The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
May 4, 2026
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield met in Regular Session on May 4, 2026.
1. Roll Calk
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.
II. Pending Meeting Minutes Approval:
Tiffany Ramsay made the motion to accept the April 20, 2026 Council meeting minutes and Public Hearing minutes as written. Matt Schaber second the motion. Motion passed 6-0.
III. Registered Visitors:
Matt Summerfield, AEP – Matt Summerfield attended the meeting to make Council and residents aware of an upcoming outage and project to begin on May 11, 2026. The transmission line that feeds the Village electric will be taken out of service! They will be using generators to serve the load much like they did in February during the outage. The project is a 2-week project, and the generators will be in service for the duration of the project. Mr. Summerfield said they will be bringing in three generators and should one of them go down the two that remain will pick up the load and run the town without interruption.
Mr. Summerfield said the purpose of the project is to address conditions on the transmission line. Once the project is completed it should provide a much more reliable line and leave it in much better condition. He said when they switch over to generators on May 11, 2026, there will be a brief outage, and it should be no more than an hour and a half to two hours. Mr. Summerfield said the same thing will happen when the project is completed and they switch from generators back to the transmission line; there will be a brief outage.
Mr. Summerfield said they will be bringing in multiple crews that will be working 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, so the goal is to finish before the 2 weeks are up. He said he will try and let Mayor Hehr and Lewis Hill know when the outages will be so that an all-call can be made to residents.
Jeremy Hall, AEP – Jeremy Hall said since the last outage they have inspected every single structure on this feed to determine what the entire scope would be to fix it and come up with a plan. He said there are a total of 72 poles that were inspected and they are addressing 14 and have already addressed roughly 25 poles.
IV. Old Business:
An Ordinance was drafted by Solicitor Regel for the operation of low-speed vehicles, under-speed vehicles, utility vehicles, and mini-trucks. Bill Allen said as long as golf carts reach a speed of 25 mph they will be allowed on the streets. Chief Corey Jones said they cannot be operated on a roadway where the speed limit is above 35 mph unless Council specifies certain other streets that they do not want them on. Bill Allen said the main reason for wanting this done is to help businesses in town.
Kim Schaber said in the ORC It specifies streets and highways but in Barnesville’s and Caldwell’s ordinance they do not specify state highways. Solicitor Regel said we can be as specific as we want. He said he knows they can cross over a state road or a road with a speed limit over 35 mph but again we can be as specific as we want. He said we can pick streets that we do not want them on if we want.
Kim Schaber asked Chief Corey Jones how easy this will be to enforce. He said it should be pretty simple. He said just like a regular vehicle if they run a red light, they will be pulled over, and he talked with Barnesville and they have had no major problems.
Bill Allen asked if the ordinance can be amended later if we find there are some streets we do not want them to be on due to safety concerns. Solicitor Regel said it can be changed later if needed as long as everyone agrees.
Tiffany Ramsay asked that we not do a vote on this tonight because she has not had a chance to read over any of the information added to Council packets today. Council agreed to table this until next meeting.
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
May 4, 2026
V. Administrator Report:
Kevin Brooks said he has a lot split request for 108 Oaklawn. The property owner has a home in front and garage in back that has an apartment in it. The 2 lots are separated, and they want to sell both parcels. They have already had the survey done and would like this to be taken care of, so he is asking Solicitor Regel what the procedure is. Solicitor Regel sald he will check with the map office, but he is assuming it would be the same process we did on Duper Drive. Kevin Brooks said that the individual that lives in the garage apartment wants to buy the back parcel and the individual wanting to buy the house just wants the front parcel. Mayor Hehr asked how much time we have and if it needs to be done tonight. Kevin Brooks said when he talked to the realtor, they want to get it done quickly because they are going to have an auction. Kim Schaber asked if there needed to be neighbor signatures as you do when you re-zone. Solicitor Regel said he does not think that is necessary since it is not a re-zone. Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve a lot split at 108 Oaklawn, subject to approval by the map and engineers department. Kim Schaber made the motion. Bill Allen second the motion. Motion passed 6-0.
Kevin Brooks said there was a brief project meeting this morning for the water, wastewater, and storm separation project. They are still not sure when they will be in the downtown area, but they have confirmed that the work will be done overnight. They also asked for a 30-day extension which we granted because of weather delays. We are still waiting for materials for the project at the Water Plant but when the materials are delivered the project should be done in approximately 5 days.
