Strasburg Council discusses fire department updates
At the June 17 Strasburg Village Council meeting, Mayor Bruce Metzger informed the community an unmanned police cruiser was used near ProVia by Don Dummermuth, the village engineer, for work at the site for the Joint Economic Development District. It was a safety issue.
“Our turnout gear has arrived,” Fire Chief Jason Ely said. “We purchased two sets of turnout gear, which includes a coat, pants, boots, fire gloves, extrication gloves, a hood and helmet. Each set cost $4,758. Funds that were left over from the fire station exhaust removal grant were used to purchase the turnout gear. We are planning to begin a junior firefighter program, and the out-of-date turnout gear will be used for them.”
Ely said all firefighters are equipped with turnout gear. There are 25 part-time staffers along with Ely, and he has five applications for volunteers to only be used for a fire call.
Other business
Council learned Nick Haswell will be the first distinguished citizen honored at the Summer Festival at Franklin Park July 25 and 26. Haswell has planted the flowers between the traffic lights and at Franklin Park and trimmed the shrubs for many years. He will be honored July 26 at 6 p.m. at the park.
Council heard the pickleball courts have been striped and the nets and stanchions have been installed and will soon be ready for use. There will be one tennis court and six pickleball courts.
Council approved $150 for mulch to be placed at the playground in Franklin Park.
Council passed a resolution hiring part-time firefighters Mason Gibbs and Emily Warner. They are both Firefighter II and basic emergency medical technicians.
Council issued permits for a pool at 608 Maple Ave. NW and a fence in a rear yard at 515 S. Wooster Ave.
Council held the second reading or an ordinance regulating nuisance feral animals, amending a previous ordinance and enacting a new section.
Council passed an ordinance prohibiting door-to-door and public property solicitation. These practices are prohibited without a permit.
Other information
Council member Jeff Smith thanked the fire department and police for their quick response to a medical emergency at his house. “I am happy with the service,” he said.
The fire department responded to 35 calls for service from June 1-15. Plans are to provide an auto extrication training. The training will be provided by Citizens First Fire at no cost to the department. Speedy Auto Salvage will provide 10-12 vehicles for training.
All the police officers have qualified for firearms training. They will participate in Taser training in the near future. The police are now operating on 12-hour shifts, and coverage has returned to 24/7. The police responded to 89 calls from June 3-17.
The Summer Festival will feature the Bolivar Fire safety trailer for residents to view.
Several roads in Franklin Township will be paved instead of chipped and sealed. The first road to be paved will be Central Avenue from Ninth Street to 12th Street Northwest, which is the most traveled.
On June 6 the new restaurant in Valley Centre Mall was shut down because ECOBA called and said the owners didn’t have a final hood system inspection. On June 12, ECOBA and Pitts Extinguisher visited the restaurant, and they passed the inspection and reopened.
The American Legion will hold a chicken barbecue Sunday, July 13 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Malcuit parking lot at 707 S. Wooster Ave.
The next meeting will be July 1 at 6 p.m. at 224 N. Bodmer Ave. Meetings are open to the public.