Zoar approves additional parking for coffee shop
The planning commission in Zoar granted a permit to the Tin Shop Coffee House to add extra parking.
At the May 11 meeting of village council, Zoar Mayor Scott Gordon reported the planning commission had approved additional parking spaces for the Tin Shop Coffee House. Gordon said permission was granted provided the owners widen the parking entrance off of Fourth Street.
Council voted 5-1 to pay $11,000 to the Bolivar Fire Department for the first half of its fire contract. Councilwoman Judy Meiser voted no. Council also passed an ordinance to increase appropriations for fund number 2901, the fire-protection fund, to $11,100 to make the first payment. The votes again were 5-1 with Meiser recusing herself from the vote.
Meiser questioned an invoice in the amount of $750 from Patrick Eddy Landscaping for mowing services for the village. Meiser asserted council had voted his bill was not to exceed $700 a month. Gordon said the invoice was for April and said when Eddy doesn’t mow the ball field, the cost will go back to $650 or not to exceed $700 per month including string trimming on Cherry Hill.
Reports
Fiscal officer Heather Lehmiller reported receiving the new laptop for the village and said council needs to decide what to do with the old computer. Council will consider donating to a nonprofit or education organization.
Lehmiller also said she received grant funds totaling $2,000 from Public Entities Pool of Ohio for security cameras.
Safety committee chair Tom Klingaman asked for a meeting to make decisions on which cameras to buy with the funds. He also said a representative from PEP will perform onsite evaluations of the village garage and town hall.
Street commissioner David Irwin reported receiving quotes totaling $7,728 to pave West Third and East First streets. Gordon will seek funding from the Ohio History Connection because those streets are adjacent to OHC properties and the organization has helped in the past.
Law director Doug Frautschy reported meeting with Matt Mullen of Krugliak, Wilkins, Griffiths & Dougherty, the law firm representing the village in the fire department eviction case. A three-day eviction notice was posted Tuesday, May 4.
“In the meantime the fire department has sued the village, so we’ll have to counterclaim for the eviction, and that’s moving forward,” Frautschy said.
In other business
Irwin inquired as to whether council needed to amend an ordinance authorizing payment to Mark Gaynor for selling cemetery lots now that Gaynor is on council. Gordon said Gaynor has agreed not to accept any further payments, which Gaynor confirmed. Frautschy said he did not believe the ordinance needed to be amended.
Mayor’s notes
Gordon said the next Army Corps public meeting regarding levee work will be May 27 at 3 p.m. via teleconference. Gordon will have information for the June council meeting regarding the corps’ acquisition of West Street as part of the levee repairs.
Gordon also said he has sent addresses to the consultant doing the structural analysis on residences in the area of potential effect. The company will perform evaluations approximately one month prior to the beginning of construction. Due to the discovery of archaeological relics, Gordon is unsure when evaluations will begin but said property owners will be notified in advance.
A Zoar Connection Trail Committee meeting is scheduled for June 1 with Eric Downing of the Army Corps. Downing and the committee will review the Zoar Valley Trail proposal, which outlines plans to add a connector trail from the footbridge on the Towpath Trail to the Zoar Wetlands Arboretum.
Gordon reported the Tusc Arts Partnership is sponsoring a County Sculpture Tour. TAP is asking local artists to paint 4-foot-high cut-outs of the county in ways that represent their towns. The goal of the project is to promote tourism and cultural identity. Gordon said an artist in Zoar has expressed an interest in participating. He will turn the project over to the Zoar Community Association to manage.
The next meeting will be June 8 at 6 p.m. by teleconference.