By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — The enforcement of codes and zoning laws pertaining to trash, nuisances, junk vehicles, etc., seems to be going well for the city, but some council members would like to see more done.

At the regular meeting of Greenville City Council on Tuesday, June 21, Councilman Jeff Whitaker encouraged the city to do more with enforcement. “President (John) Baumgardner and I took a ride around town, a portion of the south end of town yesterday, and we probably could have handed out a couple hundred citations, if we were doing that. A lot of situations need to be cleaned up. I just want to encourage people that have things on their porches, debris around their yard, cars parked on your grass or sidewalks, please refrain from doing so. Be considerate of your neighbors, be considerate of the city that we’re trying to be.” He also sent a message to landlords to make sure their tenants are keeping the property cleaned up.

President Baumgardner said he told Whitaker he needed to get out of the north end and look at the south end of the city. “We rode around and the more that we drove, I think I… I knew it was bad, but I didn’t know how bad it was.” He continued, “We’re all responsible,” and pointed to other council members, city employees and residents. “Ryan’s (Delk, safety service director) got a zoning officer now. He’s not going to be able to see everything. If we help, we’re going to get this city cleaned up.”

Baumgardner said he saw a yard full of refrigerators and appliances that was essentially a scrap yard. He also said they saw 20-30 vehicles in backyards with expired tags. “Let’s help Ryan and our summertime code enforcement and get this cleaned up.”

Baumgardner also praised Mayor Steve Willman for his work on the July 4th fireworks event. “Since you’ve been mayor, you’ve kind of owned that project and took it from spending $4,000 to $5,000 to how much are we spending this year? Mayor Willman responded that they will spend $32,000 on fireworks this year. “I’d like to personally thank you,” said Baumgardner. “I know that’s a pet project of yours and you’ve kind of taken that and ran with it. Now we’re spending $32,000 and that’s amazing.” Willman said they have a lot of wonderful sponsors to make it possible.

This year’s fireworks show will be held on Sunday, July 2 at the Darke County Fairgrounds.

Delk gave an update on the North Ohio Street project from Martin Street to the bridge. He expects the roadway to re-open mid-July. Asphalt crews are expected to begin work the week of July 10. Concrete crews are working on sidewalks and curbs this week.

The city was informed they received a grant to redo Sweitzer Street. Delk is hoping the $3.8 million grant will be a catalyst to get more grants. The total project, which includes redoing the street and installing curbs and sidewalks is estimated at $8 million. Because the project would not take place until 2028, Delk is hoping they can raise funds through additional grants. The city would be responsible for a 10 percent match with the current grant. Delk said the city is applying for a $2 million Small Cities grant to help with the funding.

Delk also announced Phase 2 of the sidewalk project has begun with an evaluation of the sidewalks in the area of the K-8 school. The city will work on finding faulty sidewalks and then get an engineer’s estimate to send to homeowners. The requirement to fix or replace the sidewalks would not begin until next spring and summer. As with Phase 1, homeowners would have a certain amount of time to make the repairs or the city would come in and do it and then assess the homeowner’s taxes.

The next regular meeting of Greenville City Council will be July 11, 7:30 p.m. Council previously approved the change of date for the meeting due to the Independence Day holiday.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].