Walnut hears weather woes
By Kim Parker
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news@bcrnews.com
WALNUT — The saga between the village of Walnut and Tom Black, owner of Black Auto Body at 311 Red Oak Road, entered a new chapter Monday night at the Walnut Village Board meeting. Black has been trying to rebuild his building for three years, but due to weather conditions, the project has been put on hold several times. The village took legal action some time ago against Black because of the condition of the building.
With a legal deadline looming in the future for Black, he addressed the village Monday evening, explaining his current situation with the property.
“I don’t like the situation any better than anyone else in town, but it is what it is,” Black said, adding he, too, is frustrated with the situation, but until the weather improves, his hands are tied.
Curt Geldean of Geldean Excavating was also present on Black’s behalf. He reiterated Black's comments, saying any attempt to do work while the ground was soft could cause substantial damage to the building. He assured the village that as soon as weather permits, they will begin working as quickly as possible to take care of the roofing problem. Black said he has secured all materials needed, but those materials can't be put in place until the groundwork is complete.
After a closed session, the board decided to reconsider their options, but they will let the court action proceed as scheduled.
Village of Walnut Superintendent Gary Sarver brought up a problem the town is having with one of its wells. Well No. 5, located inside the pump house, was found to have some sand in its water supply. Since this pump only involves 230 gallons of water, it could be more economical to abandon the pump if the problem is too expensive to fix, however, Sarver said he wants to bring in Albrecht Well Drilling of Ohio to locate the problem, analyze the situation and take the best course of action. The board agreed.
In other business, the board:
• Decided to set up a meeting with the village's Finance Committee and the fire district, which is now its own taxing district, to discuss who should be responsible for the fire truck and its upkeep, as well as the fire department building.
• Heard about the disrepair of an alley located north of Walnut Street. Sarver said there have been several attempts to see who owns the small parcel of land through county records and title companies, but to no avail. Sarver would like the board to possibly enter into a discussion with the homeowners whose property has direct access to the alley to see if some kind of compromise can be made to financially help with repaving the alley. The board agreed that speaking to the homeowners would be a step in the right direction.
