Village Council - Regular Meeting

Oh, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Is it a .

we'll get started uh thank you for attending tonight's council meeting september 8th we'll start in with uh prayer and i'll do a new and a political allegiance please bow your head if you so desire gracious heavenly father we thank you for this day we thank you that we can come together as a council in the community to do better work for our residents in this community. We ask you to be with those, be with our police, fire and EMS personnel, be with our military, be with the staff and street departments, sanitary and water, just be with the residents of this community. We ask you to be with those who are sick right now and going through some trials with their health or mental illness or different things that they may be suffering from, and we ask you to be with them and their families. We thank you for all that you do, and we say this in Jesus' name, amen. Motion to amend the council agenda. So moved. I'll second that.

Roll call. Anyone? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes. Thank you. We've got August 3rd regular council meeting minutes. Questions, changes?

We've got a bills list in your packets.

I guess on that approval part, that's the August 17th minutes, not August 3rd. Questions?

What's up with the five-year tax refund of over $7,000 from 2020 to 2025? Alexander Sundenberger, $7,330.94.

He's a non-resident. And April is very diligent, and she found him and said, you know, why are you paying taxes? Come in, and she had him file all those years to get his money back.

I know, it was horrible and she just felt bad about it, but. My man went to five years on me. It's like, what did she notice? Yeah. Yeah. It's like savings. Yeah. Make a motion to pay the bills. Second. Roll call.

Agley? Yes. Miller?

Yes.

All right, boards or commissions, I don't think we've had any meat, but we do have a number of local boards here and groups. You're up, Anne and Bobby, and Mrs. Butler. Did you all talk?

I'm going to say some words, and Bobby will follow up with something. Kent gave me a five-minute talk. I told him I didn't know if I could do that. So I'm not a talker. It's not like my family is. So for those of you who are more visual, and we always want you to keep this in mind to refer, there is some information in your packet. And for the sake of those listening tonight, I would like to read some of this also so that they kind of know what the beautification is all about. And first of all, I'd like to thank all you for sitting up here at this table and doing your jobs as council members and other officials, because it shows your love and dedication for the community. And we need more of that. The vision of the Hicksville Beautification Committee is to promote community pride through the beautification of the village of Hicksville and surrounding areas. The mission is to coordinate beautification efforts throughout the village of Hicksville in order to be a village to remember. In 1988, there was a group of people that was doing some flower bed work, and it was known as Flower Power. It was revived in August of 2004. and called the Hicksville beautification committee. It is under the umbrella of the Hicksville community service center. The current membership is Linda Anderson, Joe Bailey, Sheila Baker, Mark Balser, Leanne Blair, Diane Collins, Donna Hitzman, Dawn Isch, Kelsey Klepper, who's our coordinator here tonight. Lisa Laker, Susan Mack, Joyce Shadrack, Bobby Sint, Vita Walters, plus a numerous amount of volunteers. You know, for the last 21 years, we've had a plant sale on Mother's Day weekend, and it's been very successful, a really lot of work. We use several venue greenhouses, haul hundreds of flats of flowers and hanging baskets. But this was our primary source of funding for all the money we spent around town. Education was an important part of the sale. We always tried to have master gardeners on hand to help people with specific questions. It started out by the daycare. I don't know if that was a lumber yard or a meat cutting place. I don't know where the daycare is now. It started out there at that location for several years. Then it went to the township building and then to the multi-purpose fairgrounds in 2023. We take care of over 20 beds throughout the village with downtown planters, hanging baskets. I guess we easily refer to them as welcome signs at every state highway coming into the village even though there's nothing that says welcome but they're there we keep those beautified we focus on improving and maintaining current flower beds but always are open to discussion to beautify more areas we really appreciate the fact that you have given us a part-time employee in dawnish to help us coordinate volunteers keep our gators our gator running and picking up the slack when we don't have enough volunteers um the gator really you know we started out with our our tank on the back of the trailer that we pulled around with a little john deere tractor having the gator has really made a big improvement in addition to Beautifying flower beds, we also, Kelsey and Mark Balcer runs, they're coordinators of the Farmer's Market that go in on Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout the summertime. And Kelsey and us are especially proud of the youth market that's been going on since 2022. There are over 40 youth vendors at it this summer. and kelsey and mark really have worked hard and the kids just love it and that's just a little something special to encourage their entrepreneurship and resourcefulness so then they are uh searching for ways continually searching for ways to increase vendor and customer participation so in the future if anybody would like to get involved with the farmers market they can contact any of the beautification members or the village share will know how to find us as challenges and opportunities always present themselves we are always looking for volunteers to accept leadership roles on the committee and to water and care for downtown baskets and other areas of the village. You know, it's just a volunteer opportunity where you can really work as, some people just plant flower beds and they don't do anything the rest of the year, someone else waters them. Some people plant at water, some people just water after they're planted. there's and it's a lot of us at your own time and convenience so i would encourage anybody you know we get so many compliments on our flowers people come through town and i've had people say oh i go to john jim schmidt get my car serviced and i always walk around town look at their beautiful flowers i mean that's really a compliment to our village and that's what we want to hear so we want to expand our educational opportunities and work closely with the park board in the village and continuing to beautify the village. I know in a lot of communities, I should say, the park board, the park, not board, the park employees will a lot of times beautify the village as part of their jobs, but that's just, every place is different. To date this year, we have over 500 volunteer hours and we're not done yet.

