City Council

NEW PHILADELPHIA CITY COUNCIL MET IN REGULAR SESSION IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON OCTOBER 13, 2025 WITH PRESIDENT DON KEMP PRESIDING. MR. RIPPETH OFFERED A PRAYER, AND ALL IN ATTENDANCE RECITED THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. COUNCIL MEMBERS IN ATTENDENCE MR. KRIS KREINBIHL MR. DAN LANZER MR. STEVE RIPPETH MR. BRIAN SEARS MR. TOM SIMMELINK MR. MICHAEL WALKER EXCUSED ABSENSES: MRS. CHERYL RAMOS  MR. RIPPETH MOTIONED TO ADD RESOLUTION 28-2025 AND RESOLUTION 29-2025 TO TONIGHT’S AGENDA WITH RECOMMENDED PASSAGE UPON 1st Reading MR. LANZER SECONDED THE MOTION 6 YEAS RESOLUTION 28-2025 AND RESOLUTION 2925 HAVE BEEN ADDED TO TONIGHT’S AGENDA  MR. WALKER MOTIONED TO ADD ORDINANCE 15-2025 TONIGHT’S AGENDA MR. SIMMELINK SECONDED THE MOTION 6 YEAS ORDINANCE 15-2025 HAS BEEN ADDED TO TONIGHT’S AGENDA  MR. RIPPETH MOTIONED TO APPROVE TONIGHT’S AGENDA WITH THE ADDITIONS MR. WALKER SECONDED THE MOTION 6 YEAS TONIGHT’S AGENDA HAS BEEN APPRVED  MR. SIMMELINK MOTIONED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER 22, 2025 REGULAR SESSION OF COUNCIL AND THE OCTOBER 8, 2025 SPECIAL SESSION OF COUNCIL MR. WALKER SECONDED THE MOTION 6 YEAS MINUTES FROM THE SEPTEMBER 22, 2025 REGULAR SESSION OF COUNCIL AND OCTOBER 8, 2025 SPECIAL SESSION OF COUNCIL HAVE BEEN APPROVED CORRESPONDENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CLERK, JULIE COURTRIGHT 1. To Council and Administration from income Tax Administrator Carly Loos, dated October 6, 2025. This is the Month-End report for the Income Tax Department for September. 2. To Council Clerk from Treasurer Gerber, dated October 8, 2025. This is the investment and Savings Report for September of 2025. I forwarded this report to Council and Administration and it was replied to by Councilman Sears. 3. To Council and Administration from Danielle DeMatteo with the Auditor’s Office. This is the September Month-End Report. 1  4. To Council Members from Mayor Day, dated October 8, 2025. This is an email titled AFSCME Clerical and Service Signed Proposals 2025 to 2027 contracts. 5. To President Kemp from Law Director Fete, dated October 9, 2025. This is an email titled “Please assign to Mr. Lanzer’s Committee” with Ordinance 17-2025 as the attachment. President Kemp asked Mr. Lanzer to take the legislation into his Committee. 6. To President Kemp from Law Director Fete dated October 9, 2025. This is an email titled “Please Assign to Mr. Rippeth’s Committee” with Resolution 26, Resolution 27, Resolution 28, and Resolution 29 as the attachments, as well as the 2026 Jail Contract and the 2026 Indigent Defense Contract. President Kemp asked Mr. Rippeth to take this legislation into his Committee. 7. To Council and Administration from Mayor Day, dated October 13, 2025. The Mayor’s Report. MAYOR’S REPORT/REQUESTS ….MAYOR JOEL B. DAY Mayor Day had the following report: Mayor’s Report for Monday October 13, 2025 The Restrooms at Tuscora Park Close at Sundown I have told Parks Superintendent Adam Fulton to begin closing all restrooms at Tuscora Park at sundown. This should lessen incidents of costly vandalism at the restrooms. They will be opened for special events at Tuscora Park, like Christmas in the Park. Park police will remain on duty during their scheduled hours. Up to now, the restrooms remained open until 10 pm. Flu Shots Are Available at the City Health Department The flu season is upon us. And the New Philadelphia Health Department is now giving flu shots during business hours, which are from 8am to 4:30pm. Adults can walk in, no appointment is necessary. For children, please call the Health Department to schedule an appointment. The phone number is 330-364-4491 extension 1208. Your insurance can be billed for the service. Here’s a Way to Support the Work of the Tuscora Park Foundation The Tuscora Park Foundation will hold its annual Chicken BBQ fundraiser on Sunday, October 19th on Al Maloney Drive in Tuscora Park. The hours are from 11am to 1pm. Tickets are $15 each and are available at the Mayor’s office, at the McInturf Realty office on Tuscarawas Avenue NW, or from any Foundation trustee. The proceeds from the event go to help the Foundation fund improvements to all City parks. More information about the Foundation and its projects can be found here: https://tuscoraparkfoundation.com/. The