The West Liberty Council met in regular session on Monday evening.
The Beautification Award Winners were awarded to the residence of Rick and Carol Hemphill.
The village will hold a West Liberty Pink Out and Health Fair this Thursday. The Health Fair is from 3-7 p.m. in the Opera House. Many area businesses are providing free health screenings to anyone who would like to attend. Then, a dinner and Pink Out will be held in the evening.
Mayor Jill McKelvey explains what the West Liberty Pink Out and Health Fair this Thursday will entail:
Shane Freehauf from the Street Department is moving to a full-time operator for the Water/Wastewater Department. His first day will begin October 2. Mark Nelson will replace Freehauf and will move up to the “first employee” of the Street Department. Other applications for the Street Department came in and will be reviewed.
For the troop banners and brackets, C&M Laser Works delivered customized brackets to the street department this past Friday. On October 18, West Liberty-Salem students will help install the banners.
The American flag holders and poles for downtown West Liberty are in the process of being researched to find the most convenient price. The council decided to use the old ones for Veterans Day this year and continue the project next year to have more time to purchase the flag holders and poles.
The West Columbus Street Bridge has been closed since 2013. The TAP grant needs letters of support from the community to reopen the bridge to pedestrians and bicyclists.
The 2024 West Liberty calendar project is wrapping up and will be available for purchase soon. Calendars will be sold for $10 each, and include village events throughout the year so that purchasers can stay up to date on all the events the village holds. Other information and fun facts about West Liberty are also included. Each month features a West Liberty business.
There have been a large amount of mosquitos in West Liberty recently since Labor Day. Jackson Center has used Bug-A-Boo Pest Control in Covington to rid their mosquitos and they now have hardly any mosquitos. A quote is in the works to have Bug-A-Boo hired to rid West Liberty’s mosquitos next summer.
The following businesses have been nominated for November Business of the Month: West Liberty Healing Arts, Jennings Farley & Seeley Funeral Home & Crematory, and LeVan’s Excavating, Inc.
The West Liberty-Aggregation Enrollment directions are now available to the public. You may view the directions here.
Resolution 2023-R10 was adopted as a property owner beside the Shell gas station is in violation of zoning codes. The council can assess the improvements and property tax now that it’s been repaired. The property is considered private property.
A Safety Council meeting was held last Thursday. A council member attended and explained to the council that the meeting was about suicide, specifically about mental health problems in the workplace. It was reported that alcohol is one of the main contributing factors for young girls to drink, become depressed, and think about suicide. There’s been a 40% increase in girls ages 14-21 years old committing or trying to commit suicide in the last 10 years. Therefore, as reported earlier this month, citizens in the village of West Liberty have submitted petitions to place alcohol sales on the November 7 General Election ballot. The council member was opposed to alcohol in the village because of the facts about alcohol presented during the meeting. The council member believes the problems outweigh the benefits it would bring to the community.
Next year, the fire department is in need of 17 new air paks. They are $8,000 each. The fire department would be satisfied with replacing 10 and the other seven be purchased in the future. They also need a compressor station which is $60,000. The fire chief is trying to get a FEMA grant to help cover the costs. The council wants to help raise funds for the department to help them possibly with the proceeds from the Solar Eclipse viewing this April. A decision on this will be made at a later date.
In the Parks and Recreation Report, it was mentioned that permanent cornhole boards will be added to Lions Park and the council needs a quote. On October 18, the West Liberty-Salem High School environmental science class will be winterizing Ricketts Park. They will help trim back perennials. They will also dig holes to plant trees at Lions Park.
The next council meeting will take place Monday, October 9 at 7 p.m.