Just this year.

Yeah, just this year. You can see that on another page that I put in here. It shows expenses for town planning and stuff. And, you know, you may not realize that we're the ones that landscaped the pole, the flagpole up on the corner. We put all those... beautiful flowers around the fairground entrances so that when people come to the fair and they're going through town they can see all those beautiful flowers down there and around the walk-in beds we did the nice flower plot over by the marathon we are continually doing improvements to the signs around town so we are going to i would like to meet with the finance committee this year when they're putting together the mayor's budget i don't know i imagine it goes to committee first maybe before it's passed but the beautification committee would like to ask for some money in your budget this year because we are not going to have a plant sale in 2027. for the amount of work that we do for that sale does not outweigh our income toward planting flowers and beautifying the village. So we would like to be with you when you get to working on the budget and see if we can't get some funds for us to help us pick up the slack where we're not gonna have that income from the plant sale. So Bobby, would you like to say a few words? If you have any questions, I guess you could just ask Bobby and he'll answer them.

Bobby Sin, and while I started on this committee, I think 18 years ago was like the year after I returned from the city. didn't see any reason why I needed to come to Hicksville to pull their weeds when I had plenty of weeds out on the farm. But nonetheless, I was really anxious for our community to be as polished and beautiful as I had remembered it and why I wanted to return to my home. So, and I know Kelsey shares a lot of that with her anxiety or her preference for her kiddos to want to stay around here. So it's fun when somebody has such a positive memory of their village and wanting to come back. And that's really what the Beautification Committee has been about. There's people that have been continuing to volunteer steadfast in all these years. And it has become, you see I've got a special piece of jewelry here, this cane. This is my mobility. And in order to keep our numbers where we needed to have them, we found ourselves selling things like as in not plants, but tickets and then lottery, you know, almost like lottery type of thing. And I'm up on the cane trying to talk to businesses up and down the street and they are very supportive when asked specifically. But beyond that, the community needs to help us. We've got the volunteers that are willing to put it in the ground and to nurture it and to keep it watered. But quite frankly, We just need financial support from our village, and we would appreciate your taking a better look at us. But thank you, though, for the wonderful commitment that you've had years for Dawn's position. the short lady, what was her name that we had that, oh, well anyway, I don't think she was an employee.

Was she an employee? Lila Wiggins? Lila Wiggins?

No, no, I'm talking about the previous part-time employee. Yeah, yeah. Hootie? Hootie, yeah. We call her Hootie.

So anyway, the evolution has been a real positive one. Through the leadership of the community and the village council, it's been great. the input we just want to be sure that you know that we thank you for that and we'd like to support continue to support our village by unifying it to its maximum thank you thank you kelsey have anything to add i do not have anything if you guys have questions though i'm happy to answer anybody have any questions

make it off the plant scale, but how much money are you looking to raise to help offset costs? I mean, I don't think you guys have been to the Eagles with the Eagles. Right. I think we may have been the ones that purchased the Gator for you guys originally.

You did help with that?

Yeah. I don't think anyone's been there to ask for any kind of help in a while.

Are you asking us how much we are going to ask council?

Just in general, like how much are you looking? I mean, I'm not holding you to any dollars. By 10,000?

Well, our plants sell usually right in the middle.

7,500. The other thing that we didn't mention, but the revenue stream from the flowers themselves has continued to erode, if you will. And there have been methods that we have sought to increase and or to stabilize the dollars that we are able to generate through that activity. Clearly, though, we're like the Rose Bowl parade. I mean, they're 12 months a year. So has this flower sale. And if we look at how our volunteers could benefit our community more, certainly 12 months on that plant sale is not showing the dollars that this community deserves to have from leaders like what we have on our committee. And we were lucky to generate between 6 and 7,500. Very lucky. And that was efforts.

We had great community support. When they could have went someplace else and bought their plants, they came and supported us really well.

