Millersburg Council discusses speed limit signs
Millersburg Village Council held a regular meeting in Council Chambers on Oct. 23.
Several items of note took place during the meeting.
Speed limit signs
Visitor Andrea Kellogg addressed council about concerns over marked speed limits on Clay Street to South Washington Street. She said the posted speed limit heading south is different from the posted speed limit heading north.
She said on Clay Street starting at Clinton Street and heading south, the posted speed limit is 25 mph until South Monroe while the posted speed limit on the same street headed north is 35 mph from the south end of town to Faith Lutheran Church, where it turns to 25 mph. Kellogg asked for an explanation of why the speed limit would be different on each side of the road.
Councilman Tom Vaughn and Mayor Jeff Huebner agreed it has been previously established that there are speed zones in the village that are not accurately marked and that steps are being taken to correct this. In recent council meetings, there has been discussion of the business district, missing signs and speed studies. The village has been working with ODOT on this topic to correct the speed zones in town.
Village administrator Nate Troyer said since the topic was initially brought up, he has taken ODOT’s maps showing speed limits and had them triple-checked for discrepancies. Troyer said they have been working heavily with ODOT the past couple of months and have contracted a company to conduct the speed study to correct the issues with mismarked speed zones. Troyer said they must wait until they get all the correct information so that when speed zones are marked, they are all marked correctly.
Kellogg’s concern was how the village is enforcing speed limits when no one really knows what the actual speed limit is because the signage is wrong. Troyer said they want to get it right rather than put up or change signs without ensuring the accuracy of the speed zones.
Citizen notification software
Troyer said a demo was held with GoGov/GoNotify for a review of its product on Oct. 17. He said it is a nice platform that would give the village the ability to reach subscribers via mobile app, email or social media depending on their notification preference.
Troyer said the annual cost is $3,900, and the village previously had a little over $1,000 in the One Call Now system that it can’t access.
Council then approved a motion to move forward with purchasing GoGov/GoNotify.
Power at Deer Run Park
Troyer said they have been working with Millersburg Electric to establish an electrical service to the pavilion by the parking lot. With a new panel, Troyer said they would install lights and outlets in the pavilion, extend power to the amphitheater stage area, provide lighting for the steps/seating area and the sign, and extend service to a subpanel at the basketball courts.
He said the subpanel would serve the coming Veterans Memorial needs and allow for future lighting of the basketball courts/skate park/walking path area.
He said the estimate for this project is just shy of $37,000, and they have money available for the project, but he would like council’s input before they proceed.
Council then approved a motion to proceed with installing power and lighting services in the proposed areas at Deer Run Park.
Troyer also asked council if they would like to look into having artificial turf installed at the amphitheater at Deer Run Park as well because the funds are available. Council agreed Troyer should move forward with getting estimates for the project.
Village solicitor contract
In the interest of checks and balances, council member Kelly Hoffee wanted to discuss village solicitor Robert Hines’ contract. Council then approved a motion to reconsider Hines’ contract and to open the topic up for discussion.
Hoffee said she thinks there needs to be a limit established in the solicitor’s contract. Once that limit is reached, council approval would be needed for additional billable hours. Hoffee said the reason for her concern is this year they have incurred some exorbitant bills for legal services.
Council member Devone Polen was concerned about how this would be handled in case of an emergency where legal services are needed but the scheduled council meeting is one or two weeks away. Hoffee’s concern was the village doesn’t unexpectedly incur a $28,000 legal service bill. Council member Brad Conn echoed Polen’s concern about what to do in case of an emergency situation where the village needs immediate legal services but the solicitor’s limit has been reached for the month.
The limit Hoffee spoke of could be a set dollar amount or suggested by village clerk Karen Shaffer at a set number of hours per month.
Kellogg addressed council to ask how many of them read the solicitor’s contract. She asked if they would buy a car or sign something without reading the contract. Conn said he understood the hourly rate of the solicitor and the solicitor’s responsibilities to the village.
It was decided the discussion would continue at the Nov. 13 council meeting.