Steve Davis, of Landon Road, came to the Richwood Village Council meeting Monday evening with complaints of unkept properties within the village.
He is concerned about trash sitting in yards and along the streets, unlicensed vehicles, burning trash within village limits and the number of lawns not being mowed. One instance is close to his home.
Councilmen Reddy Brown and Von Beal both told Davis that they have been working on cleaning up yards, unlicensed vehicles and unmowed lawns all summer long. They also told Davis and there is a process they must follow before taking any action.
The residents must be notified by village officials and have a time limit on responding, whether that involves licensing vehicles, mowing yards, or violating village ordinances, such as burning trash inside the limits. They must follow the laws before any action or violations can be issued.
All council members reiterated that their goal is to clean up properties. But sometimes, there are not clear lines as to what looks like trash to one person may be considered valuable property to another.
Some people store yard sale items on their porches, while others think it is unbecoming in their neighborhood. Some residents may make a living selling items during yard sales. Mayor Scott Jerew reminded council members that residents must purchase a permit to hold a yard sale, and they are only limited to have two yard sales a year, according to a village ordinance.
Council all stated that they want to see the village kept up in appearance and they are working continually to be proud of their community.
Tim Dawson, owner of Wildcat Pizza, visited council. Earlier in the year, he had asked council to consider an allowance of his business to play music at his establishment after the 11 p.m. stipulations of an ordinance in the village. Several residents had complained to council about the noise after hours. Council did not approve his request.
Dawson wanted to start a dialogue for 2018 with council. He held a community event in Plain City, with approval from their council, raising a lot of money, for a non-profit group. The event was a huge success and hopes to make it an annual event.
He would also like to have that event in Richwood, giving back to the community for their support of his business. He had asked of locations that would be available, how he would go about closing streets if it were held downtown. It was mentioned that for more than 30 years Springenfest was held in downtown Richwood and that Dawson needed to get details together and work with the Richwood Area Business Association (RABA) or the North Union Athletic Committee (NUAC) to see if they would partner with his plan. Dawson stated he would work on this and come back to council with more information.
Councilmen George Showalter and Brown asked about the possibility of collecting natural Christmas trees after Christmas to use as shelter for fish in Richwood Lake. Any residents who had a live pine or evergreen tree for decoration, can put them along the streets and the trees will be picked up by the village. Council will take care of securing the trees in the lake. The trees are not to have any decorations or tinsel on the trees when left curbside.
In other business, council;
-Approval a service pay increase for police officers Eric Nicholson and Kiena Reese.
-Approved a motion to do a title search on the former town hall building through Ian Evans of Evans, Evans and Hoffman Law Office.
-Approved the second reading of Resolution 11022017 to approve the continuance of Enterprise Zone Tax Agreement for Richwood Bank.
-Heard from Village Administrator Monte Asher that Christmas lights are hung on downtown streets and lights in Richwood Park scheduled to be completed before Saturday’s Annual Christmas Parade.
-Will be opening bids Dec. 15 at 1 p.m. for the East Bomford Street project.
-Will hold a pre-construction meeting Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. for the park trail project.
-Heard that “Shop with a Cop” will take place Dec. 9 in Marysville. Richwood Police Department will be participating.
The last council meeting of 2017 will be held Monday, Dec. 11, at 7 p.m.at the village administration building, 153 N. Franklin St. The public is invited to attend.