LORI CUNARD
March 27, 2022
Meeting Minutes (4-19-21)
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
APRIL 19, 2021
I. Roll Call:
Present: Council Members Dale English, Tom Kirkland, Jamie Hill, Carol Hehr, Ray Hughes, and Anthony McDaniel, Mayor Mike Ricer, Solicitor Bill Frank, Administrator Kevin Brooks, and Fiscal Officer, Dustin Kirkland.
II. Pending Meeting Minutes Approval:
Mayor Ricer stated that an amendment needed made to the April 5, 2021 meeting minutes. The amendment is regarding the motion passed for the FEMA work on Wolf Pen and Poplar, adding the statement “pending FEMA approval of method of repair. “ Carol Hehr made the motion to accept the April 5, 2021 meeting minutes with amendment. Tom Kirkland second. Motion passed 6-0.
III. Registered Visitors/Guests:
None
IV. Old Business:
Mayor Ricer stated that he and Kevin Brooks would be looking at the sidewalk next door to discuss repairs. Pending work on sidewalk will probably be the first week of May with Yoho and Jason Stalder. Carol Hehr asked about doing something decorative. Brooks said they would talk to Yoho and Stalder about concrete stamping.
V. Village Administrator Report:
Kevin Brooks stated that we received a quote from CT Consultants on the water plant upgrades. The contract is for $49,500.00, this is for all the equipment, the bidding services, as well as project management. This will get the water plant to a point where we have a functioning, operating scale system that will notify operators via text message of an alert triggered on the system and per EPA regulations they will have 30 minutes to respond. The Village has an employee retiring the first part of May and with the upgrades we would not have to hire anyone to replace this employee. Currently the water plant is staffed at 16 hrs. per day, 7 days a week with the issue being the alerts because we don’t have an alert system if there is an alarm. EPA Regulations require us to maintain plant operations M-F at a minimum of 20 hrs. but we would do 40 hrs. with 2 employees and the 16 hrs. that no one is there the alert system would let employees know via text if there is an alarm. Kevin was asked about water loss, he said water loss was good until we had the tanks cleaned. The tanks had not been cleaned in quite a while so Tank 1 could not be cleaned with the robotics, it had to be drained, cleaned and refilled and Tank 2 is in the process of being drained, cleaned and refilled. If the tanks are cleaned on a regular basis then hopefully next time the robotics can be used so draining them can be avoided. Ray Hughes made the motion to approve the contract with CT Consultants to repair and upgrade the water plant in the amount of $49,500.00. Jamie Hill second. Motion passed 6-0. Kevin Brooks stated that the work session was held last Monday with AMP for the AMI Metering. He would like Council to give some input on where they stand with this. If they go ahead with AMI Metering the project should be completed by mid-December, however this is a tight schedule. The project would be funded with the water/sewer portion of the monies from the American Rescue Plan that the Village will be receiving and a significant amount from the electric funds while financing a portion of electric only. The water/sewer portion the Village should be able to pay in full. Kevin asked that if Council is interested in going forward with AMI that it needed to be done very soon since it is a tight time schedule. Tom Kirkland made the
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
APRIL 19, 2021
motion to go ahead with the proposal from AMP for the AMI Metering. Anthony McDaniel second. Some discussion followed concerning the life of the program with AMI Metering. Kevin Brooks stated that there are a lot of unknowns with technology and customer needs. He feels that 15 years would be a probable time frame before the Village would have to look into upgrading again. The current quote is $655,000.00 but if the Village employees installs meters it would reduce the cost. There also is an annual charge of $40,000.00 which is for programming fees and software support. Motion passed 6-0. Kevin Brooks stated that we are still waiting on FEMA’s Geotech review. The RCAP GIS project, which will locate water and sewer lines, is set to start in the next month. They had the kick-off teleconference last Thursday. Kevin Brooks requested a motion to hire Paul Henthorn as part-time seasonal park employee at $8.80/hr. to start Monday, April, 26th. Jamie Hill made the motion to hire Paul Henthorn as part-time seasonal park employee at $8.80/hr. starting April, 26th. Dale English second. Motion passed 6-0. Brooks asked for executive session at the end of the meeting.
VI. Fiscal Officer Report:
Dustin has been working with the Auditors on the audit. This past week he reviewed and signed the narratives that the Auditor sent regarding the funds and how each is used. Dustin also has been looking into health insurance for the Village to see if he could find something cheaper. So far he has not had any success with this. Another project he has been working on is the cell phone bill and reducing the cost. He found a company called Free Net which is exclusively for government entities and first responders. They charge a flat rate of $40.00 per unit which would almost cut our cell phone bill in half. They are going to send a demo unit to try out and make sure we have a strong enough signal throughout the Village and are able to make calls from wherever we need to. Dustin has the paperwork from the bank to increase the insurance on the general fund but the $300,000 has not been transferred yet.
VII: Committee Chair/Council Reports:
Dale English – Nothing to report
Tom Kirkland – Nothing to report
Jamie Hill – Nothing to report
Anthony McDaniel – He wanted to expand on the cell phone service that Dustin had spoken about. The company is called First Net. The government auctioned off a block of frequencies that First Net bought and it is run by AT&T so if you have AT&T service in the area it wouldn’t be an issue and because it’s government frequencies they are better than your general frequencies.
