A new parking lot at the corner of Cherry and Columbus streets is on the way, after a unanimous vote at the Sept. 4 Sunbury Village Council meeting.
Pending a signed agreement from the property owner, the project would go out to bid, not to exceed $200,000. The long-planned 5 S. Columbus St. property work could be done by year’s end. According to city documents, the plans include 14 spaces and a landscaped open space on the corner, with Sunbury, Ohio, signage on a brick gateway.
There would also be “drainage improvements that will connect to the storm sewer currently being installed on West Cherry Street,” states the Aug. 30 Engineering Status Report.
Village officials have said the lot has been four years in the making. Among the delays has been the state. Council minutes stated on Aug. 21, “Sunbury applied for an environmental grant. The grant is in limbo … the DeWine administration has put a hold on all approvals within the grant fund. There is no known timeline for final determination of the program.”
Next to the lot at 11 S. Columbus St. is the newly-opened You’re Home, a home decor and gift store.
Across the street at the Town Square, a Labor Day Antique Flea Market was held this past holiday. One of the organizers, Barry Bennett, told council of the flea market, “It was an absolute success.” He said there were 100 vendors of goods that were of a better quality than before, and the food trucks were sold out. The flea market replaced the traditional Ox Roast, which Bennett said took three times as much work to put on. The Big Walnut Civic Association assisted with the flea market.
In other Sunbury news, Administrator Allen Rothermel said volunteers were mailing out copies of the proposed City Charter “to all residents who voted in the last general election.” Solicitor David Brehm said a similar Ohio community, Wellington, served as a model for the charter. However, there were no radical changes from the way the village is now being governed.
Village staff has been visiting sites, including Sunbury Methodist Church, to check on drainage complaints from residents in creeks, ravines and storm pipes. “For the most part, ‘flooding’ has been isolated and short-lived,” Rothermel wrote in his report for Aug. 21.
