Meeting colors

OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Fairfield City Council Regular Meeting – February 9, 2026

City Council — Monday, February 9, 2026

BodyFairfield, Ohio

SessionCity Council

DateMonday, February 9, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

⇩ GET FROM SOURCE

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:26

Definitely father, we appreciate very much all the blessings you bestow on us each and every day.

0:32

One specific I'd like to highlight this evening in our prayers is your ability to open all of our hearts and minds to come together to serve the greater good.

0:40

Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to break down walls, opinions, thoughts, previous experiences to look forward, to manipulate in a positive way, not a negative way, the best chances for all of us to succeed.

0:53

We ask this in your name, dear Lord, to continue this process as well as to bless all of our local fire and police department and our children and our community to uh to have the best success moving forward.

1:06

Amen.

Speaker 2

1:12

And it's one of your individuals with justice for all.

1:22

Thank you, Councilman Exclusive.

Unassigned speaker

1:28

Here, Councilmember

Speaker 3

1:29

Meyer.

1:30

Councilmember Thrill, Councilmember Davidson, Councilmember Hassel, here.

1:36

Councilmember Paula.

Unassigned speaker

1:37

Here it is.

Speaker 3

1:38

Councilmember Pennington?

Speaker 2

1:39

Here.

1:40

Move to excuse Council members for real and Davidson

Unassigned speaker

1:44

feeds.

Speaker 2

1:44

Second.

Speaker 4

1:45

We have a

Speaker 2

1:46

motion to excuse Councilmember Bill and Davidson and a second all in favor.

1:52

Thank you.

1:54

Any agenda modifications next.

1:57

Hearing as we move on.

1:59

Is there a need for executive sending?

Unassigned speaker

2:01

No.

Speaker 5

3:18

With low-income households, you know, seventy-five percent prefer mobile as their bill payment method.

3:23

Make it the most critical channel for uh digital.

3:42

That benefits your utility.

3:45

First, it's free to use.

3:46

It's free for your utility to set up and free for your resident residents to uh use.

3:52

Next, it's easy to set up.

3:54

Uh there um, as I know the council and city officials are very busy.

Unassigned speaker

4:00

Uh so

Speaker 5

4:00

you'd be glad to hear the only requirement for setup is connecting me with your invoice cloud customer success representative.

4:07

Once connected, the easy U team works directly with the invoice pod team for the integration, which should take about 30 days once we start.

4:16

Your residents will be able to use the current account and pay with whatever

Unassigned speaker

4:20

payments.

Unassigned speaker

4:43

Um which

Speaker 5

4:44

removes one major barrier to pay your bill.

4:46

Next, you have notifications.

4:48

So you can be reminded the day of two days before, two weeks before.

4:51

Say you want to be reminded to pay your water bill when you receive your paycheck.

Unassigned speaker

4:56

The notification pops up with a few taps, your bill is paid in a matter of seconds.

Unassigned speaker

5:01

Speaker 5

5:01

maybe conclusion is a low effort, low risk, uh powerful tool for your state that is an easy to use app for one of your residents most important needs their water.

5:15

I believe it's a win-win, and I'd be happy to discuss the benefits of mobile adoption with um anyone in the city, and we're going through a demo of the app.

5:24

Um I'm asking me with the heavy utility building for five minutes to discuss any details and um my information is on the handout.

5:34

I hope you can actually be this week and uh thank you, counseling city officials for your time.

5:40

Thank you, Jeremy.

5:41

Appreciate

Speaker 4

5:41

it.

5:44

Um Mr.

5:45

Sackenheim uh runs that particular organization along with uh with his team.

5:50

So uh I'm gonna leave it up to uh to you and your team whether you have interest in this or not.

5:55

So sorry, Jason.

5:58

Thank you.

5:59

Um other citizen comments?

Speaker 2

6:02

Hello.

6:08

Yeah, my name is uh

Speaker 4

7:59

to see what we can do to get that done.

