The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
January 5, 2026
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield met in Regular Session on January 5, 2025.
I. Council Members take Oath of Office:
Bill Allen and Kim Schaber newly elected Council members serving the term of January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2029 were sworn in by Mayor Carol Hehr.
II. Roll Call:
Present: Council Members; Tom Kirkland, Bill Allen, Alicia Gardner, Kim Schaber, Tiffany Ramsay, Matt Schaber, Mayor Carol Hehr, Fiscal Officer Lori Cunard, Solicitor Ryan Regel, and Village Administrator Kevin Brooks.
III. Pending Meeting Minutes Approval:
Tiffany Ramsay made the motion to accept the December 15, 2025 meeting minutes as written. Matt Schaber second. Motion passed 6-0.
IV. Election of Council President:
Mayor Hehr asked for nominations for Council President. Matt Schaber made the motion to nominate Tom Kirkland. Mayor Hehr asked if there were any other nominations, there were none. Kim Schaber second the motion. Motion passed 6-0. Tom Kirkland nominated to serve as President of Council.
V. Registered Visitors:
None
VI. Old Business:
Matt Schaber asked if ODOT had ever come into town to check the timing on the streetlights in the square. Mayor Hehr said they will not do that. Kevin Brooks said he was told by ODOT the only way the timing would be changed would be after a completed traffic study which would be expensive. Mr. Brooks said when the downtown project was started 5 years ago, we were under the impression that 6-8 months after completion we could request them to come out and look at the timing. We have requested a traffic study within the timeframe for them to come out and check the timing. There has been some turnover at the District Office, so we are dealing with newer individuals who were not here when the project was done and they want us to do a traffic study. We are working with the District Office to get funding for the traffic study and if we do the study Mr. Brooks wants to make sure it is done when school is in session because traffic is significantly different during the school year.
VII. Administrator Report:
Village Administrator Kevin Brooks reported the Water/Sewer Project officially started today. Completion of the project will be about 6-8 months; there are 3 different contractors that will be
working. He said Solicitor Ryan Regel has procured or is in the process of finishing up all of the easements, so we do not anticipate any obstacles.
Mr. Brooks said we had staff scheduled to do year-end recaps starting tonight but he thought it would be better to delay it for 2 more weeks. Superintendents/Department heads will be giving a recap of 2025 and a look ahead for 2026 at the next several Council meetings.
Kevin Brooks said we had our District Public Works meeting and the paving project which is in partnership with Lewisville is scheduled to be funded. The paving project is a $650,000.00 project and our portion is $450,000.00 that includes eight streets that will be ground and resurfaced, and Lewisville’s portion is $200,000.00. This was our third attempt at getting street paving money through the Public Works Commission. The only way to enhance our application was to seek partners and Lewisville agreed to partner with us. Mr. Brooks said contracts will not be sent until July, but Woodsfield and Lewisville are adamant that we want the paving done in 2026.
Kevin Brooks said we still have 2 open positions in the Village. There is an open position in the Police Department and a meter reader/laborer position in the Water/Wastewater department.
VIII. Fiscal Officer Report:
Fiscal Officer Lori Cunard stated December bank statement has been reconciled.
Lori Cunard reported that the Fire Department received a grant of $9,253.95 for the 2026 MARCS grant.
Mayor Hehr said she would like to schedule a finance committee meeting on January 12th @5:00 p.m.
IX. Committee Chair/Council Reports:
Tom Kirkland – Nothing to report.
Bill Allen – Nothing to report.
Alicia Gardner – Nothing to report.
Kim Schaber – Nothing to report.
Tiffany Ramsay – Nothing to report.
Matt Schaber – Nothing to report.
X: Solicitor’s Report:
SolicitorRyan Regel reported that his contract is up and if Council would like to renew his contract, they would just need to make a motion. Solicitor Regel said his contract would be on the same basis as last year. Tiffany Ramsay made the motion to renew Solicitor Ryan Regel’s contract for another year. Tom Kirkland second the motion. Motion passed 6-0. Kevin Brooks said he really appreciates the work Solicitor Regel has done for the Village, he is a pleasure to work with, and it does not go unnoticed.
Solicitor Regel said he will need President of Council, Tom Kirkland and Mayor Carol Hehr to sign off on the EMS Building deed, they have the check ready. Kevin Brooks said, after several discussions, the money from the sale of the EMS Building will be put into the Building Fund so that it can be used for a multitude of things. He said if any of Council has an issue with that now would be the time to have another discussion about it. Mayor Hehr said by putting it in the Building Fund it will be easier to track also.
