MINSTER – Minster Council dealt with a busy schedule at its meeting May 18 that included approving motions ranging from park grant applications to rebuilding another section of 7th Street. Also, a village teen received a scholarship.
Council gave the go-ahead for the village to apply for an $86,097 Ohio Department of Natural Resources Nature Works Grant to improve the Park Street Park playground equipment. It was decided that the new equipment would be called Stallostown Playground. Village Administrator Don Harrod said they plan to have the grant application submitted by the June 1 deadline and would hear later this summer if they had been awarded the funding.
A public hearing is planned for the end of June on a 7th Street improvement project, now that Council approved the first reading of a resolution to rebuild that street from Main Street to past Hamilton Street in the village.
Harrod said the estimated $1.5 million project would completely renovate the section, with replacement of all underground utilities such as water and sewer lines, followed by the installation of new sidewalks, curbing and pavement. The public meeting to hear feedback from the public would be held toward the end of June, with a bid invitation going out July.
Council also congratulated Kyra Oldiges on being award a $3,000 AMP scholarship from AMP Ohio. The scholarship was one in five awarded in the AMP Ohio nine-state service area, Harrod said. The scholarships are available for the children of village staff and administrators. Kyra Oldiges is the daughter of councilman Craig Oldiges.
Council also approved creating a new fund to hold the anticipated $550,000 federal funding from the American Rescue Plan recently passed by Congress. The money is earmarked either to be spent on recovering from the COVID-19 epidemic or be spent improving broadband and water/sewer infrastructure, Harrod said.
Council also passed a resolution in support of House Bill 146, which would allow municipalities to determine prevailing wage for projects in their area.
In his report to Council, Harrod said on May 16 electrical department crews switched over the electrical load going to Nidec Minster from the old north substation to the new electrical substation. Crews will begin to dismantle the village’s side of the substation and dispose of the old equipment.
He said the village and CDM Engineering held a May 6 Zoom meeting with representatives from the Ohio EPA Northwest District Office regarding the village meeting the limits of the total dissolved solids limits coming from its wastewater plant. CDM provided the EPA a list of possible solutions that could be implemented to deal with total dissolved solids limits. The EPA provided some feedback on possible solutions, and CDM will begin investigating those solutions.
Harrod also said CTL Engineering has completed the soil borings for the new water tower out at the compost area that were conducted last week. Once CTL Engineering provides the village with a report, he said, they will be able to determine if the soil in that area would support a water tower.
The Electric Department’s planned outage for the properties north of 7th Street, excluding Parkview Acres, occurred on May 16. The outage allowed the department to switch over electric to new poles set at the corner of 7th Street and Main Street.
Residents can begin to buy annual pool passes at the pool. Hours to purchase pool passes will be posted on the village’s website and Facebook page. Residents also can purchase the passes on line through the village’s website.
Harrod said with the heavy rains that occurred May 7, 8 and 9, the village experienced some flooding in locations in the village. One spot that was particularly hard hit was the 7th Street/Line Drive area of the village. The village and Choice One Engineering continue to work on plans to upgrade the Dues ditch, which drains this area.
In addition, last week crews spent an entire day removing debris from the storm pipe that goes under 7th Street. This debris gets washed into the storm sewers during heavy rains and contributes to the back-up of water. Choice One Engineering is finalizing plans for the reconstruction of the Dues ditch. A meeting is scheduled for May 20 to review the plans.
Finally, Harrod reminded everyone the village offices will be closed on May 31 in honor of Memorial Day.
Council action also included approval of a second reading of an ordinance vacating various alleys and streets within a new subdivision in the village of Minster. It also approved a motion to implement the Interconnection Standards for Installation and Parallel Operation of Customer Owned Renewable Electric Generation Facilities 10 kW or Less.
Council also approved the April 2021 income tax report from the city of St. Marys. A total of $574,606.12 was collected in April. Year to date totals are $1,610,348.88. Council also approved monthly invoices totaling $ 328,380.32.
