BOTKINS — Concern over cost of sidewalk assessments created discussion at Botkins Village Council meeting Tuesday, Aug. 9, before the assessments were voted down unanimously.

The assessments were estimated to cost the village upwards of $1,000, but would only garner $662.43. The assessments look at how much homeowners would be responsible for if the village were to move forward with its plan to replace sidewalks in various places. Most of the cost for the assessment comes from the necessity for three weeks of public notice of the council’s intent.

“Three consecutive weeks of publication would cost us $700 to $1,000,” Village Administrator Randy Purdy said. “We would have to do this every time we do assessments.”

Council member Steve Heuker argued they needed to approach this item carefully to set a good precedent for following councils and raised the option of creating a model of only assessing when a need was necessary and not on a consistent basis for the entire village. This idea was thought to be “opening a Pandora’s box,” Heuker said, and that the “PR ramifications would be an issue,” Purdy added.

An ordinance to declare the necessity of the assessments was unanimously voted down later in the meeting.

Purdy advised the council that they would be seeing preliminary budgets for next year soon, as he would be presenting them at each of the next committee meetings. This allows council members about two months to review requests from department heads and adjust the budgets prior to giving the budgets a first reading for passage in a council meeting.

The council was also updated on the Woodland Subdivision, which is in Phase II. The water main looping is finished, and the village has received two invoices, which it will pay, and will be refunded by the developer.

Purdy apprised the council on the planning commission’s last meeting, at which was discussed a potential zoning change on a property from commercial to residential. The planning commission voted to recommend that the zoning change not be approved. Council is required to hold a special hearing before voting, but no time for the hearing was decided on during Tuesday’s meeting.

The village received a $100 donation for use of the park shelter and the second portion of Pusheta Township’s portion of the fire contract amounting to $8,712.64.

The council entered executive session to discuss potential purchase of property and potential legal action, but took no action on either followng the session.

The next Botkins Village Council meeting will be Tuesday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m.