Three of Zanesfield’s village leaders got new seats at the council table Monday as an impasse between a property owner and the elected officials continues to keep tensions high.
In the first action of the annual reorganization, Councilwoman Heather Clapsaddle was elected to president of council and was sworn in by Judge C. Douglas Chamberlain as the de facto mayor, replacing longtime mayor Michael Coder, whose petition to run for re-election was rejected by the Logan County Board of Elections in August.
Mr. Coder then announced he would like to fill the vacant council seat as did village resident Glenna Theis. Mr. Coder was nominated and appointed by the council.
Council then elected Mr. Coder president of council despite a statement from last year’s council president Jeremy Watkins that he would be willing to continue to serve in that capacity.
Shari Watkins, who will replace retiring Clerk-Treasurer Vicky Marmon in March, was also sworn in near the end of the meeting.
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Heather Clapsaddle, the Zanesfield councilwoman who took over as village mayor Monday, is sworn into office by Acting Judge C. Douglas Chamberlain. (EXAMINER PHOTO | REUBEN MEES) |
With the organizational process settled, council and several residents in attendance turned their attention to the lingering issue of how to address the village’s drainage problem.
Dick Cooksey, who lives just west of the corporation limit on County Road 10, broached the topic by noting that heavy rains at the end of December caused significant storm water accumulation in front of his home.
The village is currently planning for a four-phase $340,000 drainage project working west from the Mad River at Hall-Fawcett Park, through the village and then past Mr. Cooksey’s lot.
Work on the project could begin this year as village administrators set aside $6,100 as a 10 percent grant match for the project in the $116,961 annual budget package council passed later in the meeting.
It would likely take nearly five years to reach the western edge of the village and into Jefferson Township.
The issue, however, continues to be inflamed by property owner Matt Straker who has installed two demolition derby cars on the lawn of a property in the center of the village.
Mr. Straker continued under questioning at the meeting to maintain that the cars were placed on the lawn as artistic expression and not as a strongarm tactic to get council to comply with his demands to invest $2,500 in taxpayer money to clean out the drainage ditch atop which the house on the property was built.
He said he was under the impression that the village would help pay to clean up the property when he bought it in 2014.
Councilman Watkins, however, said council was not part of the discussions Mr. Straker referenced and that any promises he believed were made to him were not an agreement to use taxpayer money on the project.
“For the record, you came to this council and demanded $2,500 and gave us no other options,” Mr. Watkins said. “I have always been willing and other members of council are willing to get under there physically and help you clean it out. You seem to think we have $2,500 lying around, but we do not; we operate on a shoestring budget.
“I’m more than willing to donate my time, but what I am still not willing to do is spend $2,500 of village money on this.”
Mr. Straker said cleaning the drainage ditch would require hiring special equipment to force debris out of otherwise inaccessible places.
Solicitor Matt Chamberlain and Councilman Gene Fout both pressed Mr. Straker about the junk vehicle issue.
“Did you put those cars there because you aren’t getting your way?” Mr. Fout asked.
“Stop calling them cars because they are art,” Mr. Straker insisted.
“You’re punishing the rest of the villagers to extract what you want from this village and Logan County,” Mr. Chamberlain said.
Mayor Clapsaddle said she would invite Logan County Engineer Scott Coleman to the 7 p.m. Feb. 2 council meeting and Councilman Coder said he hoped to schedule a meeting with Logan County Commissioners in the near future.
In routine activity, council:
• approved regular council meetings for 7 p.m. the first Monday of each month at the Sloan Library except on national holidays when the meeting follows on the first Tuesday;
• approved a $20 per meeting stipend for council members, $600 a year for mayor and $250 per month for the solicitor, none of which are raises;
• named PNC Bank depository of village funds;
• approved Hill & Hamilton Insurance for property insurance, Horney Insurance Agency for liability and Fullerton Insurance for bonds; and
• named village committee members.
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