The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
July 7, 2025
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield met in Regular Session on July 7, 2025.
I. Council Member takes Oath of Office:
Alicia Gardner, appointed Council member to serve the unexpired term of the vacant Council seat which goes through December 31, 2025, was sworn in by Mayor Carol Hehr.
II. Roll Call:
Present: Council Members; Dale English, Tom Kirkland, Anthony McDaniel, Alicia Gardner, Tiffany Ramsay, Matt Schaber, Mayor Carol Hehr, Fiscal Officer Lori Cunard, and Village Administrator Kevin Brooks and Solicitor Ryan Regel.
III. Pending Meeting Minutes Approval:
Dale English made the motion to accept the June 16, 2025 meeting minutes as written. Tiffany Ramsay second. Alicia Gardner – abstain. Motion passed 5-0.
IV. Appeal Hearing:
An appeal hearing is being held for the properties at 409 South Main Street and 217 Center Street. Dan Weber, owner of the 2 properties, came forward and stated that he received the 2 letters last Tuesday. Mr. Weber said he could not get ahold of Chief Corey Jones, so he called and spoke with the building inspector who told him the building on 409 South Main Street is dangerous and deemed a hazard according to criteria set by Village Council. He said he still has not gotten very many answers regarding the letters. Mayor Hehr said she wanted to read the property notices from the Premier Property Inspection regarding 409 South Main. It stated that the property is structurally unsafe, unsanitary, no safe access, wind damage, fire hazard, hazard due to inadequate maintenance, not fit for human habitation, inadequate sanitation exists in violation of Ordinances, parts of the home can fall and injure someone, vacant and unsecured, exits in violation of Ordinance, and dangerous. Mr. Weber said he still uses 409 South Main and keeps the utilities on and he pushed on the building and jumped up and down and nothing fell. Mayor Hehr said there were letters sent to Mr. Weber’s father. Mr. Weber said his father has passed, and he knew nothing of those letters. Mr. Weber stated that the letter said he has 30 days to clean out the property and have it demolished and asked if that is still the case. Mayor Hehr explained that is in our Ordinance and asked if he is attending the appeal tonight wanting an extension in time or to let Council know that he is going to have the building demolished. Mr. Weber said he would rather not demolish the building because he still uses it and if he needs to put new windows in, paint it and clean it up he would do so.
Matt Schaber asked if the inspector went inside the building and Mayor Hehr said he did not. Matt Schaber asked how many buildings were being inspected and why the Property Maintenance Committee picked these 2 to have demolished. Mayor Hehr explained that there were 9 properties inspected, and letters were sent to all, but Mr. Weber is the only one to appeal.
Solicitor Regel wanted to make sure that Mr. Weber understands that the 30 days started the day he picked up the letters from the post office.
Anthony McDaniel wanted to clarify exactly what Mr. Weber’s appeal is and Mr. Weber said he does not want to demolish his properties.
Matt Schaber asked if he was willing to clean up the property and remove the old cars. Mr. Weber said he will clean up the property and do what he has to do but he does not want to have it demolished. Matt Schaber asked if Mr. Weber would be willing to let someone come in and check the structure of the building and Mr. Weber said he would let someone look at it.
Anthony McDaniel said his concern after looking at the inspection report is that the building is a safety hazard and should be demolished. Anthony McDaniel said as far as the appeal, Council is deciding based on the information provided by the inspection. He said he feels that if Mr. Weber does not want the property demolished then providing Council or the Property Maintenance Committee with proof from a certified building inspector that the building is structurally sound would give a lot better foundation in Mr. Weber’s appeal. Anthony McDaniel also said he does not feel the Village should incur the cost of another inspection; it would be up to Mr. Weber to have an inspection. Mr. Weber admitted
that the property is an eye-sore, but he does not agree the property is to the point of needing to be demolished.
Anthony McDaniel thinks it would be fair to give Mr. Weber a couple of extra weeks to have an inspection done on the property and get the report back to Council. Mayor Hehr asked Mr. Weber if he is willing to pay for an inspection and he said he would.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to give Mr. Weber an extra 30 days to have an inspection done on his property at 409 Main Street and get the inspection report back to Council. Anthony McDaniel made the motion. Matt Schaber second. Tiffany Ramsay spoke up and said she agrees with Anthony McDaniel giving Mr. Weber a chance but she thinks we should also look at getting the area cleaned up outside during the 30-day extension. Anthony McDaniel amended the motion to include clean-up of the property outside during the 30-day extension. Matt Schaber second. Motion passed 6-0.
