Full minutes

A regular meeting of Ironton City Council was held on Thursday, August 27, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers. Present was Vice Mayor Chris Haney, who presided, and members: Brown, Harvey, Hock, Kline, Scott, Simmons — seven. All persons stood for The Lord’s Prayer and then the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

Approval of minutes

The minutes of the Regular Council Meeting of August 13, 2026, stood approved as submitted.

Audience participation

Mary Ann Tussey, 1507 Karin Street, said regarding the Rice property, that property that is left over has not been cut. She said the City used to require the Rices to cut it by Memorial Day. She said the grass is up to your waist. She said there is a couple who moved across the street from her about a year ago. She said their fence is 2–3 feet from this grass that is this high. They asked her to mention their concern because they have a one-year-old and are concerned about snakes. She said she doesn’t understand if they are cutting the levy on Orchard — this is literally a couple of yards away — why that can’t be cut. She said she has repeatedly called the City and called the Mayor’s Office. She wanted to bring it up again and see why it can’t be cut.

Mr. Haney said he wondered what department that would be. Mr. Dickess said he thinks there is a small area towards the back that they had some trouble with it being soft back to where the construction is. He said the majority of it is being maintained. Ms. Tussey said it hasn’t been cut.

Ms. Tussey said she will continue to ask about the mosquito spraying. She contacted the Health Department to see why they don’t have streets that they are going to do. She understands that the City has a big part of that, but she was informed that they did the Middle School this last time — Karin Street is two streets over from the Middle School — so she doesn’t understand why they couldn’t zip over and do Karin Street like she has requested, because they were left off the original schedule due to somebody requesting that. She said she is not even asking for a reason, but she is going to continue to bring it up at every meeting until it is done. She said there is water behind her house and there is a field that hasn’t been cut, and it has to be done. She said she actually sat at the window waiting for them and they have not sprayed the cul-de-sac. She said Mike Pemberton stood there and told her that a lady told them not to do it, and they didn’t do it.

Mr. Haney asked the Mayor if they could get confirmation of the route of the mosquito spraying. Ms. Tussey said she thinks that the new people are at 1504, who are asking about cutting the field and snakes and mosquitoes. She said it is not just her — she gets these people who come to her and ask her, and she brings it up to Council. She passed out pictures of two more catch basins on Charlotte Street that are cracked and falling apart. She said the ones on Karin Street that she brought pictures of at the last meeting, nobody has contacted them about their cracks.

Mr. Haney said he will talk to Kevin Wood after the meeting about the punch list, and after the meeting he will go by the Rice property and check on that. Kevin confirmed they will fix those receptacles.

Communications

Mr. Kline moved, seconded by Mr. Haney, to receive and make a part of the minutes the resignation letter from Marta Leach. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Haney thanked her for everything she has done for them as a body over the years and what she has done for the City. He said it is definitely one of those thankless jobs.

Reports

None.

