JEFFERSON – Mayor Steven Sekanina reported work is set to begin on an inclusive playground and Imagination Village at the former Memorial Field during a Tuesday, Sept. 8, meeting of Jefferson Village Council.
The Imagination Village and inclusive playground will be built at the site of the former Memorial Field, and the village has secured $500,000 in funding from the Civic Development Corp. of Ashtabula County (CDC) and another $150,000 from the Ashtabula County commissioners for a splash pad at the site, according to Sekanina.
Work will be conducted by Simak Trucking & Excavating Inc. of North Kingsville, which has a long project history with Jefferson Village. Simak was the sole bidder for the project, as other companies were too busy at this time of year, Sekanina said.
The mayor said he’d talked with the company owner, who’d agreed to bid the project low enough to only cover the company’s costs and had cut expenses as much as possible.
The village directed the sale of a property it owned on Walnut Street and used the proceeds to purchase piping and fittings for the project, according to Sekanina.
Fencing at the project site and equipment delivery were set to take place in the day or two after the meeting. Site work is estimated to take two to four weeks.
Sekanina said many community stakeholders had donated to make the project happen.
“As we said at the onset, anyone’s who’s participating in the project, we’re going to recognize them,” he said.
The CDC also offered to provide a project manager at its expense, which Sekanina conceded had not been in the village’s budget.
“It’s a big deal,” he said.
The groundbreaking will provide an opportunity to get some photos and announce good news to the community, with updates from the mayor at future council meetings, he said.
The splash pad portion of the project will still need to go out for bids after site work is finished at the end of autumn, after the houses for the Imagination Village are installed, according to Sekanina.
“I think everything is starting to move along,” he said.
The village will still need to do some fundraising to move the park project forward, with the village “biting off little pieces at a time,” to avoid overcommitting before funds are in hand, according to Sekanina.
In legislation:
• Amending the village’s current expenses for fiscal 2026 – approved on third reading.
• Authorizing the sale of surplus village property that is no longer needed for public purposes – first reading.
• Adopting cybersecurity, authorized use, incident response and disaster recovery policies – first reading.
• Entering into a contract with Union Industrial Contractors Inc. for the second phase of clarifier improvements at the wastewater treatment plant – approved on second reading after the three-reading rule was suspended.
According to meeting materials, the project has an estimated cost of $837,500, funded through an Ohio Public Works Commission grant of $216,000 and a loan of $621,500.
• Supporting the implementation of a safe transportation network and completing a roadway safety action plan for a Safe Streets for All grant application from the Federal Highway Administration – first reading.
• Approving the appointment of David Robinson to volunteer firefighter.
• Approving the hire of John Cudnik to a vacant patrol/detective position with the Jefferson Village Police Department.
In administrative reports:
Andria Manor, village administrator, reported that Street Department workers have been trimming trees along village-owned streets.
The sidewalks have been removed along East Walnut Street and are being removed on West Satin Street, with grass seed being sown to restore the disturbed areas, according to Manor.
Chip/seal work on village parking lots is set to begin at the end of September, she added.
Bids for paving work on East Walnut Street came in more than 20 percent above the project’s cost estimate, and so the project must be rebid, according to Manor.
Drainage work in the area will likely be finished this year, with paving work set to begin in the spring, she added.
Police Chief Christopher Mackensen reported his department responded to 256 calls for service during August, including 58 medical calls. Patrol officers responded to five motor vehicle crashes, made seven arrests and issued 21 citations on 62 traffic stops.
Interim Fire Chief Joe Edison reported fire crews made 26 runs during August, including nine in the village, eight in Jefferson Township and five in Lenox Township.
Firefighters also spent 112 hours during the month at events, primarily the Fair, where they acted as a safety standby during the demolition derbies and other motorsports events.
Edison said Jefferson and some neighboring departments will be at State Route 46 North on Sunday, Sept. 20, for a live burn training exercise, where the owner, who wishes to demolish the structures, has offered for firefighters to burn the house, barn and some outbuildings for live-fire training.
Sekanina said residents have been concerned about construction work on Satin Street, across from Discount Drug Mart, with some theorizing it’s for a new county parking lot. The mayor said he’d conferred with the county engineer and one of the commissioners and confirmed it’s for a storm sewer.
The Jefferson Area Chamber of Commerce Haunted Woods will be back Oct. 9 and 10 at the dog park and trick-or-treating is Saturday, Oct. 31, from 4-6 p.m.
The next regular session meeting of Jefferson Village Council is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 21, at 6 p.m. at Village Hall, 27 E. Jefferson St.
