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Commissioners continue negotiations with Thornville




NEW LEXINGTON –– Perry County Commissioners still hope to persuade Village of Thornville officials to renegotiate a sewer service contract.

“We can’t raise those people’s rates any more,” said Commissioner Dave Frericks regarding Northern Perry County sewer customers, who recently experienced a $20 per month increase.

In 2007, former county commissioners Thad Cooperrider, Fred Shriner, and Lonnie Wood approved a 15-year contract to pay $50,000 in 2007 for Thornville’s sewer service. When the contract ends in 2022, Perry County will be paying Thornville $98,996.58 a year because the contract includes compounding five percent annual increases.

February 2014, Thornville Village Council members voted 3 to 2 to maintain the existing 15- year contract after Perry County officials asked council members to drop the compounding five percent increase in annual payments.

The current Perry County Commissioners believe the Thornville service agreement is too expensive and they’re working to find a cheaper alternative. Thornville officials, however, believe the existing contract is fair and want the county to abide by its earlier agreement.

Frericks said Wednesday commissioners would eventually be forced to enter into a sewer service agreement with Licking County Water and Wastewater unless Thornville agrees to renegotiate the existing contract. He said the commissioners do not want to look outside of Perry County for service unless absolutely necessary, so they continue to try to convince Thornville to renegotiate. Frericks said the commissioners met with Thornville Mayor Gavin Renner and Administrator Beth Patrick Oct. 14, once again to ask them to renegotiate the contract. Frericks said Thornville officials asked the commissioners to “come back with some numbers” that both sides may find acceptable. “They know we’re in trouble and we need to get out of this contract,” Frericks said.

“Beth and I were invited to the Perry County Commissioners meeting to hear concerns regarding county water and sewer last Friday. We’d like to thank Perry County Commissioners for the invitation,” said Renner in an email to The Beacon. “Ultimately, village council has the final say on whether to enter negotiations to make changes to existing contracts. They also have say on authorization to enter contracts due to the dollar amounts involved.

“We sympathize with the situation currently faced by Northern Perry County Water and Sewer District customers as well as the residents of Glenford as they are facing price hikes for water and sewer. As was reported, Northern Perry County sewer customers are facing a $20 per month increase. Additionally, Glenford customers are facing a significant increase in costs. The county had to correct a budget issue where they were paying costs out of general fund.”

Renner continued, “Village residents have had to deal with unpopular rate hikes in the past. We did manage to get through it and now we’re on a path to reducing costs for our residents. There are several factors. One is increased building by private property owners who are choosing to live inside village limits. The other is a reduction in OWDA loan interest payments that was identified by Fiscal Officer Melissa Tremblay and Administrator Patrick.

“The village is committed to providing long-term, affordable water and sewer capacity in-line with the current contracts. We believe these to be affordable and the best option for the commissioners to consider for their long-term planning. We are keeping an eye on our prices and costs in order to provide for sustainable operation and maintenance of the facilities. We are interested in seeing more stable pricing in our area and would like to see what numbers the commissioners are looking at.”

In other Thornville news:

• Renner said Thornville received another solid audit from the state. This was a partial audit. The village is scheduled for a full-audit procedure next year. The partial audit is available online at http://audits.auditor.state.oh.us/Request.aspx?d=geeW1gejsv5kZPNbv7IlbQ%3d%3d&e=t3MtDX0iIVmdbcMpzspSV5u3aZgBuoHCKgFx5hnv8hE%3d&p=tRHm1J1cIyok0ueNu90k7g%3d%3d&i=bJ61vpWgafqk8pYIKa4Lhw%3d%3d

• Renner said the village has open positions for residents to serve on the Zoning and Planning, and Records Retention commissions. The zoning board is a 6-year term. Applicants must live within the village. Members are not paid. Interested residents can apply at the Village Office.

• Renner said he disagrees with the some residents’ recommendation to replace the full-time village administrator’s position with a Board of Public Affairs. “I’d like to thank Village Administrator Beth Patrick for her commitment to the Village of Thornville,” Renner said. “She has worked tirelessly for four years with us in that role. Prior to that she was mayor of the village for six years. Prior to that, she was an interested resident participating in getting finances back in order.”

Renner said recently there have been several questions about going back to a Board of Public Affairs. “I don’t support this for two reasons,” he said. “One is we have a hard enough time getting volunteers to serve on the committees we have. People have other things to do. The second is that in today’s world, the operation of the village is a full-time job. I can’t count the number of times (Patrick) has returned early from vacation. She has taken calls at all hours of the night. She has always gone well above and beyond the call of duty to serve. I encourage residents to take time out of their day to call or stop by the Village Office to thank her and the rest of our employees. They would like to hear more about it.”

• Renner said last weekend’s Thornville Lions Country Fair was successful. “The Country Fair is further proof that we live in a great community,” he said. “I remember when I first moved here in 2001. We didn’t know there was a street festival in front of our house. What a great thing to have! I’d like to thank the members of the Thornville Lions Club for working tirelessly to bring this and other events to our community. It’s a great opportunity to build a community and provide opportunities for the people in our area. It’s the little things that benefit us here locally and across the world. I’d like to heartily recommend that people please consider giving a donation to the Thornville Lions as they continue to lead the Fight for Sight in our community. You can also donate used glasses at the Bank and Pharmacy.”



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