Mayor Hehr said the second property is located at 217 Center Street and Council has the inspection report and pictures of the property. Mr. Weber said the inspection report states the property is a safety hazard to neighboring properties.
Mr. Weber said he had a new roof put on the garage and he has been keeping it mowed. He agrees it needs new windows and siding, but he does not believe it needs demolished either. Mayor Hehr asked Mr. Weber if he is willing to do the same thing with this property, have an inspector go into the house and do a complete inspection and clean up the property outside around the house. He said he would clean up around the house but asked what it is that needs done with this property. Anthony McDaniel stated it looks like the vines need to be cut back and there is a tree obstructing one of the doors. He also asked about the windows because based on the pictures they look like they are covered with plastic. Mr. Weber said there is full glass under the plastic in the windows downstairs but some of the glass is out of the windows upstairs. Anthony McDaniel said there could be multiple animals going in and out of the house and birds which would create unsanitary and unsafe living conditions. He said he thinks it would be in Mr. Weber’s best interest to have a property inspection done at this location also. Mr. Weber asked if he would need to replace all the windows in both the properties and Anthony McDaniel stated ideally, to meet compliance requirements, that it would be best. Mayor asked what he would do if he did not replace the windows. Mr. Weber said he would use Plexiglas and build the windows himself because he admits he does not have the money for all the new windows in both houses. Anthony McDaniel also expressed to Mr. Weber that good open lines of communication will work to his advantage. He feels that if Chief Jones, Mayor Hehr and the Property Maintenance Committee sees there is progress being made and there is communication the deadline could be extended but currently, based on the inspection the Village had done and our opinion the properties should be demolished.
Tom Kirkland said that his recommendation would be to clean up the properties outside until the inspection is done because if the inspections recommend demolishing there would be no use to start replacing windows. He said he would not start spending money until the inspections are completed. Mayor Hehr said there are government programs to get help if he qualifies and Matt Schaber said to communicate with the inspector, he could give guidelines to go by.
Solicitor Regel said the appeal hearing will be continued until September 2nd, 2025, to allow Mr. Weber to provide as much additional information as he can and then see if Council will revoke the decision to have either of the properties demolished.
Anthony McDaniel told Mr. Weber that he would get in contact with the inspector and tell him the Village is wanting the houses torn down, ask him to do an interior inspection and see if they can give enough evidence needed to show that the houses don’t need torn down. It is about the soundness of the structure and no amount of cleaning will assist with that.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to give Mr. Weber until September 2nd, 2025, to have inspections done on the properties at 409 Main Street and 217 Center Street and present the inspection report to Council and clean-up the properties outside during the extension. Anthony McDaniel made the motion. Matt Schaber second. Motion passed 6-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for Mr. Weber to keep herself, Tiffany Ramsay, or Chief Jones updated on the progress of the properties or with any questions.
V. Registered Visitors:
None
VI. Old Business:
Councilman Matt Schaber asked if the Village was fined for any of the illegal dumping in the dumpsters during cleanup week and the Village was not fined.
Mayor Hehr said she contacted John Williams, Street Superintendent, regarding the property on Olin Drive. As long as it doesn’t rain, he is going to try and get to it this week.
VII. Administrator Report:
Village Administrator Kevin Brooks asked for a motion to hire Regan Rucker for the Street Department as entry level Laborer at $15.00/hr. starting July 7, 2025. Anthony McDaniel made the motion. Matt Schaber second. Motion passed 6-0.
Kevin Brooks said the Finance Committee has recommended the starting wage for the Village be raised to $15.00/hr. so in turn there are employees who have been hired in the last 6 months whose wages will need to be adjusted/increased. Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve Resolution #2025-08, A Resolution to give the Village employees a minimum wage increase to $15.00/hr. and Declaring an Emergency. Tiffany Ramsay made the motion. Dale English second. Motion passed 6-0.
Kevin Brooks reported that there was a meeting with Verdantas regarding the lot on Main Street that was purchased. There are some significant topographical issues in regard to the next-door neighbors and drainage on the property. We would like to make the lot a park with decorative lighting, benches, and tables for outdoor seating for the coffee shop or the restaurants.
Verdantas gave a proposal to do preliminary engineering and design for $8,000.00. Mr. Brooks asked what Council’s thoughts are about this, if we pursue grant money to do the project, we still need a plan design. Anthony McDaniel made a motion to start the design process for the lot on Main Street with Verdantas. Tom Kirkland second. Motion passed 6-0.
