VILLAGE OF MONROEVILLE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER

Hello Friends and Neighbors!

Summer is quickly coming to a close, as Fall is ever so ready to escort it out. This transition requires our village employees to change gears, if you will, as they prepare for not only this season, but the cold, beautiful, snowy one to come. Again, I would like to publicly recognize all of the Monroeville Village employees for their continued hard work and dedication. Time and time again, the office is receiving compliments about the hard-working, knowledgeable and cooperative employees that ensure the successful running of our village. They do their job well, continue their education and training in their respective fields, and reach out to help others where they can. Thank you for representing some of the best qualities of what makes Monroeville special!

2018 is only a few months away. We continue to plan festivities to celebrate Monroeville’s Sesquicentennial (150th anniversary). Our next planning meeting will be October 12th at 6:30 in the back room of the Administrative office and we are always looking for more help. Please come and join in the fun! In the meantime, we hope you are looking forward to some of the special activities planned for next year, including anniversary royalty and special events in the spring and summer. (Rumor has it a play is being written about our very own village. How fun!!) We will conclude our special year with a weekend celebration September 7-9, 2018. It will be a great way to remember the past, look forward to the future, but most importantly, celebrate everything that makes Monroeville (and everyone associated with her) so amazing. You can keep up with all of the latest information by liking our Facebook page “Monroeville Sesquicentennial Celebration” or by checking the village website.

Like the seasons changing, nothing in life stays the same. Likewise, our village continues to grow and change. Since I’ve last written, we have seen the retirement of a few employees, along with some moving on to other positions. As you notice new faces throughout the village, both employees and residents alike, please make them feel welcome and let them experience what makes us such a great community!

Yours in service,

Melissa M. FriesMayor

THE SEARCH IS ON FOR THE MISSING PIECE

The Sesquicentennial committee is still in search of a logo for our town’s 150 th

celebration. We have had a few terrific sketches submitted but have not found “the one”. While we love our Monroeville Eagles, we would like to have a logo that represents our village and community as a whole and commemorates our 150 years. This logo will be used on pamphlets, flyers, T-shirts, etc. We know we have many talented and creative individuals out there. Submit your piece to the Administrative Office and be a part of something special!

HERE COMES THE SUN....Monroeville Solar Park

The Village is ready to undertake the installation of a Utility Scale Solar Energy Project. We have previously shared with you the possibility of renewable energy becoming a part of our power supply portfolio and now our project has gone from conceptual to reality.

The Monroeville Solar Park will be constructed on unused Village owned land adjacent to the up ground reservoir. The system will be comprised of three interconnected solar arrays, two on the south side and one on the north side. The design is based on fixed tilt arrays and will use the latest technology for highly efficient power conversion.

When operational, the Solar Park will produce approximately 10% of the total electric energy consumed in the Village. This 10% equates to roughly 5,400,000 kilowatt hours of locally generated, renewable energy, provided to the Village.

Why Solar and why now? Several years ago solar power generation began to appear at locations across the country and in Ohio. At that time, solar power was expensive and the technology for solar power production had not matured to its highly functional level of today.

In Ohio, electricity is mainly generated using coal, natural gas and nuclear. These power sources produce large amounts of electricity using non-renewal resources.

In the United States in 2016, renewable energy provided 14% of our electricity. As a comparison, in 2002, only 7% of our energy was produced from renewable sources.

Council's goal is to have an energy mix that contains a robust renewable energy portfolio to ensure the Village maintains a purchased power cost structure that provides for the delivery of reliable and affordable electric service in the years ahead.

“I'D PUT MY MONEY ON THE SUN AND SOLAR ENERGY. WHAT A SOURCE OF POWER! I HOPE WE DON'T HAVE TO WAIT TILL OIL AND COAL RUN OUT BEFORE WE TACKLE THAT. I WISH I HAD MORE YEARS LEFT.”

(THOMAS EDISON DURING A MARCH 1931 CONVERSATION WITH HARVEY FIRESTONE. EDISON PASSED ON OCTOBER 18, 1931 AT THE AGE OF 84)

Tom Gray – Village Administrator

Our Water and Wastewater Department would like to remind all Sanitary Sewer users not to dispose of any mercury containing items or fluids into the sewer. If you need help on getting rid of it please call them at 419-465-4182 and they will help you dispose of it properly.The employees of the Wastewater Dept., in order to comply with the Mercury Variance in our permit, will be re-visiting the commercial customers to verify nothing mercury related has changed. VILLAGE OF MONROEVILE2 SOUTH MAIN STREETP O BOX 156MONROEVILLE, OH 44847

Address Service Requested

If you want a tasty sweet,be sure to holler“Trick or Treat!”

