GAMBIER — A major reduction in water loss, the parks plan, sidewalks and building repairs were just a few of the accomplishments of 2009 for the village of Gambier.
Mayor Kirk Emmert was unable to attend the meeting Monday night, but laid out his yearly report in written form to council and set forth some of his goals for the new year.
Emmert cited a big reduction in water loss as the No. 1 accomplishment for the village in 2009. He reported the average water loss in 2008 was 43.5 percent; that went down to 20 percent in 2009. Gambier buys its water from Mount Vernon and is billed by the gallon. Emmert also reported the village continued to replace internal water meters with pit meters installing 25 residential pit meters and 5 pit meters at Kenyon.
The wastewater plant continued to operate efficiently due to the efforts of Tim Black. The major project at the wastewater plant was sandblasting and painting the two clairifiers.
In the November election, Noble Jones was elected to his first term on village council, joining Audra Cubie, Betsy Heer and Liz Forman, all of whom won re-election.
Emmert reported Village Crew Leader Jeremiah Denuit passed his wastewater collection No. 1 exam. Emmert commended the village work crew of Denuit, Josh Miler, Randy Wells and part-time worker Ed Rager for their fine work during the year.
Sidewalks were completed from the Community Center on Meadow Lane to the Kenyon Athletic Center, albeit a little later than expected.
The parks plan was approved by council, minus the nature path portion of the plan because of a number of concerns by local residents.
The village also received a reimbursement of $8,595 from FEMA in 2009 to cover village expenditures incurred in dealing with the 2008 wind storm.
One of the downsides of 2009, Emmert said, was the reduction of library hours at the Gambier library due to reduced government funding. The passage of the library levy means that hours will be restored in 2010. The library received a grant from the Gates Foundation to support increased computer facilities at the Gambier library.
In the administrator’s report, Susan Hopkins told council the village maintenance department replaced all of the ceiling tiles in the hallway of the Community Center.
Hopkins also reported the average daily water usage for December 2009 was 140,500 gallons, compared to 163,700 gallons in December 2008.
The Floyd Browne group is in the process of writing grants for the village’s parks plan, according to Hopkins. The village has asked a number of groups to write letters of support for the plan; several have been received.
In other business:
•Council members were sworn in and Tom Stamp was elected council president.
•Council approved a third reading of an ordinance to rezone 112 Duff St. to Institution District I-1.
•Council approved a resolution to set regular council meetings.
•Council voted to renew membership in the Knox County Regional Planning Commission.
•Council gave authorization to apply for financial assistance for Public Recreational Purposes through Recreational Trails Program and Clean Ohio Trails Fund.
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