By Laura Mazur
Community Post
A total of almost $17 million was appropriated for Minster’s village funds at last Tuesday’s council meeting.

Village Clerk John Stechschulte listed a total of $16,956,989.79 in appropriations for funds for the year, with note that of what could be held off. In the next couple years, the village police cruisers may get computers, but a full-time assistant for the Parks and Recreation Department will probably need to come this year.
Council discussed preliminary engineering submitted by ChoiceOne for work on Fourth Street, which will probably not happen this year not only because of costs, but complexities. Village Administrator Don Harrod suggested getting all topography lines, right-of-ways and grades mapped out first because of the difficulty in doing work on the street.
“It’s going to be a long, lengthy process we’re going to be looking at,” he said.
Sidewalks will have to be taken out during the street reconstruction process, which leaves businesses with no front door, but many will not shut down for a year while the street is being redone, as one councilor put it.
“It gives us the opportunity to start conversations with business owners,” said Harrod.
Traffic on the street is also heavy, which brings even more obstacles to go around.
Members of council also discussed the idea of the use of the village parks' shelter houses being used on a revolving calendar system. The shelter houses are currently available as of the start of each season in March and residents have the option to weigh in for a chance at one at this time. Some residents, however, use shelter houses for annual family outings on the same weekend or date each year and inquired if a revolving calendar could be used for rental. For instance, if an event was held on July 1 this year, after the event was over, residents would have the opportunity to sign up for the same shelter house for next year as of July 2. Council is still discussing this possible change.
Council entered into executive session to discuss the hiring of a police chief. A replacement for the retiring Don Bergman is expected to come in the next few weeks.
Highlights from the administrator's report included:
*Street light installation on the newly reconstructed portion of Hanover Street has been completed. Early last week, the electrical department finished the installation of the lights between Second and Fourth streets. Work that remains to wrap up the entire Hanover Street project includes: replacement of street lights between Second and First streets, installation of a catch basin and short section of storm line on the southeast corner of Sixth and Hanover, installation of poles for street signs and other traffic signs, re-installation of the bricks in the tree lawn at the Fourth Street intersection, putting down the top coat of asphalt on the entire street, installation of the Duratherm crosswalks at the Fourth Street intersection and a complete walking inspection of the entire project to develop a punch list of items that need addressed. Most of this remaining work will be completed in the spring.
*Crews from the electrical department are replacing the old green light standards in front of the Dannon Company along State Route 66. These old light standards are beginning to rust and during heavy winds are easily blown over. Crews will be installing new poles and stringing wire to serve these replacement lights. This section of lights is not the only section that the village has experienced problems with during heavy winds. The same green light standards are along Fourth Street and the village has experienced these being blown over during heavy winds due to the rusty condition of the poles, as well. Additionally, this is something the village will look at replacing in the future.
*The generator for the well field that was approved at the last meeting has been ordered. It appears that the new generator will fit where the existing generator is inside the building just east of Diamonds 5, 6, 7 and 8 at Four Seasons Park. There may need to be some minor modifications to the building, but these should be minimal.
*Electrical crews installed three large steel poles that are part of the 69 KVA transmission project. In addition, the department has set a couple of the wooden laminated poles that will be used for the rest of the transmission line. These poles, along Southgate Drive, were set without any difficulty using the new digger truck. Crews will continue to set these laminated poles along the route of the project.
*The village has learned from Bronner’s that the damaged pieces of the Nativity scene are repairable. Pieces were damaged over Christmas when they were vandalized by people moving them. The repair is estimated at approximately $700 to $800, which is the cost of one piece new. The next time Bronners has a truck in the area, they will pick up the damaged pieces and transport them to Michigan for repair. The village still has no leads on who moved and damaged the pieces.
*In order to put more information into the hands of the residents in a timely manner, the village has begun publishing the Town Crier newsletter on a monthly basis, including it with the monthly utility statements. Also, the village is in the process of updating the Web site so that the village has the capability of putting information out in a variety of ways.
The next meeting of Minster Village Council is scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m., in council chambers.