present to pass the ordinance.
The council also gave the first reading to appropriate an additional $11,000 for opioid funding. Similar to the vacated alley issue, the council needs two-thirds majority to approve the transfer of funds. Council member Scott Mentzer clarified that the $11,000 is only being transferred from the opioid settlement fund to a place where it can legally be spent. None of the $11,000 is coming from any other departments or areas.
Furthermore, $1,000 in opioid funds will be given to the Wells County Drug TaskForce, represented by Andy Yergler and Erin Prible on Tuesday. Yergler requested the funding so he could establish a training program that helps people identify and administer aid to people who may be having an opioid episode. Yergler and Prible estimated that the training will take two hours and once completed, the goal is to provide the resources to nonprofits, recovery groups, churches and other similar institutions.
Mentzer also clarified some of the discussion points during the “Meet the Candidates” forum on Monday. The candidates had mentioned the possible structure of a new Economic Development Commission, but not a definite plan. Mentzer noted that three structures are being considered — an interlocal agreement between participating municipalities, a city employee structure involving a fee-for-service agreement with other municipalities, and the creation of a new 501(c)(3) organization.
Mentzer said if they were to make the EDC its own nonprofit, that would be only an option down the road, not immediately. Crowell stated that the approval process from the IRS could take about six months to complete.
Mentzer also clarified that Cheryl Morphew of Johnson is the acting EDC director and will act as an interim until the position is filled. The city has posted a job description for the position and has two potential candidates. Morphew is contracted for 10 hours monthly.
Additionally, the council approved a temporary loan of $100,000 from the self-insurance fund to the old police pension fund. The council noted that the loan will only last until about the summer. Federal funding for the program is coming in sometime during the summer, so this loan is to ensure the fund still has money.
A resolution approving funding transfers for two departments was approved by the council. The Fire Territory General Budget will transfer $50,000 from its Salaries budget to its Repair and Maintenance line item, while the Street Department will transfer a combination of $11,000 from its Street/Alley, Repair/Maintenance and Equipment line items to its Insurance line item.
Since more items are being added to the list of things needing insurance in both departments and the insurance interest rate has changed, there needs to be additional funding towards the insurance portion of the budget to cover the expenses. Mentzer noted that the fire territory’s budget does not include an Insurance line item, so the Repair/Maintenance line item houses any insurance money.
Additionally, the council approved four CF1 forms for Hershey’s Salty Snacks and three CF1 forms for Midland LLC. The description of property improvements for Midland LLC include a 40,252-square-foot commercial building, currently rended by Family Farm & Home Retail, a 200,000-square-foot warehouse, currently rented by Inteva Products and six new truck docks in the Parlor City warehouse building.
The real property improvements for Hershey’s Salty Snacks include equipment for a second pretzels manufacturing line, production line upgrades, new pretzel ovens, new bulk handling equipment, an upgraded mechanical palletizer, upgrades to the roof and plant air-makeup and a remodel and update of their training room.
Council members Chandler Gerber and Sarah Reed were physically present Tuesday, Blake Fiechter joined via zoom, and Janella Stronczek and Rick Elwell were absent.
jonathan@news-banner.com
