City Council - Regular Meeting

Thank you.

It is 7 o'clock, and I'm going to call this meeting to order. Welcome, everyone. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, council members, city officials. Welcome to the June 8, 2026 regular city council meeting. We're meeting at 26 South Payne Street, Chillicothe, Ohio, and I would ask the clerk to call the attendance roll.

Thank you, President Shoemaker. Bennett? Payne? Here. McCourt? Here.

McCourt?

Barnes. Here. McKeever. Here. DeMint.

Here.

Preston. Here. Dunn. Here. Creed.

Here.

Councilmember Bennett informed me that she would not be in attendance this evening. Is there a motion to excuse her from tonight's meeting? Motion by Ms. Payne, seconded by Ms. Preston, and the clerk will call the roll. Payne?

Yes.

McQuirt? Yes. Barnes? Yes. McKeever?

Yes.

Dement? Yes. Preston? Yes. Dunn? Yes. Creed?

Yes.

Ms. Bennett is excused. Next, I would ask Mr. Dement to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. THE MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 27, 2026 AND MAY 11, 2026 MEETINGS HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED. WE SHOULD BE CAUGHT UP AT THE NEXT MEETING WITH MINUTES FROM THE MAY 18TH MEETING AND THIS MEETING THIS EVENING. BUT FOR TONIGHT, I KNOW YOU'VE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO REVIEW THE APRIL 27 AND MAY 11 MINUTES. ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONS, DELETIONS OR CORRECTIONS? Hearing none, is there a motion to approve the minutes by Mr. McQuirt, second by Mr. McKeever, and the clerk will call the roll. Payne?

Yes.

McQuirt?

Yes.

Barnes? Yes. McKeever? Yes. Dement? Yes. Preston? Yes. Dunn? Yes. Creed?

Yes.

The minutes are approved. Next, we'll move to reports of committees. Development Committee, Mr. Dement.

Thank you, President Shoemaker. Development Committee has two items on tonight's agenda. We have item number two, which is a third reading. It's a resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a partnership agreement between the City of Chillicothe and the Ross County Commissioners for the application and administration of the 2026 Community Housing Impact and Preservation Program, if funded, and declaring an emergency. And we also have item number six, which is a second reading, It's an ordinance adopting text amendments to certain provisions of the City of Chillicothe Unified Development Code pursuant to ordinance number 5925. And that concludes my report. Thank you.

Thank you, Engineering Committee. Ms. Dunn.

We have no new business, President Shoemaker. However, the Renick Avenue alley request that was done last year seems to be moving forward this year, and I might have something to report on that. We referred it to council and had all the committee meetings. Thank you.

Thank you. Next, Finance and Technology Committee, Mr. Creed.

Thank you, President Shoemaker. We have three items on the agenda tonight. Item number eight is a second read of an ordinance appropriating funds from the downtown redevelopment district. Fund number four for $47,728.44 is for a property that became non-profit, and we need to pay that money back to them. And then item number 11, resolution for the tax budget for the city of Chillicothe for calendar year beginning January 1, 2027. The auditor just did the public hearing on that just before the meeting, so that will go for the full three reads as well. And then 13 is ordinance appropriating $31,750 to complete upgrades on traffic signals at Pink Street and 5th and Bridge Street and Cine Road. And so we'll let that go to the three full reads as well. We did have a committee meeting earlier, and this was on 26-043, and this is a resolution we'll be doing to authorize the appropriation of $7,643 for the Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission beginning fiscal year 2027, and this is something that we do every year that we're a part of, and the committee did vote to move that forward, so we should see that on the next agenda. That concludes my report, thank you.

Thank you. Human Resources Committee, Ms. Payne.

Thank you, President Shoemaker. We do have two items on the agenda tonight. Item number one, it's at a third read. It's an ordinance appropriating $10,200 to cover the cost associated with the city's participation in the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission 2026 Local Government Internship Program, and that is money that we will be reimbursed. Also, item number three, and it's at a third read. It's an ordinance accepting and adopting the updated Federal Transit Administration Title VI program for the city of transit system. And that concludes my report. Thank you.

Thank you. Parks and Rec Committee, Mr. Barnes.

Thank you, President Shoemaker. We have nothing on the agenda for this evening, but I did have a committee meeting earlier to talk about the consideration of available options for the Canada Goose Management in Yaktangy Park. So we're making headway on that. Other than that, the park renovations are going pretty good so far, so that's awesome. That concludes my report. Thank you.

