Plain City Council pushed back against a plan to eliminate the village’s Uptown Historic District and Design Review Board, voting to strike the proposal from its agenda. “I could never support this,” Council member Frank Reed said. “It just looks like a big loophole to me for… staff and developers to do whatever they want to in Plain City.” Village Planner Derek Hutchinson said, if approved, the proposed ordinance would delete Chapter 1327 from Plain City’s codified ordinances, which establishes and governs the Uptown Plain City Historic District. Instead, a zoning overlay district would be created covering nearly the same…
Author: Kayleen Petrovia
Jerome Township officials recently heard an update on the U.S. 42/Industrial Parkway intersection, though they admitted ODOT’s schedule may not be exactly what residents want to hear. “I don’t think it makes anyone real, real satisfied but at least we know it’s moving,” Jerome Township Administrator Brandon Standley said. Standley explained that township officials met with Ohio Department of Transportation representatives to discuss and evaluate the intersection – which ODOT controls – about three weeks ago. An ODOT project will add turn lanes to each leg of the intersection and U.S. 42 will be widened to five lanes between Industrial…
Volunteers are pictured preparing and serving meals during the 2022 Community Thanksgiving Dinner. The organization, which has been serving Union County for more than 30 years, has a goal of ensuring that no one goes hungry on Thanksgiving Day in Union County. (Photo submitted) — Through a “huge collaboration,” community members are working to make sure every one of their friends and neighbors is able to celebrate Thanksgiving with a warm meal. “Nobody should go hungry on Thanksgiving Day in Union County,” said Julie Whipple, a volunteer and organizer with the Union County Community Thanksgiving Dinner. For over 30 years,…
The Union County Board of Health’s most recent meeting focused on how tax incentives affect the health department, although they refrained from taking an official stance on the matter. “Our board has never taken a stance on TIFs,” Health Commissioner Jason Orcena said. “It doesn’t mean we’re not impacted by TIFs.” Orcena shared a presentation with the board during its regular meeting Wednesday detailing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) agreements and how they relate to public health operations in Union County. The conversation was sparked, he said, by recent media coverage of area TIFs and Marysville City Council’s consideration of extending…
Plain City residents could be receiving their trash bills on a new schedule beginning in the new year. Council members heard the first reading of an ordinance Monday that would alter garbage collection rates and billing starting in 2024. During council’s work session Nov. 1, Village Administrator Haley Lupton suggested council consider changing the trash billing schedule from a monthly to quarterly collection. She said the changes spur from the village’s regionalization of water and sewer services with Madison County. With the creation of the Mid-Ohio Regional Water and Sewer District, Lupton explained that the village will no longer bill…
Plain City Council got a first look at the plans for a residential development that would add almost 90 acres and 227 homes to the village. Amanda Webb, with Fischer Homes, shared the developer’s plans on Monday for what is commonly called the Noah Beachy property – approximately 89 acres in Darby Township between Route 161 and Cemetery Pike. Webb said a conceptual plan for the property includes a mix of lot sizes, each for traditional, single-family homes. The plan shared Monday indicates there would be 91 55-foot home sites, 86 65-foot sites and 50 80-foot lots. The minimum side…
More than a year after the Jerome Township Trustees first heard a request from their fire chief to purchase an aerial ladder truck, they will do so. The board voted unanimously during their most recent meeting to approve the purchase of an aerial ladder truck from Sutphen. The truck will cost $1,959,930, although Fiscal Officer Robert Caldwell explained that, because the truck will take between 18 and 24 months to manufacture, the township will earn $220,688.12 in interest on that amount during that time, so he considers the final cost $1,739,241.88. Township Administrator Brandon Standley said he researched options from…
The holiday season is almost upon us and, with that, comes all of the family holiday traditions. On Christmas Eve, everyone gathers at my aunt’s house for a not-so-formal dinner as we count down to midnight. Some family members pile up in the living room, others around the kitchen counter and even more play Euchre or another game at the dining table. Of course, there is a spread of food ranging from roasted ham to meatballs to all kinds of homemade dips and things to be dipped. We cap the meal at midnight when we light candles on a birthday…
Glen Stillings quickly enlisted in the Air Force at the start of World War II before he was captured by German forces and held as a Prisoner of War. His wife, Betty, at right, always had hope that he would make it home safely. (Photo submitted) — Glen and Betty Stillings’ daughter, Lynn, holds a letter her father wrote to her mother while he was in bombardier school in Childress, Texas, dated March 13, 1944. In it, he jokes that a recent three-page letter from his “Dearest Betty” almost made up for the days…
Jerome Township residents decisively struck down a measure to implement limited home rule while electing a former trustee to a vacant seat on the board. Voters cast 3,218 ballots against limited home rule, or 73.93% of the total vote, compared to 1,135 votes in favor of the measure, according to unofficial results from the Union County Board of Elections. “While limited home rule did not pass, I want to assure the citizens of Jerome Township that their voices have been heard,” Trustee Chair Wezlynn Davis wrote in a statement Wednesday. “The township trustees recognize the importance of finding effective solutions…
Editor’s note: These stories represent the final entries in a weeklong series of Journal-Tribune stories that highlighted contested elections and issues in Union County. –––– Three candidates are vying for one seat on the three-member Jerome Township Board of Trustees. Joe Craft, Aaron Grabovich and Bill Neumeyer will compete for the seat being vacated by Megan Sloat, who chose not to seek reelection after one, four-year term. Joe Craft Age: 51 Position sought: Jerome Township Trustee Current Occupation: Pharmacist, Business Owner It has been an honor to serve the residents of Jerome Township for eight years during my time as…
Village residents will have a number of names to consider this election as six candidates compete for three council seats. Incumbents Frank Reed and James Sintz are seeking reelection while Tyler Harriman, Shane Hoffman, Aaron Lewis and Zach Robbins join the race for an additional seat that will be vacated by John Rucker, who chose not to seek reelection. Reed was elected in 2019, while current Council President Sintz is completing a unique, two-year term. The shortened term emerged during the approval of the Plain City Charter in order to ensure regular, four-year terms are staggered from this point on.…
In elementary school was the first time I was ever really mad at a book. My class read the classic dystopian novel “The Giver” by Lois Lowry and I was enthralled by it. The book was super fascinating to me, I think in large part because it was probably the first time I’d really digested a book in which so much was murky. What some characters thought was right, others thought was blatantly wrong, and you as a reader got to choose who you aligned with. Even better was the fact that the 12-year-old protagonist, Jonas, was making these decisions,…
Plain City officials are working to ensure the village’s 2024 budget reflects council’s goals and lessons they’ve learned from other areas. Village Administrator Haley Lupton emphasized the 2024 budget is currently just a draft, but she wanted to allow council members time to “digest” preliminary numbers and speak with them about what staff seeks to achieve with the budget. Through budget reviews with staff members and the Personnel and Finance Committee, Lupton said she is working on forming “pillars” that the 2024 budget will abide by. While council members have not yet finalized goals for next year, Lupton said she…
As Plain City officials finalize the 2024 budget, they are looking at their personnel priorities. Earlier this summer, Plain City contracted with The Management Advisory Group to review the village’s organizational structure and staffing levels. “It appears that the current staff is doing well, and this report suggests a few immediate changes and continue monitoring (of) the evolving situation,” in light of rapid growth in the area, the report stated. Council member Michael Terry, who also sits on the Personnel and Finance Committee, said the biggest staffing-related issue the village is currently facing stems from regionalizing Plain City’s water and…