The Council of the Village of Woodsfield
August 4, 2025
The Council of the Village of Woodsfield met in Regular Session on August 4, 2025.
I. Roll Call:
Present: Council Members; Dale English, Tom Kirkland, Anthony McDaniel, Alicia Gardner, Matt Schaber, Mayor Carol Hehr, Fiscal Officer Lori Cunard, Village Administrator Kevin Brooks and Solicitor Ryan Regel.
Absent: Council member Tiffany Ramsay.
II. Pending Meeting Minutes Approval:
Dale English made the motion to accept the July 21, 2025 meeting minutes with corrections. Matt Schaber second. Tiffany Ramsay – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
Matt Schaber made the motion to accept the July 28, 2025 Special meeting minutes as written. Anthony McDaniel second. Tiffany Ramsay – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
III. Registered Visitors:
Daniel Anthony – Mr. Anthony attended to ask Council about re-zoning his home at 506 Eastern Ave. because he would like to start a gunsmithing and reloading business. He said when he and his wife purchased the home in November 2024 the deed said there were no zoning issues. Mr. Anthony said he is certified, has his associates degree and said he has security at his home and a vault with 8-inch-thick walls. He also said he has to carry an FFL6 to reload. Mayor Hehr asked if he would be selling guns and Mr. Anthony said he would only be working on guns. Anthony McDaniel asked if he would change the structure of his home and Mr. Anthony said the only change, he has to make is that he has to have a steel door.
Kevin Brooks said Mr. Anthony’s home is in a residential zoned area and Mr. Brooks cannot grant a zoning variance, that is Council’s job. Kevin Brooks suggested to Mr. Anthony to register as a visitor and come to a Council meeting and explain to Council what his plans are. If Council agrees to do a variance in zoning, we have to do a public hearing for the adjoining property owners so they have the opportunity to come and voice their opinion at which point Council will make the decision on whether they will grant the variance or not. Kevin Brooks said to allow for the adjoining property owners to be notified and then give 30 days for the public hearing, which would probably be the meeting of September 15th.
Matt Schaber asked if there would be very many explosives in the house and Mr. Anthony said there would not be a lot. He is going to talk with the Fire Marshall, but everything will be stored in an enclosed concrete vault.
Mayor Hehr told Mr. Anthony in the meantime that he could pick up the paperwork and Kevin Brooks told him to be prepared for any questions that adjoining property owners may have at the public hearing, and we will be in touch.
Anthony McDaniel made a motion to move forward with a variance in zoning at 506 Eastern Ave. Dale English second. Tiffany Ramsay – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
Linda Masters – Linda Masters, Monroe County Health Department, attended to ask for Council’s support for the levy that the health department will be putting on the ballot. It is an operating levy that was passed in 2016. Before the levy, their budget was supported by villages and townships, but the levy was put on to gain accreditation which they just accomplished in May 2025. It is an ongoing thing; every 5 years they must be reaccredited. The levy helps support the activities that need to be done in the accreditation process.
Linda Masters is planning on putting up signs and asked if anyone does not mind having a sign in their yard to contact her and she will get them a sign. Linda Masters said if the levy does not pass it will fall back on Villages and Townships which is a hardship for them to have to support the health department. She said they have done a lot with the levy money they have received in the last nine years and one of the biggest things has been allergy shots that they started offering about a year ago, they are doing about 100 shots per month.
Walter Russell – Walter Russell attended to ask Council for a re-zoning variance at 209 High Street. He wants to put mini-storage buildings at the location.
Kevin Brooks said this is the same situation as the previous request from Daniel Anthony. If Council agrees to consider the variance in zoning, then we would need to notify any adjoining property owners of the request and schedule a public hearing. Anthony McDaniel asked how many storage units there would be, and Mr. Russell said probably ten to start with. Matt Schaber asked how soon he would be starting and Mr. Russell said he is still doing some research on the buildings but the sooner the better.
Anthony McDaniel asked if re-zoning is dependent on going forward with the business and Mr. Russell said it is. Anthony McDaniel made a motion to move forward with a variance in zoning at 209 High Street. Matt Schaber second. Tiffany Ramsay – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
IV. Old Business:
None
V. Administrator Report:
Kevin Brooks reported that we were approached by NIOSH, a mobile occupational and health unit. They will do coal miners black lung screening, a free service, in the Municipal Building parking lot on September 17th from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Kevin Brooks said the Andover Rd. repairs and the alley’s downtown will be paved Thursday and Friday of this week. John Williams, Street Superintendent, has been putting up barricades and No Parking signs to prepare for the paving.
