Subdivision lease agreement passes
Strasburg Village Council passed a political subdivision lease agreement for the village/bus garage located at 110 Railroad Ave. at the April 2 meeting. The lease will be for five years, expiring Dec. 31, 2028, instead of a lease for 20 years. Several council members said they wanted a short lease because personnel changes and the lease could get lost. The school district will be asked to pay a portion of the utilities.
The fire siren at the fire station at 125 Second St. NE has been repaired by Wood Electric. The siren is operated manually, and after troubleshooting by Wood Electric, several repairs will be made on other items in the fire station.
Council said goodbye to Police Sgt. Brandon Warman. He resigned and is relocating to Florida. He has been a police officer in the village for six years. He was thanked for his service to the community.
Council also did the following:
—Learned the crosswalk at Fourth Street Southeast and Wooster Avenue is not illegal; however, if the council wants to install a red pedestrian beacon light, a traffic permit is needed and a survey must be conducted. According to Dave Hoffman, traffic engineer for District 11, the village can install yield lines at the site.
—Passed an ordinance with an amendment to declare Fifth Street to Ninth Street on South Wooster Avenue not a business district and change the traffic pattern from 25 mph from North Second Street to South Fifth Street.
—Held the first reading of an amended ordinance concerning recreational vehicles and where they can be parked.
—Held a discussion about the staffing at the fire station. Residents in the village and Franklin Township passed a levy to provide a full-time fire chief and 24/7 fire department with part-time staffers. Fiscal officer Jennifer Mahoney said there are no longer volunteers. They are all part-time employees, and the firefighters asked for a full-time department. Part-timers who live in the village can respond to calls if they are home. Council member Jeff Smith said when the fire levy was passed, the millage underestimated inflation, and it was not discussed. He said the levy does not cover three part-timers on day shift and two at night and weekends.
Council member Kathy Burrier said all places are short-staffed.
“Who wants to come and work for this village? All you do is bash the fire chief, and he is the best guy we have ever had in this job. We need to support him, and he just interviewed three people to replace the ones that resigned. A fire district would be the best way to go, and Fire Chief Steve Laskey could run it,” Council member Dustin Briggs said.
It was noted there are 26 on the department roster, and 17-19 cover the shifts; however, they work full-time for other departments
Other information
The police responded to 222 calls in March. Police Chief Dave Warrick said the owner of 714 Studio Apartments on South Wooster Avenue denied receiving any certified letters about incidents that happen at the site. The owner said the drug incident will not be used to evict someone. Warrick said according to the law, they must evict the person. He said the owner doesn’t want to help.
Cleanup day in the village will be April 16. Items should be placed with the trash and recycling. A list of unacceptable items is available at Village Hall.
The Strasburg American Legion chicken barbecue will be held May 5 at 10 a.m. until sold out at Malcuit’s parking lot on South Wooster Avenue.
The community festival will be held July 26-27 at Franklin Park. Any organization that wants to participate or volunteer should contact Nancy Cregan or Brent Metzger.
The next council meeting will be held April 16 at 6 p.m. A board of zoning appeals meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. prior to council. Both will be held at 224 N. Bodmer Ave.