8:01

It doesn't stop letters from coming out, it doesn't stop or change our current processes by any means.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Procedural████████████████████████████████████36%

Economic Development██████████████████18%

Technology and Innovation████████████12%

Public Safety████████████12%

Affordable Housing█████████9%

Water And Wastewater Management████████8%

Community Engagement█████5%

Summary of Proceedings

Fairfield City Council Regular Meeting – February 9, 2026

The Fairfield City Council held its regular meeting on Monday, February 9, 2026, at 7:00 PM at 5350 Pleasant Avenue, Fairfield, Ohio. Vice Mayor Tim Meyers presided. Councilmembers present: Leslie Besl (1st Ward), Dale Paullus (2nd Ward), Debbie Pennington (3rd Ward), Adam Kraft (4th Ward), and Tim Meyers (At-Large). Councilmembers Gwen Brill and Matt Davidson were excused unanimously. The meeting included approval of prior minutes, a sidewalk repair resolution, citizen comments, and unanimous approval of several new business items including a development agreement for the Whispering Hill housing project, a liquor permit action, contracts for Marsh Park trails and electric vehicle charging stations, and budget appropriations.

Consent Calendar

Approval of Minutes: The special meeting minutes of January 24, 2026, and the regular meeting minutes of January 26, 2026, were approved as written and submitted by a 5-0 vote.
Sidewalk Repair Resolution (Resolution No. 4-25): Councilmember Pennington presented the third reading of a resolution declaring the necessity of repairing sidewalks (including aprons). The motion to adopt carried 5-0.
Liquor Permit Simple Motion (Simple Motion No. 7-26): Councilmember Paullus moved to not request a hearing regarding a liquor permit application D5 for Palazio Event Venue & Lounge LLC at 74 Donald Drive. The motion carried 5-0.

Public Comments & Testimony

Jeremy Hill, Cleveland Heights, Ohio – Addressed Council regarding EZUtility, a mobile app he developed for utility customers that connects to InvoiceCloud. He requested a meeting with staff to present a demo. Vice Mayor Meyers referred him to Public Utilities Director Jason Hunold.
Joe Sparto, 5500 Southgate Blvd. – Expressed concerns about: (1) A tax issue his wife raised with Council last month; they received a second notice and fear professional and credit ramifications. He suggested a state audit may be needed and voiced worry about lost tax return and personal information. (2) Speeding and reckless driving near his home; proposed installing speed bumps. Vice Mayor Meyers referred him to Finance Director Davenport for tax issues and Police Chief Maynard for speeding.

Discussion Items

Whispering Hill Housing Development – Economic Development Manager Nathaniel Kaelin introduced a proposed Funding and Development Agreement with Mitchell Development & Construction LLC for an 18-acre site on South Gilmore Road (just north of Mack Road, adjacent to Mercy Health – Fairfield Hospital). The site, formerly farmland (the Benzing farm), was rezoned PUD as Whispering Hill, a 68-unit paired villa (duplex) residential project. Multiple earlier developers failed due to high grading costs. Mitchell plans to acquire the site, prepare the site, build roads/sidewalks/utilities, then sell lots to MI Homes for construction of homes. The city proposes a $1.2 million forgivable loan toward site development ($5.6M+). The loan would be repaid via a 30-year Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district (estimated $3.5–4.5 million over 30 years). The project targets empty-nesters, seniors downsizing, or young professionals. No 55+ age restriction; units are single-family attached in duplex pairs, with an HOA for exterior maintenance. First reading only; final approval expected February 23 with emergency clause to allow construction to start summer 2026.
Council Reports – Vice Mayor Meyers noted a Journal News article highlighting the first anniversary of the Fairfield Sustains sustainability program. He also attended a ribbon cutting for 2BCleaned, a small business on Pleasant Avenue, which grew from one to 29 employees (8-10 full-time) offering cleaning services; the owner is a Fairfield resident and business continues to reflect the American dream.

