KALIDA
— During the recent cold snap, two people took the opportunity to use
Kalida’s Four Seasons Park in a manner not anticipated by the village.
They went ice fishing in the pond located near the pavilion.
“I
drove out there, and [found] two [nylon] ice fishing shanties,” said
Kalida Police Chief Jim Gulker. “They were nice ones…right out there in
the middle of the pond.”
As Gulker noted, catch and release
fishing is allowed at the pond. As such, the two individuals were not
violating any park rules or local ordinances.
Following Gulker’s
report, a brief discussion ensued where council expressed surprise at
the activity. They also voiced concern over liability issues should the
village allow this type of winter sport to continue going forward.
Additional worries over ice skating and using snowmobiles or four
wheelers on the frozen pond were mentioned as well.
Following
discussion, council voted unanimously to ban such activities. At least
four signs indicating the new rules are expected to be ordered and
placed at the pond in the near future.
Architectural plans for
Kalida’s new town hall and related road work will be available for
viewing and discussion tonight, Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. at the
current village hall. All area residents are invited to attend the
meeting.
With the plans nearing a cost
estimate is expected to be discussed as well. Mayor Gerdeman expressed
hope that once the estimate is known, the village could begin making
progress towards identifying a method for funding the new town hall.
Should all go well, he anticipates breaking ground on the new building
in the spring of 2020.
As related be Gerdeman, the Kalida Park
Board has submitted its grant application to the Ohio Public Works
Commission (OPWC) for Phase II of the village’s nature trail. This would
complete the connecting between Four Seasons Park and Froggy Park,
criss crossing Plum Creek. Phase I was mostly complete by last fall.
Residents may note that the home which stood on this land has now been
demolished as of this past Monday, though some debris may still need to
be removed.
The village also learned that OPWC has awarded a
Nature Works Local Grant for construction of a new shelter house at
Froggy Park. This grant and project is separate from the nature trail
project. The shelter house must be completed by Dec. 31, 2020, and is
expected to be in place much sooner.
Mayor Gerdeman provided his
official remarks on the ‘State of the Village’ during Monday evening’s
council meeting, as required by Ohio’s Revised Code.
“I want to
thank all of the elected officials and all of the employees for their
hard work and dedication during 2018,” Gerdeman began. “Once again, I
believe it was a tremendous year for the village. We did a lot of good
work.”
Gerdeman went on to note a plethora of accomplishments, 33
by his account, before highlighting a few he felt were particularly
notable.
“One of the things that’s always been a goal of mine
since I became Mayor is a new town hall for the village….We got started
on that by selecting an architect to develop preliminary designs. We’ve
had several meetings, and I think we’ve come up with a real solid floor
plan, and a real solid architectural design for the building…I think
it’s going to be a great addition to the village.”
“The Park Board
got started on the new nature trail for Four Seasons Park, and that
included a new pedestrian bridge over Plum Creek…They got a lot done
this last year, and of course there’s more to do…Now, it’s on to Phase
II.”
“[There were] significant vehicle purchases in 2018. A new
cruiser for the police department, a new riding lawn mower, and a new
tractor; some fairly substantial purchases, cost-wise, for the village.”
Later, Gerdeman also noted that the village’s finances in early
January, 2019 were virtually identical to January, 2018, even with these
significant purchases.
“From a safety standpoint,” he continued,
“We had a survey done [on pubic parking spaces] and sure enough, we were
out of compliance in several areas. We took action to correct that by
marking ‘No Parking’ zones near crosswalks and alleyways.”
Gerdeman
credited a local resident for bringing this issue to the village’s
attention. Prior to the changes, previously existing parking spaces
created sightline issues for those turning onto busy roadways within the
village.
The next meeting of the Kalida Village Council will take
place on Monday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Village Hall. All meetings
are open to the public and they are invited to attend.