Kevin Brooks said we have not heard anything from OPWC concerning the paving project, but he does not expect to hear anything until the first part of July.
Mr. Brooks said there is a meeting with Verdantas tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. concerning the electric conversion and there will be a conference call with Sawvel on Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m. concerning the electric conversion as well. He said there are some issues that need to be addressed so they can continue with the design of the project. Matt Schaber asked how the survey went and Mr. Brooks said it went well.
VI. Fiscal Officer Report:
Lori Cunard said the bank statement has been reconciled, and she asked Council to sign it.
VII. 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 – Tiffany Ramsay reported that the Property Maintenance Committee met tonight and they will now be meeting the first Monday of each month before Council meetings. She said they did have a few residents, who have identified properties, came in for today’s meeting to discuss their properties. Tiffany Ramsay said they reviewed the list of properties that letters have been sent to and are inviting a few of the property owners to the next meeting to discuss options.
Tiffany Ramsay made a motion to move the time for the Council meetings from 6:00 p.m. back to 5:30 p.m. Alicia Gardner second the motion. Kim Schaber-no, Matt Schaber-no, Tom Kirkland – yes, and Bill Allen-no. Motion tied 3-3. Mayor Hehr said the reason we changed the time was to give more residents the chance to get home from work and come to the meetings. She said there has been very little change in the number of residents attending Council meetings. Also, Fiscal Officer Lori Cunard is off work at 5:00 p.m. and she has to wait until 6:00 p.m. for the meetings to start so as the tiebreaker Mayor Hehr votes yes to move the starting time of Council meetings back to 5:30 p.m. She said if there are any issues it can be discussed again at a later date.
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The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
May 4, 2026
Kevin Brooks spoke up to remind everyone that the dumpsters are scheduled for the week of June 1o. They have been publicizing the list of acceptable and non-acceptable things that can go in the dumpsters.
Matt Schaber – Matt Schaber said at the last Park Committee meeting there was some misunderstanding on the season pool pass that Kris Ogden had questioned at the last meeting. He said there were also some things that Kris Ogden had brought up that needed to be discussed but for various reasons the Park Committee did not get to meet.
Matt Schaber talked with Kevin Brooks about a senior discount rate for the Pool and a babysitter clause where a child’s caregiver can be admitted to the pool for $1.00. He wanted to know if Council would agree with these things and also how we would go about verifying for the senior rate and babysitter clause.
Kevin Brooks said he thinks a senior discount rate is doable and he said the babysitter rate where the babysitter or supervisor is not utilizing the pool can be admitted for $1.00. However, if they use the pool, they have to pay the regular admission rate even if they are just wading in the pool. Mayor Hehr asked Matt Schaber if he wanted to try again and schedule a Park Committee meeting, but he did not feel there was any use. Mayor Hehr said if he had a meeting and recommended another proposal, he could bring it back to Council for a vote.
Kevin Brooks said there does need to be a Park Committee meeting due to some things that were brought up in the Monday morning supervisor’s meeting. He said the pool has never been and we do not intend it to be a for profit operation, he said it is what is an acceptable loss. Mr. Brooks said they are hot opposed to a senior rate or babysitter rate.
Kevin Brooks said they have revisited the fencing at City Park. The cost estimate was $8,400.00 and we had talked about applying for a grant, but Mr. Brooks had thought if the project was going to be done, we should just pay for it and get it over with. However, after looking into it more, the issue came up with entrance and accessibility to City Park because they are closing the perimeter. The bigger issue that was found is that there are water and sewer lines right where the fence is going to go. This would be a serious problem for Brian Harrigan, Water/Wastewater Superintendent, and his crew. We do not allow residents to build over our utility lines so it would not look good for us to build over our lines. Bill Allen said he talked with Steve Eikleberry, Park Superintendent, and he recommends a couple things. One thing is to scrap it and not do it at all and the other is to not go the whole way around so we can stay away from the utility lines, also after talking with Hocking Fence, they said that when Parks are totally enclosed people stop using them.
Kim Schaber said she would like to go back to the pool discussion. She talked with some people who went to the pool to get their passes and give their 6 names for the pass, and they were told by someone they didn’t know anything about it. Mayor Hehr and Kevin Brooks said there has been no one working at the pool yet. If someone has questions, it would be best if they came to the Fiscal Office at the Municipal Building.
