Sunbury Village Council has signed off on legislation accepting the installation of 14 new parking spots and a fiber optics agreement, both of which will benefit the Village Square area.
In addition, a new tradition may have been started at council’s May 16 meeting.
Council approved a resolution on spending funds for the design and development of a new parking lot at 5 Columbus St. “due to the increased traffic downtown.” Engineers CT Consultants wrote that the project will be “at the southwest corner of Cherry Street and Columbus Street, along with drainage improvements that will connect to the storm sewer currently being installed on West Cherry Street. Preliminary plans provide 14 parking spaces and a landscaped open space on the corner.”
This “priority need” involved demolishing a dilapidated building on the site.
Also approved was an ordinance on a cooperation agreement with Delaware County “for installation of a fiber optic network to connect the village office to the County 911 Center.”
According to the agreement, Sunbury will provide the fiber connectivity to the office at 9 E. Granville St. to the fiber identified by Consolidated Electric. “The County, via the Delaware County Data Center, shall make final connectivity at 10 Court St. and 9 E. Granville St.
Administrator Allen Rothermel described this new network as being “double lightning fast” compared to the present system.
In other news, council approved improvements for the Town Hall’s brick masonry, windows, painting, flooring, and inside repairs, “including removing the stairs from the first to second floor.”
Another project update from the engineering report was that pavement repairs to the Sunbury Estates subdivision is complete, with microsurfacing to be done the last week of May, after school is out.
Sunbury Police Chief Robert Howard discussed cradle point mobile routers for the department’s cruisers. He said the routers and antenna would provide a constant mobile hotspot for the vehicles to help direct or locate the cruisers during out-of-jurisdiction chases. The system currently in operation often shuts off and requires manual reset. Council approved the purchase order for the AT&T products at $6,316.10, with a savings of $4,316.83.
“It’s dead-reckoning GPS, what the county and Westerville has. It’s the industry standard,” said councilman Joe St. John.
“This is a better service for less money,” said Mayor Tommy Hatfield.
A resident’s concern at a past meeting about speeding in the Sunbury Meadows subdivision was addressed by Hatfield. He suggested installing an on-road “Mega Marker” used for crosswalks in the middle of the roadway that says “Children At Play.” In other subdivision news, it was said the traffic light at Sunbury Meadows and state Route 3 may be up and running in mid- or late-June.
Also discussed prior to an executive session was preventing tractor-trailers from parking overnight in the Kroger parking lot, and a YMCA Community Center for Sunbury through the YMCA of Central Ohio. No action was taken on either item.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, former councilman Tom Zalewski praised Big Walnut Boy Scout Troop 701, which spent a day sprucing up the property of Jeff Wilson, who recently retired as BST&G fire chief. Wilson, who is battling cancer, has also had a concert and fun run to help with his medical costs in the past couple weeks.
“From now on, when I start hearing about people doing something good, I’m going to let you know,” Zalewski told the councilmen. “See you in a couple weeks.”
