Full minutes

Opening

A regular meeting of Ironton City Council was held on May 28, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers. Present was Acting Vice Mayor Robby Brown, who presided, and members Harvey, Hock, Scott, Simmons—five. Two members were absent.

All persons stood for an invocation by Assistant Pastor September Detweiler with Real Life Ministries Church, and then the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

Approval of minutes

The Minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of May 14, 2026, the Community Improvement Corporation Meeting of May 28, 2026, and the Strategic Planning Committee Meeting of May 14, 2026, stood approved as submitted.

Mr. Harvey said he would like to move to deviate from the normal agenda to do Ordinances and Resolutions first and then return to the normal agenda, specifically because his son is involved in the State Regional Final track meet for Ironton tomorrow. He said Nate is absent tonight because his daughter is running in the Regional Final for St. Joe, and Chris is absent tonight because his son is playing in the District Final for baseball for Ironton. Mr. Hock seconded Mr. Harvey’s motion. Motion passed unanimously.

Ordinances

Ordinance No. 26-33 — Repealing Codified Section 474.07 of the Ironton City Code and Declaring an Emergency — was given first reading.

Mr. Harvey said he wanted to mention that this ordinance is regarding bicycle safety and he wanted to thank the Mayor and Terri for sending out the text messages regarding bicycle safety and updating the website. He said every day all of us have experiences with kids on bicycles and scooters and he felt like that was an important community message. He said also he wanted to note that there is a report of a pothole on the City website, which has been very helpful for him to tell people who contact him how to report things in the City. He said this week on Monday someone called him and he told them to go on the City’s website and report it, and today when he drove over that area, it was fixed.

Ordinance No. 26-35 — Amending the Permanent Operating Budget for the City of Ironton, State of Ohio, for the Fiscal Year Ending December 31, 2026 — was given first reading.

Resolutions

Resolution No. 26-34 — Resolution to Proceed with the Recreation Renewal Levy and Declaring an Emergency — was read. Mr. Harvey moved, seconded by Mr. Hock, to pass Resolution No. 26-34. Motion passed unanimously. ADOPTED.

Resolution No. 26-31 — Authorizing the Mayor to Amend the Storm Sewer Rate Study with Arcadis and Declaring an Emergency — was read. Mr. Hock noted that Resolution No. 26-31 received a favorable recommendation by Finance. Mr. Hock moved, seconded by Mr. Harvey, to pass Resolution No. 26-31. ADOPTED.

Audience participation

Mary Ann Tussey, 1507 Karin Street, said she had a couple of questions. She said on WSAZ and the Brownfield remediation, there was a Kratzenberg property listed. She asked if anyone knows where that location is in Ironton. Mr. Brown said he does not know. Mayor Cramblit asked her what it said. She said that it said, Kratzenberg property, gas station, clean-up remediation. She said it was on WSAZ’s website. The Mayor said he doesn’t know if it’s the right one, but he had a place called . . . there used to be a place called Tiger Metals a long time ago near Bob Cleary’s and Spriggs. He said he knows they have been trying to get that funded for 7+ years through LEDC, but he doesn’t know if that is it or not. Ms. Tussey asked how someone could find out. The Mayor asked her who awarded the funding. Ms. Tussey said she didn’t know. Mr. Brown said he read that article and it was through the Ohio Brownfield for remediation. He thinks that they might be able to find that on public record through the State of Ohio. Ms. Tussey said she was wondering that if they give money like that to an individual. Mack Anderson said he thinks the property at 4th and Adams that Kratzenberg owns, the old Motor Parts and Little Caesar’s, years ago where Little Caesar’s used to be was a gas station. The Mayor said that is the one that he was mentioning when it came up that they were going after that one, but he didn’t think of it being a gas station though. He said they were going after money for those properties by the County.

