(PHOTO BY BRENNA WHITE / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
ANNEXATION HEARING … (Left to Right) Solicitor Tom Thompson, Caleb Eckley of Eckley Enterprises LLC, and Pioneer Administrator Anthony Burnett attend the Annexation Public Hearing.
By: Brenna White
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The Williams County Board of Commissioners convened for its regular session on Thursday morning, June 12. All commissioners were in attendance including President Terry Rummel, Scott Lirot, and Bart Westfall.
After the standard business practices, supplemental appropriations were approved for the Williams County EMS, Engineer’s Office, Job and Family Services, Recorder’s Office, Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Commissioner’s Office.
A lease renewal was approved between the Ohio Department of Public and Safety Bureau of Motor Vehicles for Lot A. The term will begin July 1st and end June 30th, 2027.
A permit was approved for the use of County property on September 3. ECHO, Never Let Go Ministries, and the Williams County Health Department have requested to hold the Overdose Awareness Day event in Bryan City Square.
Commissioner Westfall noted, “We can’t deny anyone, if we do, we have to deny everyone. So, whether you believe in the cause or not, it’s freedom of speech.”
Commissioner Lirot updated the board on the recent EMS proposal of placing an ambulance back in Pioneer. Jesse Brumbaugh, of the County’s EMS, attended the most recent Pioneer Village Council meeting on June 9.
“I just want to say thank you to Jesse and the commissioners. We’ve all been working on this to get something north of the turnpike,” Lirot added.
He went on to debunk the rumor that Madison Township is unwilling to store an ambulance in their fire hall noting, “Madison Township will put an ambulance in their building until Pioneer is ready for it.” The commissioners hope to reach a decision at their next Tuesday meeting.
At 10:00 a.m., an Annexation Hearing was held, filed by Tom Thompson. The hearing involved a proposed annexation of approximately 107 acres from Madison Township to the Village of Pioneer. Pioneer’s appointed solicitor, Thompson was actually attending the hearing on behalf of the petitioners.
The properties in question are owned by the Pioneer Church of the Nazarene, Eckley Enterprises LLC, Kunkle Family Farms LTD, and two residential homeowners: John and Tracy Hawkins, and Zane and Heather Bell.
The property resides in the most northwestern part of the county, currently in Madison Township. All property owners were in 100% agreement with the proposal and filed the petition themselves.
An annexation to Pioneer would allow said properties access to the village’s municipal utilities and services. This includes police and fire protection, shorter emergency response times, solid waste collection, electric power distribution, sewer services, and more.
The town’s administrator, Anthony Burnett, spoke on behalf of Pioneer, stating that they will upkeep both sides of State Route 15 after the approval.
Madison Township representative, Terry Huffman, addressed the board and admitted the township was not in favor of the annexation.
While proposed once before in October of 2024, the township shut down any further requests and was unable to come to an agreement. He questioned the necessity of the added farmland to Pioneer.
The commissioners moved forward to approve the annex with Resolution 25-0237. Westfall stated, “The property owners have asked for this. I think it’s a little more than they need, in particular to the 75 acres of farmland, I don’t think it is on me to deny a personal request for property.”
“I don’t love how big it is,” Rummel continued, “There’s a lot of things I don’t like about this. Because we had all petitioners to sign, we do not have much choice.”
Shortly after, at 11:00 a.m., the commissioners reviewed financial reports for the month of May. The review was conducted with input from Parker Houk and Vickie Grimm from the Williams County Auditor’s Office.
Houk and Grimm reported business as usual, as the May report reflected the same trends as the previous few months.
Revenue for the county has increased by 7%, while expenditures also increased by 20% due to supplemental funding needs for many programs. Hillside Country Living and JFS are both facing financial struggles as expenditures are increasing monthly.
The Williams County EMS is also in the red for May, but that was largely due to the three pay periods in the previous month and should correct itself shortly.
With no further business on the June 12th agenda, the meeting adjourned at 11:27 a.m.