Start of the Downtown Revitalization Project is a Week Away Another reminder…a week from today (Monday) on October 20th, construction is scheduled to begin on the remodeling of the gazebo, Gavin’s, and House of Stones downtown quadrants. Affected businesses should be contacted this week by representatives of the project’s general contractor, the Ruhlin Company of Columbus. They will go over the construction schedule and answer questions. The project will take about a year to complete. It won’t affect this year’s downtown Christmas Lighting Ceremony or the Christmas parade. They’ll go on as planned though there may be some adjustments made because of the work being done. Our downtown revitalization project is being paid for by the $2.9 million dollar grant the City received from Governor DeWine’s Appalachian Community Grant program. The goal of the program is to fund what the Governor termed “transformational projects” in Ohio’s Appalachian communities. Mr. Kreinbihl asked Mayor Day which quadrant they would be starting on. Mayor Day stated that it would be the Gazebo Quadrant. Mayor Day continued by saying that the public can keep informed by following the City’s Facebook Page and the appropriate press releases will be issued also during the project. 2 SERVICE DIRECTOR………….. Service Director Ron McAbier: Mr. McAbier had the following report:  Last Tuesday the bids were opened for a new restroom down at the soccer field on the South Side. There were six bids just shy of $290,000 and up to $443,000. We were fortunate enough to get a local construction company and we’ll have a Board of Control Meeting probably on Wednesday to award that.  The last Council meeting I talked about the $20,000 that we got from the Timken Company for the RFB down at 2nd and Tuscora. I’m happy to report that after working through ODOT for as long as we have, and many people have asked because they were paying for the one on Tuscora and North Broadway. Since then ODOT has come through and they’re going to pay for both of them. I got with DL Smith today out of Norwalk. With the extra money money we will have I’m hoping we can buy some of the new recycled picnic tables for under the pavilion.  Franklin Square: They had a few areas they had to patch but we’re getting there.  I walked the Towpath Trail last week to where our lift station is and along the County garage and the Gradall property. I want to put in a catch basin. I worked with Gradall and they’ll take ownership of it.  City Paving: We always have it done by this time but they started by South School and we had some stuff that was around Small City’s Paving. Wednesday they’ll come in and they’ll be on Fair and Front Street and grind it in probably the next day or Friday.  Also I talked with Mushrush regarding the gas line. It was supposed to be done in a couple weeks but they had a few issues so I think they’ll be pushed into the middle of November now. They’re aware they’ll have to resoil and put grass seed in in the Spring. Mr. Walker asked about the patch at Franklin Square. Mr. McAbier said it’s under warranty for a year. Mr. Sears asked about the RFBs and the new one that will be installed on Tuscora and 2nd Street. Mr. McAbier said it costs $57,895 for both, but ODOT is picking up the cost. Mr. Sears asked if they’ll leave the flashing yellow light in that intersection when these go up. AUDITOR ……………MRS. HEATHER DENHAM Mrs. Denham had the following report: I wanted to discuss the budget. I’m working with a few different departments to estimate what their revenue is going to be. Wages are a huge part of the budget and we’ve only passed one contract out of four contracts and some of our Committee is still working on increases so there will be a little delay on the expenses on that budget. We’re still working on the audit and that should be completed this week. I spent a few hours with them on Friday giving them the last information that they need. They should have everything and should get back to me by the end of this week to go over some of the findings of the budget. We’ll get this submitted to the State by the end of the week. TREASURER………..MR. TOM GERBER……………NO REPORT 3  SAFETY DIRECTOR ………………………….MR. KEVIN MILLIGAN Mr. Milligan had the following report: I’ll give my report on the police department tonight. 