NEW MIDDLETOWN Village seeks loans for two projects

The police chief presented a plan for an addition to the municipal building.
By MARY GRZEBIENIAK
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW MIDDLETOWN -- Village council will seek $150,000 in state Issue 2 funds for two projects.
Council agreed Monday to seek a 20-year, $100,000 loan for a storm sewer project on Stacy Drive and a seven- to 10-year, $50,000 loan for resurfacing roads.
Dave Bakalar of Thomas Fok & amp; Associates told council members that they'd have a better chance of receiving funding if they apply for loans instead of grants.
Council had intended to seek Issue 2 funds for the second phase of waterline construction on Calla Road, this time from Renee to Struthers Road, but Bakalar said Consumers Ohio Water Co. has agreed to pay for the line, allowing the village to seek funds for the other projects.
Additional business
Police Chief Bill Morvay gave council a preliminary plan for an addition to the municipal building. His drawing calls for a 25-by-75-foot addition to the south side of the building.
Clerk Carl Flitcraft Jr. said the village expects to receive $50,000 in county sales-tax funds this year. That money must be used for permanent improvements and could be used for an addition.
Mayor Robert Carson said he will talk to state Rep. John Boccieri of New Middletown, D-61st, about additional funding options. Boccieri told council in September he will try to get money for the project.
Council suspended the three-reading rule and passed an ordinance outlining the clerk's duties in Mayor's Court when offenders overpay or underpay fines.
The ordinance was needed, Carson explained, because Janet Smith, court clerk, learned in recent training that some people are deliberately paying an incorrect amount for fines, intending to prevent the payment from going through.
Morvay reported that the state has temporarily paved state Route 170 through the village and has scheduled resurfacing for late 2004 or early 2005. He said the storm sewers along the highway were also cleaned out, and the state will install reflectors at the bend at Struthers Road.
Council approved spending $500 for a dinner to mark the 2004 swearing-in of village officials and $500 for a party for volunteer firefighters.