Timeline of Nelsonville turmoil

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NELSONVILLE, Ohio — From the police chief’s resignation last year to council member resignation after resignation, since late 2022 the city of Nelsonville’s government and administration has undergone what seems to be endless turnover. 

Beginning with the resignation of former police chief Scott Fitch in November 2022, these timelines look at the changes in Nelsonville City Council, government and the Nelsonville Police Department over the past nine months. 

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The turnover in city government accelerated when Scott Frank resigned as city manager amid a restitution agreement with the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office. The first wave of council resignations followed.

Click the dates in the timeline to read our coverage, and links in description to find information from other sources.

City council

Since January, eight council members have resigned from (and some rejoined) the seven-member body: Justin Booth and Cory W. Taylor in January; Doug Childs in February; Nick Smith, Tony Dunfee and Gregg Clement in March, Neil Sommers in March and April, and Glennda Tingle on July 10.

Clement and Dunfee ultimately rescinded their resignations; Booth and Taylor rejoined in May and June, respectively, by council appointment. 

Six council seats are up for election this year; three are 4-year (full) terms, and three are unexpired 2-year terms. Those appointed must run to retain the seats, according to the Athens County Board of Elections. Clement’s is the only council seat not up for election this year.

The election is on Nov. 7; the deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 7 election is Oct. 10 and the deadline to file to run is Aug. 9 at 4 p.m.

The city is accepting letters of interest for the open council seat until July 24. To apply, submit letters of interest to tdunfee@cityofnelsonville.com or councilclerk@cityofnelsonville.com.

Administration

The city has gone through five managers in seven months: Scott Frank, K.J. Tracy, Devon Tolliver, Tracy Galway and Bernie Roell. Tolliver is currently interim city manager and police chief, for the second time this year. 

The city is currently interviewing candidates for the city manager position to replace Roell, who resigned in May. The city has yet to replace former police chief Fitch, who is now Meigs County Sheriff. 

Fitch apparently led the way, as Tracy, the department’s sole police K-9 Atilla and his handler have since followed him to Meigs County. Former NPD Officer Benjamin Adams also left for the Meigs County Sheriff’s Office. Adams and Fitch have both faced multiple allegations of racist conduct.

According to interim police chief and city manager Devon Tolliver, there is no established process for hiring a police chief. 

“Our charter states [the] city manager must create a committee of two local chiefs of Police and one other member,” Tolliver said in an email. “Other than that there is no set criteria or testing material. They can set their own requirements and judge based on those.”

The next regular council meeting is Monday, July 24 at 7 p.m. at Nelsonville City Hall, 211 Lake Hope Dr.