Oregon: Otter Creek project, police age policy on agenda

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Oregon City Council is scheduled to hear an ordinance authorizing the city to award a contract for the restoration of Otter Creek and its floodplain.
Council’s committee of the whole last week approved placing the ordinance on the agenda for the Aug. 12 regular meeting of council.
The city administration is recommending the contract be awarded to Haynes Construction, Norwalk, Ohio, which submitted the lowest bid of $746,535.
Six bids were received, Paul Roman, Director of Public Service, told council.
The project is being designed to reduce degradation of the creek bottom and improve fish habitat by enhancing 2,500 feet of the creek.
Roman said floodplain and riparian enhancements will include plantings of native trees, shrubs, and wetland plants as well as controls for invasive species.
The project will also be designed to reduce non-point source pollution by diverting two storm sewers through a series of forebay ponds and wetland features to capture sediment and reduce nutrients prior to discharge back into the creek.
The city has been awarded a grant of $1.39 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for property acquisition, engineering, design and construction of the project.
Roman said a public meeting was held in April for residents living adjacent to the project area and most comments were favorable.
A related ordinance to retain Mannik and Smith Group, Maumee, will also be on council’s Aug. 12 agenda. Roman recommended the firm be awarded a contract not to exceed $7,500 for engineering services for the project.
Roman said he anticipates construction of the project would begin in early October and be completed by the summer of 2025.

Police age limit being raised
Council will also consider an ordinance that would raise the maximum age a police officer candidate could be appointed.
Assistant Police Chief Ryan Spangler told council his department would like to raise the age to 41.
“Currently, if a municipality does not have an ordinance that governs an age above what is allowable by the Ohio Revised Code then we have to follow the Ohio Revised Code,” he said. “What we’re bringing before you is an ordinance to raise that age from the Ohio Revised Code to what we are requesting, which is 41 years of age,”
The ORC states that no person is eligible to receive an original appointment when the person is 35 or older unless the municipality has an ordinance setting a higher age limit.
Spangler said the ordinance would help improve recruitment efforts.
“Recruitment is a very difficult task in the field of law enforcement and police officers specifically,” he told council. “We’re all trying to be as creative as possible and open up the largest candidacy pool that we can.”
Council agreed to place the proposed ordinance on its regular meeting agenda.