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Record of Proceedings

Gahanna Charter Review Commission Organizational Meeting - February 23, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Monday, February 23, 2026
BodyGahanna, Ohio
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateMonday, February 23, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 45:10

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

All right.

0:00

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the organizational meeting for the 2026 Charter Review Commission for the City of Gehana.

0:08

If you are joining us at home, uh the Charter Review Commission is uh it is convened every five years pursuant to the charter.

0:15

The charter is the constitution effectively of the city of Gehana, dictates our form of government, how we operate here.

0:22

Uh and every five years, uh there is a group of citizens who are appointed, uh, four by council, three by the mayor to serve on the commission uh to take a look at the charter.

0:31

Uh and uh members of the public, uh members of the staff here at the city will have an opportunity to bring forward suggested uh changes or raise questions.

0:40

So we look forward to the next several months uh or however long this group decides to meet uh as they begin that process.

0:47

Uh I'd like to begin tonight since this is not a board that reads meets regularly with perhaps our board members uh introducing themselves, maybe say what ward you are from within the city, and I will start from this end and we will go this way because Mr.

1:00

Maxwell looks very excited to speak.

1:03

Yeah, sure.

1:04

Uh Dick Maxwell, what what uh what do you want?

1:08

You are ward, do you know which ward you were in?

1:09

Oh no, ward four, yeah.

1:10

I know.

1:11

And how long have you lived in Gehana?

1:12

49 years.

1:13

We were just talking about that.

1:14

So yeah, 49 years.

1:16

Um here, I had three daughters, graduated from Gahana.

1:20

Um always have loved Gahana, so I'm just about pretty much retired.

1:28

Pretty close.

1:29

Thank you very much, sir.

1:30

Appreciate it.

1:31

Mr.

1:32

Hill.

1:33

Good evening.

1:33

My name is Ed Hill.

1:34

I am in Ward 1, and I have been a resident of Gehana for 35 years.

1:41

Very happy to be here and excited to be able to give back to the community.

1:45

Excellent, thank you very much.

1:46

And Jamie.

1:49

Hi, I'm Jamie Belayo.

1:51

I have been living in Gehana for five years.

1:53

Uh I have two kids in ward one.

1:57

And uh so far living in Gehana has uh given me so much that I just felt the need to uh give back if possible.

2:06

So I'm happy to be here as well.

2:07

Thank you for your service as well.

2:10

I'm Karen Westor.

2:12

Uh my family and I live in Ward 4.

2:14

Um, lived here almost 13 years.

2:16

Um really excited um about this opportunity to give back and to serve the community.

2:21

Excellent.

2:21

Thank you very much.

2:22

You look familiar.

2:24

Yeah.

2:24

I'm I'm Ray Molarski.

2:26

I think I'm in Ward 2.

2:27

It's kind of pumpkin tooth where we're at.

2:30

Uh but uh I'm mostly retired.

2:32

I was uh an attorney here for over 40 years, and I was here for 63 years.

2:37

I've lived in Gehana, so ever since I've been three years old.

2:41

Um and I've had my law practice here the whole time.

2:43

I was a city attorney for uh between 20 and 2020 and 2024.

2:48

And uh now I'm mostly retired.

2:50

I work for the Ohio Department of Health doing hearings uh uh for them, and uh but it's all from my home down in the basement doing Zoom hearings.

2:59

So it works out well for me.

3:00

So nice to meet you.

3:02

Well, thank you for coming back in here.

3:04

We appreciate it.

3:05

Ethan.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Charter Review Process█████████████████████████████████████████████64%
Procedural██████████████20%
Public Engagement███████████16%
Summary of Proceedings

Gahanna Charter Review Commission Organizational Meeting - February 23, 2026

The 2026 Charter Review Commission held its organizational meeting on February 23, 2026, at Gahanna City Hall. Note: The official agenda and minutes from the meeting list the date as February 12, 2026; the date used in this summary is per the instruction provided. All seven members were present, were sworn in, elected officers, adopted rules, and discussed the commission's duties, deadlines, and meeting structure.

Organizational Business

  • Oath of Office: Administered by Mayor Laurie A. Jadwin to Karen Reynolds (Seat 1), Ethan Barnhardt (Seat 2), Edward A. Hill, Jr. (Seat 3), Jamie Belisle (Seat 4), Richard Maxwell (Seat 5), Raymond J. Mularski (Seat 6), and Carrin Wester (Seat 7).
  • Election of Chair: Carrin Wester nominated Ethan Barnhardt. Motion by Raymond Mularski, seconded by Jamie Belisle. Unanimously approved (7-0).
  • Election of Vice Chair: Ethan Barnhardt nominated Carrin Wester. Motion by Raymond Mularski, seconded by Jamie Belisle. Unanimously approved (7-0).
  • Adoption of Rules of Procedure: Proposed rules (RULES-0002-2026) were presented and adopted without further discussion. Motion by Jamie Belisle, seconded by Edward Hill. Unanimously approved (7-0).

