Hillsboro resident Pam Limes voiced concerns at Thursday’s Hillsboro City Council meeting about problems dogs in the city.

“People are not following the leash laws, so I just thought maybe the whole town needed a refresher course in what they need to do to contain their dogs,” she said.

Limes also said she would like to see paving work done on Westover Drive and Meadow Lane. “There are two people in administration that live on those streets, and they will not do the paving until they are no longer in office,” she said. “I got 48 people who signed that said they’d like us to just consider it.”

Hillsboro Safety and Service Director Brianne Abbott, later in the meeting said, “We have received a few other inquiries in regard to loose and vicious dogs, and I just want to take the opportunity to remind the citizens and counsel that the city does have dog control regulations.”

Abbott said there were eight commercial and nine residential building permits issued in March, and that construction continues on the Roberts Lane extension project. She said the project has an anticipated completion date of August of 2024.

“The city, unfortunately, was not selected in the first round awards for the Appalachian Community Grant for the Crossroads Park project; however, additional award dates are expected in the upcoming weeks, so keep your fingers crossed that we will be selected in those funding rounds,” said Abbott.

She said both the Harmony Lake Playground and the pickleball courts at Railroad Street Park are anticipated to begin installation next month. She said the North High Street flood-line replacement project will begin in the spring, and there are additional items that will be completed for the Phase III Storm Sewer project.

“The bid opening for the 2024 various paving projects took place yesterday with Miller Mason Paving Company being the apparent low bidder,” said Abbott. “The bids came in quite a bit lower than the estimate, and with that being said there is a possibility that we can add additional paving for this year, and if so, you’ll see legislation coming before you soon.”

Abbott said the city has recently hired Seth Rose as a code enforcement officer. “With spring upon us, we wanted to remind council and residents of some of the items we will be enforcing,” she said. “Those items include tall grass, swimming pool enclosures, sidewalks and driveways in proper repair, parking location compliance — mainly parking in landscaped areas — and disposal of rubbish.”

Abbott said the developers for the Marriott Hotel project are in the process of revising plans for compliance with the building department and intend to break ground on the project in the third quarter of 2024. She said that Horizon was completing a fiber to home infrastructure project in Hillsboro that was recently purchased by Shentel. She said Shentel will continue with the project, and she expects to have updates on the timelines in the upcoming weeks.

Abbott said several community events will be happening in the near future. She said a trout fishing will be at Liberty Park on Saturday, April 27; a free community cookout will be held Friday, May 3; and the farmers market will open Thursday, May 18.

Parks Committee Chair Don Storer said the committee discussed the acquisition of the former public swimming pool on West Main Street by the city during a recent meeting. “It was discussed at length about continuing our evaluation of the viability of assuming the pool into the park system of the city of Hillsboro,” he said. “The committee decided to continue the discussion later as it was learned that a pool board meeting was scheduled to happen.”

Street and Safety Committee Chair Adam Wilkin said the topics discussed during a recent committee meeting were park security, food vendors and uptown parking. It was agreed that an offer to provide park security through a subscription service at a cost of $289 per month would be brought before the entire city council.

The committee discussed fees charged to food vendors for special events such as the Highland County Fair, the Festival of the Bells, and the farmers market. “This committee decided that these special events should receive an exemption,” said Wilkin. “We don’t think it would be a good idea to add more fees on top of what they already must pay to serve our community at these special events.”

Council member Jo Sanborn said she did not believe the farmers market should be part of an exemption.

Seven pieces of legislation were passed during the meeting.

An ordinance amending a section of the city ordinances pertaining to amusement devices was unanimously approved.

An Ohio Department of Transportation resolution for pedestrian crosswalks was passed with council members Jo Sanborn and Dan Baucher voting against it. Council member Greg Maurer was absent for the meeting.

An ordinance amending sections of the city ordinances pertaining to water rates was moved to a third reading.

A resolution establishing staggered four-year terms of office among members of the Hillsboro City Council was moved to a second reading.

A resolution authorizing the mayor to prepare and submit an application for the Fiscal Year 2024 Community Development Allocation was unanimously passed.

An ordinance amending a section of city ordinances pertaining to the official emblem of the city in order to create a new logo was moved to a second reading.

An ordinance to make supplemental appropriations in order to allow the city to spend money received from registrations for Shafer Park was unanimously passed.

An ordinance to make supplemental appropriations to pay for a scholarship program for Hillsboro High School was unanimously passed.

An ordinance to make supplemental appropriations to make payments for the Phase III Sewer Project was unanimously passed.

An ordinance amending a section of the city ordinances pertaining to mobile food vendors was moved to a second reading.

An ordinance amending a section of the city ordinances to allow a cash drawer at Shafer Park at the concession stand was unanimously approved.

Reach John Hackley at 937-402-2571.