Village of Forest Council met in regular session on Thursday, March 13, 2025 at 7:00 PM in council chambers.
Council President, Derek Hastings, called the meeting to order with the Lord’s Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attendance:
- Dave Book- absent
- Mary Dickinson- present
- Derek Hastings- present
- Loretta Perkins- present
- Suzanne Shark- present
- Jenie Whitling- initially absent, but arrived at 7:10pm
- Valerie Mullholand – present
Approval/Corrections of Minutes: V. Mullholand motioned to approve minutes from February 13, 2025. M. Dickinson seconded. Vote: all present voted yeas (J. Whitling was not present for vote), motion carried.
Bills: L. Perkins motioned to approve payment of bills. V. Mullholand seconded. Vote: all present voted yeas (J. Whitling was not present for vote), motion carried.
Citizen’s Comments:
- Colleen O’Connell introduced self as she is running from Municipal Court Judge for Hardin County
- Andrew Tudor introduced self as he is running for Municipal Court Judge for Hardin County
- David Mooney asking about water meter reads, last two months are identical
Old Business: None
New Business: Permanent Appropriations for 2025- V.Mullholand motioned to approve 2025 Permanent Appropriations. M. Dickinson seconded. Vote: J. Whitling abstained, all other members voted yeas, motion carried.
Committee Reports
Mayor/President: None
Finance: Met on 3/12/25. Focused on finalizing the Permanent Allocations for 2025. There was discussion on obtaining a new utility billing provider in the future. Fiscal Officer will continue to hold conversations with GWorks to work on resolutions for current issues. Committee discussed a digital time clock option. Fiscal Officer is to use OWDA funds to pay Wessler Engineering invoice.
Safety: Met in January 2025, no new updates.
Police Chief: Monthly update. Auxiliary Officer, Raelynn Herr, has been promoted to Corporal.
The department had 8 traffic arrests – 4 speed with average of 17mph over, 3 no thru truck traffic, and 1 ACDA. Auxiliary donated 97 hours for the department.
Fire Chief: None
Ambulance Board: None
Service: Met on 3/6/25. Scheduled Spring Clean Up Day for May 17, 2025 from 9am-12pm. AEP contract was discussed and Village Administrator is working on negotiations. Bulk Water pricing is being looked into. Village Administrator will be working on an updated rate table for utility services. Village of Forest will be hiring a seasonal worker for the parks. Job Posting will be completed this week.
Administrator: Water treatment plant had an inspection completed with the EPA and we are waiting on this report. The EPA is also giving assistance with the well projects. Met with AirVac and Wessler Engineering to discuss Vac issues. A potential leak was located on B line.
We joined Rural Water and Water Association. They will be coming on 3/17/25 to use a camera to access the leak. Pothole repairs are scheduled to begin 3/17/25. Alleyway repairs will be addressed next. AEP is asking for franchise agreement for 50 years. Administrator will continue with discussions with AEP.
Park Board: Update was given. The old concession was moved and ready for maintenance department. More fish for the pond will be ordered. Clean spring clean-up is schedule for March 29, 2025 with rain date of April 5, 2025. Park Board is researching grants for playground equipment. More jobs were added to list for maintenance department.
Amy Vogel was recommended by Mayor to be appointed to Park Board. M. Dickinson motioned that Amy Vogel be appointed to the Park Board. V. Mullholand seconded. Vote: all yeas, motion carried.
Market Square: Meeting scheduled for April to finalize schedule.
CIC: Meeting scheduled for April 16, 2025 12pm at the library. CIC info was mailed to local businesses.
Economic Development: Assisted and sent out mailings for CIC. Continuing to work on digital survey to send to businesses. Not meeting until April 23 @ 5pm.
Zoning/Zoning Board of Appeals: None
Human Resources: Met on 3/10/25. Began working on updating job descriptions. The goal is for these to be completed by council meeting in April 2025. The employee review policy and forms are being completed. Committee would like to have the review process implemented by September 1, 2025. Chief Kromer is designing new logo for letterhead.
Village Solicitor: Reviewed engineers replacement ordinance for sewer with EPA standards to be included. He wants to meet with Engineers to discuss the EPA requirements.
Fiscal Officer: GWorks upgrade has not been an easy transition. Annie has been working hard learning the new program and handling the issues amazingly. We continue to work thru the issues with GWorks. We appreciate everyone’s patience thru this process. Utility bills due date for payment was moved to March 17, 2025 due to the delay and issues. Scheduled to attend the 2025 Local Government Officials Conference March 26-28, 2025.
V. Mullholand motioned to adjourn meeting. M. Dickinson seconded. Meeting adjourned.