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Lisbon Village Hall to remain closed

LISBON – For now, Lisbon’s Village Hall will remain closed to the public, council decided Wednesday after some discussion. Village Hall was closed back on Dec. 28 after Mayor Peter Wilson posted on his Facebook page that it would be closed due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases in the area at that time.

Tuesday, Councilwoman Dawn Thomas cited current decreasing COVID cases as reason to reopen. While Wilson agreed that numbers are decreasing, he said they are still high. “People continue to die,” Wilson said. “I don’t mind waiting another week or two to decide. Numbers are still really high and unfortunately Columbiana County has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the state.”

Ultimately Wilson said the council will revisit the subject at the Feb. 8 meeting.

Council also discussed a new police grant from the Ohio Department of Public Safety, Office of Criminal Justice System. Lisbon won $20,823 for body cameras. In contrast, Police Chief Mike Abraham said the estimated total cost for the cameras is $46,368 and said it is not immediately clear where the additional $25,545 will be coming from.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Wilson spoke of a possible federal grant he had applied for. However, Wednesday Wilson said he spoke to representatives from the Small Rural Tribal Body Worn Camera Program from the Bureau of Justice Assistance and that Lisbon had not been awarded funding at this time.

He said there had been 966 applications nationally and 258 were awarded while 708 were put on a waiting list, and Lisbon is on the waiting list. “They have already distributed the funds they had available but we are on the second trench, waiting to hear from them,” Wilson said. “They gave us no indication of when they would let us know.

Wilson said in today’s world, body cameras are essential for police officers to protect both the officers and the community. “Myself, I think we should spend the money, even if we don’t get it. We had the income tax rate increase with the funds for police expenditures. Three quarters were supposed to go to the police.”

The next council meeting is scheduled for Feb. 8.

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