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EAST PALESTINE -- East Palestine Village Council heard from Norfolk Southern (NFS) Community Liaison Jeremy Vransevich during Monday's meeting as he discussed the next NFS-funded projects planned.
Vransevich, a resident of East Palestine and Norfolk Southern employee, said beautifying the area around the 6-acre city lake is next on tap. The plan is to remove and replace the five benches, two picnic tables and garbage receptacles. It includes pouring concrete pads on which the benches, picnic tables (which will be handicap accessible) and garbage cans will be installed. The project also includes repaving and expanding the parking lot and the creation of a walkway that will lead to walking trails.
Vransevich also proposed a day of service and volunteerism in the village June 17 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers from the village as well as outside communities will gather in the village to complete assigned tasks to help improve and beautify the community. At the end of the day, all volunteers will be invited back to the East Palestine City Park where food trucks will be set up and refreshments provided.
"I strongly believe that is a great opportunity for the community members to come together and bring back a sense of pride to the town," Vransevich said. "I strongly urge local businesses, residents and people from neighboring communities to join us for this day of giving."
Council also heard from resident Zach Dunn who presented his own proposal about improvements at the city lake which would be funded by a potential grant from T-Mobile. That proposal included the draining and dredging of the lake and the installation of handicap-accessible fishing docks and the possibility of kayaking and fishing tournaments. The grant provides $50,000 for community improvements.
"The city lake is an asset that the town has that is underutilized by the residents," Dunn said. "This project will just draw more attention to it and it's a win-win because there is no need for matching funds for the grant."
Also in beautification news, council heard a proposal about a possible sidewalk project that would connect the village's business district with the school campus, the city park and the historic log cabin.
Council also heard a proposal from Justin Powers about the possibility of hiring a marketing firm and conducting a needs assessment that would "provide professional support in four main areas of need for recovery." Those areas include developing a community census to collect information and data, economic impact analysis to identify the scope and scale of economic damage, stakeholder collaboration to utilize resources effectively and a public-affair strategy with lobbying efforts on the village's behalf.
Council took all proposals under advisement for consideration and moved forward on other matters already considered by council. That included moving forward with plans to hire a public relations firm by passing legislation to do so. The hiring of a PR firm came after several residents voiced concern with a lack of communication by village leaders in the wake of the derailment. In addition, legislation was passed to accept the lowest bid for the waterline project, to open bids for the street resurfacing project, to authorize a temporary wage bonus for summer employees and the amending of the ordinance for licensing fees regarding solicitors and vendors.
In other matters, councilman Mark Walker asked the village to consider suspending high-grass notices and waiving fines violations as some residents are still displaced due to the derailment and others have temporarily left the village due to health concerns. To date, 43 notifications have been sent out to residents.
"Those that were in the immediate evacuation area, those people cannot return to their homes because they were sick as a result of the derailment and chemical spill," Walker said. "Those people are getting letters concerning their high grass and I think we should relax on the high grass ordinance, at least for this year. They can't even get back in their homes, they're sick and now they are being threatened with fines."
Mayor Trent Conaway said that those displaced should be helped, but others disagreed.
"The grass will just keep getting higher and higher and it's going to bring rodents and stuff and somebody still has to maintain the property," said Traci Pratt, finance director and interim city manager. "This is our first initiation letter to send out to them saying 'hey, you got so many days to mow the grass, if not we're going to mow it and we're going to charge you for it.' They still have to maintain their homes."
Vransevich provided a solution by proposing that Norfolk Southern would employ a local landscape company to maintain the properties of those who have been notified of a violation and who reside within a 1-mile radius of the derailment site.