Thank you. Safety Service Committee, Ms. Preston.

Thank you, President Shoemaker. Safety Services has three items on the agenda this evening. The first one is item number seven. It's an ordinance appropriating funds in the amount of $10,500 for the installation of GPS vehicle tracking systems and city vehicles assigned to the service department and parks and rec department. the next one is item number 10 it's a first reading of an ordinance to approve current replacement pages to the Chillicothe codified ordinances and the third one is item number 14 it's going to be an it's an ordinance amending section 4 of ordinance 20-26 that we did in regard to the position of chief community control officer that ordinance Chillicothe Municipal Court is paying 100% of that from their funding for the remainder of this year. And then next year, the city will replace the cost. That was mistyped in item number four of that. So we're just amending that. And then we did have a committee. I will also ask for the waiver of the three-read rule on that since that already passed. We had a committee meeting this evening on 26-044, and it was an ordinance to allocate the funding for that community control officer in the line item. So that was approved, and that will move on for legislation. And that is all I have this evening. Thank you.

Thank you. Utilities Committee, Mr. McKeever.

Thank you, President Shoemaker. Utilities has one item on the agenda for tonight, which is item number 12, the first read on an ordinance authorizing the relocation of $1,168,997.85 from various completed sewer fund projects to the sewer cash account. Also, we had a utilities meeting on June 3rd. regarding assignment 26034, which is an increase request for the bulk water rate fee. The committee members met and we voted to table this at this time until the water rate committee meets and has an opportunity to discuss it and be brought before them. That concludes my report.

Thank you. City Services Committee, Mr. McQuirk.

Thank you, President Shoemaker. I have three items on the agenda tonight. Item number four, an ordinance authorizing the appropriation of 2026 transit capital funds to transfer and reappropriation of said funds to transit reserve fund due to changes in ODOT reimbursement policy. Item number five, second reading, an ordinance authorizing the appropriating the $254,212.65 to Capital Reserve Fund for refuse and recycling in accordance with Ordinance 32-24 and 33-24. And then item number nine, first reading, an ordinance appropriating $15,000 for replacement of the fuel dispenser station at the Chocauti Transit and declare an emergency. And with that one, I'm going to ask to waive the three-read rule when the time is appropriate. We also had a committee meeting this evening for item number 26039, appropriation to purchase downtown solid waste containers. And 26040, amendment of ordinances relating to trash pickup. This time we felt we didn't have enough information to go forward with those two assignments, so we tabled them for now. And that's the end of my report. Thank you.

Thank you. Community Affairs Committee, Ms. Bennett's not here. And if there is no one that has any information to report, we'll move on to reports of officials. Is there anything to report from the mayor's office?

Yes, thanks, President Shoemaker, for the opportunity. Mayor asked that I come update City Council on some of the recent progress we've had in the park and around the city. So, again, thank you. It's been a busy season for road closures, as the community has probably noticed. We have successfully navigated the Feast of the Flowering Moon, the Gusmacker, and Worth, or Half Marathon last week. We have a couple more closures that I think would be pretty impactful coming up this week with the Southern Ohio Forest Rally. That's primarily in the park. There should be no exterior roads closed outside of Yachtangee Park. Just an interior road will be closed. And that is Thursday afternoon. Kenworth Parade is this Saturday, and that's a very large closure for several hours in the downtown area. I do not know the exact route, but it will be what they've normally done in the past, which is down Water Street, Mulberry, down 2nd, and... walnut something to that effect so looking forward to these two great events this week and appreciate the continued community patience we've seen because I know it's very been impactful with the bridge street and and all the other congestion along around town sticking with street closures Mill and Yachtangee has closed since our last meeting that was for roundabout construction southbound has been closed for several months but northbound is now closed totally and will remain closed throughout the summer and they are in schedule to have that completed by school However, weather can impact that, and no guarantees, but we are very hopeful that we can get that completed by school starting back up. That is the plan, and we are on pace for that now. Enderlin Circle, I can't remember if the mayor has updated city council on that or when that happened, but that is currently two-way. Last year, city council passed legislation to make that a two-way street, It is now two-way. It looks temporary because some of the ground is under repair. Some of the signage looks like construction signage, but it will be remaining two-way indefinitely thanks to the legislation last year. Inside Yachtangy Park, construction is definitely hitting a stride. I mean, there's dozens of workers down there every single day working on our major projects, which would be the armory, multi-use pavilion, and the amphitheater. I think the public can definitely go to the Christie's Municipal Parking Lot or anywhere else in the park and see some major improvements that are happening daily. So we're all on schedule there with construction set to end October 1st of this year. I also want to acknowledge a couple weeks ago, our city engineer, Dean Carroll, that was his last day, and just want to thank Mr. Carroll for his service to the city for several years. He had a couple different tenures here. His knowledge and expertise and his work ethic is unmatched. He'll be missed. He's off enjoying retirement. I talked with him a little bit last week, and And he's definitely looking for things to do, but he's enjoying himself. So very happy for Dean and his career and looking forward to getting someone else in that role very soon. The pool opened, I believe it was May 28th. We had hopes to open on the 27th, but weather that week was pretty spotty, as we can all remember. It has been open since then. It's been going very well. Very, very high attendance on these nice summer days, spring days, I guess, technically. And looking forward to, you know, next couple months of high attendance and safe community swimming. So that's all I had today. Thanks.

