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Record of Proceedings

Whitehall City Council Committee Meeting - May 12, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, May 12, 2026
BodyWhitehall, Ohio
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, May 12, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Unassigned speaker

0:00

I

Speaker 1

0:00

feel

Unassigned speaker

0:01

like

Speaker 1

0:02

that for the first two months before the wall finally said.

Speaker 2

0:14

Good evening.

0:15

Would like to call White House City Council agenda meeting for Tuesday, May 12th, 2026.

0:21

The order.

0:23

First on the agenda is Administration Council of a Whole Matters.

0:29

And I do believe we have a subject to be covered by Alexander.

Speaker 3

0:35

I did want to go under administration of financial management.

Speaker 2

0:39

Oh, okay.

0:40

I'm sorry.

0:40

Yeah, no problem at

Unassigned speaker

0:41

all.

Speaker 2

0:42

We will skip it.

0:43

Does anyone else have anything under administration council as a whole?

0:50

If not, we will move on.

0:53

There are no pieces of draft legislation on the agenda this evening.

0:59

Committee the whole legislation issues.

Speaker 3

1:11

No

Speaker 2

1:12

one.

Unassigned speaker

1:14

We

Speaker 2

1:15

will move on to standing committee.

1:17

Administration and financial manager.

1:19

But Chairperson Elmore.

Speaker 4

1:22

Thank you.

1:23

Uh President Pro Tim Morrison.

1:26

I will open administration and financial management at 6 32.

1:30

We have no drafts or penny legislation.

1:32

However, um attorney Nicodemus wanted to know about the legislation that we discussed a couple weeks ago.

Speaker 5

1:43

And bringing it back.

Speaker 4

1:46

Oh, I guess I can do it under parks and right.

1:48

I'll do it under parks and rack.

1:50

Okay.

1:51

Is there anything else for the good of uh administration and finance?

Speaker 3

1:54

I have a few items I want to touch on, and again, I beg if you please don't get accustomed to me showing up to committee meetings.

Speaker 4

2:01

We will.

Speaker 3

2:03

I was here working late this evening, so I decided to join.

2:06

Um and I have some things I want to share.

2:08

So one thing that has bothered me just from a uh I don't want to put this delicately from a function standpoint is the commentary about the revenue sharing issues we had last year with the school that made a big splash.

2:27

And

Unassigned speaker

2:29

I

Speaker 3

2:29

don't want to harp on it too long, but just to put it simply, that issue predated even my time

Unassigned speaker

2:37

with

Speaker 3

2:37

the city of Whitehall, and I've been here since 2022.

2:40

And some of the commentary around it just kind of it confounds me because I think I've said this multiple times to put it in writing.

2:49

And not only does the issue predate my time here, it was fixed uh in efforts with Director Russell, Mayor Bibbins, and Auditor Quinzel, my predecessor.

2:59

And it took a lot of work not only with the city, but also our partners at the schools, the administration over there and the school board.

3:06

Um if you have any questions about what happened, why it happened,

Unassigned speaker

3:11

what

Speaker 3

3:11

said guarding island play so it doesn't happen again.

3:14

I'm happy to talk to you.

3:17

I'm sure our school board members and administrators over there are happy to talk to you.

3:21

And not to put you on high seat, but uh our friend Council Person Atkins was on school board during that time, so I think he has some uh intimate insights to what happened.

3:30

And there is said guards and the contract in place that was agreed upon uh unanimously.

3:35

I think there was one abstention by the school board and supported by their legal council.

3:39

So

Unassigned speaker

3:40

uh I'm gonna do my best to make sure something like that doesn't happen again.

Unassigned speaker

3:44

But I want to be clear,

Speaker 3

3:46

concise, and unequivocal that that issue predated my time here, which I started in 2022, and it was resolved by Mayor Bismits, Auditor Quinzel, and Director Russell.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement█████████████████████████████████33%
Budget Equity Analysis███████████████████19%
Procedural██████████████14%
Economic Development█████████████13%
Parks And Recreation█████████████13%
Animal Welfare████████8%
Summary of Proceedings

Whitehall City Council Committee Meeting - May 12, 2026

The Whitehall City Council Committee of the Whole convened on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 6:30 PM. The meeting featured reports from all standing committees, with no draft legislation on the agenda.

