Orrville Council discusses power rally
At the March 4 meeting of the Orrville City Council, Mayor Matt Plybon discussed the American Public Power Association’s legislative rally he attended recently, which was held in Washington, D.C. Accompanying the mayor were other city leaders: Jeff Brediger, director of the power plant; Joel Messenger and Rich Corfman, utilities board members; and council member Kyle Shanklin.
The American Public Power Association is a political action committee that advocates for public power plant communities. The committee meets with Congress to advocate on behalf of public, not-for-profit power plants. The delegation from Orrville was in D.C. to advocate on behalf of the city’s power plant.
Brediger said the group was discussing the possible impact of double-digit transmission rates on public power plants. He said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is working on legislation to address this issue. Brediger also said the power plant is changing the outage management call-in company. Those with a cellphone number registered with the utility office can expect to receive notifications of outages. There also is an opt-out option for this service. The 1-800 number currently used will remain the same.
Council also discussed the rezoning of a city-owned property on Hosteler Road at the north end of Elm Street from a residential designation of R-1 to a light industrial zoning of I-1. The matter was referred to the planning commission, which will meet April 18 at 3 p.m. Council also discussed entering into an agreement with the State Purchasing Cooperative for the purchase of a 2023 or 2024 Chevy Tahoe Police Special 4WD or alternatively to purchase said vehicle from another dealer upon equivalent terms and conditions but at a lower price than through the State Purchasing Cooperative. A 2011 Crown Victoria will be offered for sale as part of this proposal. The resolution was adopted as read.
Council also voted on a road project to repave East Hostetler Road between National Pattern and Quality Castings. The work would be done around July 4 when Quality Castings has a work break. The road is worn from heavy truck traffic.
Council also discussed expanding Fire Station II to add living quarters to have fire department coverage around the clock. Shanklin discussed a contact in U.S. Congressman Max Miller’s office, and a conference call was completed. There is potential funding from the federal government for this project, which would come in the form of matching funds. The meeting concluded with a move into executive session. The next regular meeting of council will be April 1 at 7:30 p.m.