By Jessica Honigford
Community Post
MINSTER - Minster village council members and village officials heard updates regarding the village’s branding initiatives as well as analysis on an electrical cost of service study in its meeting Tuesday, Feb. 2. 

Mike McClurg and Erin Frilling of Forty Nine Degrees in Coldwater presented the primary and secondary Minster logo to the council members as well as a visual identity manual.
“One of the things is to create some consistency,” McClurg said. “This is a standard that you guys can take as far as you want or as little as you want.”
Frilling guided the council members through a presentation of policies for logo usage.
“The identity policy explains what can and can’t be done with the logy,” Frilling told the council members. Frilling explained the proper colors to use, how to adapt the logo for gray scale publications and for letterhead and envelopes.
McClurg recommended introducing the logo to the public in stages, starting first with stationary and letterhead before moving to larger items such as signage or the side of village vehicles and police cars.
Council members also heard a presentation from John Courtney of Courtney and Associates regarding the electrical cost of service study the company performed recently.  Minster adopted its current rates in charges in 2001, which is why there is a discrepancy in what the current charges are versus what the cost of service actually is for electrical customers in Minster.
The council adopted the changes Courtney proposed in a first reading of ordinance 10-2-3. If the ordinance passes, the changes would be a 4.4 percent overall increase for electrical customers including raising the residential customer charge from $2.75 to $4 per month.  The energy charge for residential customers from 7.854 cents per kilowatt hour to 8.35 cents per kilowatt hour for all usage.
Commercial customers on rate number two would see customer charges from $4 to $5 per month for single-phase customers and from $5 to $10 for three-phase customers. The energy charge for rate number two commercial customers would increase from 9.624 cents per kilowatt hours to 10 cents per kilowatt hours for the first 5,000 kilowatt hours and from 7.854 cents to 8 cents per kilowatt hours for anything over 5,000 kilowatt hours.
Commercial customers on rate number one would see in increase from $8 to $10 per month for single-phase and $15 to $20 per month for three-phase.  The demand charge would increase from $8.75 to $10 for the first 3,000 kilowatt. Anything over 3,000 would remain the same at $8.75 per kilowatt
The energy charge per kilowatt hour for rate number one customers would increase from 6.944 cents to 7 cents for the first 2,000 and would decrease from 5.024 cents to 5 cents for anything over 2,000.
Primary power customers would pay $4,925 per month for the first 500 kilowatts versus the current rate of $4,300 and see an increase to $9.85 from $8.60 per kilowatt for anything over 500 kilowatt. Primary power customers would also see an energy charge increase from 4.774 cents per kilowatt hour to 4.8 cents per kilowatt hour.
These increases, if passes, will help close the gap between the projected 2010 revenue of $7.8 million and the net required revenue of $8.1 million.
The council also acted on the following ordinances:
    * Passed a third and final to amend a previous ordinance, making it a misdemeanor to leave a disabled motor vehicle parked in one spot for more than 72 hours
    * Passed a second reading on an ordinance authorizing a long-term fiber maintenance agreement and long term utility easement with NKTELCO
    * Suspended the rules and passed an ordinance establishing the annual appropriates for 2010
    * Suspended the rules and passed a resolution allowing the transfer of money to various funds and declaring an emergency.
    * Passed a motion to create a purchase order for the City of St. Marys income tax administration contract fee in the amount of $32,000
    * Passed a motion to create a purchase order for the Minster Area Life Squad in the amount of $18,000
    * Passed a resolution to renew the current employee health insurance.
    * Paid invoices totally $550,935