Mayor vetoes building permit legislation

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

What’s the best way to stop bad legislation from becoming law? In the case of a confused — and confusing –ordinance that made changes in the city’s building permit regulations, have Van Wert Mayor Jerry Mazur veto it.

That’s what the mayor did during Monday’s City Council meeting to stop the ordinance from taking effect 30 days after it was passed by Council — a deadline that was fast approaching.

There is still work to do, though, because the prior ordinance, reportedly last amended in 2007, and that now remains in force, contains some confusing language that, depending on how one reads it, requires a building permit either for all projects that cost upwards of zero dollars or for those projects that exceed $1,000. Both are in the language of the ordinance.

An amended ordinance passed by Council 4-2 on August 13 made the threshold for obtaining a building permit $300, which, depending on how one read the previous ordinance, was either an increase from zero, as some city officials thought, or a reduction from the $1,000 permit threshold, as some city residents thought — and complained about.

City Council will now go back to the drawing board, with a meeting scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, September 24, to iron out problems in the current ordinance. During a discussion of building permits held during a Health-Service-Safety Committee meeting conducted prior to the regular Council meeting on Monday, some Council members were in favor of increasing the threshold for when a building permit is needed to $2,500, and possibly as high as $5,000.

In the interim, city officials are asking that contractors obtain a building permit for any project they do, while individuals are asked to obtain a permit for projects that involve structural work to a residence.

During his report, Mayor Mazur noted that he had written a letter to the Van Wert Area Health Consortium about senior citizens’ need for transportation to and from nursing homes to medical appointments.

He also talked about a liquor permit transfer requested by Casey’s for its convenience store project on the corner of Washington Street and Ervin Road. Council approved legislation allowing the mayor to authorize the transfer later in the meeting.

Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming said that, with a project at Vision Park coming in $200,000 under budget, the city was going to replace a problematic traffic light at the intersection of Central Avenue and Washington Street now, rather than wait. He said he expected the light, which would cost approximately $65,000, would be installed sometime this fall.

Fleming also noted that the city received a $695,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation to complete work on the bike path that currently ends at the Rotary Athletic Complex on John Brown Road, and that he has also talked to Bill Clifton, assistant to the superintendent at Van Wert City Schools, about the possibility of installing a foot bridge that would allow easier access from Eggerss Stadium to Fountain Park.

City Auditor Martha Balyeat said the city is doing okay financially.

“We’re not making any great strides forward, we’re still going to be reliant on the .22 (safety capital income) tax (for police and fire salaries and benefits) in 2019, and who knows what will happen after that, but at least we’re not going backward,” Balyeat said.

Council President Jon Tomlinson said that city department heads and workers should be recognized for their ability to “do more with less”, while the auditor said department heads were “very good at prioritizing” while noting that both the police and fire departments have struggled along with minimal staffing.

Health Service and Safety Committee Chair Bill Marshall requested a half-hour meeting prior to the next City Council meeting to talk about problems related to a house at 681 N. Washington St. He suggested that Council Clerk Tara Fox notify neighbors of the residence, as well as the owner of the property, to come to the meeting.

Economic Development Committee Chair Warren Straley had Development Director Stacy Adam talk about coming up with a strategic plan for the county and city, which Adam did, noting that all of the county economic development entities are involved in coming up with a unified plan for future development.

She also noted that, with Eaton Corporation netting an additional 350 jobs over the past year — and stating that the company could hire another 100 people if they could find workers — Adam and Ohio Means Jobs got together and held job fairs that enabled Eaton to hire 63 full-time people and another 13 temporary workers.

Adam also noted that the 100,000-square-foot spec building being constructed on Grill Road should be completed in approximately 30 days.

The next meeting of Van Wert City Council will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday, September 24, in Council Chambers in the Municipal Building, 515 E. Main St.