CENTERBURG — Village Administrator Joe Hardin’s last village council meeting was a quiet one.
Hardin, who has been Centerburg’s VA for over 13 years, is leaving to pursue another opportunity. His last day is Sept. 30.
On Tuesday, Fire Chief Mark McCann recognized Hardin’s contributions, saying, “In almost three years here, I have worked with a lot of leaders, a lot of folks, and I can’t say enough what an asset he has been.”
In his update to council, Hardin said he spoke with Ohio Department of Transportation officials about ODOT’s rejection of the village’s TAP grant application. The application covered a downtown streetscape project between Clayton and Preston streets.
“Due to the cycle, it was quite competitive with a lot of submissions and a small of grant money available,” he said.
ODOT received around $50 million in requests but only had around $11 million to award this grant cycle.
The village plans to restart the process in the fall.
Council members briefly discussed gas and electric aggregation for village residents. They agreed to have the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio present information about aggregation at a future council meeting.
Council also took the following legislative actions:
•Tabled an ordinance authorizing the village to acquire health insurance coverage for full-time village employees as rates won’t be available for several weeks
•Gave a first reading to a resolution authorizing the City of Mount Vernon’s law director to provide prosecutorial services on behalf of the village in Mount Vernon Municipal Court
•Passed as an emergency a resolution accepting the amounts and rates determined by the Budget Commission of Knox County for village tax levies
•Gave a first reading to legislation providing for pay increases for village employees
•Went into executive session to discuss personnel matters
Miscellaneous
•Trick or Treat will be Monday, Oct. 31, from 5:30-7.
•Solicitor Kyle Stroh continues to work on the annexation agreement with Knox Community Hospital, Whistle Stop Properties, and property owner William Saunders.
•The village’s Planning Commission is reviewing changes made during the zoning audit.
•Kokosing Construction is ordering materials for the South Hartford Phase 2 and Church Street improvement projects.
•Sept. 9-15 is Fire Prevention Week. The Central Ohio Joint Fire District is working on a promotion with the schools. COJFD is also working on a Spooktackular event with the schools.
•The Sidewalk Committee completed its assessment but is on hold pending the new village administrator’s input on budget.
Councilman Greg Myers reported that the Regional Planning Commission approved rezoning a parcel on the southeast corner of Columbus and Tucker roads. He noted that housing starts and stormwater permits were down drastically compared to earlier this year.
He also noted that the county commissioners rejected large-scale wind projects but okayed utility solar projects on a case-by-case basis.
