BELMONT — Village officials recently discussed a possible water rate hike to set up a fund to pay for major repairs and to make the village more viable when applying for grants.

During a meeting held Aug. 6, Mayor Ron Woods and Board of Public Affairs President Ken Davis briefed council on a number of grant opportunities they had learned about. Woods said an official from Belomar Regional Council, who had assisted the village in getting a grant to help with the abatement and demolition of the old Belmont school building, had informed him about a sidewalk replacement grant available from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Program, or TAP.

Woods said it was possible the village’s 20% match could be covered by ODOT safety funds, but he noted it would be smart to only replace sidewalks that did not have other infrastructure beneath them, to avoid the possibility of having to tear up the new sidewalks to perform other repairs later.

Village Solicitor T.J. Schultz asked Davis about the possibility of doing much-needed storm sewer work while the sidewalks are being worked on. Davis agreed that while that would be a good time to do the storm sewer work, the village would have to get that project designed by an engineer in order to apply for a separate grant. He estimated the engineering could cost upwards of $80,000 by itself and noted there would still be no guarantee of the village being awarded the grant.

Davis said he and Public Works Director Kerry Kemp had attended a seminar put on by the Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association, or OMEGA, where he had inquired about grants to replace fire hydrants or get work done to the village water tank. Davis said the agencies in charge of the grants would want to tie those projects into a total water system upgrade, as larger projects are much more likely to get funding, and that a review of the water rates would be part of the process.

Fiscal Officer Ricky Burkhead said that while working to get a similar project off the ground in neighboring Bethesda, he had been told that half of the village’s water and sewer revenue should be going into a fund for repair and fund future development in order to qualify. Burkhead said that even with the rate increase implemented in Belmont earlier this year, he was expecting the village would be “back to even by the end of the year.”

“By my estimation, your rates are 50% less than they need to be based on their criteria,” Burkhead said, drawing gasps from council members.

Burkhead later said that percentage would likely be higher since he had not accounted for the debt service base charge on the bills while quickly making the calculations.

Burkhead proposed increasing the base charge on village water bills in order to set up a repair fund for the water and sewer systems, saying this would give the community a way to pay for needed work on the water tank and to pay for new water meters. He said he would have figures ready for the September meeting.

Burkhead previously said that this year’s rate increase would enable the village to put money back for repairs and the purchase of water meters.

Meanwhile, council discussed possibly using motor vehicle license funds from the county to chip and seal Brown and South streets in the village.

Firefighter Ed Tacosik updated council on the construction of the village’s new fire station, which recently started, saying the contractor was working to get the foundation down and the roof up before winter.

Council also set budgets and dates for upcoming holiday celebrations.

Halloween festivities in the village will be held Oct. 31 with costume judging at the Belmont Gymnasium at 5 p.m. followed by trick or treat at 6 p.m. and Halloween Fun Night at 7 p.m. at the gym, with a budget set at $750.

Council set a budget of $1,500 for their tradition of gifting fruit baskets to village veterans on Veterans Day, making plans to prepare the baskets on Nov. 7 and distribute them on the morning of Nov. 8.

Council voted to hold Breakfast with Santa from 9-11 a.m. Dec. 6 with the village tree lighting to be held that evening at 6 p.m., with a budget of $750.

Belmont Village Council meets at 6 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month in the Stanley Sobel Village Offices on Brown Street.