By Andrew Walsh
awalsh@wbcowqel.com
The Galion paving projects for 2014 are proceeding nicely. Mayor Tom O’Leary gave an update at the end of Tuesday night’s council meeting and his report was good.
The Hesby Drive and Heise Park lane extension could be done as early as Friday, and the mayor is proposing a small ribbon cutting ceremony to include the Galion Alumni Band. He jokingly added that he did not want to make it too big of an affair to jinx the other projects, but t would be nice to celebrate the completion of these stages all the same. The 598 bridge is scheduled to be shut down as early as Monday, but is likely to be a few days after that. This makes completion of the bypass routes extremely timely.
Bids for other paving projects were also opened Tuesday. The bids received are in budget. They should even allow for the paving of the two alternate projects.
Tom Fellner expressed his appreciation that the Church Street project was handled in such a timely manner. However, O’Leary stated that he had been under the impression that more of the street was going to be paved. This is something the city plans to correct in 2015.
Galion will use its own manpower and mill and roll in asphalt to some of the more problematic “seams” that still remain. Using its own workers will allow for a significant cost savings to the city.
The Galion Fire Department has accepted a bid for a new fire truck. This is something they have been planning a long time, and is money that has been budgeted for and is contained in the fiscal emergency plan. The budget was for $695,000, and the bid came in at $693,000.
Chief Phil Jackson added that the first payment will not come due until 2015 or 2016, as these types of purchases typically wait 12 months until the first bill is due.
City Council members took the first steps Tuesday to address an issue regarding passes for the Heise Park swimming pool.
Motivated by the denial of a family pool pass to Melody Mohn and Hela Young and their four children, the council’s Parks and Recreation Committee has been working on changes in wording to accommodate various scenarios including same sex couples, foster children and grandparents with custody. Tuesday’s vote on a first reading that would change the family pass to a household pass to the pool was approved by a unanimous vote.
In other legislative news, ordinance number 2014-57 was passed on a third and final reading. This will maintain the right of landowners in the State Route 61 annex to continue to allow hunting on their properties, despite the fact that they are inside the city limits. The police department must be notified when this is going to occur.
Ordinances concerning the pension plans for police and fire departments passed on second readings. In negotiations with the unions the fire department elected to continue pension plan pickups and the police department elected not to. These ordinances reflect those new positions.
Auditor Brian Treisch reported that income tax collections are up 15 percent over last year at this same stage of the year.
There will be Customer Appreciation Days at the Utility Department from 9-4 on Aug. 20 and 21. Efficiency Smart will be on hand with information about how to save money on utilities.
There will be a tour of the waste water treatment facility, fire department, police department, and electrical department at 6 p.m. on Aug. 18. And at 6 p.m. on Aug. 26, State Senator Dave Burke will be in attendance prior to the regular council meeting.