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, Jeffrey Mussman, Kent Shimeall, and Suzanne K. Surface. Also present were William Charles, Street Commissioner, Greg Bonk, Web Manager, Leah Reibel, Solicitor and Joshua C. Mehling, Clerk-Treasurer. At 6:33 p.m., the Mayor called the meeting to order.

Minutes

The minutes of the regular Council meeting of April 20, 2026 were not read since each member had received a copy. Amick 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: 5, Amick, Bell, Mussman, Shimeall, Surface; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (5-0).

Report of the Clerk-Treasurer

Surface moved and Bell seconded the motion to approve the payment of bills and to accept the financial reports for April 2026 as submitted by the Clerk-Treasurer. The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea: 4, Amick, Bell, Mussman, Shimeall; Nay: None; Abstain: None. The motion carried (4-0). Saving was not yet in attendance at the time of this vote.

Report of the Mayor

  1. The Mayor reported that he had followed up with John Morehead with the City of Worthington on the relining of the shared water line. Worthington is currently working on plans to reline the northern portion of the line and will work with Riverlea to reline the portion in question, likely in late 2027. They will share information on the bids to reline the northern portion when they are received. Amick questioned if there was a sense of urgency on the need to reline and the Mayor replied that the video inspection had not shown any abnormalities, but that the line is about 100 years old.
  2. The Mayor reported that the Ohio Municipal League had passed on a request for Ohio municipalities to join as plaintiffs in a suit against the state for actions to penalize municipalities that elect ranked choice voting. In March 2026, Ohio adopted a law that would remove any state funding from municipalities that decide to use ranked choice voting for their local elections. The Council authorized the Mayor to gather more information on joining the lawsuit on behalf of the Village.
  3. The Mayor reported that he had received the April report from the Worthington Fire Department and that there had been five EMS calls and one unintentional fire alarm.
  4. The Mayor stated that he had received the April report from the Worthington Police Department and there were 124 patrols, one informational call, a report of a trash picker collecting a lawn mower, one report of hearing shots fired, which was likely a car backfiring, one report of an injured deer, one report of a house being toilet- papered, and one report of a door being kicked.
  5. Bell inquired if anyone had requested the speed monitor that had been placed on Riverglen. No one was aware of such a request. The Mayor will follow up with the Police Department as to where it came from and if the Village can request its usage on a more frequent basis.

Report of the Solicitor

The Solicitor reported that she had been reviewing the proposed changes to the fence ordinance and if the Village can prohibit demolition of properties. She stated that she found a case from the 1st District Court of Appeals in Cincinnati from 2015, in which a municipality tried to prevent a homeowner from demolishing a property.  The Court ruled that in some cases, prohibiting demolition can constitute a “taking” of private property, in violation of the 5th Amendment to the Constitution.  More commonly, municipalities deal with such issues by requiring that a demolition permit be applied for and issued before any work is done.

Amick inquired if the Village could pursue designation as a historical district and the Solicitor said that she would research whether this was an option. Surface stated that it would be difficult to determine the architectural qualities that define the Village and felt that restrictions could limit property values.

Report of the Street Commissioner

  1. The Street Commissioner stated that he had received several tickets from the Ohio Utilities Protection Service for work to be performed near the southern border of the Village and questioned whether this work should be charged to Riverlea or Worthington. The Clerk-Treasurer will send him detailed information of the most recent bills from Gudenkauf for this work.
  2. The Street Commissioner reported that he had received a promise from AEP to fix the streetlight that is out in the ravine. He had marked the pole with spray paint so that it is visible for workers.
  3. The Street Commissioner stated that there are a lot of trucks throughout the Village due to various projects and this was making the roads dangerous. He asked that people walk facing traffic when walking through the Village to help prevent accidents.

Report of the Planning Commissioner

The Planning Commissioner was not in attendance. The Clerk-Treasurer reported that there had been a meeting in May and the Commission had approved a COA application to construct an addition and add a patio at 5739 Dover Ct.

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 they had not met in May.

  1. Web Manager

The Web Manager reported that he had installed standard updates and plugins and requested new headshots from the new Council members.

  1. Communications Committee

There was no report from the Communications Committee.

  1. Ordinance 01-2026

Ordinance 01-2026, An Ordinance to Adopt a Cybersecurity Policy for the Village of Riverlea, Ohio had its third reading.

