By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com

People who donated to the Crestline Police Department K-9 fund will be getting their money back after the Crestline Village Council approved the closure of the account Tuesday night.

With a K-9 unit not coming to the police department in the foreseeable future, Village Council members unanimously approved closing the K-9 fund and returning the money to donors who can be located. The K-9 fund had received $16,548.50 in donations.

Council members voted down, 5-1, an ordinance that would amend certain sections of Ordinance 3112 which set up an income tax revenue fund for the police and fire account. Prior to the vote council member Gene Toy asked Villlage Administrator Marc Milliron if any money from the tax revenue had been placed in the Capital Fund. When Milliron reported that none of the monies went into the Capital Improvement fund, Toy noted that when the ordinance was originally passed by the voters that they were led to believe that 70 percent of the tax monies would be allocated to the Capital Fund and 30 percent would go towards the village’s service securities.

“Legally we can do this, but I feel it is not right what we are doing,” Toy said.

Council approved authorizing Village Administrator Milliron to enter into a contract with Kelstin Inc. for the Oldfield and Coyer Road Improvements Project. Kelstin was the lowest bidder on the project at a total of $101,300.

During the old business period Toy brought up the non-discipline of Crestline’s Police Chief Joe Butler from what he viewed as criticisms from Butler in an article spotlighting the high turnover rate of the Crestline Police Department in the Mansfield News Journal. Toy asked Mayor David Sharrock if he had listened to the News Journal reporter’s audio from the interview to which Sharrock said he had not, and that the police chief made statements that were already publicly known.

Toy mentioned that Butler did not follow procedure by having the mayor or a council member speak on the village’s behalf, but Sharrock argued that as a department head Butler is designated to speak on behalf of the village’s police department.