FREDERICKTOWN — The revitalization of Fredericktown’s historic downtown was discussed Monday evening at the Fredericktown Council meeting. Tricia Steyers, from the downtown shop Taste of Country, brought some new ideas for council to consider, as well as input from downtown business owners.
Steyers said that even though the Fredericktown Downtown Revitalization Committee officially disbanded several years ago, many of the goals set by that committee have actually proceeded.
A town clock, a farmers market, improvements at the historical museum and fresh paint on some of the building facades downtown were mentioned as desires of the committee that have been realized.
“The revitalization has not come to a standstill,” Steyers told council.
She said the slow progress made in recent years is paying off, but there is much left to do.
“I think we have a lot of beautiful buildings with a lot of potential downtown, with beautiful facades,” Steyers said.
She said a survey she recently handed out to downtown merchants and business owners gave some insight into the issues facing the downtown businesses.
“We have major issues with these buildings on the inside,” Steyers said. “Most would probably not pass code inspections.”
Steyers and her husband have put extensive renovations into their building since purchasing it, and said that some businesses have put almost $100,000 worth of major improvements into their buildings. This has been a hardship for some of the small business owners.
“When buildings take all of your funds, we can’t reinvest in our businesses,” she said.
The survey showed that businesses would like a better line of communication with council, and with other boards, including the Tomato Show Board of Directors. Steyers said she hopes to help bridge that gap.
She also said there is a “perceived indifference” among merchants regarding the village council’s interest in their struggles downtown.
“They didn’t feel like the village was actively seeking them out to ask what they need,” said Steyers.
The need for money for major improvements downtown has led Steyers to look into the availability of grant money for that purpose.
“I would like to put together a group, and form a nonprofit to look for grant funds,” she said.
Steyers also asked council to consider setting aside some money for a fund to help businesses with improvements that benefit the downtown.
Mayor Roger Reed said that when council puts together the next budget, a line item was a possibility for that purpose.
Reed said downtown revitalization is important to him, and that he has always supported it. He added that people in the village need to support the downtown businesses to keep them there.
Steyers said that making large amounts of money was not what motivated most small business owners.
“Positive feedback from the community is what we thrive on,” she said.
Police Chief Jerry Day spoke to council about a recent set of comments in The Knox County Citizen written by editor Judy Divelbiss. In those comments which appeared on the front page, Divelbiss questioned whether Fredericktown was safe. She wrote that the Citizen “continues to hear about break-ins, arrests, vandalism, etc.”
The comments also stated that Day had not turned over incident reports to the press despite repeated requests, and one request to Reed.
Day said he felt the characterization that he would not cooperate was inaccurate. He told council that after assigning one of his officers the weekly task of writing up run reports, and not seeing those reports in the paper, he stopped requiring his officer to compile the weekly list.
“If you’re not going to put it in the newspaper, I’m not going to do it anymore,” Day told Divelbiss who was covering the council meeting for the Citizen.
Day said a member of the newspaper staff would be able to come down to compile the list each week, but added that certain information would not be released. When Divelbiss asked for a clarification of what was not going to be released, Day said he would not list the names on reports of a sexual offense or a drug offense. He said once charges were filed, names could be released.
Divelbiss declined to go into more detail at the council meeting, saying the issues had been settled during a meeting between Day and herself earlier in the day.
In other business, council approved Ordinance 2008-16, passing it as an emergency. The ordinance clarified contradictory language in a 2007 ordinance regarding the village income tax. The village gives full credit to tax paid to another municipality, and the language is now clear on that point.
Ordinance 2008-17 was passed as an emergency, allowing for the immediate issue of $155,000 worth of bonds for the purpose of paying part of the cost of acquiring property on West Sandusky Street. The village recently purchased the property in order to make street improvements.
Ordinance 2008-18 was also passed as an emergency, to allow an opt-out issue on the November ballot regarding a voluntary natural gas aggregation program. Reed said he believed the program could especially benefit schools and churches, and council would like to present the choice to consumers.
A public meeting will be planned before the election to allow the public to ask questions regarding the option.
Councilman Alan Kintner and Reed said that after researching the matter and checking with other municipalities regarding the legality of outdoor woodburning furnaces and their use in town, they believed a temporary moratorium on the use of such devices in the village was warranted.
Citing health and safety concerns, Village Solicitor Todd Drown was asked to write legislation restricting the use of such furnaces until the EPA sets regulations on proper use.
“These things burn so hot, you burn anything in them. That’s my concern,” Reed said.
Kintner and Reed said the resolution would be a temporary measure, allowing further research and policy development.
Village Administrator Gary Gallogly said recent problems encountered by the contractor working on the new sewer plant, PAE Inc. of Dayton, were troubling.
The new structure must be built below ground water level, and the holes being worked in are filling with water; the contractor is reportedly having difficulty pumping in order to allow further construction.
Drown said a claim on the contractor’s performance bond was an alternative available to the village, if the problems are not solved in a satisfactory way.
“There was every reasonable expectation of hitting large volumes of water,” Gallogly said of the problems. “We’ll wait and see what happens.”
Council approved the payment of June’s bills in the amount of $116,431. Council also asked Drown to write a resolution for its approval, accepting a bid from Small’s Asphalt Paving, Inc. for street paving in the village. Ninety thousand dolalrs worth of work will take place this fall.
Council adjourned into executive session at the request of Day to discuss personnel issues within the police department.