Ms. Tussey said she knows that marijuana is legal in Ohio. She asked if anyone monitors the people who grow it. She said they have a real problem down in Green Valley because the houses sit so close together that she and one of her elderly ladies could not sit on the porch from the stench of one house on one side of her and one on the other side. She said she does know someone who grows it. She wants to know if anyone monitors that or can they just grow as much as they want and nobody ever checks. The Mayor said he thinks it falls under the Department of Cannabis. Mr. Brown said he knows there is a limit but he doesn’t know who enforces that. Ms. Tussey asked if the Police can do anything. The Mayor said he doesn’t know if they can. He asked if they can enforce liquor licenses. Mack said no.

Ms. Tussey said before they started working down in Green Valley, the Police Department had a route and it was usually in the morning before noon and they would drive down in Green Valley; but after they started working on the roads, we never see a Policeman down there. She said she knows Council just passed the ordinance regarding e-bikes, etc. She said they have some kids who are underage without helmets on e-scooters, and she really would like to see some patrols down there to get that under control. She said their streets are smaller and more crowded with cars and she just wondered what they could do. She tried to contact someone at the Police Station but never could get anybody. Mayor Cramblit said he would talk to them about that. Ms. Tussey said she saw where it said e-bikes but she didn’t see anything about e-scooters. The Mayor said he thinks they are both covered in it. Mr. Hock said he thinks they decided to just follow ORC. Ms. Tussey said she looked up the Ohio code and she thinks it said on these scooters you had to be 16 years old and wear a helmet. The Mayor said it depends—they have three different tiers. Ms. Tussey said it did not explain what the tiers were. The Mayor said it set out how fast those could go. He said he found out that the problem with some of these is they come from China, and these kids hack them and modify them.

Ms. Tussey said the lights that are out in town—she understands that Rich Donahue has purchased lights—we’ve had that on a list to get done. She asked if anyone knew when that would be done. The Mayor said they are trying to get to it now, but they have one electrician, so if something goes wrong with the pump stations, which they have been working on a lot, it kind of gets put on the back burner.

Ms. Tussey asked how do we know if the pump station down there is running or not running. The Mayor said he didn’t know because it is supposed to be quiet. Ms. Tussey said she knows but she is just wondering if you have a lot water and see a lot of water sitting there, is there any indication on the outside of that building or does an alarm go off to somebody. The Mayor said you would probably see the flood control guys. He said with our flood programs, he knows we enact our first station at 34′ on the river—he thinks that is pump station #4 by the overpass—and then it is #5 down by Storm’s Creek on the same floodwall, and then so on as the levels rise. He said he is not sure what the control measure is when that one has to be . . . that is a very large one and it is made to handle a 50-year storm. But it probably runs a lot given the fact that with the elevations down there, you’re going to have water a lot quicker.

Ms. Tussey said they still haven’t fixed Orchard Street. She said it is terrible now and they really need something put in that. She said she knows Terri contacted the Gas Company, but they really need some rock or something to put in there.

Mayor Cramblit said that he does have some good news. He said they did receive a grant from the 21st Century Endowment Fund of the Foundation for the Tri-State Community for $10,000 for a municipal disc golf course. He said that is a savings for us now, and a big thank you to the Foundation for the Tri-State Community. He said he would also like a few minutes for an Executive Session to discuss contracts, with Council, Solicitor, and Finance Director.

Communications

None.

Reports

None.

Miscellaneous

Ms. Simmons moved, seconded by Mr. Hock, to receive, file and make a part of the minutes the Five-Year Forecast and the April 2026 financials. Motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Brown said he wanted to mention that the new lighting at the pickleball courts look great and he thanked the Mayor for that. He said also he has noticed that the Street Department has made a lot of headway on fixing the many potholes that they acquired from this past winter.

Executive session

Mr. Hock moved, seconded by Mr. Simmons, to go into a brief executive session to discuss contracts, with the Mayor, Finance Director, Council and Solicitor, with no action to follow. Motion passed unanimously.

Attestation

Minutes were taken by Marta Leach, Clerk. In attendance: John Elam, Mayor Cramblit, Mack Anderson. Signed by the Clerk, Vice Mayor, and Mayor.