BOTKINS — Botkins Board of Education and Botkins Village Council addressed various projects that affected village and school property during a joint meeting on Tuesday, June 13.

The two bodies discussed changes to several items, including the fencing at Cole Field and the storage building next to the pool. They decided the building next to the pool is both a safety hazard and an eye sore, but a few board members mentioned that there may be items of value inside, including the timbers in the building. Vice Chair Anita Uetrecht believed they were from the original building of a local church.

The building would be replaced with a pole barn or equivalent elsewhere on school property.

There are also solid wood tables in the building that although contain little to no historical value, and could be worth several hundred dollars for antique or reclaimed uses, and could be sold to offset the cost of demolition.

There was discussion on who would take the building down and who would build the new one, but no conclusion was reached.

Both bodies also discussed:

• The driveway to the community park, which needs to be repaired, but is privately owned. It is cost prohibitive to purchase, but if it is repaired, it will be curbed and paved, with possible speed bumps.

• There are drainage issues on the baseball field, but repairs from last year have fixed the softball field. There are also tiles that need repaired on the varsity baseball field.

• There is a tree near the restrooms that should be removed because of how much it has been trimmed. It currently has power lines going through it, and is an eyesore. However, Uetrecht did ask if some more trees could be planted to create some shade, scenery and replace the trees that have been lost.

• Botkins’ Soccer Club has offered to pay for lighting on the soccer field. There are grants to help with the cost, but it is still in early stages.

• The village is responsible for extending North Sycamore to the edge of the new subdivision, which will be done.

• The council has received some quotes on repairing the southwest corner outside the athletics complex, where the concrete is in good shape but the brick is not. They discussed how to incorporate lights that need to remain after the removal of some planters for these repairs.

• The newly renamed Dutch Van Horn way is the site of a lot of confusion for drivers, mainly by people going the wrong way. After a lengthy discussion on options for combating this, no conclusions were met.

After the joint meeting, the Village Council convened for their regular session. They addressed several items, including approving Bryce Swank’s appointment to the fire department, provided he passes his training. Swank has been a junior firefighter for three years. The council also thanked the community club for their work on Carousel.

The council also conducted second readings of two items, one for authorizing the Ohio attorney general to collect the delinquent income taxes and the other for establishing new tap in fees for the water and sewer system.

An ordinance increasing the appropriations budget by $10,000 was approved. The money funding the increase was given to the village through the State Fire Marshall’s grant.

An ordinance prohibiting any dispensaries, cultivators or processing of medical marijuana was read for the first time, and a village administrator Randy Purdy told the members a budget amendment was in the works.

Council member Steve Huker asked about the status of the street light contract, which has been signed with Miami Valley Lighting to replace street lights with more efficient bulbs. He suggested the company be contacted to repair 10 to 12 lights that are currently in need, which may place Botkins in the running for receiving the more efficient bulbs sooner.

The council also discussed imminent legal action in executive session.

The next council meeting will be Tuesday, June 27, at 7 p.m., and the next board of education meeting will be Wednesday, July 12, at 7 p.m.