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EAST PALESTINE -- East Palestine Village Council paused to remember the past before taking a step into the future during its regular council meeting on Monday. Before officially welcoming new city manager Chad Edwards aboard, the village government took a moment to acknowledge the recent passings of two prominent members of the East Palestine community -- Margo Zuch and Bev Doran.
Zuch, 85, was a former village council member, former mayor, charter member of the East Palestine Fire Department Auxiliary and director of the East Palestine Chamber of Commerce. Doran, 80, was a lifelong resident of East Palestine and village business owner, operating for four decades.
"Margo was one of my predecessors as mayor and she was small but powerful and did a lot of great things to make our village better, and we are going to be at a loss without her," Mayor Trent Coanway said. "And I think everybody in this room has eaten Bev's cooking at one time or another and, if you didn't, you missed out. I know when somebody dies people always say 'they were one of the nicest people I knew' but Bev literally was one of the nicest people around. I had the privilege of knowing her for 35 years and the village is going to be lost without her for a while as well."
Edwards, who was hired in October and stepped into the manager role last week, kept his first manager's report brief. Edwards thanked council and the community for the opportunity and called his first week in the village as "very busy but productive." Edwards also presented some new ideas for the village that he said borrowed from other municipalities, including a property-clean up contest, sponsored by a local business, with a cash prize to motivate a village-wide cleanup. He also said that he welcomes engagement with the community and encourages communication. He plans to give weekly updates to the public via social media.
"I met many members of the community. And I plan to continue to meet members of the community, business leaders and anybody who would like to meet me. My office is just around the corner," Edwards said.
In other matters, council set a special council meeting for Nov. 27 at 6 p.m. to discuss in more details the plans for the renovations to the city park. Michael Baker, the architecture firm overseeing the $25 million project funded by Norfolk Southern, will be in attendance to explain Phase I and future phases.
Council also approved the readings of several pieces of legislation, including the third for an ordinance to purchase real estate. Council had previously said that exact details of that purchase would be released later, but former interim city manager and finance director Traci Spratt said the details still cannot be disclosed but said the property would be used for future economic development in the village.
A second reading was held for an ordinance granting consent to the Ohio Department of Transportation to maintain state roads within the village and provide winter maintenance for roads.
Read for the first time were an ordinance to contract David Powers as the village attorney for one year, an ordinance to adopt a negotiated pay increase for village police officers, an ordinance to adopt a wage scale and other updates to the whitebook (the personnel-policy handbook), including possible 24/7 staffing of EMS, and an ordinance accepting appropriation of current expenses and other expenditures for the fiscal year 2024.
Council also approved a resolution for the village to apply to the county 911 commission and board and appoint a representative from council to serve on the board should the village be accepted. Conaway appointed Thomas Povenski Jr. to the position.
In economic matters, Development Committee Chairwoman Linda May reminded the community that tonight's Envision East Palestine Workshop is still set for 6 p.m. but has been moved to the elementary school. The event is meant to help participants engage in collaborative and problem-solving discussions for the future of East Palestine.