The residents of North Lewisburg were given a chance to consider having a natural gas supplier in their town at Tuesday night’s meeting.
Bob Smith, a partner with Legacy Pipeline, asked the village council to consider taking in Legacy Pipeline Services. He said the potential partnership would create an entity named the North Lewisburg Natural Gas Cooperative, which would involve converting the town to using natural gas as opposed to propane or electricity.
“The residents need to realize that, once you have natural gas in your town, it makes your town more attractive for people moving in,” he said. “It raises property values.”
Smith said his organization is scoping out rural communities that aren’t operating on natural gas and moves in to convince them to switch over.
He said Legacy’s current project is working in De Graff to convert the town. After some delays, he said the project is expected to be completed next spring.
With the completion of the De Graff project, Smith said he’d like to “scope out” North Lewisburg. If given the approval, he said there would be townhall presentations and mailed-in applications by the late spring or summer of 2018.
He said if things go smoothly, construction could start in 2019, with the project being completed within one to two years afterward.
Also at the meeting, the council presented a draft for an ordinance to be reviewed in the future. It involves the amending of the village ordinances to include medical marijuana cultivation and processing facilities within the village.
Councilperson Andy Yoder said, after a meeting prior, the village “established the fact it wasn’t interested” in allowing medical marijuana. He encouraged the audience to review the draft of the ordinance for the next meeting.
Also at the meeting, the village council approved of a fixed price agreement with the R.W. Earhart Company. The agreement states the Village of North Lewisburg will receive propane for $1.22 a gallon until April 30, 2018.
“We received two pretty competitive responses, but Earhart was the lowest (bidder),” Yoder said.
Events in the village this month include a scrap tire collection drive on Oct. 28, from 9 a.m. to noon, and trick-or-treating will be on Oct. 31, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Leaf pickup will take place beginning on Oct. 23 and ending Nov. 30. Also, there will be a village hydrant flushing from Oct. 16 to 20.