Ordinances

• Ordinance No. 26-51 — Amending Section 103.1 and Section 106 of the International Property Maintenance Code and declaring an emergency — first reading.
  Discussion: Mr. Haney asked the Mayor if the Planning Commission had met yet. The Mayor said he thinks they have to call it. Mr. Harvey moved to refer Ordinance No. 26-51 to the Planning Commission. Mr. Brown asked if it has to go through the Planning Commission. Mr. Haney said if it is dealing with codes and zoning, it does. Mack said the zoning does, but he doesn’t think this would because it is not a zoning issue. Mr. Harvey rescinded his motion. Ms. Simmons said that it is just amending something that they already had and it was a companion to Ordinance No. 26-49.
• Ordinance No. 26-53 — Requiring the City Seal or Logo to be Conspicuously Displayed on All City Owned Vehicles and Rideable Equipment and declaring an emergency — first reading.
  Discussion: Mr. Brown said that Mr. Harvey had mentioned during the Finance Committee meeting that we would like to have a cost reduction on this. He said in the name of transparency, he thinks it is a good look for the City for all of its vehicles and rideable equipment to be identified properly. Mr. Scott said he was curious if there had been talks about this in the past and if there was a barrier to doing this. Mr. Harvey said not that he can recall — it seems to have been ad hoc, not really any rhyme or reason. He doesn’t think they have even discussed it in the Budget workshops. He asked whether it’s a couple of hundred dollars or a couple of thousand dollars. Mr. Brown said maybe they could get two or three quotes on that.
  Mr. Elam said the thing he doesn’t want to be responsible for is going out and doing vehicle inventory to see how many there are. Mr. Kline said in Finance he wasn’t asking Mr. Elam to compile it — he was asking whenever it was compiled to present it to Council. The Mayor asked what all this includes. Mr. Brown asked if we have City-owned bicycles. Mayor Cramblit said yes, the Police Department does. He asked if those were exempt, too. Mr. Brown said the only exception he put in the ordinance was for undercover police vehicles.
  Mr. Haney said he remembers talking about it when they were getting fleets but he doesn’t remember the difference in price. He told Mr. Elam that the one thing he would like to see is the difference in price between a magnet and an actual stencil logo. He said if one gets wrecked and we get a full insurance replacement, we could just take that magnet off of there and put it on the replacement. He said he doesn’t know which one is more cost efficient.
  Mr. Kline said we passed legislation with the asset reporting submitted with Mr. Elam in November, which he is going to present to Council in December, and asked if that is something they could do in coordination with that and maybe give a number to John with that asset report. Mr. Elam said he had suggested to Mr. Brown that virtually all of the City’s assets like that are identified by serial number or VIN — specifically the last four digits of either. He said he thinks it would be great and would also help a lot with work order charge-offs at the end of the month. He said he would like to see not only the logo but a four-digit number associated with it — or maybe the logo, department, and four digits. He said, for example: a City seal, Finance Department, and a four-digit identifier.
  Mr. Kline said he would rather not have a department name on it because vehicles move from one department to another. He said he likes the four-digit identifying number and would like to stay in conjunction with the asset report. Mr. Dickess said as a point of reference, every vehicle in the City that has a City license plate is not necessarily City-owned — for example, Metropolitan Housing has City plates but their vehicles are not City-owned. Mr. Haney said he knows the schools have plates like that also.
• Ordinance No. 26-54 — Setting Sewer Tap Fees for Commercial/Industrial/Multi-Family Taps and declaring an emergency — first reading.
  Discussion: Mr. Kline moved to send Ordinance No. 26-54 to the Public Utilities Committee for review and recommendation and to request that John Haskins be present when that meeting is scheduled. Mr. Brown said he is good with sending it to the Public Utilities Committee. He said the City’s solicitors gave an opinion on July 23, 2026, at the request of Mark Dickess and the Mayor, clarifying that the ordinance passed last year relating to sewer tap fees pertained only to single-family taps — the City currently has no sewer tap fee for multi-family, commercial, or industrial units. Mr. Brown said he thinks it is important to expedite this because there is a decent bit of development and the City needs to capture those fees. He said he researched surrounding municipalities including Gallipolis, Jackson, and Wellston, and took an aggregate of those in coming up with the proposed numbers, basing them on the lateral size of the tap into the sewer mains. Mr. Kline said he understands the initiative but would also like to have Mr. Elam review it and discuss it with Council at the PUC meeting. Mr. Harvey scheduled the PUC meeting for September 10th at 5:30 p.m. and asked the Mayor to check with John Haskins about attending. Mr. Haney seconded Mr. Kline’s motion. Motion passed unanimously.
• Amended Ordinance No. 26-43 — Authorizing the Mayor to Enter into the Attached Contract Between the City of Ironton, Ohio and the International Association of Firefighters Local 532 and declaring an emergency — first reading.
  Mr. Harvey asked Mack if passing this rescinds the previous ordinance. Mack said it would supersede it. Mr. Harvey moved, seconded by Mr. Kline, to suspend the rules and give Amended Ordinance No. 26-43 second and third reading by title only. Motion passed unanimously, and Amended Ordinance No. 26-43 was given second and third reading. Mr. Harvey moved, seconded by Mr. Scott, to adopt Amended Ordinance No. 26-43. Motion passed unanimously. Adopted.
• Ordinance No. 26-49 — Amending Chapter 1430 of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Ironton, Ohio and declaring an emergency — second reading.
• Ordinance No. 26-42 — Prohibiting the Acquisition, Use, Contracts and Subscriptions of Automatic License Plate Reader Systems within the City of Ironton, Ohio, Prohibiting Municipal Contracts for Such Systems and declaring an emergency — third reading.
  Discussion: Mr. Scott said he knows at the last meeting they had discussed potential amendments that Mr. Brown had brought up. He wanted to clarify that that was Section 3, where it says “no government entity,” being potentially switched to “the City of Ironton shall not.” Mr. Brown confirmed that was correct. Mr. Scott asked if there was anything else anyone had thoughts about. Mr. Brown said from his perspective that was his only concern — he didn’t want the legislation to interfere with the Sheriff’s Department or State Highway Patrol if they were to have data from readers attached to their vehicles that could inhibit the prosecution of a case. Mr. Kline asked if he had proposed language or wanted to rewrite the ordinance. Mack said you can amend an ordinance before it has all three readings, but this ordinance has been read three times in the same form. He said you could either vote it down and introduce a new ordinance with the changes. Mr. Haney said he was good with the original language. Mr. Haney moved, seconded by Mr. Hock, to adopt Ordinance No. 26-42. Ayes: Haney, Hock, Scott, Simmons — four. Nays: Brown, Harvey, Kline — three. Adopted.

