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NEWTON FALLS -- The village had many ups and downs in 2023 with very lengthy council meetings that were often filled with arguments about many different issues.
The year saw the mayor resign, a council member get recalled, a longtime councilman retire, various lawsuits filed and questions on whether meetings and legislation passed were legal.
In September, Ken Kline announced that he was resigning as mayor to take a government supervisor position with a juvenile justice center.
"The last four years as your mayor have been quite a ride," Kline said at his last meeting in September. "We have had ups and we have had downs, but I have enjoyed every single day of serving you as your mayor."
He said his family will always come first and he had to make the difficult decision of resigning as mayor.
David Hanson, the only candidate on the ballot for mayor, ran uncontested in the Nov. 7 general election and will begin serving as mayor in January.
Second Ward councilman John Baryak, vice president of council, served as acting mayor after Kline's departure.
He attended his last council meeting on Wednesday.
"This has been one of the greatest honors of my life to have served the people, I did this service out of my heart," he said.
Baryak said he was proud of many projects that were completed while he was on council, including the Scott Street sewer project. Baryak also was able to survive two recall attempts, which was something former 3rd Ward Councilwoman Tesa Spletzer was not able to do.
With 80% of the voters in support of recalling her, Spletzer was ousted in the November general election. In the spring, residents secured 139 out of the 101 signatures needed to schedule a recall election for Spletzer. The document cited reasons for Spletzer's recall, including "her failure to conduct business of the village fairly and properly, failure to spend taxpayer money wisely and misfeasance."
Brenda Persino recently replaced Spletzer after being selected by the sitting council members. She was one of the residents who voiced concerns about Spletzer.
NEW COUNCIL
The new year will bring changes to village council.
Hanson will take office as the new mayor and Persino is the new 3rd Ward council member, but those are just two of the changes. Councilwoman-at-Large Julie Stimpert and 4th Ward Councilman Kevin Rufener are returning to their seats, but the 1st Ward now will be represented by Patricia Benetis. She won in the November election to fill the seat formerly held by Gideon "Bud" Fetterolf, who was appointed to the seat in 2022 when former councilman Michael Serotko stepped down. Fetterolf finished Serotko's term and chose not to seek re-election.
With Baryak not running in the 2nd Ward because of term limits, the newly elected Brian Axiotis will take the seat starting in 2024.
Because there was often not a full council in place at times this year, officials often had to seek legal opinion from Law Director Brad Bryan on whether there were enough votes for legislation to be passed.
Oftentimes, motions could only be given a first reading and special meetings had to take place.
Bryan would give council his legal opinion on passage of the ordinances.
During the September meeting when Kline announced he was resigning, he questioned the legality of the meeting as both Stimpert and Rufener left the meeting before the vote was taken. Bryan over the summer resigned from the position, but village officials were not able to find anyone for the job - even checking with bar associations in four local counties and advertising in local publications and online. In the fall, Bryan had his contract extended to the end of the year and is now being considered for another contract extension into 2024 until the village hires a new law director/ prosecutor. The village is advertising for the position.
Village Manager Pam Priddy said what was proposed for Bryan was a $1,200-per-month increase, bringing the pay to $4,500 per month from September to December.
VILLAGE MANAGER
One contract renewal this year that drew a lot of controversy and resulted in a lawsuit being filed over the legality of the ordinance's passage was a new contract for Priddy as village manager. There were often many comments from residents at meetings when Priddy's contract renewal was brought up for a vote.
Her new contract includes a $30,000 increase, bringing it from $60,000 to $90,000, and was approved by council in a 3-2 vote. Baryak, Fetterolf and Spletzer voted for the new contract while Rufener and Stimpert voted against.
Resident Adam Zimmermann, a former councilman, said Baryak and Spletzer were against the contracts with raises for the previous village manager, police chief, clerk and finance director. He said now they want to give Priddy a similar contract and $30,000 pay raise.
Resident Rick Kerlin, who has shown support for Priddy, said Priddy worked eight months with no pay, is receiving no benefits, and has done much to get grants and help the village, so she should receive a pay increase. Kerlin said it is important to keep good people.
"She has helped save this community hundreds of thousands of dollars by getting grants. She is keeping the city moving in the right direction," Kerlin said, noting previous village managers made a higher salary.
Supporters have noted that because of Priddy's efforts with retirements, reduction in staff, savings on health insurance, crackdown on delinquent taxes, doing well on investments, and other money-saving measures, the village was able to change a negative $250,000 balance in the general fund to a positive $400,000.
COMMUNITY CENTER
Another issue that has been a main topic this year is the community center in the park, which has led to court cases being heard on who should have control.
Last summer, members of Heritage Accord, who had been raising funds to get the building repaired and reopened, found what they thought at the time was a breakin and some damage done to the interior.
It was later found that the historic center was legally accessed by Priddy and other officials for an inspection to see the condition of the building. Fire and building inspectors also have looked at the center and determined it was not safe to be used for any events until repairs were made.
In recent months, the center has been turned over to the village and officials voted to end Heritage Accord's lease. Heritage Accord has filed a lawsuit against the action, with the matter to be addressed in court in January.
A newly formed structures and sites committee is working to secure grants for asbestos removal and other needed repairs to the floor and piping at the center, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.