Council approves land annexation

By Rob Treynor

Assistant Editor

The boundaries of Plain City just got a little larger.

At the village council meeting Monday night, council voted unanimously to annex a parcel of land in the Darby Township, near Schrock Automotive on U.S. Route 42.

The emergency annex was approved with waiving the typical three readings.

Town solicitor Eamon Costello prepared a resolution for the village to provide services in connection with the expedited annexation of the land from the township.

Under the terms of the agreement, both the village and Darby Township will share property tax revenues on an increasing/decreasing basis.

The agreement will last for 12 years. At the end of which, 100 percent of the taxes will go to the village.

In other business, the third and final reading of the proposed traffic light at U.S. Route 42 and West Avenue was read. No objections were raised, so the project will go ahead as planned.

The traffic light project will be mostly paid with state safety funds. It will cost $500,000 of which the state will fund $400,000 and our match will be $100,000,” Village Administrator Steve Hilbert had said when the project was announced in January.

Todd Skidmore reported to the council that the Board of Zoning Appeals had approved a conditional use permit to Taylor Auto Body, 721-727 W. Main St. “We had some questions that they readily answered,” Skidmore said. “They’ll be able to do more business and may increase from four employees to eight-to-ten in the future.”

“That’s great news,” Mayor Sandra Adkins said.

Steve Hilbert reminded council of new office hours at the Water/Administrative Office. The new hours of operation, beginning Oct. 1, are: Monday through Thursday: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (closed at lunch: noon to 1 p.m.). The office will now be closed on Fridays. Utility payments can be made online or dropped off in the lock box at the water office anytime.

The next village council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m., on Oct. 8, in the municipal building.