NELSONVILLE, Ohio — Nelsonville City Council is unlikely to resolve key questions about its transition from a charter to mayoral form of government in time to put issues before voters during the May primary, the city’s attorney warned at a Jan. 13 council meeting.
The city also will likely incur hefty expenses to hold a special election, City Law Director Jonathon Robe told the council.
The city has made slow progress on questions associated with the transition, because it has struggled to fill an advisory commission tasked with implementing the transition. The transition was prompted by Issue 23, the ballot issue Nelsonville voters passed by a wide margin in 2024 to abolish the city’s charter, returning the city to a form of government determined by state statute.
The relatively brief meeting on Monday began with an hour-long executive session to discuss personnel and legal matters. When the council returned to open session, Robe provided an update on the advisory commission.
“My understanding is there have only been five applicants who have submitted letters of interest … which is lower than the number of seats that Council had established on the commission,” Robe said. “It would seem difficult right now, the way the law is written, to get that commission up and running.”
The deadline to submit letters of interest about serving on the commission was originally Monday, Jan. 13, but was extended to the next meeting on Jan. 27. Since Monday’s meeting, one more person has submitted a letter of interest to join the advisory commission, Robe said.
Council is running up against a Feb. 5 deadline to submit any issues regarding the government’s transition for the May 6 primary election.
“What happens if we don’t hit the six people we need?” council member Nancy Sonick asked.
Robe said that the city would have to hold a special election that could cost up to $250,000 — in addition to litigation fees from the city’s appeal of Issue 23 that was filed with the Ohio Supreme Court appeal on Dec. 16.
“Even if the commission started its work tomorrow, that would be an incredibly compressed timeline,” Robe said.
Nelsonville residents who want to apply to the advisory panel can send a letter of interest to City Council Clerk Susan Harmony at councilclerk@cityofnelsonville.com.
Council member Cory Taylor introduced an ordinance for the Nelsonville Police Department to receive National Crime Information Center entries from the Hocking College Police Department before the college dissolves the department at a Board of Trustees meeting on Feb. 25.
NPD’s Chief Devon Tolliver shared the department’s end-of-year report. In 2024, NPD:
- Responded to 4,342 calls
- Conducted 837 traffic stops
- Issued 367 traffic citations
- Issued 83 parking citations
- Investigated 93 traffic crashes
- Made 299 criminal arrests
- Made 158 warrant arrests
In other business Jan. 13, council approved an increase in sewer rates by 4% and introduced an ordinance to approve phase two of the Nelsonville Water Systems project.
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 Jan. 27, 2025, at 7 p.m. Meetings are livestreamed on YouTube. Find more at cityofnelsonville.com.