The Mayor distributed the proposed policy to be adopted for the Village, which had been drafted using a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) template. The Web Manager recommended that the Village use a Center for Internet Security (CIS) template as it was simpler, though the Mayor felt that the NIST template should be fine, as the Village is small and uncomplicated. Bell asked if the Lift Station should be included in the policy and the Mayor replied that although it could be sabotaged, it would not affect the cybersecurity of the Village.

Mussman moved to amend the third paragraph of the version of the ordinance that had been distributed to state that Riverlea had selected the NIST framework rather than CIS and Bell seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0).

Surface moved to amend Section 1 of the version of the ordinance that had been distributed to state that the Mayor had prepared the policy in consultation with the Clerk-Treasurer and Web Manager and Bell seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0).

Mussman moved to amend Section 3 of the version of the ordinance that had been distributed to state that the Mayor, in consultation with the Clerk-Treasurer, Web Manager, and Village Solicitor, shall oversee the implementation, documentation, and annual review of the cybersecurity program and Bell seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0).

Mussman moved to adopt the ordinance with the above amendments and Surface seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0).

  1. Stop Signs

Bell stated that he had researched the issue of stop signs throughout the Village and felt that the intersection at Southington and Olentangy should be a 3-way stop. Amick stated that Ohio law states that stop signs should not be used to control traffic and that there are several spots in the Village where stop signs are not needed. He felt that the Village should conduct a traffic study to get expert advice on where signage should be placed throughout the Village. Mussman felt strongly that the Village should at a minimum place a stop sign on Southington at Olentangy and that this should be done while any more research is conducted. Amick did not feel that this was necessary as there have not been any reports of accidents at the intersection.

Mussman moved to request that the Village place a stop sign on Southington at the intersection with Olentangy. There was not a second to this motion.

The Mayor stated that if Riverlea were to place stop signs at every intersection where there is currently not one, this would be a maximum of 14 signs. He recommended that if the Village is to pursue adding any signs, that the funding be taken from the Permissive fund, as such activities are allowed from the fund. Bell stated that he felt that the No Parking sign at the eastern end of Riverglen was too close to High St and should be moved further away. The Mayor felt that this request was out of scope to the current stop sign conversation and should be discussed later.

Bell moved to table the discussion on stop signs and pick it up in June, and Mussman seconded the motion. The motion passed (5-0). The Solicitor will contact the Worthington Law Director about traffic advice.

  1. Circle Park Tables

Amick reported that he had contacted three painters about painting the tables and benches in Circle Park. The quote that he felt was best was for $950 to paint the two tables and three chairs. Amick moved to accept the quote from Kramer Painting and Bell seconded the motion. The motion was approved (3-0).

  1. Executive Session

Amick moved and Mussman seconded the motion to adjourn into Executive Session pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22(G)(2) to consider the purchase of property for public purposes.  The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea – 5; Amick, Bell, Mussman, Shimeall, Surface: No – None.  The motion was approved 5-0.  Council adjourned into Executive Session at 8:34 p.m.

Amick moved and Mussman seconded the motion to adjourn out of Executive Session and resume Open Session.  The following vote was recorded on the motion: Yea – 5; Amick, Bell, Mussman, Shimeall, Surface: No – None.  The motion was approved 5-0.

Council resumed Open Session at 8:51 p.m.

  1. Tree Maintenance

Bell reported that he had made selections from the Kevin Masters Arborists quote for tree maintenance and removal in Circle Park and the ravine. He estimates that the selected items will cost about $10k. The Clerk-Treasurer will present a modified appropriations budget in June to include funding for this work and the painting of the tables and benches in the park. Council is expected to approve the tree maintenance and removal at the June meeting.

New Business

  1. Deer Feeding

Amick stated that he had received a complaint including photo documentation of continued feeding of deer. The Solicitor stated that she would deliver a notice of violation to the address on High Street.

Expenses

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

$281.13 – Josh Mehling – Graduation banners & postage

$285.00 – Gudenkauf Corp – Water & gas line locating

The motion was approved (5-0).

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, June 15, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Worthington Library.

Adjournment

There being no further business, Amick moved and Bell seconded the motion to adjourn.  The motion was approved unanimously (5-0). The meeting was adjourned at 8:56 p.m.

 

Bryce Jacob, Planning Commissioner

Josh Mehling, Clerk