NORTH BALTIMORE – A group of village
residents are concerned their utility bills will rise and property values will decrease due to trees being
cut down to make way for the sewer separation project.Kathleen Lutman and several of her neighbors on Tarr
Street attended the village council meeting on Tuesday to voice their concerns.About 125 trees have been
marked for removal as part of the second phase of the sewer separation project on the village’s north side.
A dozen of those trees may be removed from Tarr Street."If they do this, it is going to be
abominable," Lutman said."We have some major concerns and I have been in contact with the mayor
and he has given some good answers, but some of the answers don’t click with us," she said."It’s a
lovely street. And our property values are not where they should be and this is not going to help," she
continued.The trees provide warmth in the winter and cool in the summer. The trees can also be attractive to
potential home-buyers, she said.Mayor Mike Julien said excavating crews have shown commitment to saving as
many trees as possible, provided it does not interfere with installation."I don’t want to make promises
that all the trees won’t be removed, but I do know they will try to save as many as possible," he
said.Council members also asked the tree commission to create a plan for replacing trees removed during the
sewer separation project.Also at Tuesday’s council meetings, members:• Heard that EMS Chief John Vanscoder
would like to step down from his position, but would still be a part of the squad. Council expects to
appoint Eric Larson, who has been completing a review of the EMS department, as interim chief at its next
meeting. Larson is the EMS Outreach – Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for Wood County Hospital. He would
serve as interim chief on an adjunct basis."This is in no way a reflection that John has done anything
wrong or that he has been admonished or disciplined," Julien said.• Agreed to contract with Rodney
Krebs at a cost not to exceed $16,868 to replace the roof and deck at the water plant. Aaron Patterson
abstained from the vote and Bill Cameron voted against it.• Tabled discussion to advertise for a new police
officer.