By Martha Jacob

The Russellville Village Council met in regular session on March 12 before a full council as well as Police Chief Marcus Callahan, fiscal officer Jennifer Grooms, EMS Tina Jodrey and village solicitor David Grimes.

During the meeting village resident Glenn Fisher spoke briefly and inquired about the proposed ordinance 2019-02 that he had received.

Mayor Ricky Steele explained to Fisher that the drainage problem the village has between Kendle Street and South Columbus Street are ongoing and needed to be addressed. Mr. Fisher said he was aware of the drainages problem and expressed his concerns to council.

Also expressing their concerns with the drainage problems was another family. Council said they were considering hiring an engineer to study the area for solutions.

Lisa Vogel attended the council meeting to remind everyone of the upcoming Seth Blevins Benefit set for June 15th. She asked council if they could use the village property for parking during the benefit. Council agreed that visitors to the event could use the ball field for parking it was not muddy and if there were no games scheduled on that date.

Tina Jodrey gave an EMA report and stated that in February, the squad had 29 runs and 11 missed runs. She also provided a copy of the list to the fiscal officer. Jodrey stated that the White Squad was being looked at because the coolant pump was out which meant there was no heat in the back of the vehicle.

Jodrey added that updates are needed and will take place in March and the drug license needed renewed. The cost was $444. She also brought up that the departments CPR mannequins were out of date and that she could not train EMS or Fire individuals until the mannequins were updated. The cost for a set of 3 of the mannequins would run between $400 and $500. The purchase of the mannequins was approved by council.

The department AED trainer also needed updated and would cost about $900.

Chief Callahan updated council on new officers and officers still under training and he said that the village is currently under seven day coverage now.

Mayor Steele said following councils approval a 2010 Dodge cruiser would be purchased since the current 2010 Crown Victoria Cruiser needed $3,381 in maintenance costs.

Jimmy Griffith provided a report that said three new pumps had been installed and two E1’s had been rebuilt.

According to Grooms the village has now submitted all the necessary paperwork to apply for a block grant to be used for storm drainage issues in the village.

“Because the drainage issue is going to be so expensive,” Grooms said, “We had to break it up into quadrants and split it at Rt. 62 and Rt. 125, and we’ll be working on the northwest quadrant to get it fixed first. We are very hopeful that we will get the grant.”

Grooms said this was the first grant she has ever applied for but she did attend a grant-training class and she believes the village is qualified for the grant.

“We also applied for a FEMA Grant to try and get help with all the rain damage,” Grooms said. “We also have a representative from the Department of Natural Resources coming to Russellville to talk about our park. We might be qualified for a Nature Works Grant for next year.”

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