Kevin Brooks has a contract for $10,000.00 from E. L. Robinson that needs approved by Council. It is for bidding and construction project representative for on-the-job services related to the Water Treatment Plant backwash system. Dale English made the motion to approve the contract for $10,000.00 with E. L. Robinson. Tom Kirkland second. Tiffany Ramsay – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
Kevin Brooks said Matt Schaber had asked about pole inspections in town, so he followed up with Lewis Hill, Electric Superintendent. They are going to do pole inspections in one section of town at a time, because if you do inspections and a pole is tagged you only have 30 days to comply or you start getting fined. We are probably going to break down the town into four sections, do one section at a time so we don’t have a huge expense to replace poles that get tagged and only have 30 days to comply.
Mr. Brooks met with Verdantas regarding the electric conversion, and we are negotiating a contract proposal. He will hopefully have the proposal at the next Council meeting.
Kevin Brooks said 5 years ago we were given the property down on Holiday Avenue and the only thing we do with it is cut the grass. The property is on the hillside, and the Electric Department has always taken care of it. The property was given to us; we have no investment in it, and we are not going to do anything with it so Mr. Brooks thinks it would be a good idea to divest ourselves of it. We would have to advertise and ask fair market value for the property. Anthony McDaniel made a motion to divest the Village from the property on Holiday Avenue. Tom Kirkland second. Tiffany Ramsay – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
VI. Fiscal Officer Report:
Lori Cunard, Fiscal Officer, reported that the July bank statement is completed. Chris Kerby will be in on August 14th and 21st to start the budget process. She asked that all Superintendents have their capital projects list done and turn them in to her by August 14th.
VII. Committee Chair/Council Reports:
Dale English – Nothing to report.
Tom Kirkland – Tom Kirkland asked the status of vacating the alleys. Kevin Brooks said Solicitor Ryan Regel just received the last plat, so we are going ahead with the notifications. It will involve 4 alleys and then a public hearing will be set.
Anthony McDaniel – Anthony McDaniel said he is not seeking the Council seat this year in the fall election. Dale English said he hates to see him go and he has done a great job and had a lot of positive input.
Alicia Gardner – Nothing to report.
Matt Schaber – Matt Schaber reported that he will be attending the Fire Department meeting on Thursday. He said they are still waiting for information regarding the new truck and according to Fire Chief Mike Young it would be 3-4 months before they hear anything solid on the truck.
VIII: Solicitor’s Report:
Nothing to report.
IX: Mayor’s Report:
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the payment of bills. Anthony McDaniel made the motion. Matt Schaber second. Tiffany Ramsay – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the Mayor’s Court Report, July 2025. Dale English made the motion. Tom Kirkland second. Tiffany Ramsay – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to approve the Income Tax Report, July 2025. Anthony McDaniel made the motion. Dale English second. Tiffany Ramsay – absent. Motion passed 5-0.
Mayor Hehr said the Property Maintenance Committee met before the Council meeting and they have made more progress in the last 3-4 months than they have in years. She said there are properties in town that were not mowed but are now mowed. There were 8 properties addressed since the last meeting for weeds, grass, and litter. They are acting on 2 properties that they want to tear down, they will bring it to Council for approval because it would be the Village paying for the demolition. Mayor Hehr said out of the 9 properties that they had inspected, there are 3 being remodeled. They are waiting to hear what is happening with the Weber properties which will be addressed at the next Council meeting. Mayor Hehr said there are complications with one of the properties on High Street that they had inspected because of heirs that own it.
Kevin Brooks said he really appreciates the effort the Police Department has put into the non-compliant mowing properties, and the communication has been great. We have multiple departments taking care of the mowing, depending on whose schedule is open, but the P.D. has been really good at keeping an eye on them and letting us know when they need mowed.
Mayor Hehr said the Community Strong Committee had the last Music in the Park held on Friday night. They had about 65 people attend, they had an ice cream truck and food truck.
Mayor Hehr said the next Community Strong event will be held next door on the open lot on September 20th. The band Poor Man’s Heaven will be playing, and they are hoping to have some food trucks. Since this is within the DORA district, people can purchase their beverages at the 3 establishments and enjoy the band.
Tom Kirkland asked what the status is on the Brown Community Center. Mayor Hehr said she signed the lease at the last meeting. Solicitor Ryan Regel said he has had conversations with Bernard Dick and it is still a work in progress because of the Real Estate Tax Issue.
Walter Russell asked what happens to the property that the 2 houses sit on once they are demolished. Mayor Hehr said we would expect the property owners to re-imburse the Village and if not, it would be assessed on property taxes. Chief Corey Jones said there would be other options we could explore with Solicitor Ryan Regel. Solicitor Regel said the cost of demo would be assessed to the owner’s taxes and the property would remain in their name. He said for nonpayment of taxes it could potentially go through the Prosecutors office for tax foreclosure and sheriff’s sale.
X. Un-Registered Visitors/Guest:
None
XI. Adjourn:
Mayor Hehr asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Alicia Gardner made the motion. Matt Schaber second. Tiffany Ramsay – absent. Motion passed 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 6:15 p.m.
ATTEST:
___________________________ ____________________________
Carol Hehr, Mayor Lori Cunard, Fiscal Officer