The Village of Weston
Council
November 16, 2015
The regular council meeting was called to order by Mayor Jason Worthen at 7:00pm, followed by the
pledge of allegiance.
A roll call of the council members was taken: Mrs. Danelle Langley, Mrs. Tammy McClellan, Mr. Jeremy
Schroeder, Mr. Shad Kendall, and Mrs. Dawn Blandy were present. Mr. Stevens arrived at 7:05pm.
The minutes from the 11/2/15 council meeting and 11/2/15 public hearing were reviewed. Mr. J
Schroeder requested that 1 change be made to the regular minutes (the next Rec Board meeting has not
been set; he had been referring to the Master Plan meeting).
------------------------Visitor(s):
Lee Higley came on behalf of the Weston Church of Christ to thank Council and the Mayor for allowing
the church to put signs on the town entrance boards. He also introduced their new pastor, Gary Wackler.
Natasha Mackay and Tyler West were in attendance for their Otsego government class. Residents Ken
Taylor and Joe Schroeder were also in attendance, but brought no new business before council.
------------------------The payment register (chk #’s 47054-47079, totaling $21,036.95) was presented to council. Mr. J Schroeder
asked about the tree bill, and how we decide which ones to remove. Mr. Kendall moved to pay the bills,
seconded by Mrs. McClellan, all were in favor; passed.
The Village of Weston’s revised Income Tax Ordinance #2015-12, to be effective 1/1/16 in compliance
with HB 5, received the third reading. A few changes were noted. Mrs. McClellan made a motion for
passage, which was seconded by Mrs. Blandy, all were in favor; passed. Council was read the section on the
requirements for tax board members, and asked to have some suggestions for the next meeting.
The Ordinance to increase the compensation amounts for Fire Department officers (and swapping the
number of captains/lieutenants) received the third reading. Mr. Kendall suggested that we go back and redo the ordinance so that Fire and EMS can eventually be done at the same time (and there isn’t a separate
ordinance for just the honorariums). Mrs. McClellan made a motion to rescind this ordinance instead of
proceeding with passage, seconded by Mr. Kendall, all were in favor; passed. It was also noted that we still
need to establish the new EMS officer position.
Ordinance 2015-13, to amend Section 174.04 of the Weston Basic Code in relation to costs associated with
mowing and nuisance abatements, received the third reading. Mrs. Langley moved for passage, seconded by
Mrs. McClellan, all were in favor; passed.
The Ordinance to appoint Matt Reger as Village Prosecutor (through the end of 2016) received the second
reading. It was again explained that the ordinance for his solicitorship was already passed to include 2016,
so next year we will do both solicitor and prosecutor in one (for 2017).
The Ordinance to continue our 2016 banking agreement with PNC received the second reading.
The Ordinance to continue our banking agreement with Farmers & Merchants State Bank for 2016
received the second reading.
The Ordinance to renew our agreement with the Wood County Public Defender’s office for 2016 (for
indigent persons charged solely under Village Code) received the second reading.
------------------------Council/Committee Business:
Mrs. McClellan reminded everyone of the Finance Committee meeting on 12/7/15 at 6:30pm. She also
brought up concerns related to our maintenance employees clocking out when they go on Fire or EMS
runs. After pulling records, there were some time overlaps found. Her first concern is that these individuals
get to where they need to be, and she understands that errors are likely to happen. Therefore, it was
suggested that the Fire & EMS reports be reviewed and compared to the employee timesheets regularly;
then adjustments can be made as necessary. Sarah was willing to do this on a quarterly basis. This will be
discussed with the Chiefs at the next Safety meeting. It was also mentioned that the Chiefs/Safety
Committee wanted to request that the Q4 Fire/EMS payroll be moved to the first Monday of the month
instead of the third.