Thank you. Now we'll move to the auditor to see if there's any additional information from the auditor.

No, I just want to mention that part of this meeting We did have the tax hearing for the tax budget that will be on the agenda tonight and then on for the next two meetings So that will get three reads, but it has to be passed by July 15th We have some extra copies or if you want a copy you can stop by my office And if you have any questions, you can reach out to us on that We are currently in the middle of our audit. So it is extremely busy. But other than that We're just plugging away on different things. So That concludes my report.

Thank you. Next, we'll have the law director's office.

Well, not a lot of new things to report this month. We are continuing on and company are continuing to tackle various newer pieces of legislation, continuing to work, I believe, with the city on a group analyzing parking issues. So we continue involving ourselves with that from the prosecution side. We continue to have a healthy docket we have some appeals we'll be working on we will also i'm looking forward to this myself because i'll be the prosecutor on it it's judge washburn's Veterans Court's going to be starting up soon. And I'm looking forward to that. I think we've all worked on it. We're looking forward to hopefully helping out some of the veterans with some resources and things like that in the city. And that's about all we have this month. Thank you.

Thank you. We'll now move to audience participation. Any person wishing to address council must first provide his or her name and address. Comments shall be limited to five minutes, and I'll give you a warning when there is one minute remaining. If there is no audience participation, we'll move now to old business. And the one thing I do want to mention on old business is that, as you probably know, Council's been working on issues regarding the facilities both across the street and here For the administration for City Council. It is my plan to announce a Review meeting on June 22nd at 5 p.m. That'll be at 5 p.m before the 7 o'clock council meeting on June 22nd So I just wanted to announce that and I think there is an amendment also to the legislation I

Ms. Preston, do we want to amend that legislation now?

We don't need to change the agenda, but I didn't know if you just wanted to move to add that as an amendment. We can do it either way.

I can, yeah.

Well, if you feel comfortable with where it is, that's the way we'll leave it right now then. With that, we'll go ahead and move to the reading of ordinances and resolutions. I skipped petitions and correspondence, so we'll do that next.

Thank you, President Shoemaker. I have two items this evening. Both are liquor license related. The first is a transfer from Ambers Drive-Thru Ohio LLC to Ambers Drive-Thru LLC. And the second is, excuse me, it's a transfer from Gia LLC to 5D, from 5D Investments LLC to Gia LLC, 60 North Bridge Street. If there are no issues with these, I will get them signed and sent on.

Hearing none, we'll now move on next to new business. Is there any new business to come before council? Hearing no new business, we will now move to the reading of ordinances and resolutions.

Thank you, President Shoemaker. This evening we have 14 items on our agenda. Item number one is the third reading of an ordinance appropriating $10,200 to cover costs associated with the city's participation in the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission 2026 Local Government Internship Program. Clerk will call the roll. Payne?

Yes.

McCourt.

Yes.

Barnes.

Yes.

McKeever.

Yes.

Dement.

Yes.

Preston. Yes. Dunn.

Yes.

Creed.

Yes.

Ordinance is adopted. Next resolution.

Item number two is a third reading of a resolution authorizing the mayor to enter into a partnership agreement by and between the City of Chillicothe and the Ross County Commissioners for the application and administration of the PY2026 Community Housing Impact and Preservation Program if funded and declaring an emergency. Clerk will call the roll. Payne.

Yes.

McCourt.

Yes.

Barnes? Yes. McKeever? Yes. DeMint? Yes. Preston?

Yes.

Dunn? Yes.

Creed?

Yes.

Resolution is adopted. Next ordinance.