Our annual Trick-or-Treating will be Sunday, October 29th from 1pm to 2:30pm, followed by a parade at 3:00pm. The Huron River Joint Fire District Firemen’s Association will be hosting this fun for all event.

Join in this long standing tradition and enjoy seeing the creative costumes and the joy on a child’s face when they receive a treat from you.

2017 – 2018 HEATING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

Residents of households which may be eligible for assistance with paying utility bills can stop by the Administrative Offices to pick up a H.E.A.P. application. This application can also be found on the web at energyhelp.ohio.gov. H.E.A.P. is an assistance program that provides a one-time benefit annually to your primary heating source. Below are the income guidelines to qualify. Please visit energyhelp.ohio.gov for a list of all included and excluded income.

Household Size __ Gross Income

One Person $21,105.00 Two Persons $28,420.00 Three Persons $35,735.00 Four Persons $43,050.00

PRSRT STU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDNORWALK, OH

PERMIT NO. 104

Five Persons $50,365.00 Six Persons $57,680.00 Seven Persons $64,995.00

Eight Persons $72,310.00

For households with more than 8 members, add $8,360.00 per additional member.

Watch out for “Hazard” TreesThe Shade Tree Commission believes it is better to find a risky tree before it becomes a hazard. There are defects to look for when assessing a tree. Here are some of them: large dying or dead branches, rot in the roots or base with a fungi or carpenter ants present, large vertical cracks on opposite sides of the trunk and open cavities in the trunk or branches. Our Shade Tree Commission does try to spot trees with issues, but if you would notice a tree that is causing you concern please contact the Village Office. They will then contact the Shade Tree members so we can assess the tree. Trees are assets to our community and deserve the best care to prevent any problems.

Shade Tree Commission

The Ohio EPA recently performed an inspection of the Water Treatment Plant Laboratory and verified the proficiency of the Water Division team members. The laboratory was found to be in compliance for testing and all of the team members successfully obtained their 2017-2018 Laboratory Testing Certification.

We welcome Kevin Gerber to our Water and Wastewater division. Kevin is a recent graduate of Monroeville High School and is currently enrolled in the OTCO water school.

The Village and Ridgefield Township, in collaboration, were successful in obtaining a State of Ohio grant for the replacement of roadway safety signs. Stop, speed, pedestrian, and other warning signs in the Village will be upgraded in the near future.In the spring newsletter, it was reported ODOT was assisting us with improvements in school zone signage. ODOT has recently approved the installation of a new, passive school zone sign

Daylight Savings time ends on November 5th this year. Don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour and change the batteries in your smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

The Administrative Offices will be closed on the following dated in observance of holidays…..

Oct 9th – Columbus DayNov 10th – Veteran’s DayNov 23rd – ThanksgivingDec 25th – Christmas DayJan 1, 2018 – New Year’sJan 15th – Martin Luther King DayFeb 19th – Presidents’ Day

on US 20, westbound, just past the North Broad Street intersection. This will provide an additional notification to motorists who are turning from North Broad Street and heading west.

This year marked the end of twenty-two years of dedicated service from Monroeville’s Assistant Clerk, Susan Long. Sue retired on June 16th, and while the Administrative Office personnel feels her absence, this is a well deserved respite for someone who was known for her amicability and a memory for the smallest details. In an effort to allow a smooth transition, two part-time positions were eliminated and an additional full-time position was created. Ann Beck has moved into administration full-time, and Debbie Ewell has joined the team to assist in all areas of administrative duties.

On May 29th the Village of Monroeville and the Monroeville Police Department held its’ annual Hooked on Fishing event. The event was a huge success on an absolutely perfect day with approximately 280 adults and children attending. Awards were given to those who could catch the biggest fish, the smallest fish and the most fish. Below are the winners. Left to right: Lexi Bores with largest fish; Chief Lyons; Carter Carroll with the smallest fish; and Colleen Camp with the most fish. Congratulations. A special thanks to John and Mary Lou Bores, Cold As Ice, Firelands Federal Credit Union, Myers Tent and Chair Rental, Grandpa’s Bait, and OPTO Traffic for their kind donations and service. In addition I would like to thank Mayor Fries, Sgt. Gleason, Officer Kimball, and Captain Bond along with all the volunteers who helped make this event a success.

