Plain City Council is working to ensure the right administrators are in place to guide the village.
During Monday’s meeting, council members discussed their search for a new village administrator, as well as the agreement with their current law director.
Mayor Jody Carney, who sits on the administrator search committee, told council the contractor guiding recruitment efforts would like more information on where to seek an administrator.
Specifically, Carney asked council if they would be willing to offer relocation assistance for an out-of-town candidate.
“I think if they’re enough of a rockstar to offer them, we should go all in,” said Council member John Rucker.
Council President Michael Terry agreed.
“This is a big decision,” he said. “I don’t think anything is off the table.”
Council member Kerri Ferguson echoed their sentiments but asked how to quantify “assistance.”
Terry said the company he works for generally offers to cover closing costs or realtor fees on a home as well as “actual moving expenses,” such as a moving truck.
He said it is difficult to say how much that would cost, depending on where the candidate is moving from, but estimated between $10,000 and $20,000.
Law Director Paul Lafayette suggested including a “reimbursement requirement” to any offer of relocation assistance.
Council members would need to decide an exact time obligation but Lafayette said an example would be that the person must work for the village for at least six months or they would need to repay the moving assistance.
Carney also asked council whether they would like to require the new administrator to live within the village.
Terry said he feels there are benefits to living within the village and pros to residing elsewhere.
Rucker suggested requiring the person to live in an adjacent county.
Lafayette noted that the Administrator Search Committee was wary of using that standard. Since Plain City is in both Union and Madison counties, he said living in an adjacent county could amount to a significant distance.
Council member Frank Reed said the committee could work to determine what would be a “reasonable commuting distance.”
Regardless, Terry said the person should be encouraged to become involved in the community.
Council also voted unanimously in favor of a motion to authorize Interim Village Administrator Haley Lupton to approve a new engagement agreement with Lafayette.
Lafayette emphasized that the agreement is not technically a contract because it is not binding. He said council can terminate him or he can end his services at any time.
The agreement simply sets his rates for the next two years.
Lafayette’s previous rate was $150 per hour, according to an agreement approved by council in 2019. The terms of the new agreement indicate it will increase to $175 per hour.
Lupton has previously said that the rate will fall within Plain City’s budget for legal counsel.
Terry said he feels “very comfortable” with the terms of the agreement.
In other business:
– Council heard from resident Luke Abrahams regarding an ordinance that requires dogs to be leashed while on public property.
The commonly called “leash law” requires dogs to be under physical restraint.
Abrahams said his dogs are well-trained and under control when off-leash. He said he has children that he often takes on walks in a stroller, so it is difficult to bring them and two leashed dogs to get exercise.
He requested that the ordinance be changed to require dogs be “under control” instead of “under physical restraint.”
Terry said he understands Abrahams’ perspective but feels the change could be difficult to enforce.
He said the difference between a trained and untrained dog – one that would or wouldn’t require a leash, respectively – is not always apparent.
Plain City Police Department Chief Dale McKee noted that the ordinance was updated several years ago at the behest of a former council member, following several “dog attacks.”
He said even PCPD K-9 Officer Andor must be on a leash in public.
“He’s highly trained but I still wouldn’t let (Officer) Josh (Hirtzinger) walk down the street with him without a leash,” McKee said.
“Dogs are dogs.”
Council agreed to add the topic to the agenda for an upcoming work session.