Windham - The Windham Village council met for their regularly scheduled meeting recently with all board members present. The board welcomed new member Jena Miranda aboard. Jena was elected to the position last fall. The mayor took a few minutes to recognize the life of former councilwoman Marion Garrett who had served the village in various capacities through-out her life. Mrs. Garrett passed away recently and is the mother of councilman Scott Garrett. The mayor also issued a proclamation that the village would recognize January 31, 2010 through February 6, 2010 as “Empower the Family Week” an event sponsored by the Garrettsville Hiram Rotary to promote strong families.
Reverend Jim Jensen of the United Methodist Church in Windham asked the council about using the lawn behind the community center and possibly the community center in inclement weather to hold church services to minister to the folks in the Maple Grove area. The outdoor worship service would probably be held on Saturday evenings either before the dinner hour or after it. The church would also need access to electricity. The board said it wouldn’t have a problem with it as long as they didn’t violate any village ordinances. They also recommended that the church get their dates together and reserve the facility because it is rented or used on a first-come-first-serve basis.
First Energy Solutions had two representatives from their corporation to discuss electric aggregation and a $50,000 grant the company is offering the village to aggregate. The board will look at the material and discuss it at committee meeting later in the month. The Board was told they had to act quickly in order to take advantage of the $50,000 grant that the village can use as they see fit. In order to be involved with aggregation the village will have to take the issue to the voters in May. The deadline to have items placed on the May ballot is February 15, 2010 so the village will have to act quickly if they want to receive the grant money.
In other business, the council approved the hiring of Debbie Dean as a part-time dispatcher and Steve Clark as a part-time police officer. They also passed a resolution in regards to the constant litter problem in the Maple Grove area. Other items discussed were: establishing a procedure on hiring a village representative to the WFVD Fire District, establishing a standard operating procedure for the police department, the prospect of moving the entire village hall--including the police department -- to the newly- established Family Renaissance Center and the re-zoning of the new homes area so they can move the government offices there. The village council meets regularly on the 4th Tuesday of each month in council chambers@ 7pm.
CORRECTION
In the February 5 article entitled “Windham Looks Into Electric Aggregation”, it was incorrectly reported that Windham Council approved the hiring of two employees. Windham Village Council approved no hirings at the January 26 meeting. Those items were listed on the agenda, but were tabled.
