LETTER OF RESIGNATION … Pioneer Fire Chief Denny Fackler submitted a letter of resignation for his position as chief to the Pioneer Village Council on November 13, effective December 31, 2023.
By: Anna Wozniak
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
anna@thevillagereporter.com
The Pioneer Village Council met from 7 p.m. to 9:08 p.m. on November 13, 2023. From 7:21 – 8:43 p.m. and from 9-9:07 p.m. were spent in executive session.
Present were councilors Trevor West, Randy Cochran, Dean Frisbie, Bill Turner, and Ben Fiser, as were Fiscal Officer Gina Gruber, Mayor Ed Kidston, solicitor Tom Thompson, and Village Administrator Al Fiser.
The first executive session resulted in the approval of a 3% wage increase for village employees for 2024, and the second resulted in the approval of an addendum to the AquaBounty utility term sheet and a motion approving a change order for the engineering costs incurred by the substation project.
The minutes from the October 9 regular and October 23, 2023 special meeting minutes were both approved, as was the financial report for October, the bills as presented, and a Hometown HDWR invoice.
It was noted that the police department has started their auxiliary program back up, with two officers having been sworn in shortly prior to that evening’s council meeting.
The police department now is certified for the Ohio Collaborative, and American Legion Post No. 307 made a donation for the department’s K9 vehicle, which council and the mayor shared thanks for.
Fire Chief Denny Fackler then shared that he will not be serving as chief of the fire department after December 31, 2023. He will be staying with the fire department in a different capacity after making a recommendation for his replacement.
Administrator Fiser shared that the power utilities are currently running at a deficit, but that payment increases may be held off on until more of the surplus built up by the village is reduced by this deficit.
Holiday break for village employees was voted to be December 23-26, and appropriations for 2023 and 2024 were approved as presented.
Councilor Ben Fiser shared that he is hard at work updating the village’s website, and Mayor Kidston shared that the downtown Christmas tree lighting will occur on November 18, 2023 at 5:30 p.m.
Santa will be coming to the gazebo to see all of the kids on December 9 from 12-2 p.m., and the Senior Community Center will see the senior citizen Christmas meal on December 12 at noon.
It was then that the Pioneer Village Council entered into their first executive session for the purpose of “possible property acquisition” from 7:21 p.m. to 8:43 p.m. before returning to regular session and passing all ordinances as presented on their first reading under emergency.
Ordinance 18-2023 amended appropriations for FY2023. Ordinance 19-2023 repealed certain sections of the codified ordinances and enacted others, Ordinance 20-2023 authorized the NPP Power Pool participation schedule, Ordinance 21-2023 approved the wage schedule for 2024 to take effect January 1, 2024, and Ordinance 22-2023 made appropriations for FY2024.
Mayor Kidston then left before council entered their second executive session of the evening, returning to make a motion to approve a change order for the substation engineering costs as well as an amendment to the AquaBounty utility term sheet.
The Pioneer Village Council then adjourned their November meeting at 9:08 p.m.