Parkersburg council approves ambulance hires

PARKERSBURG – The Parkersburg City Council approved three hires for the Parkersburg Ambulance Service as part of regular business on Monday, Aug. 1 at the Parkersburg Civic Center.

Stephanie Jansen, Jeremiah Hook and Tanya Hook were all unanimously approved to the service. The council also approved an EMT-B agreement with Jansen to provide her the required training for her EMT certification in exchange for a minimum of two years of service.

In sewer news, Hunter Maitland recommended a quote from Visu-Sewer as the lower-costing bid on mobilizing and per foot costs for cleaning and televising. The three-year quote was approved unanimously.

The council also unanimously approved pay estimate No. 10 for Hydro-Klean for the sanitary sewer lining project, but a change order request for Hydro-Klean was tabled until the company could make more progress on punch list items for the project.

Parkersburg Police Chief David Jara spoke in favor of changing the ATV/UTV rules/regulations in the Parkersburg Code of Ordinances. After a discussion on the existing ordinance and potential changes, Mayor Mike Timmer asked the council to speak to residents about whether changes should or shouldn’t be made. No other action on the matter was taken.

The council also discussed a proposed 28E agreement with Butler County Conservation for care and maintenance of Depot Park. Conservation Director Mike Miner shared past discussions about making Depot Park more user-friendly and accessible to those who wish to use the nearby river for fishing, canoeing, and kayaking. Miner added that any development would be a long-term process and in long-term plans for the Conservation Board. There was discussion of applying for grants or seeking donations for the improvements to speed up this project’s completion. There was no objection to moving forward with the agreement.

In other business, the council:

- Approved Aug. 22, 2022 at 6 p.m. for a public hearing on rezoning applications submitted and recommended for approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission;

- Approved the 2022 Outstanding Obligations Disclosure Statement Report;

- Approved a quote from Affordable Tree Service to remove, clean up and haul away 14 dead or dying ash trees from city-owned property;

- Heard from new Aplington-Parkersburg Superintendent Travis Fleshner;

- Heard from library director Julie Folken on library attendance and the summer program;

- Held a closed session to discuss strategy with legal counsel in matters that are presently in litigation where its disclosure would be likely to prejudice or disadvantage the position of the governmental body in that litigation, then returned to open session to adjourn the meeting.