City Council

TOWN OF CICERO TOWN COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES TUESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2026 at 7:00 PM Call to Order: President Cox called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Ms. Gary gave the prayer. President Cox called for roll call. Members of the Cicero Town Council were present or absent as follows: Present: Joseph Cox Absent: Jacob Everett Eric Hayden Dennis Johnson Emily Pearson Declare a Quorum Present: President Cox declared a quorum with four members present. Others Present: Rhonda Gary, Clerk Treasurer Jeff Rednour, Police Chief Chris Frazier, Fire Chief Frank Zawadzki, Cicero/Jackson Township Plan Commission Director Terry Cooper, Street & Utilities Director Jim Hunter, Parks Superintendent Aaron Culp, Town Attorney Keith Bryant, Town Engineer Bruce Freeman, Storm Water Management Board President Dan Strong, Project Coordinator Approval of Agenda: Mr. Johnson made the motion to approve the agenda as amended. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. 1. Election of Officers: a. President of the Council – Motion to Open Nominations – Mr. Hayden made the motion. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Nominations – Mr. Johnson nominated Mr. Cox. There were no other nominations. Motion to Close Nominations – Mr. Hayden made the motion. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Motion to Elect - Mr. Hayden made a motion to elect Mr. Cox President of the Council. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 4-0. b. Vice President of Council – Motion to Open Nominations – Mr. Hayden made the motion. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Nominations – Ms. Pearson nominated Mr. Johnson. There were no other nominations. Motion to Close Nominations – Mr. Hayden made the motion. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. 1  Motion to Elect - Mr. Hayden made a motion to elect Mr. Johnson Vice President of the Council. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 4-0. c. Appoint 2026 Department Heads – Town Council Appointments: Mr. Hayden made a motion to retain all dept heads from 2025 with the exception of Fire Chief Overholser as he has retired. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Those appointments are as follows: Fire Chief – Chief Frazier Police Chief – Chief Rednour Street/Utilities Director – Director Cooper Plan Commission Director – Mr. Zawadzki Parks Superintendent – Superintendent Hunter Town Council President Liaison Appointments: President Cox appointed the following liaisons: Fire Chief – Ms. Pearson Police Chief – President Cox Street/Utilities Director – Mr. Hayden Plan Commission Director – Mr. Everett Parks Superintendent – Mr. Johnson Other Appointments Appointments to The Cicero Fire Commission – 4-year term. Mr. Whitehead – fire department appointment Mr. Heaver – council appointment – Mr. Hayden made a motion to reappoint Mr. Heaver to the Fire Commission. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. The Cicero Metropolitan Police Commission – 3-year term. Mr. Miller – council appointment – Mr. Hayden made a motion to reappoint Mr. Miller to the Police Commission. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) Appointment – 4-year term. Mr. Zell – council appointment – Mr. Hayden made a motion to reappoint Mr. Zell to the BZA. President Cox seconded, motion carried 4-0. Mr. Massonne – council president appointment – President Cox reappointed Mr. Massonne to the BZA. Cicero Economic Development Committee (EDC) – 2-year term. Ms. O’Connor Buckner – town council appointment – Mr. Hayden made a motion to reappoint Ms. O’Connor Buckner to the EDC. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 4-0. 2 Cicero Redevelopment Commission (CRC) – Yearly – 3 presidential appointments/2 council nominations. President Cox appointment Mr. Johnson, Mr. Hayden and Mr. Everett to the CRC. Mr. Hayden made a motion to reappoint Ms. Pearson and President Cox to the CRC. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Appointment to Storm Water Management Board – 3-year term. Mr. Mehlan – council president appointment – President Cox reappointed Mr. Mehlan to the Stormwater Management Board. Appointment to the Hamilton County Emergency Management Advisory Council (HCEMAC) – 1-year term – town council appointment. Mr. Hayden made a motion to appoint Chief Frazier to the HCEMAC. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Appointment to Parks Board – 4-year term. Mr. Bell & Ms. Devlin – town council appointments – Mr. Hayden made a motion to reappoint Mr. Bell and Ms. Devlin to the Parks Board. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Plan Commission – Mr. Hayden informed the council that he is resigning from the Plan Commission which is a council appointment. At that time, he made a motion to nominate Mr. Everett for that position. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Approval of Prior Minutes: Town Council Meeting (amended) Minutes, December 16, 2025, 7:00 PM Town Council Special Meeting Minutes, December 29, 2025, 8:00 AM Mr. Hayden made a motion to approve the minutes listed above. