Council OKs bidding on land

FORT RECOVERY — The village may be pursuing real estate.

It’s also looking at legislation to prevent the establishment of marijuana dispensaries within village limits.

Fort Recovery Village Council authorized Mayor Dave Kaup and village administrator Randy Diller to bid and purchase up to 89 acres of land located along the east edge of Fort Recovery. If acquired, hopes are to use the area for potential residential growth for the village with availability for some commercial businesses.

Council originally approved up to 52 acres during the regular meeting, but after an executive session it decided to allow for bidding on up to 89 acres. Diller explained this  would give the village an option to bid on the entire property on sale in an auction, noting it could depend on the price per acre.

Also Monday, council agreed to move forward with legislation to prohibit dispensaries from setting up shop in the village.

Ohio voters passed Issue 2 on Nov. 7, legalizing recreational marijuana for 21-year-old adults and older within 30 days.

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Ohio residents will be able to cultivate, manufacture, test and sell marijuana. 

They may also grow their own products at home, but there is a limit of six plants per person or 12 plants per residence.

It will take dispensaries about nine months to obtain licenses to sell recreational marijuana.

Similar to moves made when medical marijuana was introduced, Diller said the village could prohibit dispensaries from opening in the village.

Council also agreed Monday to pay $360,485.42 to Capital Electric for purchase and installation of a new traffic signal at the intersection of Elm and Butler Streets. The cost came in about $16,000 less than the engineer’s estimate.

Diller noted the company was the only bidder for the project and that it has regularly conducted maintenance work on the village’s sole stoplight at the intersection of Butler and Wayne streets.

Delivery for the traffic signal is expected to take between six and nine months.

In other business, council members:

•Accepted 0.909 acres of annexed land, which will be used for the Sawyer Overman Ninja Park.

•Set pay schedules for village personnel on a first reading. Employees will be seeing at least 4% raises next year, with police expected to get between 8% and 9% wage increases.

•Renewed a two-year contract with Erin Abels as the village’s solicitor, setting her rate at $965 monthly for the first year — that’s a $35 monthly increase from the current rate — and $1,000 monthly for the second year.

•Authorized and established publication requirements as Fort Recovery’s website and Facebook page on a first reading. The measure comes in response to the state’s decision to no longer require local entities to publish notices in the newspaper.

•Heard reconstruction work along Gwendolyn and Wiggs streets is expected to begin in February, with the work wrapping up by the end of May.