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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Vandalia City Council Meeting – September 21, 2026

City Council — Monday, September 21, 2026

BodyVandalia, Ohio

SessionCity Council

DateMonday, September 21, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 30:19

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:03

All right, the Monday, September 21st uh City of Vandalia Council meeting is now called to order.

0:07

Uh we'll begin with a moment of reflection, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

0:16

Please stand for the pledge.

0:21

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:25

And to the Republic, which is one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all of the council.

0:46

And also the special council meeting minutes of June 22nd.

0:50

Are there any comments or corrections?

0:53

All right.

0:54

Being none, they stand approved, and that brings us to communications petitions and awards.

0:58

Where I'll turn it over to uh Mr.

0:59

Althouse because we have a like three introductions here tonight.

1:02

We do.

1:02

We have three new employees that we want to welcome and introduce to council and to the visitors that are present tonight.

1:09

So our first one, I have the opportunity and the privilege to introduce our newest police officer, Carter Ward.

1:14

Carter, if you will stand, I'm going to read your bio and then I'll meet you at the podium to give your oath of office.

1:20

So Carter uh Ward was uh appointed as a probation police officer with the Division of Police this morning.

1:26

So this is his first day with the City of Andalia, and he will begin his initial orientation of field training with the unit number 242.

1:33

Carter graduated in 2019 from Mind Valley Career Technology Center in Ansonia High School.

1:39

He later attended Sinclair Community College, where he earned his State of Ohio EMT, Level 1 Firefighter and Level 2 Firefighter Certifications.

1:48

In 2023, he attended the Edison Community College Police Academy and subsequently earned his commission after being hired by the Greenville Police Department in January 2024.

1:59

Prior to his appointment as a police officer with the Greenville Police Department, Carter served as a 911 dispatcher for the City of Greenville, an EMT basic with Ansonia Rescue, and a volunteer firefighter, an EMT uh with the Brookville Fire Department as well.

2:16

Carter happens to be married to one of our other employees, public safety specialist Chase Solberg, and they are currently residing in the Greenville area.

2:24

So we want to congratulate Carter on his success through the process and welcome him to Van Day Division of Police as our newest police officer.

2:32

Welcome she looked familiar.

2:40

And do you have family here tonight?

2:42

I do.

2:43

All right.

2:43

I'm going to ask any family with Carter if you want to stand and support him during his oath of office.

2:50

We will have you stand and then we'll do a picture in front of the screen here once we've administered that oath and the pinning of the badge.

3:04

All right, Carter, if you'll raise your right hand and repeat after me.

3:08

I state your name.

3:09

I Carter Ward.

3:11

Solemnly swear.

3:13

That I will support the Constitution.

3:15

That I would support the Constitution.

3:17

And we'll obey the laws of the United States.

3:20

And we'll obey the laws of the United States.

3:22

And of the State of Ohio.

3:23

And of the State of Ohio.

3:25

That I will in all respects.

3:27

That I will in all respects.

3:28

Observe the provisions of the charter.

3:30

Observe the provisions of the charter.

3:32

And ordinances of the City of Vandalia.

3:35

And ordinances of the City of Andalia.

3:37

And we'll faithfully discharge.

3:39

And we'll faithfully discharge.

3:41

The duties of the Office of Police Officer.

3:44

The duties of the Office of Police Officer.

3:46

Within the division of police.

3:49

Congratulations.

3:49

Welcome aboard.

4:06

Yeah, go over there.

4:09

If the family wants to join him, take pictures, then we're going to get a group photo of all the family and friends that are here as well.

5:59

Welcome, Carter.

6:07

All right.

6:08

We have the opportunity to do to introduce two additional new employees that have recently joined the city of Vandalia.

6:15

And these are both parks and rec maintenance technicians.

6:18

They work in our parks and rec department, helping maintaining the parks and the various facilities throughout the city.

6:24

The first one we're going to introduce is Austin Swope.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Youth Programs█████████████████████████25%

Public Safety███████████████████████23%

Procedural████████████████████20%

Parks and Recreation██████████10%

Zoning And Land Use█████████9%

Personnel Matters██████6%

Budget Equity Analysis████4%

Economic Development███3%

Summary of Proceedings

Vandalia City Council Meeting – September 21, 2026

The Vandalia City Council met on September 21, 2026, at 7:00 PM. The meeting included employee introductions, a public comment from a nonprofit representative, approval of five resolutions, two ordinances (first and second reading), and a motion to enter executive session. All votes were unanimous (7-0).

Consent Calendar

Approved the Council Study Session Meeting Minutes of June 15, 2026
Approved the Council Meeting Minutes of June 15, 2026
Approved the Special Council Meeting Minutes of June 22, 2026

Communications and New Employee Introductions

Police Officer Carter Ward was sworn in after being appointed that morning. He previously served with the Greenville Police Department and holds multiple certifications.
Parks and Recreation Maintenance Technicians Austin Swope (previously at Young’s Dairy) and Austin Brown (previously at Miami County Park District) were introduced.

