The City Council of Vandalia, Ohio, met on September 2, 2025, at 7:00 PM. The meeting included approval of minutes, introductions of new parks and recreation leaders, public comments regarding a proposed development, passage of five resolutions and five ordinances (all on second reading), an emergency ordinance, a conditional use approval, and a motion to enter executive session. All votes were unanimous (6-0) unless noted.
All right, to September 2nd, 2025, City of Andalia Council meeting is now called to order. We'll begin with a moment of reflection, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Please stand for the pledge. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God and indivisible with liberty and justice for all. All right, Council, you've had an opportunity to review the study session meeting minutes along with the council meeting minutes of July 21st and the council study session meeting minutes and the council meeting minutes of August 18th. Are there any comments or corrections? Being none, they stand approved, and that brings us to communications petitions and awards where we have uh a couple of introductions, and I'll turn it over to uh Mr. Althouse. Well, thank you, Your Honor. It's an honor and a privilege to welcome introduce our new parks and recreation director. So Alicia McCracken, if you'll stuff to the podium, I'm going to read her bio as as though most of you already know who Alicia is. She's been here at Vandalia a long, long time. She was born and raised here in the Vandal community. She graduated from Vanday Butler High School in 2001, then attended the Ohio State University, where she earned a degree in sports and leisure studies in 2005. Alisha began her journey with the City of Vandalia Parks and Recreation Department in 1997, working part-time in various youth programs. She was also one of the original part-time employees at the recreation center when it opened in 2001. In 2007, Alicia transitioned into a full-time role as recreation coordinator over athletics. She was promoted to recreation facility manager in 2018, and in 2024 became the recreation superintendent. Alicia lives in Butler Township with her husband Jerome and their two daughters Kinsley and Taylon. Is that right? She looks forward to leading the department, continuing to create recreational opportunities for the community through all of Vandalia's outstanding amenities. And so it is my privilege to welcome and introduce our new parks and recreation director, Elisha McCracken. All right, welcome. Thank you. I appreciate it. Aaron, come right on up. I was always here again. So Aaron is well. Aaron Messenger has lived in Vandalia since 2001. He graduated from Butler High School in 2014. And Aaron received his bachelor's degree in recreation management from Ohio University in 2018. And he just completed his master's program in public administration from Wright State University this August. Kudos for being top of your class. Aaron has worked for the City of Andalia for eight years now. He started his career as the athletics intern in the summer of 2017, then became the program's coordinator in 2018, then transitioned to recreational facility manager in 2024, and is now stepped into the role of recreation superintendent. Aaron is excited with his new for his new role and looks forward to continuing to serve the Vandal community through top-tier recreation experiences. He's done a great job expanding the number of programs out the recreational facility, and so we're excited to have him in this new role. Welcome. Welcome. Thank you, guys. I appreciate it. Couldn't have two finer individuals. Welcome. All right, we have no public hearing, and that brings us to comments from interested citizens. So if anyone would like to make a comment, please come to the podium, state your name and address for the record. We further ask that those who speak to please follow the etiquette of communicating with respect to others. And as a courtesy, please try to stay on topic with your statements while you address council. And as a reminder, this is not a forum for arguments or debates. And in an effort to give all citizens an opportunity to express their thoughts and concerns, we'd like you to keep your comments as brief as possible, and we would like to limit them till five minutes.