New FR police officer is introduced

FORT RECOVERY — The village may soon have a new police officer.

Coldwater native Adam Diller introduced himself to Fort Recovery Village Council Monday. Diller, 19, was given a conditional offer for a job at Fort Recovery Police Department recently and is going through required testing.

“I was looking to stay local –– I really want to work around here,” Adam Diller said. “It’s a great community all around Mercer County, Auglaize, surrounding areas …. I feel like it’s going to be a good place for me.”

If he passes the tests, he’ll be hired as the third village patrolman. Adam Diller will fill the vacancy left when Brandon Wyerick, who worked for the department for 14 years, began working at the street department March 1.

Council amended the wage ordinance to reflect his potential hire.

Paving, manhole work and striping have been finished on Elm Street, explained village administrator Randy Diller. Traffic has been re-routed back to Ohio 49 through Fort Recovery, he said, and Broadway Street is now closed for asphalt work and other construction.

Diller noted the village cannot put stop signs at the intersection of Wayne and Broadway streets until after it appeals for officially re-routing Ohio 49 along Broadway and Elm streets. (Council decided May 17 to put four-way stops at the intersection for safety reasons.)

Construction is expected to begin on Butler Street (Ohio 119) by 2025. Ohio Department of Transportation approved Fort Recovery for a $1,026,000 grant for the project recently. The project –– it is estimated at just over $3 million –– will include adding a new water line, sidewalks, curbs and street, and replacing the traffic light at Wayne Street.

Council also approved for the village to enter an agreement with the Ohio Water Development Authority to refinance a loan it had through the United States Department of Agriculture for sanitary sewer systems.. Diller estimated the rate would be 1.8%.

Also Monday, council approved a request from Fort Recovery Merchants Association to close the north 100 block of Wayne Street Aug. 5 for a street fair.