Kirby hopes to annex land back into village

KIRBY — Kirby Mayor Tim Stansbery wants Kirby Village Council to take its time with the annexation of property back into the village, but said DeLong Company Inc., an agriculture company based out of Wisconsin with a location in Kirby, is interested in purchasing the land from the village.
The company currently holds a 99-year contract to use the property, the mayor said.
“Before you decide anything with that … I advise you to still go with the annexation,” Stansbery said. He said the annexation has been held up in court for about a year as there are several interested parties in the piece of land, including Mifflin Township.
“A long, long time ago, before any of us were here, (DeLong Co.) built a bin on town property,” Stansbery said. “… I’ve got the feeling they want to put another feed bin in.”
Stansbery said DeLong Co. is building a bin on the business’s property this year but might be interested in expanding further.
Clerk-treasurer Darl Snyder said that is speculation at this point. He asked council to consider any liability the village might have for not having a public alley or street there for fire protection.
“They’d have to have adequate access,” Snyder said, adding fire trucks also can use an access road beside the railroad.
Stansbery said he has been in contact with village solicitor Richard Grafmiller about the annexation.
Council approved a motion to have a finance subcommittee do more research on the annexation and possible sale of property and report back to council.
“We’ll have the finance committee proceed further in discussions on whether it is feasible to sell,” council member Doug Snyder said.
The property is located near Mifflin Street and includes an alley that runs east to west, Stansbery said.
Council approved a motion to submit the 2013 estimation of revenues report to the Wyandot County Budget Commission.
Darl Snyder said the village currently has $38,028.80 in its general fund and anticipates to have a balance of $40,000 for budget year 2013. Revenue is estimated at $14,950 for a total estimated balance of $54,950.
The street and maintenance fund is estimated to have $30,000 in it at the beginning of the year plus an estimated revenue of $5,000.
The state highway fund is estimated to have $4,000 plus $400 in estimated revenue.
“That’s similar to what we’ve had in the past,” Darl Snyder said.
In other business, council approved a motion to hire JB Walter Construction Co. Inc. to complete tile repair work in the alley west of the U.S. Post Office.
Stansbery said the village is cleaned up from the June 29 storm and attributed the village’s minimal damage to council keeping up on its tree trimming.
“We did not have it as bad as everybody else,” Darl Snyder added.
The tree committee will measure the distance from the road that two walnut trees sit near a property on Church Street to determine if they are owned by the town. If they are, they need to be trimmed again, Darl Snyder said.
Stansbery asked council to consider sending a thank-you letter to the Wyandot County Garage for the village’s use of its chipper truck.
“That was at no expense to us,” he said.

By ALISSA PAOLELLA
Staff writer

Posted by Daily Chief on July 11, 2012. Filed under Local News,Recent Headlines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry