ARCANUM — Arcanum Village Council met Tuesday evening to discuss a number of improvements the town has planned.
The meeting began with a presentation by Brian and Tammy Short, two Arcanum residents. The couple presented the village police department with a wood stained American flag, a project that Brian Short had been working on. Tammy Short designed tumbler cups for all officers at the department.
“The Arcanum police department has been stellar,” Brian Short said during the presentation. “I just wanted to make sure that [Village Police Chief Marcus Ballinger] and the other officers know they’re welcome here.”
Following the presentation, the meeting commenced as usual with Village Administrator Bill Kessler discussing the towns plan to repave Alternate 49 within the city limits. An official start date for this project was not given, but administrators noted it will begin within the next couple weeks.
Kessler also discussed the town’s application for the Clean Ohio state grants that will allow the town to extend Ivester Park. While the expansion of the park would add new amenities to the Arcanum community, there is an added benefit in that it would allow the town to install new electrical wires that would operate more efficiently in the long run.
“We have a very good chance of receiving the grants,” Kessler said. “And with the extension of the park we will be able to run a new electrical feed into the city that will run much more efficiently than our current system.”
Kessler also discussed the recent work on all crosswalks in town. The project is nearing completion and all crosswalks in town will now meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Chief Ballinger primarily discussed state grants for new uniforms and the hiring of a new officer. Officers will receive new vests, shirts, and pants. If accepted, 75 percent of the funding for new uniforms will come from state grants.
The meeting concluded by council members adopting a number of proposed resolutions. The largest ones, Ordinance 2020-17 and 2020-18, allow the village to enter into a loan with Greenville National Bank to purchase new server equipment that will keep the town up to date on computer technology. This technology has historically been paid for upfront, but entering into a loan allows the town to more efficiently budget funds for the near future.
