The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
March 2, 2026
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield met in Regular Session on March 2, 2026.
I. 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.
Before starting the meeting, Mayor Hehr explained there was a change in the agenda. She had an interview with AEP on Friday afternoon, and she asked if it would be possible to have someone from AEP to attend the Council meeting this evening to explain the power outage on February 20-21. Since they have attended, Chief Corey Jones, Steve Eikleberry, Park/Cemetery Superintendent, and Tyler Spence, Water Treatment Planet Superintendent will give their reports at the next Council meeting.
II. Pending Meeting Minutes Approval:
Bill Allen made the motion to accept February 16, 2026 meeting minutes as written. Tiffany Ramsay second the motion. Motion passed 6-0.
III. Registered Visitors:
Matt Summerfield and Eddie Hannah, American Electric Power – Eddie Hannah explained that on Friday, February 20th there were some significant wind gusts that knocked out a structure holding a 14-mile line that runs to Woodsfield. The damage occurred at about the halfway point on the line due to a tree that fell on the structure. There were several outages in East and Southeast Ohio, so crews were out and when they received the call of this outage they responded right away. The damaged structure held lines that spanned about 2000 feet in either direction from one structure to another. They immediately mobilized crews to start building an access road to get to the structure. They brought in crews from West Virginia, Central Ohio, Canton, and Indiana. Mr. Hannah said they had 12 crews rotating working around the clock because their primary goal was to restore the electricity to customers as fast as possible and in the most efficient way they could. They secured the sight and began the process to rebuild the structure. During this time, they were in communication with the Village of Woodsfield to give other options that could be pursued to get service back on for residents. As soon as they realized that mobile generation was needed it was implemented immediately and they were on sight at about 6:00 a.m. the following morning. The electricity was back on for residents at 6:55 p.m. February 21st. Since the generators were on site, they took the opportunity to address some other issues on the line to reduce the risk of further issues. He said they had well over 100 employees on site clearing, replacing the structures, and supporting the generators.
Mayor Hehr said she was totally satisfied with everything AEP did and the gentlemen that brought the generators drove through the night. She said it was not a pleasant experience being without electricity that long, but they made it much better.
Rachel Cariddi spoke up and said she is newer to the community and she works from home. When the power went out, she called AEP not fully understanding where the electricity for the Village comes from. The person she spoke to said they had no notification of the outage, and she also had called AMP. She was confused as to what communication they would give to AEP phone operators for residents in the Village that are not really sure where to turn for information. Mr. Hannah said they can follow up on that. She said it would also be helpful if there was an account number for the Village of Woodsfield with AEP.
A resident asked if it was not feasible to use Village generators at all and who made the decision and why. She said it was cold and if they could have run for a few hours at a time so residents could have warmed up their homes and let their refrigerators run it would have made a difference. She said at the last meeting they talked about the generators, and they are still functioning at this time because they are used for peak shaving, so why were they not used. Mayor Hehr explained that on Friday evening, Lewis Hill, Electric Superintendent, called her and said he was going to provide electricity for half of the town. She said about an hour and a half later he called her and said he could not do it because they were making noise and he was worried they were going to explode or catch fire, so he determined the
best thing to do was to shut them down. They have not been in service since 2016, and the EPA mandates the hours we can run the generators. Kevin Brooks said we are not permitted to exercise the emergency generators; they can only be run in an actual emergency. We have 6 generators, 3 are permitted for peak shaving only at a maximum of 500 hours per year and the other 3 are emergency generators that are permitted to run cumulatively for 50 hours per year. They have not been run or emissions tested since 2016. When the generators were started on that Friday evening they were overheating and there was significant noise and the superintendent did not want to take a chance of blowing the engines. The decision was made to shut them down because we did not feel they were operational. The last time they were run was during the lightning strike on the substation in 2016 and they have not been run since.
