OpenPublica

Accountability starts with access.

© 2026 · Filed for the public record

Use casesAboutAPIPrivacyTermsLinkedIn
Home/Fairfield, Ohio/City Council
OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Fairfield City Council Regular Meeting – November 24, 2025

City Council — Monday, November 24, 2025
BodyFairfield, Ohio
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, November 24, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
Meeting Thumbnail
⇩ GET FROM SOURCE

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Original source
Transcript — Verbatim

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Speaker 1

2:56

And that you watch over us and give us the wisdom to make decisions that will be best for our city.

3:06

We we give you thanks for the gifts

David · Speaker 2Inferred

3:09

that

Speaker 1

3:09

you've given us in this season of Thanksgiving.

3:13

We ask that you be with those who are out in the in the cold and those that are homeless, that they find a place to stay warm, they find some centers to be able to get some food at we give you thanks for those that do work and dedicate their time to help out at those places and try to provide and we ask that you watch over our police and our fire and keep them safe, keep all of our public service members safe and all their duties, and most importantly, we we give you thanks for Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

3:52

In his name we pray.

Speaker 3

5:00

Yes.

5:00

Councilmember Bessel?

5:01

Yes.

5:01

Councilmember Paulis?

5:03

Yes.

5:03

Councilmember Pennington?

5:04

Yes.

5:05

Councilmember Kraft?

Speaker 4

5:06

Yes.

Speaker 3

5:06

Councilmember Myers?

Speaker 4

5:09

Very good.

Unassigned speaker

5:10

Well,

Speaker 4

5:10

tonight we have a really special presentation to present to one of uh our residents.

5:16

I'm going to ask you guys to come on up.

5:18

Anybody?

5:19

You're welcome to come up.

5:22

Raz.

5:28

Anyone else if you'd like to come up and shoot pictures or do anything?

5:32

Part of it's a port.

5:33

Yep, yeah, good

Speaker 5

5:34

idea.

Speaker 4

5:35

So uh I'm gonna have you come around here so there's no tripping going on.

5:40

How about this way?

5:43

Although

Speaker 5

5:43

I understand you do a lot of wall walking.

5:46

There

Speaker 4

5:46

you go, coming on up.

5:47

Look at this.

5:49

This is great.

Unassigned speaker

5:50

Well,

Speaker 4

5:50

come on up here in the center.

5:52

I'm gonna read a proclamation for you.

5:54

How's that?

Unassigned speaker

5:55

Uh

Speaker 4

5:56

this gentleman is uh just celebrating his uh hundredth birthday.

6:07

Wow.

6:08

And in the audience, besides you're gonna get proclamation from us in the audience is our Senator Gary Cates, and he's gonna get a proclamation that's in the works from the state house.

6:18

So that'd be nice, huh?

Unassigned speaker

6:20

So George Lang.

Speaker 5

6:22

Oh, yeah, he's talking.

Unassigned speaker

6:25

I'm

Speaker 4

6:25

sorry, Senator George Lang.

Unassigned speaker

6:27

That's right.

Unassigned speaker

6:28

That's what I didn't know.

Unassigned speaker

6:31

Uh

Speaker 4

6:32

Gary, we'll talk about that later.

Unassigned speaker

6:34

I

Speaker 6

6:34

can't did I say the Gary?

6:36

Oh my gosh.

6:36

That's funny.

6:37

I've known those guys for

Speaker 4

6:38

like 40 years.

6:39

So all right.

6:41

You ready?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████████31%
Economic Development██████████████████18%
Parks and Recreation████████████12%
Community Engagement████████████12%
Historic Preservation██████████10%
Affordable Housing████████8%
Budget Equity Analysis██████6%
Mental Health Awareness███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Fairfield City Council Regular Meeting – November 24, 2025

The Fairfield City Council held its regular meeting on Monday, November 24, 2025, at 7:00 PM at 5350 Pleasant Avenue, with all seven council members present. Prior to the formal meeting, a Council-Manager Briefing at 6:00 PM featured a sustainability update presented by Assistant City Manager Adam Sackenheim and Sustainability Manager Gillian Hart, detailing progress on the "Fairfield Sustains" plan. The business meeting included a special proclamation, council reports, guest remarks from State Senator George Lang, and unanimous approval of several ordinances.

Special Presentations

  • 100th Birthday Proclamation to Erasmo Iovino: Mayor Mitch Rhodus presented a proclamation declaring November 25, 2025, as "Raz Iovino Day" in honor of his 100th birthday. Mr. Iovino shared memories of his life, including his Army service in Korea and his career with FAG Bearing Company.

Council Reports

  • Councilmember Gwen Brill thanked the Parks & Recreation Department for the Parade of Lights and praised the sustainability briefing.
  • Councilmember Matt Davidson commended the parade and the rapid cleanup.
  • Councilmember Tim Meyers announced that the city received the 2024 Ohio Auditor's State Award for a clean audit report.
  • Councilmember Adam Kraft reported that Duke Energy recognized the city's Development Services Department with the 2025 Partner Achievement Award, selected among all communities Duke serves in the Cincinnati area.
  • Councilmember Debbie Pennington noted that final pavement on South Gilmore Road is being completed and all lanes will open for the holidays, and that Seward Road will reopen the next day. She also promoted the Historical Society and Four Seasons Garden Club holiday event at the Elisha Morgan Mansion on December 7.
  • Councilmember Leslie Besl also praised the parade, reminded residents about the Story Walk at Huffman Park, and announced that park restrooms and water fountains have been winterized until spring.
  • Mayor Mitch Rhodus commended the parade, noting that the route was lined with as many people as were in Village Green.
  • Guest Speaker – Senator George Lang: Mayor Rhodus welcomed Senator Lang, who spoke about his legislative focus on making Ohio the most business-friendly state, citing historical economic decline since 1970, recent improvements through tax and regulation reductions, and Ohio becoming the top state for startups. He expressed optimism about Ohio's economic future.

