BELMONT — Village Council voted recently to withdraw from an agreement to purchase a pavement roller with the village of Bethesda and Goshen Township.

In December, council voted in favor of partnering with Bethesda and Goshen Township in the acquisition of a used pavement roller with the $14,500 price being shared equally among the three entities and with Bethesda providing a trailer it already owns for storage and transportation of the equipment.

At the time the purchase was agreed to, Belmont and Bethesda had just begun the process of ironing out an issue concerning usage of a street sweeper the two neighboring villages co-purchased with grant funding assistance in 2016. During the Belmont council meeting held in May, it was revealed that the trailer that was to be provided by Bethesda had since fallen into disrepair and could no longer be used, so Belmont council members reluctantly agreed to share in one-third of the purchase of another trailer, with the caveat that Bethesda would be responsible for maintenance of the roller for two years as reimbursement.

At the most recent Belmont Village Council meeting, held Aug. 5, Mayor Ron Woods proposed that the village withdraw from all agreements pertaining to the pavement roller.

“I think it’s best for us to just part ways with that whole mess,” he said.

Council members voted unanimously in support of Woods’ recommendation.

Council also decided not to reimburse the Belmont Fire Department for half of the purchase of a $1,550 chainsaw that Fire Chief Bob Mills acquired after a large tree fell across Main Street during a storm in June. Council President Mike Murphy said he felt the purchase price was excessive and was not cleared with anyone else as far as he knew. Murphy added that the village could have rented a suitable chainsaw for a day to cut up the tree.

Councilwoman Bev Yoe pointed out that council recently agreed to reimburse the fire department roughly $800 for the purchase of a hot water heater out of the general fund.

Fiscal Officer Ricky Burkhead said that doing so had been criticized during the village’s recent audit that had just been completed. He explained the structure and role of the various village funds in response to questions posed by Councilman Zachary Kalo who, along with Councilman John Rigoli, was just appointed to council in May.

In July council learned that the low bid on a delayed street paving project funded in part by an Ohio Public Works Commission grant had come in $16,000 over what was originally projected, forcing the village to transfer money out of the general fund to cover the difference.