Grantsville town council met in the Calhoun Courthouse little courtroom on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Bob Leach of Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Council presented a drawdown for the sewer project for $170,263.61, which was approved. The project is 80% complete.

During the citizens’ open forum, Regina Ball asked for assistance with a storm drain problem plaguing her yard. The drain gets backed up and pours water down her stairs, ruining them. Suggestions were made to dig up and replace the pipe, which may be too small.

Tim Toppings requested permission to burn lumber from a collapsed building on River Street. He plans to haul away anything that would not be permissible to burn, such as tires. Grantsville Volunteer Fire Dept. has committed to respond should there be an emergency.

Toppings said he spoke with “Bob Richards of the Clean Air Department” and was given verbal permission to burn.

After a long discussion, Loretta Stevens, a member of council, still disagreed with the burning. Health hazards were her main concern, “Smoke is bad for people on oxygen . . .”.

Other options that were presented were hauling away the lumber or stacking it on the property, but Toppings cannot be forced to remove the lumber from his property.

The topic was not called to a vote, because a peaceful resolution could not be reached. The potential vote would have been 2-2 with mayor Gary Knight having to break the tie. “But I am not ready to make that decision tonight,” said Knight.

The block party committee suggested a Halloween Party be held on Saturday, Oct 30, from 5 to 7 p.m., with trick or treat from 7 to 8:30.. The committee also asked for a $200 contribution from the council. All were approved.

The recorder’s report included a motion to add Brad Stevens to the audit committee for the 2010 audit and a motion to close the office on Friday, Sept. 24, for an audit seminar. Both were approved..

Grantsville Police Dept. law enforcement report for August included: 49 calls for service, 211 citizen contacts, 3 criminal and 2 traffic crash investigations, 2 ordinance violations for dogs running loose, 6 parking citations, 3 callouts, 32 warnings and 7 citations for traffic stops, 2 arrests for false pre-tenses and forgery and uttering, and 1 summons to appear in court for hit and run and driving while license suspended.

Jacob McCumbers formally resigned as municipal court judge due to other obligations.

An executive session was called from 8:00 to 9:05 to discuss advertising for a certified sewer plant operator. When council reconvened, a motion to advertise was approved..

The meeting adjourned at 9:07 p.m.