ARCHBOLD WEATHER

Railroad Crossings, Post Office, Waterline Are Council Topics


Brad Grime, Archbold mayor, said village officials had a follow-up call about railroad crossing blockages in Archbold.

Speaking to Archbold Village Council, Monday night, April 5, Grime said a Wednesday, March 31 conference call included Leo Wixom III, Archbold police chief; Bob Latta, US Representative (R-Bowling Green), representing Archbold; and Greg Comstock, vice president of network operations for the Norfolk Southern Railroad.

There were problems with trains blocking the two intown railroad crossings (Defiance Street and Franklin Street) in 2020 and into 2021.

The issue came to a head Friday and Saturday, Feb. 19-20, when the two crossings were blocked for about 18 hours. On Saturday, a train was parked, blocking both crossings between 7:50 am and 3:01 pm, a period of about seven hours.

Starting Monday, Feb. 22, there were telephone calls between village officials, Latta, and eventually Comstock.

Comstock provided his personal cell phone number to Archbold officials with instructions to call anytime, day or night, if the crossings are blocked for an extended period.

Since Monday night, Feb. 22, the crossings have been blocked only three times, and each time, the blockage was under 15 minutes.

Grime said 15-minute blockages are to be expected.

Grime said the follow-up calls with Latta and NS officials will continue.

“We have to stay on top of this,” he said.

USPS

In another matter, council approved a resolution joining the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce in “strongly urging the United States Postal Service to consider returning operations to its facility in Toledo.”

There have been many problems and complaints about unreasonable mail service delays in Northwest Ohio.

Donna Dettling, village administrator, said the regional group is asking every community to approve the resolution.

Waterline

Council voted to grant Dettling authorization to seek bids for the replacement of an underground waterline on East Lugbill Road.

Dexter Krueger, village engineer, said workers in the village water treatment plant have identified the East Lugbill Road line as a line that has suffered several breaks and is in need of replacement.

Dettling explained that village officials had $99,000 scheduled for a waterline project, but the cost of replacement is estimated at $300,000.

She added several other construction projects for the year have come in under budget, and that has left about $300,000 in the village capital projects budget.

Krueger said several smaller construction companies are looking for work, and the East Lugbill Road project is perfectly sized for a smaller company.

He said the project will be ready to send out for bids on Wednesday, April 14, with bids being opened on Thursday, April 29.

Peddlers, Solicitors

Council approved a new ordinance regulating “peddlers and solicitors,” or doorto door salesmen.

The new regulation imposes stricter requirements on those going door-to-door, and allows for additional background checking of those going door-to-door.

Dettling said normally, the proposed regulation would go through the ordinance and resolution committee, but because the door-to-door sales “season” is coming soon, she felt it important to approve the new ordinance right away.

Monday night was the first time council met in its own chambers in the municipal building in about a year, due to requirements imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.

The next meeting is Monday, April 19, 5:30 pm, in council chambers.