PHILLIPSBURG — At the Feb. 20 council meeting, Street Commissioner Wendell Harleman reported on the progress of several village problems.

He had received three quotes for repairing the hot water heater at the Hunters Club, and council approved the lowest, $1,550, from Eddie’s Plumbing.

A problem with the replacement is that some of the plumbing pipes were installed after the current water heater was in place and will have to be moved to get it out.

The air conditioner still needs repairs, but that has been put off until summer.

Council also accepted a bid from Balsbaugh Excavating to repair two potholes. Harleman reported the sewer pipes underneath the potholes are in danger of breaking under the weight of trucks.

He said that Balsbaugh had given a price of $6,611 for both of them, while other companies’ estimates were not only higher but charged separately.

He also reported he has purchased the box blade needed to grade land around the village, most notably Jesse Haines way outside the municipal building and the service garage. Being graveled and unpaved, the passage had acquired many potholes.

“I just got it yesterday, so I haven’t been able to use it yet,” Harleman reported, “but Brown’s Nursery did grade the road. It’s bumpy but without potholes.”

On the downside, over the weekend one of the village’s police cruisers needed $1,350 in repairs, and the council confirmed Mayor Shawna’s emergency approval.

The three new members of the council had several questions pertaining to village practices.

Hope Hoard, council’s liaison with the parks, wanted to know if the village owned the Easter Bunny costume she had seen at the community Easter party a few years ago. She received the bad news that it doesn’t and if she wants the Easter Bunny to appear this year, she needs to locate him now.

Steven Booker asked why the village website was so outdated. Newsom said Council Member Brandon Myers (necessarily absent on Feb. 20) was taking steps to get the rights to the domain name so the village could set up a web site that was not only less expensive but easier for officials to update.

A resident, Ilona Yannekis, wanted to know why Zoning Officer Mark Wysong wasn’t taking stronger action with zoning violations.

Newsom explained that without a board of zoning appeals, the village had little enforcement powers.

“Most people are nice and just notifying them of a problem and working with them on a schedule is enough,” she said. “We are in the process of setting up a board to hear the appeals.”

The next council meeting will be on Tuesday, March 19, in the municipal building at 10868 Brookville Phillipsburg Rd.