NORTH LEWISBURG – The Village Council appointed John Flora to fill a vacant council seat Tuesday during the regular meeting.
Mayor Cheryl Hollingsworth said Flora’s appointment is filling the vacancy left by the resignation of David Scott. The council term ends at the end of 2017.
A resident of the village since 2000, Flora was a member of the Northeast Champaign County Fire District for 12 years. He currently is an EMS instructor with the Columbus Division of Fire.
“I’ve always been an active member of the community, having served in public safety and also on the board of zoning appeals for several years,” Flora said. He added this is a way to continue to give back to the community.
With the appointment of Flora, Hollingsworth announced multiple committee appointments. Committees additions she noted included adding Flora to the finance/audit committee and adding council member Jennifer Watson to the planning commission.
Hollingsworth also noted there is an open slot on the zoning board of appeals. She asked anyone interested in the position to contact Village Administrator Andy Yoder.
2017 temporary budget
Council accepted the 2017 temporary budget. A budget meeting was held on Monday.
Hollingsworth said the village’s 2016 carryover fund will be $394,017 with an estimated revenue of $1,082,085 and a total available amount of $1,896,776.03.
Hollingsworth said some of the major expenses for next year will be the sewer plant and putting in a new wastewater plant. Because of these projects, she said the village is being cautious with their funds.
Later in the meeting, Yoder informed council the village received a recommendation on the wastewater treatment plant improvements. The lowest bid was for $787,000 and council accepted this bid.
Council also accepted a maintenance garage improvements contract for $8,167.50.
Upcoming library event
During the meeting, Natalie Evans spoke on behalf of the Friends of the North Lewisburg Library about an upcoming program the group is holding.
This event is a craft fair and flea market on Sept. 24, the same weekend as the Covered Bridge Festival. Evans said local history will be highlighted by local historians during the event.
She reminded council that the village branch’s hours are from 4 to 8 p.m. on Monday through Wednesday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. The Friends of the North Lewisburg Library meetings are held on the first Thursday of the month at 4 p.m.
Later in the meeting, council approved a contract for library repairs. Yoder said there were areas at the library that need to be touched up and the village received a proposal for $1,590.
In other action:
•Hollingsworth thanked the North Lewisburg Fireman’s Association and village Street Superintendent Bart Stokes for the village’s Independence Day activities held on July 9. She also thanked the North Lewisburg United Methodist Youth Fellowship for helping to clean up the park.
•According to the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office monthly activity report for June, the village had five traffic citations issued, 23 incident reports were taken, four arrests were made, 15 follow-up investigations were completed and one auto accident report was taken.
