By Sentinel-Tribune Staff
PEMBERVILLE — Sidewalk talk was a topic at last week’s village council meeting.
Mayor Carol Bailey said that council had another discussion about the way the village reimburses property owners for damage to sidewalks by trees on Pemberville rights-of-way.
“We will reimburse (property owners) for the sidewalk damage done by those trees, by sections of sidewalk. It is 100% of the cost of replacing those sections,” Bailey said.
The process for reimbursement for such sidewalk replacement is for a property owner to obtain a permit for the work, getting approval for the work, then submitting a bill to the village for reimbursement.
Council alsodiscussed ways to assist the local Boy Scout troop with issues surrounding a lack of appropriate restroom facilities during the winter months.
“They have no restroom facilities during the colder months,” Bailey said. “We need to find a way to resolve this issue.”
The Boy Scouts meet near the village park year-round, but the restrooms there are closed during the winter.
After some discussion, it was decided to extend the date for closing the current restrooms to at least October and build a structure around a portable restroom.
“Doing these things should reduce the issue (of a lack of a restroom facility) for now,” the mayor said.
A more permanent solution will be discussed.
The village’s new police cruiser was put into service earlier in the month.
The police markings were put on the 2023 Chevy Tahoe, one of the final steps taken to ready the unit.
Council voted to sell the previous police cruiser, a 2013 Tahoe, to the village of Clay Center for $950.
Bailey said two sets of bleachers were also given to Clay Center.
“Those bleachers were at one time part of our (baseball) diamond,” she said.
In other business, continued construction of a sewer and water force main project was pushed back due to the timing of farmers’ harvesting, Bailey said.
“We didn’t want (the project) to interfere with operations at the grain elevator near the intersection of East Front and Bierley streets, so we decided to push that project back to post-harvest,” Bailey said.
The grain elevator is busier at tomato harvesting time and times when other crops are harvested, she said.
There was also discussion on relocating an electronic speed-reading device to another area besides West Front Street. The sign warns eastbound drivers on that street of their speed.
After input from Police Chief John Vaughn, it was decided not to move the electronic device, however.
Discussions were conducted concerning the Pemberville Free Fair, which runs from Aug. 16-19.
“It’s the highlight of our events every year,” Bailey said. “We need a good amount of preparation to be ready for it.”
Power lines in the village have to be moved and extra police manpower is needed as some streets are closed off.
