PHOTO BY JOHN FRYMAN/ THE VILLAGE REPORTER
UPDATING PROJECTS … Acting Village Administrator Doug Zimmerman (above) updated on several village projects going on during the regular meeting of the Edgerton Village Council on Wednesday, August 19.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
The Edgerton Village Council accepted the resignation of Village Administrator Dawn Fitzcharles at its meeting on Wednesday, August 19, at Village Hall.
Council approved Fitzcharles’ resignation, which takes effect September 17, 2026, following an executive session.
In her resignation letter, Fitzcharles wrote, “I have truly loved serving the Edgerton Community and am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of its growth and progress.”
“I look forward to watching all the great things still to come for the village and the community that I care so deeply about,” she wrote.
Edgerton Mayor Robert Day, in a prepared statement, wrote, “Dawn started with the village in 2015 before leaving for the first time. This second journey with Dawn at the village administrator position began in January 2021.”
He continued, “For over five years, it has been community-changing for the village. Through her leadership and skills, we have secured over 16 million dollars of funding to catapult us to a new level.
How fitting is it last week we were notified of funding that she applied for several months ago. The $350,000 of newly secured state funding will be used to develop the Edgerton Metals Property.”
“As disappointing as this news of departure is, we are grateful for the 11 years of time and endless efforts that Dawn has invested in Edgerton, more than anyone will ever know. We wish her a happy and healthy future.”
Council also authorized the advertisement for the vacant Village Administrator position.
Council approved a resolution to Jones and Henry Engineers of Perrysburg for design engineering services for the Main Lift Station Rehab Project. The motion passed 6-0.
Day told council that one of the attractive things Jones and Henry Engineers provide is that they may help the village potentially with another project.
PERSONNEL ACTION
Council accepted the resignation of Dakota Burke as an electric department employee effective August 28, 2026, by a 5-0 vote with Brian Bowsher abstaining.
The village is advertising a vacant position in the electric department as well as a water and sewer operator. Day said currently there is an employee in the water and sewer department who is looking to retire in the near future.
He added the village had to be proactive to bring in somebody to make the transition easier.
Resumes for the vacant position of public works director are due by Friday, August 21. Acting Village Administrator Doug Zimmerman said interviews will take place next week and is hoping by the next council meeting a decision will be made.
FISCAL OFFICER REPORT
Fiscal Officer Denise Knecht reported three summer village interns — Cole Gary, Avery Aldrich and Cade Sinclair — have all returned to college. She commented that Gary and Aldrich will remain on the active employee roster until next spring. Sinclair, who went from an intern to a part-time general laborer this year, will also remain on the roster.
Knecht told council that the state audit for 2023-2024 has been completed and is available on the village’s website.
POLICE CHIEF REPORT
Police Chief Ken Jacobs reported that he’s continuing to deal with junk vehicles in the village.
“It’s the same people, it seems like that I’m issuing nuisance notices to them, but eventually just file charges on them,” he said. “Some people got summonses in the mail for junk vehicles.”
VILLAGE ADMINISTRATOR REPORT
Acting Village Administrator Doug Zimmerman gave updates on several village projects:
-Lake Algae: Rains on August 10 and 11 have helped for more clearing. Fin Farm has visited and recommended aeration and continues to monitor the situation. The village is looking at getting the well operational again.
-River Run Park Grant: Official notification has been received from the Ohio Department of Development that the village has been approved for a Capital Improvement Grant of $350,000 for this project.
Zimmerman started working on completing the project information package.
-Salary schedule: Clemens and Nelson are currently conducting a wage study to update the wage schedule. This should be ready by the end of October.
-Community Building: A problem was noticed with the rolltop window in the kitchen not being fixed. Some other concerns with concrete and blocks cracking have been found along with drainage issues, and the architect has been made aware of it.
The architect is putting together a cost estimate for interior and exterior work. Once quotes are received, the contractor will be asked to perform the work, or the final payment will be reduced and the village will take care of remaining issues.
-Transformer at Substation: The village is working through options in case of a failure, as it has a couple of quotes.
A refurbished transformer can be purchased through Maddox at a price of $386,000; it is aluminum wound, and copper is preferred.
A new transformer with copper wiring was quoted by GIGA Technologies at $1.1 million with about a 45- to 50-day delivery.
If desired, the engineer would need to approve this. At this point, if there is an outage, the village has two generators that would be able to cover residential customers but would not be able to cover large power customers.
-Water Treatment Project: The village met with Metalink on August 11 and discussed the quote in more detail. Fiber would need to be run from the village hall to the water tower.
The village is anticipating applying for $1,266,105 for a loan through the Water Supply Revolving Loan Account (WSRLA), for which the next opportunity to apply is March 2027.
Next council meeting is Wednesday, September 2, at 5:30 p.m.
Story updated August 24, 2026 at 10:14 a.m.