On June 26th through June 29th the Monroeville Police Department along with members of the Huron River Joint Fire District participated in Safety Town.

Approximately 29 children who will be entering Kindergarten successfully completed the course. Congratulations! A special thanks to Phil Charville for his many years of service to this program.

PLANTING, TRIMMING AND REMOVING, OH MY!!

Members of Council and the Administrative Staff recently joined the Shade Tree Commission’s meeting at which an Urban Forester with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources attended. The meeting was quite informative and helpful as we continue to work with the Shade Tree Commission with planting, trimming and removing trees. A list is currently being created for trees along the curbs that will require removal or trimming in early 2018. Two of our employees will receive training for the proper way to trim for the structural health and beauty of our trees, and for the protection from interference with overhead power lines.

REPLACEMENT OF OLD GAS LINESIf your lawn or sidewalk has been impacted from the work Columbia Gas is doing to replace old service lines within the Village, please be assured that either Columbia Gas or its designated contractor will soon restore the area to its pre-construction condition.

Are you ready for some football??!! The Monroeville Eagles are in full football gear and roarin’ toward an awesome season. As you head down to one of our home games, don’t forget there are parking restrictions along North Street by the football stadium. Please remember that there is no parking on the curb lawn and in front of the stadium at any

Sergeant Gleason accepted a position with the Huron County Sheriff’s Office on August 7th and Captain Bond announced his retirement as of September 4th. Between the two they have accumulated over 41 years of experience. While they will be missed and their absences will be felt, interviews are being conducted to fill their vacancies.

In August 2016, Chief Lyons was elected to serve as a law enforcement representative on the U.S. Department of Justice Advisory Policy Board. In

April of this year and as part of the Advisory Policy Board, Chief Lyons was selected to serve on the Department of Justice Compliance Evaluation Subcommittee. This subcommittee reviews the status of all state agency in their effort to maintain compliance with the standards set for by the Department of Justice. Chief Lyons is one of five law enforcement officers in the U.S. serving on this subcommittee.

Monroeville Police Department

A big shout out to our residents who endured the resurfacing of Monroe Street! This ODOT project was highly anticipated, and the end results are awesome. We would like to keep this street in excellent condition, and you can help! Many of our Village residents continue to blow grass clippings onto the streets. Not only are these grass clippings unsightly as they are swept against the curbside by traffic, but they eventually end up in a catch basin where they can create a plug or water dam that prevents proper drainage. Refraining from this unnecessary practice will help preserve our streets and our storm drains. Catch basin work continues. We are planning on doing some crack sealing before the snow flies, as well as getting the pot holes filled. New street signs have been purchased, which will be installed as time permits.

THE FINAL DAY FOR YARD WASTE PICK UP WILL BE TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2017.We are looking forward to using our new powered leaf vacuum, which was purchased late last fall with the financial assistance of the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation’s Safety Intervention Grant Project. The use of this vac truck will enable us to establish a regular schedule to collect leaves, and will completely eliminate the use of plastic leaf bags. Plastic leaf bags will no longer be collected. We will collect leaves every second and fourth Tuesday starting October 10th. This is not to be confused with yard waste pickup, which will be on the same dates in October. Please have your leaves raked to the curbside in order to allow the vac truck to be most effective. Please do not rake leaves into the street, and do not rake any garbage, bottles, cans, sticks/limbs, or animal feces with the leaves. Anything other than leaves will be left for your disposal. We will do our final leave pickup on December 12 th, weather permitting. In just a short period of time we will be installing snow plows and salt spreaders on our trucks in preparation for this winter’s snowfalls. We have over 100 ton of salt in our salt bin ready to make our Village streets safe for our community and other travelers. We ask once again that

PLANTING, TRIMMING AND REMOVING, OH MY!!

Members of Council and the Administrative Staff recently joined the Shade Tree Commission’s meeting at which an Urban Forester with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources attended. The meeting was quite informative and helpful as we continue to work with the Shade Tree Commission with planting, trimming and removing trees. A list is currently being created for trees along the curbs that will require removal or trimming in early 2018. Two of our employees will receive training for the proper way to trim for the structural health and beauty of our trees, and for the protection from interference with overhead power lines.

REPLACEMENT OF OLD GAS LINESIf your lawn or sidewalk has been impacted from the work Columbia Gas is doing to replace old service lines within the Village, please be assured that either Columbia Gas or its designated contractor will soon restore the area to its pre-construction condition.

