POLAND — Village council talked about rough sidewalk areas and historic signage that is seeing unexpected wear.

Local historian Dave Smith reported this week that the Riverside Cemetery Bridge historic marker sign will be ready soon and a dedication ceremony will likely be held. Another application is being worked on, in hopes of obtaining a second sign for the historic Main Street area.

“The problem with a Main Street Historic District marker is where to put it,” he said.

Two signs now on South Main Street have a new problem, according to Smith. The Ohio Historic markers for William McKinley’s boyhood home location and the Poland village sign at village hall are both in the street right-of-way between the curb and the sidewalk.

“Snow plows have been causing damage to these markers,” Smith said. “When the McKinley marker was made, the paint that was used was inferior to what the company uses today.”

He said Sewah Studios uses a different type of paint today that will stand up to snow plows. Smith said after contacting the studio, it informed him it would repaint the two village signs with the new paint at no charge. The McKinley marker was originally installed in 2013 and the village hall marker in 2016.

“The markers nearest the street are the ones that are showing wear,” Smith said. “We have others away from the street that have held up well.”

He recommended moving the two Ohio markers back from the street, behind the sidewalks.

As for sidewalks, village Solicitor Joseph Macejko said he is still working on legislation that will replace the current regulations. He said the current laws in Ohio say the property owner is responsible for maintaining the sidewalk on his or her property.

Resident Rob Dunham asked why the village can’t maintain the sidewalks. “The sidewalks do benefit everyone,” he told council.

He asked why a property owner could not just tear up the sidewalk and put grass in so they wouldn’t have to deal with it.

Council President Mike Thompson said there are a few bad sections in the village. He said most are due to trees shoving a section out of place, or the sidewalk has deteriorated.

On the enforcement side, where residents would be forced to make a repair, Councilwoman Martha Morgan said one way to get that task done would be to rotate zones for sidewalk enforcement. She said since the village staff has limited hours to devote to the issue, by doing zones, the focus would be on one area. Once that area was done, the staff could move on to the next zone.

Thompson said he is concerned for a resident who really could not make the repair.

“I think we have to find a solution for those who really can’t afford it,” he said.

jtwhitehouse@tribtoday.com