WL Council passes 3% water and sewer rates increase

SHARE NOW

The West Liberty Village Council met Monday evening.

On the third and final reading, council passed several ordinances including the 2023 Appropriations Budget and a three-percent increase for the water and sewer rates which is now $1.82 per month.

The appropriations will now be given to the supervisors of each department. The registered contractor’s list will be posted on the www.mywestliberty.com website.

The West Liberty Fire Department applied for a FEMA grant for the purchase of a new fire truck. The award notification will take place between April 30th and September 30th, 2023.

The Land, Water, and Conservation grant, which is up to 50% reimbursement for the new restroom at Lions Park, should hear about the award notification in early spring. If the grant is received, the remaining amount would be split between the Lions Club and the Village. Eric Esh will be installing the electricity for the flagpole and shelter house at Sherman Ricketts Park (weather permitting) this week or next.

The nominees for the April Business of the Month were released. Those businesses nominated include Theresa’s Gingerbread House, Jones Country Store, and Hughes Plumbing. The March Business of the Month will be presented on Wednesday, March 1, at 11 a.m. at the Town Hall gazebo to Logan Lawn and Landscaping.

It was reported that fifteen gift bags have been distributed to new residents so far in 2023 and in December 2022.

There will be an opening on the Logan County Health Board with the retirement of Bob Harrison. Two applications have been received so far. If there are any interested nominees, you should contact the Logan County Health Department to submit an application and provide a resume. The District Advisory Council will meet on March 23 at 6 p.m. at the Logan County Fairgrounds Grange building to select the new board member.

Council also heard a report from Berry Digital Solutions.

They gave a presentation on the website traffic data from the My West Liberty website.

The report stated, in 2022, there were over 20,650 new users visiting the site (not including repeat visitors). There was a wide range of people that visited the website who are not local and the location varies. Urbana has the highest number, the second most was Ashburn, Virginia. They grew by 210% within the last year. Cleveland also grew by 60.24%. 82 people from Berlin, Ohio visited the website who had not previously searched for it in the past year. There was an increase of 123.53% from New York. The data speaks to the fact that West Liberty has the opportunity to capitalize on people who are not local but have an interest in the area.

The West Liberty Village Council will meet again on Monday, March 13 at 7 p.m.