Are you ready for some football??!! The Monroeville Eagles are in full football gear and roarin’ toward an awesome season. As you head down to one of our home games, don’t forget there are parking restrictions along North Street by the football stadium. Please remember that there is no parking on the curb lawn and in front of the stadium at any

you use caution when driving behind a snow plow. Following too closely is dangerous for both you and the snow plow driver. Remember….snow plows take room to groom!

Streets Division

System wide hydrant flushing and valve exercising is scheduled for the weeks HYDRANT of October 16th and 23rd. Water division employees will begin flushing/valve FLUSHING exercising at approximately 9:00am and stop around 3:00pm daily. You may experience low flow and or cloudy/discolored water during this period. Please let tap run and the condition should clear up relatively quickly.

The water division received a grant to add more parameters to our reservoir monitoring data sonde, the additional monitoring parameters are wind speed/direction and an automated rain gauge system as well as a new laptop to download and calibrate all of the instruments on site.

As a reminder meter reading is around the 10th of every month. Please refrain from parking over or piling leaves and snow on top of the meter pit.

Water and Wastewater Division

PICNIC IN THE PARK

There is still time to mosey on down to the river along Clark Park and use the new barbeque grills that have been added to the serene riverside. Tables have been included to make your picnic complete! Our new “Beach Area” has been a big hit enabling easy access to the river.

The parks were full of baseball and softball games this summer followed by Peewee football in the fall. We were pleased to host the Second Food Harvest again this summer which was a huge success.

Parks Division

SIGNS, SIGNS, EVERYWHERE A SIGN….Established before Google, Wikipedia and the Internet, Monroeville is getting ready to celebrate 150 years of being an incorporated Village! There are so many plans being made to make this celebration special, and we wanted to get the community involved with our preparations.

DEAR SANTA, DEFINE “GOOD”………..It’s nearing the time for our December Delights! We were so pleased to receive such positive feedback with the simple changes that were made last year for our Christmas decorations and events. We’re excited to bring around a few more additions this year, so mark your calendars for Sunday, December 10th for our annual Christmas-in-the-Park! We’ll introduce a couple more decorative displays in Commons Park, and are planning a tree lighting ceremony when Santa arrives. Look for special lighting throughout the community, and join our holiday exhibits with your own Christmas displays! Look for more information as we move closer to the event!

You may have noticed how worn and faded our welcome signs at the Village’s corporation lines are getting. While Council was discussing the replacement of these signs they decided it would be great to make these sign upgrades something in which the community could participate.

Wanting to have a new design for these signs, and knowing that our community just has to have several residents who are artfully creative, Council is asking for YOUR design ideas. Wouldn’t it be exciting to see YOUR design work on every welcome sign?! And they would be completed just in time for our Sesquicentennial celebration! What an awesome way to share your community pride for all to see! Simply submit your designs to the Administrative Offices by November 3rd, and

Council members will choose a winner at their November 14th meeting. Can’t wait to see what our new welcome signs will look like!!

The Village of Monroeville is celebrating Public Power Week, Oct. 1-7, along with more than 2,000 other community-owned, not-for-profit electric utilities that collectively provide electricity to 49 million Americans.

Public Power Week celebrates the reliable, affordable electricity Monroeville Utilities provides to our community, puts the people of Monroeville first, and Public Power Week gives us the chance to emphasize the advantages of locally grown, locally owned power to our citizens.

Our service is reliable and safe and we take pride in serving our friends and neighbors. We are proud to have served the Village for more 30 years. Today our electric division has two employees and two substations. It serves 696 residential customers, and 143 commercial and industrial customers.

Public Power Week is an annual national event coordinated by the American Public Power Association in Washington, D.C. The American Public Power Association is the voice of not-for-profit, community-owned utilities that power 2,000 towns and cities nationwide. The Association represents public power before the federal government to protect the interests of the more than 49 million people that public power utilities serve, and the 93,000 people they employ. It advocates and advises on electricity policy, technology, trends, training, and operations. Its members strengthen their communities by providing superior service, engaging citizens, and instilling pride in community-owned power. More at www.PublicPower.org.

VILLAGE OF MONROEVILLE2 SOUTH MAIN STREET

P O BOX 156MONROEVILLE, OH 44847MELISSA FRIES, MAYOR

419-465-6055THOMAS GRAY, VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR

419-465-2922