The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
June 16, 2025
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield met in Regular Session on June 16, 2025.
I. Roll Call:
Present: Council Members; Dale English, Tom Kirkland, Tiffany Ramsay, Matt Schaber, Mayor Carol Hehr, Fiscal Officer Lori Cunard, and Village Administrator Kevin Brooks.
Absent: Council member Anthony McDaniel and Solicitor Ryan Regel.
II. Pending Meeting Minutes Approval:
Tiffany Ramsay made the motion to accept the June 2, 2025 meeting minutes as written. Matt Schaber second. Dale English – abstain, Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 3-0.
III. Nomination/election for vacant Council seat:
Mayor Hehr read the names of the individuals who have applied for the vacant Council seat, and they are as follows: William Allen, Shane Boreman, Lindsay Blackstone, Deborah Day, Alicia Gardner, Larry Jeffers, and Alice Radar. She asked if any of the applicants would like to speak.
William Allen – Mr. Allen said he has 20+ years of owning a business in the Village with about 15 years of supervisory experience and he hopes that would bring something good to the town.
Mayor Hehr thanked everyone who applied and stated that it can be a very rewarding job but also a frustrating job, you just take the good with the bad.
Tiffany Ramsay made a motion to nominate and elect Alicia Gardner for the vacant Council seat which goes to December 31, 2025. Tom Kirkland second. Dale English – yes, Matt Schaber – yes. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 4-0.
IV. Registered Visitors:
None
V. Old Business:
Councilman Matt Schaber said a couple meetings ago that pole inspections were brought up and he wanted to know if they have started the inspections. Village Administrator Kevin Brooks said he has not checked with Lewis Hill, Electric Superintendent.
Matt Schaber asked if ODOT has been in town to check the timing of the streetlights in the downtown area yet. He also wanted to know the status of the Brown Center Contract and the easements. Kevin Brooks said Solicitor Ryan Regel is on vacation and he is the one to ask. Matt Schaber said he would talk to Solicitor Regel when he gets back.
VI. Administrator Report:
Village Administrator Kevin Brooks said he circulated the paving list to Council. There were originally about 10 different streets submitted for a bid from Stouffer Construction, they were the successful bidder on the Airport Road project. The bids were received back last week and the only bid that is awardable is bid #1 which is the alley behind the buildings from Fourth Street to Marietta Street, milling and resurfacing and Church Street from Sycamore to the redlight, milling and resurfacing and the bid is for $58,870.00. Bid #2 was in the amount of $147,933.00, Bid #3 was in the amount of $124,800.00, Bid #4 was in the amount of $253,760.00, these would require the competitive bid process because they are not awardable. The Village allocated $70,000.00 from multiple funds for paving this year so Mr. Brooks asked if Council wanted to go ahead with bid #1 since it is the only awardable bid. Tom Kirkland made the motion to go ahead with bid #1 with Stouffer Construction for the paving project. Dale English second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 4-0.
Kevin Brooks said clean up week was last week, and it was highly successful. However, when talking with the Police Department, the illegal dumping was out of control and Council is going to have to evaluate this going forward. Mr. Brooks said he would like to see clean up week continue but if people cannot respect the process and respect the limitations then he does not know how we can continue. He said he does not know if Rosen will want to continue next year because of the number of tires, paint, and electronics that were thrown in the dumpsters. Mr. Brooks did talk with Chief Jones and some
things could be caught on the cameras, but some things couldn’t. He is very disappointed that people choose not to follow the rules. Mayor Hehr said she wants to see if we get charged above what we normally pay due to the illegal dumping. Chief Corey Jones said he had posted on Facebook several times what was not allowed to go in the dumpsters, and he said everything he posted that was not allowed was still being put in the dumpster. Mayor Hehr said she also questioned how many out-of-town people were using the dumpsters. Mayor Hehr also said that the Southeast Solid Waste has days set aside when you can dispose of paint, tires, electronics, etc.
Dale English spoke up and asked that visitors not speak in the background because it makes It hard to hear. Mayor Hehr agreed, she asked if visitors have any comments to make to please exit the room because it does make it harder to hear when there is mumbling in the background.
Mr. Brooks asked for Executive Session at the end of the meeting regarding pending litigation with no action to be taken.