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Approval of 1/6/26 Claims: Mr. Johnson made a motion to approve claims. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Council Committee Reports: 1. OTC Report – Ms. Pearson had nothing to report. 2. EDC Report – President Cox had nothing to report. 3. SWU Management Board Report – SWU President Freeman had nothing new to report. He added that they are receiving bids for the Morse Landing Drive Underdrain Project and will open those at their next meeting on 1/26/26 at 10:00 at Cicero Town Hall. Legal Counsel Report – Mr. Culp asked council’s approval for the purchase agreement which he distributed. He gave a brief synopsis of the agreement. Afterwards, Mr. Hayden made a motion to approve and allow President Cox to sign. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Cicero/Jackson Township Plan Commission Report – Director's Report – December 2025 Permit Revenue: December 2025 = $3,603, YTD: $67,574 3  December 2024 = $5,110 YTD: $63,971 Difference: Month = -$1,507 YTD: $3,603 A total of 12 building permits were issued for December of 2025. Ten were inside the corporate limits (of which 0 was for new homes). A total of two permits were issued in Jackson Township (of which, 2 were for new homes). Estimated Cost of projects permitted $1,803,953. Next Planning Commission meeting is January 14th, 2026, at the Redbridge Community Bldg. Next BZA meeting is January 22nd, 2026, at Cicero Town Hall. Town Engineer Report – Keith Bryant 1. Water – Mr. Bryant had nothing new to report. 2. Wastewater – Mr. Bryant stated that Reynolds continues to work but work was slow during the holiday season but is progressing well this week with the good weather. Existing oxidation, clarifier and RAS/WAS structure rehabilitation work continues along with dried sludge area improvements. The last schedule from Reynolds indicates full plan operation in March of 2026. Mr. Bryant pointed out that there will be additional work to rehabilitate and seal the oxidation ditch concrete that could not be determined until the basin was dewatered. 3. 2024 Community Crossings Matching Grant (CCMG) West Jackson Street – Mr. Bryant said that the striping is complete. There was discussion that there may be some work needed at the SE corner of the railroad. Mr. Bryant is pushing Midwest Paving to get materials ordered to finalize the lights, pipe bollards, ADA parking signs and remove the abandoned light panel pole. Mr. Hayden made a motion to approve Pay Application #9. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 4-0. 4. 2025 CCMG Closeout – Mr. Bryant reported that the project is complete and asked that council approve Pay Applications 2 & 3. Mr. Hayden made a motion to approve the pay applications. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Mr. Bryant also requested that President Cox sign Change Order 01 (deduct) and the Certificate of Substantial Completion. Mr. Hayden made the motion. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 4-0. 5. 2026 CCMG – Mr. Bryant relayed that the town was awarded the grant and the project will advertise for bids soon. Bids will be received and opened at the Council meeting on February 3. Due to the short CCMG grant timeline, awards may be approved that night contingent upon legal and engineer review. Old Business: There was none. New Business: a. PRN pay rates – Chief Frazier presented new rates for fill in firefighters. After a brief discussion, Ms. Pearson made a motion to approve the new pay rates effective 1/5/26. Mr. Johnson seconded, motion carried 4-0. b. Encumbrances – Ms. Gary informed the council of the encumbrances from 2025 to 2026. Miscellaneous: a. Mr. Hayden – Mr. Hayden informed those in attendance that the town received the excess levy appeal in the amount of $225,610.00 and thanked Ms. Gary for all her efforts on this. 4  b. Ms. Pearson – Ms. Pearson complemented Deputy Smith and Chief Overholser for an explementary job and informed the public that Deputy Smith and Chief Overholser retired this year after 25 and 35 years, respectively with the Cicero Fire Department. c. Retreat – President Cox asked Ms. Gary to add the retreat to the next staff meeting agenda. Comments by Citizens: Ms. Irvin inquired about the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) that she had heard about. President Cox replied that the council has not had any notification at this point and would be hesitant to comment. He also stated that Mr. Everett, who was not in attendance, would probably be the person to ask. He informed Ms. Irvin that it is on the agenda for the next Plan Commission meeting. He also explained the order of precedence. Mr. Culp confirmed that. Motion to Adjourn: Mr. Johnson made the motion. Ms. Pearson seconded, motion carried 4-0. Signatures on Official Documents! Signatures of Cicero Town Council AYE NAY Joseph R Cox Jacob T Everett Eric C Hayden Dennis D Johnson Emily K Pearson Attested: Rhonda Gary, Clerk Treasurer The Next Cicero Town Council Meeting will be on January 20, 2026 at 7:00 PM at Cicero Town Hall. 5