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FLUSHING -- A new village resident left a council meeting in frustration last week after bringing a list of concerns before the village council.
As Stephanie Schneider began to speak during the public participation portion of a scheduled council meeting on Aug. 10, Mayor Tom Bober interrupted to inform her that they would not be able to entertain the entirety of her list of 12 topics that she had presented to Bober prior to the meeting, but he offered to answer her concerns and suggested that she choose two of the listed items for a five-minute discussion with council.
Bober started going down the list, beginning with Schneider's update on available grants to improve the ball fields and facilities at Schuler Park, which she had brought up during the July meeting. He said she should present that to Flushing Junior Sports since the village has no financial ties to that organization.
Councilman Chad Sutton said that Flushing Junior Sports no longer has the legal nonprofit status needed to apply for such grants since it had been allowed to expire "years ago."
Concerning village bylaws and governance, Bober told Schneider the village operates under Ohio Revised Code, with Fiscal Officer Jeryl McGaffick confirming that it has a manual put out by the state.
Bober attempted to rush through the remainder of the list, but Schneider revisited many of the items once she was given a chance to speak.
She brought up a storm drain that floods her basement, driveway and yard, saying that it would need to be fixed before she could have repair work done to her basement.
She had also previously expressed interest in a village-owned property near hers with Bober responding that the village would be looking to put that property as well as a few others up for auction sometime next year.
Schneider also said that the lot had not been mowed since May.
She suggested a speed study be conducted and pointed out a lack of speed-limit signage in the village. She suggested signs could be a solution to people driving too fast on side streets while pointing out that broken street lights might be contributing to the speeding problem as well.
She asked whether the village is charter or non-charter and when McGaffick informed her it is non-charter, she insisted that village meetings needed to be properly advertised and provided information on how Flushing could get an official website which she thought would help in that as well as other capacities.
Bober later informed Schneider that village meetings are announced via postings at the village offices, Huck's, the hardware store and Carpenter's Pizzeria. In addition, they are announced as part of monthly meeting coverage in The Times Leader.
She spoke of the village's contract with Ohio Valley Waste and the fact that they only come through once per week and charge a $1 fuel surcharge to every customer in the village.
Bober told Schneider they would take her input under advisement and said that a number of the issues fall under the responsibility of Village Administrator Bryan Clark.
Councilman Steve Ronyak spoke in response, saying he was old enough to remember when Flushing had "everything" and that he was fortunate to return home after many years living elsewhere.
Ronyak attributed the fact that "Flushing was still here," to people like Bober, Clark and the other council members and officials now and over the years.
"What I'm trying to say, and I'm not a politician, but I'm going to tell you how I feel about this whole situation. First of all, I'm really glad to see young people here. This town belongs to you because some of us are on the 10 yard line. But what I suggest, young lady, is instead of coming in here complaining about Flushing and what Flushing's not doing for you, how about you start doing a few things for Flushing?" Ronyak said.
Schneider responded that she had not come in "gun blazing" and that she wanted to bring ideas to make Flushing better and that she had not blamed anyone or pointed any fingers.
She ignored Bober's attempts to cut her off, saying, "I don't want you to feel as if I'm trying to take over your town. I moved here because I loved it so much after visiting my best friend. I moved here because I wanted to be in a place like this. I'm trying to help you, y'all aren't helping me."
She went on to say that since she's been in town she's seen a failed Heritage Days Festival, a failed ball tournament, and listed a number of instances of lawbreaking she attributed to a lack of police presence.
Bober commended Schneider for her input and Ronyak for his comments.
Also during last week's meeting, council passed a motion authorizing residents Caity Romshak and Cole Hamilton to lock the gate at Schuler Park at closing time, 10 pm.
Clark said that the recent smoke testing had revealed a lot of issues that needed to be addressed and that they had not been able to complete the smoke testing in all the areas they had wanted.
McGaffick noted that the two special meetings that were held on August 3 and 7 were needed to pass resolutions to place renewal park and EMS levies on the November ballot, stressing that they are renewals of the levies already in place.
Flushing Village Council meets at 6:00 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month in the village offices on High Street.