Council reports: Veterans Day, Willow Park dedication, splash pad, police staffing and community collections

During the reports section of the meeting, council members and staff provided a series of community updates.

Mayor Ryan Grubbs described Veterans Day activities in schools and thanked the community for recognizing service members. He reminded residents about the mayor’s fund donation boxes at roughly 40 locations and an Amazon QR option for direct gifts.

Councilmember Mr. Wilson announced the Willow Park dedication scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on Dec. 6 and invited current and incoming council members and former mayors to attend. Rec commission updates outlined the Christmas parade on Dec. 6 (lineup 4 p.m., parade 5 p.m., tree lighting at 7 p.m.), downtown entertainment and photos with Santa until 8 p.m.

Staff reported a splash pad update with restrooms, parking lot and walkways set to go out to bid shortly and work expected to start by November; an Ohio capital budget grant application related to the community center is due Dec. 10. Council also said the new 'Welcome to Harrison' digital sign installation is scheduled for Dec. 12.

Public-safety updates included an October crash count of 35 (29 on public roadways, 6 on private property) and current police staffing of 23 full-time sworn officers with one on light duty and two candidates in the civil service hiring process. Officials noted a metal detector will be installed at the community center entrance as a precaution and that FOP contract negotiations will begin soon as the existing contract nears expiration.

These reports were informational; no formal actions or votes were taken on these items during the meeting.