Kevin Brooks stated that the bi-weekly superintendent’s meeting was this morning, and he cannot be prouder of our staff and the way things were handled for Alumni weekend. Whether it was the Police Department handling traffic on the parade route, Brian Harrigan and his crew cleaning the lot across the street, Steve Eikleberry and crew cleaning up the islands downtown, Lewis Hill and crew doing the speaker system, and Andy Hughes and John Williams keeping the trash emptied and making sure the painting was done. Everyone did a fantastic job, and they all have a lot of pride in this community, it was a team effort, and he is very proud.
VII. Fiscal Officer Report:
Lori Cunard said there is a Finance Committee Meeting on July 10th at 10:00 a.m. with Nikki Lude regarding the Cemetery Endowments. Kevin Brooks said anyone who wants to attend to get information regarding the Cemetery investment portfolio is welcome.
VIII. Committee Chair/Council Reports:
Matt Schaber – Nothing to report.
Tiffany Ramsay – Tiffany Ramsay reported that Mayor Hehr, Chief Jones and herself met with a building inspector last week. He checked over the list of properties of abandoned houses that they had provided for him, and he will send them his reports.
Anthony McDaniel – Absent
Tom Kirkland – Nothing to report.
Dale English – Nothing to report.
IX: Solicitor’s Report:
Absent
X: Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the payment of bills. Tiffany Ramsay made the motion. Tom Kirkland second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 4-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the Mayor’s Court Report, mid-June 2025. Dale English made the motion. Matt Schaber second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 4-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to pass Ordinance #06-2025, An Ordinance Authorizing and Directing the Mayor of the Village of Woodsfield, Ohio to Enter a Second Amendment to the Agreement with Beverly J. Landefeld for Village Owned Property Located at 201 Oaklawn Avenue, Woodsfield, Ohio 43793 and Declaring an Emergency. Mayor Hehr said this is for the BMV property, Beverly Landefeld has agreed to stay another year as Deputy Registrar. If anyone is interested in taking over the BMV they need to get ahold of Beverly Landefeld. Kevin Brooks said the lease is through June 30, 2026, he said the state will entertain requests for proposals in January 2026. They will do a
complete background check and investigation of any proposals and will decide on whether they will award the individual the position of Deputy Registrar. Matt Schaber made the motion. Tom Kirkland
second the motion. Dale English – yes, Tiffany Ramsay – yes, Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 4-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to suspend the rules and pass Ordinance #06-2025, Declaring an Emergency, by its second reading. Dale English made the motion. Tiffany Ramsay second. Tom Kirkland – yes, Matt Schaber – yes. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 4-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to suspend the rules and pass Ordinance #06-2025, Declaring an Emergency, by its third reading and adopt. Tiffany Ramsay made the motion. Tom Kirkland second. Dale English – yes, Matt Schaber – yes, Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 4-0. Ordinance #06-2025 adopted.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to pass Resolution #2025-07, A Resolution to give the Police Department a Pay Increase and Declaring an Emergency. Mayor Hehr said this is for the final installment of raises that the Police levy was passed for and trying to bring the Police Officers wages up to be more competitive with the Sheriff’s office and surrounding areas. Kevin Brooks said the wage increase was broken into 3 installments for budget considerations. Tom Kirkland made the motion. Dale English second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 4-0.
Mayor Hehr asked Matt Schaber what he was planning on doing with the traffic boxes and the glue left behind on them from the art decals. Matt Schaber said he would have to get a solvent to take off the glue and he had forgotten about it. Mayor Hehr said she did have an inquiry about them, that is why she was asking.
Mayor Hehr reported that the issue with the Palombi’s backyard has still not been resolved due to all of the rain. It is too wet for the guys to get into the backyard through the neighbor’s yard. She said our new Street Superintendent is going to look at it to see if he can come up with a solution.
Mayor Hehr reported that there was a Special Projects Committee meeting held today before the Council meeting regarding the cat situation. Mayor Hehr said she talked with the vet’s office here in town and they will give a 25% discount to spay/neuter cats. She said the Village is going to start a fund with $1,000.00 that will spay/neuter seven cats, which is a start. She is asking for residents to step up and make donations to the fund, they will accept any help they can get. She also wants people to understand that this is a trap and release program so it will not get rid of the cats, but at least they won’t be able to produce.
