Andover looks to solve drainage issues
Aug. 11—ANDOVER — Village residents are hoping to see a solution to drainage issues that have occurred recently during intense rains.
Butch Hanna, who lives at the intersection of Orchard Street and Route 7, came to a Tuesday evening council meeting to make council aware of the issues and how his backyard is swamped during hard rains.
Andover Village Administrator Richard Mead said there is significant water drainage issues in the downtown area and surrounding streets.
He said the system was designed a long time ago and is not sufficient to handle present needs.
"We may have a few different options," Mead said.
Village officials said they would look into the problem.
Hanna also asked about debris in a creek on his property.
"We are not allowed to do any work," Mead said of any areas connected to rivers and streams that are ultimately controlled by the state of Ohio.
Another issue discussed at the meeting was the status of a storm siren in the village.
Andover Mayor Jerry Dibell said the warning siren became inoperable in 2016 and a new one would cost between $20,000 and $60,000. "Basically it is something council will have to discuss," he said.
Council member Randy Gentry gave a history of the siren back to 2012 and said Ashtabula County Emergency Management Agency officials are asking people to use the SWIFT warning system.
Gentry said just the hardware for a warning sire is $!0,000 to $12,000.
Andover Police Chief Chris Baker said how a siren is triggered is also a question.
"Unless it is tied to the National Weather Service, [there] is no guarantee," he said.
Dibell said there was also a time when the siren went off for every call, medical and fire, which created a lot of displeasure in the community.
Andover Assistant Fire Chief Matt Bush said the department would like to see some way to provide tornado alerts to older people in the community who may not have smartphones.
In other business:
—Council members were invited to an 11:30 a.m. Tuesday celebration of the Andover Public Library Story Walk.
—Council had a third reading of an ordinance to change fees for zoning applications.
—Mead announced the hiring of Julianne Shetler as the new village secretary.