Kevin Brooks reported that we have 3 apparent low bidders for the Water, Sewer, and Storm Sewer Projects. The bid is still with E. L. Robinson and is being tabulated as well as references being reviewed. The bid for the backwash piping was a tie and none of us have ever been through a tie so there were some things that had to be worked out with Solicitor Regel and the EPA. Because E. L. Robinson is still going over the bids, there is not a project for Council to approve yet, but he can say the total for the 3 projects is in excess of $5.1 million. This is a significant infrastructure upgrade for Water, Wastewater, and Storm Sewer and probably the largest project undertaking the Village has had and $4 million is principal forgiveness from the EPA. Council will have legislation for the July 21st Council meeting to approve the 3 contracts pending the bid tabulations by E. L. Robinson. Because 2 of the 3 projects will be well into $1 million, we are trying to push some of the work to the end of the year so as not to trigger an annual audit for 2025 but rather in 2026 which will keep us on the same audit schedule as we are on now. This would save us money down the road on audit costs.
Kevin Brooks reported that the annual power supply update from AMP was done. It is AMP’s opinion that we have one of the top 5% power purchase agreements in the entire AMP footprint. The Village portfolio Is very strong, and we are doing fantastic in procuring the best rates for our customers. We also saved in 2024 $256,000.00 due to peak shaving, $131,000.00 in transmission cost savings and $125,000.00 in capacity savings. These are significant numbers that save our customers’ charges from our service provider, AEP. Lewis Hill, electric superintendent, and the rest of the guys in the electric department are doing a great job of peak shaving to keep our rates low.
Starting in July there is going to be a significant increase in capacity charge, which is a fee associated with transmission to our grid from AEP and it is assessed by AEP. We will be looking at a $10-$15.00 increase in customer bills.
AEP is shutting down our interconnection for 2 weeks in order to do a significant system upgrade for South Central, it has nothing to do with us. They are wanting us to incur costs to generate and provide power to our customers during the 2-week planned outage, but Mr. Brooks says this is not going to happen. There is a phone conference with AEP to discuss the parameters on Wednesday morning to negotiate on how we are going to get power to our customers. We should not have to incur any costs due to their planned outage. Anthony McDaniel asked if power would be off and Kevin Brooks said that is what we are negotiating, how we are going to keep the power on.
Mr. Brooks said if anyone on Council would like a copy of the power supply update to let him know, he can send an electronic copy or a hard copy.
Kevin Brooks requested Executive Session at the end of the meeting for Personnel/compensation. This relates to the discussion at the Finance Committee meeting that was held a week ago.
VIII. Fiscal Officer Report:
Lori Cunard said the bank reconciliation is completed and ready for Council signatures. She also reminded Council of the meeting with Nikki Lude this Thursday at 10:00 a.m. to go over Cemetery investments.
Lori Cunard said there is an Ordinance in Council packets for appropriations changes.
IX. Committee Chair/Council Reports:
Matt Schaber – Nothing to report.
Tiffany Ramsay – Tiffany Ramsay reported that the Property Maintenance Committee met this evening before Council. Chief Jones is on vacation, so the meeting was brief since they did not have his input on the remaining 7 properties that were inspected.
Tiffany Ramsay reported that the Fireman’s Festival was held on July 3rd and it was a huge success.
Mayor Hehr said one of the food vendors has already asked to come back next year, they did very well.
Alicia Gardner – Nothing to report.
Anthony McDaniel – Anthony McDaniel stated that the Finance Committee met but it will warrant further discussion in Executive Session.
Tom Kirkland – Tom Kirkland asked Solicitor Regel where we are at on the vacating of the streets we planned on vacating. Solicitor Regel said the Ordinance has been prepared with the plats we got from Mr. Biedenbach. Kevin Brooks said upon looking at the Ordinance presented he believes we need to delay for a couple weeks because there are some other alleys that need to be added to the list. He said we need to sit down with our new Street Superintendent and discuss more alleys being vacated. We also need to notify all of the affected property owners, then pass the Ordinance and set up a hearing 30 days after that.
Dale English – Dale English said the festivities on July 3rd were very nice, there was a good crowd of people, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. He commended Tiffany Ramsay and her crew for doing a great job.
IX: Solicitor’s Report:
Nothing to report.
