OpenPublica

Accountability starts with access.

© 2026 · Filed for the public record

Use casesAboutAPIPrivacyTermsLinkedIn
Home/Whitehall, Ohio/City Council
OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Whitehall City Council Committee Meeting - August 25, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, August 25, 2026
BodyWhitehall, Ohio
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, August 25, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:02:20

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

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:12

Set it all the way down, Debian.

Speaker 2

0:17

It was acting funny this morning during court, because the area was.

Speaker 3

0:23

We got ladder up here.

0:25

They're gonna start because

Speaker 2

0:28

it was spinning this morning.

0:31

Oh, it's that area.

Unassigned speaker

0:35

Is that a work?

Unassigned speaker

0:37

I've got to flush it.

Speaker 4

0:44

Right.

Unassigned speaker

1:03

I don't know if you want to talk about it.

Speaker 5

1:10

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to right off city council committee meeting agenda.

1:15

Tuesday, August 25th, 2026.

1:20

We're getting a little late start at uh 6 41.

1:24

We had a special meeting prior.

1:26

Uh we will be done immediately following a special meeting administration.

1:34

Well, we're done a special meeting administration.

1:36

Uh council of a whole matters.

1:41

There, excuse me, there are five pieces of draft legislation on the agenda.

1:47

Uh committee of the whole legislation issues, and at this time, uh, city attorney, Mr.

1:52

Nicodemus, wishes to have the floor.

Speaker 2

1:56

Thank you.

1:57

Um, so I know last week we had talks about meetings.

2:01

I had to cancel a couple of uh what we'll call meetings or interviews because of flooding in the basement and uh office and stuff.

2:09

Uh still working on that.

2:11

Uh, quite frankly, I have all of your emails for the past month and a half, including any that it didn't need to go through, but still need to talk to some people.

2:20

Um that said, I had some time to think about how to uh sometimes as attorneys we try to mediate and find solutions.

2:30

And uh I spent some time thinking about it and going back to what I know, which is uh congressional hearings and law, and if you like history, check out some of the nominating uh conventions of the 1800s because you'll see where I got these ideas.

2:46

What I'm going to pitch to you tonight is an idea for you to consider to move forward with determining and appointing a president of council.

2:56

If I did this right, everybody will have a little bit of heartburn with this, and everybody will like a little bit of this, and I think it'll be a good compromise if you choose to go forward with it.

3:06

And that way we can press along.

3:10

As I go through this, I'll ask you to hold any questions or comments till the end because I try to think of everything.

3:17

So if I don't hit it right away, I might get it later.

3:20

So we'll start with nominations.

3:24

People interested in an appointment to counsel the president with email resumes, letters of interest, or just an email saying I want to be considered uh to Julia by September 1st at noon.

3:37

That would be your next regularly scheduled uh council meeting next week.

3:42

Names of those that email in will not be distributed until immediately prior to the meeting, at which point you would get a packet with all the information that was submitted.

3:53

At the meeting, there would be a motion to open nominations, then the people having submitted resumes and letters will be called forward, and each will have three minutes to speak to counsel on why he or she wants to be council president and what qualifications they have.

4:11

If a person cannot attend, because this is short notice, he or she can send a delegate, they can nominate one of you to speak on their half.

4:18

They can send their six-year-old son or eighty four-year-old grandmother.

4:22

They can still properly consider them for nominations.

Unassigned speaker

We would also say that just because a person could not be here does not send a delegate.

Speaker 2

4:39

After each person who submitted the documents has had an opportunity to speak, it will be an open call.

4:45

Anybody in the audience that did previously want to uh throw their name in the ring will have an opportunity to come up and throw their name in the ring, and they will get the same three minutes.

4:58

Once there's no more public speakers to put their names in consideration, council will then move to nominate.

5:09

And in your nomination, it would be I nominate the person's name for president of council.

5:17

If the nomination receives a second, that name and that person will be considered when we move on to the next step.

5:24

You could nominate every person that puts their name in the hat for it, or based on what you hear, maybe you don't nominate certain people.

5:34

There's no limit on who you can and can't nominate.

5:37

There is no discussion on the nominations.

5:39

Again, I nominate so and so.

5:41

If it gets a second, they're in.

5:44

Once that is done, we will do a motion to close nominations.

5:49

For this meeting only, the motion to close has to be approved by a two-thirds majority of council.

5:57

Once nominations are closed, we will move to the appointment of president of council.

6:04

The form of that motion will be something along the lines of I move to appoint a president of council.

6:10

No specific name will be given.

6:13

When you vote, you will eventually vote for a person's name.

6:17

We will not call a person's name and do yes and nays for an individual.

6:22

It will be a vote for a person's name.

6:25

Your debate.

Summary of Proceedings

Whitehall City Council Committee Meeting - August 25, 2026

The Whitehall City Council Committee of the Whole met on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, at 6:41 PM. The central focus was the adoption of detailed temporary rules, proposed by City Attorney Bradley S. Nicodemus, to select a new Council President. Council also advanced several pieces of draft legislation, discussed widespread flooding impacts, and addressed traffic safety concerns.

