Mendon mayor thanks students, other volunteers for their service

MENDON - Mayor John Boroff at Tuesday's village council meeting thanked local vacation Bible school students and other volunteers for their community service.

Youths, ranging in age from 3-18, along with their teachers and Church of God and the United Methodist Church congregation members trimmed low-hanging tree branches throughout the village, trimmed roses on public property and cleaned the Mendon Union School Memorial Park.

"It was a group effort, the kids worked really well together, and we appreciate their beautification efforts," he said.

In other news, several residents who had experienced flooding after last weekend's rains voiced concerns about runoff and how flooding issues can be solved. After a lengthy discussion covering various options such possibly routing water away from the village and to the St. Marys River, council member Pete VanArsdel suggested looking into line scoping to locate possible problems.

"Following the scoping, we will have a better idea of the magnitude of the problem," he said.

Council members can then look into how to pay for any repairs after a problem is identified.

Residents presented preliminary findings through observation and researching the Ohio Revised Code and Ohio drainage laws for urban and rural properties. Village officials will also contact The Mercer County Soil and Water district and the Mercer County commissioners.

Also on Tuesday, members,

• agreed to examine the zoning map to determine any possible boundary inaccuracies involving land claimed to be within the village limits but actually part of the township.

• commended property owners for improvements to homes and lots.

• learned from Boroff that the responsible parties in a parking dispute will be notified of the village's law requiring vehicles to be parked no more than 12 inches from the curb. They also learned a minimum of 12 feet must be allowed for vehicles to pass a parked vehicle.

• approved the purchase of two benches made from recycled plastic at a cost of $200 each. Residents have saving plastic bottles and their caps for the Bottle Cap to Benches Project.

• agreed to look into the cost of painting, repairing and/or moving trash bins to avoid the cost of purchasing new ones.

• were asked by Boroff to volunteer to help pick up fallen limbs around town. He asked they work for two sessions of less than one hour each.

• agreed to change future meeting times from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.