The Council of the Village of Riverlea met on the above date at the Old Worthington Library. The following Council members were present: Mayor Dan Schlichting, Jeffrey L. Amick, Charles T. Bell, Janet R. Heidkamp, Leah M. Pyter, Emily J. Saving, and Suzanne K. Surface. Also present were Greg Bonk, Web Manager, William Charles, Street Commissioner, Leah Reibel, Solicitor and Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer. At 6:37 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

The minutes of the regular Council meeting of November17, 2025 were not read since each member had received a copy. Saving moved and Bell seconded the motion that the minutes be approved as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 6, Amick, Bell, Heidkamp, Pyter, Saving, Surface; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (6-0).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Amick moved and Pyter seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for November 2025 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 6, Amick, Bell, Heidkamp, Pyter, Saving, Surface; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (6-0).

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor announced that the Village Luminaries event would be held on Friday, December 19. There will be 10 block captains in charge of distributing the luminaries to neighbors over the next several days. The makeup date for this will be December 21.
  2. The Mayor stated that he had not received the November report on Worthington Fire Department activity within the Village and he had reached out to the Fire Chief about receiving this.
  3. The Mayor stated that he had received the November report on Worthington Police activity within the Village. There were 120 runs and several other reports for the month:
  4. Report that the stoplight at Southington was not working correctly. This was found to be working.
  5. 2 reports of a tent in the woods in Rush Run park.
  6. Report of a deer stuck in a fence. Police were sent to dispatch the deer.
  7. Bell reported that he has noticed police monitoring the stop sign at Riverglen & Westchester, but not during the busy time of 6:30 – 7:30 am, when he has noticed multiple cars failing to stop. The Mayor stated that he will contact Worthington Police about this.
  8. The Mayor reported that he and the Clerk-Treasurer had been working with the Franklin County Auditor’s office on lowering the millage rate used to determine collections from residents for the Infrastructure Bond Fund. These collections are used to repay the loans issued for the 2019 infrastructure project. The Auditor’s office had failed to take into account grants received for this project and once the updated loan repayment amounts were used, the rate was lowered from 7.0 to 3.5 mills. The Mayor will notify residents of this in an upcoming newsletter, along with news on the Luminaries event and the upcoming open Council seat.
  9. The Mayor reported that he had received the package he requested containing information on establishing a municipal cybersecurity policy for the Village. This package provides templates and consultations and will assist the Village in completing such a policy in 2026.

Report of the Solicitor

  1. The Solicitor stated that she has the contract with Worthington Police to be signed after Council authorized this signing in November.
  2. The Solicitor mentioned that as during the discussions with the City of Worthington on the police contract, the Chief of Police volunteered to address Council to answer any questions they may have and questioned whether there was interest for this. Council affirmed their interest and the Solicitor will schedule this for some time in early 2026.
  3. The Solicitor stated that she is also researching the establishment of a cybersecurity policy for the Village. This policy must be in place by July 1, 2026.
  4. The Solicitor stated that she had prepared an ordinance codifying residents’ responsibility for handling their trash before and after scheduled pickups. This ordinance is to be introduced later in the meeting and have three readings before passage. Pyter recommended that the Mayor include this information in his upcoming newsletter.
  5. The Solicitor mentioned that she had received a request from Ezee Fiber to install a fiber line, which would enable residents to sign up for fiber internet service in the Village right of way. She questioned whether this is something Council would be interested in and is researching whether the Village is required to cooperate with such a request. Amick asked if it would make sense for the Village to contact other internet providers to gauge their interest in installing their lines as well during this process.

Bell inquired as to whether the Village has a process for complying with such requests and the Solicitor replied that there is no such process. Amick stated that the process would be to invite representatives from the company to address Council with their proposal. The Village would then contact other providers to present an option to install lines at the same time to spread costs and prevent the need for additional work in the future. The Mayor asked the Solicitor to further research Ezee Fiber’s proposal. Amick will review the existing contracts with cable providers for their structures and payments.

