After interviewing six candidates, the West Liberty Village Council filled their last empty seat by voting in new councilmember Mike Woodruff Monday. Mayor Brad Hudson swore him in near the beginning of their regular meeting. (EXAMINER PHOTO | SHARYN KOPF)
Tensions were high at the West Liberty Village Council meeting on Monday, Jan. 22, when the issues of trash, recycling and a new, on-its-way garbage truck became the topic of discussion. But first they voted for a new councilmember to fill in the last of two empty seats. Mayor Brad Hudson then swore in Mike Woodruff to take that spot.
An accountant by trade, Woodruff retired in June 2023, but he had been thinking about joining the board for several years. He was one of six residents to apply for the position.
“I’m financially oriented,” he told the council. “Everything has a cost and a benefit. But it comes down to the financials.”
Woodruff’s first meeting covered numerous topics, but the one that led to the longest discussion returned to a difficult topic—what to do about the trash truck/recycling issue. It started with the truck, for which a letter of intent has already been sent. And, according to Bill Detrick, street superintendent, it will arrive any day.
Councilmember Jayne Griffith, who sits on the finance committee with Trent Spriggs, stated she’d been getting a lot of kickback related to the new truck.
“It’s ridiculous to have a quarter of a million dollar vehicle,” she said. “It doesn’t look good to the residents. People have been very vocal about it.”
Detrick, however, said a replacement is needed because the one they have, which was purchased in 2016, is too small. Hudson then argued that the cost of diesel fuel to make the extra trips, when needed, didn’t come close to what they’d spend on a new truck.
Then there’s the recycling issue. “I think people are mad about the truck because they’re mad about recycling,” Councilmember Jeanette Zerkle said. “They’re connecting the two when they’re two different things.”
Griffith agreed but, she added, “Residents don’t see it that way. And while I see them as separate, I can also see where people are coming from.”
“We communicated really poorly on the recycling issue,” Councilmember Jim Hoffman admitted. “Should we be frugally responsible and buy a new one now since we know we’ll need it later?”
In his final push for the bigger trash truck, Detrick contended the village wouldn’t outgrow it. And, he stated, “Trash is a necessity; curbside recycling is a luxury.”
“There’s no reason we can’t keep using that truck,” Spriggs said. “But moving forward I think we need to get the [new] truck. And we need to do the recycling. And if Bill doesn’t have the people he needs that falls on us.”
After a lengthy discussion, they came to two conclusions — Hudson would look into it more and make sure he had all the information before signing for the new truck, and they would pursue further feedback from residents.
The survey they’re sending out will work toward accomplishing the latter.
In other council news:
- Tom Allen with Trout Unlimited, Mad River Chapter, and Brian Tornes, with Burgess & Niple, Inc., sought the council’s approval to pursue a nine-point plan to evaluate the watershed and look for points of pollution.
A non-profit organization, Trout Unlimited works to conserve freshwater streams and rivers, while Burgess & Niple is an engineering consulting firm out of Columbus. According to Allen, moving forward with the plan would make West Liberty more eligible for grant funds. The council approved the request. - At the Jan. 8 meeting, the council was asked to permit Liberty Gathering Place to obtain one of two alcohol permits, which didn’t receive a second motion and, as a result, failed. On Monday, they were asked if they wanted to hold a hearing on the issue, which would have to take place at the county seat. They concluded not enough people would attend to justify the added expense, especially since the voters already spoke on the issue.
- Hudson received a call Saturday morning saying the downtown still needed some snow removed. He decided to get the plow and take care of it himself so he could see what was required. This led to a discussion regarding who’s responsible for clearing the sidewalks—the businesses or the village. Zerkle didn’t feel a change was needed; Hudson stated he would make some phone calls.
- The council passed the first reading of an ordinance that would increase sewage and water rates by 3 percent starting in March.
- Hudson also recommended doing yearly supervisor reports. He suggested having an open house in the spring where residents can hear from the department supervisors as an accountability action.
- The finance committee is still working on this year’s budget but, Griffith said, the village overall works with a little over $2 million.
- Fire Chief Darin Leach asked for the council’s support in pursuing a $220,000 grant to update their air packs. This needs to be done or the department will be out of compliance. He is also writing a grant for a new firetruck to replace the two they have. The firetruck would cost about $1 million; the grants would call for a 5 to 10 percent match from the village. Motion to support was passed.
- Following the resignation of an employee in the street department, Detrick asked the council to make some decisions before he hired a replacement. Though he said it’s a “good time to be down a guy,” he would like to have someone in by spring.
- Shane Oelker, West Liberty chief of police, would like to start screening candidates to fill the open officer position and asked the council to approve that, which they did. He’s looking for applicants through the National Testing Network but admitted they need to consider adding polygraph and psychological testing to the application process.
“It’s the wild west in employment,” Oelker admitted. “People are going from job to job because they can.” And not being able to compete with the wages offered by larger towns means often having to choose candidates who are at the beginning or end of their careers.
Oelker would also like to hire someone by April, but he’ll have to do their training, which takes up to three months.
The next West Liberty Village Council meeting will start at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12.