NELSONVILLE, Ohio — During its Monday meeting, Nelsonville City Council passed ordinances and heard regular updates from city officials, while a slew of questions about the future of the city’s government remain unanswered.
During the Nov. 10 meeting, City Law Director Jonathan Robe hoped to quell some of the confusion with a drawing depicting the “various scenarios” of what the council may look like in the coming months.
The first scenario revolves around the long-discussed “December problem,” a term coined by Ad-Hoc Advisory Commission Chair Reid Courtney to describe the one-month lapse between the end of charter-based council members’ terms in December and the beginning of statutory-based terms for members in January 2026.
Current council members Nic Joseph-Saul, Cameron Peck, Cory Taylor, and McCray Powell all ran for the one-month terms, which effectively solved the problem.
The terms for council President Gregg Clement and members Opha Lawson and Jonathan Flowers expire Nov. 30. Clerk of Council Susan Harmony has also announced she will be resigning that day, too.
The four council members will have to elect a new council president and vice president Dec. 1 and the new president can fill the vacancies through appointments. The council can decide to approve the appointments through a vote.
Jan. 1, 2026 is when things get tricky.
In August, the council repealed Issue 23, an initiative passed by voters that abolished the Nelsonville City Charter and returned the city to statutory-based government.
Unless the council revokes the repeal or a court rules against the repeal, the form of the government the city will be at the start of the year now remains uncertain.
In the most recent general election, Nelsonville residents voted for statutory-based candidates, which included a mayor and seven council members.
The seven council members are incumbents Joseph-Saul and McCray Powell, along with Lynn Bishop, Wesley Henderson, Glenn Smith, Sue Powell and Jessica Hollenbaugh. Former city council member Dan Sherman was elected uncontested to the non-voting position of council president, starting Jan. 1, 2026.
During a special council meeting Nov. 5, the council instructed Robe to take legal action against the Athens County Board of elections and Ohio Secretary of State to halt the certification of those statutory-based candidates.
“What’s important here to realize is because McCray Powell and Nic Joseph-Saul were elected under both forms of government, they’re the only two that we know for sure will be on council on Jan. 1, [2026], unless either one resigns,” Robe said during the meeting.
As for the other five council seats, Robe told the Independent. “It remains an open question.”
Prior to the election, the council had attempted to remove the certified candidates off the ballot by taking legal action in the Ohio Supreme Court.
However, the court found Sept. 17 that candidates who had submitted valid petitions must remain on the ballot because their petitions had been legally certified.
The city also sought reconsideration in the case, which the court subsequently declined.
Both Robe and City Auditor Nicholas Smith will be leaving their positions Dec. 31.
City updates
The council heard monthly reports from Code Officer Jason Kelley and Nelsonville Police Chief Devon Tolliver.
Kelley reported that from the last 30 days the code office issued 28 notices of code violations and issued 31 permits. The revenue generated from the permits was just over $1,300.
Tolliver reported the department responded to 320 calls for service, conducted 118 traffic stops, 40 of which ended in citations, and made 30 arrests. Tolliver also said some officers have been participating in training courses, with one officer taking a six-week course to become the handler for K-9 Alex.
The council also heard from Auditor Nicholas Smith who gave his report for the month of September.
The report noted that the city’s revenues outpaced its expenses by nearly $300,000, which Nicholas Smith attributed to property taxes.
Five of the six city funds remain “stable and healthy” with the general fund around $270,000 away from being healthy, according to the report.
Nichoals Smith also reported that the 2026 budget is close to being completed and that he has been researching ways the auditor’s office can improve its cyber security.
The auditor also addressed recent inquiries on the city’s legal costs.
Not including payments to Robe, outside legal expenses from Jan. 1 to Oct. 31 were around $118,000, according to Nicholas Smith and three expense reports.
The council also passed an ordinance on emergency measures to appropriate funds for some of the legal costs.
About $3,600 was appropriated for payment to Robe Law Office and about $6,000 was appropriated for payment to attorney Jesse Shamp. Close to $49,300 was appropriated for payment to Reminger Co.
The council also passed a different ordinance on emergency measures to sell city-owned property at 126 Jefferson St. to the highest bid of just over $5,000.
In other business, the council passed five ordinances on second reading that:
- Allows Holmes to make the rules and regulations for the city’s public utilities known to the public.
- Authorizes the city to apply, accept and enter into an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency loan account for the design of phase four of the city’s water system improvement project.
- Appropriates just over $34,500 to purchase a brush chipper.
- Allows Holmes to allocate funds for new playground equipment and the renovation of Nelson Commons Park.
- Approves a memorandum of understanding modifying the collective bargaining agreement between the city and the Fraternal Order of Police Ohio Labor Council to hire a new K-9 officer.
The council also heard two ordinances on first reading that would:
- Change the city’s municipal income tax split Jan. 1, 2026, and repeal Ordinance 19-21. The split would be 92% to the general fund; 2% to the parks and recreation fund and 6% to the capital improvements fund.
- Make appropriations of the current yearly budget and expenditures for 2026, as required under Ordinance 54-25.
The council also adopted a resolution that allows Holmes to negotiate with the Rumpke Athens-Hocking Reclamation Center to treat leachate at the Nelsonville Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Nelsonville City Council meets every other Monday of each month, at Nelsonville City Council Chambers, 211 Lake Hope Drive. Its next regular meeting will be Monday, Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. Meetings are live streamed on YouTube. Find more at cityofnelsonville.com.
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