JC swimming pool renovation on schedule

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JACKSON CENTER — Jackson Center Village Administrator Bruce Metz reported the upgrades and renovations at the municipal pool are on target and indications are the pool will open on schedule in the spring. The report was made during the Monday, Feb. 24, council meeting.

“Things are coming along nicely at the pool,” said Metz, who implied the mild temperatures were a big part of the progress realized thus far. “The weather has been cooperating which allowed things to move along nicely outside; the renovations in and around the pool house are looking good as well; we’re excited about opening the pool in the spring.”

Council passed an ordinance which allows for vacating a portion of an alley-way located behind and between Peoples Federal Bank and Subway.

“The land where the alley now rests will be divided up between the owners whose property butts up against the alley. We will be updating a plat map of the village in the future and it will be nice to have this taken care of beforehand,“ Metz said.

Council passed a resolution to accept the Ohio Memorandum of Understanding pertaining to the opioid litigation settlement funds. Lawsuits have been filed in Ohio and other states in attempt to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for an epidemic of addiction that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. Lawsuits by states and local governments have accused drug makers like OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma of downplaying the risks of opioids in their marketing, and accuse drug distributors of failing to halt suspicious opioid orders; the resolution will secure an interest for the village should any funding become available through litigation in the future.

“We don’t know how and if any of this will go in the courts but we want to be prepared ahead of time should any funding be made available,” said Mayor Scott Klopfenstein.

Council approved changing the number of bi-weekly payroll payments from 26 to 27 to simplify how payments would land on specific desired days of the 2020 calendar year which is a leap year.

In departmental reports Police Chief Chuck Wirick informed council that students at Jackson Center Schools had requested “Hiro” the department’s police dog be allowed to participate in a school play and that Hiro attended his first rehearsal and things went well.

“It’s nice to see Hiro take part in the school play and we appreciate the students requesting he participate; it’s nice to know he is considered a member of our village family,” Wirick said.

Metz shared updates on a variety of ongoing projects currently underway in the village and said overall things are running smoothly.

“We are changing out old electric poles for new ones at the old Airstream Trailer facility and things are going well with the street repairs and installation of ADA ramps on the sidewalks on College Street. The unseasonably mild temperatures have allowed us to get a lot of concrete work done on the storm water repairs and the new water-main replacement should be finished by March 20. As expected we are busy getting our maintenance and repair work finished up on the mowers and other summer-related equipment. Warm weather will be here before we know it and we will be ready. All in all things are looking good and several of us on the village staff have attended meetings and training seminars to keep us up to date on addressing the needs of our village and finding ways to better serve our community; we look forward to another exciting spring and summer and the opportunities they bring,” Metz said.

Metz also reported that the village will start taking bids Wednesday for the construction of a new traffic signal west of town by the new Airstream manufacturing facility.

Metz spoke briefly about a “Village Improvement Survey” that residents will be asked to participate in soon and made an appeal asking for help in gathering information to make informed decisions for the village.

“We are conducting this survey to determine how our residents feel about a variety of subjects and proposals associated with our neighborhood revitalization plans for the future. We really need to hear from our residents, your input and opinions are very valuable in helping us establish the priorities concerning how we use our funding from grants that may total as much as $700,000.00 this year alone,” Metz said.

The questionnaire addresses a variety of specific areas including infrastructure, parks and recreation, fire protection and equipment, public utilities, public use facilities and use of public property. Each segment of the survey allows for input about respective needs and also includes a place to make comments and suggestions.

Fiscal Officer Bev Wren said the surveys will be mailed out to each household in the village and will also be available online on the JC Village website and Facebook pages.

Council’s next meeting will be March 9 at 7 p.m. in the village council chambers.

By Matt Clayton

For the Sidney Daily News

The writer is a regular contributor to the Sidney Daily News.

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