Key Outcomes

Resolution No. 4-25 (Sidewalk repair) – Adopted 5-0.
Simple Motion No. 7-26 (Liquor permit – no hearing) – Carried 5-0.
Ordinance No. 14-26 (Marsh Park Interior Paved Trails) – Authorized contract with Ohio Heavy Equipment Leasing dba Loveland Excavating for ~4,000 feet of paved trail (1,150 ft of 11 ft path, 2,850 ft of 8 ft path) connecting Marsh Lake to future Great Miami River Trail. First reading, suspension of second and third readings, and adoption all passed 5-0.
Ordinance No. 15-26 (Electric Vehicle Charging Stations) – Authorized contract with Donnellon McCarthy Enterprises for installation of EV charging stations at five public locations: Waterworks Park, Library, Justice Center, Community Arts Center, and Harbin Park. Funded 100% by OKI Carbon Reduction Grant (no local match). First reading, suspension, adoption all 5-0.
Ordinance No. 16-26 (Contractual Appropriations Amendment) – Amended 2026 budget to appropriate $2,595,000: $1,200,000 for the Whispering Hill Development Agreement (Development Services); $845,000 for Marsh Park trails (Public Works); $550,000 for EV charging stations (Public Works). First reading, suspension of second/third readings, adoption all 5-0.
Ordinance No. 17-26 (Non-Contractual Appropriations Amendment) – Amended 2026 budget to appropriate $53,000: $35,000 for the Development Agreement (other costs) and $18,000 for Water Treatment Plant flooring (Water Division/Public Utilities). First reading, suspension, adoption all 5-0.
Whispering Hill Housing Agreement – Served as first reading. Continued to second reading and final vote scheduled for February 23, 2026 (Council-Manager Briefing at 5:30 PM, Regular Meeting at 7:00 PM). An emergency declaration will be considered at that meeting to allow immediate effect.
Meeting Schedule – Next meeting: Monday, February 23, 2026 (Briefing at 5:30 PM, Regular Meeting at 7:00 PM).

Meeting Transcript

Definitely father, we appreciate very much all the blessings you bestow on us each and every day. One specific I'd like to highlight this evening in our prayers is your ability to open all of our hearts and minds to come together to serve the greater good. Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to break down walls, opinions, thoughts, previous experiences to look forward, to manipulate in a positive way, not a negative way, the best chances for all of us to succeed. We ask this in your name, dear Lord, to continue this process as well as to bless all of our local fire and police department and our children and our community to uh to have the best success moving forward. Amen. And it's one of your individuals with justice for all. Thank you, Councilman Exclusive. Here, Councilmember Meyer. Councilmember Thrill, Councilmember Davidson, Councilmember Hassel, here. Councilmember Paula. Here it is. Councilmember Pennington? Here. Move to excuse Council members for real and Davidson feeds. Second. We have a motion to excuse Councilmember Bill and Davidson and a second all in favor. Thank you. Any agenda modifications next. Hearing as we move on. Is there a need for executive sending? No. With low-income households, you know, seventy-five percent prefer mobile as their bill payment method. Make it the most critical channel for uh digital. That benefits your utility. First, it's free to use. It's free for your utility to set up and free for your resident residents to uh use. Next, it's easy to set up. Uh there um, as I know the council and city officials are very busy. Uh so you'd be glad to hear the only requirement for setup is connecting me with your invoice cloud customer success representative. Once connected, the easy U team works directly with the invoice pod team for the integration, which should take about 30 days once we start. Your residents will be able to use the current account and pay with whatever payments. Um which removes one major barrier to pay your bill. Next, you have notifications. So you can be reminded the day of two days before, two weeks before. Say you want to be reminded to pay your water bill when you receive your paycheck. The notification pops up with a few taps, your bill is paid in a matter of seconds. So maybe conclusion is a low effort, low risk, uh powerful tool for your state that is an easy to use app for one of your residents most important needs their water. I believe it's a win-win, and I'd be happy to discuss the benefits of mobile adoption with um anyone in the city, and we're going through a demo of the app. Um I'm asking me with the heavy utility building for five minutes to discuss any details and um my information is on the handout. I hope you can actually be this week and uh thank you, counseling city officials for your time. Thank you, Jeremy. Appreciate it.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI

TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com

Fairfield City Council Regular Meeting – February 9, 2026

Consent Calendar

Approval of Minutes: The special meeting minutes of January 24, 2026, and the regular meeting minutes of January 26, 2026, were approved as written and submitted by a 5-0 vote.

Sidewalk Repair Resolution (Resolution No. 4-25): Councilmember Pennington presented the third reading of a resolution declaring the necessity of repairing sidewalks (including aprons). The motion to adopt carried 5-0.

Liquor Permit Simple Motion (Simple Motion No. 7-26): Councilmember Paullus moved to not request a hearing regarding a liquor permit application D5 for Palazio Event Venue & Lounge LLC at 74 Donald Drive. The motion carried 5-0.

