Streets were focus of Wintersville Council meeting
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WINTERSVILLE -- Issues involving the village's street department and local streets were a frequent topic at Thursday's Wintersville Council meeting.
Council heard from Randy Baksa, the village's street foreman, who suggested council consider obtaining a large gasoline tank to fuel the village's vehicles.
He said the move would mean great savings to the village, which currently pays 40 cents to 42 cents per gallon for the gasoline it uses.
Village Police Chief Lou Vandeborne agreed, saying his department spends about $1,900 per month for fuel.
Baksa said he approached three suppliers for quotes and learned two would not lease a tank to the village while a third normally charges a rental fee but would waive it while selling the gasoline needed by the village.
He said the village could avoid installing an underground tank by building a double wall of steel around the tank, which would be located, like the village's diesel tank, at the street garage.
Councilman Jason Mattern said larger tanks must meet certain regulations, such as a plan to prevent spills from reaching groundwater, but added he supported the idea.
No action was taken on the proposal Thursday, but Village Administrator Jessie Kosegi also voiced interest in it.
Baksa also reported his staff have been busy patching Cadiz Road and will be working on other roads while also ditching in an area near Terrace Avenue in an effort to prevent recurring flooding there.
Mattern told him, "There are several residents who have brought this to our attention and they appreciate that."
In related business, Mayor Mike Petrella said three streetlights have been installed on Mara Lane and there are plans to repair the road in the future.
Kosegi said the lane and Furda Lane are private roads, and he has approached the residents there about adopting them as village streets, noting they are used by its crews. He said the move will require an easement agreement to be drawn up by Village Solicitor Jake Linn.
Kosegi said residents on the two streets seem open to the idea, adding he had expressed interest in adopting Chapel Hill also, but residents there didn't seem interested.
He said he hopes to obtain state funds to resurface Cadiz Road next year.
Plans have been made to seek bids for the paving, later this year, of the following streets: Rex, Russell and Patton avenues, Day Circle, Simpson Road and Woodridge Drive from Simpson to Eisenhower Road.
Councilwoman Gael Damron announced local students are scheduled to paint a new mural on the wall along Cadiz Road south of the Kroger plaza on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and asked passing motorists to approach the area more carefully.
Damron also said speeding has been a problem in the area of Crawford Avenue, a narrow road where children often ride bikes.
Petrella noted to deter speeding, the police department has posted on various streets an electronic sign that displays the speed of approaching vehicles and it could be moved there.
Vandeborne agreed to do that and to assign patrols to the area while adding an effort is being made to replace damaged or aging speed limit signs along many roads.
In other business, the chief commended his officers for their efforts during a recent busy spell that included directing traffic when a tree fell onto a power line near Efts Lane, causing many traffic signals to go out.
Also on Thursday:
— Kosegi advised a $250,000 certificate of deposit account in the village's name that was discovered at another bank earlier this year has been transferred to the account that holds its general funds.
He confirmed a portion of the amount will be used to restore about $138,368 in back taxes and penalty fees he learned the village owed soon after accepting his position.
— Petrella asked council to consider allotting $3,000 for fireworks for the Thunder in the Ville festival, which will be held June 23 and 24 at the Jefferson County Airpark.
He also announced the Steel Valley Regional Transit Authority has agreed to provide shuttles to the festival from the Village Building and Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church for anyone concerned about parking at the site.
— Bob Laukert, who represents the village on the board, advised this summer the transportation service is offering trips to swimming pools in Steubenville and Mingo Junction for 50 cents to youth, ages 5-13.
— Laukert also told council the Regional Income Tax Agency will be mailing notices to those who owe local taxes for 2017 to 2020 and failing action after that, will issue subpoenas to bring those delinquent in tax payments to court.
He said except for a $1 charge for each subpoena to be paid by the village, RITA will assume responsibility for the individuals' prosecution.
— Petrella said resident Beth Rupert-Warren arranged a meeting of local government and emergency officials and representatives of the Meridian Greene senior housing complex to discuss contingency plans should a fire or other emergency, like the recent water outage, occur there.
He said as a result, "We have somewhere close, safe and large to transport people in case there's another emergency there."
— The mayor announced damaged U.S. flags may be brought to the Municipal Building so they can be properly disposed of by American Legion Post 557 at a flag retirement service slated for June 14.
— Residents were reminded the spring cleanup will begin next week, with pickups on the following dates based on residents' garbage collection days:
June 5 for those with Tuesday garbage collection, June 12 for those with Wednesday garbage collection, June 20 for those with Thursday garbage collection and June 26 for those with Friday garbage collection.
The following items won't be accepted: Tires, computers, televisions and other electronics; household batteries, food waste and other normal household waste, leaves or grass clippings, construction materials, demolition debris, mattresses or box springs, paint, liquids, hazardous waste, air conditioners, dehumidifiers, refrigerators or other items containing freon.
— It was announced council's next meeting will be at 7 p.m. July 6. The panel will be meeting only on the first Thursday of each month during the summer.