Community center resolution tabled

MINSTER - A resolution to seek a new earned-income tax to build a community center has been tabled again so officials can learn more about the proposal.

Village council members on Tuesday agreed to delay voting on the measure until after a committee meeting can take place with the organization trying to promote the project.

Members in July indefinitely tabled the resolution, which would have put a 0.25% earned-income tax on the November ballot to build a proposed $5.25 million community center. The resolution had been proposed by the private Committee for Sports and Recreation.

The proposed 45,000-square-foot facility would include indoor basketball and volleyball courts, batting cages, pickle ball courts, a three-lane indoor track, two golf simulators, several community rooms, a warming kitchen, lounge area and bathrooms and showers.

Some concerned business owners and an Auglaize-Mercer Counties Family YMCA representative expressed concern in July that an establishment they felt would compete with their facilities could receive government aid. Several council members also expressed discomfort at the tight deadline to get the initiative onto the November ballot, feeling they would not be able to do their due diligence on the project.

Council member Rick Schwartz said he appreciated group members' efforts to promote the project, but he had a difficult time seeing a path forward with the village taking an active role. Schwartz said the village's parks committee had not recommended proceeding with the proposal and due to his feelings about the potential negative impact the center could have on YMCA, he couldn't see the village's involvement working out positively.

Council member Tom Herkenhoff, another village parks committee member, said he believed the village would be doing a disservice to the community members trying to organize the project if officials didn't answer them soon.

However, council member and parks committee member Craig Oldiges said he disagreed with fellow parks committee members. The CSR had a meeting scheduled with the village's branding committee, of which he is also a member, and said village officials should at least wait to hear out organizers to see if they have any updates.

Council member Nicole Clune suggested they wait until after the committee meeting and discuss the matter at the next council meeting, noting she did not want village officials to continue stalling the CSR from pursuing project alternatives.

She also noted that whether the village approved or voted down the proposed ballot issue, all they would be voting on was whether to put a tax on the ballot; they would not be voting for the village's support for a community center.

In other business, council members approved the purchase of a $211,000 trailer-mounted camera system that would allow village employees to monitor storm and sanitary sewer conditions. The system would be run through the sewer lines and capture video, allowing officials to track down problems.

Officials had originally considered buying a cheaper system, village administrator Don Harrod had said in August, but with the excessive rains this year, they began talking more about sewer issues, namely leakage into sewer lines from lateral lines. The more expensive system would give them the ability to monitor lateral lines. The $211,000 price tag includes the cost of training workers to use the system.

Council members also,

• approved seeking bids for the construction of pickle ball and basketball courts in Four Seasons Park.

• accepted a $5,000 donation from the Oktoberfest Committee for gazebo maintenance.

• approved an ordinance amending a compensation agreement associated with the Dannon Enterprise Zone Agreement. The amendment must be approved by Auglaize County commissioners.

• approved under rule suspension a resolution accepting rates and amounts determined by the budget commission, authorizing tax levies and certifying them to the county auditor.

• approved under rule suspension a resolution accepting $74,269.23 in local government funding as proposed by the Auglaize County Budget Commission. With local government funding starting to rise again, the village received about $2,800 more than last year, Harrod said. The money will be used for current operating expenses and will be put into the village's general fund.