PHOTO BY BRENNA WHITE / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
FUNDING PROGRESS … Law Director Robert Bohmer and Mayor Steve Yagelski hear the progress of Montpelier’s Municipal Pool grant funding. The EDS Committee announced that $200,000 was allocated within the state’s budget for design and engineering of the pool.
By: Brenna White
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
brenna@thevillagereporter.com
The Montpelier Village Council met on Monday, June 8, 2026, to provide development progress for the Montpelier Municipal Pool and update residents on the Main Street Waterline project.
Mayor Steve Yagelski, Council President Chris Kannel, Kevin Motter, Heather Freese, Nathan Thompson, and Don Schlosser were in attendance.
Village Manager Jason Rockey, Law Director Robert Bohmer, and Director of Finance Nicki Uribes were also present. Uribes was appointed as Acting Clerk for the duration of the meeting.
Kannel stated that the Economic Development and Strategy Committee (EDS) had met recently and had good news to announce.
“We were awarded $200,000 from the state’s capital budget… for design and engineering for the municipal pool,” stated Kannel.
He explained that the next step in the process is to get plans and specifications for the pool and pool house in order to get it “shovel-ready.”
“The EDS Committee is going to be looking into a neighborhood revitalization grant for downtown parking,” Kannel added.
The application round is opening for this federal grant in 2027, with hopes that funds can add future parking space for the growing Montpelier downtown.
Freese noted that the Montpelier Bean Days are approaching, scheduled for July 18 and 19, 2026. The event this year will also serve as a celebration for America’s 250th anniversary.
Council is beginning to make preparations as the event continues to grow. Many committed to helping serve ice cream during the ice cream social, with a community-wide drone picture to be taken soon after.
An ARS contract extension was approved during the meeting. A two-year extension was added to the village’s trash service contract, with the initial contract expiring in June 2026.
Village Manager Rockey informed the Council that there was no price change, and Montpelier’s rates were still lower than other surrounding communities.
“I surveyed two other communities in Williams County that have who I believe is their only competitor in the garbage space,” he explained. “We’re lower than both of those (villages) with our current contract with ARS.”
A police department pension transfer was suspended and passed for $35,000. This is a standard procedure that the village can do up to three times a year.
Income tax collections were reported up 0.93% from last year, but down 1.56% from the three-year average.
Thompson noted that the statistics could be interpreted as misleading, since a portion of the income tax is now going to a separate fund for the police and fire department, per the recently passed levy.
He requested a separate fund status be presented so residents could see how much money was now going to their PD and FD services.
He credits this to why the income tax seems “down” in the three-year average.
Village Manager Rockey then proceeded with his report. He recently attended AMP’s Regional Power Supply meeting, and shared some statistics he learned about Montpelier’s power supply.
He stated that transmission and capacity charges make up 48% of the village’s power bill. The remaining 52% is the actual purchase of energy.
“Capacity is the charge that goes to the generators,” Rockey explained. “Transmission goes to the transmission owners — Toledo Edison, in our case, owns the big lines that get the power from wherever it’s generated to us.”
First Energy was noted to be at $0.19 per kilowatt hour for their residential customers. For Montpelier residents, Rockey said the rate is closer to $0.17 per kilowatt hour.
“That’s because we own some generation, like the Fremont Power Plant,” he said.
The Village of Montpelier owns several portions of generation companies in the Tri-State area, which earns them a capacity credit that lowers their kilowatt hour rates.
A pre-construction meeting was held for the Main Street Waterline project earlier in the month.
Contractors stated that a complete closure of Main Street may only be necessary for one or two days. The street will need to be closed while the crews complete tie-ins on Platt and Main Street.
During construction, crews plan to use mobile traffic signals to reroute traffic. Main Street will be down to one lane only, with hopes to open two lanes back up during nighttime.
“All of the construction is east of Platt Street,” added Rockey. “It should be pretty easy to get around construction for local traffic.”
The project could potentially begin after the Williams County Fair, weather permitting. “If they can’t start within a few weeks of the end of the fair, they are going to have to push it back to early next spring, because the asphalt plant closes usually around the second week of November,” said Rockey. The village has until the end of 2027 to complete the project.
An executive session was entered at 6:32 p.m. for the consideration of a purchase or sale of property. No motion was taken afterwards.
The next Montpelier Village Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 22, 2026, at 6 p.m.