SABINA — A neighborhood revitalization grant is among the priority items set by village officials, along with exploring the pros and cons of a mayor’s court and looking into the possibility of a taxi service.
After his election last November, Sabina Mayor Dean Hawk asked village council and staff for ideas of things that would improve Sabina.
“Over the next two months I received nearly 70 suggestions, of which many were focused on improving the downtown area and getting more businesses or more jobs for our people,” said Hawk.
In applying for a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) neighborhood revitalization grant, the village can make use of an income survey conducted more than a year ago that established the income levels in Sabina.
If awarded, the grant would enable more clearing-out work to be done on a creek in town. Additionally, the grant might help acquire an elevator for the municipal building, “and several other projects that are helpful to the residents of Sabina,” stated Hawk.
This grant must be applied for by June 2016.
If a mayor’s court were created, a possible advantage to residents could be the assessment of lower court costs for them to pay, Hawk said after Thursday’s meeting of village council.
The idea for a transportation or taxi service could perhaps be combined with a delivery service, according to a printout of the goals.
A few of the other ideas are: Find a volunteer the village can have trained to write and acquire grants; drill a new well; research acquiring sponsors for the community pool to augment the Sabina 2000 organization; support Jesse Littleton’s drug education and intervention program; and investigate expanding the police department to cover Richland Township.
“Some items on this list will be a surprise to nearly everyone,” the mayor said. “Many of these items will be investigated to determine if we have the need, desire and resources to accomplish them before we move forward.”
Another suggestion Hawk received is to start promoting the bike trial that’s currently under construction, and to “research feasibility of advertising boards being placed in key locations and at the municipal building to welcome bike trail travelers to Sabina.”
In other news, council on Thursday approved Hawk’s recommendation to combine some functions of council’s existing subcommittees, an act that trims the number of committees from eight to five — despite the addition of a new committee.
The newly created committee is a Development Committee, chaired by new council member Jim Mongold, with Peggy Sloan and Mike Walls as the other members.
Village Administrator Rob Dean reported that staff continues to look into the option of residents being able to make online payments for their water and sewer bills.
Village Solicitor Melissa Upthegrove announced she will not seek to renew her contract as the Village’s legal counsel.
Councilwoman Sloan was elected president of the six-person council in a 4-0 vote. She abstained from the voting, and Councilman Dan Osborne had an excused absence.
Council held the first of three readings on an ordinance regulating parking during heavy snowfall (more than two inches) for a section of Howard Street (State Route 729) in the village. It applies to Howard Street from Lewis Avenue on the south to the railroad tracks on the north.
The purpose of the proposed law is to enable state trucks to plow snow without having to go around parked cars. It would require parked vehicles on that portion of Howard Street to not be on the roadway between 2 to 6 a.m. when the snow accumulation is greater than two inches.
Reach Gary Huffenberger at 937-556-5768 or on Twitter @GHuffenberger.
