The Council of the Village of Riverlea met on the above date at the Sharon Township Administrative Building. The following Council members were present: Mayor Dan Schlichting, Jeffrey L. Amick, Jeffrey Mussman, Kent Shimeall, and Suzanne K. Surface. Also present were William Charles, Street Commissioner, Greg Bonk, Web Manager, Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer, and Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner. At 6:39 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

The minutes of the regular Council meeting of August 17, 2026 were not read since each member had received a copy. Amick moved and Shimeall seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 4, Amick, Mussman, Shimeall, Surface; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (4-0).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Shimeall moved and Mussman seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for August 2026 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 4, Amick, Mussman, Shimeall, Surface; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (4-0).

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor reported that the Village had received the August report from the Worthington Fire Department and that there had been five calls as well as a run for an outdoor equipment fire. There had been no runs in July.
  2. The Mayor stated that the Village had received the August report from the Worthington Police Department. There were 148 patrols, one report of found property, one roadway obstruction, and one suspicious person report.
  3. The Mayor stated that he had received an email from a resident stating that their neighbor is still feeding deer after being notified by the Village to stop this. The Mayor will ensure that the resident received the prior letter, confirm the presence of feed, and discuss this with the resident.
  4. The Mayor reported that he completed an OPWC grant for funding assistance for the sanitary sewer relining. The Village needs to provide a written resolution for this by October 6 and expects to hear back by the end of October. If rejected for this grant, the Village can apply for funding through the small government program.
  5. The Mayor reported that Worthington had applied for a grant to pave High St. from 161 to the south border of the city and had asked Riverlea for a letter of support for this project. The Mayor had asked the city to reevaluate the sidewalk along the west side of the street as part of this project. A letter of support was provided as this project will benefit Riverlea residents
  6. The Mayor reported that he had met via Zoom with members of Rank the Vote Ohio concerning a potential lawsuit against the state on behalf of municipalities concerning senate bill 63, which would withhold state funding from municipalities that choose to use ranked choice voting in local elections. To proceed with the lawsuit to overturn the law there must be a municipal plaintiff to have standing and at the moment, Riverlea is the only one to have expressed interest. Lawyers for the group do not see financial exposure to the Village from signing up for this suit and there is the possibility of the Village being the lead plaintiff in such a suit.

Amick expressed concern that if Riverlea signs on to this suit, there is a possibility that the state may withhold funds from the Village for any reason. Mussman agreed and did not feel that the Village should be sticking its neck out to risk this. Surface agreed that at the time, it did not appear to be worth signing on to this suit, especially as ranked choice voting is not an issue for the Village. The Mayon inquired if there was any interest among the Council in joining if other municipalities sign on first and they confirmed that there is no interest in joining at the moment.

7. The Mayor mentioned that pump number 1 at the lift station had been replaced on September 4.

Report of the Solicitor

The Solicitor was not in attendance.

Report of the Street Commissioner

  1. The Street Commissioner stated that he had worked with the resident with the question on dumpster placement in the Village and explained the ordinances.
  2. The Street Commissioner reported that a resident is having drainage issues in their front lawn. The house has a shared connection to the street with the neighboring house and does not know if this was associated with the work done during the infrastructure project on the streets. The Street Commissioner said that work on the wye in the yard would not have been performed as part of this project, only the sections along the road. Council agreed that this does not appear to be an issue for the Village and if it is determined that a connection was missed as part of the project, they can come back to council with this information.
  3. The Street Commissioner stated that he had witnessed a person speeding down Frontenac on an ATV. Amick stated that the Village should ask Worthington Police to pay special attention to the area.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

  1. The Planning Commissioner reported that they had approved a Certificate of Appropriateness at their September meeting for a screened in porch and patio at 5819 Pioneers. They had also received updates on changes to the work being done at 5859 Olentangy.
  2. The Planning Commissioner stated that the Commission had approved the proposed changes to the building ordinances and that he had submitted a final version to the Solicitor to be drafted into an ordinance. The Commission had added language concerning new builds and code enforcement, referencing similar language from the city of Sidney, Ohio. Council had the below questions and suggestions on the recommended language:

