Pictured during the Jan. 8 Edison Village Council meeting are council members and village officials. Seated at the top table (left to right) are Mary Neviska, Bruce Seaburn, Vicky Smith and Pete Russell. At the lower table (clockwise from bottom left) are Mary Swartwood, Aysha Snyder, Niki Ryan, Georgann Kneipp, Jeremy West and Chris Kneipp.
Alberta Stojkovic | AIM Media Midwest
Edison Village Council began its Jan. 8 meeting with a new mayor, new village attorney, and then saw a new village council member sworn in.
The new mayor, Vicky Smith, expressed her appreciation for the support of council members and the community as she begins her duties as mayor. She asked for the council’s suggestions as she enters what is for her new territory of the village business.
Smith stated two goals she hopes to fulfill as mayor. The first goal would be to work for improvement of properties and property values in the village. A second goal is to improve communication, especially on the website and Facebook.
Council approved Niki Ryan as the sixth council member, and she was sworn in by village attorney Pete Russell.
During the meeting, Village Administrator Mary Neviska told about an incident of a storm sewer overflowing in the village. The call came in to her in the evening on Dec. 29, and the Tidy Tim crew came at 10 p.m. They were there through Dec. 30 pumping. The sewer was finally fixed on New Year’s Day at noon.
The village street crew believes the overflow situation was caused by an air lock in the system. The overflow and solution to the problem was reported to the EPA as required by law. A device was purchased to monitor the build up of sludge in the system to avoid the problem in the future.
Neviska thanked Tim Hack and Tidy Tims for coming out during the holiday weekend and staying to get the job done.
Council member Chris Kneipp spoke for the communication committee to say they have no access to the website or Facebook. There was general agreement the committees will need some reorganization so those most fitted to tasks will be on the appropriate committee. The mayor asked for notes from council on committee set up.
After some discussion, it was agreed the council will meet 30 minutes before the Feb. 12 meeting to organize the committees. The mayor will look into who has website access presently.
In other business:
• Fiscal Officer Bruce Seaburn presented the village budget. Council approved the budget, and Seaburn will take it to the county auditor and budget commission for approval before it will be part of permanent appropriations for 2024.
• Council approved payment of bills for December 2023 in the amount of $11,697.98 and approved payment of bills for January 2024 in the amount of $ 1,078.20.
• In his attorney’s report, Russell said he is working on solutions for the property clean up on Boundary Street. He sees there is both a present need for clean up and an underlaying problem which needs to be addressed. He plans to work with area agencies as well as law enforcement to get better results for the village as well as for the residents involved.
• Russell attended a Sunshine Laws meeting and asked that everyone on council attend a meeting during their term. He will make dates available for both the in-person and online Sunshine Laws meetings.
• Council elected Kneipp as council president pro tem.
The next meeting of Edison Village Council will be Monday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. The council will have a special meeting 30 minutes prior to the meeting to organize committee assignments. Council meetings are held in the Village Municipal Building, 103 N. Boundary St., Edison.
Alberta Stojkovic is a correspondent for The Morrow County Sentinel.