Solicitor Regel also stated that he will need contact details for the new Council members.
XI: Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the payment of bills. Matt Schaber made the motion. Tom Kirkland second the motion. Motion passed 6-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the Mayor’s Court Report, December 2025. Tiffany Ramsay made the motion. Matt Schaber second the motion. Motion passed 6-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the Income Tax Report, December 2025. Kevin Brooks said it has been a record year for income tax; we have collected more than we ever have. Mr. Brooks said he feels we have made a very good decision to go with R.I.T.A. for income tax collections. Bill Allen said R.I.T.A. is very difficult for individuals to deal with. Kevin Brooks said that is something we need to know because we do have contacts at R.I.T.A. and we can pass this on and get extra individuals assigned to the Village account. Bill Allen said there are several people who work in the Village that did not know they had to file a tax form with R.I.T.A. and they were being charged a penalty for the last 5 years. Kevin Brooks said R.I.T.A. works on commission, so they will chase every dollar, and they have resources that we do not. Mr. Brooks said when we engaged with R.I.T.A. in 2020 we had 25% of our population that did not file taxes. He is not saying they all owed taxes, but they did not file. That same number now is under 5%. He said they have done better every year since we have had them. Tom Kirkland made the motion to approve the income tax report, December 2025. Matt Schaber second the motion. Motion passed 6-0.
Kim Schaber asked the status of the Income Surveys for Andover and Sycamore. Mayor Hehr said they are still being worked on. Kim Schaber wanted to verify that the $450,000.00 the Village was awarded for paving does not include Andover and Sycamore, those two streets are based on the Income Surveys. Mayor Hehr said doing the surveys does not guarantee we will get the funding, but we will be able to apply for the funding. Kevin Brooks said we did not duplicate requests, so the Ohio Public Works application was for eight separate streets. The CDBG application is for Andover and Sycamore exclusively. Kim Schaber said she can help with the surveys if needed and Mayor Hehr said she will see what there is left and get back with her.
Kim Schaber asked if Council would consider doing closed circuit video and then put the videos on the Village website for people who are not able to come or for people who want to go back and review things from the meeting. Mayor Carol Hehr said it is something to look into as far as what it would cost, who would be in charge of it, etc. Kevin Brooks said he would suggest checking with the school to see if they have an audio/visual program that would be interested in audio recording or videotaping and then publish it on the local access cable. He said he is not sure what programs the school has but it would be an idea to partner with the school and MCTV. Kim Schaber said she would be glad to check with the school and bring it back to Council. Solicitor Ryan Regel spoke up and said he wants to make sure everyone understands the ramifications of it being a public record at that point and maintaining that record and the responsibilities that go along with having that public record. There would be the situation of who would have control of it and how long we would retain it. Solicitor Regel said he would look into it and get back to Council if they would like. Mayor Hehr said she thinks it would be a good idea for him to do that.
Mayor Hehr stated that she gave everyone the list of committee assignments and she also put together an orientation packet for everyone. If anyone has any questions about anything, they can let her know.
Chief Corey Jones said they purchased a suppressor that Officer Hunter Cline donated 100% of the funds for when he was employed with the Village. They have not used it in a long time and Officer Cline has shown interest in acquiring it, so Chief Jones would like a motion to proceed. He said it is a regulated part so he would transfer it to Modern Hardware since they have the proper licensing. Chief Jones will have Solicitor Ryan Regel write an agreement as in the past. Bill Allen asked if we would just be giving it to Officer Cline since he originally paid for it and Chief Jones said the transaction would be $1.00. Solicitor Regel said there is a release and hold harmless form that Officer Cline and Modern Hardware would sign just saying that the Village would not have any liability once it is returned to him. Bill Allen made the motion for Chief Jones to proceed with the sale of a suppressor to Officer Hunter Cline. Tom Kirkland second the motion. Motion passed 6-0.
XII. Un-Registered Visitors/Guests:
None
XIII. Adjourn:
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Alicia Gardner made the motion. Matt Schaber second. Motion passed 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 6:15 p.m.
ATTEST:
___________________________ ____________________________
Carol Hehr, Mayor Lori Cunard, Fiscal Officer