Administration and Financial Management

  • Auditor Alexander addressed the history of the revenue sharing issue with the school district. He stated the problem predated his tenure (beginning in 2022) and was resolved by Mayor Bibbins, Auditor Quinzel, and Director Russell. He was unequivocal that the schools “were not shorted a dime” and that contractual safeguards are now in place to prevent recurrence.
  • Council Member Atkins, who was on the school board during the period in question, stated he had not yet thoroughly reviewed the details of the historical issue.
  • Alexander responded to concerns about information accessibility from his office. He strongly pushed back against the characterization that he does not work for or represent the people, reaffirming his role as an elected official accountable to taxpayers.
  • A Community Town Hall was announced for Monday, May 18, 2026, from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM at the Whitehall Senior Center (4924 Etna Road). The event will be moderated by a resident and will feature a live Q&A segment.

Community and Elder Advocacy

  • Chairperson Harcar introduced plans for “Megan's Way Out” legislation, a local safety ordinance for vehicles exiting drive-throughs, inspired by the death of 25-year-old Megan Kelleman. The ordinance is expected to be presented to the committee in approximately two weeks. City Attorney Nicodemus is collaborating on the draft as a state-level bill on the matter has stalled.

Economic Development

  • Chairperson Dixon presented Ordinance 034-2026, which allows a special permit for drive-through facilities at 4600 E Broad Street (the former Applebee's). The property is owned by Meyer Foods Management Company, and the proposed development is a Culver's restaurant. The ordinance was referred to the Whitehall Planning Commission for a special meeting on May 21, 2026, with a public hearing scheduled for June 2, 2026.
  • Councilperson McCann expressed strong support for the project, noting positive community feedback.

Infrastructure, Public Safety, and Community Events

  • Chairperson Brown promoted the upcoming Town Hall as an opportunity to discuss infrastructure issues.
  • Chairperson Morrison reported a successful Law Enforcement Memorial service and reminded the council of the Memorial Day Flag Raising at 10:00 AM at City Hall.

Parks and Recreation

  • Chairperson Elmore requested the reintroduction of deer management legislation.
  • Chairperson Adkins reported on best practices from Worthington, Ohio, which recommended a deer feeding ban as the necessary first legislative step. Enforcement would rely on code enforcement and animal control. Further population control measures, such as using sharpshooters, would be managed through an ODNR task force. Adkins committed to drafting the feeding ban ordinance for a future meeting.
  • Upcoming events were highlighted, including “Whitehall Scoops” on May 14, 2026, at the library.

Key Outcomes

  • Legislation Initiated: A deer feeding ban ordinance will be drafted by Councilperson Adkins. The “Megan's Way Out” drive-thru safety ordinance will be presented by Chairperson Harcar in approximately two weeks.
  • Economic Development Referral: Ordinance 034-2026 (Culver's drive-thru special permit) was referred to the Planning Commission for a meeting on May 21, 2026. A public hearing is set for June 2, 2026.
  • Community Engagement: The City's Community Town Hall was scheduled for May 18, 2026. The Memorial Day Flag Raising was scheduled for 10:00 AM at City Hall.

Meeting Transcript

I feel like that for the first two months before the wall finally said. Good evening. Would like to call White House City Council agenda meeting for Tuesday, May 12th, 2026. The order. First on the agenda is Administration Council of a Whole Matters. And I do believe we have a subject to be covered by Alexander. I did want to go under administration of financial management. Oh, okay. I'm sorry. Yeah, no problem at all. We will skip it. Does anyone else have anything under administration council as a whole? If not, we will move on. There are no pieces of draft legislation on the agenda this evening. Committee the whole legislation issues. No one. We will move on to standing committee. Administration and financial manager. But Chairperson Elmore. Thank you. Uh President Pro Tim Morrison. I will open administration and financial management at 6 32. We have no drafts or penny legislation. However, um attorney Nicodemus wanted to know about the legislation that we discussed a couple weeks ago. And bringing it back. Oh, I guess I can do it under parks and right. I'll do it under parks and rack. Okay. Is there anything else for the good of uh administration and finance? I have a few items I want to touch on, and again, I beg if you please don't get accustomed to me showing up to committee meetings. We will. I was here working late this evening, so I decided to join. Um and I have some things I want to share. So one thing that has bothered me just from a uh I don't want to put this delicately from a function standpoint is the commentary about the revenue sharing issues we had last year with the school that made a big splash. And I don't want to harp on it too long, but just to put it simply, that issue predated even my time with the city of Whitehall, and I've been here since 2022. And some of the commentary around it just kind of it confounds me because I think I've said this multiple times to put it in writing. And not only does the issue predate my time here, it was fixed uh in efforts with Director Russell, Mayor Bibbins, and Auditor Quinzel, my predecessor. And it took a lot of work not only with the city, but also our partners at the schools, the administration over there and the school board. Um if you have any questions about what happened, why it happened, what

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