Public Comments & Testimony

Jeremy Hill, Cleveland Heights, Ohio – Addressed Council regarding EZUtility, a mobile app he developed for utility customers that connects to InvoiceCloud. He requested a meeting with staff to present a demo. Vice Mayor Meyers referred him to Public Utilities Director Jason Hunold.

Joe Sparto, 5500 Southgate Blvd. – Expressed concerns about: (1) A tax issue his wife raised with Council last month; they received a second notice and fear professional and credit ramifications. He suggested a state audit may be needed and voiced worry about lost tax return and personal information. (2) Speeding and reckless driving near his home; proposed installing speed bumps. Vice Mayor Meyers referred him to Finance Director Davenport for tax issues and Police Chief Maynard for speeding.

Discussion Items

Whispering Hill Housing Development – Economic Development Manager Nathaniel Kaelin introduced a proposed Funding and Development Agreement with Mitchell Development & Construction LLC for an 18-acre site on South Gilmore Road (just north of Mack Road, adjacent to Mercy Health – Fairfield Hospital). The site, formerly farmland (the Benzing farm), was rezoned PUD as Whispering Hill, a 68-unit paired villa (duplex) residential project. Multiple earlier developers failed due to high grading costs. Mitchell plans to acquire the site, prepare the site, build roads/sidewalks/utilities, then sell lots to MI Homes for construction of homes. The city proposes a $1.2 million forgivable loan toward site development ($5.6M+). The loan would be repaid via a 30-year Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district (estimated $3.5–4.5 million over 30 years). The project targets empty-nesters, seniors downsizing, or young professionals. No 55+ age restriction; units are single-family attached in duplex pairs, with an HOA for exterior maintenance. First reading only; final approval expected February 23 with emergency clause to allow construction to start summer 2026.

Council Reports – Vice Mayor Meyers noted a Journal News article highlighting the first anniversary of the Fairfield Sustains sustainability program. He also attended a ribbon cutting for 2BCleaned, a small business on Pleasant Avenue, which grew from one to 29 employees (8-10 full-time) offering cleaning services; the owner is a Fairfield resident and business continues to reflect the American dream.

Key Outcomes

Resolution No. 4-25 (Sidewalk repair) – Adopted 5-0.

Simple Motion No. 7-26 (Liquor permit – no hearing) – Carried 5-0.

Ordinance No. 14-26 (Marsh Park Interior Paved Trails) – Authorized contract with Ohio Heavy Equipment Leasing dba Loveland Excavating for ~4,000 feet of paved trail (1,150 ft of 11 ft path, 2,850 ft of 8 ft path) connecting Marsh Lake to future Great Miami River Trail. First reading, suspension of second and third readings, and adoption all passed 5-0.

Ordinance No. 15-26 (Electric Vehicle Charging Stations) – Authorized contract with Donnellon McCarthy Enterprises for installation of EV charging stations at five public locations: Waterworks Park, Library, Justice Center, Community Arts Center, and Harbin Park. Funded 100% by OKI Carbon Reduction Grant (no local match). First reading, suspension, adoption all 5-0.

Ordinance No. 16-26 (Contractual Appropriations Amendment) – Amended 2026 budget to appropriate $2,595,000: $1,200,000 for the Whispering Hill Development Agreement (Development Services); $845,000 for Marsh Park trails (Public Works); $550,000 for EV charging stations (Public Works). First reading, suspension of second/third readings, adoption all 5-0.

Ordinance No. 17-26 (Non-Contractual Appropriations Amendment) – Amended 2026 budget to appropriate $53,000: $35,000 for the Development Agreement (other costs) and $18,000 for Water Treatment Plant flooring (Water Division/Public Utilities). First reading, suspension, adoption all 5-0.

Whispering Hill Housing Agreement – Served as first reading. Continued to second reading and final vote scheduled for February 23, 2026 (Council-Manager Briefing at 5:30 PM, Regular Meeting at 7:00 PM). An emergency declaration will be considered at that meeting to allow immediate effect.

Meeting Schedule – Next meeting: Monday, February 23, 2026 (Briefing at 5:30 PM, Regular Meeting at 7:00 PM).

Meeting Transcript