Piqua City Commission honors student with citizenship award

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By Haylee Pence

[email protected]

PIQUA – Before the Piqua City Commission meeting on Tuesday, July 19, Piqua Area Chamber of Commerce President, Kathy Sherman, presented the 2022 Jan Mulder Citizenship Award to high school student, Blake Nelson.

Nelson received the award for rescuing an individual from the river and assisting first responders. The individual was intoxicated and dared to swim the river, but was unable to make it back across safely.

“Nelson’s heroic actions and quick response saved the [individual’s] life,” stated Sherman.

All of the commissioners thanked Nelson for his actions in the river rescue.

Following the award, the Piqua Charter Review Committee presented proposed changes to the Piqua Charter to ensure that the sections were consistent with state laws among other changes. Overall, 10 sections had proposed changes from changing meeting start times to changing purchasing requirements to including more gender-neutral terms.

There was one ordinance on the agenda which involved adding a position to the part-time, seasonal, and temporary employees list. The additional position is for a part-time city clerk with a pay rate of $20 to $25 per hour. The commissioners waived the three-reading rule and approved the ordinance.

Then, the commissioners approved a resolution authorizing the purchase and installation of new carpet on the first floor of the Municipal Government Building. The resolution was for an additional $3,000 bringing the budgeted total to $98,920 which includes a $1,500 contingency.

The next resolution was to approve an amendment to the Collective Bargaining Agreement to add a wastewater plant maintenance working supervisor and to amend the wage scale for 2022.

Another resolution authorized the City Manager to enter into an agreement with the Piqua City Schools in order to purchase fuel at the Piqua High School’s transportation hub. This agreement would allow city vehicles to obtain fuel at a discounted price compared to other local gas stations. A representative stated that an estimated $2,200 can be saved utilizing this agreement. The current contract with Speedway ends in June 2024.

The next two resolutions were to support the Piqua Improvement Corporation (PIC) for the application to the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program for the Piqua Power Plant and a property owned by Hartzell Hardwoods Inc. PIC will be able to provide assessments, remediation, and demolition of these properties if necessary.

Then, the commissioners approved a zoning map amendment from residential to central business district for the Piqua Town Home Project. The current project includes 10 town homes and three single family houses with an alley behind the buildings.

The final resolution was tabled. The resolution was to approve the annexation request of 662.035 acres and 1.605 acres of land from Washington Township to the City of Piqua.

Following the meeting, the floor was opened to public comments. A resident on South Street expressed his concerns regarding code enforcement on one of his rental properties, which has been cited for uncleanliness, according to the resident.

Paul Oberdorfer, city manager, wanted to inform citizens that the city was adopting a new agenda process for meetings. The notice for Tuesday meetings will be posted on the Friday before then the agenda packet for the meeting will be posted later to ensure accuracy.

Vice Mayor Kris Lee requested information from Oberdorfer regarding the Lock 9 Reconstruction Project. The project was put out to bid, but no bids were received. According to Oberdorfer, no bids were received based on the amount of work requested in the bid and the approaching completion date in order to benefit the opening date for Crooked Handle Brewing Company which is set to open in October.

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