Moraine City Council advances legislation drafts on fuel-system removal, resurfacing, mowing assessments and staffing

Moraine City Council members voted to prepare legislation on several routine infrastructure, procurement and personnel matters and approved an executive session for personnel at the end of the meeting.

The council voted to move forward with legislation to remove the Street Department’s aging underground fuel system and to enter an agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation for South Dixie Drive Resurfacing Phase 2. Members also approved sending unpaid grass-mowing assessments to the county tax roll, renewing licensing for fire and police mobile devices with Montgomery County, and awarding a motor-vehicle-registration audit. Council approved preparing legislation to appoint a new finance director after a staff confirmation that the candidate accepted the council’s offer.

Those items matter because they authorize staff to finalize contracts, budgeting and procurement steps that set the projects and hiring process in motion; the resurfacing project and fuel-system removal involve outside agencies and environmental oversight, and the finance appointment starts a standard hiring and background-check process.

The Street Department requested approval to remove two in-ground tanks the department has been decommissioning and to have the vendor handle permits and EPA oversight. A Street Department staff member said the vendor will “be on-site” and handle hauling and disposal, and that the quoted work is a 2025 budgeted item. The staff member told council the tanks still contained “a couple hundred gallon of gasoline and diesel in each tank” but that crews had stopped general use after water contamination was detected and had used department vehicles to lower levels.

Council also…