Report of the Street Commissioner

  1. The Street Commissioner stated that the Infrastructure Committee had created a list of items desired to be purchased and kept on hand, so they are ready when needed at the lift station.
  2. The Street Commissioner reported that there have been questions on the jurisdiction of a sewer line at the new build in progress on Olentangy. An inspector from Franklin County reviewed the line and stated that it needs to be repaired, though the Street Commissioner, as well as Burgess & Niple, do not see the need for this. As the issue is with the lateral between the street and the house, there is no exposure for the Village, though the Village will do what it can to facilitate discussions between the relevant parties to solve the issue.
  3. Amick questioned if the streetlight at the ravine had been repaired. The Street Commissioner replied that it had not and that he is working with AEP on this.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

There was no report from the Planning Commissioner.

Comments from Residents on Agenda Items

There were no comments from residents on agenda items.

Old Business

  1. Committee on Infrastructure

Schlichting, the Chair of the Committee, reported that the Committee had met in December and worked with the Street Commissioner on finalizing the list of lift station supplies to have on hand. The committee is looking to solicit an apprentice and/or replacement for the Street Commissioner. The Mayor will contact residents about this when more information is available.

  1. Web Manager

The Web Manager stated that he is working on updating the web site for 2026, including the turnover in Council members.

  1. Communications Committee

There was no report from the Chair of the Communications Committee. The Mayor stated that the Committee would need a new Chair with the expiration of Pyter’s term at the end of December.

  1. Record Retention

The Records Retention Committee met in November for their second meeting of the year. They will be compiling a list of items to discard in the first half of 2026. Anyone who holds Village related records that they wish to dispose of should contact a member of the Committee.

  1. Ordinance 03-2025

Ordinance 03-2025 –2026 Annual Appropriation Ordinance (Village) had its third reading. Amick moved to approve the ordinance and Saving seconded the motion. The motion passed (6-0).

New Business

  1. Ordinance 04-2025

Ordinance 04-2025 – An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 93.42, Notice to Cut Weeds or Remove Litter for the Village of Riverlea was introduced by Amick and had its first reading.

  1. Ordinance 05-2025

Ordinance 05-2025 – An Ordinance to Approve a Modification and Realignment of Ordinance 03-2024, The Annual Appropriation Ordinance (Village), and to Declare an Emergency was introduced by Pyter and had its first reading. Pyter moved to waive the three readings of this ordinance in order to submit it to the Franklin County Auditor in a timely manner and Heidkamp seconded the motion. The motion passed (6-0). Pyter moved to approve the ordinance and Heidkamp seconded the motion. The motion passed (6-0).

  1. Resolution 2025-21

Resolution 2025-21 – A Resolution of Appreciation to Retiring Councilmember Janet Heidkamp for her Outstanding Service to the Residents of the Village of Riverlea, Ohio was introduced by Amick and had its first reading. Amick moved to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to issue the resolution in a timely manner and Bell seconded the motion. The motion passed (6-0). Amick moved to approve the resolution and Bell seconded the motion. The motion passed (6-0).

  1. Resolution 2025-22

Resolution 2025-22 – A Resolution of Appreciation to Retiring Councilmember Leah Pyter for her Outstanding Service to the Residents of the Village of Riverlea, Ohio was introduced by Saving and had its first reading. Saving moved to waive the three readings of this resolution in order to issue the resolution in a timely manner and Surface seconded the motion. The motion passed (6-0). Saving moved to approve the resolution and Bell seconded the motion. The motion passed (6-0).

Expenses

Bell moved and Heidkamp second the motion to approve the below expenses:

$2,660.00 – RACO – Alarm Agent Unit

$1,250.00 – MORPC – 2026 Dues

$1,002.50 – Gudenkauf – Water & gas line locating

$   475.48 – Josh Mehling – Supplies & Postage

The motion was approved (6-0).

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 Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Worthington Library.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Pyter moved and Heidkamp seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (6-0). The meeting was adjourned at 7:59 p.m.

 

Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer

Daniel E. Schlichting, Mayor