208 calls were responded to in September. We took a look at our data monitoring any calls that were made regarding DORA. No calls were reported or responded to as a result of the DORA. That’s something I’ll routinely take a look at. The last position we filled at the police department we had the pleasure of hiring a young man from Buckeye Career Center. We brought him on as a cadet. We’re seeing some great things there. He’s still graduating from the cadet program and has been doing some things in the dispatch area. He's learning the lingo and learning relationships which will expedite his FTO. I’m very appreciative of the FTO program and Chief Pahovey for being flexible. LAW DIRECTOR……MR. MARVIN FETE Mr. Fete had the following report: One of the things I’ve been working on with the Safety Director is a contract for a joint purchase of a Lenco Bearcat. It’s an armed vehicle that will be for the benefit of the joint Dover/ New Philadelphia SWAT Team. Currently our counterparts in Dover are looking at what we drafted a few weeks ago and we’re just waiting to hear back from them. The vehicle would only be used in a SWAT Team situation. We’re attempting to make a joint purchase with Dover so they would cover half the cost. Additionally, my Chief Prosecutor is not in the office but he’s still working. He’s recovering from some medical issues. I filed a motion with the court last week under the Americans with Disabilities Act which allows him to appear by video. The court was very gracious in accommodating him in that regard. My Victim Advocate lives close to him, so she’s transporting files back and forth to him. I want to take a moment to commend the New Philadelphia Welty Middle School Soccer Team, who finished the season with a perfect 13-0 record. One team that has always been tough against us is Dover, and they have an outstanding soccer program. For the longest time we were behind them, but thanks to the efforts of Mr. Kreinbihl, Matt Mastrione, who heads our youth soccer program, as well as coach Doug Jackson and Asst. Coach Ryan Beach. They’ve done a great job. In my opinion we have caught them and we are at least even with them. The Welty Middle School Team shut out Dover 7-0. So there’s a lot of fire power and there are a lot of exciting things that are going on in our soccer program. Mr. Simmelink had the following question: Are you able to project how often the SWAT vehicle would be used? Mr. Milligan had the following response: The estimated annual use would be 15 or 16 times. It put the officers in the position of really protecting our citizens by closing the perimeter they would respond to. Currently we have a two block radius and with this vehicle we can pull right up to the building where the disturbance is taking place. BOARD/COMMISSION REPORTS: PLANNING COMMISSION……………….MAYOR JOEL DAY The Planning Commission will be meeting tomorrow at 1:00pm. The topic of discussion will be from the County Community Improvement Corporation. They want to donate a piece of Rieser Ave and Robinson Drive to the City in order to help in the process of dissolving a CIC. Mr. Simmelink had the following question: Are those streets already being maintained by the City? Mayor Day: Yes, it’s a formality. BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS…….MR. RON MCABIER The Board of Zoning Appeals will not be meeting tomorrow. There are no variance requests to be heard. 4  AIRPORT COMMISSION…….MR. DAN LANZER The Airport Commission will be meeting tomorrow evening at 6:00pm at the Harry Clever Airport Meeting Room. PARK BOARD……………………….MR. BRIAN SEARS The Park Board met on September 17th. Just a couple key take-aways:  The Mayor informed the Board that we did not get approval of the $300,000 grant that we were applying for. It was for the new road at Southside Community Park.  The Park Foundation Chicken Bar-be-que is on Sunday, October 19th from 11am to 1pm. Tickets are $15.00 a piece.  Baseball Field No. 1 continues, they’re putting up the brick and it looks like they’re almost done. Good weather has helped with that.  Work on the all-inclusive playground is starting. They’ve raised about $360,000 in private donations for that work. CEMETERY BOARD…………………MR. BRIAN SEARS……..NO REPORT HEALTH BOARD ………………….