• Home
• News
• Sports
• Your News
• Forums
• Blogs
• Services
• Community
• Forms
• OhioAutofinder
• Classifieds
• Jobs
• Homes
• Legal Ads

Around the Neighborhood

E-mail Story    |    Print Story    |    Comments    |   

Not unlike other years, 2009 had its ups and downs. For the most part it was a stable year in that we had lost a lot of jobs the previous year and there wasn't that much farther down we could go. On the up side, we were in the final stages of completing some projects that had been on the books for several years and with stimulus money made these projects a lot more palatable.

Probably the most significant project was the sewer plant. After many years of being under findings and orders, we were ready to award the project but we held off because of this new stimulus package. We received the money, then we were de-funded, then we received the money again (only more the second time around). But, it did lead to a couple of tense weeks and some nasty grams going out. I am just grateful to "all" the politicians that had a hand in getting this money for us. It helped out and it is appreciated.

Currently, this project is becoming in full swing as they are busy building a very deep hole on the site. If you look at it now, it looks deep enough to bury that tract hoe in the bottom.

The second most discussed event this year was also water and sewer. The line to Cumberland is finally being built after much gnashing of the teeth and out and out mud slinging. I regret it took so long but by stringing it out, the stimulus money came in handy; Cumberland received enough money to practically finance the project. Now it's get it in the ground time and the contractor is going full steam ahead.

On the opposite side, we finally gave up the sewer plant behind Meadowbrook. Not that we weren't doing a good job or making money for the village ($60K/year), but as long as we were doing a fine job, no one was working on bringing about a solution as what to do with the plant. Now it looks like it may be sold at sale or worked over to the commissioners to deal with. If that is the event, then we could possibly look at a similar situation as the Stop 9 project. It has worked out for 20 years and this may be a logical addendum to that contract.

Finally, the police levy was a topic I wrote about extensively. I heard from both sides of the aisle on this one and finally the people had the final say. Depending on our budget, we will be making adjustments and recommendations in the next couple of weeks. But, it was nice to see people become involved and to put their two cents into what was happening. So many times things are resolved without input. I like to see and hear what is going on in the community. Last year gave me the chance to do that. I enjoyed meeting and talking with people that I knew and I made some new friends in the process. My hope is that 2010 is less challenging and more rewarding, but we will have to wait and see.