Village of Leipsic Mayor
Village of Leipsic
State of the Village 2025
Members of the Village Council, Village Employees, and citizens of the Village of Leipsic, I am happy to share with you the 2025 State of the Village.
Over the course of 2024, our village has endeavored to complete several projects that have enhanced our community.
One of our biggest and most visible projects was the completion of the new main street curbs and the sewer across east and west Main. St. This project was completed at a cost of approximately $1.7 million and was financed with a 0% loan. I’d like to recognize the village residents who took the opportunity during this project to replace their sidewalks which has improved public safety and made it a pleasure to walk through the village. I’d also like to thank council members Jason Goodwin and Rick Moyer for taking the initiative to go door to door to speak with residents about the opportunity to make sidewalk improvements. I’d also like to thank Lee Beck and Advanced Demolition for working collaboratively with the residents and the village on this project for a job well done.
Additionally, we completed the remaining two sidewalks at Buckeye Park and paved the parking lot. That project cost $139,697 of which $74,000 was funded by an ODNR grant. The sidewalks create a continuous loop around the park, and it has been gratifying to see the number of people that are taking advantage of them. At Bennett Park, we planted several new trees to provide a natural wind break for the track field. We received $3,800.00 from the Edwards Foundation and will be using that for further improvements at the library, pool, and parks. We purchased a new zero-turn 72” mower this year to continue to maintain our beautiful parks and village.
We have continued our annual efforts to improve our village streets with new pavement. In 2024 we were able to pave the following streets:
- Grand Avenue from Main St. to the dead end.
- 9th Street from Main St. to Sugar St.
- Eastom Street from Sugar St. to the dead end.
- 5th Street from Mathias St. to Center St.
- Commercial Street from Sugar St. to the dead end.
- Grove Street from Main St. to Liberty St.
- State Street from Oak St. to Blank St.
Our village employees were busy with other maintenance efforts for the year which included taking down several dead trees throughout the Village of Leipsic, cleaning up the compost pile, removing the dead tree on the compost lot, and improving drainage behind the pile. A contractor was engaged to give our water tower located at the wastewater plant a new paint job inside and outside.
Equipment purchases included 3 used mosquito sprayers from the City of Delaware, OH which saved our community $15,000. Our 2006 John Deere backhoe was replaced by a 2024 New Holland backhoe. With our $1,000 grant from PEP, we were able to purchase new road closure barriers and reflective signs.
Our volunteer fire department was the recipient of a grant from the Ohio Worker’s Compensation and used those monies to purchase 3 sets of new turnout gear. The fire department purchased a new bed for the continued buildout of the brush/rescue truck, and it will be installed in the first quarter of this year. Installation of lighting at both stations was completed too. Our fire department had 86 runs during 2024 and offered over 52 hours of internal training. The total training hours completed by the department were over 525 hours and we appreciate their dedication to our community. I’d like to recognize Dave Goodwin for his 45 years of service and wish him well in his retirement from the fire department.
Our police department completed the Ohio Collaborative Group 6 Compliance requirements which helps position our department for full certification and meeting state standards. Additionally, the Village purchased a new 2024 police cruiser and hired a new part-time officer to enhance schedule coverage. Our department continues to work effectively with the Sherriff’s office and other agencies as well as our local school to ensure a visible presence inside and outside the school building and the Village. We appreciate the department’s commitment the Village’s safety and security.
This past year we welcomed two new businesses to our downtown; The Get Together Event Venue and Refined Skill & Acne Clinic and we are glad to have them as part of our community. I want to thank the Leipsic Chamber of Commerce for organizing the second annual Taste & Tunes and want to thank the local businesses for sponsoring the entertainment. I encourage our residents to grab a lawn chair and bring your friends for more great food and fun this summer and continue to support our local businesses.
As we turn our attention to the upcoming year, we plan to continue our improvements to the community to benefit our current and future residents and sustain Village progress. One of the projects that will be carried out is a new pump lift station located between Poet and Pro-Tec which will give us the capacity to handle Mars and Poet as well as potentially additional industries if needed. The estimated cost of this project is $2.6 million.
We will be resurfacing additional streets this year and have been awarded $90,000.00 by the OPWC to help fund this endeavor. Bids for the project will be sent out in the spring.
Our pool is an asset and a source of fun for community children and some of you may have noticed a new slide at the swimming pool. The drawings were finally approved by the state this past fall and we will need to have it inspected so that it can be enjoyed when the pool opens. For those looking for a little shade while experiencing the pool, a new 10’x30’ shade canopy will be installed and we’re planning to purchase new lounge chairs this year.
Bennett Park will be seeing a few exciting changes this year. We were awarded another grant from Land & Water Conservation through ODNR for up to $500,000.00 match at Bennett Park. Planned upgrades include adding additional restrooms to the Bennett building, putting in a new asphalt parking lot between the Bennett building and the track entrance (north of the track), building a new shelter house between the ball diamonds, and installing additional playground equipment. Those who come into the park from State Street may be happy to know that we will be putting in new curbs and asphalt up to the stone parking lot. If additional funds are available, we may add additional asphalt in the north parking lot. The total for this project is approximately $900,000-$1,000,000.00 and is a great investment for our community and future use of the park for activities.
Planning for our future does not stop with the current year. We have applied for a potential $1.4M grant for new sidewalks and bike path. If that grant is awarded, this would be a 2027 project. We are grateful for our wonderful downtown businesses and have applied for another $250,000.00 grant for Downtown Revitalization for 3 business owners. We also are conducting a pilot study at the reservoir for a new Membrane Watering System for a future water plant.
As I reflect on my first year as mayor, I’d like to thank all the village employees and the council for their contributions, collaborative spirit, and efforts to make this year successful. Our village employees continue to go above and beyond for our community, and I appreciate their commitment. I’d like to thank Keith Schroeder for his years of service and congratulate him on his retirement.
We had a great 2024 and look forward to carrying that momentum into 2025 and beyond.
Richard Recker
Mayor of Leipsic
