NELSONVILLE, Ohio — On Monday, Jan. 19, the statutory Nelsonville City Council met briefly in The Lodge at Hocking College for its second meeting this year.
The meeting opened with the appointment of Jessica Hollenbaugh as vice president of the council, followed by approval of minutes from the previous meeting. Council members then motioned to enter an executive session to discuss legal matters involving public body disputes.
Nelsonville continues to tread uncharted waters. Currently, the city has two groups vying for control of government. One group meets at city hall and is known as the ‘charter’ council; the other group, the ‘statutory’ council, meets at Hocking College.
The statutory group consists of council members Council President Dan Sherman (non-voting position), Vice President Hollenbaugh, Lynn Bishop, Wesley Henderson, Sue Powell and Glenn Smith.
The statutory council also has a mayor, former council member Jonathan Flowers.
The board of elections certified the statutory candidates’ petitions after they ran in the November 2025 election. The charter council’s elections were also certified, though the terms were only for the month of December 2025. They maintain their seats, however, citing the repeal of Issue 23.
The charter council maintains that because Nelsonville City Council in August 2025 repealed Issue 23, which set out to abolish the city charter and return the city to a statutory form of government starting Jan. 1, 2026, that there are no offices for the statutory candidates to hold. By the time the council repealed Issue 23, elections based upon the ballot initiative’s passage were already underway. The statutory council holds that it repealed the repeal of Issue 23, as it did at its first meeting earlier this month, however.
A court case in the Athens County Court of Common Pleas filed by charter council members in December 2025 sought to prevent statutory candidates from taking office ended in a dismissal from Judge Patrick Lang.
Before the executive session began, former city manager Bernie Roell raised concerns to the council about the pace of its meetings and whether current scheduling would allow city issues to be addressed in a timely manner.
“So, will there be any kind of emergency meetings like the other council’s?” Roell said.
“I can’t tell you, we don’t know,” Council President Dan Sherman said before the executive session.
“My point that I was saying is, meeting every two weeks doesn’t really expedite the process here,” Roell said. “Why aren’t we meeting more quickly, you know?”
Roell also questioned whether the statutory council planned to organize committees to address city operations and planning.
“I guess it’ll depend on what comes out of the executive session,” Roell said. “I don’t know if they’re going to start forming committees.”
The council took no action after the executive session.
“It’s the court’s ruling that we’re looking for,” Roll said, “Basically, everybody’s been kind of passing the buck.”
Greg Smith also raised concerns about the legality of city actions taken without an auditor or attorney in place.
During discussion, it was noted that the other city council that meets at city hall hired Nick Smith as a one-day auditor to handle payroll, though broader auditing responsibilities remain unresolved.
The statutory council’s next meeting is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 2 at The Lodge at Hocking College, 15770 SR 691, Nelsonville. The charter council will meet again next Monday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. at Nelsonville City Hall, 211 Lake Hope Drive, Nelsonville.
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