BARNESVILLE — Village Council members remain hesitant about a contract resolution despite Mayor Jake Hershberger’s efforts to find answers to their questions.

During a council meeting held April 21, Hershberger said he had contacted CTI Engineering to see if the village would be bound to a $388,000 construction administration fee contained in a contract for the firm to update a wastewater treatment plant design it had prepared for the village in 2018.

Questions about the presence of the fee in the contract had been raised by Village Administrator Roger Deal during council’s April 7 meeting. He suggested council might want to “break that part out” of the contract, since the main purpose of getting the plans updated was so the village can seek grant funding. Council at that time opted to hold the first reading of the resolution to enter the contract to allow time for Hershberger to seek answers.

At the April 21 meeting, Hershberger said that as he understood it, the cost would only be incurred “when we go into construction, if we go into construction.” He asked council members if they would rather have that part be separate to be voted on later, but also pointed out that locking in that amount now for what is expected to be a $10 million project might be a good idea.

Councilman Brad Hudson said he had not seen the email from CTI that Hershberger said he had forwarded to council members, but he asked Deal to look over the contract to see how it compared to the 2018 contract with the firm.

Councilman Les Tickhill confirmed that he had received the email from Hershberger.

Village Solicitor Richard Myser said he had reviewed the contract in question and pointed out that the resolution being discussed was to amend the original 2018 contract with CTI.

Council held the second reading of the resolution to enter the contract, while Hershberger said he would resend the email or make printed copies to make sure everyone was on the same page before the next meeting.

Meanwhile, Deal informed council that the village is advertising to fill a Street Department position.

“We really need someone with a CDL if we can find them,” he said, adding that he had already received some applications but wasn’t sure if the village’s pay rate would be competitive enough.

When asked what the pay rate would be, Deal said someone with a CDL and operator experience would start at $19 an hour, but with no prior experience the starting pay would be $15 per hour.

Deal said the village is also still looking to hire a part-time assistant water clerk to work 21-30 hours per week.

Deal also presented council with a list of the village’s seasonal employees for this summer, noting they had received a few late lifeguard applications so they could possibly add one or two more.

In other business, council approved paying bills in the amount of $42,704.34 and approved building permits for Ava Hanes to install a new awning at 123 N. Chestnut St., Suite C, and for Fuad Al-Awdi to install a new sign at 123 B. North Chestnut St.

Barnesville council’s next meeting will be held at 7 p.m. May 5 in the Municipal Building on Arch Street.