New Carlisle Council members learned from City Manager Randy Bridge that the sale of the Twin Creeks parcels will be on hold for now. The city will need to closely follow Ohio Revised Code 5722 with consultation with their legal department moving forward. As part of the process, the parcels will need to be appraised and once the “fair market value” is decided, the city council will make a decision on selling the parcels as individual sites or look at a possible combination of sites into one sale. Bridge did recommend that council should consider the individual sales to assure the best outcome for the city.
Council member Rick Lowrey asked if there are any additional costs associated with the sale of the parcels. Bridge noted that he is looking into the assessments associated with the property.
There was one parcel that did not make it onto the list for the previous Sheriff Sale. This parcel will be sold by the Sheriff on January 8th and if not sold will be back on the list for January 22nd. Should the parcel not be sold, it will be coming back to the city using the same Land Revitalization Program.
The city appears to be doing well financially as the year is coming to a close. City Finance Director Colleen Harris reported that 90% of the revenue has been collected leaving the city with just under $460,000 outstanding.
In her report to council, Harris presented the final figures on the pool operation for 2015. The figures did not take into account the cost of the water for the outdoor center. Total revenue for this year was just under $45,600 with expenses totaling over $50,960 to operate the pool. The highest costs for the recreational facility were wages and benefits in the amount of $25,639.78. This is nearly half of the expense for the three previous years. Contractual expenses were also reduced compared to years past. In 2014 the city spent $19,927.90 and reduced costs to $14,649.71 this year. This was nearly $10,000 less than the two previous years of 2013 and 2012. Materials and supplies rounded out the budget at just over $10,130 for this year compared to $15,103 last year and upwards of $20,000 in 2012.
The city will welcome Autozone this week as the store is planning to open their doors on Wednesday. Also planning to open soon is the new Speedway station in town. The soft opening should occur around December 15th. Both businesses are showing growth in the city and are a welcome addition to the community. Bridge was asked about plans for the smaller gas station across from the new location. The corporation has not announced any plan to close the location according to the city manager.
In the month Sheriff’s report, it was noted that there have recently been a number of vehicle break-ins. Two individuals have been taken into custody and pending an investigation by detectives, the thefts may be resolved. Evidence collected at the time of the arrests indicates that this may be coming to a close. Residents are encouraged to report any unusual activity to the Sheriff so that deputies from the community can investigate.
Holiday closings for the city offices will include Thursday, Nov. 26 and Friday Nov. 27th. Offices will close at Noon on December 18th for the annual employee holiday gathering. The city will be closed for Christmas on December 24 and 25 and on January 1, 2016.
The Crime Watch meeting for December has been cancelled. Meetings will resume in January.
City Council will hold a special meeting this Wednesday, November 18th beginning at 6:30 pm for the purpose of discussing the 2016 costs for deputy services. An ordinance may be presented for approval regarding employee health insurance.
The next regular meeting will be December 7 at 7 pm. and will be the final meeting for council member John Krabacher. The public is invited to attend and wish Mr. Krabacher well as he leaves council.
