NELSONVILLE, Ohio — Monday night’s meeting of Nelsonville City Council was quieter and more productive than its recent sessions, with seven members attending to business.
That’s a change from the last few meetings. Someone anticipated potential problems: Three to four Nelsonville police officers hovered over the clerk during the meeting, and the seating arrangements were different.
Unlike at the last council meeting, when too many people claimed membership on the council for the body to function, two members-in-question did not sit on the body.
Around 10 minutes before the meeting, Nelsonville Police Department Officer Matt Greeno advised council-appointee Sue Powell to sit in the audience rather than at the council table. Powell obliged, though not without a little verbal contest. Rita Nguyen, whose membership and presidency are under debate, did not attend the meeting.
Both Tony Dunfee and Opha Lawson, both of whose positions on council were contested, sat as council members. Dunfee was appointed by a 3-2 vote to fill the seat vacated by Greg Smith; Lawson was appointed by acting council president Gregg Clement to replace Nguyen, who resigned Feb. 17 and attempted to rescind her resignation the next day.
Legal opinion
The meeting opened with a legal opinion, from city Law Director Jonathan Robe, on questions about Dunfee’s place on the council and Nguyen’s presidency. The opinion not only serves as the city’s legal position, but also allows Robe to “to initiate any appropriate legal action to seek judicial vindication of the city’s position, if such is necessary,” he said — meaning he is allowed to bring questions before a court for answers.
The first issue addressed in the opinion is the vacancy created when Greg Smith resigned from city council at the body’s Feb. 12 meeting. At the next regular meeting, on March 11, the five council members in attendance voted 3-2 to appoint Dunfee to the vacant seat. Nancy Sonick was absent.
However, on March 14, Nguyen individually appointed Sue Powell to fill the seat, after then-Law Director Matthew Voltolini issued an opinion that Dunfee’s appointment was invalid.
In his legal opinion, Robe notes that neither Dunfee or Powell had submitted paperwork to be paid as members of council.
Under the city charter, vacancy appointments are filled “by a majority vote of Council.” However, the charter does not define that phrase and it “variously uses all sorts of phrases throughout when referring to particular votes or actions by Council,” Robe wrote. Disagreement about Dunfee’s appointment hinges on whether “a majority” refers to those present at a given meeting or the council as a whole.
Under both state law and council practice, Robe advised, a “majority vote of Council” refers to “more than half of the Members of Council present when a motion to fill a vacancy is voted on.”
The second question revolves around Nguyen’s resignation. On Feb. 17, Nguyen sent an email to council with the subject line “Resignation,” in which she wrote “I hereby tender my resignation as council president and as council member altogether. … I will not be attending any other meetings. I am done!!!”
At a March 13 special meeting, four members of council — Clement, Booth, Dunfee and Taylor — elected Clement as president.
Then-Law Director Voltolini argued that the meeting did not have a quorum (although the city charter states that four members constitute a quorum). Clement subsequently appointed Lawson to fill Nguyen’s seat.
Robe’s opinion explains that since neither the city charter nor its code of ordinances address vacancies in the council presidency, the city must follow state law — which establishes that a resignation that does not give a specific date of effectiveness is effective immediately and that resignations that are effective immediately cannot be rescinded.
Thus, Robe concluded, Nguyen’s Feb. 17 resignation email was effective immediately, creating vacancies in the presidency and on the council. Therefore, the council acted properly in selecting Clement as president and Clement had the right to appoint Lawson, according to Robe.
Nguyen said in an interview Wednesday that she missed Monday night’s meeting due to travel delays. She is currently weighing her options and catching up on what she missed.
“I spent the day talking to folks, and just trying to figure out what our next steps are,” Nguyen said. She plans to pursue legal recourse, though acknowledged that results may take time.
“My plan is to fight it and do everything I can to keep my promise that I made to the people in town, and that was that I would do everything in my power to make this place better for everyone,” Nguyen said.
Nguyen hopes that the situation catches eyes in Columbus.
“I just honestly wish that someone in the state would step in and put a stop to this,” Nguyen said. “But in the past, we have tried to get the [Ohio Ethics Commission] involved and they did not. I know other folks had tried to contact other folks higher up in the government, and for whatever reason, they were not willing to step in and help.”
The council has been doing “whatever they want,” Nguyen said. “They can do what they just did, and there’s no consequences to it.”
City law director
Robe’s own position with the city has been contentious. The city hired him in December 2023 but fired him in January. At its Feb. 15 meeting, council passed an ordinance removing Robe as city attorney and appointing Matthew Voltolini as “special counsel.”