Rachel Cariddi asked what the criteria for an emergency is and if the generators cannot be run and have not been used since 2016 then what precautions are being taken in the Village to mitigate that in the future. Mr. Brooks said this was a catastrophic outage, so we did meet the criteria, and we did fire the generators up. He said if she is asking what the backup plan is, we have been talking for a year about developing an alternative resource. Mr. Brooks said we have talked about solar and also natural gas generators, but Council has not decided on which way to go, and a decision needs to be made so we can move forward on the engineering. There is also the issue of cost, both options are costly, so we have been actively pursuing grant funding. This will be a multi-million-dollar project regardless of what direction Council decides to go, and the Village does not have unlimited resources.
A resident said that part of the problem is that residents were not informed. It was hearsay that they were putting in emergency generators, they did not know when they were going to be hooked up or when power was going to come back on. Different sections of town came back on at different times, and they were not informed that it was going to come back on at different times. Is there a way that residents can be more informed if this happens in the future? Kevin Brooks said he and Lewis Hill were on the phone with the Mayor keeping her informed and also were communicating with AEP and AMP during the outage. He said the Mayor made numerous all-calls throughout the weekend but he said there were times when no information was available and they were trying to coordinate. The resident asked how she could get on the all-call list and Mayor Hehr said she would need to call the utility office. Mayor Hehr said she made 5 all-calls but it is hard to put a time on something because on one all-call she said the generators would be up and running sometime in the a.m. and they were not running until sometime in the p.m. She said they thought they did ok, but they will try and do better in the future.
Mayor Hehr also said she opened a warming center at the Veterans Office at the Health Department at 9:00 a.m. and she left at 7:00 p.m. because she only had 3 people show up all day.
Kevin Brooks wanted to make people aware that the all-call system is not run by the Village, it is run by the Emergency Management with the County. He said we can sign people up for the all-call but if you go to the Emergency Management website there is a link to click on and you can choose what all-calls you would like to be added to such as schools, county, village, etc. However, Mayor Hehr said to be put on the all-call list for the Village of Woodsfield you must call the Utility Office to be added.
Rachel Cariddi feels there could be action to do better. She said there did not seem to be much transparency, and the preference seems to be to do the all-calls rather than post on Facebook. She said she is not signed up for the all-calls, but she feels the Village should reach out more on social media in the future. She comes from the east coast where they had Civilian Emergency Response Teams and maybe that would be an option for this area, she would like research it and maybe partner with Emergency Management. Mayor Hehr said it is very difficult to reach everyone because a lot of elderly people are not on social media. She hopes most of them get the all-call, but she said we will try and do better and she apologizes. She knows Chief Corey Jones put several things on the Woodsfield Facebook page.
Matt Summerfield, AEP, wanted to explain that the Village electric could not all be turned on at once because the generators were only rated for so much. The problem was when you started loading everyone back on after an extended outage and everyone’s furnaces, refrigerators and so forth, were coming on all at once the load shot up more than they expected. So, they just had to give it time and let things level out before they could add more back on. That delayed things more than what they liked and they already had to build more infrastructure than what they had thought and they also had to
bring more poles in and build lines and switches into the Village lines. The infrastructure is now there so if it ever happens again there will be a quicker option.
Mayor Hehr said she felt everyone did the best they could in the situation and it is one of those things that you couldn’t predict how long it would take to get everyone’s electric back on.
IV. Old Business:
Matt Schaber asked about still having some water line leaks on Eastern Ave. as of yesterday and one on Green St. Kevin Brooks said the crew has been working on water line leaks on a daily basis. He said part of the problem is that it has been cold and they haven’t surfaced so instead of digging multiple holes to search for leaks they have been using the leak detection equipment and when the ground thaws and the leaks surface.
Matt Schaber asked if the public was informed of the scheduled sewer increase that took place yesterday. Kevin Brooks said the Ordinance would have been published when it was passed, the Ordinance was approved last year. Mayor Hehr said she doesn’t think the public was notified this year.
Matt Schaber asked Mr. Brooks if he had heard from Verdantas regarding the engineering of the electrical upgrade. Kevin Brooks said there is a conference call coming up this week.
