By Martha Jacob

Members of the Ripley Village Council met in regular session March 12 before a full council.

Mayor Tom Leonard opened the meeting, then after approving the minutes from the previous meeting, asked for council to go into executive session. Attorney Tom Gruber also entered into executive sessions for ongoing pending litigation regarding issues with Campbell Road.

Following a very brief executive session council returned to the meeting and invited resident Danny Hanshaw to speak before council in regards to his position with the village, mowing the Maple Wood Cemetery.

Hanshaw replaced a former group that had mowed the cemetery for several years. Hanshaw was signed to a year’s contract which does not expire until the first day of April, 2019.

However, Hanshaw and his partner Linda South, a former council member said that he was never notified that the village had fired Hanshaw and that they read in the paper where the village were looking to hire someone new.

“I’m here tonight because I would just like to know why I was fired from my job mowing the cemetery,” Hanshaw said. “I want to know a real reason.”

Councilman Travis Arnett, who had originally made the motion at a former meeting to fire Hanshaw spoke first.

“All summer long, at no point was the entire cemetery mowed at one time. Both halves of the cemetery were rarely mowed at the same time,” Arnett said.

Hanshaw responded by asking Arnett if he had ever tried to mow hay in the rain. to which Arnett stated that it did not rain every single day.

South then told Arnett that it rained last year every three and a half days. South also shared with council, in defense of her partner that in 2017 the previous person doing the mowing had mowed a total of 21 times and Hanshaw had mowed a total of 22 times.

“Every time you mowed half the cemetery you were paid in full,” Arnett added. However, South had all pay stubs and said he was wrong and that Hanshaw was never paid until the job was complete.

Other comments were made by at least three residents attending the meeting who said they felt the cemetery always looked good and they had not heard any complaints.

Following a lengthy conversation, South proved that the village had broken the contract agreement with Hanshaw by never alerting him that there was a problem, which according to the contract he had a month to correct. But Hanshaw said he was never notified of a problem in the 5 1/2 months he mowed. She also told council that Hanshaw never received notification that he was being fired, and the contract ends April 1.

In the end, conversations with the Village Solicitor, Tom Mayes will be scheduled.

In other business at the meeting, council discussed possibly making the center of downtown at the light to Front Street 2-hour parking only. The other section of the street is already 2-hour parking. Council will discuss the request.

The first Townwide Yard Sale of the year was set for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 2,3 and 4.

Council discussed building a 60 ft. by 100 ft. pole building for use by the village street department, possibly on Circle Drive. Grant money will be applied for.

Councilwoman Nowana Bingaman talked briefly about the ongoing problem of raising funds to help fix the problem with brown water in the village. She stressed that an increase in water rates must be considered.

Councilwoman Tiffany Regenstein said that in a finance committee meeting utility rates were a main topic of conversation. It was decided to have a rate study done before any action is done.

The Village of Sardinia as well as Georgetown have already had rate studies done in their villages, so council member Charles Poole plans to research the possibility. The cost will be approximately $5,000.

Village Administrator Pete Renshaw told council that he would like authorization to sell an old fire truck which can not be repaired.

Mayor Leonard told council that he may have a buyer of the old IGA store in the village, but the village would have to have an incentive package for the transaction to happen.

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