Minster votes to herd stray cat issue

MINSTER - Village councilors on Tuesday night moved to temporarily cage an ordinance designed to address free roaming felines.  

Councilors voted to table the issue until the Jan. 17 meeting, allowing for several revisions to be made to the pending legislation.

An amendment to the village animal control ordinance was introduced last month. Several objections were lodged against it.

Village administrator Don Harrod on Tuesday said changes have since been made in response to some of the criticisms.

Harrod dropped a section which called for police officers to impound any cat found at large, replacing it with the wording "any situation where a cat which has created a nuisance and has been reported by a concerned citizen to the village will be investigated by the police department."

The amendment states that when a cat found running at large has created a nuisance and its ownership is verified, police officers "may exercise the option of serving the owner with a notice of violation." Councilors recommended eliminating wording about impounding cats and an impoundment fee.

Councilman Craig Sherman asked police chief David Friend for his opinion of the proposed amendment. Friend said he spoke with Coldwater Police Chief Jason Miller since the Minster proposal is based on a Coldwater ordinance.

He was told police handled only three or four cat complaints since 2018. Miller reportedly indicated officers trapped the cats in those instances and released them on farms through an arrangement with the farmers.

Councilor Nicole Clune, who had voiced opposition to the original wording of the legislation, said the revisions are "closer to what is reasonable."

Also on Tuesday night councilors accepted the resignation of Adam Bergman as police officer after 12 years with the department. Friend said Bergman has taken a position with the New Bremen Police Department.

Councilors approved the appointment of Parker Maurer, 21, as a full-time police officer. Maurer, who was hired by the village in July 2021 as a part-time police officer, is a graduate of the Wright State University Lake Campus Peace officer training program.

An ordinance which would raise water rates for the first time since 2016 was given second reading. Harrod said the increase is needed to recoup rising water treatment plant operating costs caused by rapid inflation. He noted that chemical costs at the plant have doubled.

Harrod said the earliest the increase would take effect is April 1.

Harrod said under the proposed ordinance, a resident who uses 4,000 gallons of water per month would see a monthly increase of 85 cents the first year and pay an additional $3.25 per month in year five. A family using 10,000 gallons a month would see a monthly increase of $1.25 the first year and pay an additional $6.25 per month in year five.

The meter charge for residential customers would increase from $5 to $5.25. All meter charges in the village are currently the same, but under the ordinance the charge for the two or three largest industrial customers with 8-inch meters would go from $5 to $735.

Councilors also,

• approved payment of an invoice for $7,221 from the Washington, D.C., law firm Duncan and Allen for legal services provided through Nov. 30 in defending the village in a $10.5 million lawsuit filed by Alabama energy company Empower Solar stemming from a solar energy project contract dispute.

The village has paid the law firm $559,775. The lawsuit trial, which will be in U.S. District Court in Toledo, is scheduled for Feb. 22-24.

• heard Harrod report that Landmark, the company erecting the new water tower off West Seventh Street, will begin working on the third section of the structure this week. He also noted that AES (formerly DP&L) will soon start work on a transmission line from the Amsterdam Road substation to the village. Old poles will be replaced as crews string new wire on the new line, according to Harrod.

• approved on rule suspension an ordinance authorizing the issuance of a 10-year note in the amount of $114,646 for unpaid curb, gutter and sidewalk assessments for the East Seventh Street reconstruction project completed in 2022. Harrod said property owners were given the option of paying the fee or having it put on their property taxes. The note from Minster Bank is for 3.84%.

• reappointed Tom Herkenhoff as council president.

• authorized bids for the 2023 sidewalk repair program. The owners of property east of Main Street from First to Seventh streets were given the option of making the required repairs or the village would have the work completed by a contractor, with the costs to be assessed. The cost of the sidewalk work has been estimated at $60,150.

• went into executive session to discuss pending litigation. No action was taken.

The next council meeting is 6:30 p.m. Jan. 17 at the village hall.