DANVILLE — New police officers, new vehicles and water leaks were discussed at the Danville Village Council meeting Tuesday.
Lasko, a new K-9 officer for the village, was sworn in as a police officer by Mayor Bob Dile. Sgt. Tom Looney of the police department has been training with the German shepherd, which will be used in a variety of ways by the department.
Looney was also behind some other good news for the village, as it was announced Danville will be receiving a police cruiser to replace the 1996 Crown Victoria currently in use. Looney and Lasko were training with officers from Genoa Township, near Westerville, when officers told Looney they were getting a new cruiser. The officers said they could transfer to Danville the 2002 vehicle they were replacing, at no cost to the village. The only costs the village will incur will be a new paint job and the transfer of police equipment.
The news wasn’t quite so good on the water front. The village had a major water leak on Saturday; employees had to work in below zero weather for nearly 12 hours to fix it. The village received several other calls from residents asking it to fix leaks, but they were on the resident’s property and village employees are, by law, not allowed to fix those leaks.
Mayor Bob Dile said that when the leak is on a resident’s property, such as in pipes under the house or in the basement, it’s up to the resident to either fix the leak themselves or call a plumber. Residents were asked to help curb the problems by insulating pipes, letting the water trickle in the sink or by other measures in an effort to keep the pipes from breaking when it gets cold outside.
Village administrator Robert Shipley asked council for permission to purchase proper boots for working in frigid water and a space heater to help unfreeze supplies in the back of the truck. Council granted him permission.
Village clerk Laurie Vess reported to council on her findings with workers’ compensation rates for the village. Council had decided not to renew the village’s membership in the Ohio Municipal League at a previous meeting, but Vess discovered that workers’ comp rates would go from $15,000 to $50,000 if the village was not a member of OML. Council then voted to join OML and pay the $468 membership fee.
Council moved its February meetings back a week. The meetings will be Feb. 9 and 23 at 8 p.m. in the municipal building.
At 8:51 p.m., council went into executive session to discuss personnel. No action was taken following the executive session.
