Insurance Double Take

by Diane Reynolds, Barnesville Area News Company 

At Monday’s Village Council meeting, Kathleen Lucas, secretary of the Senior Citizen’s Center, showed up at the council meeting to discuss the double paying of insurance on the senior center building by the senior center and the Village Council. The senior center and the council have both been covering the same insurance at least since 2019, according to her research. This issue, she said, came to the attention of the senior center when a newsletter reported that a council member had raised the question of which group should be paying.

Mayor Jake Hershberger said he had emailed the insurance company about how far back the village can get reimbursement for the double payments. The confusion has to do with a period when the council owned the building, which is now the property of the senior center. Both parties were paying Foster Insurance for coverage, but as the mayor explained, the council’s insurance payment was part of long list of payments and so the double billing was not caught by the insurer. Council member Terry McCort said that it was “appropriate” for the senior center to handle these payments going forward.

The mayor brought to the Council’s a proposal granting local businessman T.J. Jefferis full rights to a .6642-acre parcel that was part of the B & O Right-of-Way east of the Dollar General and Jefferis Storage facility. Hershberger said the land should have been Jefferis’ from the start. The council agreed that the land should have been conveyed with the original purchase.

Jefferis, who needs the property for right of way for land he is planning to commercialize, will pay for surveying. Once this is completed, the village can pass an ordinance to correct the public record by deeding him the property.

The council unanimously approved payments of $21,739.92.

The council also voted to have a third reading of ordinance 3997, which would set a flat rate fee of $25 for every building permit issued  in the village. This would amend the variable fee structure approved in ordinance 13201B. Steve Hill and Brian Yarnall voted against an emergency passage of the ordinance on the second reading, so it will go to a third and final reading at the next meeting.

Village Administrator Roger Deal stated he was pleased that the village had received a $12,900 state grant to clean up water damage from the severe storms in April. He also praised the park work crew for keeping the Christmas light show going at Barnesville Park. He called it “amazing” and said it has grown from a dozen participants last year to over 40 this year, with many local businesses and sports teams participating.

Deal also reported that the preferred bid for bulk chemicals bid to clean the village water came in at $5,000 less than last year. The council unanimously approved the lowest bid submitted. When council member Brian Yarnall asked about fluoride in the water, Deal said that there wasn’t enough to worry about and jokingly noted that local children have good teeth.

Chief Rocky reminded people of the Pancakes with Grinch breakfast this Saturday, Dec. 7 from 8-10 am at the youth center. Proceeds go to help community members and organizations.

Yarnall asked if the council should review the value of buildings owned by the council.

The council meeting ended with McCort praising the village’s recently printed newsletter, calling it “fantastic.”

Barnesville Council will meet again on Monday, December 16 in the municipal building at 7:00.