PHOTO BY BRENNA WHITE | THE VILLAGE REPORTER
OATH OF OFFICE … Newly elected (left to right) Mayor Pam Clark, Council President Shawn Clark, Cooper Clark, and Jodie Faunce were sworn in as Holiday City Village Officials.
By: Brenna White
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The Holiday City Village Council held its first meeting to begin the new year on January 15, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. Newly elected officials were sworn in and a project from Jefferson Township was introduced.
The meeting opened with the swearing in of Mayor Pam Clark, Shawn Clark, Cooper Clark, and Jodie Faunce.
Due to a vacant seat, Brooke Knepper was officially appointed to serve on the Council and later sworn in. Shawn Clark was elected as President of Council with no other nominations.
The meeting dates for the Council were approved for the third Thursday of the month at 7:00 p.m. Council approved the minutes from its December 18, 2025, session before moving on to resolutions.
Three resolutions were adopted, including one establishing blanket certificate rules and deadlines. Fiscal Officer Lauri TenEyck-Rupp mentioned that this was a yearly procedure.
A village solicitor appointment was awarded to Damon Williams. The last resolution focused on passing the Williams County Hazard Mitigation Plan.
“It has a listing of all of the information as far as how many people are in each town, how many houses, and what their pay scale is,” Mayor Clark explained.
Fiscal Officer TenEyck-Rupp then gave her monthly report, which included expenses and revenues in the month of December. A motion to pay the bills was accepted.
Mayor Clark informed the council that she had attended a tour of the newly introduced Wieland Chase expansion alongside Administrator Blair Campbell.
She commented that she is looking forward to the economic growth coming within Holiday City, with an estimated 43 jobs to be created within the first six years.
Administrator Campbell reported that the village was having issues with their tornado siren, after it recently failed during testing. After bringing in a repairman, no issues were found within the system.
“We are confused on why it didn’t work last month,” said Campbell. “Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn’t. Of course, it’s hard to fix if it’s working.”
He introduced Brian Batterson, Jefferson Township Trustee, who recently attended a meeting with the Williams County Transportation Improvement District.
A project to resurface Selwyn Drive was introduced as a partnership between the village and township.
“Selwyn Drive is in desperate need of an upgrade,” began Batterson. “It is going to be an expensive project.
“We started looking for additional funding for this, and it looks like we are finding it.” He explained that the township is currently in the process of applying for a “transportation improvement district program” grant, also known as the “TID Program.”
“It is for areas like ours that are focused on job growth that need some help improving the roadways,” he continued. It is centered on helping those commuting to the Wieland-Chase plant and other local factories.
The grant is up to $500,000. “That will cover a great portion of the project that we are going to be doing,” Batterson said.
Grinding, repaving, and possible drainage repair and pedestrian walkway will be the main focus.
Holiday City officials seemed interested in helping fund a portion of the project, specifically providing funds to help match the project costs, to improve their likelihood of receiving the grant.
Batterson will present a more definitive number, likely 10-20% of overall costs, in the next monthly meeting.
With no further business, the first Holiday City Village Council meeting of the year adjourned at 7:59 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for February 20, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.
Update: Holiday City Village Council: Council Advances OMAP Participation, Notes Audit Completion