Carrier Mills Village Board spent much of meeting on vacation
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Carrier Mills Village Board spent a good deal of the regular meeting Tuesday on vacation.
The board agreed, by ordinance, to vacate a small, undeveloped section of Friend Street between Carline Street and the bike path. The area was platted as a street, but never developed. Mayor Louis Shaw said he never expects to see the village need the small extension for anything.
Randy Ehlers, who owns property nearby, asked the board to consider the vacation.
Board members also agreed to vacate a small section of Maple Street in the same area, between Carline and the bike path.
An alley between East End Street and Cole Street was vacated, with the village retaining the right to water and sewer easements on the property. Board member Tracy Felty abstained from voting because he has property nearby.
Jason Jones recently purchased some land in the Bethany Hills subdivision. He believes the village may own a 50 foot-by-50-foot strip of land in the middle of the property. The land may have been platted as a road, but never used. Village Clerk Rita Diefenbach said the developer, Leroy Diefenbach, may have left the land aside for possible use as a road. However, Rita Diefenbach has not been able to find any record of the village owning the land. There may be a manhole cover on the land, which could mean there are water or sewer easements. Shaw is going to ask the Water Department to check into the matter.
Shaw said he has no problem with vacating the property if the village owns it, but the village may have to retain sewer or water easements if they exist.
The board agreed to donate the land behind the Carrier Mills-Stonefort District library to the library. The library also will donate the land upon which the library sits. When the library was built, the building was on village property, which was leased to the library in a 99-year, $1 lease. The library has since gone from being a village library to a library that includes most of the school district. Library Board President Terry Felty told board members the library may eventually expand, which would require the land behind the library.
The board gave an OK to the donation, providing the Catskin Days Committee is allowed to keep their storage building on the lot until the library decides to expand.
Board member Jennifer O'Neal abstained from voting; she's also on the library board.
The area where the old Field Five and Dime building collapsed in late June has been cleared by a contractor hired by the land owner, Shaw said. The adjacent Angel Scent building - the longtime home of Dr. Grover G. Sloan's office - was damaged in the collapse. The fate of that building - and the flower shop - still is uncertain.
"Apparently Angel Scent is still wrestling with their insurance company," Shaw said.
A townwide cleanup has been set for Sept. 15, 16 and 17. SIDCO is donating two Dumpsters; Midwest Waste and Bulldog Systems are donating one Dumpster apiece. The Dumpsters will be placed downtown. Village residents are invited to get rid of any trash that can go to a landfill. Exceptions include paint, tires, batteries and construction waste.
During the meeting:
-- The board will soon seek bids on remodeling the Municipal Building kitchen. The board plans to upgrade the kitchen to a commercial-grade kitchen.
-- The board referred dilapidated properties at 906 N. Main St. and either 325 or 327 E. Washington St. to Village Attorney Fred Turner for possible legal action. A neighbor has reported running kids out of the Main Street house, Street and Alley Chairman David Kyle told board members.
-- An ordinance allowing raffles was approved. State law prohibits holding raffles unless a city or village has an ordinance on the books permitting them. The ordinance approved Tuesday night would allow non-profit organizations, clubs and non-profit fundraisers to hold up to 12 raffles per year. There is a $50 fee for six raffles and a $10 fee for each raffle thereafter.
The ordinance was drafted at the request of the American Legion Post, which holds occasional raffles to fund civic activities. The legion is involved in numerous civic activities around Carrier Mills.
Bill Jensik, who is active in the legion, abstained.
-- Kera Wise was hired as a part-time Water Department clerk.