Public Comments & Testimony

A nonprofit founder (former sheriff’s office employee) spoke about the “Cops and Kids” Trunk or Treat event scheduled for October 4, 2026, at Scene 75 in Vandalia. She stated that the event is free to vendors, crafters, food trucks, and participants, and invited council members to serve as judges for a face painting contest. She highlighted that about 141 vendors, 18 food trucks, and free entertainment (dance performances, a haunted house, semi-pro wrestling) would be present. The event runs from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM, with setup at 2:00 PM.

City Manager’s Report – Information Items

Vandalia Division of Police Open House: Thursday, September 24, 2026, 5:30–7:30 PM at the Justice Center.
Fire Prevention Month Open House: Sunday, October 4, 2026, 12:00–2:00 PM at Fire Station One, 8705 Peters Pike.
2026 Budget Workshops: October 12 (4–7 PM) and October 26 (4–7 PM) in the Municipal Building training room.

Discussion Items

Resolutions (all adopted 7-0)

26-R-45: Approved a financial contribution to the Vandalia Development Corporation for economic development incentives.
26-R-46: Rescinded Resolution 85-R-22, which had authorized building appeals services by the City of Dayton, because Dayton rescinded its own board certification.
26-R-47: Approved the State of Ohio Board of Building Appeals as the appeals board for commercial and nonresidential building code matters for Vandalia.
26-R-48: Waived competitive bidding and authorized purchase of new body-worn and in-car cameras from Axon for $242,999 (annual cost $48,499), funded through the 2026 capital budget and grant funds; existing Panasonic equipment declared surplus.
26-R-49: Awarded bid and authorized purchase of three new 2027 Ford Police Interceptor Utility vehicles from Beau Townsend Ford for $142,890 (lowest and best bid); three existing patrol vehicles declared surplus.

Ordinances

First Reading – 26-13: An ordinance authorizing the law director to prosecute annexation proceedings under ORC 709.14 for state-owned territory west of Mulberry Road from Butler Township. Approved 7-0.
Second Reading – 26-12: An ordinance amending zoning code sections (1218.03, 1218.04, 1220.04, 1244.02) to reclassify retail businesses into multiple categories. Staff noted a scrivener’s error (duplicate entry for automobile sales) and council voted 7-0 to amend the ordinance. After amendment, the ordinance was adopted 7-0. The Planning Commission had recommended approval 4-0 on July 28, 2026.

Other Reports and Business

Charter Review Committee meeting minutes of September 10, 2026, were received.
August 2026 bill listing ($3,848,280.17), monthly expenses over $25,000, and purchasing card detail ($26,974.56) were presented.
Council comments included welcoming new staff and expressing appreciation for police officers on National Police Officer Day (September 20).

Key Outcomes

All resolutions and ordinances were approved unanimously (7-0).
Council voted 7-0 to enter executive session to discuss the purchase or sale of real property.
No action items or old business were considered.

Meeting Transcript

All right, the Monday, September 21st uh City of Vandalia Council meeting is now called to order. Uh we'll begin with a moment of reflection, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. Please stand for the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic, which is one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all of the council. And also the special council meeting minutes of June 22nd. Are there any comments or corrections? All right. Being none, they stand approved, and that brings us to communications petitions and awards. Where I'll turn it over to uh Mr. Althouse because we have a like three introductions here tonight. We do. We have three new employees that we want to welcome and introduce to council and to the visitors that are present tonight. So our first one, I have the opportunity and the privilege to introduce our newest police officer, Carter Ward. Carter, if you will stand, I'm going to read your bio and then I'll meet you at the podium to give your oath of office. So Carter uh Ward was uh appointed as a probation police officer with the Division of Police this morning. So this is his first day with the City of Andalia, and he will begin his initial orientation of field training with the unit number 242. Carter graduated in 2019 from Mind Valley Career Technology Center in Ansonia High School. He later attended Sinclair Community College, where he earned his State of Ohio EMT, Level 1 Firefighter and Level 2 Firefighter Certifications. In 2023, he attended the Edison Community College Police Academy and subsequently earned his commission after being hired by the Greenville Police Department in January 2024. Prior to his appointment as a police officer with the Greenville Police Department, Carter served as a 911 dispatcher for the City of Greenville, an EMT basic with Ansonia Rescue, and a volunteer firefighter, an EMT uh with the Brookville Fire Department as well. Carter happens to be married to one of our other employees, public safety specialist Chase Solberg, and they are currently residing in the Greenville area. So we want to congratulate Carter on his success through the process and welcome him to Van Day Division of Police as our newest police officer. Welcome she looked familiar. And do you have family here tonight? I do. All right. I'm going to ask any family with Carter if you want to stand and support him during his oath of office. We will have you stand and then we'll do a picture in front of the screen here once we've administered that oath and the pinning of the badge. All right, Carter, if you'll raise your right hand and repeat after me. I state your name. I Carter Ward. Solemnly swear. That I will support the Constitution. That I would support the Constitution. And we'll obey the laws of the United States. And we'll obey the laws of the United States. And of the State of Ohio. And of the State of Ohio. That I will in all respects. That I will in all respects. Observe the provisions of the charter. Observe the provisions of the charter. And ordinances of the City of Vandalia. And ordinances of the City of Andalia. And we'll faithfully discharge. And we'll faithfully discharge. The duties of the Office of Police Officer. The duties of the Office of Police Officer. Within the division of police.

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