PHOTO BY BRENNA WHITE / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
ANNEXATION … Tom Thompson presented information regarding Annexation #3 of Madison Township property into the Village of Pioneer.
By: Brenna White
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The Williams County Commissioners met for their regular session on Thursday, October 16, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. in the Commissioners’ Session Room.
Following the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call, Commissioner President Terry Rummel, Scott Lirot, and Bart Westfall were in attendance.
The October 9, 2025, session’s minutes were approved, along with the day’s agenda, with no additions or corrections. The payment of bills was additionally passed with no discussion.
Under new business, commissioners passed several resolutions, including transfer appropriations for the Common Pleas Court and the Department of Aging.
A notice of a tax-exempt bond funding ownership fee for George Bible Park was also approved. This is specific to the aeration project.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was approved on behalf of the Williams County Common Pleas, Juvenile, and Probate Division with the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
This is for a project funded by the Ohio Traffic Records Coordinating Committee to allow for electronically generated traffic citations. For a grant amount of $9,675, this will last for two years after signing.
A final resolution was passed to rescind and update the effective date for a new JFS employee health insurance coverage, with a date error being noted prior.
The board continued on to review the weekly Dog Warden Report and approved road right-of-way permits for work within the county and surrounding townships.
Twenty-eight were signed for Charter Communications, and one was for American Transmission Systems. A public records request was received from Jennifer King.
The commissioners had a short discussion on the possibility of hiring someone to help delegate the records retention requests, as they have experienced an increase recently.
An executive session was held at 9:21 a.m. to discuss discipline matters, requested by Rummel. They returned to open session at 9:51 a.m. with no action.
At 10:00 a.m., an Annexation Hearing for Pioneer was held. Solicitor Tom Thompson, Administrator Anthony Burnett, and Madison Township Trustee Terry Huffman attended. Filed by Tom Thompson, he explained that the two property owners were in total agreement on the annexation.
Village services are set to be provided, including police protection, fire protection, shorter first response time, solid waste collection, electric power distribution, sewer access, and more.
Within the proposed land, it houses Pioneer’s public utilities and future solar field location. “This is very specific for bringing in the municipal utilities,” said Thompson.
“The lagoon properties aren’t going to move – they are where they are. The village would very much like to have them within corporate limits.
“This is the most logical place for the village solar field to be. The village already owns the land and has a route to get the power from the solar field to the new substation.”
“We oppose it,” stated Huffman. “How many hundreds of acres have now been annexed to Pioneer that are undeveloped?”
“The township opposes it because you are losing tax base?” questioned Westfall. “When the village first wanted to explore the annexation process,” explained Thompson, “the village council passed a resolution authorizing Anthony to sign an annexation agreement with the township. That agreement was provided to the township for them to review and hopefully get back to the village on – and they never responded.
“Under that agreement, the township would have been made whole. They would have continued to receive all of their tax dollars. The response was silence, and the village needed to move forward.”
Thompson went on to clarify with this annexation that Madison Township will lose some of its tax base, which amounts to about $1,000 a year.
“To be honest, we are just tired of losing acres,” said Huffman. “I’m only one vote.” The commissioners moved forward to pass the annexation with a resolution, and the hearing was adjourned at 10:18 a.m.
ODOT administration stopped by the Commissioners’ Office to give them updated contact information.
At 10:32 a.m., a second executive session was held to discuss the purchase or sale of property with Todd Roth, Julie Beagle, and Parker Houk. No action was taken, and the public meeting adjourned directly afterwards.