Council President Selection Process

  • Proposal: City Attorney Nicodemus proposed temporary rules modeled on 1800s presidential nominating conventions and congressional hearings to break an impasse on the selection.
  • Process Rules: Candidates must submit interest by September 1 at noon. Nominees will speak for three minutes. Council members will have structured debate time and voting will proceed in rounds until a majority is achieved. A remote option is available for qualifying candidates.
  • Amendments: Council voted 6-1 to automatically disqualify candidates who do not speak. The audience will be relocated to the lobby to watch the interview process via livestream.

Consent Calendar

  • Draft 1 (Res. 039-2026): Accepting amounts and rates for tax levies as determined by the Budget Commission. Advanced to first reading.
  • Draft 2 (Ord. 084-2026): Transfer of $57,920.89 from General Fund (101) to Debt Service Fund (401) for the Woodcliff FCIB Loan payment. Advanced to first reading.
  • Draft 3 (Ord. 085-2026): Transfer of $68,576.09 from General Fund (101) to Debt Service Fund (401) for the HPCC City Facilities lease payment. Advanced to first reading.
  • Draft 4 (Ord. 086-2026): Authorizing stop signs at E Mound Street and Bernhard Road to create an all-way stop. Advanced to third reading.
  • Draft 5 (Ord. 087-2026): Prohibiting parking on sections of St. Rita Lane. Advanced to third reading.
  • Res. 034-2026: Authorizing a Community Reinvestment Area agreement with APHC of Central Ohio. Advanced to third reading.

Discussion Items

  • Flooding Infrastructure: Councilman Dixon raised concerns about repeated basement flooding from severe storms. Director of Public Service Rowlands stated the city is collecting damage data to map problem areas and is working with engineers on solutions. City Auditor Alexander reported the General Fund is at $7.13 million with debt service at 3.47% of expenses, allowing flexibility for infrastructure needs. Council discussed forming a subcommittee to investigate, with an emphasis on coordinating with the administration.
  • Traffic Safety: Council discussed the need for detailed resident data on speeding to make informed decisions. A parking concern on Hamilton Road during school hours is being investigated by the school resource officer.

Key Outcomes

  • Council President Selection: Council voted 7-0 to adopt the temporary selection rules as amended.
  • Legislation: All five draft pieces of legislation and the resolution were advanced to their respective readings (first or third) for the September 1 council meeting.
  • Flooding Data Collection: Council directed continued data collection and coordination with the administration on a subcommittee to study flooding.
  • Public Safety: Acknowledged memorial events for Officer Terry McDowell. New Police Officer Sean Gary starts August 31, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Set it all the way down, Debian. It was acting funny this morning during court, because the area was. We got ladder up here. They're gonna start because it was spinning this morning. Oh, it's that area. Is that a work? I've got to flush it. Right. I don't know if you want to talk about it. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to right off city council committee meeting agenda. Tuesday, August 25th, 2026. We're getting a little late start at uh 6 41. We had a special meeting prior. Uh we will be done immediately following a special meeting administration. Well, we're done a special meeting administration. Uh council of a whole matters. There, excuse me, there are five pieces of draft legislation on the agenda. Uh committee of the whole legislation issues, and at this time, uh, city attorney, Mr. Nicodemus, wishes to have the floor. Thank you. Um, so I know last week we had talks about meetings. I had to cancel a couple of uh what we'll call meetings or interviews because of flooding in the basement and uh office and stuff. Uh still working on that. Uh, quite frankly, I have all of your emails for the past month and a half, including any that it didn't need to go through, but still need to talk to some people. Um that said, I had some time to think about how to uh sometimes as attorneys we try to mediate and find solutions. And uh I spent some time thinking about it and going back to what I know, which is uh congressional hearings and law, and if you like history, check out some of the nominating uh conventions of the 1800s because you'll see where I got these ideas. What I'm going to pitch to you tonight is an idea for you to consider to move forward with determining and appointing a president of council. If I did this right, everybody will have a little bit of heartburn with this, and everybody will like a little bit of this, and I think it'll be a good compromise if you choose to go forward with it. And that way we can press along. As I go through this, I'll ask you to hold any questions or comments till the end because I try to think of everything. So if I don't hit it right away, I might get it later. So we'll start with nominations. People interested in an appointment to counsel the president with email resumes, letters of interest, or just an email saying I want to be considered uh to Julia by September 1st at noon. That would be your next regularly scheduled uh council meeting next week. Names of those that email in will not be distributed until immediately prior to the meeting, at which point you would get a packet with all the information that was submitted. At the meeting, there would be a motion to open nominations, then the people having submitted resumes and letters will be called forward, and each will have three minutes to speak to counsel on why he or she wants to be council president and what qualifications they have. If a person cannot attend, because this is short notice, he or she can send a delegate, they can nominate one of you to speak on their half. They can send their six-year-old son or eighty four-year-old grandmother. They can still properly consider them for nominations. We would also say that just because a person could not be here does not send a delegate. After each person who submitted the documents has had an opportunity to speak, it will be an open call. Anybody in the audience that did previously want to uh throw their name in the ring will have an opportunity to come up and throw their name in the ring, and they will get the same three minutes. Once there's no more public speakers to put their names in consideration, council will then move to nominate. And in your nomination, it would be I nominate the person's name for president of council. If the nomination receives a second, that name and that person will be considered when we move on to the next step. You could nominate every person that puts their name in the hat for it, or based on what you hear, maybe you don't nominate certain people. There's no limit on who you can and can't nominate. There is no discussion on the nominations. Again, I nominate so and so.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com