Carey water rate increase may cause 'sticker shock'

CAREY — Carey Village Council swore in Lt. Kevin Robison at Monday's regular council meeting. Councilman Bob Styer was absent. Carey Police Chief Jeff Conley has said he is working to fully staff the department after some residents expressed safety concerns about a recent period of the Carey police being severely understaffed. Council and Conley did have an agreement in place with the Wyandot County Sheriff's Office for coverage when needed. According to a release from Conley, Robison graduated from Carey High School and served the department as an auxiliary officer early in his career. He comes to the department with 25 years of experience serving Wyandot County and has served as a supervisor, taser instructor, crisis intervention specialist and oversaw Wyandot County's sex offender registry. He is working on a bachelor's degree in law enforcement at Tiffin University. In other news, during the last meeting of the year and a new administration to come in 2026, council also discussed a potential new pet food plant to be built near Carey. The plant is to be associated with Kalmbach Feeds, Inc. Village administrator Mike Roszman asked the council if he should continue discussions with Kalmbach leadership about the project, but said he had some concerns about current village wastewater infrastructure. "There's no way we can supply water by 2027 without lots of major upgrades," Roszman said. He later said he was concerned the new plant could limit the amount of water available to the rest of the village. Also at the meeting, council discussed the need to increase residents' water bills to meet the cost of production over the next few years. Fiscal officer Natasha Hatfield said council has already waited too long to raise the rates and the change that would be needed to meet cost would be a "sticker shock." Council decided to meet with a consulting agency regarding the results of a recent water rate study at its next meeting. Mayor Chad Kin also reminded residents that the finance and audit committees are looking for volunteers to serve on the committees. Later, Councilman Vady Hernandez voted to bring a motion regarding the naming of a parkway after former councilman and Mayor Dallas Risner back to the table after a suggestion from a resident. The motion died for lack of a second. The next Carey Council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Jan. 5 at the Emergency Services building, 200 E. North St.