EATON — The Eaton City Council approved end-of-year appointments to various boards during their final meeting of the year on Monday, Dec. 21.

Mayor Joe Renner began the meeting by thanking former mayor Gary Wagner for his service.

“Before we start, I also want to just take a second to acknowledge and thank Mayor Wagner,” Mayor Joe Renner said. “If the historian over here has me right, [he has] nine years as mayor and six as vice mayor. So, we appreciate all your friendship and leadership and everything else. Thank you very much.”

The council then passed Resolutions 20-29 through 20-33 to make the following appointments to boards:

• Re-appointed Paul Schaeffer to the Planning, Zoning and Building Board for a four-year term ending Dec. 31, 2024, and appointed Gary Wagner as the Council Representative to the Planning, Zoning and Building Board for a one-year term ending Dec. 31, 2021.
• Re-appointed Robin Worley and Nancy Clayton to the Planning, Zoning and Building Appeals Board for a five-year term ending Dec. 31, 2025, and appointed Brad Moore as the Council Representative to the Planning, Zoning and Building Appeals Board for a one-year term ending Dec. 31, 2021.
• Appointed Matt Venable as the Council Representative to the Parks and Recreation Board for a one-year term ending Dec. 31, 2021.
• Re-appointed Bill Clayton to the Income Tax Appeals Board for a three-year term ending Dec. 31, 2023.
• Appointed Dave kirsch and Gary Wagner to the Volunteer Fireman Dependent Fund Board, each for a one-year term ending Dec. 31, 2021.

In other business

As part of City Manager Brad Collins’ monthly update to the council, he said the city has been reviewing plans for the water and sewage systems.

“We’ve been reviewing different options, costs, prioritizations and needs, and we will also review operational costs and future expenses as well as the rates,” he said. “We did not perform a rate increase last year, but we’ll be asking for an adjustment for next year. We’ll have more information for consideration, likely [at] the next council meeting.”

He also added that maintenance work at Crystal Lake has been completed, but a familiar problem has emerged: geese.

“Geese overpopulation is a concern and we’ve been hearing a lot about,” he said. “Speaking with ODNR, they said the best way to reduce numbers is to stop feeding them. We’ve always had a “Do Not Feed Animals” sign up at the park. We have installed a couple new ones.”

The council also adopted Ordinance 20-07 to amend the annual appropriation for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2020.

Additionally, Ordinance 20-08 was adopted as a temporary appropriation to provide the usual daily operating expenses for the City of Eaton for part of the 2020-21 fiscal year until the annual appropriation ordinance is adopted in February, according to Collins. The total estimated expenditures for all funds are $3,817,606.

The Fire and EMS report for November 2020 showed a combined response of 229 calls; 149 EMS responses, including 16 second Medic responses; and 80 fire/rescue responses, including seven general alarms. Additionally, the report showed eight heroin overdose responses, totaling 49 for the year through November.