Council OKs rehiring retiring police sergeant

NEW BREMEN - Police Sgt. Brad Pyles' request to retire-rehire has been approved.

Council members voted unanimously on the ordinance, which was tabled at the Oct. 10 meeting as council members debated whether to create an overall policy to handle retire/rehire requests.

Monday's approval will allow Pyles to officially retire, activate his pension and then be rehired by the village at his current rate. Council President Don Kuck, who presided over the meeting, thanked Pyles for his patience in the matter.

Work to determine an overall retire/rehire policy for the village will continue among council members over the next few weeks, law director Steve Smith said this morning.

Officials from the Rural Community Assistance Program, a non-profit organization, presented information on how they could assist the village in GIS mapping. Geographic Information Systems is a computer system for capturing, storing, checking and displaying data. This enables precise information to be easily accessed through a smartphone application to help village departments locate and fix issues more quickly. Council waived the three readings rule to meet the Oct. 30 deadline to apply for a Honda grant which would cover 50 percent of the $37,000 cost.

Brice Schmitmeyer of Access Engineering shared with council members an opportunity to apply for a Land and Water Conservation Fund grant.

"It may be a good time to apply. The deadline originally was May 1, 2017, but has been moved up to Nov. 15, 2016," he said. "This may reduce the competition for the funding."

The grant would be a 50 percent matching grant for up to $300,000 and could be spread over two budgeting years. The grant can be used for park improvements or accessibility upgrades. Among potential improvements being discussed are lighting, dugouts and widening the entrance drive. Council members authorized the approval for Access to apply at a cost not to exceed $2,000. Parks superintendent Mike Hibner would assist in the grant process.

In other action, council members,

• approved an emergency resolution authorizing village administrator Chris Dicke to purchase health insurance from Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield for village employees.

• agreed to contract through the Auglaize County commissioners to designate Miami County to complete commercial building inspections. Formerly this was handled at the state level. Officials expect improved response time at no additional cost.

• gave first reading of an ordinance authorizing fiscal officer Diane Gast to contract with the Ohio Attorney General's office for the collection of unpaid income tax.