North Lewisburg needs to decide as to how it will handle new state legislation that allows medical marijuana for people with certain conditions.
Mayor Cheryl Hollingsworth asked council to review the “Medical Marijuana Overview” provided by the Logan Union Champaign (LUC) Regional Planning Commission. The LUC provides guidance, support, education and training to local governments.
Council will need to determine if it wants to allow any type of zoning for marijuana entities including cultivating, processing, dispensing and testing or if it will mirror other municipalities and ban all medical marijuana operations.
The Medical Marijuana program is scheduled to be fully operational by September of 2018.
Council passed the 2018 temporary budget. Estimated revenue is $1.059 million and estimated expenses are $1.3 million. Carryover including CDs and investments is estimated at $738,000 with an ending balance of $501,000.
Hollingworth said the village needs to be conservative as there is a total annual payment of $319,200 on various loans for the wastewater treatment and water plants.
“Under our debt level, I don’t want to tap into our CDs and investments,” she explained.
The village’s CDs and investments are funded with personal income tax and property tax payments.
Council voted to partner with the Ohio Treasurer’s Office and take part in the Ohiocheckbook.com program. The online service, completely funded through the state treasurer’s office, provides a digital platform for local expenditures to be easily accessed by the public. This will allow residents to view village finances without making a special records request for a paper copy.
Lauren Gower, of the Ohio Treasurers Office, gave a presentation about the service. She said nearby St. Paris was one of the early adopters of the program and has found it to be successful.
The village may partner with Rush Township and apply for a grant for upgrades and replacement for warning and regulatory signage. Randy Williams, Rush Township trustee, will present more information about the grant at an upcoming meeting.
Council adjourned into executive session to discuss personnel.
Hollingsworth explained via email after executive session adjourned, council voted to recruit a contractor to fill in for the village clerk, during her absence due to illness, at a rate not to exceed $40 per hour. Council also approved completion of job descriptions by employees for position evaluation by Clemmons Nelson Consultants. Lastly, council approved the recruiting and hiring of a grant writer for the village to pursue grants for sidewalks, parks, paths, etc.
The next regular council meeting will be Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. in the municipal building.
In other news, council:
–Finalized grant funded paving projects for 2017 and projected grant funded paving projects for 2018.
–Approved guidelines for Groundwater Recharge requirements for development in the village.
–Heard the monthly policing report for June with a total of 50 traffic stops, 24 warnings, 26 citations and a total of 43 reports taken.
–Acknowledged those who participated in the annual fireworks celebration last weekend including the Champaign County Health Department which offered free health physicals and vaccinations for children.