Residents tell Bolivar council motorcycles and limited night patrols are creating safety worries

At the Sept. 5 Bolivar Village Council meeting residents pressed elected officials over public-safety concerns, saying evening conditions have grown hazardous. "I am highly concerned over the lack of evening police patrol coverage," public commenter Chris Berens said, "I fear someone is going to get hurt if the additional coverage does not happen soon." The comment came during the public-comment portion of the meeting.

George Workman told council "there are 15 or so motorcycles racing past his house in the evening," and requested the village place a riser on the drain in front of his property to address recurring runoff and safety concerns. Mayor Robert Lloyd inspected the site and agreed a riser would improve drainage but said a more extensive repair likely would be necessary; Lloyd cited current-year budget limits. Fiscal Officer Maria App asked Lloyd to obtain a price for repair and bring it to the Oct. 3 meeting so appropriations can be amended to fund the work.

Council members indicated they had identified appropriation capacity to support additional police hours: Maria reported funding sufficient to support roughly 60 additional patrol hours per month, and later in the meeting council passed an emergency ordinance authorizing 15 hours per week of added patrol (O-19-2024). Several council members said three interviews have been conducted for the Street Superintendent vacancy and the advertisement period for resumes concludes Sept. 8.

The council committed to follow up by soliciting a cost estimate for the drain work and by implementing the new patrol schedule; residents asked the village to prioritize enforcement against reckless evening motorcycle activity.

The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.; council returns Oct. 3.