Old Business

  • Development Services – Zoning Code Amendments (Third Reading): Councilmember Adam Kraft moved to adopt an ordinance amending various sections of the Planning and Zoning Code. Councilmember Meyers commended staff and the Planning Commission for a thorough review. The motion carried 7-0, adopting Ordinance No. 137-25.
  • Public Safety – Emergency Operations Plan (Third Reading): Councilmember Dale Paullus moved to adopt the 2025 Emergency Operations Plan. The motion carried 7-0, adopting Ordinance No. 138-25.

New Business

A motion to read all new business by title only was approved 7-0.

  • Community & Public Relations – Fairfield Recovery and Wellness Fund (First Reading, Suspended Readings, Adoption): Councilmember Brill presented an ordinance authorizing a $350,000 contribution from One Ohio opioid settlement funds to establish a permanent endowment with the Fairfield Community Foundation. The fund will support addiction prevention, treatment, and recovery programs, with annual grant recommendations subject to City Council approval. Katie Braswell, VP of the Fairfield Community Foundation, thanked the council for the partnership. The council suspended second and third readings and adopted the ordinance 7-0 (Ordinance No. 139-25).
  • Development Services – Patterson Place Planned Unit Development (First Reading): Councilmember Kraft presented an ordinance approving a revised concept plan and final development plan for a mixed commercial-residential development at River Road and Patterson Drive. The plan includes a 4,560-square-foot drive-through convenience store and 11 paired villas (22 owner-occupied units). A joint public hearing was set for December 8, 2025, at 7 PM.
  • Finance & Budget – Supplemental Appropriations (First Reading, Suspended Readings, Adoption): Councilmember Meyers presented three ordinances amending the 2025 appropriations. All were approved 7-0 after suspending second and third readings.
    1. Ordinance No. 140-25: Supplemental appropriations from the general fund, mainly for capital improvements and catalytic projects.
    2. Ordinance No. 141-25: Contractual appropriations totaling $350,000 for the Field of Interest Fund at the Fairfield Community Foundation.
    3. Ordinance No. 142-25: Non-contractual appropriations totaling $81,250 for four items: $40,277 for instrumentation pressure differential transmitters (Water Division), $12,353 for a replacement refrigerated composite sampler (Wastewater Division), $8,400 for a new storage area at the Community Arts Center (Parks & Recreation), and $20,220 for new carpet at the South Trace Club House (Parks & Recreation).

Key Outcomes

  • All resolutions and ordinances received unanimous approval (7-0):
    • Ordinance No. 137-25 (Zoning Code amendments)
    • Ordinance No. 138-25 (2025 Emergency Operations Plan)
    • Ordinance No. 139-25 (Fairfield Recovery and Wellness Fund)
    • Ordinance No. 140-25 (Supplemental appropriations)
    • Ordinance No. 141-25 (Contractual appropriations)
    • Ordinance No. 142-25 (Non-contractual appropriations)
  • A joint public hearing for the Patterson Place PUD was scheduled for December 8, 2025.
  • The council approved a motion to recess into Executive Session to discuss the employment or compensation of a public employee or official (7-0).
  • The meeting adjourned at 8:01 PM.

Meeting Schedule Announced

  • Monday, December 8: Council-Manager Briefing at 6:15 PM; Regular Meeting at 7:00 PM
  • Tuesday, December 16: Oath of Office at 5:30 PM
  • Monday, January 12: Council-Manager Briefing at 6:00 PM; Regular Meeting at 7:00 PM

Meeting Transcript

And that you watch over us and give us the wisdom to make decisions that will be best for our city. We we give you thanks for the gifts that you've given us in this season of Thanksgiving. We ask that you be with those who are out in the in the cold and those that are homeless, that they find a place to stay warm, they find some centers to be able to get some food at we give you thanks for those that do work and dedicate their time to help out at those places and try to provide and we ask that you watch over our police and our fire and keep them safe, keep all of our public service members safe and all their duties, and most importantly, we we give you thanks for Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. In his name we pray. Yes. Councilmember Bessel? Yes. Councilmember Paulis? Yes. Councilmember Pennington? Yes. Councilmember Kraft? Yes. Councilmember Myers? Very good. Well, tonight we have a really special presentation to present to one of uh our residents. I'm going to ask you guys to come on up. Anybody? You're welcome to come up. Raz. Anyone else if you'd like to come up and shoot pictures or do anything? Part of it's a port. Yep, yeah, good idea. So uh I'm gonna have you come around here so there's no tripping going on. How about this way? Although I understand you do a lot of wall walking. There you go, coming on up. Look at this. This is great. Well, come on up here in the center. I'm gonna read a proclamation for you. How's that? Uh this gentleman is uh just celebrating his uh hundredth birthday. Wow. And in the audience, besides you're gonna get proclamation from us in the audience is our Senator Gary Cates, and he's gonna get a proclamation that's in the works from the state house. So that'd be nice, huh? So George Lang. Oh, yeah, he's talking. I'm sorry, Senator George Lang. That's right. That's what I didn't know.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com