Coming off of a successful street market and fireworks display Saturday, the West Liberty Village Council looked toward another big holiday at Monday night’s second June meeting. Specifically, the addition of a gazebo next to town hall that will serve as a temporary home this November for a certain jolly old elf in a red suit.
The gazebo, to be delivered and built by Dayton Barns & All-Steel Buildings out of Urbana, will, first and foremost, stand as the new Santa house during Christmas in the Village, which will be Nov. 4 and 5. It will also be available for a variety of uses throughout the year, including renting it out for weddings and other events or even providing a place to sit and relax during downtown activities. The council’s next decision—how big should the gazebo be?
Sherry Barger, West Liberty event and information coordinator, gave the council three options to consider:
• 10’ x 14’—$5,180
• 10’ x 16’—$5,427
• 12’ x 16’—$6,111
Each one would be tax exempt with no delivery fee and include stained and sealed wood under a 40-year guarantee. But the question of what size to purchase ultimately went to council member Jim Hoffman, who might have personal insight into the big guy’s preferences.
Hoffman, in fact, felt the smallest of the options would provide plenty of room. “Any larger would be more to decorate,” he pointed out, adding musical acts would be more acoustic, like bluegrass or Appalachian, and wouldn’t need a lot of space.
Council member Jeanette Zerkle agreed with Mayor Jill McKelvey that they drive down to Urbana to check out the sample 10- by 14-foot gazebo for themselves because they “might be surprised how big that is.” Fellow member Jayne Griffith also wants to see it, pointing out they wouldn’t want something that overwhelms the yard.
Once they’ve had a chance to view the actual gazebo, the council will make a decision and move forward.
With regard to Saturday’s summer street fair, Griffith said, “It was a really good day for the village,” and, McKelvey added, “Downtown businesses are very happy with the crowd.”
The council thanked Police Chief Shane Oelker for the excellent fireworks, something his department does without charging for labor. Council members then discussed ways to raise money to expand fireworks display, like donation jars at various events and businesses.
Other decisions of note at Monday night’s meeting included:
• An arborist—Alistair Reynolds, an urban forester with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources—will be in West Liberty on July 7 to do a tree risk assessment of several village streets at no charge. According to council member Joanna Hostetler, he will look at trees on East and West Columbus, East and West Newell, East and West Baird, Washington and North streets.
• The council passed resolutions 2022-R9 and 2022-R10, which cover natural gas and electric aggregation respectively, and is the next step toward getting municipal aggregate electricity and gas on November’s ballot. At least 51 percent of voters need to say yes if they’re going to move forward. They also passed the solid waste district resolution 2022-11.
• With respect to the Columbus Street Bridge project, McKelvey said the 2023 calendar proof is ready for the council to review. In addition, Griffith said that while they’d like it to be a vehicle bridge, making it pedestrian-only seems the better bet.
• Council members continued an ongoing discussion of village signs, specifically one to make sure drivers know pedestrians have the right of way at the intersection of State Route 245 and US Route 68. Hostetler also requested one at a three-way intersection near Ricketts Park to indicate drivers coming from one direction don’t have to stop.
• Three area companies were nominated for the August Business of the Month: Salon 1926, The Peoples Savings & Loan Company and Jones Country Store.
Monday, July 11, the council will connect with the owners at Solomon’s Garage and Neer & Farm at 6:15 p.m., then will move to town hall for the regular meeting at 7 p.m.