Blakeslee Village Council met November 18 at 3 PM in a special meeting to discuss personnel and to pay some of the village bills.
To begin the meeting Fiscal Officer Beth Rediger informed Council that she had notified the local paper, The Village Reporter of the meeting and the purpose of the meeting 24 hours in advance per Ohio’s Sunshine Law. The newspaper requested a copy of the meeting minutes after each meeting which she will provide. Council President Cody Chrisman discussed the Sunshine Law and having an agenda for council meetings. Council consensus is to have Rediger prepare council packets and to start approving documents by motion. Future council meetings will be run in a more orderly fashion in accordance with the law.
Chrisman then presented a letter from the village solicitor to council for their review. The letter involved council members who have prior felonies being able to serve on village council. In the letter, the village solicitor noted that in order to have a more definite answer, he will need to pull the criminal dockets of the two council members in question (Donald Thiel and Mark Muehlfeld). He stated that a lot depends on the time of the offense, whether penalties have been served and whether liberties have been restored. Council asked the village solicitor to take further steps to secure a more definite legal opinion to offset any concerns residents may have on the matter.
Fiscal Officer Rediger received two public records requests from residents Bob Thiel and Moses Mohre. The requested records and response letters have been sent.
After discussion and comparison of quotes, Chrisman made a motion to contract with Frontier for internet and telephone service to the village office at a price of $79 per month for both. The vote was unanimously in favor.
Council expressed their appreciation to Adam Brandt and Todd Long for putting up the Christmas lights downtown. As a thank you, Council voted to purchase a $50 gas card for each.
With no further business the meeting adjourned.