By Kerry Rahm
krahm@wbcowqel.com
New Washington’s Village Council was once again back up to full strength at Monday’s meeting.
As the first order of business, new council member Craig Niese was sworn in by clerk-treasurer Julie Cronau. Niese took the council seat vacated by Paul Forster. He was officially voted in at the last meeting held two weeks ago.
A resident of the village – who did not give her name – requested to speak with the council and said she had simply one question to ask: “What about road paving plans?”
Her concern stemmed from the fact that she lives on a “bad” section of North Kibler Street. When there is a large amount of traffic, her “house rattles,” due in part to the uneven pavement in front of her residence. She asked if the village would consider fixing North Kibler in the near future.
Both council member Brian Agin and Village Administrator Norm Lucius replied that they knew which particular section of the road to which she was referring, and Agin said, “It would take a lot (of money) to do that road… almost the whole budget.”
Lucius echoed Agin’s reply when he said he figured that repairs could amount to “most of the year’s budget,” and stated that instead of repairing the street a section at a time that it would be best to tackle the entire street at once.
Cronau mentioned that this year’s plan is to do utility patching along roads which need it, specifically “sewer patches” on eight different streets.
“It’s sad,” said the woman, who was clearly disappointed with the council’s answer. “It’s just really loud… (the traffic) just shakes the whole house.”
The council members empathized with the woman, many noting that it was a topic that should be further discussed in future meetings. Mayor Ben Lash thanked her for coming to the meeting, but said, “It’s just not in the budget at this time.”
New Washington Police Department Chief Jeff Shook stated that last weekend’s garage sales “went smoothly,” with only minor calls made to the department.
Lash reported there were six ambulance runs in the last month, and all six were under the criteria of 17 minutes or less.
Lucius noted that it is important, mainly for safety reasons, that all residences have “readable house numbers” on their properties. The council planned to put a notice in the newspaper to remind citizens to comply with this request.
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