At the March 13 special meeting, council fired Voltolini and rehired Robe. Robe and Voltolini both participated in council’s last meeting, on March 25.
At Monday’s meeting, council voted unanimously to hire Robe as part-time law director from April 1 to Dec. 31. It also voted 6–1 to pay Voltolini for his services, effectively ending his contract with the city. Council member Johnny Flowers cast the lone no vote.
However, Voltolini had already been paid: Earlier on Monday, a Nelsonville police officer hand-delivered a check to Voltolini in Circleville. City Auditor Taylor Sappington said Monday night that Voltolini had been paid $10,294.
When Powell, a former city auditor, questioned the action, Robe said that a “complete answer … would have to be in an executive session” because it involved privileged information.
The council did enter executive session, citing “legal settlements against the city.” Voltolini asked to be included, but Robe advised against it. Flowers voted against the executive session and did not participate.
“They bought me out,” Voltolini told the Independent Wednesday. “Those who are in charge could not do what they wanted to do with me still there, so that’s why they did that. Clearly, they did not want me sitting in that meeting that night.”
Voltolini said he has no lingering personal or professional issues with the city, but, he said, “Does the city have real, super bad problems and governance? Oh, yes they do. That is not my problem anymore. … But it’s not over either. It’s gonna keep going.”
In other business
On an emergency basis, council unanimously passed an ordinance to maintain its current trash services with Athens-Hocking Recycling Centers, Inc. Monthly trash rates will rise on May 8 by about 4%, from $13.07 (set in 2022) to $13.59 per customer for each curbside refuse container with up to seven bags at a given residence. Recycling is $2 per container, and $5 fees will go toward excess or special curbside pickup items.
City Manager Tom Cangemi participates in organizational talks to join the Southeast Ohio Area Resources council of governments, which would absorb AHRC’s assets and operations. The agency’s finances were thrown into chaos in late 2023 when the city of Athens dropped AHRC in favor of Rumpke Waste & Recycling.
In January, Nelsonville council passed an ordinance that authorized the city manager to begin the bidding process and establish a franchise for trash services, as the trash contract expired March 1.
The council also saw on first reading an ordinance to authorize the use of ATVs on city streets, and to abolish ordinance 28-22. The city unanimously passed ordinances by emergency to set staffing and fees for the 2024 Nelsonville City Water Park season.
NPD Chief Tolliver gave the March monthly report. In March, the NPD:
- Received 381 calls for service.
- Conducted 37 traffic stops.
- Issued 19 traffic citations.
- Issued nine parking citations.
- Investigated eight crashes.
- Made 24 criminal arrests.
- Made 11 warrant arrests.
In his report, Sappington addressed his impending transition to serve as Athens County treasurer, beginning Sept. 1, 2025. He is currently in his ninth year at Nelsonville City Hall.
“That means there’s some change that’s going to have to happen here, but I want to prepare folks,” Sappington said. “For example, if the current incumbent were to step down, and an appointment were to be made — that’s not currently something being discussed, but I think it would be helpful for the city to be prepared with candidates, people who are interested, people with experience and people who qualify for the position long before September 2025.”
Sappington encouraged interested candidates to contact him or his office.
Council also approved Cangemi’s appointments of former councilmen Nick Smith and Neil Sommers to the Nelsonville Planning Commission, and Casey Cox to the city’s Board of Parks and Recreation.
Nelsonville City Council meets every other Monday of each month. Its next regular meeting will be Monday, April 22 at 7 p.m. in Nelsonville City Council Chambers, 211 Lake Hope Drive. Meetings are also livestreamed on YouTube. Learn more at cityofnelsonville.com.
Disclosure: Robe completed and filed incorporation papers for Southeast Ohio Independent News, the nonprofit that publishes the Athens County Independent. He also has provided the Independent with legal advice.
Update: On Wednesday evening, the plaintiffs filed a motion to disqualify Robe from representing the city of Nelsonville. In the motion, the plaintiffs argue that Robe should be disqualified because did not get consent from the council to represent the city; that the council never appointed Robe; and that Robe may be a potential witness.
The motion cites the council’s March 13 meeting where Clement, Booth, Dunfee and Taylor voted to fire Mathew Voltolini and rehire Robe. However, at a council meeting on April 8, Booth, Clement, Dunfee, Flowers, Lawson and Taylor unanimously voted to hire Robe as part-time law director until Dec. 31.
