PHOTO BY JOHN FRYMAN/ THE VILLAGE REPORTER
OMEA HONORARY MEMBER … Longtime Bryan Board of Public Affairs member Richard (Dick) Long was awarded the Ohio Municipal Electric Association (OMEA) honorary membership certificate for his longtime dedication and service to the community. Pictured are, from left: Bryan Mayor Carrie Schlade, Richard (Dick) Long, and Ohio Municipal Electric Association Vice President of External Affairs Michael Beine.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
For the past 15 years, Richard (Dick) Long has served as a board member on the Bryan Board of Public Affairs, and on Tuesday, December 2, he was recognized for his outstanding achievements while attending his final board meeting.
Following the roll call of board members, Annette Schreiner, Bob Eyre, Long, and Karen Ford, with Jim Salsbury being absent, the Pledge of Allegiance was then recited, followed by approval of minutes from the November 18 meeting.
Long began his career with the City of Bryan in January 1993, in the Street Department, before transferring to the Electric Department in 2001 to work as an operator at the Power Plant, where he worked until his retirement in February 2012.
Following his retirement from the city, he was elected to serve three consecutive terms on the Board of Public Affairs starting January 1, 2014, through December 31, 2025.
During his BPA tenure, he served as board chairman in 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2023. He also served as an interim member of the AMP Board of Trustees in 2016 and served as an alternate during Director of Utilities vacancies and absences.
In addition, he also served on the Bryan Municipal Utilities of Electric, Water, Communications, Human Resources, and BIPAC Committees for the BPA.
Long also represented the City of Bryan as a member of the Board of Directors of the Ohio Municipal Electric Association in 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2025.
He was then presented with an honorary membership certificate from Ohio Municipal Electric Association Vice President of External Affairs Michael Beine for being a strong advocate for public power and a very strong supporter and advocate for Bryan Municipal Utilities.
The honorary membership recognized Long, who had spent his career in the public power world and had worked on behalf of the City of Bryan and OMEA.
Beine said the membership goes through a formal nominating process before being voted upon by the general membership at their annual meeting, which was held two months ago.
“His priority has always been towards the best interest of Bryan,” lauded Beine. “He’s always been a strong advocate for the value of electric, water, communications, and utilities and staff, and for what the community has to offer. He consistently expresses appreciation to the staff.”
Mayor Carrie Schlade also expressed her appreciation for what Long has accomplished throughout his tenure on the BPA Board.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to work with him for all but two of them as a council member and a mayor,” commented Schlade.
The mayor also highlighted numerous advancements for the City of Bryan that have been initiated or completed under Long’s BPA term.
Among the accomplishments were:
-Authorized the purchase of land for a new Bryan Industrial Park North to further the economic growth of the City of Bryan.
-In 2015, and again in 2025, he authorized a full electric system evaluation and ten-year planning studies to continually improve the reliability of the electric infrastructure for future generations.
-Authorized over $2 million in generator turbine repairs at the Bryan Power Plant, which saves the customers of Bryan millions of dollars in capacity and transmission charges each year.
-Supported investments in the Auglaize Hydroelectric Plant, recognizing the importance of this valuable, renewable energy asset and ensuring it is protected and available for many years to come.
-Initiated a strategic planning process with new Strategic Plans completed for 2019-22 and 2023-2026.
-Authorized the financing and implementation of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure project for the Electric and Water departments.
-Authorized continuous improvements to Bryan substations, along with the building of a new Industrial Drive Substation, commissioned in 2020, and the Power Plant Substation Rebuild Project to improve reliability, provide additional capacity, and allow for direct generation input during peak shaving opportunities.
-Authorized new agreements with Ohio Gas Company, ensuring that Bryan’s generation facilities would have the means to operate in extreme conditions to save Bryan’s electric customers millions in transmission and capacity savings.
-Authorized the final purchase of the Bryan Solar Field, ensuring that this renewable resource would continue to benefit the environment, while providing substantial savings for customers.
-Showed continuous support for water studies in the protection of the Michindoh Glacial Outwash Aquifer, the sole source of water for the City of Bryan.
-Authorized the financing and improvements of many Bryan water infrastructure projects.
-Supported the budgeting and financing of many enhancements and improvements for the Bryan downtown district, neighborhoods, and businesses with a focus on what was best for the customers, while ensuring the feasibility of these projects and management of public-owned utilities.
“We are grateful for his service, leadership, support, and dedication to the Bryan Board of Public Affairs, the City of Bryan, the staff, and departments of Bryan Municipal Utilities and the many committees he served on, including his participation at AMP and OMEA and APPA events throughout his many years of service,” commented the mayor.
Long also thanked the mayor for her kind words about his 12 years serving on the BPA board.
Ashley Epling of the Williams County Port Authority told board members they are currently building another workforce house at 228 North Beech Street. This will be the third house the port authority has built in the city.
“We want to continue to carry out our mission of building affordable workforce housing to support the housing shortage that isn’t necessarily unique to us, but it’s kind of a global thing,” said Epling.
“We are trying to make an impact as we can. Part of that is keeping our costs down as we are developing these.”
Epling requested that the costs associated with the water tap fees, the meter base, and the wiring permit be donated to support the port authority’s development of the house.
She added that the costs had been graciously waived for the other two builds as well.
Board member Bob Eyre made a motion to approve Epling’s request, with Long seconding the measure. It passed by a 4-0 vote.
Approval was given for the proposed 2026 Bryan Municipal Utilities budget presented by Director of Utilities Derek Schultz, where he made a couple of slight changes after being presented at the last BPA meeting on November 18. It will now go to the city council for final approval on December 15.
The board accepted the retirement resignation of Joe Ferrell, who has served as Communications Superintendent since 2007. He will be retiring on January 16, 2026, after 18 years of service.
“He’s going to be tough to replace,” said Long. “Everybody likes Joe because he’s smart, easy-going, and was pretty much a right-hand man. I wish Joe nothing but the best because he’s a good employee and a good friend.”
A motion was made to approve the reclassification of Mike Lyons as a probationary communications supervisor. Lyons has 25 years of experience with the communications department. Approval was made to remove the succession planning.
Schultz reported that Andrew Stanley, a water department employee, had successfully passed his Ohio EPA Class 2 License test, and Jonah Shenkel, whose first day on the job as an engineering department employee was on Monday, December 1.
An executive session was held to discuss collective bargaining and employment and compensation of public employees, with no action taken.