Discussion Items

  • Overview of Duties & Charter Review Process: Assistant City Attorney Matt Roth (filling in for City Attorney Priya Tamilarasan) presented an overview. He explained that the Charter Review Commission convenes every five years to review the City Charter, which is Gahanna's equivalent of a constitution. The charter was initially passed in 1961 when Gahanna was a village. There have been 123 charter amendments since 1961, 88 passed by voters. Three amendment methods exist: via this commission, via five City Council members, or via citizen petition (10% of residents). The commission must conclude by July 1, 2026. Recommendations go directly to voters, with only illegal amendments blocked. The commission is not required to make changes.
  • Meeting Schedule: A proposed calendar of meetings on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month was distributed. Discussion included potential virtual attendance options (not currently feasible due to technical and legal hurdles) and the need for quorum. Motion by Carrin Wester, seconded by Richard Maxwell, to adopt the schedule. Unanimously approved (7-0). Note: the April 23 meeting may need adjustment due to City Hall's move to the new Civic Center.
  • Structure of Future Meetings: The commission discussed sequencing presentations from the administration, City Council, and the public. It was agreed that Mayor Jadwin and her staff would present on March 12, 2026, and City Council on March 26, 2026. A public engagement subcommittee was formed with Carrin Wester, Edward Hill, and Jamie Belisle to develop outreach strategies for receiving public input. The subcommittee will coordinate with the City's Communications team. Other ideas included inviting a speaker from Ohio State's John Glenn College and using email (CRC@gahanna.gov) and video submissions for public comments.

Key Outcomes

  • Leadership elected: Ethan Barnhardt (Chair), Carrin Wester (Vice Chair).
  • Rules of Procedure adopted.
  • Meeting schedule adopted (second and fourth Thursdays, with potential adjustments in April).
  • Public engagement subcommittee formed (Wester, Hill, Belisle) to propose outreach methods.
  • Next meeting will be on the second Thursday (February 26, 2026) — no formal presentations; members will review the charter individually and the subcommittee will report on engagement plans.
  • Future public comment opportunities will be available at all regular meetings (in-person, video, or written submissions).
  • The commission will continue to receive support from the City Attorney's office and Clerk of Council.

Meeting Transcript

All right. Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the organizational meeting for the 2026 Charter Review Commission for the City of Gehana. If you are joining us at home, uh the Charter Review Commission is uh it is convened every five years pursuant to the charter. The charter is the constitution effectively of the city of Gehana, dictates our form of government, how we operate here. Uh and every five years, uh there is a group of citizens who are appointed, uh, four by council, three by the mayor to serve on the commission uh to take a look at the charter. Uh and uh members of the public, uh members of the staff here at the city will have an opportunity to bring forward suggested uh changes or raise questions. So we look forward to the next several months uh or however long this group decides to meet uh as they begin that process. Uh I'd like to begin tonight since this is not a board that reads meets regularly with perhaps our board members uh introducing themselves, maybe say what ward you are from within the city, and I will start from this end and we will go this way because Mr. Maxwell looks very excited to speak. Yeah, sure. Uh Dick Maxwell, what what uh what do you want? You are ward, do you know which ward you were in? Oh no, ward four, yeah. I know. And how long have you lived in Gehana? 49 years. We were just talking about that. So yeah, 49 years. Um here, I had three daughters, graduated from Gahana. Um always have loved Gahana, so I'm just about pretty much retired. Pretty close. Thank you very much, sir. Appreciate it. Mr. Hill. Good evening. My name is Ed Hill. I am in Ward 1, and I have been a resident of Gehana for 35 years. Very happy to be here and excited to be able to give back to the community. Excellent, thank you very much. And Jamie. Hi, I'm Jamie Belayo. I have been living in Gehana for five years. Uh I have two kids in ward one. And uh so far living in Gehana has uh given me so much that I just felt the need to uh give back if possible. So I'm happy to be here as well. Thank you for your service as well. I'm Karen Westor. Uh my family and I live in Ward 4. Um, lived here almost 13 years. Um really excited um about this opportunity to give back and to serve the community. Excellent. Thank you very much. You look familiar. Yeah. I'm I'm Ray Molarski. I think I'm in Ward 2. It's kind of pumpkin tooth where we're at. Uh but uh I'm mostly retired. I was uh an attorney here for over 40 years, and I was here for 63 years.

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