The Bellefontaine City Council met in regular session Tuesday night and handled a busy agenda. The council voted to bring two ordinances it had previously tabled back onto the agenda for consideration.
In his report to the council, Service-Safety Director Wes Dodds said that the city’s website has been remade and is up and running. Dodds said that the site will be updated frequently, and will have several features not available before, such as maps, information about aggregation, and announcements. Along with the refreshed website, the city now has an app. The app, available for Android and Apple devices, will enable users to receive push notifications and alerts from city officials. Dodds speaks about the new technology:
Police Chief Cris Marlow informed the council that several computers that needed updating have been installed, including one new computer that officers can use for report writing.
In the legislative portion of the meeting, two resolutions were considered:
- R25-06 – A resolution authorizing the chief probation officer of the Bellefontaine Municipal Court to apply for and accept a certain Community Corrections Act grant from the state of Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections for the operation of the probation department at the Bellefontaine municipal court. (Resolution adopted 100% vote)
- R25-07 – A resolution authorizing the Bellefontaine Municipal Court Judge and Clerk of Courts to apply for and accept a grant from the Ohio Supreme Court for the installation of a new computerized case management system. (Resolution adopted 100% yes)
The council also approved moving two ordinances that had previously been tabled back onto the agenda after voting to waive the required 48-hour public notice:
- 25-03 – An ordinance approving and adopting new planning and zoning regulations regarding Solar Energy Systems for the City of Bellefontaine is to be Codified as Chapter 1166 of the Codified Ordinances of said city. (Passed on first reading only, James, Springs, and Aler voting no)
- 25-04 – An ordinance by the Bellefontaine City Council exercising the city’s right under Ohio Revised Code Section 3780.25 to prohibit the sale of recreational marijuana within the municipal corporation by enacting Chapter 731 of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Bellefontaine to prohibit all adult-use cannabis operators within the municipal corporation. (Passed on first reading only, Fitzpatrick voting no)
One ordinance was presented for second reading:
- 25-05 – An ordinance authorizing and directing the City Engineer or Service-Safety Director to enter into contract with Logan County Engineer’s office and/or Harrison Township for a chip-seal overlay of the city portion of Township Road 46 North near State Route 47 toward County Road 13 and declaring an emergency. (Passed on second reading only, 100% yes)
One ordinance was adopted after its third reading:
- 25-01 – An ordinance authorizing and directing the Service-Safety Director to accept on behalf of the City of Bellefontaine certain real estate from the Board of County Commissioners in the vicinity of Cooper Avenue and declaring an emergency. (Adopted, 100% yes)
The next meeting of the Bellefontaine Council will be Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at 7:30 PM.
