October, 2011
LEAF PICKUP / BRUSH PICKUP
Leaf season has returned and again 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 place 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 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 pick-up will continue through the fall weather and will be conducted on the 1st Monday only of each month. 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 prior to snow removal time.
UPCOMING ELECTION DAY:
The upcoming November 8th ballot includes the renewal of one existing levy for General Expenses. This levy, which has been in place for many years, is utilized to pay general fund expenses which include public safety (police department, street lighting, etc.) along with general operations of the village. As a renewal levy it will not mean any additional funds over what you are currently paying on your Real Estate taxes. 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. Note: Reminder that all Fort Recovery, Gibson and Recovery Township residents will return to the American Legion to vote and as with all elections your are required to bring a document of identification. Any questions can be addressed to the Mercer County Board of Elections at 419-586-2215.
SEWER SEPARATION PROJECTS:
Phase I of the Sewer Separation Projects has been substantially completed over the past couple years. This included street reconstruction of S. Wayne St, S. Elm St and Wiggs St. along with many other areas of sanitary and storm sewer work. This was a very large undertaking and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we completed this long project. Village crews will continue to complete some of the smaller projects within the Phase I area that need some sewer work over the next couple years. We have begun the final design and planning stages for the Phase II area that will include the entire northeast corner of town along with some isolated areas around the high school, Railroad Street, and include upgrades to the major sewer lines on Boundary St. and E. Butler St. At this time we do not anticipate any total street reconstruction projects being included in Phase II. We are targeting 2013 for the actual construction but that will depend on the availability of funds from the various funding sources. It is our plan to try to complete Phase II with no or very little additional sewer fees being added to our monthly utility bills. As part of the design stage, we will be going around to the homes in the areas which need sewer work and will be doing our best to locate existing
lines. This may require village personnel gaining access to basements or even some minor digging to locate these older, unmapped sewer lines. Upon completion of Phase II, the Village will be able to eliminate our various overflows, which will bring us into compliance with OEPA regulations for the long term. As part of maintaining these systems we will continually inspect and check for cross connections with down spouts, sump pumps and other storm water connections that are in our sanitary sewer system. It is important that we locate as many of these cross connections as we complete the separation project to eliminate costly work for the homeowners after the projects are completed. As we work toward the separation of our sewer systems, we also are completing some upgrades to our lagoon system to help us better treat the waste and position the village to be in compliance for many years.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES & PROJECTS:
NOTES: As part of our recent street projects, the Village implemented various “No Truck” routes which include the brick street portion of N. Wayne Street and S. Wayne Street from the traffic light to Milligan Street. We appreciate the cooperation of our local companies in complying with these routes and will continue to police these areas to keep them safe and to prolong the useful life of our recently completed infrastructure work.
A quick reminder to everyone to help keep the storm water catch basins near your home cleaned off during the leaf season (& year round) to help us avoid backups in rain events.
The water department personnel continue the process of replacing the older meters with updated automatic read meters. They will contact homeowners to gain access to the meter location as time allows to complete this change out. The new meters provide us many capabilities in tracking usage and trying to spot leaks in the system along with making monthly meter readings much more efficient.
The Village now has a Tree Commission to assist in better handling the planting, removal and general maintenance of all trees located in the public right-of way. Specific rules now apply to all trees located in the curb lawn areas along streets and on any other public property. Anyone wishing to plant a tree on the public right-of-way area or desiring maintenance on existing trees should contact the village offices or Mayor Broerman regarding the policies and procedures for the Tree Commission.
The Village website at www.fortrecovery.org is a good source for upcoming activities, information about village operations including the utilities and income tax departments, along with other general news and updates. The Village also has a Facebook page to put out reminders, notices and general information. We will be completing some upgrades over the new few months to include more information and news. Please be sure to check out both sites.
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 30 –-3:15 p.m. – Merchants Halloween Parade (meet at High School Commons area), costume judging -
Van Trees Park at 3:30 pm and Trick-or-Treat hours from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
November 8–- 6:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. – Election Day @ Fort Recovery American Legion Hall
November 11 –- Veterans Day Holiday
November 12 –- 2:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – Fort Recovery Merchants Christmas Open House