FR council weighs request for zoning

FORT RECOVERY — The question is not so much whether eight lots on the east side of Ohio 49 should be annexed, but rather how they should be zoned if they become part of the village.
Fort Recovery Village Council spent more than a half hour Monday discussing the request for annexation and zoning, which may hinge on the possibility of the construction of a Dollar General store. It considered a similar request in 2012, ultimately voting 6-0 against rezoning a lot at the intersection of Ohio 49 and Industrial Drive.
Council also took the next step toward instituting a pair of license registration taxes and got an update on the project to add a new parking lot at Community Park.
The discussion about annexation and zoning came after Fort Recovery Planning Commission voted Feb. 9 to recommend a request as presented. That would include zoning four lots as residential and four as commercial in an area east of Ohio 49 just north of Commerce Street.
Council members Rod Thobe, Dave Garman, Al Post, Dave Kaup, Cliff Wendel and Dave Bretz touched on a variety of issues regarding the possible change, including possible effects on the downtown business district and the need for commercial space to allow expansion.
Though the zoning request is not directly tied to Dollar General, the store is believed to be the likely buyer for the property. That left council members with the dilemma of whether they should look at the request on its face or consider Dollar General as part of the equation.
“If we didn’t have any idea what was going to go in that area there, would we be opposed to making that a commercial lot,” asked Mayor Roger Broerman.

Kaup, who also serves on the planning commission, said he voted in favor for recommending council make the changes, but remains against having a Dollar General in the village.
“I still don’t think that … there’s a reason for that to be here,” Kaup said. “There’s nothing that they bring … that we don’t have. And if it hurts, or we lose, an existing business in this town because of it, it’s wrong.”
Council member Cliff Wendel suggested talking with business owners in other areas, such as Coldwater and St. Henry, in an effort to find out how they were impacted when Dollar General stores were built in their area.
A public hearing on the annexation and zoning request is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 16, prior to council’s regular meeting. Council also plans to discuss the request at its March 2 meeting.
“It’s not an easy answer,” said Broerman. “It really isn’t.”
Council passed the $5 license taxes on second reading after village administrator Randy Diller noted that they represent a way for Fort Recovery to recoup some of the money lost because of the elimination of the estate tax and cuts to the Local Government Fund. He told council members the village took in more than $70,000 less in 2014 than it did in 2012 because of those changes.
The taxes, which will need to be approved on third reading before taking effect, would each represent an additional $5 cost when renewing a license plate and registration.
Diller told council Fort Recovery Park Board has made some minor revisions to its parking lot project, removing seeding and signs. That work, he said, can be handled by village employees.
The lot was also made smaller by 10 feet in order to keep a line of existing trees.
The changes are expected to reduce the cost of the project, which was estimated at $150,000. Diller hopes to have a bid package by the end of February with a contractor to be selected by early April.
In other business, the council:
•Discussed possibilities for improving the intersection of Elm and Butler streets (Ohio 49 and 119), with Diller telling the board another traffic study is scheduled for late March. The intersection must meet ODOT standards in order for the state to install a four-way traffic light. Other options include making the intersection, which is currently a two-way stop, a four-way stop with stop signs. Diller is also meeting with property owners to talk about acquiring rights of way to expand the intersection.
•Heard an update from Diller about proposed work to renovate the village’s two wastewater lagoons. Diller said initial estimates put the project at about $100,000. The council has also discussed the possible addition of a third lagoon.
•Selected Ivan Kaffenberger to serve a six-year term on the cemetery board.