Kevin Brooks said Matt Schaber may want to call a Park Committee meeting and go down to the City Park to talk with Steve Elkleberry. He said if they decide to bring it back to Council with a
recommendation to do the fence, he would rather use the Capital Projects Fund and get it done instead of waiting another year for a grant.
Walter Russell asked what the purpose for the fence around City Park is. Mayor Hehr said it is to keep kids in the park.
VIII; Solicitor’s Report:
Solicitor Ryan Regel wanted to give a follow-up on the potential Ordinance for the Low-speed vehicles. He said there are four classes the proposed Ordinance has and Council can pick if they want to include all of them or not.
Solicitor Regel said one of the property maintenance cases did get resolved. It actually turned out for the betterment of the Village. Kim Schaber asked what property it was and it was on Paul Street that was pending litigation and has been resolved.
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The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
May 4, 2026
Kevin Brooks asked for Executive Session at the end of the meeting regarding pending litigation.
XI: Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the payment of bills. Tiffany Ramsay 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, April 2026. Tom Kirkland made the motion. Bill Allen second the motion. Motion passed 6-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the Income Tax Report, April 2026. Matt Schaber made the motion. Bill Allen second the motion. Motion passed 6-0.
Mayor Carol Hehr said a letter and application regarding the façade program did go out with the utility bills.
Chief Corey Jones – Chief Jones wanted to approach Council for a motion to approve entering a contract with Axon for body cameras. Kevin Brooks said it has already been discussed with the Fiscal Office and because it will be a recurring payment it can be easily budgeted for. Tom Kirkland made the motion. Matt Schaber second the motion. Motion passed 6-0.
Kevin Brooks asked what happens with the old equipment and Chief Jones said it is incorporated in our contract that we will get credit for turning in the old equipment.
Chief Corey Jones also updated Council in regard to the vandalism at City Park. They discovered who the suspects were and got confessions. They completed the investigative report and forwarded it to the Prosecutor’s Office and have ultimately charged 2 individuals with vandalism.
Kevin Brooks said he really appreciated the Police Department for their effort in resolving parking Issues downtown. We have had multiple complaints regarding the 2-hour parking.
Mayor Mehr also wanted to thank Chief Corey Jones and Kory Hill for all the work they have been doing on Property Maintenance. She does not remember a year when there has been as much work done as there has been this year so far.
X. Un-Registered Visitors/Guests:
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Walter Russell – Mr. Russell asked if there is anything planned for America 250. He asked if anything will be displayed downtown on the poles. Mayor Hehr said flags have been ordered and she is still checking on some other things. Walter Russell said he was wanting to know because there is a group of individuals that formed a committee that are planning on doing some decorating downtown and he doesn’t want to repeat anything the Village is doing.
Mayor Hehr said she would like to address the comment made by Kim Schaber about going to businesses and telling them they need to clean up. Mayor Hehr feels they do not have the right to go to any business and tell them they need to clean up or Improve their façade. Kim Schaber said she agrees and she had started her conversation asking whether the Community Strong Committee or the Village in general was planning to do anything directed specifically to The America 250 celebration. She said Mayor Hehr was the one who moved on to the façade. Mayor Hehr said maybe she misunderstood. Kim Schaber said she had asked if they could form a small work group or committee for the America 250 and Mayor Hehr did not respond. She said she also asked if it was something she could do as a resident as opposed to a council member. Mayor Hehr said she has every right as a resident and Kim Schaber said that is what she has been doing.
Dale English – Mr. English asked Tiffany Ramsay to come forward. Mr. English said he knows the Community Strong Committee means a lot to her. He said he knows people really appreciate the Music in the Park and other events. He would like to donate $100.00 to Community Strong to get them started and he is challenging the rest of Council to do the same.
fax
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The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
May 4, 2026
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to go into Executive Session pending litigation. Matt Schaber made the motion. Tiffany Ramsay second the motion. Motion passed 6-0. Executive Session entered at 7:05 p.m.
Council resumed Regular Session at 7:15 p.m.
XI. 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 7:20 p.m.
ATTEST:
Carol Hehr, Mayor
Lori Cunard, Fiscal Officer