HARVEST OF SWEETS WALK … Kelly Herzog (above), executive director of the Montpelier Area Chamber of Commerce, spoke to the village council about the upcoming Harvest of Sweets Walk to be held on Saturday, October 25, in downtown Montpelier.
PHOTOS BY JOHN FRYMAN / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
GREEN ENERGY…Montpelier Village Manager Jason Rockey (middle) discusses the village’s purchase of a new green energy source with councilman Nathan Thompson (left) and village mayor Steve Yagelski (right).
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
Montpelier will be going “green” for its new energy source following approval at Monday’s Village Council meeting.
Village Manager Jason Rockey discussed the Tallgrass Power Purchase Agreement with council members, all of whom were present.
“One of our sources for power of green energy had expired two years ago,” said Rockey. “It was landfill gas, and we were in, like I would say, a ten-year contract for that.
“At the end of the contract, the landfill wanted to raise the rates on that significantly. It was no longer a very economical way to get power.”
The village then purchased a three-year block of power elsewhere that will expire in 2028. “We bought the three-year block that was in the chart that showed where our power comes from and that expires in 2028,” said Rockey.
Now the village will be purchasing power from two compressor stations located in south central Ohio, in Ashville and Philo.
“This is green energy, and it comes from two compressor stations,” commented Rockey. “It’s on a natural gas pipeline. They have to use these large compressors to keep the pressure off the natural gas pipelines. And they’ll run over 1,000 PSI (per square inch), and it’s extremely high pressure.”
Rockey added that there are compression stations situated along the pipeline. “When those (compressors) run, they generate heat,” noted the village manager.
“Usually, the heat just goes into the atmosphere. Some really smart people figured out how to capture that heat, make steam, and power a generator. So it uses no additional fossil fuels or anything.
“It’s a byproduct of a process that they were already doing in maintaining the pipeline. They already built a couple of these, and so it’s not brand new technology; it’s been around for a little while.”
In conjunction with American Municipal Power, the village will be purchasing its green power from Tallgrass Energy Partners beginning in 2027 for 0.5 megawatts over a period of 16 years.
AMP had been looking for green energy options for members to replace the landfill gas that the village had been purchasing before; this came up as one of the most cost-effective options.
“It also generates the RECs (Renewable Energy Credits) that generate the solar field as well,” he said. “Those can be sold to offset the cost of the energy to Montpelier.”
Rockey reported the Land Bank has already approved funding for Advance Demolition of McComb to tear down three residences: 523 South Pleasant Street, 207 South Jonesville Street, and 220 Empire Street. The demolition should be completed by the end of November.
He also mentioned the asphalt paving work in the village is finishing up this week, and fire hydrant flushing is being wrapped up.
Council approved the second reading of Ordinance 2283, Amending Chapter 371.14 Codified Ordinances Low Speed Micromobility Devices.
“I was reading this (ordinance) again, and unless I was missing it, I thought when the committee first met, it was brought up at using the micromobility devices, we were going to put something in there where they have to use both hands,” said Mayor Steve Yagelski.
Approval was given for the 2026 Montpelier Tuesday Cruise-In schedule. The cruise-in, which is held on Empire Street, will take place every second and fourth Tuesday in June, July, and August from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Kelly Herzog, Montpelier Area Chamber of Commerce executive director, addressed the council regarding the upcoming Harvest of Sweets Walk to be held on Saturday, October 25, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in downtown Montpelier.
She said ticket holders will receive a wristband and a treat map to guide them through participating businesses. At each stop, guests can collect a fall-themed treat (provided by each vendor), redeem a complimentary drink with their drink ticket, and explore local vendors and learn more about each business.
Everyone who completes the full walk will be entered to win a gift basket filled with locally donated goodies.
“It’s a wonderful way to showcase what Montpelier has to offer and to celebrate the season with our community,” commented Herzog.
Yagelski discussed at great length with council members the village’s Emergency Action Plan, which hasn’t been updated since 2010.
“I’ve been working with Nikki (Uribes) on this because this is something that she has to submit with the RP-3 (Response Plan-3) requirements,” said Yagelski.
“Since the early beginning of this year, I took it over to review it, because after I had read it, it was very, very outdated. This is strictly for a similar situation like what happened out on County Road 13 with the power.”
He was referring to the severe storm that went through in April, resulting in considerable damage to the village’s electrical system.
“The police and fire departments have their own separate action plans in case of an emergency,” noted the mayor.
“Talking with both chiefs, (Dan McGee, police) and (Brian Fritsch, fire), theirs will pretty much override this one. But the communication flow will still be the same.”
Yagelski had several questions concerning the plan, but one key question he raised was whether, in the event of an emergency, the employees in the building know where the main power shutoff is. “It’s that type of thing that was brought up in the mitigation meetings we haven’t had for a while.”
Another question raised by the mayor was regarding the role of the plan by elected officials. “I never knew what we as elected officials did; it was usually word of mouth,” added the mayor.
“When we had the spring storm power outage, Nikki (Uribes) was literally swamped trying to keep up with the public notifications, and it was a disaster up there for her.
“Everything was going to her phone. I put this emergency action plan workflow together, so we as elected officials know how it happens.”
Yagelski then enhanced the emergency action plan and eventually designated the mayor—whoever that may be—to be the one responsible for notifying the elected officials.
“That way, the elected officials don’t have to be running out there and ‘what do I do’ or ‘to go somewhere’ or whatever.”
“That’s the way I got it set up (emergency plan) right now,” pointed out the mayor. “I worked pretty close with Nikki (Uribes) on that, and both chiefs (police and fire) and Jason (Rockey) saw it.
“This winter, I want to take it one step further, and I want to do a similar workflow for each department. We have a lot of new employees that don’t know what happens. It just gives them a snapshot of what happens if they get called out.”
He concluded, “This is more of a FYI (for your information) for you folks. We never shared this, and I didn’t even know it even existed until earlier this year.
”That’s how long it has been around. The flow itself is just a snapshot on how things work, both during working hours and after working hours.”