Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
The Gibsonburg village council met on July 17 with the town’s administrator, Marc Glotzbecker, providing updates on several projects.
Earlier in the meeting, council passed an emergency resolution to suspend the prohibition of alcohol in a public park for the Art and Wine Festival at Williams Park on July 26.
The mayor then complimented the village’s homecoming event, especially the fireworks show.
Glotzbecker followed by updating council on several topics.
Omni Fiber
There are no updates available regarding the Omni Fiber situation as the company has not submitted its plans for review, nor completed a ROW permit.
Stevenson Street demolition
An agreement with the Sandusky County Land Bank for the demolition of 305 E. Stevenson Street is being finalized. Demolition will still take place August or sooner. The asbestos survey was conducted by Erie Environmental, and the results did show “quite a bit of asbestos in the stucco siding underneath the metal siding and some in the floor and ceiling tiles inside.”
The abatement plan is still being worked on.
Sewer separation project
The bids for the Long Term Control Plan (LTCP) sewer separation project will open on Aug. 6 at 10:30 a.m. at the town hall building. The project will focus on sewer separation in the areas of Gibson, S. Patterson and Smith. Once the project is completed, there will be one more project to complete the LTCP with the Ohio EPA.
BSI Online partnership
The village is going to enter into an agreement with Backflow Solutions, Inc. (BSI Online) to help them better manage the backflow prevention/cross connection control program that is mandated by the Ohio EPA.
Entering into an agreement with BSI will allow the village to better track the required records, sending out notices to those who need to submit annual reports and allow those customers in their system to access the documents and reports needed in a timely manner.
BSI currently operates in 39 states and works with over 1,000 communities including: Fremont, Clyde, Fostoria, Huron, Maumee and Toledo.
Clearwell repairs
There are some “serious” masonry issues with the clearwell at the water plant where the split-faced block that was placed in sections over the concrete structure is pulling away from the structure due to moisture getting between the block-and-concrete and the freeze-and-thaw cycle.
The village is working with AMR Inc., a masonry reconstruction and restoration company, on determining the best plan of action: to either remove and replace the block over the concrete structure or to remove all of the block over the concrete structure and simply paint the concrete structure. Either option will require quite a bit of shoring and demolition. Glotzbecker said they will have a plan soon, and that the area is not accessible to the general public.
Crosswalk painting
Clean Line Blacktop and Stripping will be in town over the next few weeks painting crosswalks at various locations in town. The village will put out the exact information when they are in town as there may be some delays in the areas they are working on.
9/11 ceremony
The annual 9/11 ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. at the memorial in Williams Park on Thursday, Sept. 11. At this time, it appears Lt. Ohio Governor Jim Tressel will be on hand.
Farmer’s Market
The farmer’s market will be held at the Logyard on Aug. 9 from 9 a.m. to noon. Interested vendors can contact town hall to reserve a 10x10 space.
ODOT safety grant work
Safety upgrades on State Route 300 near the middle school/high school will begin at the end of July. The project will include new crosswalks, solar powered pedestrian crossing signals, a walkway from Linden Avenue to the school driveway and other safety signs. Notices to the community will be put out prior to the work, and ODOT will assist with traffic management. The project is being funded through an $80,000 grant from ODOT.
Paving work
Paving work is slated to be completed in early August on Ohio, Hurlbut and Suter Streets. Residents will be notified ahead of time of any delays. M&B Paving is doing the project.
Downtown Project Design
Colliers and DGL have completed surveying the downtown area, marking utilities and other points of importance, and they’ve finished the initial rendering of downtown. Village officials will be visiting businesses and building owners this month to get a better handle on the makeup of each property. Council will be briefed at an upcoming meeting with some potential designs for consideration.
Lemonade stand
The Great BIG Gibsonburg Lemonade Stand had approximately 50 stands set up on July 12. Despite an early shutdown due to rain showers, the event went well with representatives from the chamber of commerce, Representative Gary Click, Sandusky County Commissioner Scott Miller and 13 ABC in attendance.
“It’s an amazing event that has other communities reaching out to us for information on how we do it,” Glotzbecker said.
