Gibsonburg council updates several projects

Gibsonburg’s village administrator, Marc Glotzbecker, updated council on several important items at the Feb. 27 meeting.
       
In regard to a potential deal with Omni Fiber, Glotzbecker met with the construction manager a couple weeks ago, where Omni Fiber was given the right of way permit and instructions for it.
       
As of March 5, Glotzbecker hadn’t seen a completed permit or a set of plans. The village also has an addendum list drawn up of some points that Omni Fiber needs to agree to take care of in the community.
       
“We won’t give that to them until we have the plans and permit back,” he said. 
       
Omni Fiber did send in their application fee, but without the actual permit and the set of plans, the village won’t even cash the check.
       
Glotzbecker also said he is aware of some concerns by individuals living outside the corporation limits as they are working outside the town.
       
“I don’t know what to say other than that’s why I don’t have a warm, fuzzy feeling about it all,” he said. “We’re going to take our time going through their plans, making sure what they want to do in the community is the best fit for the community. That’s all I can really say at this point. We’re going to do our absolute best to protect the community.”
       
The village has also collected four requests for proposals (RFPs) for the downtown project with the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant funds, and Glotzbecker said the public utilities committee is in receipt of them and will score each one.
       
Glotzbecker said they have four really good potential firms.
       
“I believe we’ll get together (the week of March 3) and score them,” he said. “We will have a design firm for council to consider awarding at our next council meeting (March 13 at 6 p.m.)”
       
Glotzbecker also reported that there was a really solid meeting with the Sandusky County Economic Development Corporation, Jobs Ohio, the Regional Growth Partnership and the investors in the pharmacy.
       
“Things are really moving along,” he said. “I would expect at some point in the summer, hopefully early summer, we’ll be able to make an announcement, but things are moving forward in a really positive manner. I can tell you that the investors really have their plan together. It’s not going to be some half-hearted job. They really have their plan together with an investment in the community.”
       
Furthermore, Glotzbecker complimented the latest Sandusky County Visitor’s Guide, which he said has some really great stuff in there about the Gibsonburg community. Those are available throughout the county and at town hall.
       
Glotzbecker also spoke with Sandusky County engineer, Carlos Baez, about the Sugar Creek ditch cleaning assessments, of which there will be more information presented at some point in April.
       
“There will be a final hearing,” he said. “We’ll take part in it. Residents will have a chance to attend.”
       
Glotzbecker said the more property someone has, the higher the fees will be with that, and he said the village itself is looking at a very sizable fee taking into consideration the project also incorporates Silver Rock and the 85 quarry, two large bodies of water that will play into the village’s assessment.
       
“As more information comes, we’ll pass it on,” he said. “I have no problem saying Carlos has done everything he can to make the impact as minimal as he can to the community.”
 
 
Fiscal Report
       
In the fiscal officer report, a motion was passed to pursue and compare options and fees at Union Bank as a possible new destination for the village’s accounts as the contact at Old Fort Bank has retired.
 

Ordinances
       
The first three ordinances of 2025, which authorize pay increases for the village administrator, police chief and fiscal officer, had their third readings.
       
The fourth ordinance, adopting 2025 permanent appropriations for the village, had its second reading and also passed via emergency because approval was needed by Feb. 28.
 
 
Resolutions
       
A resolution declaring support of the federal tax exemption on municipal bonds was passed via emergency.
       
A few weeks ago, the Ohio Municipal League sent out an email to all member municipalities asking for consideration of passing a resolution on the benefits of municipal bonds in their current state. There are some potential changes in the manner in which municipal bonds are obtained and used, and since the village has used municipal bonds in the past with projects for the betterment of the community, village officials agreed it would seem like a good thing for the village to support.
       
The next resolution, 3-2025, authorizes the mayor and/or administrator to apply for entrance into a cooperative agreement for the construction of a phase four long-term control plan improvement project between the village and the Ohio Water Development Authority (OWDA).
       
In regard to that resolution, Glotzbecker said the village needs to obtain an OWDA loan for the next sewer separation project that will begin this year. If council passed the resolution via an emergency, which is what ultimately happened at the meeting, he could get the necessary documents signed and taken care of. Once the loan documents are in place, they’ll have plans to review and information to put forth to the community on where the work areas would be.
       
A third resolution, 4-2025, was also passed via emergency. It was in support of state issue 2, the renewal of the state capital improvement program, which will be on the May 6 statewide ballot. Similar to the municipal bond issue, the village feels this is another important issue to support as it continues to fund many of the programs they’ve used in the past for infrastructure projects such as the lift station on Linden Ave., some of the sewer separation projects and a portion of the work at the water plant.