ORWELL – Orwell Village Council examined consolidating several village departments into one Department of Public Service during a Tuesday, Jan. 13, work session.
Village Manager Sean Ratican requested legislation to create a Department of Public Service, that would include Lands and Buildings, Streets and Water and Sewer.
Departments would consolidate vehicles and equipment, with older equipment being replaced or sold as surplus.
Ratican reported the departments have completed an asset inventory, which he said he’d email to council members.
In other business, council discussed several levies. Templates for the legislation declaring the levies’ necessity were revised to reflect recent changes in state law.
Ratican made several requests – one for bulk water rates for contractors and pool haulers and another to issue a request for qualifications for a contractor to prepare a community development plan to lobby for appropriations from the federal and state governments.
The new ladder truck from Rosenbauer International Co. is complete and will arrive by the end of January before it goes out on tour for six months. It will return in June or July, according to Ratican.
The truck is a demonstration model that will be displayed at Orwell first, then toured around the Midwest over the following six months. It will then have all of its hoses and other accessories replaced and be turned over to the village at a cost of just over $1.5 million, according to Ratican.
The new truck will replace one that is almost 35 years old, according to Ratican. He said he is also looking into low-interest loans, grants and other funding sources for another 30-year-old truck that needs replacing.
Under new business, Ratican discussed future changes to the water/sewer utility, including updating meters at a cost of $50,000-$60,000 in addition to updating software to allow customers the option to receive and pay bills though a portal.
Replacement traffic signals are covered at 60 percent by the Ohio Department of Transportation, according to Ratican, who added he thought the state should cover more, since the lights are located on state routes.
Ratican said the intersection of State Route 45 and U.S. Route 322 is a hazard without a turning lane, and he has not ruled out a roundabout.
Finance Director Kimberly McKinley provided an update on the final cost for paving work on Penniman Road. The village received from Ohio Public Works Commission 60-40 matching grant, along with a $50,000 zero-interest loan.
The total cost for engineering, construction management and construction came in at 50 percent of the estimate, therefore, no loan was necessary, she added.
In addition, 28 percent of village funds appropriated in 2025 went unencumbered. McKinley said departments ought to be commended for spending public money only as necessary.
