The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
November 17, 2025
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield met in Regular Session on November 17, 2025.
I. Roll Call:
Present: Council Members; Dale English, Tom Kirkland, Alicia Gardner, Tiffany Ramsay, Matt Schaber, Mayor Carol Hehr, Fiscal Officer Lori Cunard, Solicitor Ryan Regel, and Village Administrator Kevin Brooks.
Absent: Council member Anthony McDaniel.
II. Pending Meeting Minutes Approval:
Matt Schaber made the motion to accept the Public Hearing minutes with corrections and the Council meeting minutes as written. Tiffany Ramsay second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
III. Registered Visitors:
None
IV. Old Business:
V. Administrator Report:
Village Administrator Kevin Brooks reported there was an accident with one of the Water/Sewer trucks, the 2016 F-450. There is a deductible of $1,000.00 and the damage is $2,958.25. Mr. Brooks asked for Council to make the motion to pay for the damages outright and not go through the insurance company to keep claims down and it is not an appreciable amount of money. Matt Schaber made the motion. Tiffany Ramsay second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
Kevin Brooks stated that Street Department employees will soon have their 6-month probationary time met. He asked that Council make a motion to approve 3% wage increases and they be taken off of probationary status per their employee agreement. Dale English made the motion. Tom Kirkland second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
Kevin Brooks said there is a food pantry box sitting in front of the building that was started by Angela Beardmore and son as a community project. It has been filled and emptied a couple of times, and it will stay out front through the holidays. After the holidays we may move it to the property on the South side of the building. We are encouraging those who would like to donate to do so and the ones who need it can help themselves. Mayor Hehr said her concern by keeping it at the front is the steps because throughout the winter they sometimes get icy and she doesn’t want someone to fall.
VI. Fiscal Officer Report:
Fiscal Officer Lori Cunard reported that the health insurance with United Health Care was going to go up by over 45% so we would like to go with Anthem. The premium is actually lower than what we are currently paying with United Health Care. We will still keep the GAP insurance but will lower the deductible from $3,000.00 to $2,500.00. She would like Council to make the motion to switch from United Health Care to Anthem. Kevin Brooks said the premiums that will be paid to Anthem for 2026 will be about the same as what we have paid for United Health Care in 2025, and we will continue to pay for the GAP insurance. He said we are asking for approval now because the withholding premiums for January will have to be withheld in December. Mr. Brooks said by switching to Anthem it will save the Village a significant amount of money and we will not have to pass the cost on to staff. Dale English made the motion. Tom Kirkland second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
Lori Cunard mentioned that the Annual Safety Meeting will be held at the Brown Center on December 18th at noon so the building will be closing at 11:00 a.m.
VII. Committee Chair/Council Reports:
Dale English – Nothing to report.
Tom Kirkland – Nothing to report.
Alicia Gardner – Nothing to report.
Tiffany Ramsay – Tiffany Ramsay reported the tree lighting will be December 5th on the lot next door at 6:30 p.m., more details to follow. Mayor Hehr said she had contacted Antero and they will not be giving out the pizza and hot chocolate anywhere in Ohio this year. They offered to give us hot chocolate for the evening. Mayor Hehr said the Community Strong Committee will take over that responsibility and they had treat bags left over from Halloween that can be used for the tree lighting.
Anthony McDaniel – Absent.
Matt Schaber – Nothing to report.
VIII: Solicitor’s Report:
SolicitorRyan Regel gave an update on the sale of the EMS Building. He said the attorney who represents the EMS indicated he would have everything wrapped up by the end of November. There is nothing else for the Village to do, it is just a matter of waiting on the EMS attorney to get all of the documents. Hopefully, the sale of the EMS Building will go through by the end of November or the first of December.
Kevin Brooks said we currently have the EMS Building Fund and asked the Fiscal Officer if we can transfer the funds from the EMS Building Fund to the General Building Fund once the sale has gone through. Solicitor Regel asked what funds were used to purchase the building. Kevin Brooks said, if possible, he would like the funds to go to the General Building fund for repairs or the possibility of renovations later on and not in a fund that the funds would not be accessible.