I can't thank you and your committees and all the volunteers throughout all this time. elderly age, you would see her out there working in the heat. Just for her as an example, it has really beautified the community and all the areas. I know you're looking at other things to expand upon. 20 beds is a lot of beds to take care of and water and manicure, but I know you're looking at other places to beautify the community and grow it and not just keep doing the 20 a.m. now. So, but we can have Financics look at that. Maybe they can reach out to you and they'll be next and maybe we could reach out to some organizations.

There's one other thing that we didn't mention. We've been very blessed with people who have earmarked their memorial funds or people will ask in their obituary that we be considered. And so that has helped us stabilize our abilities to produce what you've all grown to expect and what we want to deliver. So that really has been helpful. And it's allowed us to do things for the trail association in terms of benches and different things in town that's how we were able to do some of that too so you know thank everyone in the families for for being so generous and saying the commutification committee and earmarking us as opposed to some other organizations but since you're umbrellaed under the hicksville community service center right and a 501c3 that's it's a it's a tax right yes kind of a deduction kind of thing so people need to realize that if they do want

still waiting for the contractors to get here to put a ceiling and do some electrical and that thing to get some heat to it and then the playground froggy park will officially go up on the auction block at the beginning of october okay questions report can you let me know when that goes online put you on the list why don't somebody who's bought all the other equipment and he always has given a fair

He gave us a real fair price.

He knows what they're worth.

There's some people interested in that.

We haven't gotten some call-outs on that. It'll be everything but the stagecoach that's back there. We're keeping that. We've been there since.

They parked the chair, didn't they, after they pulled the horses off of it?

Motion from Defiance County Auditor accepting the 2027 Local Government Fund apportionment.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

First reading of ordinance 2026-12 by caption only to retain legal counsel from the city of Defiance for prosecuting all misdemeanor criminal and traffic offenses coming from Defiance Municipal Court and any appellate courts thereafter arising out of alleged violations of traffic and criminal statutes of the state of Ohio and or ordinances of the village of Haysville and declared in.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Okay, second reading of Resolution 2026-27 by caption only to enter as written by its county commissioners for the recovery of money suspended for providing legal counsel to indignant persons for the calendar year 2027. in the first reading of resolution 2026-29 to hire a three-debt loan to add village lister for civil legal services for the village of Picksville in a claimant emergency. Is there a reason why that has to be a word of safe?

Well, my contract has been up since last month. June? Was it up in June? No. Because I just kind of kept the one that I had from NSFB, but I didn't

contract was up in June. I didn't realize it was just up. In June was, well, May would have been when I switched firms. Mid-May. And I had talked with the analyst about providing a new contract, but then we had just decided to write out the one that I was under. So August 19th, I think, was when it was up.

I have some questions on it, so I'd like to discuss it in a second session or have another meeting over in the first reading.

We're just not under contract, okay?

You want to go over it until the next meeting? Or have a meeting about it? Yeah.

Okay.

Take a look. Is that okay?

Yeah, that's fine.

My biggest questions were the rate change and slender lines in there about travel expenses and everything else in there.

It wasn't in the previous one that I remember seeing.

The only thing I changed in it from my last contract was the rate in the firm. resolution 2096 30 by caption only exceptionally amounts and rights as determined by the budget commission authorizing necessary tax levies and certifying them to the county auditor first resolution 2026 31. By captioning only, delineating an overlay in relation to a proposed Hicksville incentive district within the village of Hicksville, Ohio, and adopting a written economic development plan as to the same, setting the time and place of a public hearing, authorizing and ratifying the giving of notice to the Hicksville effective village school district for county career center. and clients county board of commissioners all percentage ohio advice code section 5709.40c and its related rules and laws and related matters according about this is just creating an economic zone it's supposed to be you saw

and how everything rolled. He put a timeline together, it was last week, and I was like, how does this work? I said, do we have to pass anything tonight to keep things moving within the 45 days? And he sent that this morning. So that's what we're sending on to you guys with the economic development. So I'm sending the timeline.

Yeah, I didn't really have a lot of time to look at it since I just came today.

I was in favor of the, I have no problems with 20-year TIF. I thought it was kind of bad that the county wants to go to 50% in years 11 through 20 and wants us to do the 75% for the whole 20 years.

I think that's how it's state-bound like that. Isn't it? I don't believe so. They've talked about that in the past. When we were talking about the different years, it always fell into that pattern. We won't vote on the tip until later.

No, I have not had a chance to look at it. It was sent out this morning, wasn't it?

It was. Almost 10.45 a.m. Not had a chance to look at it. No, I went through mediation shortly after. I will pass it on when I get it.

If we don't pass this as an emergency, we're not going to meet the timeline?