Kim Schaber said she had asked at a couple meetings whether Council would consider video recording of the meetings that would be posted for people who cannot attend the meetings. She said this is about transparency, and allowing people to hear the meetings. She understands that Solicitor Regel is recommending it as not a good, long-term idea because of public recordkeeping. Kim Schaber said when she attended the OML New Officer’s Training she asked about video recording and was told there is no law restricting recording and the Village can set up its own time for it to be available for viewing whether it becomes part of a longer public record holding or whether they establish it for a certain period of time and then it is gone and it does not have to be maintained for a year or more in public records. Kim Schaber said she was also told that even though a Village chooses not to video that anyone can video and audio record because it is a public meeting. Putting it into media where it can be viewed doesn’t have to be something the Village does itself.
Kim Schaber has gotten an estimate for installation of about $3,000.00. It would allow Council to control the recording up to a point of Executive Session, stopping it, then re-starting it when Council goes back into regular session.
Kim Schaber appreciates the research and information from Solicitor Ryan Regel, but she also knows what she asked directly herself during the conference. She would just like to hear how the rest of Council feels about it or if she needs to put it into a motion she will. She would just like to know what everyone else thinks about it and she said she knows anyone else can record because there are no restrictions on recording a public meeting.
Solicitor Regel said just to be clear, that is consistent with what he had put in his letter. He said there are some rules if Council decides to video record. He also said that what is being done now is compliant with what Ohio law requires and if he is not mistaken it’s a verbatim transcript of the meetings that are typed afterwards.
Bill Allen spoke up and said he would like to see them recorded. He said normally for a Council meeting there are only a few people who attend, and he knows more would check in on the website for a recording. He said the Facebook site would be a perfect place to post it and he would love to see it updated and operational. He said the Village website leaves a lot to be desired. Bill Allen said Kim Schaber has already offered to help with the website and he does not see any reason why it is not being done when she has offered.
Bill Allen said he believes wholeheartedly in communication, and he did not know the generators had tried to be run during the power outage. He said there needs to be better communication amongst Council members because he said he received several phone calls from people asking for information, but he had no information to give. He said Lewis Hill thought the generators were operational because in 7 years the Village had $86,000.00 in work done to them and the Village will get fined by the EPA if we fire them up even to test them. Bill Allen said he knows Lewis Hill would have run them if he could in order to get power to as many people as possible but if they had kept running it would have been catastrophic. Kevin Brooks said when we run the emergency generators, we can only run the low
voltage side. He said that is why it is so important to do the electric conversion project and get everyone up to 7200, so everyone is on the same voltage across the Village.
Bill Allen feels we need to get someone else on the Village’s Facebook and Website to keep people more informed. He said there needs to be better communication to the public and amongst Council members and if anyone ever has an issue, please talk to him or any other Council member about it. Mayor Hehr said she very rarely answers a question on Facebook. If someone has a question or a problem, she would rather they get in touch with her by phone. She said they all did the best they could and it is too hard to predict in a situation like this and they were not trying to hide anything from the public. Mayor Hehr said as far as Council is concerned, she can vote against someone, and we all have to learn that it is just her decision, and it doesn’t mean she doesn’t like them or they are not going to be friends. She said if someone on Council is getting upset about that maybe we need to have an Executive Session about it.