IX: Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Hehr reported that she attended a 3-hour OML Mayor’s Court virtual training session on Friday, so she is certified for next year.
Mayor Hehr said there was discussion this morning at the Supervisor’s meeting about the Holiday’s. The Village will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday and since Friday is only a half day, she is asking for a motion to allow the employees to have the Friday after Christmas and New Year’s off. Kevin Brooks said he has no issue with this, and he thinks most employees have been saving Comp Time or Personal time to take the day off anyhow. He said staff have been asked to be available for that Friday in case of emergency services. Mr. Brooks said the only issue is that P.D. will have to work and by granting the day off that will put them into holiday pay but it will not be a significant amount of money. Tiffany Ramsay made the motion. Matt Schaber second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the payment of bills. Tom Kirkland made the motion. Dale English second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the Mayor’s Court Report, mid-November 2025. Dale English made the motion. Tiffany Ramsay second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve Ordinance #15-2025, An Ordinance Vacating Certain Alleys Within the Village of Woodsfield, Monroe County, Ohio, by its Second Reading. Tiffany Ramsay made the motion. Tom Kirkland second. Dale English – yes, Alicia Gardner – yes, Matt Schaber – yes, Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
Kevin Brooks spoke up and said that the Department Supervisor’s will give year-end reports starting the first meeting in January. There will be three of the Department heads who will give their report on January 5th and three will report on January 19th. They will each give a 2025 re-cap and a 2026 look forward and they will each be 5 – 10 minutes long.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve Ordinance #16-2025, 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, and a motion Suspending the
Three Reading Rule and passing as an emergency measure. Kevin Brooks said this is in relation to the Water/Sewer project, funds were released to pay some invoices. Dale English made a motion. Tom Kirkland second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Alicia Gardner – yes, Tiffany Ramsay – yes, Matt Schaber – yes. Motion passed 6-0. Ordinance #13-2025 adopted.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve Resolution #2025-15, A Resolution Authorizing the Village of Woodsfield, Ohio to Apply for and Administer a State of Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program Fund – Remediation Grant for the Current Woodsfield Administration and Safety Forces Building Remediation Project, and Declaring an Emergency, and a motion Suspending the Three Reading Rule and passing as an emergency measure. Mayor Hehr said she spoke with Verdantas and Kevin Brooks today because this is for demolition of the building and there is no need to write a grant for that amount of money to demolish the building when we do not have funding for a new building. We do not know when or if we will get funding for the new building. She said the Landbank usually applies for this grant. Mayor Hehr said she would suggest passing the Resolution and then later on if we find out we are going to get funding for the new building we can apply through the Landbank here in the County or we can apply ourselves. This is just for the survey for asbestos and the removal of asbestos. Kevin Brooks spoke up and said why not go ahead with the study because if there is asbestos it has to be removed anyway. Kevin Brooks said he does not want to take the building down if we don’t have a place to house staff, so he does not think it is a good idea to apply for demolition funds. What we are applying for is a grant to get an idea of what we have in this building in terms of asbestos for remediation. Matt Schaber asked if that is what $10,300.00 is for. Kevin Brooks said yes, and we are now going to write the Brownfield Grant to cover that cost. Tom Kirkland made a motion. Dale English second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
Mayor Hehr said, for the newspapers, that Council members Dale English, Tom Kirkland, Alicia Gardner, and Tiffany Ramsay are doing surveys on Sycamore Street and Andover Road. In order to be eligible for grant funds we need to prove we are low to moderate income and the only way to know is to do the surveys door to door. She is trying to get the word out to people and let them know this is the only way for us to try for grant funding and everything is confidential. This doesn’t mean we are going to get grant funds, but she would like the opportunity to apply.
X. Un-Registered Visitors/Guest:
None
XI. Adjourn:
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Alicia Gardner made the motion. Tiffany Ramsay second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
ATTEST:
___________________________ ____________________________
Carol Hehr, Mayor Lori Cunard, Fiscal Officer