Village Manager's Report

For the July 5th, 2005 Council Meeting

The following report is intended to supplement the information related to the upcoming Village Council meeting. If you have questions or comments about these or other issues, please feel free to give me a call at (937) 767-1279 , or e-mail me at rhillard(at)yso.com.

A. Council Items:

Backflow Prevention Ordinance: Enclosed is a draft Backflow Prevention Ordinance and a letter from the OEPA regarding the Public Water Supply. Every four years the Village has the water system inspected, with recommendations to follow. The ordinance is a result of one of the recommendations. Troy Slone and Kelley Fox will be at the Council meeting to explain the program, and assist in a discussion about the proposed program.

Caboose Task Force: We will have an update for Council on the Caboose issue Tuesday evening. We have been working on volunteer interest and fine tuning the mission.

B. Agenda Planning:

Noise Ordinance: The Village recently attempted to enforce the noise ordinance, however the Greene County Courts ruled that we had deficiencies in the ordinance. The Village Solicitor reviewed the court documents and proposed an ordinance for Council discussion. However, the Village Solicitor stressed that these types of ordinances are very individualized for each community, and encouraged the Council to evaluate the changes, and make adjustments as needed. Staff is requesting Council review the proposed ordinance, and discuss at a future meeting. Staff will continue to review the document and may make additional suggestions as well.

Wage Adjustments: As part of the transition of the public works department over the last year, I will be recommending wage increases for two individuals who have taken on significant responsibilities, and have truly made noticeable differences in the improvement of the department operations. These individuals are Kelley Fox and Dave Conley. For the last year, they have taken on significant foreman-type roles, and made significant improvements in their respective departments. Kelley has worked tirelessly in the Electric/Water Distribution Activities, working on projects as the foreman, and most recently on his own initiative, studied and passed the backflow prevention course offered by the State. This will be crucial in the implementation of the backflow prevention ordinance, since Troy Slone has announced his retirement in December, 2005. Dave has taken the foreman role in the Street/Sanitary Sewer/Parks Activities. He has worked hard to be a leader in the department that was required when the responsibilities were increased last year. He provides a foreman role over the expanded activities yet, still accomplishes drainage work, mowing, and many other things, which go unnoticed. Further, he still provides support to the Electric Activity when staffing is low, or when emergency help is needed. In terms of the cost of these increases, with the recent retirement of Overtis Douglas, and additional retirements anticipated in the next couple years, I believe the next hires and the cost reductions resulting will off-set these expenses.

I would have already made these adjustments, however, both these individuals are at the top of their pay grade. This means that if the Council agrees, we will need to amend the Personnel Ordinance, to create a pay grade referred to as Electric/Water Foreman and Street/Sanitary Sewer and Parks Foreman. The final job descriptions will be presented at the next Council meeting, as well as the legislation making the adjustment.

C. Additional Issues:

2005 Pool Season: Weekly meetings continue with the Pool Managers. They are preparing to formally evaluate employees on a mid-year and final year basis. They have scheduled the July Fourth Midnight swim, and also a Warner Cable Day, which will involve give-aways, and free admission paid by Time Warner to the pool that day for children who are non-members. It will be held July 13, 2005, from 1:00 to 3:00pm. If individuals have suggestions for the pool, please feel free to speak with the Jen Malone, Pool Manager 767-9064, or me at 767-1279.

Final Thoughts…

During this period, I worked on a variety of issues with supervisors, communicated with organizations throughout the Village and pursued projects as necessary. I have met with Antioch College, held discussions with a variety of businesses, and attended the post street fair meeting with the Chamber of Commerce representatives and staff to discuss improvements. The pole contact agreements with Warner Communications are scheduled to be ready by the end of July. I will be in Michigan this weekend, and will be returning Tuesday afternoon. If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call at 767-1279.