FREDERICKTOWN — George Small addressed Fredericktown Village Council on Monday night regarding a vacant property he owns in the village.
Small explained that a large roof beam fell inside the house due to a leak and the building has been vacant since last summer. After Small’s insurance company had the house inspected, they refused to pay a claim stating they should have known about the situation earlier, he said.
Mayor Alan Kintner stated his concern is for the safety of the building.
An insurance representative was contacted to come to visit the property once again, and Small stated that if an offer is not made soon that he is ready to go to court with the matter.
“We’re still hoping for insurance help and hope we don’t have to go to court,” said Small. While he is addressing how to drain water in the structure so the same problem does not re-occur, Small said he would get a written statement to Kintner from an engineering firm assuring the building is safe, adding that he plans to move forward and keep the building.
Discussion continued about updating the village website. Councilman Ron Winget stated that he got word that it would be a conflict of interest for him to build the site and have his name on the site.
“I’ll build the site for free, without my name,” said Winget. “I’ll maintain it and update it.” He stated that getting a .gov website is more costly but more secure than a .com website. Council gave their approval for Winget to proceed with the website.
Councilman Paul Seymour logged a complaint about property owners in the village with junk items littering their property. He shared pictures of numerous residences in town with this problem.
“They’re just trash, and it’s time we did something about it,” said Seymour. Kintner stated he will get letters out to the property owners asking them to address the issue.
With the village of Fredericktown now responsible to mow and maintain areas along Ohio 13 and Ohio 95, Kintner proposed that council consider using a growth retardant in certain areas that would delay mowing until June. Bill Whaley has offered to apply the retardant, and only the material would have to be paid for. Cost for an application is about $400, according to Village Administrator Gary Gallogly. Council approved the motion to pursue applying the retardant and to do it soon before growth begins.