Mayor Hehr said there are some issues with the empty lot on Main Street which she wants to make into a park. There are issues trying to level the ground and if you build it up level with the sidewalk it would obstruct the building next door because they have a crawl space. Mayor Hehr really wants to do this, but she said it is not going to be as easy as they had hoped. Kevin Brooks said there are some grading issues that he thinks we can get beyond with a creative solution. We are going to have an engineer look at it tomorrow to find out the best route to go in order to get a level lot. We want to put benches, picnic tables, and some trees and brick pavers on the lot.
Mayor Hehr wanted to comment on how fortunate we are to have the employees that we have. Lewis Hill, Electric Superintendent, came in on his day off so he could set up what needed to be for the Alumni Parade. On Sunday, Father’s Day, she received a call from a resident on Adams Ave. because a transformer had blown a fuse. She sent a text to Lewis Hill and in about a half hour he had responded saying he was on his way. Mayor Hehr said she doesn’t think a lot of people realize that our guys get called out in the middle of the night when it’s cold or raining and we have never had a time when someone hasn’t responded to an emergency. Brian Harrigan, Water and Sewer Superintendent, and his crew have also had to respond on weekends and evenings and Andy Hughes, Street Department, was called out a couple of weeks ago on his day off, they always come out when asked.
Kevin Brooks spoke up and said he had sent Council members the employment contract for John Williams, Street Superintendent. He also stated that Solicitor Ryan Regel had sent everyone the Dispatch Contract that has been finalized with the Sheriff’s office and the Village, and he is asking for the contract to be acted on this evening because the clock is ticking on this issue. Tom Kirkland said he had spoken to Chief Corey Jones, and he has read it over and is good with it, so Tom Kirkland said if Chief Jones is good with it so is he. Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the contract between the
Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and the Village for Dispatch Services. Matt Schaber made the motion. Tiffany Ramsay second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 4-0.
XI. Un-Registered Visitors/Guest:
Eddie Martin, Alumni Committee – Mr. Martin wanted to personally thank all of Council and the Village employees. The employees cleaned up the town and everything looked very nice for the Alumni weekend. Mr. Marin said the new speakers installed downtown worked really well, you could hear all of the announcing during the parade and the Police Department did a great job directing traffic.
Mayor Hehr commended Josh Allen for installing the speakers, he was there the entire time to make sure the speakers were in working order.
Kim Schaber – Kim Schaber said she apologizes for talking back and forth with another visitor, but she said they could not hear anyone very clearly at all tonight. She said she does record the meetings, and she checked it, and it is just muffles, it did not pick up anything.
Kim Schaber also said she wanted to thank everyone, Council and employees, for how nicely the Alumni weekend went. She loved that the contractor was able to come in and remediate the open lot on Main Street to the best of their ability for the weekend. Also, thank you to Josh Allen for the new sound system which was a big investment but amazing and she thanks Council for making the investment.
Kim Schaber said she hopes everyone noticed that she posted on the Woodsfield Discussion Group the same comments she is making this evening along with a picture of the lot. She has had over 120 likes on the posts and wanted Council to know.
Mayor Hehr said regarding the Woodsfield Discussion Group, if people have a problem they need to come to the Municipal Building. They need to go to the right source and if they don’t get any satisfaction then they need to come to a Council meeting. She said there may be times that people don’t get the answer they want but no one should be afraid to come to a Council meeting and everyone is welcome. If someone calls in before noon on Friday before a Council meeting, they are put on the agenda as a registered visitor and will have 5 minutes to speak, otherwise, they will be an un-registered guest and will have 2 minutes to speak at the end of the meeting.
Dale English spoke up to say he had a lot of comments on how nice the town looked for Alumni Weekend. He also said people commented on the basketball championship signs that were hung at each end of town, all four ways. Mayor Hehr said MACO did a great job on the signs, and they are currently designing the sign in memory of Andy Copley. She said Bill Allen had graciously offered to pay for those signs in memory of Andy Copley, but Mayor Hehr feels since he was an employee of the Village that they should come from the Village, but the offer was really appreciated.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to go into Executive Session regarding pending litigation. Dale English made the motion. Tom Kirkland second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 4-0. Executive Session entered at 6:20 p.m.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to go back into Regular Session. Matt Schaber made the motion. Tiffany Ramsay second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 4-0. Regular Session entered at 6:30 p.m.
XII. Adjourn:
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Dale English made the motion. Tom Kirkland second. Anthony McDaniel – absent. Motion passed 4-0. The meeting was adjourned at 6:32 p.m.
ATTEST:
___________________________ ____________________________
Carol Hehr, Mayor Lori Cunard, Fiscal Officer