SALINEVILLE — A big crack in the building at the food pantry in Salineville may lead to the organization’s relocation.
During a meeting of the village council Monday, Mayor Linda Adams said she has spoken to someone from the group recently about options. The current agreement for the food bank has them occupying a village-owned location with the village paying the electric, gas and telephone bill.
The food bank operates through the Southern Community Center, a non-profit organization.
Adams said there is another location near the fire hall, which may be a better space for the food bank, but wanted direction from village Law Director Andy Beech about making the change official. The next step, according to Beech, is to find the current lease with the food bank and see if there should be any changes made. However, some members of council indicated there may not be a written contract.
Adams and other members of council plan to meet with organizers of the food bank at their next meeting.
In other matters:
— The dates of the upcoming village clean up event are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., May 17 and 18. Councilwoman Sally Keating suggested advertising the event by placing a notice in all the sewer bills going out to help people remember to remove their trash from around their properties.
— Council chided Ralph Ross, who works for the village streets department, for having overtime after they recently sent him a memo telling him to avoid overtime by adjusting his hours whenever possible. Fiscal Officer Donna Rudder said she paid Ross for the regular hours he worked but did not pay him for the two hours of overtime. Council voted to have Ross take three hours off this week to make up for the overtime at time and a half. Four members of council voted for having Ross clock out three hours early on Tuesday, while Councilman Jim Wilson voted no and Brian Zaverl abstained from the vote.
— Councilman Buck Higgins reported chip and seal would cost $15,000 per mile if the village wants to participate in the county program. The village had $10,000 budgeted, according to Rudder.
— Council’s personnel and policies committee is currently looking at making changes to the personnel policies in the village. One thing being considered is adding Veterans Day as one of the paid holidays or at least giving employees the option of taking one or two floating holidays choosing between Veterans Day, Martin Luther King Day and Presidents Day.
— Ross recently pulled out six to eight larger trees which reportedly fell into the creek from the bank in the same area. Ross reported the guy living near there said he would cut them up.
— Adams said they met with officials from the county land bank giving them 36 suggestions of possible properties that are unoccupied, blighted and nuisances in the community. The land bank has torn down blighted properties in other locations in the county.
— Police Chief Matt Devlin asked council to approve repairs to two of the department’s 2008 cruisers.
djohnson@mojonews.com
