Gahanna Charter Review Commission Meeting - 2026-03-04

The Charter Review Commission met to continue its review of the City of Gahanna Charter and to prepare for possible recommendations to City Council and voters in November. The agenda, minutes, and raw transcript in the source package label this session as Thursday, February 26, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers, City Hall, 200 S. Hamilton Road, Gahanna, Ohio, but the supplied meeting timestamp is 2026-03-04 17:45:00+00:00; this summary uses the supplied timestamp as the date. Chair Ethan Barnhardt presided, and all seven commission members were present: Jamie Belisle, Edward A. Hill Jr., Richard Maxwell, Raymond J. Mularski, Karen Reynolds, and Carrin Wester. Clerk of Council Jeremy A. VanMeter was in attendance. The meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.

Consent Calendar

• The agenda had no additions or corrections.
• A motion by Vice Chair Wester, seconded by Commissioner Maxwell, to approve the minutes of the February 12, 2026 organizational meeting (agenda item 2026-0041) carried 7-0.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No speaker slips were submitted, and no public comment was heard.

Discussion Items

• Our Gahanna Strategic Plan Presentation - Sarah Bongiorno of Planning NEXT, with Senior Director of Administrative Services Miranda Vollmer, presented the Our Gahanna Strategic Plan and Economic Development Plan update. The process began in fall 2024, was adopted in fall 2025, included three rounds of engagement, and drew over 1,800 participants and 9,100 pieces of input. Bongiorno described the vision ('Cultivate a community where people, neighborhoods, and opportunities connect and thrive'), the mission ('Serving our community with pride and purpose'), values (Vibrancy, Connections, Stewardship, and Community), and four goals: Elevate Our Unique Places, Serve Our Community, Connect Our Community, and Celebrate Our Identity. She cited Bexley and Buffalo as examples of charters with strategic-plan provisions. In response to Commissioner Hill, Bongiorno said there was no specific recommendation to incorporate the Strategic Plan into the Charter, but she hoped it would guide city decision-making and be integrated into city processes. Chair Barnhardt noted Bexley added its strategic-planning charter language in 2001 and requested follow-up on how it has worked.
• John Glenn College of Public Affairs - Local Government 101 Presentation - Judith Ann Zimomra, J.D., M.P.A., Senior Lecturer at Ohio State University, told the Commission she was not a paid consultant and was not trying to steer the Commission toward any particular form of government. She reviewed Ohio's 88 counties, with Franklin County now the largest by population, followed by Cuyahoga and Hamilton; Ohio's 247 cities among 931 municipalities; and more than 1,300 townships. She explained city versus village population standards, home rule, statutory cities versus charter cities, and the mayor and city manager forms of government. She said seven Franklin County cities use the city manager form - Dublin, Hilliard, New Albany, Pickerington, Upper Arlington, Westerville, and Worthington - while nine, including Gahanna, use a mayor form. She noted Gahanna has tripled in population since 1970. Zimomra described National League of Cities research indicating charter review commissions generally focus on best practices, council size, district/ward/at-large representation, and executive support rather than wholesale overhaul. She said public engagement tools used by cities include podcasts, direct mail, surveys, and farmers markets, while acknowledging that charter changes are one of the hardest topics to get residents engaged in.
• Work Plan and Prioritization Framework - Chair Barnhardt presented a draft Process Architecture document to guide the Commission's work. He proposed a prioritization matrix to help evaluate ideas, given the tight timeline and the possibility of placing amendments before voters in November. Vice Chair Wester said early input from elected officials, administration, and the public would be important. Commissioner Mularski asked how the matrix would apply; Barnhardt said it would be used mainly for substantive governance, authority, or election matters, while technical or housekeeping items could move forward by agreement. Commissioner Belisle asked how proposals would be gathered; Barnhardt said the Commission should compile ideas through engagement and prioritize later, and Belisle and Wester agreed. Commissioner Hill suggested adding alignment with the City's Strategic Plan to the matrix; Barnhardt agreed to revise the document and bring it back for possible adoption. City Attorney Priya Tamilarasan asked whether scoring would be individual or collective; Barnhardt preferred individual scoring, then combining or averaging scores. Tamilarasan and Clerk VanMeter offered to prepare scoring forms, and Tamilarasan reminded the Commission that those forms would be public records. Belisle recommended submitting proposals to the Clerk or shared drive rather than by group email; Tamilarasan warned that substantive email discussion among a majority of commissioners could violate the Open Meetings Act and recommended sending proposals to VanMeter. She also advised against drafting amendment language too early. Commissioner Reynolds asked when a full list would be available; Barnhardt estimated by the end of April or the second meeting in April. VanMeter said a submitted proposal had already been posted on the public Legistar system. The Commission leaned toward keeping individual files for each proposal.