Kim Schaber asked again for Council input regarding the video recording of meetings. Kim Schaber thinks we need to have Executive Session. Mayor Hehr first asked Council if they had the opportunity to read the information provided by Solicitor Regel and asked if Council was prepared to vote. Tom Kirkland said he has caution about the video recording of meetings. He wants to be as transparent as possible and just because you are allowed to video record it does not mean it is the best thing to do. Tom Kirkland said the minutes are not even approved for one meeting until 2 weeks later at the following meeting. Kim Schaber said things are being talked about and approved and the public does not know anything about it until the minutes are published 2 weeks later making the public 2 weeks behind. She said New Matamoras live streams their meetings on Facebook, and they stay up until the next meeting is posted. Solicitor Regel said one of the factors is if someone has misspoken during the meeting that is live streamed, the actual meeting minutes would have to reflect the correction after the video has been published. Kim Schaber said she would like to make a motion to at least test run for 2 months live streaming of the Council meeting. Kim Schaber said if someone does misspeak, that retraction will probably be made verbally and it would be part of the correction for the minutes that would be adopted anyway. Mayor Carol Hehr asked how we would test it for 2 months. Kim Schaber said we could use a phone camera. Tom Kirkland asked if it would be posted on Facebook. Kim Schaber said it could be on the Village Facebook page or Village website, and Tom Kirkland said he would prefer it to be on the Village website. Kim Schaber said she also would prefer the website. Solicitor Regel spoke up and said he does not know that the Village can just do a test run because Council would have to adopt a resolution and decide who would be in charge of the recordings, the platforms it would be posted on, how long it will be stored, what is the retention schedule going to be etc. Bill Allen second the motion. Tom Kirkland – no, Alicia Gardner – no, Tiffany Ramsay – no, Matt Schaber – yes. Due to it being a tie, Mayor Carol Hehr voted no. Motion defeated. Mayor Hehr said she would still like to do some more research and come back to it at a later date. Mayor Hehr suggested forming a committee to do more research and present to Council for another vote. Solicitor Regel suggested Kim Schaber prepare a policy to present to Council if she would be willing. Kim Schaber said she would contact the presenter at the conference she attended and ask for the information to be sent to her.
VI. Administrator Report:
Kevin Brooks reported that the initial project meeting for wastewater, storm and water treatment plant upgrades was held this morning. One of the biggest issues has been the work that is going to be done on Main Street, particularly at Citizens Bank and Bellwood Drug Store. The contractor has agreed to do the work at night so there will be no lane closures or disruptions during the day. The other issue has been disruptions during Alumni weekend and at this point the contractors think they will be well beyond that point by Alumni weekend. The weather has been a big problem and as of now the project is probably six weeks behind.
Mr. Brooks reported there is a phone conference with Verdantas later this week to discuss the conversion project. We are at the point where we need to decide what we are going to do about the diesel generators because part of the design is to shudder the plant due to the generators being obsolete and we will start to utilize a new energy source. Does Council want to continue with Master Roof Solar or look at Main Spring Generators, it is decision time. Mr. Brooks said just to be clear, solar
would not have helped during the power outage. Regardless of whether we go with diesel or natural gas generators, the details will be how we will permit the generators with the EPA. Kim Schaber said, based on what Bill Allen said earlier, and she also has done a little bit of research and this part of the state averages 70-80 days of sunshine per year so she would rather look into something with natural gas. Tom Kirkland agreed that natural gas is what he would prefer. Mr. Brooks said the solar is a 25–30-year project and the diesel or natural gas has a warranty of 12 years. The premise is we would need 6 of the diesel or natural gas units. They have checked what the megawatt capacity would be so they can operate in an emergency situation such as the one we just had. Bill Allen asked if anyone had any idea what one generator would cost. Kevin Brooks said there are so many factors involved such as the inter-connections, how we choose to utilize the generators, how we choose to configure the power plant, and which generators would be dedicated to peak shaving, and which would be dedicated to emergency services. This is why we need to pick which way we are going to go so Verdantas can start engineering this but best guess is we will need 6 generators and will probably be in the vicinity of $12 million. Council all agreed to go with the diesel generators.
Kevin Brooks said he needs to have a Cemetery Committee meeting planned because there are some issues with staffing for the summer. There is also a request for capital purchases that need to be discussed because of the cost and the resources to be used to fund the cost. Tom Kirkland said he would get with the committee and schedule a day and time. Kevin Brooks said they have talked with ODJFS regarding summer help and they said they would try to provide us with a couple of individuals for summer help. He said we can try it because this would be no cost labor for the Village which is advantageous.
Kevin Brooks said he talked with John Williams, Street Superintendent, and a resident called on Friday to report a significant pothole which they appreciate, he said they encourage people to call in and report them. Mr. Brooks also wanted Council to know that all of our workforce participated during the outage.
VII. Fiscal Officer Report:
Lori Cunard reported that the February bank statement is reconciled and asked that everyone sign.
