SIDNEY – The Sidney City Council adopted and was introduced to legislation at a meeting on Feb. 13.

The council adopted a resolution making changes to the lodging tax distribution policy. The Lodging Tax Committee approved the changes after two meetings and the council discussed the changes further at the Feb. 6 workshop meeting with one adjustment to move the line, “to not duplicate or counteract other community interests” from eligibility criteria to evaluation process criteria.

Another resolution the council adopted approved a 100% tax abatement for 15 years on a property so JBM Sidney, LLC, can build 217 new market-rate housing units. Any tax abatement over 75% and/or 10 years requires approval from the school district, and Sidney City Schools and Upper Valley Career Center approved. The City-wide Community Reinvestment Area (CRA) Housing Council also recommended approval.

The council also adopted an ordinance increasing 2023 appropriations by $7,025,368 to supplement various funds.

Multiple ordinances were introduced and will return for further deliberation at the council meeting on Feb. 27. They were as follows:

• To amend council rules to change the start time of City Council regular and workshop meetings from 6:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., as was discussed at the Jan. 23 meeting.

• To amend personnel policies to include a sick leave donation program so employees who have accumulated sick leave can give it to another employee. Employees can donate up to 80 hours each and recipients of the donations can receive up to 480 hours, or 12 weeks, of time off with an unlimited number of donors. Councilmember Mike Barhorst asked if any other municipalities with similar programs experience issues with these programs, and Human Resource Manager Kelly Holthaus said they have not seen any issues.

• To allow the city manager to waive collection and/or forgive certain assessments in order to facilitate further economic development in the city. This would be used for properties with unpaid fees but a potential buyer is already lined up who intends to redevelop the property. The city manager would be required to discuss the potential waiver with City Council before granting it, and a yearly report would be prepared to outline the waivers throughout the year. Barhorst asked if there is anything in the legislation about family members and acquaintances buying each other’s properties for this benefit, and Law Director David Busick said, “I think there’s enough institutional knowledge about who knows who that I think that if the situation were to come up it would be addressed.”

• To assess the cost to secure and make safe two structures: 221 Queen St. and 307 Lake St. Both of these properties required the city to step in and secure the buildings due to trespassers who broke windows and doors. The total cost to the city for both buildings was $9,455.

• To amend the zoning code’s section called “exempt signs” after the staff reviewed proposed wall mural designs from the Shelby County Historical Society. The Planning Commission approved the changes at a meeting on Jan. 17. Barhorst mentioned he was concerned about “opening a door we don’t want to open” to benefit one organization and gave an example of Satanic groups being allowed to put up a sign with this code change.

Mayor Mardie Milligan was absent and was excused by the council.

During staff comments, Holthaus said the city employee blood drive was successful with about 20 people who donated. Fire Chief Chad Hollinger said staff toured eight fire stations at the beginning of the week – four in Toledo and four in Dayton – to get ideas about current fire station design. Vice Mayor Steve Wagner asked about an update on electric vehicle fire training, and Hollinger said staff will train with the Energy Security Agency at Honda at the end of March to learn about extracting people from electric vehicles and preventing fires. Wagner asked if the city has had any electric vehicle fire incidents, and Hollinger said there was an electric scooter fire.

The next City Council meeting will be held on Monday, Feb. 27, at 6:30 p.m. in the council chambers.