Greenfield Village Council has a seat to fill after the resignation of Kyle Barr, who just started the third year of his four-year term.
The matter was brought up during council’s regular meeting Tuesday, with council members agreeing to fill the seat through the same process used about a year ago after Mark Branham resigned.
Council members will accept petitions from any residents interested in serving the remainder of Barr’s term, which runs through Dec. 31, 2023.
The qualifications are that the interested person must be a registered voter in Ohio, at least 18 years old, and live within Greenfield’s corporation limits. Additionally, the petition requires 25 signatures, responses to questions within the petition packet, and a resume.
The packets are available on the table in the third floor lobby of the City Building. Completed petition packets are due to the village offices by noon on Feb. 28.
In other business, Bruce Decker has been recognized as the February Citizen of the Month for the selfless and heroic efforts that sent him into the freezing waters of Paint Creek recently to save the life of a person in trouble that likely would have died without his intervention.
City manager Todd Wilkin said Decker “is representative of the Greenfield community as a whole.”
The awards given away each month are plaques bearing the name of those recognized. As Wilkin lifted the plaque to hand it to Decker, he said the plaque meant nothing in relation to the deed performed by Decker, that of risking one’s life for another.
February’s Employee of the Month Award went to Andy Bolender of the street department. He was nominated by a citizen for his work ethic and dedication to the job, both things that led to Bolender’s extra efforts last Sunday in helping citizens and businesses to clear trouble spots of ice and snow.
Wilkin said Bolender is “an excellent example of a Greenfield employee.” The city manager went on to extend gratitude to the whole of the street department for its efforts to clear streets of the recent snow and ice.
In his report to council, Wilkin said he recently met with Gary Silcott, the village’s engineer of record, to discuss projects for the year and the funding to pursue to pay for several of the projects.
This includes submitting a request for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to the county commissioners for infrastructure work on Fayette Street. It’s a project the village has applied for funding for twice previously through the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC), but it has never garnered enough points to make it a high priority for funding through that channel, Wilkin said. The village, however, will be applying for funding through the OPWC for infrastructure work on a portion of Fourth Street. The projects on Fayette and Fourth streets, when completed, will eliminate a “significant amount” of inflow and infiltration issues in that area that are a result of the aged infrastructure.
Wilkin also reported that a recent industrial roundtable meeting that included businesses, organizations and education representatives left the village with a to-do list. The input and participation in the meetings are something Wilkin said the administration is grateful for.
One of the items that came up at the meeting, he said, was last year’s successful job fair that was held on the City Building courtyard. One of the businesses at the roundtable meeting suggested holding another job fair, this time piggybacking on McClain High School’s Community Service Day, an idea that was well received. More information will be provided as the May event draws closer.
The city manager also talked about a career readiness development meeting held last week at McClain High School where the village administration was invited to discuss work that is being pursued through the Highland County workforce development think tank, born from an industrial roundtable meeting held last year.
The meeting’s purpose was to develop a school-centered and supported approach to career preparedness, Wilkin said, for all high school students. One of the things discussed was the importance of local business involvement in the Highland County Business Advisory Council (BAC). At the last BAC meeting, Wilkin said, there were no businesses present.
Upcoming events:
* Saturday Feb. 19 — Brews & Stews — sponsored by G3, the event is from 6 – 9 p.m. at Catch 22 Sports Pub and Scotty’s 22 Brews. For more event information, go to the Grow Greater Greenfield Facebook page.
* Tuesday Feb. 22 — Ribbon cutting and grand opening at Scotty’s 22 Brews at 2:22 p.m. Go to the Scotty’s 22-Brew Facebook page for more information.
* The TYBO McDonald’s Classic Basketball Tournament is running through Sunday Feb. 20 on the Greenfield school’s campus. Go to the Tiger Youth Basketball Organization Facebook page to get more information.
* Baseball and softball sign-ups are now open with the Mitchell Park Youth Sports League. Go to the organization’s Facebook page for more information.
Angela Shepherd is a correspondent for the village of Greenfield.
