Configure Brands considers rail spur to ease materials transport

By Alec Keller

The July 7 meeting of the Village of Ada Council was held with all members present and Mayor Dave Retterer presiding. There were no resolutions or ordinances on the table for the evening. The council packet is here.

REPORTS

Viva Maria investigation closed with “undetermined” cause
Police Chief Alec Cooper relayed results from the Ohio Fire Marshal regarding the February 2 fire that destroyed the building at 100 S. Main, which contained two apartments, the former Cask Room bar, and the Viva Maria restaurant. The fire marshal's office has closed the investigation and ruled the cause as “undetermined.”

Cooper reported that since the last council meeting, the department responded to or initiated 116 calls for service, made 16 incident offense reports and 2 vehicle accident reports. 

Deep end pool work
Council member Sean Beck and Village Administrator Casey Smith provided information on repairs needed to fix chipping and holes in the deep end of the Municipal Pool at War Memorial Park. Council approved a quote totaling $75,480 for demolition and a spring concrete pour.

Village honored for “Open and Transparent Government”
In her last meeting as Fiscal Officer, Patty Navin reported that the Village has been recieved the “Highest Achievement in Open and Transparent Government” award from the Auditor of State’s office. Navin said reviews are based on maintaining proper public records, designating staff for public records requests and providing ongoing training.

Residency waiver for new fiscal officer
Council approved a request to waive the residency requirement for the new Fiscal Officer, Lydia Fountaine. 

Catch basin work on West Lincoln Avenue
Village Administrator Casey Smith reported that the Ohio Department of Transportation will schedule and pay for repairs to over 20 catch basins on West Lincoln Avenue. The work will take place at some point this summer.

PUBLIC FORUM

Configure Brands considers rail spur
Jeff Oestreich spoke on behalf of Configure Brands regarding a project in the preliminary stages. With the recent acquisition of Associated Plastics Corporation by Configure Brands, production has increased substantially, according to Oestreich. The company anticipates using 100-150,000 pounds of materials a day, which equates to about 14-15 semi-trailers of materials.

Therefore, the company is considering a rail spur and has had preliminary meetings with the mayor. Oestreich plans to meet with the Ada Community Improvement Corporation (C.I.C) on July 15. Oestreich will potentially return with a proposal to vacate a section of Eric Wolber Drive on the south side of the facility where the rail spur would connect with train tracks.

“That section of road is used 99.9% by the semis that are delivering goods and material to us now,” Oestreich said. “There really is no public traffic through there whatsoever.”

Commissioner candidate Flowers
County Commissioner candidate Daryl Flowers introduced himself to the council. He is currently running as the Democratic nominee against Republican nominee Michael P. Kasler. Flowers said he worked as an iron worker before retiring and ran for township trustee in Goshen Township, and has been serving in that position for 13 years. Legal representative Jane Napier asked Flowers what issues he thought are important for Hardin County. Flowers responded that at the commission level, the main issue is bringing people back to Hardin County.

“Our county is getting less and less people,” Flowers said. “And that means less and less people helping with expenses. We got to figure out what we are. If we’re going to be a better community, that’s what we’re going to need to focus more on. If we’re going to be an industry, that’s what we’ve got to figure out how to bring more to the county.