EAST PALESTINE — One could say that the village is looking to keep up with its neighbor, the city of Columbiana.

Just like Columbiana, council approved the appointment of five residents to its Charter Review Board during a special meeting Thursday night.

Due to the weather, officials had postponed its regular meeting until later in the week.

Mayor Trent Conaway selected Mark Rhodes, Tracy Spratt, Ron Caratelli, Curtis Veiock and Peggy Caratelli to revisit the charter.

As part of the process, the Charter Review board members will meet and go through the charter, suggesting changes or any needed updates which then goes before voters.

The evaluation process is done every five years.

No initial meeting has been set yet; however, it would have to be done in a public session.

Council members also approved a number of supplemental appropriations, which included the purchase of land located behind the municipal building from the local American Legion Post.

Village manager Antonio Guy-Diaz said plans calls for the property to be converted into a proper public parking lot for its growing downtown district. Once the property is secured, village officials plan to apply with grants to help with the lot’s creation.

Council also agreed to accept annexation of more than 22 acres of land from Unity Township as approved by Columbiana County commissioners. Diaz-Guy said the parcel is contiguous to a village-owned parcel, where officials plan to build a new safety complex.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture already had committed $16 million for the project back in 2024 after the train derailment.

The award was more than any other community that applied received that year.

It will cover 75 percent of the project with the village covering the rest.

The new safety complex would house the city’s police, fire and EMS departments as well as a backup call center and administrative offices.

In other action, council approved a second reading on the employee handbook as well as an amendment to legislation passed last meeting approving the contract with the city’s Teamsters Union for water and wastewater employees. According to Diaz-Guy, the amendment is a clarification of an administrative gap.

“We added a job description previously that required certification, but needed to provide a grandfather clause to let our existing staff complete their certification,” he said.

Members also recognized the Ohio Secretary of Interior’s rehab standards certification on the way to applying for state aid with the Train Depot project.