Columbus City Council Meeting - July 14, 2026: Approval of Minutes and Swearing-In of Six Firefighters
Columbus City Council Meeting - July 14, 2026
The meeting began with the approval of the June 30, 2026 meeting minutes, followed by the ceremonial swearing-in of six new firefighters to the Columbus Fire Department (CFD).
Consent Calendar
- Approval of the June 30, 2026 meeting minutes was moved and seconded. All members voted aye; motion carried unanimously.
Discussion Items
- Swearing-In of New Firefighters: Mayor and CFD Chief Andy Lay welcomed six new firefighters. Chief Lay noted that the selection process started on January 1, 2025, and emphasized the life-changing nature of the career. Firefighters were called up individually with brief bios provided. The following five were fully introduced:
- Benjamin Bonague (age 25, Greenburgh, IN; Purdue University graduate; previously with Richmond Fire Department; holds Fire I, Fire II, HazMat certifications).
- Cody Duman (age 29, Columbus resident; Columbus North High School graduate; served with Columbus Township Fire & Rescue and Clifford Volunteer Fire Department; holds numerous certifications including EMT, rope rescue, vehicle extrication, swift water rescue, driver operator, fire officer, incident safety officer, and ICS 300).
- Cody Goodwin (no further details provided in the transcript).
- Benjamin Peak (age 30, Seymour, IN; serves with Hamilton Township Volunteer Fire Department and a Jackson County volunteer department; certified EMT, Fire I & II, driver operator, HazMat).
- Enrique Osmar Calias Santos (one additional firefighter listed at the end; the transcript cuts off before his full bio is given).
- The swearing-in ceremony included photo opportunities. The sixth firefighter's name and details were not fully captured in the transcript.
Key Outcomes
- The June 30, 2026 meeting minutes were approved unanimously.
- Six firefighters were officially sworn into the Columbus Fire Department, continuing the annual tradition of welcoming new personnel to the department.
Meeting Transcript
Service. First up, we have approval of the June 30th, 2026 meeting minutes. I'll move to approve. I'll second. So we have a motion and a second. All in favor, please signify by saying aye. Aye. Opposed, same sign. Motion carries. All right. Now we come to the fun part. Um one of the best things that we get to do every year is swear in new firefighters or police officers. Um to the best uh fire department in the state of Indiana. Hope you know that. Um, and we are thrilled to have Chief Andy Lay here. Um get us started. Where's Andy Oak? Welcome everybody. Good morning. Uh today is a very special day for us, like the mayor said. We have uh six random firefighters coming into the CFC family. Uh they've been very patient. A long process. We started on January 1st of last year, and uh getting to this moment. So uh life-changing career, best job in the world, and we're so fortunate to have the best come to the city of Columbus. So I'm gonna call them up one by one, they're gonna file in here, I'll give a little bio and then we'll get some photos and get them scorned in. So uh with that being said, uh Benjamin Bonague. Benjamin is 25, he's a Greenburgh Indiana resident. Benjamin 2019 graduate of Newton High School in Newton, Massachusetts, and a 23 graduate of Purdue University, where he studied agricultural business management and agricultural systems management. Before joining the Columbus Fire Department, Benjamin served for the Richmond Indiana Fire Department. He holds a fire one, fire two, and hazardous materials awareness, and operations certifications. Cody Duman. Cody is 29, he's a Columbus resident, and 2015 graduate of Columbus North High School. Cody has worked with the Columbus Township Fire and Rescue since 2022 and dedicated three years with Clifford Volunteer Fire Department. Cody certifications include fire one, fire two, EMT, rope rescue technician, vehicle extirpation technician, service water rescue technician, swift water rescue technician, defined space rescue technician, driver operator, general, and upper water supply fire officer strategy and techniques. Instructor one, fire officer one, incident safety officers and incident command system 300. Cody Goodwin. Next we have Benjamin Peak. Benjamin is 30. He is from Seymour, Indiana. He is a 2015 graduate of Heron High School in Indianapolis, Indiana. Benjamin currently serves with the Hamilton Township Volunteer Fire Department and the Volunteer Fire Department in Jackson County. Benjamin is certified EMT Fire One, Fire Two driver operator in Hazardous Materials Awareness and Operations. Next we have Enrique Osmar Calias Santos.
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