Fort considers new signs for park, pool

FORT RECOVERY - The village may soon get new entrance signs to its park and community pool.

Grant administrator Erin Minor told council members on Monday night the park board has begun looking into funding for the replacement signs. Final costs have not been tallied, but board members hope to begin applying for grant funding in April, she added.

The board will seek public input on the design of the signs, but Minor said she hopes they will be "substantial, so they can be nice and prominent."

Officials also hope to replace the village entrance sign and the one at the industrial park sometime in the future, she said. Village administrator Randy Diller said the current signs are about 20 years old and beginning to show their age.

Minor said she also is waiting to hear if the Cooper Family Foundation will provide $20,000 to help replace the fence around Ambassador Pool. She expects to hear from officials in a couple of weeks. Other sources of funding for the roughly $41,000 project include a $16,000 Ohio Department of Natural Resources grant and $15,000 allocated in the village's budget.

Construction on the William Street Project likely will begin after school lets out, Diller said. Waiting until then will help construction "go a lot quicker without having school traffic," he noted. The $450,00 project is intended to widen the street.

In other news,

• Minor said the village is still accepting donations for the pavilion project. Construction is still expected to begin this summer. The pavilion would be a shelter house in Community Park next to Ambassador Pool. Costs are predicted to range from $200,000-$250,000. More than $100,000 has been raised through fundraisers so far, Minor noted.

• Diller told council members he is looking to purchase a new street sweeper.

• Councilors met in executive session for about 30 minutes to discuss the possible purchase of real estate. No action was taken after the session.