X: Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the payment of bills. Tiffany Ramsay made the motion. Matt Schaber second. Motion passed 6-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the Mayor’s Court Report, June 2025. Dale English made the motion. Anthony McDaniel second. Motion passed 6-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the Income Tax Report, June 2025. Anthony McDaniel made the motion. Tom Kirkland second. Motion passed 6-0. Kevin Brooks stated we are on track to have the largest tax collection year ever.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to pass Ordinance #07-2025, An Ordinance Providing for Amending and Revising Specific Line-Items in the Appropriations of Expenditures for the Village of Woodsfield for the Calendar Year 2025 and Declaring an Emergency. Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to suspend the three-reading rule and pass this Ordinance as an emergency. Dale English made the motion.
Tiffany Ramsay second the motion. Tom Kirkland – yes, Anthony McDaniel – yes, Alicia Gardner – yes, Matt Schaber – yes. Motion passed 6-0. Ordinance #07-2025 adopted.
Mayor Hehr commended Lewis Hill, Electric Superintendent, for setting up the electric and lights for the festivities on July 3rd.
Mayor Hehr read a statement from Chief Jones which stated that the Police Department has been working with the Property Maintenance Committee for the last several months to improve the overall appearance of the community. By being committed to enforcing the local ordinances related to property upkeep, this joint effort has resulted in more visible progress throughout the Village than ever before. As part of these efforts, on June 12th the Village contracted a certified property inspector to conduct thorough investigations and in accordance with Village ordinance #1309, Abatement of Unsafe Structures, officially condemned 9 properties for demolition. It is important to note that a significant amount of time and effort is required to enforce these ordinances in accordance with the procedures set forth by law. We strongly encourage all residents to do their part by maintaining their property according to Village standards. Voluntary compliance saves time and resources but also contributes to a cleaner, safer, and more attractive community for everyone. The Woodsfield Police Department and the Property Maintenance Committee remain committed to continuing this momentum to enhance the quality of life for Woodsfield residents. Also attached was satisfying figures outlining the number of warnings issued, citations filed, and certified letters sent to residents found in violation of Village Property Maintenance Ordinances.
XI. Un-Registered Visitors/Guest:
Lynn Parker – Mr. Parker is representing the Monroe County Fair Board. He passed out to Council the Monroe County Fair Directory and said how much the fair board appreciates what Council has done as far as the banners to be hung downtown. He said the fairground looks great; there has been a lot of work done and encourages everyone to stop by and take a look. Kevin Brooks said the fairground has desperately needed an upgrade to the electrical system for quite some time. The electric crew has been at the fairground for about a month, and they are finally where they need to be as far as electric and it will be a significant upgrade.
Lynn Parker also said that 121 and 123 Andover Rd. can be taken off the list for property maintenance. Mr. Parker purchased the 2 properties and is cleaning them up and remodeling the homes. Mayor Hehr said she would let Chief Jones know. Anthony McDaniel said the work that has been done at the fairgrounds looks really good.
Debbie Gates – Debbie Gates said she lives on Eastern Ave. and some of the properties around her are really bad. She said the neighbor’s tree is practically lying on her roof and at the neighboring house the back door is open, and the chimney is falling down. She said the property is 231 Eastern Ave. and asked if it is on the Property Maintenance list. It has not been lived in for probably 10-12 years and the inside is falling down and there are families of raccoons living in the house. She said the house is unsafe. She said people are just mowing their front yards, not their backyards, and there is a lot of trash in the backs of the homes along with chickens running loose and feral cats. Anthony McDaniel asked for patience because from a legal standpoint it is very time consuming.
Mrs. Gates also asked when the tree falls and takes out the electric, who does she call. It is the neighbor’s tree, and it is lying on the electric lines. Mayor Hehr said she will call Lewis Hill, Electric Superintendent, tomorrow and have him take a look at it. Mayor Hehr said if she does not notice anything being done in the next month to come back to Council or give her a call.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to go into Executive Session regarding Personnel/compensation Anthony McDaniel made the motion. Matt Schaber second. Motion passed 6-0. Executive Session entered at 6:50 p.m.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to go back into Regular Session. Anthony McDaniel made the motion. Dale English second. Motion passed 6-0. Regular Session entered at 7:28 p.m.
XII. Adjourn:
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Matt Schaber made the motion. Dale English second. Motion passed 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
ATTEST:
___________________________ ____________________________
Carol Hehr, Mayor Lori Cunard, Fiscal Officer