NELSONVILLE, Ohio — With one legal settlement tabled, another upcoming, and a law director fired but en route to rehire, Nelsonville City Council continues to hold contentious meetings amid a clear split within the body.
Greg Smith settlement
At the council’s Monday, Jan. 22 meeting, Greg Smith resigned as city council president. Rita Nguyen is now council president, with Nancy Sonick as vice president.
Records obtained by the Athens County Independent show that the city settled with Smith for $70,000 in a lawsuit he filed against the city in 2021 regarding his previous removal from council. The removal centered on questions about his residency.
“We have resolved our differences,” Smith’s attorney Daniel Klos said.
Smith told the Independent Monday night that he plans to resign from council soon — once and for all — due to his health.
Tabled items
At a special meeting Monday night, the council met to move on two ordinances on second reading and three on first reading.
However, some of those items ended up tabled, indefinitely — including another settlement.
Council unanimously voted to table an emergency ordinance on first reading that was to accept Garry Hunter’s counteroffer to settle all of his legal claims against the city of Nelsonville for $148,455. The body also tabled a resolution “reprimanding the Nelsonville City Manager for dishonesty with Nelsonville City Council.”
Council also saw another ordinance on first reading to establish a process for acquiring permission for any city purchase over $10,000. Council member Cory Taylor motioned to table it pending legal review, which failed 3-3 (Sonick voting alongside Clement and Taylor). It will reappear on first reading at the next regular meeting.
The council tabled multiple resolutions on Monday in part because the city currently lacks a law director.
Law director woes
On first reading Monday, the council saw Ordinance 10-24, an ordinance to codify a voice vote held at Jan. 22’s meeting to remove Johnathan Robe as Nelsonville City Attorney. Smith said he wrote the ordinance. The city hired Robe on a temporary basis in December 2023.
“Mr. Robe did not disclose to council that he had a conflict of interest with representing a member of council, now he couldn’t say the name,” Smith said. “When we was hiring him, Mr. Robe didn’t stand up and say, ‘I have a conflict.’”
Smith accused Robe of being Taylor’s personal attorney; Taylor said, instead, Robe represented a “seller” in a deal between Taylor and another party. Robe confirmed that he has never represented Taylor personally, and has represented a seller, in which case had “opposing interest” to Taylor’s.
The city manager can hire a law director every 30 days at his own discretion, City Manager Tom Cangemi said; according to the Nelsonville City Charter, the law director appointment is subject to a majority approval of council. The lack of an attorney presents a major liability to the city in its day-to-day operations, including legislation, he added.
At a Parks & Recreation Committee meeting Tuesday morning, Taylor brought forth discussing Robe as city attorney.
“I just want to keep in mind what litigation we have going on right now,” Cangemi said, adding that Robe has sent a contract to the city that it hasn’t signed. Taylor proposed bringing forth legislation to rehire Robe as soon as possible.
Emergency dispatching switch
The Parks & Recreation Committee also discussed the city’s move to contract with Athens County 911 for dispatching, instead of Hocking College. Cangemi said there is no contract with the college, rather the city has paid up for services in advance.
“A lot of the issues we’re having are just due to the lack of training experience all the dispatchers have,” Nelsonville Police Chief Devon Tolliver said of Hocking’s 911 dispatch. “I think a lot of it has to do with, they’re not necessarily trained to gather all the appropriate information that they use prior to dispatching an officer off to a call.”
Other council business
On Monday, Council passed 4-2 Ordinance 03-24, declaring city vehicles are for on duty business use only and requiring those vehicles to be parked on city property when not in use, with Clement and Taylor voting no.
Council also passed 5-1 Ordinance 04-24, which raised Nelsonville Fire Chief Harry Barber’s annual salary to $79,000.00, with Taylor voting no.
Nguyen shared committee appointments Monday night:
- Police & Fire Committee: Flowers, chair; Sonick and Nguyen.
- Utility Committee: Sonick, chair; Nguyen and Smith.
- Finance Committee: Smith, chair; Nguyen and Sonick.
- Judiciary Committee: Nguyen, chair; Smith and Flowers.
- Parks & Recreation Committee: Taylor, chair; Clement and Booth.
- Planning & Development Committee: Clement, chair; Booth and Taylor.
- Streets Committee: Booth, chair; Clement and Taylor.
Council called another special meeting for Tuesday night, but was canceled due to lack of quorum. Members Clement and Taylor were present.
Nelsonville City Council meets every other Monday of each month. Its next regular meeting will be Monday, Feb. 12 at 7 p.m. in Nelsonville City Council Chambers, 211 Lake Hope Drive. Meetings are also livestreamed on YouTube. Find more at cityofnelsonville.com.
Clarification added regarding law director appointment/hiring process.
