Sidewalk planning

FORT RECOVERY — The village is working on plans to ensure new sidewalks are well-lit and looking at its policy for maintaining existing sidewalks.

Fort Recovery Village Council discussed lighting plans for a multi-use trail near Fort Recovery Elementary/Middle School and looked at potential updates for its sidewalk maintenance policy.

Assistant village administrator Aaron Rengers told council members that bids for a multi-use trail along Ohio 49, Sharpsburg Road and Flaler Road will be opened on Jan. 26. He said he expects the project to be awarded in March, with construction to come this summer.

The project, which has been in the works since 2021, will connect businesses on the south end of the village to the elementary/middle school and continue to Flaler Road.

The project is 90% funded through Ohio Department of Transportation's Systemic Safety Funding grant, with the village's estimated match at $200,000.

Rengers told council members they will need to make a decision about street lights in the area and whether they want to have lighting on one side of the streets or both. Council members Scott Pearson and Lucas Knapke advocated for lighting on both sides of the roadway. Mayor Dave Kaup agreed that it is nicer to have both sides lit, referencing the lighting along Ohio 118 on the north side of St. Henry.

They asked Rengers to provide cost estimates for both options.

Rengers also told the council that Ohio Department of Transportation has completed environmental work for a Safe Routes to School program and that right-of-way work can begin this week. The Safe Routes project calls for installing 625 feet of sidewalk to connect the elementary/middle school to Sharpsburg Road, building a crosswalk at the intersection of Butler and First streets in front of Fort Recovery High School and improving the visibility of markings at the intersection of Butler, Boundary, William and Third streets just east of the high school.

Council members also discussed potential updates to the village’s sidewalk maintenance policy that was originally approved in 2021.

Rengers said proposed updates to the policy would shift sidewalks from being inspected once every three years to once every four years. The policy lays out a system of inspection and requirements for repairs. Property owners are notified of any needed repairs by May 15, with work to be complete by July 31.

Currently, repairs are required if there is:

•A half-inch height difference between adjoining blocks

•A three-quarter-inch gap between blocks

•A slope with a change of more than 1 inch

•A crack that is at least a half-inch wide

•An area where grating or covers are not flush with the adjoining sidewalk

Pearson expressed concern about the limited time between notification and completion of repairs. He suggested possibly extending the deadline to Aug. 31.

The council will address the sidewalk policy again at a future meeting.

Rengers also reported that engineering consulting firm Kleinfelder has started work, including some surveying, related to a new wastewater system plan. Council members Al Post, Dave Schmitz, Amy Wendel, Shawn Thobe, Pearson and Knapke also approved applying for a Water Pollution Control Loan Fund loan to help cover the cost to continue with the design process. (Kleinfelder is currently contracted to handle the first 30% of the design.)

Also, Rengers noted that village officials will be meeting with environmental and construction services firm Pohlkat of Piqua about potential dredging of the village’s wastewater lagoons. Rengers said he is confident the village can find a more cost-effective option than the original quote it received of $1.5 million.

In other business, the council:

•Swore in Shawn Thobe, who was appointed to fill an open council seat following the November election.

•Learned from Kaup that Southern Mercer County Joint Ambulance District has ordered a new ambulance at a cost of $370,000. The vehicle will give the district three ambulances. Kaup said the district intends to rotate ambulances with a new purchase every five years.

•Approved the following: allowing employees to cash out leftover vacation time; selling excess village equipment at auction; updating language in its policy for the use of laptop computers; the village’s cybersecurity program, which was required to be in place by June 1 to comply with new state law; a resolution that allows the village administrator to live outside of village limits;

•Heard from fiscal officer Roberta Staugler that the village received its final audit report. It did not show any major deficiencies, calling only for minor adjustments to bookkeeping and procedures.

•Designated Park National Bank as the depository for village funds.

•Heard from Rengers that there is a zoning board meeting scheduled for Wednesday to discuss a request for a variance.