MOUNT GILEAD- New Mayor Donna Carver took the Oath of Office from Judge Jenifer Burnaugh in the first order of business at the October 3 Mount Gilead Village Council meeting.
Carver will finish the term of Mayor Jamie Brucker, following his acceptance of the position of Morrow County Operations Manager. Carver presented Brucker with a Proclamation of appreciation for his leadership of the village through several projects and the pandemic.
Council then approved the appointment of Kay Hines as President of Council.
Guest Barb Rogers presented council with a proposed plan for an ice rink to be placed on the basketball court during winter months. The rink would be made of hardened plastic material laid over the court.
Rogers and her committee suggested an amount of $20,000 for the project to be raised by a Winter Festival of Trees the first week of December.
Special rental skates would be used on the rink, which would be a 40 X 80 foot space. Liability would be with the village. The plan would have village workers be caretakers of the rink.
Rogers cited the rink at the Columbus Zoo and a one-day rink in Cardington as examples of other rinks in the area. She suggested the activity would be a winter activity for families and youth in the area.
After some discussion council turned the proposal over to the finance committee and long range planning for further consideration.
Ric Lyle gave a report from the Community Beautification group. They are presently working on the Village Christmas decorations and wreaths. Another project will be painting the dugouts this week.
Lyle thanked Village Administrator Derek Allen for the village workers’ clean-up of the village parking lot behind NAPA. A lot of trash had accumulated in the lot over the summer.
Police Chief Adam Lakey reported an increase for the month in calls for service. There was also an increase in offense reports and charges issued in comparison with 2021. Traffic crashes were down for the month.
Lakey said Officer Ramos arrested a suspect on September 19 who broke into three businesses. The suspect was found inside the Job and Family Services office.
Fire Chief Chad Swank said five from the department went to the Fire Convention Expo in Columbus. The fire department obtained a grant for $5,000 from Ag Credit. The money will be used for rescue struts for vehicles.
Allen reported that drainage issues in the Strait addition are being examined.
Planning is beginning for the deck on the village pool. Improvements are also needed on the pool house and concession stand.
The fountain on the square has been drained and park restrooms are now winterized in preparation for cold weather.
Allen will try to rebid the pickle ball, basketball and tennis courts. The problem has been getting a primary contractor who will excavate and then sub-contract needed finishing work. They are planning for four pickle ball courts and two tennis courts.