Item number three is the third reading of an ordinance accepting and adopting the updated Federal Transit Administration Title VI program for the Chillicothe Transit System. Clerk will call the roll. Payne? Yes. McCourt? Yes. Barnes? Yes. McKeever?

Yes. DeMint? Yes.

Preston?

Yes.

Dunn? Yes.

Creed?

Yes.

Ordinance is adopted. Next ordinance.

Item number four is the second reading of an ordinance authorizing the unappropriation of 2026 transit capital funds, the transfer and reappropriation of said funds to the transit reserve fund due to changes in ODOT reimbursement policy.

The ordinance will move to the next agenda. Next ordinance.

Item number five is the second reading of an ordinance authorizing and appropriating $254,212.65 to the Capital Reserve Fund for Refuse and Recycling in accordance with Ordinance 3224 and 3324. The ordinance will move to the next agenda, next ordinance. Item number six. Is the second reading of an ordinance adopting text amendments to certain provisions of the City of Chillicothe Unified Development Code pursuant to ordinance number 59-25?

The ordinance will move to the next agenda. Next ordinance.

Item number seven is the second reading of an ordinance appropriating funds in the amount of $10,500 for the installation of GPS vehicle tracking systems in city vehicles assigned to the Service Department and Parks and Recreation Department. ordinance will move to the next agenda next ordinance item number eight is the second reading of an ordinance authorizing the appropriation of funds from downtown redevelopment district fund number four in the amount of forty seven thousand seven hundred twenty eight dollars and forty four cents for the repayment of property taxes previously allocated for tax years 2022 to through 2024. ordinance will move to the next agenda next ordinance Item number nine is the first reading of an ordinance appropriating $15,000 for the replacement of the fuel dispenser station at Chillicothe Transit and declaring an emergency.

President Shoemaker.

Mr. McQuirt.

I'd like to waive the three-read rule on this one.

Is there a second to that motion? Second by Ms. Dunn. The clerk will call the roll relative to the waiver of the three-read rule.

Payne? Yes. McCourt? Yes. Barnes? Yes. McIver? Yes. Dement? Yes. Preston? Yes. Dunn? Yes. Creed?

Yes.

The three-read rule is waived. The clerk will now call the roll relative to the ordinance.

Payne? Yes. McQuirt? Yes. Barnes? Yes. McKeever?

Yes.

Dement?

Yes.

Preston?

Yes.

Dunn? Yes. Creed?

Yes.

Ordinance is adopted. Next ordinance.

Item number 10 is the first reading of an ordinance to approve current replacement pages to the Chillicothe Codified Ordinances.

Ordinance will move to the next agenda, next resolution.

Item number 11 is the first reading of a resolution adopting the tax budget for the city of Chillicothe, Ohio, for the calendar year beginning January 1, 2027, and submitting the same to the county auditor.

Resolution will move to the next agenda. Next ordinance.

Item number 12 is the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the reallocation of $1,168,997.85 from various completed sewer fund projects to the sewer cash account.

Ordinance will move to the next agenda, the next ordinance.

Item number 13 is the first reading of an ordinance appropriating $31,750 for the completed upgrades on traffic signals at Paint and 5th Street and Bridge Street and Cine Road.

Ordinance will move to the next agenda. Next ordinance.

Item number 14 is the first reading of an ordinance amending section four of ordinance 20-26 relating to the position of chief community control officer for the Chillicothe Municipal Court Probation Department and declaring an emergency.

President Shoemaker. Ms. Preston. I'd like to make a motion at this time to waive the three read rule.

Second by Mr. Creed. And the clerk will call the roll relative to the waiver of the three read rule.

Payne. Yes. McCourt.

Yes.

Barnes.

Yes.

McKeever.

Yes.

Dement.

Yes.

Preston.

Yes.

Dunn. Yes.

Creed.

Yes.

The three read rule is waived. The clerk will now call the rule relative to the ordinance. Payne.

Yes. McCourt.

Yes.

Barnes. Yes. McKeever. Yes. Dement.

Yes.

Preston. Yes. Dunn. Yes. Creed. Yes.

Yes.

Ordinance is adopted. If there is no other business, come before council. Is there a motion to adjourn? Motion by Mr. McQuirt, second by Mr. Barnes. And the clerk will call the roll.

Payne? Yes. McQuirt?

Yes.

Barnes?

Yes.

McKeever? Yes. Dement?

Yes.

Preston?

Yes.

Dunn? Yes. Creed?

Yes.

We are adjourned. Thank you very much.