Barnesville Council Approves Oil/Gas Lease

by Diane Reynolds, Barnesville Area News Company  

The council passed an ordinance to accept Grenadier Energy’s bid on an oil and gas lease on a 10.376-acre lot in Warren Township owned by the village at its December 30 meeting. The vote was five to one vote (Steven Hill opposed). Grenadier’s bid was $6,750 per acre “bonus payment” plus a 20 percent royalty.

More pickleball courts needed

Barnesville needs more pickle ball space, said Jon Thornton, local resident who has facilitated tennis, pickleball and table tennis tournaments at Memorial Park over the years.

With 50-70 local pickleball players along with tennis players, the park is running out of courts. Thornton suggested building asphalt courts on the former site of the United Dairy near the Watts Center on land owned by the village.

If the village puts in the courts, the players could do the painting, Thornton said, noting that the last Barnesville pickleball tournament attracted 50 players, while 45 participated in the tennis tournament and table tennis tournaments. The town’s table tennis tournament draws participants from a 100-mile radius, he said.

With interest in pickleball growing, Thornton said, it might also make sense to add more basketball and tennis courts, as currently pickleball players are sharing those. Current courts, as well, have cracks that are hard to keep up with repairing, he said.

Village council member Steven Hill said that any courts would need fencing, given the proximity of the proposed location to Mt. Olivett Road, and that four courts and a fence would probably cost more than $100,000. Council member Terry McCort questioned if it made sense to add courts with the current courts being so difficult to maintain. Council member Brian Yarnall asked if more courts could instead fit in Barnesville Park. Thornton said yes, but fences were needed,and he was not sure that everyone would approve more courts there.

The council suggested Thornton first meet with the Memorial Park Board to explore the issues before the matter comes back to the council’s Park and Recreation Committee for further consideration.

Depot heating repairs approved: what of the roof?

Steven Hill reported that the Depot’s furnace has failed. While there is a backup heating system, “we need to deal with this now,” Hill said, recommending that the council approve $18,000 or more for a new boiler and flue. The council unanimously passed a motion reserving $20,000 for repairing or replacingheating fixtures.

Terry McCort drew attention to the need to repair the depot’s roof, suggesting that logically this should be done before fixing the heating system, as a leaky roof could ruin any new heating equipment. Brian Yarnall stated that though the village has received a $75,000 grant for the roof, it needs more funds to complete the job. The council agreed that the roof repairs also need to be a priority, and both should be attended to promptly.

Council schedules work session with Barnesville state Theater Group

In other news, the council supported Rose Grear’s request for a work session with the Barnesville State Theater group. Grear explained that a new roof was already on the building, and that Michael Schuster Associations (MSA), the Cincinnati architectural firm owned by the Barnesville High School grad has been chosen to do the interior work. The stage work is already complete and MSA will do some pro bono work in addition to paid work.

A council work session was set for Monday, January 6 at 7:00with the theater group, Grear and the State Theater group will review details of what needs to be addressed with the ceilings and floors. Grear reiterated that the theater group had already raised $370,000 from the community, but more will be needed to complete the restoration.

Fire Department to pursue grants

The council unanimously passed a motion for the fire department to pursue a $15,000 grant that requires no matching funds as well as a $10,000 grant that would require a 50/50 match. Fire Chief Tim Hall said the two grants will fund a new UTV fire and rescue skid and update fire gear and equipment.

The Council also unanimously approved a payment schedule of $94,972.38 as presented by Jeannie Hannahs, fiscal officer.