NEWSLETTER October, 2007
LEAF PICKUP / BRUSH PICKUP
It will soon be leaf season 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 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 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 6th ballot includes election of the mayor and two council members along with the replacement of two existing levies that support street improvements and general expense funds. These levies, which have been in place for many years, are 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 and other general expenses; and the street improvement fund which is obviously utilized to continue making improvements to our streets. 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 these important levies. Note: Remember that all Fort Recovery, Gibson and Recovery Township residents will continue to vote at the American Legion hall and as with all elections 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.
CEMETERY MAINTENANCE NEWS:
The Cemetery Board, in conjunction with the Village Administration, has recently posted signs at the cemetery entrances to provide notice that beginning November 1, 2007 that all cemetery decorating rules will be strictly enforced as posted. The rules are posted on signs on the building in Spring Hill Cemetery and on a sign board along the upper drive at Green Mound Cemetery. These rules have been in place for many years and we have gotten to the point with the amount of maintenance required that we must begin enforcing these rules to allow for proper maintenance of the cemetery properties. We do our best to keep our cemetery properties looking good and will appreciate everyone’s understanding and cooperation in this matter.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES & PROJECTS:
The construction work is continuing on the George Street Reconstruction Project. The new street lighting has been installed and is in operation providing much improvement in lighting up these neighborhoods. We look for completion around the end of October. Thank you to all involved for your patience and understanding during the project.
We at the Village continue to work 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 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. Also it would be very helpful and appreciated if everyone would take the opportunity to spray or pull the grass and weeds between the curb gutters and the asphalt along their property. We are hesitant to spray these areas due to possible overspray affecting adjoining yards and the fact that the Village maintains approximately 13 miles of roadway. If everyone would help with the area along their properties we can continue to make Fort Recovery an attractive site to the many visitors that come to our community each year.
The Fort Recovery Police Department is now conducting bicycle registration for all bicycles in the Fort Recovery community. This is a non-mandatory - free service that will allow your bicycles to be registered should they be lost or stolen. The Village over the years ends up with many unclaimed bicycles that are recovered from around the Village and with this service we may be able to better return them to their rightful owner. An upcoming registration day will be planned with more information provided at a later date but registration is available currently by contacting Chief Laux or Officer Wyerick at the Police Department at 419-375-2662
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 13 – 4:00-8:00 p.m. – Merchant’s Cruise-In
October 28 –-1:00 p.m. – Merchants Halloween Parade (meet at High School Commons area) – Fremont Street)
& 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. – Trick-or-Treat Hours
November 6 –- 6:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. – Election Day
November 11 –- 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Fort Recovery Merchants Christmas Open House
November 12 – Veterans Day Holiday observed