BELMONT — Village officials discussed partnering with the village of Bethesda and Goshen Township to purchase a pavement roller and learned that plans to demolish the Belmont school building have been delayed yet again.

During the council meeting held Nov. 5, Fiscal Officer Ricky Burkhead said that Bethesda Village Administrator Dirk Davis had found a lightly used pavement roller being sold for $14,500 and had asked if Belmont would be interested in joining Bethesda and Goshen Township in purchasing the equipment.

Burkhead acknowledged an issue that had been discussed during the October meeting — that Belmont has not been getting its fair share of use of the street sweeper it co-owns with Bethesda. But council members generally agreed that if a proper agreement for sharing the roller could be reached, the village would benefit from having access to it for such a small outlay of money.

After a short discussion, Board of Public Affairs President Ken Davis was asked what he thought about the purchase.

“Anytime you can get equipment to help your crew do their job more efficiently, it’s a great investment,” he replied.

Council authorized Village Solicitor T.J. Schultz to negotiate with Bethesda and Goshen Township concerning the purchase.

Regarding the street sweeper arrangement with Bethesda, Schultz said that since that purchase and related agreements were made as part of a grant application, officials need to be sure any potential changes are first cleared with the funding source. Council authorized him to begin negotiating the changes once he learns it is OK to do so.

Mayor Ron Woods updated council concerning the ongoing efforts to demolish the old Belmont school building, saying that the village has run out of time to get a grant application written for funding for this year. He added that Belmont County Land Reutilization Corp. Chairwoman Katherine Kelich had indicated that the village would stand a better chance of getting funded next year.

Kelich and the organization, commonly referred to as the Belmont County Land Bank, have been working with the village on the project for the last several years. The goal is to achieve the asbestos abatement and eventual removal of the 105-year-old structure that the village has owned since purchasing it from the Union Local School District in 1999 for $1.

Meanwhile, council held the first reading of an ordinance updating rental rates for the Belmont Gymnasium. The rate for renting the gym with access to the kitchen will be increased from $25 per hour to $35, and the rate without kitchen use will be increased from $15 to $25 per hour. There is an additional $15 per hour charge if alcohol is being served to pay for the required presence of a police officer.

Council decided to not include a $100 refundable damage/cleaning deposit for all renters in the new fee structure, instead opting for a $50 deposit only for those who are using the kitchen.

Council also authorized Burkhead to apply for COVID-19 relief funds that are available from the state of Ohio as part of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

Burkhead said he was unsure how much money the village might get and said the funds are to be used to purchase certain items such as medical supplies, personal protective equipment, sanitizer and other items needed to combat the spread of the virus. It was agreed that Police Chief Andrew Miller, Davis and Fire Chief Bob Mills would figure out what their departments need since the funds have to be spent by the end of the year. Any funds not utilized would be returned to the state.

After an executive session to discuss personnel, council voted to hire Village Water Clerk Clorisa Tanner to an additional position as an extra village street crew member, working up to 15 hours a week at a rate of $13 per hour.

Davis delivered his monthly water department update, saying that due to the recent dry weather the village had purchased 71 percent of its water from Belmont County. He said crews hoped to flush a number of village fire hydrants this week as part of a valve exercising schedule they were beginning.

Miller said that during October, village police answered 34 calls for service, made 22 traffic stops and issued 14 citations. Miller also said there were only 12 tickets left for the gun raffle being held to benefit the department and that members were planning to pick the winner on Nov. 20 but that could be done earlier should the remaining ticket sell quickly.

Councilwoman Lorie Grobb thanked Miller for assisting with the Halloween costume judging the previous weekend.

Mayor Woods announced that the Belmont Fire Department is selling $10 raffle tickets for a $500 Jaymo Meats gift card along with a 5-cubic-foot freezer that was donated by the Wheeling Lowe’s store.

Councilman Shaun Bruce encouraged Woods and others who administer the village Facebook group to continue the practice of deleting posts in which residents are complaining about the Belmont Post Office and postmaster, saying, “I’m tired of it.”

Woods earlier on Nov. 5 had made a post on the group page explaining that such posts would be removed while giving links to the U.S. Postal Service customer support department so that the complaints could be directed to the proper place.