April 2007

NEWSLETTER April, 2007

SPRING CLEAN-UP DAY / TRASH SERVICE:

The annual Spring Clean-up Day is scheduled for Saturday, May 19^th and will once again begin at 6:00 a.m. The following rules apply as they have in the past:

- Only Village residential customers are eligible. Please do not allow others from out of town to abuse this service.

- All smaller debris must be boxed or bundled.

- Nothing in lengths longer than six feet will be picked up.

- Absolutely NO – tires, concrete/stone/brick items, yard waste-tree limbs, railroad ties, wet paint cans, pesticides, antifreeze, hazardous waste, gas cans or motor oil.

- Appliances and other metal items will be picked up

Please be sure to have everything out to the curb area by 6:00 a.m. as the entire village will be covered in one day and there will be no call backs. Also, please follow the above rules in order for the Village to maintain this as a service to our residents without any additional charge.

Also, our 3 year contract with Maharg’s Trash Service ended on March 31^st and we entered into a new 4 year agreement that will raise the trash bags from $1.20 to $1.30 for the next two years and then to $1.35 for the third & fourth years. The recycling bags remain at $.65 / bag and the yard waste stays at $1.00 / bag for the entire four years and the curbside pickup days remain the same – Tuesday for trash & Wednesday for recycling and yard waste.. The recycling company has asked that we remind residents that they still utilize the 2-bag system, one for paper products and the other can contain metal, plastic (#1 & #2 only), and glass items. No plastic bags, Styrofoam egg cartons, paint cans, light bulbs, ceramics or other treated glass. Thank you for your cooperation.

BRUSH PICKUP:

With the spring weather arriving, we have returned to our regular schedule of doing brush pickup on the 1^st and 3^rd Mondays of each month. As in the past, it is not necessary to call the Village office to let us know you have brush to be picked up…we will get to it as our schedule and the weather allows.

Please remember the following basic rules regarding brush pick-up:

- If you have your trees trimmed or cut down by a paid tree serviceman, it is their responsibility to remove all brush. Our Village service is designed to pick up those branches that fall during storms or the small amount that individuals trim on their own trees.

- It is not the Village workers responsibility to rake your piles up. All the smaller debris should be placed in yard waste bags.

- Do not use this service to put out your grass clippings, leaves, shrubs, plants, flowers, fruits, acorns, walnuts, etc. These items will not be picked up.

Thank you for your cooperation!

PARK NEWS:

The 7^th Annual Parks Work Day is scheduled for Saturday, April 28^th from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon. This is an opportunity for community groups or individuals to come out and provide some volunteer labor to clean-up our parks for the upcoming summer. Anyone who can assist that day is asked to report to Community Park / Ambassador Pool parking area. A lunch will be served at 12 noon in Shelterhouse 4 at Community Park for all those who helped compliments of the Park Board. On another park note, if your child did not get signed up for summer baseball or softball, please be sure to contact John Rammel (baseball – 419-375-2789) or Marie Osterholt (softball – 419-375-2523).

The village continues to move forward with the design and planning stages of the upcoming sewer separation project as required by the Ohio EPA. This project will include not only new sanitary and storm lines for the Village but also in many cases new service lines for each of the affected homeowners as the older lines will not be acceptable. A big factor in the timing of the proposed projects will be based on the availability of funding that will be coming from a combination of grants, loans, and increased user fees. The scheduled beginning date is for 2008 / 2009 for the first phase (S. Wayne Street) but again that may move forward or backward a year based on funding availability. We will provide updated information as we get closer to implementation.

We also will be completing the George Street Reconstruction Project this summer. The project area consists of George Street from Washington Street to Wiggs Street and W. Wiggs Street from Gwendolyn Street back through Hickory Circle and will include new water line, some additional storm sewer service, curbs, sidewalks, street surface and street lamps. This project is partially funded through an Ohio Public Works Grant and 0% Loan so therefore bid award can not be done until after July 1^st. In the meantime, village workers will be completing the replacement of the water main and working on storm sewer catch basins and service taps. Some recent new hires here with the Village have been Patrol Officer Brandon Wyerick who began his position in early February, and more recently the addition of Mitch Leuthold as a Utility Operator to begin on April 30^th. Take the opportunity to introduce yourself and welcome both when you see them out and about doing their work for the Village. We would also like to extend our thanks to Elmer Wendel for his 20+ years of service to the Village Water Department, with sincere hopes for a relaxing and enjoyable retirement.

We are excited about the ongoing addition at JR Manufacturing and their continued growth in our Industrial Park. Our local businesses continue to be the backbone of our community and we appreciate their ongoing commitment to the Fort Recovery community. We continue to market our available sites as locations for expansion of existing businesses or the creation of new businesses. Anyone needing any additional information concerning industrial lots should contact Randy at the Village Hall at 419-375-1056.

The Fort Recovery Friends of the Arts have once again put together a great listing of Sunday evening concerts beginning June 10^th. Continue to come and enjoy an evening with friends and neighbors while being entertained by some great shows. Also don’t forget to mark your calendars for this year’s Jubilee scheduled for June 14-17^th. All this information is or soon will be on the village website.

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)