Strasburg Village Council settles fall softball dispute

Strasburg Village Council approved a resolution to allow fall softball tournaments at Franklin Park, but not before a lengthy discussion and several amendments.

At the Feb. 17 meeting, council agreed each team will pay an additional $30 over the current entry fees of $475 for ages 8 and under and $575 for high school teams. The tournament is not connected to a school schedule. Teams from outside Strasburg will pay $100 per team.

“You don’t realize when these families come into the village for the weekend how much they spend at the service stations, the hotel and restaurants,” coach Brent Metzger said.

Don “Duck” Krantz said the high school softball team operates the concession stand as a fundraiser to travel to Myrtle Beach for a tournament. He said fall softball has been held for the past 15 years.

When the issue first came to a vote, Councilman Marty Zehnder said he would not support it and voted no. His vote came before other council members amended the proposal to add the $30 per-team increase.

“The council is not getting blamed for trying to run softball out of town,” Zehnder said.

In other business, Fire Chief Jason Ely said the fire department training house on Zeltman Avenue has a burn date of March 1 for the house and March 7 for the garage and barn. The property is owned by TremCar. Signs will be posted before March 1 on Zeltman Avenue from the railroad tracks to 12th Street NE to stage fire apparatus from other departments.

Residents were reminded to call 911 for fire department emergencies rather than the station’s local telephone number.

Council also:

Passed an emergency resolution approving the hiring of volunteer firefighter Marissa Holderbaum, who also is a basic emergency medical technician.

Heard a permit was granted to Tekton Construction and the village for construction of the community center.

Increased the fee for township residents to use the village composting site to $45 per year. Village residents will see an increase from $1 to $3 per month for composting, effective April 1.

Learned Franklin Township trustees agreed to pay $7,330 to upgrade the lights on the fire department tanker.

Approved sending part-time staff member Ben Yeakley to Bowling Green State University for Fire Emergency Service Instruction training at a cost of $645 plus a book and hotel stay. No classes are scheduled locally.

Passed an emergency resolution urging members of the General Assembly to support economic assistance from the Ohio Department of Transportation for villages to maintain and pave state highways. The village has spent $72,000 in unplanned repairs to U.S. 250 over the past 18 months due to heavy traffic and expects to spend another $90,000 in unbudgeted repairs.

Heard Dale Avenue from Sixth Street to 10th Street will be paved at an estimated cost of $313,375, creating a heavy workload for the street department this year.

Approved $33,000 for firefighter turnout gear. The former social association closed and transferred $29,000 to the village, with the remaining funds coming from a grant.

In other information, the Joint Economic Development District will meet March 4 at 4:30 p.m. at Village Hall.

The new owners of the Ramada Inn thanked police officer Kyland Robinson for checking businesses at night.

The welcome-to-Strasburg signs have been revamped at each corporation limit sign.

Photos of Strasburg veterans and active-duty service members, past and present, are being collected for military banners on Wooster Avenue. Photos should be 3-by-5 and show the service member in uniform. The back of each photo should include the first and last name, branch of service and a telephone number.

The fire department responded to 25 calls between Feb. 1 and 15, and the police department responded to 91 calls between Feb. 3 and 17.

The next council meeting will be held March 3 at 5:30 p.m. at 224 N. Bodmer Ave.