SHELBY - The Monday, Oct. 28 Village of Shelby agenda included two discussion items. Village Administrator Phil Morse reported that he was recently told that the Shelby United Methodist Church would be closing at the end of the year and was looking to sell the building. He was invited for a tour and asked Shelby Township Supervisor Richard Raffaelli to join him with the idea that it could be used as a possible location for a shared village and township hall.
“I walked away from the tour keener on the idea than when I first walked in. It has two very nice, distinct spaces at the main entrance of the building and is ADA-accessible. There is a perfect space for public meetings or community gatherings, a number of rooms that could be used for offices and storage, with plenty of parking and other beneficial traits,” his report stated. “There are also several Sunday School rooms that could be rented out as offices to small businesses.
Morse noted that having both the village and township offices downtown does take away from available commercial space, and as government entities, neither pays taxes to the village.
Comments, questions and concerns were shared from all council members.
“Is there a need for more storefront space?” Councilor Steve Crothers asked. “I do like that it is handicap-accessible. I think the flower shop would move back into town if there were space available.”
“Our vision would be to have a bustling downtown again,” Councilor John Sutton said.
“What would the village do with current village offices?” asked Councilor Mike Termer.
“Having a gym we could rent out for exercise classes or events would be nice,” commented Councilor Damien Omness. “But the numbers have to make sense.”
“Why do we want to move out of here, we just bought this place? I don’t want to be a bailout,” said Councilor Dan Zaverl.
“The church also owns the property across (State) Street to the East. Could that be developed into a senior housing development?” questioned Sutton.
“It would have to be a good deal. I’m not into spending money to spend money,” said Termer.
Village President Paul Inglis agreed with everything that was shared and believed the matter was worth looking into. “The township could decide they like it, but that shouldn’t sway what’s best for us,” he said.
Crothers volunteered to be on a “research committee.” Morse appointed Sutton to join Crothers and himself to do some further investigation. Omness added that he appreciated Morse looking into the possibility.
“I like that you’re looking ‘outside the box,’” concluded Inglis.
On another matter regarding whether or not to provide public Wi-Fi at Getty Park, Morse wanted to give more information and get more feedback from the council before moving forward. Catchmark had emailed Morse in response to the council’s concerns, stating, “(We) can’t say the network can’t be hacked, but the security we will put in place will strongly reduce the chances.” Catchmark also added that they can make the authentication/waiver and content filtering happen at no additional cost.
Morse said the idea of having internet at a public park where people should be recreating and relaxing may seem out of sync, but it is the times we live in. Many have asked if the park will have public Wi-Fi. People who work from home might like the option of getting out of the house and coming to the park to work.
Termer said that filtering was what was most important to him. Zaverl noted he didn’t like the fact that (the Village of) Shelby would be paying for it (Wi-Fi), but everyone would be using it. Sutton asked if the Wi-Fi could be turned off at 10 p.m. “The park closes at 10, so there’s no reason to have it on in the middle of the night,” he said.
Morse recommended, and the village concurred, that the village ask the community to complete a brief survey that includes information about the possible benefits and drawbacks of having public Wi-Fi at the park.
Sutton weighed in with, “A survey would get people talking about the park, and that would be a good thing.”