Mayor Hehr reported that when Village superintendents who are salary work overtime, they accrue comp time. The maximum comp they can accrue is 120 hours and there are many times they are over 120 hours. Mayor Hehr talked with Kevin Brooks and Fiscal Officer Lori Cunard, and it was decided to pay the superintendents who are salary their overtime worked during the outage. She felt it was not something we normally do but felt it was the right thing to do. Kevin Brooks said the reason there is a limit on comp time is because it is a liability for the Village. When someone retires from the Village, we pay them a quarter of their accumulated sick leave up to 250 hours, their accumulated vacation leave and if they have 120 hours of comp time that can be a huge liability for the Village.
VIII. Committee Chair/Council Reports:
Matt Schaber – Matt Schaber said he is going to contact Steve Eikleberry, Park Superintendent, and set up a Park Committee meeting. Kevin Brooks said there have been more camera’s installed at City Park and mainly we focused on the Brown Center.
Tiffany Ramsay – Nothing to report.
Kim Schaber – Nothing to report.
Alicia Gardner – Nothing to report.
Bill Allen – Nothing to report.
Tom Kirkland – Nothing to report.
IX: Solicitor’s Report:
SolicitorRyan Regel just wanted to be sure everyone received the Resolution regarding calamity days/emergency closings. Kevin Brooks said he feels we need to make it part of the employee policy manual. Bill Allen made a motion to approve Resolution #2026-02, A Resolution Amending and Revising Section 6.09 of the Village of Woodsfield Employe Policies and Procedures and Declaring an Emergency. Matt Schaber second the motion. Motion passed 6-0.
Mayor Hehr then asked for a motion to suspend the three-reading rule, declaring it an emergency. Tiffany Ramsay made the motion. Kim Schaber second the motion. Motion passed 6-0.
X: Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the payment of bills. Tom Kirkland made the motion. Matt Schaber second the motion. Motion passed 6-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the Mayor’s Court Report, February 2026. Tiffany Ramsay made the motion. Tom Kirkland second the motion. Motion passed 6-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the Income Tax Report, February 2026. Tom Kirkland made the motion. Bill Allen second the motion. Motion passed 6-0. Kevin Brooks pointed out that we are tracking ahead as of now and that trend should continue due to the construction project being done in the Village.
Mayor Hehr reported that the surveys have been completed and Mary Jo Westfall has approved them, but they have to go on to the state. Mayor Hehr said there were not enough people who answered their doors to do the surveys to qualify for the paving project on Sycamore Street. She said Andover Rd. did qualify so she wrote an allocation grant at a cost of $130,088.00 but the Village is willing to put in $25,000.00 so the total we are asking from CDBG is $105,088.00. She attended the meeting today at the Commissioner’s office and there were 11 requests. They have $150,000.00 to hand out and there were over $600,000.00 in requests. The Commissioners want to look at everything and decide next Monday. Kevin Brooks reminded Council that we were funded last year for Airport Rd. so if we are turned down this year it is not a bad thing, it is part of being a good partner to the system. We can’t apply for funding every year and expect to be funded.
Kevin Brooks said Congressman Rulli’s office has opened their grant portal and we have 3, possibly 4, projects that we are going to submit. One of the projects is the splashpad, one is the Woodsfield Government Center, and one is the Rubel Lake spillway that will put us in compliance with ODNR and the EPA. The top priority project is the Rubel Lake spillway due to the compliance issues. Mayor Hehr said when she talked to Bob Allen, E. L. Robinson, he said he may be able to tie in the generator for the Water Plant with Rubel Lake.
Kevin Brooks said that when we were without power it really affected the Water Plant and Wastewater Plant because we have multiple pumps and we do not have standby generation. So, we are looking at getting standby generators for each facility through an EPA grant. We also were invited to apply for funding for the conversion project through ARC.
Mayor Carol Hehr said just so everyone knows, the splashpad will just be in the area where the baby pool is now and the estimated cost is $175,000.00 so if we do not get grant funding, we will not be able to do it.
