West Liberty Village Council and the West Liberty Ball Association prepare for an upcoming joint community meeting which will take place Nov. 19 at 7 p.m. at Green Hills Foundation Hall, 6557 U.S. Route 68 South, West Liberty.
“There we will look and see what options are out there for us to pay for the lights (for the Dodge Park project),” said Jill McKelvey, councilwoman. Council decided the topics open for discussion will be limited to the lighting of Dodge Park and options for funding.
Each person will be allotted 90 seconds to speak.
“We want to be transparent and we want to hear what they have to say,” said Jayne Griffith, councilwoman.
Two options for funding council discussed during Monday evening’s regular meeting were a parks and recreation levy and the use of municipal bonds
“I think we should present the parks and recreation tax not only for lighting, but other things in the park, as well,” Griffth said.
Three options for the levy will be a 1-mill levy which will generate $26,000 annually, a 1.5-mill levy which will generate $39,000 annually and an 0.9-mill levy which will generate about $25,000 annually.
For the 0.9-mill levy, it will cost the owner of a $100,000 home between $29 and $30 a year.
Griffith also suggested making the levy last for 10 years as council would be signing up for a 10-year loan for the lights.
Beverly Yoder, councilwoman, said the Dodge Park project is a good idea.
“It would be bringing money into the village,” she said. “People have got to eat.” Griffith agreed.
“It’s good for the village — bringing money into village,” she said. “It’s also good for the kids and good for the parents. If parents know what kids are up to, that’s a whole lot more peace of mind.”
Residents can also have peace of mind in knowing that work on unsafe trees in Lions Park is underway.
Councilman Michael Hostetler announced that some of them have come down and others are on their way to be taken down soon.
During an October meeting Street Supervisor Bill Detrick made council aware of 34 trees deemed unsafe costing close to $15,000 to remedy.
McKelvey also announced the final leaf pick up will be Nov. 29 and Friday’s regularly scheduled recycling pickup will not be delayed this week due to the holiday.
Council also approved:
• Spending up to $4,000 on new uniforms for the police department;
• Spending between $3,000 and $5,000 to move an electrical transformer at Dodge Park;
•A second reading of an ordinance to establishing the salaries and wages for the police department employees;
• second reading of an ordinance establishing the salaries and wages for the street department employees; and
• an ordinance to amend the annual appropriation for the Parks Fund in the amount of $30,000.
In other business, as of Jan. 1, 2020, there will be two vacancies on council. Councilmen Michael Hostetler and Jeremy Keller will be at the end of their terms as of Dec. 31, 2019.
Council has 30 days from the date of the vacancy to elect someone for the seat and if that doesn’t happen the mayor will appoint someone.