By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
The Delta Village Council named former Lucas County administrator Edward Ciecka interim village administrator during a packed special meeting Wednesday evening.
Ciecka is now largely retired but serves as the senior advisor for northwestern Ohio for the Ohio City & County Management Association.
Through that work, he offers advice and – in some cases – services to aid towns with administrative questions, problems, or absences. In Delta, he will take over for ousted administrator Andy Glenn until the village can hire a permanent replacement.
It was during Ciecka’s work as city administrator for Rossford that he met then co-worker Kevin Heban, who is now Delta’s law director.
In the midst of preparations for Glenn’s departure, Heban remembered Ciecka and mentioned him to council members, giving him a call immediately after the termination was approved. “When I got the call regarding my availability, I was taken aback a little bit,” Ciecka said.
He noted that he had not been involved in public management directly since 2020, but said he hoped his skills would be helpful to the village, both in its operation as well as to “help heal any wounds” left by the relationships between the village and its past administrators, and clean the slate for the new, full-time administrator.
Ciecka was explicit on using the term “interim,” and said while he hoped to be as helpful as possible, he had no interest in remaining in the position long-term.
Mayor Allen Naiber, following an aside with council member Chad Johnson, asked Ciecka whether he had any experience working with the state auditor’s office.
The village is currently working with the office on an ongoing investigation centered on Glenn’s predecessor, Brad Peebles. Ciecka said there were annual audits in Rossford as well as audits of Lucas County while he was employed in those places, including one in Rossford regarding the transportation improvement district in which he was involved.
In response to a question from Johnson, he reported he had some experience working with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, but that it was limited.
Ciecka served as the assistant county administrator for Lucas County from 1979 to 1984, when he became the county administrator, a position he held until 2004. At that time, he was hired as city administrator for Rossford, where he worked until his retirement in 2015.
The council voted 5-0 to approve Ciecka’s appointment. The sixth council seat – vacated by Ashley Todd when she resigned after Glenn’s termination May 20 – remains open with no specific plan yet announced for a replacement, but the village has received several letters of interest and council members are aware of more that may yet be submitted.
Council member Robert Shirer later said each of the members met or spoke individually with Ciecka prior to Wednesday’s meeting. He said they made sure not to have any group meetings so as not to violate open meeting laws.
More than 30 people attended the meeting, although no public comment was heard. It was announced that there will be time set aside during the next regular council meeting specifically for comments on this subject.
That meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, June 10, at 401 Main Street in Delta.