BARNESVILLE — The Barnesville Village Council meetings scheduled for today and July 14 will be brought to order at 5 p.m. instead of the usual scheduled time of 7 p.m. so officials can interview village administrator applicants.

Mayor Jake Hershberger said members plan to go into closed-door sessions as soon as these meetings convene to hold the interviews, with normal village business being conducted as usual at 7 p.m.

The required open public hearing for the 2026 budget will be held in council chambers at 6:30 p.m. today.

Meanwhile, village officials recently discussed the need to negotiate and renew the contract with Switzerland of Ohio Water District.

During a council meeting held June 16, Village Administrator Roger Deal informed council that Barnesville’s contract to supply water to the Switzerland of Ohio Water District was set to expire in September and that they needed to put together some terms before renewing the agreement.

Councilman Tim McKelvey, who had been on council when that contract was first signed in 1985, had a few thoughts on the matter.

“I think 40 years is way too long of a contract, way too long. There has to be a minimum where they agree to buy at least a certain amount of water from us monthly, and we need to be able to raise rates when we raise everyone else’s.”

Deal elaborated, saying the minimum doesn’t need to be “harsh,” but there should be some guarantee that they can’t just walk away from the contract and purchase water elsewhere.

Deal said this would help both parties as they plan for the future with confidence.

McKelvey and Deal agreed that the partnership with Switzerland of Ohio had been “wonderful” through the years and that they would have to sit down with their representatives to work on the agreement.

Deal also informed council that the $70,000 planning loan that council had authorized during the June 2 meeting to pay for engineering to remove PFAS from the village water supply had been approved for “loan forgiveness” by the Ohio EPA’s Water Supply Revolving Loan Account program.

Deal also reminded council that this year’s Independence Day fireworks are scheduled for Saturday, July 5, and that there will be a free swim from noon until 6 p.m. that day with concessions available and live music beginning at 5 p.m.

He added there will be a baseball tournament at Memorial Park with games being played from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. July 3-6.

Deal said the “rain date” for the fireworks display is July 6.

Deal also said the steps that go down the hill to the T-ball fields at the park are in pretty bad shape and suggested council members go check out that situation so they can decide what to do with them, saying members of the park board of directors should be involved with that decision as well.

Police Chief Rocky Sirianni told council that he was confident he could fill the open school resource officer position if it was a full-time position rather than just part time, reminding them that Barnesville schools pays the resource officers while they are working in the district.

After council quickly passed a motion approving the request, Sirianni said the statute allows for eight full-time officers and asked Village Solicitor Richard Myser to look at that ordinance and see if it should be amended before they add another.

Sirianni also said he was looking into possibly installing between two and four “block cameras” in the village, explaining that the cameras are able to capture images of vehicles and license plates to help law enforcement. He said he had worked with them personally and that they were an extremely effective tool since they are integrated in a searchable nationwide database.

He went on to say that the cost for the service is $3,000 per camera per year, but that he had an opportunity to apply for a grant through the Office of Criminal Justice Services that would pay for 75% of that cost. Sirianni pointed out that they would have to reapply yearly and there was a possibility that the village would be responsible for the full cost of the service should the grant not come through at some point in the future.

Council approved Sirianni’s request to apply for the grant for four cameras.

Fire Chief Tim Hall updated council about a drainage issue around the firehouse he had brought up during the May 19 meeting, saying that he and Deal and some village crew had investigated the matter and determined that it would likely be a fairly expensive and involved project.

When asked how much they were looking at, Hall said they estimated $34,000 just for concrete.

Hall said they could wait so it could be budgeted for next year, and McKelvey suggested they wait until the next council meeting to decide.

Hall thanked everyone who had contributed or helped with the annual Youth Fishing Tournament on June 14, saying 60 kids had participated and that they had been able to give all of them a prize.

Council approved Hall’s request to add Robert Stover to the EMS roster.

While discussing building permits that were up for approval, Hall said that a resident at 219 Railroad St. had dismantled a storage shed elsewhere with the intention of reconstructing it on his property. The owner of a neighboring property, who was at the meeting, said that the shed was an eyesore and that it was being placed only 2 feet off of her property instead of the required 10 feet.

Council President Tony Johnson suggested that Hall go speak to the resident and make sure the placement of the shed meets the requirements of the village ordinance.

Council approved building permits for Jackie Huntsman to construct a new wood deck at 480 S. Highland Ave. and for Mike Seever to install solar panels at 172 Pine Lane.

Council also approved paying bills in the amount of $105,046.79.