BELMONT — Village Council recently passed a resolution recognizing two former council members and authorizing the purchase of memorial benches to be placed in the village in their honor.

Village Solicitor T.J. Schultz read the resolution during a meeting held Sept. 3, honoring Dan Scott, who died in October 2023, and Shaun Bruce, who died in June of this year, for the “dedication they gave the village during their time of service.”

Members of Bruce’s family were present at the meeting to accept the honor, and Schultz told them he would let them know when the bench would be officially dedicated so they could be in attendance.

Dan Scott’s niece and current Belmont Councilwoman Sarah Scott accepted the honor on his family’s behalf.

Meanwhile, village Service Director Kerry Kemp informed council that the village had purchased 58% of the water used by its customers last month from Belmont County, while village wells had produced 42%. He noted that this August had been very dry.

He said village workers had installed a couple of new meters to help monitor and maximize the amount of water coming from the wells, adding that he can now be alerted about potential leaks or breaks when there is unusually high flow detected to help minimize the impact those have on the village’s water consumption.

He said that residential meters can be set to send him an email when there is an occurrence of sustained, elevated usage so the customer can then be notified.

Board of Public Affairs President Ken Davis informed council that the board is looking into a company that will allow water customers to pay their bills with a credit or debit card if they wish, noting that there would be a 3.5% surcharge on customers using the service and that the village would not have access to their card numbers or other personal information should they choose to start using the service.

Davis said that two water breaks had been repaired recently and that the new industrial water tap had been installed at the site of the new firehouse and the residential tap removed from that line.

Davis noted that the gymnasium floor had recently been refinished and the playground basketball courts had been sealed and relined, thanking Ed Tacosik for informing him about the company that did the work on the court for less cost than what was anticipated.

Tacosik, a VFD member, updated council on progress being made on the new firehouse, saying there had been a delay while the contractor was waiting to consult the architect about placement of the footers, but that the goal was to have the site “under roof” by the end of October.

Councilwoman Bev Yoe asked Tacosik about a rumor that a pond was being built as part of the project. Tacosik confirmed that a “water run-off pond” was being dug at the rear of the property to catch and mitigate the flow of storm water coming from the roof of the building. He went on to say that the pond was by far the cheapest of the options they had to account for the run-off and that doing so was required by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Council approved hiring David Heslop as a new EMT on a 90-day probationary period.

Council also approved renewal of the village’s EMS contract with Belmont County with no changes made.

Mayor Ron Woods reminded those present that the village’s 3-mill police levy will be decided during November’s election and encouraged everyone to help get out the vote if they want to have police presence in the village. The new levy would raise roughly $25,000 annually and replace an old levy that only brings in about $8,600 yearly.

Council voted to idle the village police department in May due to lack of funding.

The discussion of the levy led to Councilwoman Lorie Grob inquiring about the village’s voting location being moved from the old firehouse to the Union Local High School gym.

Woods said that as he believed it was a decision based on finances. Yoe pointed out that four poll workers had been paid to sit at the firehouse all day during May’s primary election, when only 15 residents turned out to vote.

Schultz stressed that village officials had no input or say on the change.

According to the Belmont County board of Elections, the village voting precinct will still be maintained and staffed as it has been in the past, but it is being relocated to the Union Local campus along with five other precincts in a move to consolidate polling locations.

Grob also reminded everyone that the village is seeking candy donations for the its Halloween activities, which are scheduled for Oct. 31.

Woods informed council of the recent passing of former Belmont Legion Post Commander Terry Puperi, noting that he had always played an important role helping to coordinate the village’s annual Memorial Day observances.

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