NEWSLETTER October, 2006
LEAF PICKUP:
It is once again leaf season and the Village asks for your cooperation in the gathering of leaves. As in the past, please do not rake your leaves into the gutter or street but rather leave them near the edge of the roadway. Also do not place sticks, brush, or grass clippings in with your leaves these items should be placed in the Maharg Yard Waste Bags that are available at local stores. Based on weather and availability, the Street Dept. will be going around regularly beginning in mid-October to gather leaves, thus calls to the Village office are not necessary as we will get to them at our next and earliest opportunity.
BRUSH PICKUP:
Brush pick-up will continue through the fall weather and will be conducted on the 1st and 3rd Mondays of each month as in the past. Our curbside pickup is for those branches that you personally trim from your trees or those that come down in storms. If you hire someone to trim your trees, your contractor is responsible for cleaning up the brush. As is always the case, be sure to monitor your trees that hang over the streets, alleys or sidewalks and keep them trimmed (10 clearance) or it will be necessary for the village to do the work.
UPCOMING ELECTION DAY:
The upcoming November 7th ballot includes the replacement of an existing 2.5 mill general fund operating levy. This levy, which has been in place for many years, is utilized to pay for expenses out of the general fund from which our entire police department is funded along with the costs of our street lighting. These funds are very vital to our ability to continue to make progress in providing quality services while also working toward substantial improvements in our sewer system and streets over the next ten years. We urge everyone to get out and vote and hope you will continue to support the Village with a yes vote on this important levy. There are also two different statewide issues dealing with smoking bans that will affect everyone so please be sure to become educated about these issues prior to casting your vote. Note: Remember that all Fort Recovery, Gibson and Recovery Township residents now vote at the American Legion hall and starting this election it is required to bring a document of identification. Any questions can be addressed to the Mercer County Board of Elections at 419-586-2215.
POLICE CHIEF:
We are pleased to announce the hiring of Jared L. Laux to the position of Chief of Police to take over leadership duties for the Fort Recovery Police Department. Officer Laux has been a full-time patrolman for the local department since January, 2004. Jared, along with his wife Anne and their two children reside in Fort Recovery and he is excited to be able to continue to serve the residents of Fort Recovery. Please feel free to contact Chief Laux with any police issues that arise.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES & PROJECTS:
The construction work has been recently completed on the Fremont Street Reconstruction Project. What a great improvement to this neighborhood and the pedestrian traffic heading to and from the school. As part of this project, along with two other previously reconstructed streets (East Center and Milligan), street lamps have been added as we continue to work toward eventual replacement of all the lights in town.
The Village has recently submitted a second application for grant funding for the George Street / Hickory Circle Street Reconstruction Project. This project would allow the Village to do some needed work at the intersection of George and Wiggs Streets to alleviate some potential flooding issues. It will also include complete street reconstruction including new sidewalks, curb and gutters, street lamps and the addition of storm receivers and taps. This project will encompass the area from Washington Street through Hickory Circle and a small portion of W. Wiggs Street. We are very hopeful that our application will be successful this year and we will begin preliminary engineering over this winter and plan a meeting of all adjoining property owners early next year to discuss the project. The storm sewer work will be completed by village employees and the actual street reconstruction will not begin until after July 1, 2007. We will keep everyone informed as soon as we receive any approval information and as we get preliminary engineering completed.
As you have likely read, we are also very busy working on various funding sources in order to begin the sewer separation project as required in our permits with the Ohio EPA. The time table on these projects looks to be to complete the planning over the next year and move into actual construction projects beginning in 2008/2009. The first phase of this project will be to complete the separation on S. Wayne Street in which we will also plan to include street reconstruction at the same time. A couple other phases will follow to include work on both highways and in those neighborhoods that have not previously been separated. Village workers along with the engineering company will be doing much field work in order to identify as many existing sewer taps as possible, thus many of you will be contacted directly to help us in our planning. We will continue to get out information on this very large and necessary project as we progress. Your patience and cooperation will be a huge asset as we move along in completing the sewer separation.
NOTES: A huge note of thanks to the High School Vo-Ag classes and advisor/teacher Joe Hawk on the recent roofing work completed on Shelterhouse #2 in Fort Site Park. This marks the completion of their second roofing project in Fort Site Park and we certainly appreciate the donation of their time and efforts in providing a valuable service to the Fort Recovery community while hopefully gaining some working knowledge in the process. We continue to appreciate the great relationship that our school system maintains with the Village and the local businesses
Also, a request have been received by the Fort Recovery Historical Society to eliminate parking on the west side of Fort Site Street in front of the museum and fort due to safety factors for school tours, the deterioration of the existing wall and to allow better access and viewing to these historical sites. Council is currently taking the request under advisement and would welcome input from the community.
As always we welcome your input and invite you to our Council meetings on the first and third Mondays of each month, 7:30 p.m. in the Village Hall. If you have any specific concerns or questions, feel free to contact Randy, Mayor Broerman or any of the Council Members.
Upcoming Dates of Interest: (Check out the website at www.fortrecovery.org for a list of all local events)
October 29 -1:00 p.m. Merchants Halloween Parade (meet at rear of High School Fremont Street)
& 2:00 4:00 p.m. Trick-or-Treat Hours
November 7 - 6:30 a.m. 7:30 p.m. Election Day
November 10 Veterans Day Holiday observed
November 12 - 11:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m. Fort Recovery Merchants Christmas Open House