NEW PARIS — The New Paris village council discussed the use of CARES funding among other issues during their regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 14.

Mayor Kathy Smallwood presented the council Resolution 2020-12, which is a request for an amended certificate of estimated resources that concerns funding from the CARES Act.

The village received $75,953.49 of funding that must be used for expenditures that go above the village’s budgeted items and that are directly due to COVID-19.

“All villages who apply for the money – and townships could apply also yeah – we’re granted a certain amount of money to use for COVID expenses,” Smallwood said.

She added that the village is looking at using outdoor posting boards to discourage people from having to go inside and congregate.

Additionally, the village is looking at automatic hand sanitizers.

“There are automatic things that we can put into our restrooms here because they are public restrooms,” Smallwood said. “No hands for flushing toilets, for turning on and off water, those kind of things. We also have facial coverings for police departments.”

Smallwood said the items they can and cannot use the CARES Act funding for is “a little vague” so the village has to be careful about what they use the money for.

“If we don’t use it, we give back what’s left, and if we can use it, we can use it and just keep records,” she said.

A motion was then approved unanimously as an emergency on a single reading.

In other business:

• The August safety report showed 95 calls for service, 17 reports made, zero arrests, nine citations issued and 32 warnings issued.
• Properties located at 407 E. Cherry St. and 614 S. Washington St. were both declared public nuisances via the passing of Resolutions 2020-15 and 2020-16.
• Resolution 2020-13 was passed as an emergency on a single reading to realign appropriations with the New Paris fund. The following additional amounts were modified: general fund ($2,528.86), sewer fund ($21,812.69), water fund ($21,812.69), COVID-19 fund ($75,953.49), street fund ($5.46, $98.09, 43,625.47, $113.60, total of $43,842.62).
• Second readings were done for four ordinances: Ordinance 2020-07, an animal control ordinance; Ordinance 2020-08, an ordinance to establish a records retention policy; Ordinance 2020-09, ordinance to assign a public records training designee; Ordinance 2020-10, an ordinance to adopt clothing allowance reimbursements for employees of the village of New Paris.
• Trick-or-treating will be held on Saturday, Oct. 31.

The next New Paris village council meeting will be held on Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. in the City Building.