T-L Photo/LENNY WITTENBROOK A mural recently completed by Twila Fisher adorns the side of the building that is home to Karing Hands Massage Therapy in downtown Barnesville. The mural depicts the history of coal mining in the area and is the latest in a series of murals completed through a partnership between the village and the Belmont County Tourism Council. Village Council voted to move forward with construction of a retaining wall, stairs and railing at this site that eventually will provide additional parking for the downtown district.

BARNESVILLE – Village Council moved forward last week with improvements to the downtown area that will be erected in the shadow of the community’s newest mural.

Council voted to proceed with construction of a retaining wall, stairs and railing along West Main Street where buildings were demolished last year in order to provide more parking as part of the village’s downtown revitalization project. The new mural, by Twila Fisher, depicts the history of local mining.

Council President Brad Hudson, who presided over Monday’s meeting due to the absence of Mayor Dale Bunting, announced that Ohio-West Virginia Excavating had submitted the low bid of $104,850 to perform the work, adding that the next lowest bid was $136,633.

When Councilman Tony Johnson asked if there was a reason the low bid was so much cheaper, Hudson said that the engineer on the project had established the specifications of the job and that he felt all the bidders were more than capable of doing it. Council then voted to accept the low bid, with Hudson noting that they expected the bulk of the work to be done before the Pumpkin Festival in September.

Hudson also informed council that a roof needs to be constructed over “the pit” at the refurbished pool at Memorial Park. The pit contains the chemical tanks, pumps and filtration equipment for the pool. Hudson said officials believe a carport-type structure would suffice and be considerably less expensive than other options they had explored.

After a brief discussion, Hudson asked Village Administrator Roger Deal to arrange for installation of such a roof, since the estimated cost of around $2,500 falls well under the amount he is authorized to spend without council’s approval.

Deal told council that crews from M.J. Excavating would begin work on the industrial park waterline extension last week, explaining that Jefferis Real Estate is paying to have the water and sewer service expanded. The village eventually will be responsible for maintenance of the new infrastructure that includes a sewer lift station and, as Deal put it, “a lot of pipe.”

Deal also said he had met with officials from the Ohio Department of Transportation to begin planning improvements to the intersection of Main and Chestnut streets in the center of downtown as part of Gov. Mike DeWine’s program targeting 150 intersections in the state with a focus on improving pedestrian safety. Deal said that while council shouldn’t expect to see work on the project begin until 2022, the scale of the job will be major.

“They’re going to do quite a job there,” he said.

Deal also requested authorization to apply for an Ohio Public Works Commission grant for a street-paving project for next summer. Council voted in favor.

Police Chief Rocky Sirianni told council that he, along with representatives from the Barnesville Exempted Village School District, had been looking into hiring Darren Schilling as another full-time officer who would work as a school resource officer during the school year and as a Barnesville police officer during the summer.

Sirianni explained that Schilling previously worked full time for the department for nine years and then as a part-time officer. Due to his experience, Sirianni said he would like to pay Schilling at the Officer II pay rate of $16 per hour, using the same pay arrangement used for other officers who work in the schools. It amounts to roughly a 60/40 split between the school district and the village, respectively, with the school district paying the officer 60 percent of his salary for his work during the school year.

Council approved hiring Schilling after establishing that he would start a week prior to school starting back up for 2019-2020.

Fire Chief Tim hall said two members of the fire department, Harry Seeley and Silas Tracy, recently passed tests and acquired EMT certifications and that he wished to have them added to the emergency squad roster.

After council approved his request, Hall said the department recently received a $3,826 grant from the Ohio Department of Public Safety to purchase EMS equipment.

Hudson announced Mayor’s Court figures for the month of June, saying the state had received $528.50, the county $16.50, and the village $987 for a total of $1,532.

In other business, council approved paying bills in the amount of $210,202.49 and approved a building permit for Mandy Wiley to construct a new addition to a home at 145 Kennard Ave. Members also approved the appointment of Steve Hill to the Buildings Appeal Board.

Barnesville’s next regular council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. July 22 at the Municipal Building.