• Commissioner Discussion on Current Charter - Commissioners shared initial observations. Hill said charter language on public safety, including fire and police, and wording on diversity and inclusion may need clarity. Reynolds wanted to study how communities such as Bexley and Denver incorporated community feedback into charter processes. Maxwell said the charter appears well written but he wanted to hear from people working in city government about operational barriers before reaching conclusions. Belisle said her initial first-reading impressions carried less weight as she learned more. Mularski recommended forwarding specific concerns, especially public-safety concerns, to the administration through Clerk VanMeter. Vice Chair Wester said she supported eliminating an unnecessary mayoral primary when only two candidates file; she flagged inconsistent residency requirements for elected offices - mayor: two years before the filing deadline, council: fifteen months before the election, and city attorney: at the time of filing only - and noted that the city attorney section twice references political party offices. Barnhardt said he had also noticed the residency inconsistencies and an organizational-meeting date provision that sets January 2, with a Sunday exception but no Saturday exception; City Attorney Tamilarasan confirmed the provision would require a Saturday meeting in that situation. Barnhardt suggested adding flexibility.
• Upcoming Meeting Calendar Updates - The Commission reviewed the schedule: the mayor and administration were set for March 12, City Council was likely set for April 9, and March 26 remained open. Vice Chair Wester suggested inviting the legal department; City Attorney Tamilarasan said she could advise as issues arise and instead recommended inviting other city boards and commissions named in the charter. Clerk VanMeter agreed to coordinate outreach. Commissioner Hill asked about virtual participation; Tamilarasan said the Commission meets the statutory requirements to adopt a virtual-participation policy, but the current Council Chambers likely lacks the technical capacity. Kevin Schultz, Senior Director of Operations, explained that live streaming and video conferencing are different technologies and said he would check whether the new Council Chambers could support hybrid participation starting with the May meeting. Wester asked that City Council members also be invited to March 26 if available; Barnhardt supported that. Mayor Jadwin noted the March 26 date could be difficult because of the upcoming move to the new facility. City Attorney Tamilarasan asked about a calendar shift from the second/fourth Thursdays to first/third Thursdays in May; the Commission said the shift was not intentional, confirmed the city could meet on April 23, and retained the previously approved May 7 and May 21 dates to avoid Memorial Day week.
• Public Engagement Process Discussion - The Commission discussed public engagement in the open meeting rather than through a subcommittee. Vice Chair Wester said the immediate priority is making residents aware of meetings, which are live-streamed and posted on YouTube. Commissioner Hill recommended engaging residents at festivals and farmers markets, using information displays and direct outreach. Commissioner Reynolds said residents need to understand what the Charter is and how Gahanna operates before providing feedback, and suggested a survey to gauge understanding and invite input. Commissioner Belisle questioned whether a charter-awareness survey would produce meaningful information and cautioned against overwhelming the public with multiple surveys. Commissioner Maxwell said residents mainly need to know when and how meetings occur. Commissioner Mularski said the public needs clear meeting times, locations, ways to attend and comment, and should be asked about proposed charter changes generally, not each amendment, because voters will decide at the ballot box. Chair Barnhardt suggested producing a short video as a call to action. Miranda Vollmer said the communications team can post reminders, highlight meeting topics in newsletters and social media, promote video-comment submissions, and explore producing a video introducing the commission. Commissioner Belisle suggested each commissioner personally invite five community leaders to meetings; Barnhardt agreed and committed to doing so.

Key Outcomes

• The February 12, 2026 organizational meeting minutes were approved 7-0.
• No public comments, correspondence, or commissioner comments were submitted.
• The Work Plan and Prioritization Framework was not adopted at this meeting; Chair Barnhardt will revise it to include alignment with the City's Strategic Plan and bring it back for possible adoption at the next meeting.
• The Commission is expected to use individual scoring for substantive proposals, with all scoring documents treated as public records, and proposals are to be submitted through the Clerk or the shared/online system rather than through group email.
• The upcoming schedule is: March 12 - mayor and administration; March 26 - other boards and commissions, with City Council members invited if available; April 9 - City Council. Virtual participation is not currently feasible in the existing Council Chambers, and technical capacity in the new facility will be checked before May.
• Public engagement will combine communications-team promotion, event-based outreach, possible video content, and personal invitations by commissioners to community leaders.
• No substantive charter amendments were voted on.