PHOTO BY JOHN FRYMAN/ THE VILLAGE REPORTER
COUNCIL MEETING OUTDOORS … Montpelier Village Council members, Chris Kannel (left) and Kevin Motter (right) discuss the agenda of the council meeting held on Monday, August 10 at the Municipal Park Shelter House.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
The Montpelier Village Council met for its regular meeting on Monday, August 10 at the Municipal Park Shelter House.
Council members present were Heather Freese, Nathan Thompson, Chris Kannel, and Kevin Motter. Don Schlosser and Melissa Ewers were both absent from the meeting.
Following a motion and appointment of Nikki Uribes as acting Clerk of Council, a moment of prayer took place followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.
Council then approved the meeting agenda for August 10, the meeting minutes from July 27 and the July financial report.
Nick Ramos and Sandy Gordon of the Montpelier Parks and Recreation Department presented their annual report to council highlighting some of the activities, projects, and accomplishments from 2025.
Park Maintenance Report
Ramos gave a report on the maintenance side of the Parks and Recreation Department. He maintains approximately 30 acres of Village owned property (including Main Street, Storrer and Founders Parks along with mowing and maintaining grass and weeds around the tree grove). He also mowed around the improved trail at the Iron Horse River Trail.
Among the highlights of his report:
-Replaced existing scoreboards on the five municipal ball diamonds. He coordinated with the electric department to take down and erect the new scoreboards.
-Oversaw the completion of three new pickleball courts erected on the north side of the municipal park courts.
-Replaced the A.D.A. (American Disabilities Act) lift chair at the pool. It’s a needed accommodation for handicapped patrons.
-Along with Sandy Gordon, the department is looking to replace the current teeter totter at Storrer Park.
-Began mowing and maintaining grounds at the Iron Horse River Trail including maintaining vegetation from the bridges.
The department also assisted the street department to maintain the Wabash Cannonball Trail on the village side to County Road 15.
-Added new playground equipment for “Kiddie Land” to the five-year plan. The current equipment is now 30 years old and some of the features are breaking down.
The plastic is starting to show signs of damage from use, misuse, sunlight, and weather. Ramos and Gordon have spoken with the park board about this park update/renovation. They have begun to look at new equipment in line with what the department currently has at Municipal Park.
Parks and Recreation Director Report
In her report, Gordon told council a lot of the things the department does every year are very similar, tot ball, soccer, getting paperwork around which has taken up most of her job.
“Consistently over the last several years, we have held our numbers steady,” Gordon said. “I try to put the previous year’s numbers down to get some ideas for most things and how things are going. Again, we’re holding steady, and a lot have to do with the number of kids in the school.”
She also presented the positive aspects of a successful park and recreation program for a village like Montpelier.
“Based on what people tell me is they like our programs.” Gordon said. “I had people come from other towns to use our programs because of what they appreciate, the organization, the fields, and the fact the village has the facilities to be able to have these programs.
“That’s a testament to our ongoing work that we’ve all done council on down to maintain the park facilities and keep going with our different programs.”
Gordon noted that the security camera system in which the village has been using has worked out pretty well.
“We made some improvements to it this year, trying to connect it with the fiber optic to get more continuity, so it’s not so much on the wireless side of things,” Gordon commented.
She pointed out that the department has been working on the Iron Horse Trail keeping on the wildflower section and it’s going to be a work in progress due to taking care of the weeds.
Pool Attendance
Despite the fact with no admission being charged to use the swimming pool again this summer, the number of people using the pool has dropped off since Bean Days.
Gordon reported as of Sunday, August 9, there were 8,816 people who have used the pool this summer compared to 9,833 from last year.
She commented that the pool was open for 67 days this summer compared to 65 days from last year.
The pool has attracted an average of 131 people per day compared to 151 people from last year.
After Bean Days, attendance at the pool has been averaging 60.8 people per day compared to 122.6 people per day.
The highest attendance total occurred on July 1 with 372 people who used the pool that day compared to a high of 324 people on June 25, 2025.
A lot of that is due to the fact the lifeguards are unable to work in the evenings due to participating in football or volleyball practice.
“When you’re able to be open two or four hours a day and last year, we had a lot of people come in the evening,” said Gordon. “If you’re not open in the evening, you know it’s going to drop.”
Gordon has also seen a corresponding dip in the village’s summer lunch program numbers in July due to the fact the pool hasn’t been open quite as much.
“You’re only open two hours or four hours a day, you’re not getting the people that want to come and stay because of the time they drive here and not having evening hours, it really hurt for families to come,” pointed out Gordon.
The summer lunch program has attracted 920 people so far through the end of July compared to 1,004 people served last year.
Other Business
Council passed a resolution to approve tax rates and amounts as determined by the Williams County Budget Commission to the County Auditor commencing January 1, 2027.
A village resident addressed council regarding the conditions of several building-related properties in Montpelier. The resident was referred to Justin Houk, who is the village’s deputy manager for assistance in the matter.
Village Manager Report
Village manager Jason Rockey reported the vendor who the village had contracted to renovate the Holiday City South Pump Station last year had returned last Friday (August 7) and pulled the new pumps out to test and inspect them for abnormal wear after six months of service.
He said prior to the project, the pumps needed to be rebuilt about every two years, which the village will normally expect to get about ten years out of those kinds of pumps.
“With the pumps having been rebuilt after two years, obviously something was wrong there,” said Rockey. “We had a couple of engineers look at it.
“This company knows the situation where we’ve been coming out and pulled the pumps, tested them, and after six months everything looks good.
“Hopefully, we’ll see an extended lifespan of those pumps, and the renovation was worth the effort there. There are no signs of anything unusual with the pumps at this time.”
Rockey told council that Hayden Sharps became a full-time employee in the water and sewer distribution department on Monday, August 10.
Sharps had started working for the village in 2023 as summer help for the parks and recreation department.
He gave an update on the Park Street sewer pipe bursting project that got started last week, but unfortunately the work crew who was working on it got called away due to emergency work being done in another town. Rockey hopes they come back this week to finish the job.
Mayor Urges School Safety
With the start of the new school year, Mayor Steve Yagelski cautioned parents to talk with their children about electronic bikes and scooter safety.
“There’s going to be a whole different traffic pattern throughout town kids walking, kids being dropped off and walking over the bridge out to school,” said Yagelski.
He urged parents to look at the village ordinance and talk to their children about the rules and exceptions while riding on an electronic bike or scooter.
“Parents need to find out how old they (the child) have to be to have an e-bike or a scooter,” said the mayor.