…. MR. TOM SIMMELINK In the Mayor’s Report this evening he noted that due to the change of season there’s an increased demand for flu shots, which are Health Department is accommodating. We also got COVID shots, which approval for that is a long time coming. I would encourage residents to take advantage of that convenient opportunity. STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS: FINANCE COMMITTEE ………………MR. STEVE RIPPETH The Finance Committee met this evening in Council Chambers at 6:45 PM. We discussed Resolution 28-2025 and 29-2025 dealing with the AFSCME Contracts, which we’ve placed on tonight’s 5 Agenda. We adjourned at 7:18, before we had the opportunity to discuss two other pieces of legislation, that I would like to schedule a meeting before our next Council meeting. PUBLIC WORKS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE…MR. DAN LANZER Mr. Lanzer had the following report: We will be scheduling a meeting before the next Council Meeting in regards to an unnamed alleyway. SAFETY, HEALTH, AND SERVICE COMMITTEE……MR. TOM SIMMELINK Mr. Simmelink had the following report: Next Thursday, October 23rd the City’s doing a police auction at 5:00 at the General Services location. ZONING AND ANNEXATION COMMITTEE……MRS. CHERYL RAMOS…….EXCUSED ABSENSE SALARY COMMITTEE………..………MR. KRIS KREINBIHL………….NO REPORT Mr. Kreinbihl had the following comment: I have no report but I would also like to schedule a Meeting for October 27th and I will probably need a half hour. We will be discussing non-bargaining salaries. PARKS AND CEMETERY COMMITTEE……………MR. BRIAN SEARS…………NO REPORT SPECIAL AND CONTACT COMMITTEE……MR. MIKE WALKER Mr. Walker had the following report: 6  The Special and Contact Committee met this evening with one item to discuss; Ordinance 15-2025, regarding soliciting hours. That was put on tonight’s Agenda for 1st Reading. We adjourned at 7:23. VISITOR’S COMMENTS_ NONE COUNCIL COMMENTS NONE Mr. Kreinbihl had the following comment: I think we’re going to come into a very difficult budget this year. I just want to encourage Council to get with Administration if you have any ideas now so we can get in front of it before March 15th. READING OF ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS ORDINANCES 15-2025 AN ORDINANCE BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW PHILADELPHIA, OHIO TO AMEND ORDINANCE 753.08(b) OF THE NEW PHILADELPHIA CODIFIED ORDINANCES, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. 1ST Reading RESOLUTIONS 28-2025 A RESOLUTION BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW PHILADELPHIA, OHIO TO ADOPT AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF NEW PHILADELPHIA, OHIO AND AFSCME LOCAL 1958, AND OHIO COUNCIL 8, CLERICAL CHAPTER TO BE EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2025 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2027, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. 1ST Reading MR. RIPPETH MOTIONED FOR SUSPENSION OF RULES ON RESOLUTION 28-2025 MR. KREINBIHL SECONDED THE MOTION 6 YEAS RULES HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED ON RESOLTION 28-2025 MR. RIPPETH MOTIONED FOR APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION 28-2025 MR. KREINBIHL SECONDED THE MOTION 6 YEAS 7  RESOLUTION 28-2025 HAS BEEN APPROVED 29-2025 A RESOLUTION BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEW PHILADELPHIA, OHIO TO ADOPT AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF NEW PHILADELPHIA, OHIO AND AFSCME LOCAL 1958 AND OHIO COUNCIL 8, SERVICE, MAINTENANCE, AND TECHNICAL EMPLOYEES CHAPTER TO BE EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2025 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2027, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. 1st Reading MR. RIPPETH MOTIONED FOR SUSPENSION OF RULES ON RESOLUTION 29-2025 MR. LANZER SECONDED THE MOTION 6 YEAS RULES HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED ON RESOLUTION 29-2025 MR. RIPPETH MOTIONED FOR APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION 29-2025 MR. LANZER SECONDED THE MOTION 6 YEAS RESOLUTION 29-2025 HAS BEEN APPROVED UNFINISHED OR OLD BUSINESS: NONE NEW BUSINESS: NONE With no other business to discuss Mr. Lanzer motioned to adjourn at 8:13 PM. CLERK OF COUNCIL______________________________________________________ Julie Courtright APPROVED ______________________ PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL __________________________________________________ Don Kemp 8