Rushsylvania Village Council adjourned their regular meeting Monday, waited for the last member of the public to leave the room and slid the door shut.
They then proceeded to discuss in secret the very matter they agreed their new village solicitor could have a few days to research as to whether it is a valid topic for entering into an executive session.
The issue at hand is the appointment of a council member to fill a vacant seat. Two village residents — Jason Miller, who said he moved to the village about 10 years ago from the Kansas City, Mo., area, and Kandy Jacobs, a resident of about 12 years after having grown up in the Harper community — had expressed an interest in the seat.
Council President Tim Rader moved for an executive session to discuss the appointment. The Bellefontaine Examiner objected on the basis that Ohio case law has not clearly established whether the appointment of an individual to an otherwise elected position is valid grounds for entering into executive session.
Solicitor Natalie Bahan, who was attending just her second meeting as a village solicitor, asked for up to a week to review the Ohio Sunshine Laws to determine whether she would recommend council proceed with an executive session or handle the appointment during a public session.
Council could have called a special session to address the issue and appoint a new member in advance of the March 7 meeting, she said.
When the public and Solicitor Bahan left after the regular session was adjourned, four of the five current council members, Mayor Katrina Eversole and Clerk-Treasurer Diane Rader remained in chambers — Councilman Darrell Bradford was absent from the meeting.
The door was shut and within moments the body began discussing village business in voices that carried through the walls of the meeting room, including details about the two applicants for the council seat.
When they wrapped up their discussion and began filing out of the meeting room, Council President Rader gruffly acknowledged the nature of the conversation and that he realized it was not in the spirit of Ohio’s public meeting laws.
“It was wrong,” he said as he stepped from the room. “What do we do from here?”
A public body can be fined or face other civil punishments for violations of Ohio Sunshine Laws.
In regular action Monday, the board did appoint Chuck Skidmore — the councilman whose seat was left vacant during last election because of an error on his petition to seek re-election — to a vacancy on the village Board of Public Affairs. He was also elected president of that body while Andy Defibaugh was elected vice president.
Council briefly discussed the village fireworks display Saturday, July 2. The Rushcreek Fire Department has taken over the village fireworks this year, Mayor Eversole reported. In recent years, the village has organized the fireworks display at a cost of about $5,000, Clerk-Treasurer Rader said.
Mayor Eversole said she is making an inventory of vehicles in the village that may qualify as junk vehicles and has contacted the Logan County Sheriff’s Office and Logan County Health District to help address the issue.
“I found 15 in 15 minutes driving around town,” she told council. “I’m going to provide the sheriff and the health department with my initial list. I’m not going to say I will be able to find all of them (junk vehicles), but I’m going to try my best.”
The next regular meeting is set for 7 p.m. Monday, March 7, with the Board of Public Affairs meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m.
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