CENTERBURG — A process that started in 2020 reached a culmination on Monday night when Centerburg Village Council approved the annexation of 113.457 acres into the village.
The land lies south of the village on Columbus Road (Routes 3/36). It consists of three property owners:
•Whistle Stop Properties Inc., 56.714 acres
•William Saunders, 51.28 acres
•Knox Community Hospital, 5.463 acres
The process was not always smooth. Property owners, the village, and Hilliar Township trustees worked through a variety of issues, including the type of annexation, township officials creating and then revoking a TIF District (Tax Increment Financing), and details of a pre-annexation agreement.
In January, KCH celebrated the opening of the Centerburg Health and Wellness Facility at 3595 Columbus Road. Since then, traffic has picked up on that stretch of roadway.
Councilman Greg Myers suggested the village start looking at future traffic control in the area of the hardware store, Twist ‘N Shake, and AMVETS. Mayor Greg Sands said he asked law enforcement to talk with the Twist ‘N Shake owners about creating a traffic flow around the business.
KCH officials have already asked the village to look at slowing down traffic past its facility. The village will check with the Ohio Department of Transportation about appropriate speed limits.
With the annexation, the village corporation line extends to where the Heart of Ohio Trail pedestrian bridge crosses Columbus Road. Sands said he counted 30 curb openings between Factory Street and the bike trail.
When school lets out, there is a constant stream of traffic. The village is considering having law enforcement stop traffic to reduce the time it takes busses to turn from Preston Street onto West Main.
Councilman Dave Beck said the additional traffic reinforces the need for a pedestrian crosswalk(s). The Knox County Active Transportation Plan recommends adding crossings at Hometown Market and Dollar General.
New playground
Tim Ellis reported on the proposed playground update at Memorial Park. Ellis volunteers on the Friends of Memorial Park Committee coordinated by the Knox County Area Development Foundation and Knox County Foundation.
Current equipment, in place since before 2000, consists of a set of swings and smaller toddler equipment which are broken down and missing pieces. Ellis said the swings and slide would remain, but they are not repairable.
New equipment will cost around $183,000, plus an estimated excavating cost of $33,000. Ellis said the goal is to have volunteers donate the labor and, hopefully, the excavating.
“I am pretty confident we can get people from the community together to build,” he said. “I don’t doubt that at all.”
Commitments from countywide entities are between $100,000 to $115,000 thus far. The committee is pursuing grants. As fiscal agent, the Knox County Foundation will accept donations; for small amounts, the KCF will accept credit cards.
Ellis said the committee would like more Centerburg involvement, both on the committee and financially.
The goal is to start installation in the next two weeks. Phase 1 is an area with no ADA access, Phase 2 has ADA access.
“If we can raise enough money to do Phase 2 right out of the gate for ADA access, we will,” Ellis said. “The primary difference is the surface.”
Regarding legislation, council passed on third reading a resolution authorizing the online sale of village property valued at $1,000 or more. Council members waived the three readings and passed the following legislation as emergencies:
•An ordinance creating an administrative assistant position and eliminating the utility billing clerk position. The administrative assistant will support all village departments; duties include the current utility billing clerk responsibilities, zoning (database enforcement violations and applications), webmaster, and updating village code, among others. The utility clerk’s hours will expand from 12 to 32 at a rate between $18.16 and $22.74 per hour.
•A $2,000 one-year contract for services between the village and the ADF
•An ordinance allowing the village administrator to exceed her spending limit and spend up to $21,865.20 to upgrade the computer system by buying a new shared server from Advanced Business Communications Inc.
Reports
•Regional Planning. Mayor Sands reported there were 220 lots splits countywide in 2022 covering 2,649 acres. Of the 220, 139 are buildable lots. Nearly 310 acres were removed from CAUV. Hilliar Township had 29 splits covering 236 acres with 22 buildable lots; Liberty Township had 12 splits covering 88.7 acres with nine buildable lots; and Milford Township had 13 splits covering 146.7 acres and six buildable lots.
•Village Administrator. VA Terri Wise said a small section is left to complete on the waterline installation on South Hartford Avenue. Thus far, she has received only three complaints. She expects completion in four to six weeks.
Signage will soon go up relating to the parking changes council enacted last month. As crews fix potholes, they will evaluate the streets and update the village’s street conditions report. Crews will also monitor the street lights AEP is supposed to fix; Wise will report to AEP which ones have not yet been fixed.
•COJFD Fire Board. Chief Mark McCann said he hopes to take possession of the new medic by March 15. The department will sell the oldest of its three medics when it arrives. The firefighters union recently ratified its contract. McCann is working on getting information out about the replacement levy on the May 2 ballot.
