Fort council OKs 48-acre annexation

FORT RECOVERY - Village council members on Monday approved an ordinance to annex about 48 acres of land into the village and to extend utility services to the area.

Cooper Farms purchased a little more than 26 acres near J&M Manufacturing upon which to relocate its biosecurity facilities, including the turkey service building showers and trailer wash bays. Cooper also plans to build a fueling station at the site. Both Cooper and J&M submitted annexation petitions, with Cooper asking the village to annex roughly 26 acres and J&M requesting the village to annex a little more than 21 acres.

Council members submitted preliminary paperwork to county community development director Jared Ebbing to explore funding for the utility extension.

In other business, council members authorized entering into a 15-year lease agreement with the Ohio History Connection for Fort Site Park. The lease, required by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, is a precursor to completing a Capital Development Budget grant for the baseball diamond improvement project.

Members also approved transferring $46,883 from the general fund to the ODNR grant fund. Village administrator Randy Diller said the money is an advance that will be returned to the village's general fund once the funds are reimbursed by ODNR grant money.

Councilors approved transferring $32,567 from the general fund to the village share-project fund. Diller said the money will be used to furnish the village's share of the cost of several projects.

In other business, council members revoked an ordinance to comply with state law. The former ordinance regulated the live cannon fire during Civil War re-enactments but would violate House Bill 228, which bans municipalities from issuing gun limits that go beyond what's in state law.