Well, I don't know if the time would get extended another two weeks. That's in what it might do, I would assume.

I like for them to keep moving forward with the housing.

Well, according to their timeline, the public hearing would be October 12th. I don't know if they can do that if we don't pass this release prior to the formal action.

Adoption of the resolution approving the economic development plan by the village September 8th. for the timeline to take effect. Because it has to at least be 30 days prior to formal to adopt it, without exception. That's October 12th, so we plan on doing a public hearing because it's 30 days after we meet.

So basically, yeah, it sounds like you guys have to approve it tonight to follow this timeline.

I understand Justin's concern of property taxes possibly going partially away, 50%, 100%, who knows, but he just he's not going to make any more money off i mean he's just getting his money back that he puts into it i'd make a motion to suspend the rules yes

Second and final reading of Resolution 92631 by Dr. O'Neill, alienating and overlaying relations with the public school and Senate districts within the village. of Hicksville, Ohio in adopting a written economic development plan that's the same setting the time and place of public hearing, authorizing and ratifying the giving of notice to the Hicksville Exempted Village School District, Port County Career Center, and Fiance County Board of Commissioners, all pursuant to Ohio's advice on Section 5709.40 and its related rules and laws and approving related matters.

Just making sure this one says resolution 2026-31, but the one that was sent to us today.

I know.

It says 2026-30, which is the same as the budget commission.

The good one, it has 31. Okay. The other one is for a long one that comes from the auditor. I didn't write it on there. I missed it. I corrected it. Make a motion to approve.

Second.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

I mean, she does pretty much something for all of the different entities here, not just three of us, so. Wait till the end of the executive session to show the personnel.

All right. Uh, department heads. Chief Stoka.

I have nothing. Unless somebody's got a question about the report I sent out. Thank you. You're welcome.

Thanks for sending me those.

I have a question. Oh. So close.

No, it's a quick one. No, you mentioned here that Drew gave you an invoice for work, which he donated. Did he give the invoice just so he could count it as a donation? Yes. Okay. That's all I was like, what is this money? I just want to make sure.

So that was what that... what that was was the amount that of work that he himself put in but he also had somebody working for him that he actually paid uh to work on this to work on that project so um he donated he donated that so he did he create software is that what yeah we create we create we created a um So I started the process of creating a software package that could not only track inventory by scanning our barcodes, but would automatically would automatically, anytime that we get an account, it would update, everything like that. And it quickly became something into where we would schedule. Because right now, my software that I use, I'm limited to the amount of users I can have. On the free version, if I wanted to upgrade, it was gonna cost me 60 bucks a month. I'm just like I'm not eating that you know so we so we developed that and we've got a clock in clock out feature so it's really something to see

about fire. Do we know, or is anyone from Softbill going to come and present? Or, sorry, Ohio Billing?

Ohio Billing. We're just talking. It's not something that would take an effect probably until next year.

Are they going to come and present to council?

They can. They're about three hours away, but we had a Zoom meeting with them last week, kind of talked. Apparently, who was on that? Cheryl was on it. preliminaries of how they build what they build what we can build for what we can recover different aspects aspects of that um you know we want to check with some other communities on how budget this year is already tapped out so if there's a way for us to get money i don't want to delay it either right right can i add something on that real quick i know that they asked about emf billing stay away from that yeah bruce doesn't want it and we told her that uh pam who spoke to us on zoom they do both um We're happy with Medi-Count and the services they do. We told them that ahead of time. There's no reason to switch.

Let's have a question about the fund status or cash summary. August income tax, utilities, mayor's report, all those reports are in here. And the HLS occupational health screening is going to be held at the Eagles on the 11th and 12th. I'm not sure of the time. I'll let you know later because it's not on the flyer.

It starts at like 6 in the morning. I think it's around 6 in the morning.

Yes. Yes. i just had a couple things um i've had some phone calls halloween saturday october 31st is a saturday uh dr cheryl different things halloween october 31st four to six village wide i think the pto does a carnival halloween thing for the school they're going to do it on the 24th so we have a lot of activities going on for halloween in the community different churches different four to six for the village-wide trick-or-treat. Remind people that we are doing it, we are up in November 3rd for the election of the fire EMS renewal. One of the levies we have for that department, it is critical that we pass that as a local village and support our fire EMS. That's how they operate with those three levies. Board of Elections there in dire need of poll workers for that November 3rd election at Empower Church. They have to have so many poll workers because of all the precincts that go into that one building. Tanya at the Board of Elections said if there's anybody that is interested in working that day, they do training and then it's a full day commitment to that site for November 3rd to reach out to the Defiance County Board of Elections. So if anybody's interested in that.

Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Yes.