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Fernwood Road upgrade plans advance

WINTERSVILLE – Updates on Fernwood Road may be closer than members of the village think.

Council gave authorization Thursday for Village Administrator Walt Ziemba to apply for a critical infrastructure grant.

“A community development block grant is available in the county for $300,000,” Mayor Bob Gale explained. “We want to apply for this grant and if we were awarded the money, we would use it toward paving and other infrastructure upgrades on Fernwood Road.”

The project total is estimated around $320,000, he noted.

“We just recently were made aware of this grant opportunity and the county is looking to award the money to only one community,” he stated. “One requirement is that the project would benefit the county as a whole. Since Fernwood Road leads into our county airpark, we feel this would be a great consideration.”

Gale also told council members that Ziemba recently purchased a new compactor box for the sanitation department.

“This was an emergency purchase due to circumstances at the plant,” he said. “Walt looked around for the best price available and found one for $7,200. He ordered the new compactor on Monday and it should be delivered in three weeks.”

Council approved Ziemba’s purchase. Currently, sanitation department employees are doing their best to work around the issue, Gale said.

Councilman Jason Mattern said he recently heard from residents regarding trash on a property off of Cadiz Road.

“We had some residents come to us at a previous meeting and they were concerned with the trash buildup at an apartment complex in the village,” he began. “I spoke with them recently and they are very happy with how things are progressing and with the quick response from village officials.”

“After the residents appeared before council, I contacted the landlord,” Gale added. “He ordered two Dumpsters to the facility right away, no questions asked. “It’s a shame that sometimes things get taken to such lengths. Remember, we are here to help and if you have an issue, please call. With the summer coming, if there are any issues of safety or concern to a resident, please call 911. The police are here to help. We can’t hear about it two or three days later. We are here to serve but we need to be alert.”

Gale also urged area residents to support the Indian Creek Local School district bond issue on the May 7 ballot.

“I know the economic times are tough and things just aren’t as nice as people would like them to be, but our future depends on our youth and on our education,” he stated. “Look at any village that doesn’t have those opportunities, they suffer in the end. Please think long and hard about voting to support this levy and getting a new high school in our community.”

In other business:

The village’s annual spring clean-up days will be held the four Mondays in June. Residents who garbage is collected on Tuesdays will have their cleanup day on June 3; those whose garbage is collected on Wednesdays will have their cleanup on June 10; Thursdays, June 17; and Fridays, June 24. No tires or mattresses can be collected.

Gale announced the magistrate’s report, police reports and code enforcement officer report for month of April.

Gale mentioned a public records training seminar is slated from 10 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on June 18 at Eastern Gateway Community College. All council members invited and will be briefed on how to get rid of old village documents.

The village recently received a 100 percent award for its effort in preventing accidents and injuries in the work place from the Jefferson County Safety Council.

Gale said he would like to meet with ordinance committee to discuss prohibiting a vehicle from being sold on a property without a license to sell vehicles.

Next council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. May 16 at the Municipal Building.

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