Mr. J Schroeder reported on the 11/4/15 Master Plan meeting. He hopes to be able to bring a soft plan
forward before the end of the year. Three things that they know they want to do/include are: 1) a street
hockey/ice rink; 2) a native planting area; and 3) improvements to the baseball fields. The next meeting was
set for 11/23/15 at 6:30pm. (Mr. J Schroeder also noted that he was unable to make it to the last Cemetery
Board meeting, which Mrs. Blandy had asked him to attend in her absence.)
Mr. Kendall talked about digging the footers for the 2 signs at the school property. The desired location of
the alumni sign has been marked with stakes. Tim will get these done.
Mr. Stevens will find out if the Safety Committee members will be able to meet next week, or if they will
need to reschedule since it’s so close to Thanksgiving.
Mr. T Schroeder reported on a few maintenance items: 1) Tree removal (3 trees) has been
completed, and came in slightly under the estimate; 2) Toledo Edison quoted us $1,322.27 to
straighten 2 of our electric poles (1 at ball field, 1 at maintenance building), as no private
contractor was willing to do this. Council was okay with getting this done; 3) They’re doing well
with leaf pick-up, and have already taken 26 loads thus far; 4) He was able to get our Christmas
banners lengthened at no charge, and would like to send a Thank You to the guy who did this
for us; and 5) They will be going around and picking up limbs from recent storms.
Mr. T Schroeder then addressed council as a citizen with a personal issue in relation to the recent
appointment of the new Fire Chief. He stated that he has nothing against the new Chief, Ron
Tolles, but felt that the situation was handled very poorly. Mr. T Schroeder had applied for this
position as well, and was given the understanding that a decision was to be made sometime
before the first of the year. He felt it unfair that this was decided while he was on vacation, 600
miles from home. This same thing happened in the 1990’s when he had applied to be Fire Chief
back then. This time, the Mayor had said that the position was open to anyone, and expressed
that if there were more than one candidate, they would hold interviews. This didn’t happen. They
also didn’t go by what the minutes said they were looking for, which included a First Responder
certification. (Mr. Tolles does not have this, but will have to get it.) Mr. Schroeder pointed out
that his resume shows him to be far more qualified, and that the whole thing was short sighted
and left him hurt and disappointed. He would like to have at least been allowed the chance to be
here and speak on his own behalf. He then addressed several of the comments made in his
absence at that meeting, and informed council that not everyone who signed in support of Ron
knew that he (Tim) was even a candidate. He also mentioned that an anonymous note showed
afterward, telling him to “be a man” and realize that the Fire Dept “doesn’t want him”.
Mrs. McClellan said that she felt very badly about what happened, and that next time
something like this comes up, we need to be sure we do it right.
Mr. Kendall stated that he wants to make sure that in the future, things are put on the
agenda ahead of time, so that they know what they’ll have to make decisions on and won’t
be expected to vote before having ample time to think things over.
Mr. J Schroeder noted that he had requested at that meeting that the vote be delayed, which
was “met with silence”. He was also upset that the Fire Dept claimed that “everyone was
aware” that Tim was a candidate when it’s clear that they all were not.
Mr. T Schroeder said that he appreciated the chance to “speak his peace.
------------------------Solicitor Matt Reger was asked how we should proceed with the “chicken amendment” to the
Village Zoning Ordinance. At the previous meeting, council voted against going forward with the
banning of “agricultural animals”. He stated that we don’t have to start the process all over, but we
can come up with what we want, draw up an ordinance, give it the first reading, and hold a hearing
before passage (it does not need to go back to the Planning Commission). In relation to addressing
current chicken issues, he suggested that we could try to enforce the section of the ORC/OBC on
nuisances. We would need to gather photos, statements, etc, and when we have everything, he can
send the individuals a letter. If the nuisance is not abated, he can threaten to file charges.
------------------------The Mayor announced that the WCEDC will hold their Holiday Reception on 12/2/15 from 4:006:30pm at the Holiday Inn French Quarter.
The Mayor asked that Mr. Kendall and Mr. J Schroeder stay after the meeting to discuss employee
job descriptions.
------------------------No further business was discussed. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm.
Sarah Schroeder,
Fiscal Officer
Jason Worthen,
Mayor