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Council proud of accomplishments

T-L Photo/SHELLEY HANSON ONE OF Bellaire Village Council’s recent accomplishments was the repaving of a pothole-ridden section of Belmont Street back in April. Shown here, water department employee Bill Keefer, right, waits for a chance to look for waterline valve lids on Belmont Street while a machine sweeps grindings during the job.

BELLAIRE — Things are looking up in the village Bellaire, but more work still needs to be done, village council members said.

Village Council has made strides during the last six months to get much-needed projects done, Councilwoman Nikki Liberatore said.

She said some of those accomplishments include: the re-paving of Belmont Street; having a new roof installed on the municipal building; approving funding for the installation of a mechanical lift at the city garage to allow employees to better work on vehicles; selling of several village-owned lots; and having a village cleanup day for residents to get rid of unwanted items.

Liberatore said the village also is in the process of getting a new system to allow residents to pay their water bills via credit card. The village also is working toward using Blue Line Solutions’ hand-held camera system to help with traffic and speeding issues.

Liberatore noted council also is happy with the job Richard “Dick” Flanagan is doing in his capacity as police chief and codes enforcer.

“Chief Flanagan has done a great job both as police chief and code enforcer. He’s operating the police department at full staff, and the cops are visible around town. He’s had several houses torn down at the expense of the owners and has hauled several others into court,” Liberatore said. “He’s trying. … He truly cares about Bellaire and wants to make it a better place to live and raise a family. And, council’s behind him 100 percent.”

It has been about six months since new Councilmen Gay Lucci and Michael Doyle took their seats on council.

Doyle said since joining council he personally has interacted with residents who are willing to not only give praise for council’s accomplishments, but also point out what needs to still get done in Bellaire.

“There are several council people who are working together with the realization that we’re working for the citizens. It’s a slow process and money is tight. We’re trying to address problems under financial constraints,” Doyle said.

Lucci said he has enjoyed his first six months on council.

“I love it — I think it’s fun,” Lucci said. “I didn’t think it would be this much fun, getting things accomplished.”

Lucci said he was surprised by how much more slowly government must move compared to the private sector. He’s learning to adjust, however. He also is happy that council is getting along together.

“From what I’ve been told, council gets along much better with each other than in years past,” he said of the body that, in addition to himself, Doyle and Liberatore, includes Councilmen Donny Maupin, Dan Brown and Jerry Fisher. The longtime mayor is Vince DiFabrizio.

“I don’t see any hard feelings with council members. People may vote differently, but I don’t see any hard feelings at all,” Lucci said.

Lucci said he, too, is proud of what council has done in the past few months, but there is more work to be done.

“My biggest concern is cutting back. I’m more interested in bringing in money, not cutting back. If we have to cut back then I would vote for it, but I’m more interested in bring in money,” Lucci said.

For example, Lucci said he is hopeful the village can begin selling water to hauling companies and others seeking it in the future.

In terms of new businesses opening in the village, a few have during the past few months including Bill’s Bake Shop, Peace Pipes, Spry’s Automotive and Ohio Valley Airsoft.

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