Village Council business—
Council readies money for commerce park effort
Village Council last week took a first formal step to make seed money available in the effort to develop a commerce park in town.
At its meeting April 7, Council approved 4–0 the first reading of an ordinance that would amend the guidelines for the Village Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund, giving the Village the legal means to use the fund to help promote a development here. Council member George Pitstick was absent.
There was little discussion from Council on the proposal. A second reading and public hearing on the ordinance will take place at Council’s meeting May 5.
The proposal would allow the Village to loan or grant money in the loan fund to Community Resources, a local community improvement corporation that has been working on local economic issues.
The proposed ordinance is vague about how the funds can be used, saying only that Community Resources can use the money to promote and manage economic development in land identified as possible sites in the Cooperative Economic Development Agreement, or CEDA. The ordinance does not say how much money the Village intends to use for this effort. In January, Village Manager Rob Hillard reported that $312,700 was available in the loan fund.
The CEDA, which Council and the Miami Township trustees approved last summer, designates two areas for commercial development: 46 acres at Dayton-Yellow Springs and East Enon Roads, which is owned by Vernay Laboratories, and 32 acres of the Pitstick farm on East Enon.
Council and Community Resources plan to work together to get a park built here. Community Resources will likely use the loan funds to purchase land, or an option on property, and promote it for development. Council will likely approve an agreement formalizing its partnership with Community Resources at the May 5 meeting. The agreement was not distributed last week.
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In other Council business:
• Council directed Hillard to investigate a mosquito control program offered by the Greene County Combined Health District. Council members said they were concerned about West Nile Virus, which is spread by mosquitoes. Last year, the virus was found in birds, mosquitoes and horses in the county, including birds at the Glen Helen Raptor Center.
At its meeting April 21, Council will discuss whether the Village should participate in the County’s mosquito program this year. In 2002, Miami Township and 11 other jurisdictions participated in the program.
• Council voted 4–0 not to object to local businesses that renew their liquor permits this spring. Council’s decision followed a recommendation from Village staff. Seven businesses currently hold liquor permits.
• Hillard reported that the State, with federal funds, will reimburse the Village $8,993 for some of the expenses the Village incurred this winter because of snow storms. Hillard said that the Village has already exhausted the overtime budget for the Public Works Department for 2003 because of the storms, an indication of just “how severe the winter was.”
• Mary Alexander was sworn in by Mayor David Foubert and officially joined Council. Alexander replaces Hazel Latson, who resigned last month because she moved out of town. Alexander will fill the remainder of Latson’s term, which expires after the November election.
• Hillard reported that the Village had placed two school bus stop signs on Dayton Street, near Wright Street, in an effort to slow traffic in that area. He also said that the Village plans to conduct a second traffic study on Dayton.
Police Chief Jim Miller, who was placed on paid leave last month, conducted a traffic study on Dayton earlier this year. He reported that the study did not show an “excessive number of speeding violations” on Dayton near Wright.
• Council agreed 4–0 to appoint Saul Greenberg and Aida Merhemic to the Village Human Relations Commission.

—Robert Mihalek