Kim Schaber asked if it was correct that when the Village took over the Brown Center, it is designated as an emergency shelter and if so, why is there no generator at the Brown Center. She said she thinks it would be a good idea to have a generator installed there if it is a designated emergency shelter. Kevin Brooks stated that he thinks we have more than enough funds in the Building Fund to get something less expensive such as a whole home generator to put down at the Brown Center.
XI. Un-Registered Visitors/Guests:
A resident asked if the generators used over the weekend could be purchased by the Village as back-up power. It will probably be a decision Council will have to make on whether they will want to spend the extra funds or not.
Bill Allen asked if we are able to peak shave now. Kevin Brooks said we are able to peak shave now. Bill Allen said the generators that were brought in and used over the weekend are around a million dollars for each one.
Kevin Brooks said the last time the EPA did an emissions test was in 2021 and they are done every 5 years, so they are due to be tested again.
Mayor Hehr said we know we have to do something, but we will have to find out what it is going to cost the Village. It is very difficult to get grants; we are going to try but the bottom line is somebody has to pay for it and unfortunately it is going to be us. Kevin Brooks said the EPA just gave us $4,000,000.00 to do the project we are doing now so we are going to go back to them and ask for funds for generators. ODOT has been a great partner for us also because they put $2 million into the downtown project and they are putting $1.2 million in the walking path project across from Riesbeck’s but at some point, EPA or ODOT are going to tell us no.
Angela Beardmore – Angela Beardmore attended to find out more information about the power outage and concerns about communication.
Angela Beardmore also wanted to update people about the blessing box. She said two boxes have been sponsored and one of the blessing boxes will be moved to the lot next door, beside the garage. She would like to do a dedication when it is moved, and she will be in contact to let people know when that will happen. She also had someone else reach out wanting to sponsor a second box but is not sure where it will be located yet, possibly City Park. She said her children are involved and she just wanted to teach them about giving back to the community. She said people have reached out to her letting her know how much it has helped them. She has also created an Amazon wish list and if anyone has any questions or wants to know more about how to support it, they can let her know. Mayor Hehr said everyone appreciates what she is doing and she is definitely teaching her children life lessons. Kevin Brooks said we will work with her and get the new blessing box put up in the lot next door and he thinks it will get more attention.
Mayor Hehr said at the Health Department they have formed a committee to publicize the Farmer’s Market more and try and get more vendor’s to come in. She said not necessarily all produce vendors but vendors of all kinds. She said the Farmer’s Market will start the beginning of May and it will be on Thursday’s this year because that was best for the vendors. Mayor Hehr said anyone who is interested in setting up at the Farmer’s Market can contact her and it is free to set up.
Walter Russell – Walter Russell spoke up and said he would like to applaud the Village employees for the work they did the weekend of the outage. He said he has heard nothing but complaints but he said that is not fair to them and he thinks they did a tremendous job with what they had to work with.
Walter Russell asked if the parking across the street from the diner is owned by the Village, which it is, and he asked people can park 24/7 in that lot. He thought it could be used for parking during snow events. Officer Zane Love said it is not a 2-hour limit in the lot; they have to be moved every 48 hours. Walter Russell said people should be made aware of that. Kevin Brooks said the Municipal lot is also available for parking for people during snow events to get their vehicles off the streets. He said he had trouble parking in the lot across the street during the snow because vehicles were parked in the lot and snow was piled up around them. He said if people are going to park in the lot for an extended time they should park down at the end of the lot. Kevin Brooks said we have the same problem in the downtown
area and the P.D. is trying to educate people about parking not necessarily ticket everyone.
Officer Zane Love said there are multiple individuals who have been cited and an Officer has been to the residence to warn them and it gets to the point if they will not abide then we will take their vehicle. Mr. Russell asked how long it should take to get people to comply, and Mayor Hehr said several cars had been removed and she believes during the snow event there were only 2 that did not get moved.
XII. Adjourn:
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Alicia Gardner made the motion. Tiffany Ramsay second. Motion passed 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
ATTEST:
___________________________ ____________________________
Carol Hehr, Mayor Lori Cunard, Fiscal Officer