Mayor’s court program deemed successful

COAL GROVE — The appointment of three new members to the Coal Grove Volunteer Fire Department was among business at the village’s regular council meeting Tuesday evening.

Assistant Fire Chief Chad Kelly asked the council to approve the three new applicants based on need for the department.

“This would bring the department up to 15 (members),” Kelly said.

Juelda Collins, on the council’s fire committee, moved to appoint Jared Potter, Tonya Cheek and Matthew Conley to the fire department, effective immediately and on a probationary period. The motion passed.

Kelly said Potter and Conley are paramedics with Lawrence County EMS and Cheek has had disaster relief experience in places like Joplin, Mo.

Kelly also gave an update on the fire truck that was damaged in a rollover accident in April. Dill’s Fire and Safety in Ravenswood, W.Va., is doing the repairs. Kelly said the cab of the truck had been repaired and work had begun on the body of the truck. He said the body shop estimates another six weeks of work.

Police Chief Eric Spurlock gave a police report, reporting three vehicles towed, 57 tickets given out, eight car crashes and 22 reports taken in the month of June.

Spurlock also reported the village’s new effort to utilize mayor’s court volunteers to clean up the village has been going well.

For the past three weeks, Spurlock said, anyone wishing to pay off court fees can do so by working in the community, under the supervision of auxiliary officer Eric Ross.

“It’s working real well,” Spurlock said. “We are getting a lot more done.”

He said so far, three people have chosen to pay their debts this way, cutting grass, picking up trash and cleaning alleys in the village.

Each day of work equates to $50 off their debt, said village clerk, Debbie Fields.

Spurlock also invited the council to attend a cookout on Saturday at Paul Porter Park to celebrate the police department’s 120th year of service to the village.

He also requested an executive session for a complaint against a public official, which the council took at the end of the meeting before reconvening to adjourn.

Other business discussed at the meeting:

• Council signed and approved June management reports and July invoices.

• Had first reading of ordinance 07-11 2012 Alternative Tax Budget. Councilman Nick Miller moved to suspend the rules for the additional reading of the ordinance and a motion was passed to approve the budget. Fields said the village had a deadline of Aug. 20 to submit it to the auditor.

• Mayor Larry McDaniel said he had been getting a lot of complaints about mosquitoes and suggested someone come in and spray. Fields said she would call Ohio Pest Control to schedule two nights of spraying. She said the cost would be $650 per night.

• McDaniel also gave an update on the new waterline project. He said part of the new line is in service and they are waiting on results from a bacteria test so they can tie in the rest of the line and put it into service.

• McDaniel said he still hasn’t heard from FEMA about any relief money from flooding in May, but would call Mike Boster at Lawrence County Emergency Management Agency.

Councilman Nick Miller suggested something be done about paving and patching the roadways, since it is brought up frequently at the council meeting but nothing is usually done. Collins suggested broadening the search of companies that would be willing to come into the village to do the work.

• A Coal Grove resident, and not the village clerk, Debbie Fields, suggested a new position be created for the police department so someone would be in the office when officers were out patrolling. She said he would like to be considered for the job. The council agreed to discuss it and look at the village finances to see if the budget would allow for a new job to be created. McDaniel said that if the new job was created, the village would probably have to advertise it to the public in order to be an equal opportunity employer.