MCDONALD | Village council

Officials handled these matters during their meeting this week:

Approved the second reading of an ordinance regarding outdoor wood-burning furnaces. The measure would add new zoning regulations related to the devices, which some residents use as alternative heating sources. Many homes in the village sit on small lots, however, and such furnaces emit a lot of smoke and particulates, which can cause health problems for some nearby homeowners, Mayor Glenn W. Holmes has said.

Agreed to advertise for bids for a park improvement project. Opening bids could take place later this month or in early March, noted Councilman B.J. Farr, who also heads council’s park and buildings committee. Work might get under way this spring and would entail demolishing the basketball and tennis courts, improving lighting and fencing, and adding a new storm sewer system and restroom, Farr said. Additionally, four tennis and basketball courts each would be built, and the village is considering handling some of the construction itself, noted Thomas Domitrovich, administrator.

Received an update on a Safe Routes to School grant, designed to go toward building sidewalks on McDonald Avenue to make it safer for pupils who walk to school. For the project, officials had applied for more than $200,000 of afederal grant being disbursed through the Ohio Department of Transportation.