WELLSVILLE – Two pieces of legislation were placed on first reading with all-in-favor votes during Tuesday’s meeting of the Wellsville Village Council.

The legislation included establishing wages for volunteer firefighters and the advertisement for bids for lease of property.

If adopted, the legislation for the volunteer firefighter wages would give the volunteer fire fighters an increase of $1 per hour of service inside the village, which would take them from $11 per hour of service to $12. While the legislation notes that it was declared an emergency measure, it was placed on first reading.

The legislation for bids for lease of real property is for the Wellsville Reservoir, which the village owns and has deemed not needed for municipal purposes. If adopted, the legislation allows the village to receive bids for the lease of surface rights of the property. The legislation is on first reading, and if approved the village will publish a legal notice advertising for the bids once a week for five consecutive weeks as required by law.

Council President Keith Thorn requested an executive session for personnel matters to which he invited all council members, Mayor Bob Boley, Fiscal Officer Hoi Wah Yu and Village Solicitor Chris Weeda. During the executive session Fire Chief Barry Podwel was asked to join them.

The council returned from the executive session and voted to go back into an open meeting with no action taken.

Yu in her report requested council consider having an ordinance drawn up under emergency measure to proceed with an engineering study on the inland projects at the Wellsville Marina before the village loses the grant funding it has for playground equipment, security cameras, boat docks and other items. Council members voted unanimously to request the ordinance.

Yu also noted that the Buckeye Water District has said it will invest in the dredging of the marina, with the village obtaining a grant for the BWD to replace a water tank, but the district needs council to vote on a corrected resolution for the grant. Council agreed to order the new resolution.

Mike Lombardozzi, chair, Cemetery/Park/Equipment Committee, said the salt spreaders have arrived and should hopefully have the village out of the woods with the salt trucks, and he is looking for a bed for the village’s older truck so it can be put into service as a backup truck.

Lombardozzi also noted that he believes someone from the BWD should be attending council meetings at least once a month so issues and concerns with the district can be addressed directly.

There were no reports from the police, fire and zoning departments, nor the village administrator, who was out with the road crew for cold patching potholes.

Boley noted the three waste management companies that pick up the garbage in the village are supposed to be paying the village $500 annually, but they have not collected for the past several years.

Boley also said Ohio Valley Waste Services and Waste Management both paid when he approached them about it, but Diamondback Services questioned why they should pay when they are still owed $2,000 for the dumpster they provided when Gigi Janko tore down the structure she called a longitude structure art work behind the church.

There has been a dispute over who should pay the money. Boley said he does not want to burn bridges with the company and was willing to have the village pay for the dumpster even though they were not the ones contracted, but council members Aaron Smith and Karen Dash were opposed to it.

Council approved the payment of bills totaling $43,321.13 and the meeting minutes from the Feb. 3 meeting.

The Park Board will hold its monthly meeting on Feb. 19 at 6 p.m., in council chambers at Wellsville Village Hall.

Wellsville Village Council meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. in council chambers at Wellsville Village Hall, 1200 Main St. The next regular meeting is scheduled for March 3.

kgarabrandt@mojonews.com