Several funds were discussed by Galion City Council during its Aug. 22 meeting.

A first reading was held for an ordinance seeking to establish a fund to be used for the $600,000 grant expected to be received from the state for usage in repairs to the Galion Wastewater Treatment Facility. Before moving ahead to another issue, Mayor Tom O’Leary spoke briefly regarding the process involved in the needed improvements.

“We are pricing that out. The engineering firm we have used to do some preliminary work has given us a sense of how to procure that. The first thing is to get the money in place,” said O’Leary. “I expect to be able to get a generator, but I don’t think that money will be able to go far enough on a lift station that we need, so that becomes the second priority. The top priority is the generator.”

The first legislation for the evening was the first reading of ordinance 2023-59 which largely involves the appropriation of funds for a variety of purposes. City Auditor Brian Satterfield explained that sections 2, 3, and 4 of the ordinance involve reimbursements to the General Fund for advancements dating back to 2019.

“Sections 5, 6, and 7 all deal with the Health Department,” Satterfield said. “These are 2022 advances and a 2021 advance that wasn’t completely done. It wasn’t budgeted for, but the cash is there. These are all grant lines that weren’t budgeted for. This cleans up five advances that were out there.”

Sections 8-13 cover the appropriation of funds for multiple purposes. As this was the first reading of all ordinances to be presented for the evening and multiple council members were not in attendance as needed to carry a majority vote, council moved on to the next order of business for the evening and took no action at this time.

Ordinance 2023-60 was then read before council and explained by Satterfield as the creation of a fund that will hold monies received from the OH EMA ARPA First Responder Grant.

Ordinance 2023-62 was then given its first reading before council. O’Leary took a few minutes to explain that this was the movement of funds from the Storm Water Fund to cover the salaries and wages of city employees.

Ordinance 2023-14 was the final legislation of the evening to be given its first reading. The ordinance pertains to the payment of fees for the website for the city.

In other business, council member Paula Durbin posed a couple brief questions to O’Leary.

“Tom, has the city finished all of the paving that was approved last year? Is that all done?,” Durbin asked.

“No,” O’Leary answered. ”Our main funding project, we put about $270,000 into that project, is yet to be done. And I don’t know where ODOT is on that project.”

“Also,” continued Durbin, “at the last meeting you said that the Water Department was working with the EPA. How is that going?”

“I think it’s going real well. Give us a couple more weeks,” said O’Leary. “The agreement is in the lawyers’ hands. I may be a step late on this. We are getting ready to sign findings and orders that will clear up the previous mistakes. The previous deficiencies that were identified. The best way to do that is to get it accepted by the EPA and go through several steps, 10 or 12 things that we have agreed to do by a certain date.”

“And one more question,” Durbin asked. “Is ODNR finished with Powers Reservoir or are they still working on that?”

“There is a report, but I have not sat down with the consultant to digest that. It will be a little complicated for good reason as one of our employees just recently became a father again, so he is going to be out,” O’Leary said. “It involves all of the issues that we thought. The rebuild of the Ammans Reservoir, I think the biggest issue is the gates and the pumps that transfer water from Ammans to Amicks. Then the one I think that most people will be visible to will be the work that we do to reslope Powers. The year that is completed will be the year that the ‘Grinch Stole Christmas’ because it will more than likely affect the slope of the sled riding hill at Powers.”

“Is there a plan to retrench the first body of water at Ammans or no?,” Council President Eric Webber asked the mayor.

“I don’t think it is required but it sure as heck needs it, doesn’t it?” O’Leary responded. “I’d like to see it dredged for recreational purposes, but I don’t think that is in the list of required works at this time.”

Following the questions by Durbin, there was a brief discussion among council members in regards to filling the vacant council seat left by the recent resignation in Ward 2. Applications to serve through the end of the year as a write-in candidate were accepted through Monday.

Erin Miller can be reached at 419-512-2662.