 

  1. Shimeall questioned the definition of fence including the term “natural and permanent material.” Surface suggested changing this to “natural or non-natural permanent materials.”
  2. Shimeall noted duplicate descriptions of “street line” in the text.
  3. The Planning Commissioner suggested changing the term “permitted” to “permissible” in 151.042.
  4. Shimeall suggested adding “at the owner’s expense” at the end of 151.044(c).
  5. Shimeall recommended changing “granted that” to “so long as” in 151.046(c).
  6. Shimeall recommended cleaning up the language in 151.046(c), stating that it is confusing currently.
  7. The Mayor noted a conflict between the language in 151.046(b) & 151.046(d).

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents on agenda items.

Old Business

  1. Committee on Infrastructure

 

  1. Schlichting, the Chair of the Infrastructure Committee, stated that the Committee did not meet in September. He noted that Bill Charles had submitted his resignation as Street Commissioner effective September 30 and thanked him for his work through the years. The Committee is working on transitioning tasks and is working on finding a replacement for the position.
  2. The Chair reported that he had purchased safety equipment for the lift station, including a noxious gas meter and chainfall.

 

  1. Web Manager

The Web Manager reported that he had installed standard updates and plugins. He asked if the Council members had any thoughts on enhancements to the site. Surface recommended that the garbage pickup schedule be more visible on the site.

  1. Communications Committee

There was no report from the Communications Committee.

  1. Stop Signs/Traffic Study

The Mayor reported that he has the form from the Franklin County Engineers Office to request traffic study assistance and that this will require signatures from two Council members. He stated that he will call out the intersection of Olentangy & Southington on the form. He asked members if they had suggestions for other areas to mention and there were no suggestions.

  1. Tree Program

The Mayor reported that the Village did not reach its goal of 21 trees being ordered in order to receive the max group rate from Peabody Landscaping. Surface will reach out to Peabody to request pricing if 14 trees are ordered. If Peabody is not interested in proceeding at this level, the Mayor will reach out to residents to suggest they work with Oakland Nursery and the Village will provide half of the funding. There is also the possibility for the Village to purchase trees for the Circle to hopefully help getting to the desired order total.

New Business

  1. Marshal Position

Shimeall inquired as to why the Village does not fill the Marshal position any more and submitted the portion of the Village Code requiring that the Village fill this position. Council members suggested that they are interested in filling the position if the right applicant applies. Amick mentioned that section 737 of the Ohio Revised Code lists other requirements beyond what is listed in our code and recommended that the Solicitor review this as to what is required. Council feels that the Village’s contract with the Worthington Police Department covers the areas that are required by ORC 737.

  1. Newsletter Editor Position

Shimeall mentioned that the Village used to publish a newsletter for residents and questioned why that is no longer in place. The Clerk-Treasurer stated that there have been attempts through the years, but nobody has really stuck with the project long enough to make it work and residents do not seem interested in writing for such a newsletter. Council felt that the Village Facebook group seems to be the best way to communicate with residents. Surface stated that she is interested in reviving the Social Committee and recommended that the Mayor mention opportunities for involvement in his newsletter.

Expenses

Amick moved and Mussman seconded the motion to approve the below expenses:

$320.73 – Dan Schlichting – Lift station supplies

$837.50 – Gudenkauf Corp – Water & gas line locating

The motion was approved (4-0).

Comments from Residents on Non-Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents on non-agenda items.

Next Meeting Announcement

The next regular meeting will be Monday, October 19, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. at the Sharon Township Municipal Offices.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Mussman moved and Shimeall seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (4-0). The meeting was adjourned at 9:09 p.m.

 

Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner

Josh Mehling, Clerk