LISBON — The Village of Lisbon will put together an active transportation plan (ATP), village council resolved during last week’s meeting.

The plan came at the request of Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association (OMEGA), and will be cost-free to the village.

“OMEGA is recommending that we adopt an active transportation plan. This is a plan for pedestrians and bicyclists,” Lisbon Mayor Peter Wilson said. “OMEGA will do all the work. This plan is strictly used to apply for grants to show that we have a plan in place. OMEGA will develop it. They will put together with our input. There is no cost to the village. It would help us facilitate and get more grants.”

An ATP helps communities plan for and implement projects that include pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure and would help the village during the next application phase in January to potentially secure additional funding for the Willow Grove Bridge project.

That project received a big boost last month when the Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) awarded $465,070 to the village — one of 11 Capital Allocation grant applicants in its region. The village has also already collected over $17,000 in private donations as well as a previous award of $98,000 from the state’s operating budget four years ago to build a pedestrian/bicycle bridge to connect Greenway Trail to Willow Grove Park and replace the former cable suspension bridge that washed during the major flood of 2004.

The ATP could also help secure funding for sidewalks in the village. During Tuesday’s meeting, council heard more about the possibility of a Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant for sidewalks on Lincole Place. In 2024, the Lisbon Village Council agreed to seek more information about TAP funds for sidewalks where many county offices are located.

In other matters, Wilson updated the council on the Western Reserve Conservancy’s interest in purchasing the climbing cliffs — a purchase conservation easement for 60 acres or a fee title acquisition for 41 acres. The areas being pursued by the Western Reserve Conservancy are along the Little Beaver Creek Greenway Trail next to the Kerestes property.

Based on other property values in the area, a fee-title acquisition could fetch $12,000 an acre with an easement bringing in $1,000 an acre. Council passed a motion last month to entertain bids to sell the property.

“I heard from Western Reserve last week,” Wilson said. “They are writing up [an offer] and want to go through the lawyers one more time so they will be here at the next meeting.”

Wilson also reported that the new zoning code draft was approved by both the planning commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals on Sept. 24, but with the request for “clarification on a few items.”

In other matters, the status of repairs to the pool which needs leak repairs with the possibility of a new eastern wall and a new filtration system was discussed.

Wilson said he spoke to both county auditors and the prosecutor’s office as well as village solicitor Alec Beech regarding the village doing some of the work in-house and bidding out others.

“We can split it up as regards to bidding. If we do anything in-house, we don’t have to bid it,” Wilson said. “If for example, we do need a new filtration system, that can be a separate project as long as it’s bid out. For example, if we have to put in new silicone and we do it ourselves we don’t have to bid that out.”

Wilson also said he spoke to the city of Salem about its decision to go to a sand-based filtration system which is more cost efficient.

A scope of work proposal for work and repairs needed to the pool is expected soon. A new filtration system could cost between $85,000 and $115,000 while repairing or replacing the pool’s eastern wall could push the project to $200,000. A scope of work is needed to move forward on the state-mandated process to get the ball rolling.

Joe Morenz discussed the pool problems during the public comment portion of the meeting and presented a three-step plan he drafted that could solve some of those problems and make repairs cheaper. Step 1 involves sealing off the return to the pump house and filling the gutters in the pool to see if water is leaking from the gutters. Step 2 is filling the holes under the gutters, cutting the fill pipe in the pump house and gluing a 90-degree elbow to create a stand pipe and then filling the stand pipe to see if there is an internal leak from the intake part of the gutter behind the wall that would likely have been caused by a broken weld, rust or freezing in the winter. Step 3 is sealing the top of the wall to the gutter system and then filling the pool. If the intake is leaking it will flow back into the gutter system.

“This should isolate the leak so we know exactly what to fix in the pool for leaks,” Morenz said. “By doing this, we will be able to tackle the real problem and spend village money efficiently by fixing the problem instead of starting with replacing the wall.”

In personnel matters, council approved the promotion of police officer Daniel Haught from part-time to full-time, promoted firefighter Adam Little to lieutenant/training officer and approved a request to hire a mayor’s secretary/zoning clerk with a deadline for applying for the position of October 24. Applications are available at Village Hall.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, council:

– Heard that the Ohio Department of Transportation may repave all of state Route 164 within the village, which includes South Lincoln, West Washington, Market Street, Lee and Jerome and discussed addressing drainage issues on West Washington Street by installing catch basins before paving which could happen next year.

– Passed a resolution for the purchase of property on state Route 45 for the north-end pressure project for $3,000.

– Approved a request from the Keller Family Singers to perform during the Dec. 6 Christmas holiday light-up.

– A approved a request to apply for ODOT’s summer mowing program.

– Approved a bid of $1,134 from SealMaster for street crack sealing and use of the equipment.

— Approved $1,151.47 for materials for 25 barricades for the street department.

— Approved $1,500 to cut down a tree on the square in front of Geronimo’s

— Approved purchase of $3,255 in equipment for the fire department.