The Village of Coal Grove has appointed a new full-time police officer. The village council unanimously voted to approve Mayor Larry McDaniel’s appointment of Noah Simpkins to full-time officer.

Simpkins has been a part-time officer on the force since May 2009 and has 20 years of experience in police work, Coal Grove Clerk-Treasurer Debbie Fields said.

As of Tuesday evening Simpkins had not been notified of the appointment so it is unclear whether he will accept the position.

At the last council meeting, the council appointed officer Gleo Runyon to the position, but he turned it down.

In other business the Coal Grove Village council also:

Heard the first reading of an ordinance to get a current expense levy on the ballot in the May primary election. The levy had been in place for about 20 years in the village before it was voted out in 2008.

The levy paid for streetlights and police cruisers among other things.

“We need it, we definitely need it,” Councilman Aaron Stewart said.

Realtor Bob Craycraft talked with council about a new business that could be built beside the Family Dollar store in the village. Before the property can be sold to the prospective business owner, the municipality that has the easement of the area where the business would be built would need to surrender part of it to the potential owner.

Craycraft is trying to determine if the village has the authority to surrender part of the easement or if the state has to do so.

“There’s not a final drawing of that intersection anywhere in Ohio,” Craycraft said.

He said he plans to get approval from both the village and the state.

“We’ve already got the guy that wants to go in there, it’s just a matter of getting him a place to go,” Craycraft said.