Warren Scott INFRASTRUCTURE DISCUSSED — Local roads, guardrails and traffic signals were among matters discussed at Thursday’s Wintersville Council meeting.

WINTERSVILLE — Issues involving transportation were a recurring topic at Thursday’s Wintersville Council meeting.

Village Administrator Jesse Kosegi said while crews with Barbicas Construction of Akron work to complete street paving this month, he will seek funds from the Ohio Department of Development and the governor’s office for that purpose and the water line replacements in the spring.

He said less money is available through the Ohio Public Works Commission this fall, and the village would be required to provide a match of at least $250,000 if it were to pursue that funding avenue.

Kosegi noted the OPWC has awarded a $1.9 million grant for the resurfacing of a mile-long section of Cadiz Road from its intersection with state Route 43 near the Wintersville Kroger to Park Drive.

Scheduled for next year, the project will include the replacement of school zone lights and signs near Indian Creek High School.

The village will provide a $40,000 local match required of the grant.

Councilman Randy Spence asked if tax revenue from local marijuana dispensaries can be used for paving and was told that hasn’t been determined.

Following the meeting, Kosegi confirmed that the matter of the taxes being returned to the village is being discussed by state legislators.

Earlier this year, Mayor Mike Petrella and other village officials expressed concern about pending legislation that would have resulted in the money going solely to the state.

He said when 57 percent of voters supported an issue allowing the sales in 2023, a portion of the revenue was to go to the communities where the dispensaries operate.

Petrella estimated the village could receive $108,000 for one month, or $1.3 million for the year, through the taxes.

Kosegi also advised council new water meters must be installed for just a few homes and a few businesses.

Electronic readings from the meters are transmitted to the village building and with the implementation of a new billing system, will allow water customers to pay their bills online.

But Kosegi said that option has been delayed by the federal government’s shutdown because of the Federal Communications Commission’s involvement in the integration of the village’s former and current billing systems.

In a related matter, Petrella said he wanted the water customers to know that a 3 percent fee applied to credit card payments made for water bills doesn’t go to the village.

The mayor said it’s a processing fee applied by the credit card companies that is charged for many other transactions in the private sector.

Kosegi revealed another area in which the local government is going high-tech is its phone lines, with internet-based service through AT&T to replace the copper lines currently serving the Village Building.

In other business:

�–� Kosegi said a guardrail near the county court building that was struck by a driver has been replaced and the cost reimbursed through the village’s insurance provider, while the Jefferson County Engineer’s Office has been able to provide about 72 feet of guardrail that will be installed along Church Street.

�–� Petrella thanked Wintersville Police Capt. Jason Fabian for fixing the signal for the crosswalk on Main Street near the Pizza Hut and Chase Bank and Police Chief Lou Vandeborne and all of his staff for their presence during trick-or-treating, when they interacted with children and patroled the streets.

�–� Council heard from Bob Laukert and Charlene Prentice, its representatives to the Steel Valley Regional Transit Authority.

Laukert advised the five new buses ordered for the public transportation agency have arrived and are being fitted with decals, video cameras and other equipment for use in the near future.

Prentice said ridership for the service overall was down 2.6 percent last month from the same time last year, while the sale of fares and passes dropped 15.3 percent.

�–� Petrella announced the Village Building will be closed Tuesday for Veterans Day but garbage collections for that day won’t be affected.

�–� Plans were made to move council’s next meeting to 7 p.m. Nov. 17, because of a scheduling conflict, and for the finance committee to meet at 6 p.m. that day and the personnel committee to meet at 6 p.m. on Nov. 18.

Petrella said he will discuss raising longevity pay for village employees, while Kosegi will suggest making the fiscal officer a full-time position in an effort to attract and retain an individual for the job.

(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)