Carol Hehr – Nothing to report
Ray Hughes – Nothing to report
VIII. Solicitor Report:
Solicitor Bill Frank referenced the solicitor’s written report and briefing materials that had been sent with the advance packets to Council on 4/16/2021. Information focused on the requirements to enter and conduct Executive Sessions, and the exposure to Court orders and legal remedies if the requirements are not carefully followed.
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
April 19, 2021
Public entities in Ohio are permitted to hold executive session (as a private, non-public portion of an otherwise open public meeting) for limited and specific reasons. One such authorization is personnel-related matters pursuant to Ohio Rev. Code § 121.22(G)(1).
Interpreting that law, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled [State ex rel. Long v. Cardington Village Council] that a public entity cannot simply claim that it is going into executive session for ‘personnel’ matters; the public body had to be specific regarding 7 specific categories.
Ohio Revised Code § 121.22(G)(1) lists 7 specifications a public entity to go into executive session including “[t]o consider the appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation” (of a public employee or official).
The Ohio Court of Appeals (through its Eleventh Appellate District) has also ruled [Ames v. Portage County Board of County Commissioners] that public entities are required to indicate, in the motion to enter executive session, which particular purpose or purposes [appointment, employment, dismissal, discipline, promotion, demotion, or compensation] that the public entity wishes to discuss during executive session. The Court specifically rejected what had become a common practice for some public entities [to read the multiple purposes, even the entire statutory list of 7 permissible purposes under Ohio Rev. Code § 121.22(G)(1).]
Solicitor Frank also referenced a Court rulings from the Ohio Court of Appeals (through its Seventh Appellate District) in the case Keystone Committee, et al. vs. The Switzerland of Ohio School Board District Board of Education. That case indicated that injunctive relief was proper when a public body (1) did not stick to the stated purpose of a special meeting and (2) held improper discussions and deliberations during executive session. The Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed the orders of trial Court (the Monroe County Common Pleas Court), which required the public body “to comply with the provisions of the Open Meetings Act and to undergo a decision making process that is fully compliant with the Open Meetings Act.” In the Keystone case, the Ohio Court of Appeals further ruled “Public bodies must provide advance notice to the public indicating where and when the meetings will occur and, in the case of special meetings, state the specific topics the body will discuss.” The Ohio Court of Appeals further ruled “The Open Meetings Act allows for executive sessions only for certain limited purposes, and those are to be strictly construed”. The Ohio Court of Appeals further ruled “A public body may only discuss the matters specifically enumerated in R.C. 121.22(G) during executive session.” The Ohio Court of Appeals ruled (affirming the ruling of the Monroe County Common Pleas Court) that because the public body had impermissibly conducted public business in executive session, then decisions and actions taken from the improper discussions were therefore invalidated.
These decisions emphasize the critical importance of complying with all requirements of the open meetings laws, which Courts interpret consistently and extensively in favor of openness and public access.
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
April 19, 2021
Solicitor Frank also updated the Council regarding pending litigation in the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, as well as Mayor’s Court cases that have been transferred to County Court.
IX. Mayor Report:
The Mayor reported that there have been 10 building permits this year. The Mayor also reported that there are 3 or 4 jobs of tree trimming that residents have requested be done. Brooks spoke up and said that there are now 13 requests. The guys from Light Plant will be doing these jobs.
Jamie Hill made a motion to approve the payment of bills. Tom Kirkland second. Motion passed 6-0.
Anthony McDaniel made a motion to approve the Mayors Court Report. Ray Hughes second. Motion passed 6-0.
Anthony McDaniel made a motion to approve the Income Tax Report, April, 2021. Dale English second. Motion passed 6-0.
Carol Hehr mentioned that the Waste District will be doing appliance collection day in May. Hehr thought maybe it should be announced so as to discourage people from using our dumpsters for appliances.
Jamie Hill made the motion for Executive Session regarding employment/dismissal. Tom Kirkland second. Motion passed 6-0. Executive Session entered at 6:16 p.m.
Jamie Hill made the motion to return to Regular Session. Carol Hehr second. Motion passed 6-0.
Kevin Brooks asked for a motion to accept the resignation of Fiscal Officer, Dustin Kirkland effective May 7, 2021. Anthony McDaniel made the motion and Ray Hughes second. Tom Kirkland, abstain. Motion passed 5-0. Brooks then asked for a motion to name Lori Cunard as interim Fiscal Officer and to pay $1.50/hr. shift differential to Lori Cunard and Brenda Mauck during transition period. Jamie Hill made the motion to name Lori Cunard interim Fiscal Officer and pay $1.50/hr. shift differential to Lori Cunard and Brenda Mauck during transition period. Carol Hehr second. Motion passed 6-0.
Council member Ray Hughes made the motion to Adjourn from Session. Anthony McDaniel second. Motion passed 6-0. Meeting adjourned at 6:41 p.m.
ATTEST:
_________________________________ ________________________________
Michael Ricer, Mayor Lori Cunard, Interim Clerk of Council