Schools officials seek partnership on parking lot paving at stadium

Malvern Village Council was visited by Brown Local Schools officials at the Dec. 1 council meeting to discuss the paving of the football stadium parking lot at the park. Superintendent Danielle Hawk and school board members Kim Engle and Ron Ruegg attended the meeting asking for a partnership in paving the football stadium past the field house and nearly to the sewer plant.

“The parking lot is an eyesore,” said Engle. “There’s no rhyme or reason to how people park, and I’ve been blocked in during football games because nobody knows where to go.”

Ruegg presented a rough estimate from Scheckler Excavating Inc. in the amount of $335,000. They proposed splitting the cost three ways between the school, the village and the Carroll County commissioners, who have the sewer plant.

“I feel the commissioners have skin in the game too because they go to the sewer plant,” said Ruegg.

Village Administrator Derik Kaltenbaugh said the commissioners have been working on a grant that could help cut down the costs for this. It will hopefully be awarded in March or April.

“The grant the commissioners are working on includes drainage all the way from the road through the parking lot to the sewer plant,” said Kaltenbaugh. “If we pave without fixing the drainage first, it’ll only last a couple years. We have to do it the right way.”

Council and school officials agreed on most parts of the discussion. Kaltenbaugh said the best thing to do at this moment is wait a few months to see if the grant is awarded.

“We want it done as badly as you do,” said Kaltenbaugh. “We just need to let the commissioners try for the grant first. The grant would make our thirds much smaller.”

In an unrelated matter, during the park section of the meeting, Kaltenbaugh said he spoke to Commissioner Chris Modranski about the walking track needs, and Modranski recommended a couple of grants to try, particularly through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which offers assistance for outdoor recreation projects such as walking tracks, as well as the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District.

ODNR and MWCD are expected to accept new applications starting in January, and the council intends to contact them early in the year to explore funding opportunities.

Additional information on the park includes an announcement by Fiscal Officer Ashley Neading that they received a grant from the Carroll County Foundation in the amount of $2,190 to be used for two new ADA-compliant, metal-coated picnic tables for the park. Neading said she will get these ordered and complete the appropriate paperwork to go with the grant.

In other business:

—Approved a transfer of a liquor license from West End to Crossroads. Council agreed to not have a hearing.

—Heard Councilman Craig DeLong present photographs documenting more than 50 potholes in various areas in the village. While some repairs were made earlier in the year, new potholes have formed quickly and several older ones continue to worsen. Kaltenbaugh agreed it is a problem but stated that although cold patch is available for temporary fixes, the material does not last long in winter weather and is often scraped away by snowplows. Despite the limitations of winter patching, the council agreed that the worst potholes must be addressed promptly for safety and committed to purchasing cold patch and beginning repairs as soon as possible while planning for more permanent hot-mix repairs once the asphalt plants reopen in spring.

—Discussed a possible $1 monthly water-rate increase to improve the village’s chances of receiving upcoming infrastructure grants. Kaltenbaugh said the EPA now focuses heavily on system safety, especially aging lines and lead concerns, so showing local financial commitment helps strengthen grant applications. Members stressed the need to balance this with residents’ fixed incomes and agreed that any increase should be small and gradual. A final decision will be made at the next meeting to ensure proper notice and avoid raising rates more than necessary. Councilwoman Barb Burgess emphasized caution about raising rates too sharply, noting that unnecessary increases would be unfair if the village ultimately does not receive grant funds.

—Heard Kaltenbaugh ask council to keep the possibility of a police department on their minds heading into the coming year. “We really need to keep going on the police department,” said Kaltenbaugh. “I don’t care who else is involved. We need to do something. It’s crazy, people will pass you on Porter doing 60. It’s ridiculous some of the stuff that happens in Malvern and we can’t do anything to stop it.”

—Heard the recycle bins are ready to go but AEP needs to fix a leaning pole in the area first. Kaltenbaugh said he will call AEP once again. They have failed to respond and fix streetlights throughout the village for months. Many areas rely on these lights for safety.

—Paid the village bills of $3,773.20 approved by the Finance Committee Nov. 30 and $80,012.80 Dec. 1. Also paid biweekly payrolls of $6,133 Dec. 4 and monthly payrolls of $12,140 Nov. 28.

The next meeting will be held Monday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m.