FLUSHING — Village Council recently altered the hours the village offices will be open to the public and other administrative practices.

The motions were made by Councilman Chuck Nucci, who prefaced his actions by saying his intention was not to go after or upset anyone. Nucci made a motion that the village offices be open to the public from noon until 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Fiscal Officer Jeryl McGaffick said officials had set it up during a previous administration that she could work on Wednesdays with the door locked so she could do paperwork uninterrupted. The motion passed, though, with Councilwoman Sandy Twarog and Councilmen Dave Coe, Eric McCort and Tom Bober joining Nucci with “yes” votes, while Councilman Chad Sutton voted “no.”

Mayor Preston Eberhart noted that new signage would be needed for the front door.

Nucci also made a motion that the minutes from the previous month’s meeting along with the new bills and financial statements be available for review or emailed to council members at least three days prior to the next month’s meeting.

Eberhart pushed back against this motion, pointing out that Nucci had just taken McGaffick’s paperwork day by having the office open on Wednesdays.

After some discussion about the procedure by which the village’s bills are posted and paid, Nucci withdrew the bills and financials portion of his motion so that it would only pertain to the meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously.

Nucci also made a motion to begin sending out memos to water customers and vendors so that the village will be able to stop renting its post office box in Holloway by the end of 2024, which passed unanimously as well.

In his monthly report, Village Administrator Kris Chini said that he and village crews had been busy patching streets and alleys, naming Bank, Wood, Mill and Marketan streets as roadways that had received attention along with the three alleys between Wood and Pearl.

He said they had a load of asphalt on the truck with plans to work on Circle Drive and the alley behind Convenient.

He also said they had repaired a number of water leaks and that the lift station check valves that had been on order since last year had finally arrived.

Coe asked Chini about issues with the drain at the bottom of the hill by WesBanco, with Chini responding that they were wanting to put in a new pipe there but needed to use cameras to figure out where the drain goes before they can plan the work.

Chini also informed council that the crew had opened the lower half of Schuler Park since the weather had been nice and people were out walking.

A recent dog bite incident at the park was discussed, and Eberhart recommended they put signage at the park to better enable them to enforce the leash law contained in the Ohio Revised Code.

After some discussion it was decided that four signs are needed and council approved making the purchase.

During a discussion about preparations for the Flushing Business Association-sponsored Heritage Days being held at Schuler Park on June 22, Sutton brought up an idea he had several years ago to convert half of one of the pavilions at the park into a concession stand.

This idea sparked interest among the rest of council and Chini was asked to come up with some figures as to how much it would cost to do that so the Park Committee could discuss it further.

In other business, council approved hiring Gary Smith as village solicitor for one year on an as-needed basis at a rate of $150 per hour plus other costs and approved the release of fire department and emergency medical service levy funds to the Flushing Fire Department.

Flushing Village Council meets at 6 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month in the village offices on High Street.