Fiscal Officer Kathy Ording (left) sits next to Mayor Jeff Subler, and Village Administrator Mike Busse, as they discuss the re-painting of the village’s street light poles at last Wednesday’s Versailles Village Council Meeting. The next Versailles Council meeting will be Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m., in the EMS Building, 320 Baker Road, Versailles.
Carol Marsh | The Daily Advocate
By Carol Marsh
DailyAdvocate.com
VERSAILLES — Street projects were among the top agenda items discussed at the Village of Versailles Council meeting last Wednesday night.
Attending were Mayor Jeff Subler, Village Administrator Mike Busse, Council Members Jeff Beasley, Kent Paulus, Mike Berger, Cory Griesdorn, Lance Steinbrunner, and Todd Dammeyer. Fiscal Officer Kathy Ording and Village attorney Tom Guillozet also attended.
First order of business on the agenda was establishing the village’s Halloween “Trick or Treat” time as Sunday, Oct. 31, from 2 to 4 p.m. Also, Mayor Subler and the Council signed a proclamation recognizing Constitution Week as September 17 through 23, which celebrates the 234th Anniversary of the U.S. Constitution’s adoption by the Constitutional Convention.
Busse presented his report that the village swimming pool had a successful season, and is now closed. The new cover has been installed, and the process of winterizing the equipment and lowering the water has begun. The new sump pump under warranty will be sent away for repairs. The new sunshade was delivered by Pohl Trucking, who donated their time and equipment, and will be installed the first week of October.
“We really appreciate Pohl Trucking for making this happen. They were really nice to work with, and I can’t say enough good things about them. They’re great!” said Busse.
Busse also reported that all park restrooms will close on Oct. 15 (same day as Heritage Park) to complete the painting of the interior before the weather gets too cold. New ceilings in the Ward Park restrooms are also planned before reopening in the Spring.
In addition, Busse noted that the village has let CSX Railroad know that the Center Street tracks are very rough, and needs fill. CSX said that they are working on resurfacing the asphalt on all the crossings, putting in new rail, which takes time. According to Busse, CSX hopes to complete this work in the next few weeks.
Busse also addressed the recent call for competitive bids for the Decorative Streetlight repainting project. Because the village’s 112 light poles have not been painted in more than 20 years, and are beginning to chip and fade, the Planning Commission asked for estimates for repainting the poles in green (current color) and black (new color). One bid was received for the project, from C & S Painting, LLC, in the amounts of $32,000 (labor only) for repainting the poles in green, and $42,000 (labor only) for repainting the poles in black. Work will be completed over a two-year period, beginning in 2022. Midmark Corp. has offered to make a one-time donation of $7,500 toward the pole color change from green to black. The village, which is responsible for supplying the paint/materials, is also responsible for re-lettering signage. After some discussion, the agenda item was unanimously passed by the council.
“Everyone is busy right now, and C & S Painting was the only bid we received,” said Busse. “It is a lot of money. However, it is a pretty big job, as each pole has to be sanded, primed and painted on location.”
Finally, a resident in attendance at Wednesday’s meeting asked if the public would be included in discussions regarding the potential of developing an alternate truck route to alleviate truck congestion in the downtown area. Busse assured the resident that the village is the early stages of exploring this potential, with the next step being to complete a study which explores all available alternatives and cost estimates from Access Engineering and Choice One Engineering.
“As I have said earlier, we definitely want residents to give their input, and participate in the process. We plan to have public discussions once we receive the information back with all the viable options.” said Busse. “We will make sure to let people know when they will take place.”
The next Versailles Council meeting will take place Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at 7 p.m., in EMS Building, 320 Baker Road, Versailles.
Carol Marsh covers community interest stories and handles obituaries for the Daily Advocate and Early Bird. She can be contacted by email at [email protected] or by phone at 937-569-4314.
