Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Council members in Walbridge approved a pair of ordinances in its latest regular meeting on June 17.
The first one authorized an agreement with Republic Services for the village’s waste and recycling collection, while the second one approved the ability for the village to lease the old Carroll’s Health and Fitness Center building.
Republic contract
Prior to the passage of the Republic Services ordinance, council member Kristen Angelo inquired with mayor Ed Kolanko about why the burden of delinquent accounts and collection for residents would be shifted to the village. In other words, if a resident doesn’t pay for trash or water, the village would be alerted to who the delinquent payer is, and the village would have to move to collect.
“It’s our responsibility as a village to make that monthly payment to Republic Services for the refuse collection service,” Kolanko said. “Really, they're just a billing agent, and if John Doe isn't paying for the refuse collection, it does not take away from the village's responsibility to pay that bill. We have to be made whole, and if John Doe isn't paying, then we're going to have to go after John Doe.”
Kolanko said he is meeting with Republic’s new president, their billing person and their legal counsel on June 22 to get some final questions answered. He said on average, there’s only about 50-75 people per month who aren’t paying their bill, signing up for service, etc.
“As a courtesy, they’re still picking up those individuals, and that's not fair to the company,” Kolanko said. “This is a way for us to make sure that all the people who are getting the service are paying that bill. Is it perfect? Nothing's perfect.”
Angelo said she doesn’t like the village being the middleman between the customer and the service.
“You do know that through property taxes, that the street lighting that is out there is paid for by the village of Walbridge, but through the real estate taxes that you guys approve every year, that bill goes on your real estate taxes, and you're paying for that street lighting for that purpose, so we're the middleman in that utility in that fashion,” Kolanko said. “That's a realistic scenario, too, so we do find ourselves in that middle position sometimes.
“I’m sure it’s not going to be without hiccups, but there are hiccups now.”
Council then approved the measure unanimously.
Property lease
The next ordinance allows the village to lease the old Carroll’s building at 417 Main St., which didn’t meet the required number of votes to pass as an emergency at the previous council meeting. On June 17, however, council approved the measure unanimously, except for Angelo, who voted against it.
The ordinance allows the village to invest $95,000 into the property to get it in shape to then rent it to Ohio Elite All Stars Cheerleading, which would provide $1,700 per month to the village. The investment cost would cover roof repairs, electrical upgrades, plumbing and some demolition work.
Allen/Holly project
Council also unanimously approved the acceptance of a bid from Bowers Asphalt and Paving, Inc. for the Allen Street/Holly Drive project in the amount of $658,408.10. The highest bid was $810,000.
“I had the privilege of going out with the mayor one time with the guys from Bowers, and it’s so nice that the lowest bid came from guys just up the road here,” council president Thomas Urbina said. “They're good people, and I would like to concur with the mayor's opinion to accept the bid.”
The project will start around August, and it should be completed between Oct. 15-30 depending on weather.
In related news, Bowers Asphalt is 99 percent done with the Walbridge Road project per Kolanko.
Lake Township rezoning
Kolanko addressed council members and encouraged them to contact Lake Township’s trustees about the proposed rezoning of 508 Union St. from residential to heavy industrial. The township is slated to make its final decision on the proposal June 30 at 6 p.m. inside the township’s administration building. For more information on that, check out the article in this issue on the topic.
Next meeting
The next council meeting will be held July 15 at 6:30 p.m.
