Resident raises questions about emergency reading for park program and contractor cable work without notice

During the public comment period, resident Jill Fier of 402 West Culbertson Street asked whether the committee would approve an "emergency read" for a downtown park program that, she said, lacked local application guidelines and clear notifications to all affected property owners. Fier said she received a two-page document modeled on Bowling Green's format but that the Fostoria-specific guidelines (who may apply, designated locations, application dates and duration) were not present in the material she reviewed.

"Are you going to emergency read something that you don't even have your guidelines for documented?" Fier asked, saying that she and other downtown property owners were not notified and that selected people appeared to have received advance information.

Fier also raised a separate but related concern about a company installing underground cables in town. She said the contractor entered her property without proper notice, excavated a hole near her sewer cap and placed metal discs in her yard, and that workers had cut a tree's root system to reach cable lines across the street. She said the sewer cap and lines were not properly marked, required a supervisor's intervention during the work, and that she had requested copies of any city contract with the company through public records.

Fier asked the committee to investigate who authorized the work, whether notices were required and sent to affected homeowners, and to review any contract that allowed the company to perform the work. The chair thanked her for the comments; there was no committee action recorded in response during this meeting.