By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com

New Washington voters should expect to have at least one issue to vote on in the upcoming General Election in November.

The New Washington Village Council unanimously approved Village Clerk/Treasurer Julie Cronau to begin the process for putting the issue to renew the village’s five-year fire levy on the ballot for November during its meeting Monday night.

Village Council also approved to transfer $51,300 from the General Fund to the Street Maintenance Fund for use for the remainder of the Fiscal Year.

Mayor Ben Lash said he would look into pricing for providing a driving record report for each of the village workers who drive village-owned vehicles. The risk management group Tokio Marine LLC recommended that the village compile the records and have them checked yearly. Village Solicitor Tim Obringer advised council to seriously consider enacting the new policy.

In his report to council, Obringer explained that the village does have an ordinance on the books that allows the police department to send notices for not mowing their lawns. Obringer said he would make a similar form to the junk vehicle ordinance in that the offending party would have a chance to fix the issue before other avenues are pursued.

Obringer also reported that he was currently working on a solicitation ordinance for the village.

Police Chief Jeff Shook reported that all officers had been first aid certified. Shook also reported that one more officer was still going through field training and will be going solo for the force soon.  Shook explained that the police have received an increased amount of calls, which is normal for the time of year with the weather improving. Shook noted that he had photos taken for the entire police force.

In his report to Village Council, Steve Aichholz noted that the Central Joint Ambulance District and Life Support are still trying to get mutual aid agreements with surrounding EMS services. Aichholz also reported that he had attended the Bucyrus committee meetings in which he asked the city point blank if they planned to leave the ambulance district. Aichholz said that while they didn’t say yes or no he felt that there is no current threat from the city leaving.

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Fire Chief Mark Heefner reported that the fire department had zero runs since the last meeting, that the fire department had truck training, and that new decals had been installed on the equipment.

Village Council voted on the next round of village entities to be honored in the coming months at the first council meeting of the month.