The first reading of legislation to dissolve the Greenfield Civil Service Commission was held at Wednesday’s Greenfield Village Council meeting.
At council’s last meeting two weeks ago, a motion was approved to allow the village to move forward with the process of dissolving the commission, and also to add a memorandum of understanding to law enforcement contracts in regard to hiring and promoting due to lack of a civil service commission.
Greenfield City Manager Ron Coffey previously told The Times-Gazette that there was no discussion on the matter outside of the executive session at the May 18 council meeting. There was no discussion at Wednesday’s meeting either, and the only mention of the matter came with the reading of the legislation.
According to the ordinance signed by village law director Brian Zets, Greenfield as a village is not required by law to have a civil service commission.
The possibility of doing away with the commission comes nearly eight months after the beginning of litigation, which is still ongoing, against the village and the commission in regard to matters involving testing to fill former chief Tim Hester’s position. Currently, Sgt. Jeremiah Oyer is acting chief.
Without an emergency measure in the language of the legislation that allows council to suspend the rules and allow for an immediate vote on a matter, the legislation will have to go through two more readings before it can come to a council vote.
In other legislation, a resolution was passed authorizing Coffey to accept a bid from B M Quality Paving for the paving of the 300, 400, and 500 blocks of S. Second Street as well as the paving of the 500 and 600 blocks of McKell Avenue.
In other business, council member Mark Clyburn brought up a matter at the cemetery of graves not being properly covered. He said he noticed bare, untamped dirt mounded about two feet high on some graves. On another grave with mounded dirt, he said at one end the vault below was visible. Another grave, he said, had been covered more than a year ago and was still without grass.
Clyburn asked council members to visit the cemetery themselves and look around, adding that they need to “hold people accountable.”
The village handles the opening and closing of graves.
Coffey was to look into the matter, and on Thursday planned a visit to the cemetery to see for himself.
On another matter, “reports continue to trickle in,” Coffey said, of a recent phase one environmental assessment at Greenfield’s industrial park.
The most recent, he said, was “a good thing” for the village as it showed no indication of an attachment that would warrant any part of the site being nominated for the National Register of Historic Places.
Environmental studies were performed recently at both the Greenfield and Leesburg industrial parks. As previously reported, the sties having the studies complete is a necessary obstacle to overcome for the parks becoming certified with the state and increasing their visibility to prospective businesses.
Ten European hornbeam trees and three skyline locust trees have been planted as part of a project by Greenfield’s Tree Commission to replace dead and dying trees in the downtown area.
All money for the trees has been raised privately, Coffey reported, and more trees are anticipated to be planted at a later time.
Greenfield’s Community Wide Yard Sale is scheduled for June 10 and 11 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days. Yard sale maps will be available online and posted at city building and the library. For more information and how to submit information for your own yard sale, click on the event at the g3greenfield.org website. You can also go to the event’s Facebook page.
The Greenfield Village Council meets the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers on the first floor of the city building. The meetings are open to the public. To be put on the agenda, call the village offices at 937-981-3500.
Reach Angela Shepherd at 937-393-3456, ext. 1681, or on Twitter @wordyshepherd.
