CHAUNCEY, Ohio — At its Jan. 15 meeting, the first of 2026, Chauncey Village Council introduced a new mayor, as well as several new council members.
Frank Campbell will serve as mayor of Chauncey until the end of his term on Dec. 21, 2027, succeeding mayor pro tempore Tammy Hawk.
Joining the village council are members Amanda Moore, Joe Jenne and Natasha Taylor. Standing councilmember Karla Dellinger was also elected as council president during the meeting.
Campbell, who was elected in November 2025, made multiple suggestions for changes at his first village council meeting. First of those was to establish the Pledge of Allegiance as “the first thing we [council] do.”
The pledge was already a part of Chauncey council rules, according to councilmember Connaught Cullen. Cullen said at the meeting that the pledge could not come before the call to order, “because if there’s no quorum, there’s no meeting.”
Campbell later told the Independent the pledge was important for “the men and women that serve this country. As a young man, my brother in law served in the Army, and that pledge is for him.”
Campbell also proposed that the mayor have veto power over council decisions.
“I think it’s fair because the mayor has no vote,” Campbell said, “It would be a good thing for the mayor to have in situations where it needs a little more work before it’s passed. That would give us the ability to send it back, us align on the information, and move forward so that we’re all together.”
Jonathan Robe, Chauncey solicitor, informed the council that such a change would have to be approved by a popular vote. Robe said the earliest the issue could appear on the ballot would be 2027, and, if passed, the veto power would take until 2030 to come into effect.
The proposal on veto power was dropped for the time being, although council agreed to revisit the topic in March.
“I would be okay with revisiting because my main thing is, I would like for us all to do a little collaboration on it and put some parameters around when it could be used, because I don’t think it should be whenever I want to use it,” Campbell said.
Campbell said he has learned about village governance since starting as mayor.
“I really want to thank everybody that’s surrounded me for the last 15 days,” Campbell said in his initial mayoral report. “I’ve learned more in the last 15 days about our local government than I ever thought I would know about it, and the people that we have working in our village are absolutely amazing.”
Campbell’s priorities
In an interview with the Independent, Campbell identified several priorities for his time as mayor, including property rights that he argues may have been infringed upon by zoning laws.
“I feel like it [current zoning laws] is very hard on people with lower incomes, and I think it’s set up in a way that’s not fair to them. So, I am looking to address some issues within that, and property rights that I feel that were invaded with that,” Campbell said. “I want to be less invasive on individual property rights.”
“Our zoning was set up kind of like an HOA [homeowner’s association], down to where I’m allowed to park my camper, what kind of fence I can use to hold my cattle, just stuff that I don’t feel is necessary,” Campbell said.
Campbell also wants to invest in Chauncey’s outdoor recreational activities.
“Outdoor rec seems to be our biggest thing right now,” Campbell told the Independent. “I’m hoping to pursue possibly a dog park grant, and I already put out a grant to build a sled riding hill with a fire pit. I would also like to eventually have a community garden and see how that takes off.”
“My biggest thing is that I want to build a really good community base where people know each other again,” Campbell said. “I think the outdoor stuff is something that everybody enjoys.”
Other business
New council members also shared their excitement about beginning their terms at the meeting.
Jenne said that he “looked forward to working with everybody” on council. Taylor said that she was “excited for this year,” but did not have any further comment at the time. Moore did not give a report during the meeting.
In his comments, Jenne raised concerns about the amount of space in the village hall parking lot that is allotted to fire department members.
During his report at the council meeting, Kevin Simons, Chauncey’s fiscal officer, said the village had applied for a $700,000, last-minute grant opportunity to support the village’s phase two sewer project.
Specifically, the grant would support the village’s contract with DLZ, the construction company installing a new sewer system in the village. The village would be required to match grant funding, Simons said. He added that for the first phase of the sewer restoration project, DLZ “ended up finding the grant to cover all the match money” for the village’s grant.
Simons also spoke about the village’s efforts to comply with Ohio House Bill 96. Simons said the village’s insurance company already covers their yearly cyber security, and that he reached out to them in order to “make sure it’s in compliance” with the new law.
HB House Bill 96 requires political subdivisions such as Chauncey to establish cyber security programs that can “identify cyber security risks,” “detect potential threats,” and “contain cybersecurity incidents,” according to bill language.
Plan drawings for a new Chauncey welcome center were also shared with the council by DLZ civil engineer and Chauncey grantwriter Bobby Fuller. Fuller said that the plans are ready to submit to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency in order to obtain the necessary permits to install sewer and water lines.
“We should be ready to apply for the building permit, and the goal is to have it constructed by the end of the year,” Fuller said.
The council tabled further discussion on the welcome center until February’s meeting, due to a lack of a written agreement between Chauncey and the Outdoor Recreation Council of Appalachia about who would own the building. The property where the building will be located is currently owned by the village. Per village administration Chris Russell, the intent is that the Outdoor Recreational Council of Appalachia will own the building upon construction. Should the recreation council cease to have the needed funding to maintain the building, Russell said he wants the building to revert to ownership by the village.
Chauncey Village Council meets at 5:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month at the Quaker Meeting Space at 22 Birge Drive, Chauncey. The next meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 19.
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