Resolutions

• Resolution No. 26-52 — 2026 Salary Resolution — Establishing Salaries for Non-Union Employees and declaring an emergency — read — adopted unanimously.
  Mr. Haney thanked Mark Dickess for going to training with the Prosecutor’s Office. Mr. Kline mentioned that this Resolution received a favorable recommendation from Finance. Mr. Haney moved, seconded by Mr. Kline, to pass Resolution No. 26-52. Motion passed unanimously. Adopted.

Miscellaneous

Mr. Kline told the Mayor that there is a tree on Lawrence Street around Moulten’s Field that has been falling out on the street. He noted that there have been a lot of soccer practices there and it has been hard for cars to pass back and forth. He said he knows KYOVA did a study in 2018 on the traffic pattern, and he wondered if the Mayor had had any communication with ODOT recently on how to improve that. The Mayor said he and Kevin Wood met with KYOVA and told Kevin that was his top infrastructure priority right now. They approached KYOVA and met with them. He said that study was for the other roundabout projects so they are looking at options, and he told them it was coming and now it is here. Mr. Kline said he has been stuck on the Kentucky side. He said it’s a good thing because of the traffic count of people coming into town and traveling, however, he thinks the traffic flow needs to be improved. He said he thinks it just needs a couple of changes — dedicated right-hand lanes off of the bridge and on Jefferson. He wonders if there is something they can do in the short term until KYOVA and ODOT come up with a solution. The Mayor said we need to figure out what we can do right now. He said obviously we know a study will be in place if we do something like roundabouts there at Jefferson and Second and Third. Mr. Kline asked about traffic count numbers the Mayor had previously requested from Kevin. The Mayor said ODOT conducted a camera study on a Thursday, Friday, and Saturday — cameraing every single type of vehicle, how many axles, and whether it was a van or box truck — and the average was around 11,000 a day versus 20,000-plus on Park Avenue. He said that was in 2024. Mr. Kline asked him to keep Council posted on what becomes of those discussions.

Mr. Scott said he had two people talk to him about an issue. He said geographically Tornado Alley has begun to come eastward over the last 5–10 years, and the area has seen a lot more tornadoes than previously. He said he had two people say that maybe the City should consider tornado sirens years in the future, just given that things are moving eastward. Mr. Haney said this was a discussion about three or four years ago, and he is pretty sure that the National Weather Service places them. The Mayor said they are right across the river in Greenup County and would be the ones to alert the community on everything. Mr. Haney said they can reach out and make sure that is 100% true. He said it is definitely something to improve the safety of the City.

Mr. Haney moved, seconded by Mr. Hock, to receive, file, and make a part of the minutes the July 2026 financials. Motion passed unanimously.

Mr. Brown said he knows they focus a lot on resurfacing asphalt streets, and he asked the Mayor if we have any plans currently for areas on the south end of town where sections of brick streets have been removed for repair and gravel filled, and concrete streets that have kind of localized shifting. He asked if we have any plans for piece working on those areas. The Mayor said the brick was dug out and they just didn’t have brick to fill them in. He said they haven’t filled asphalt since he has been here in 6½ years. He said with the South 5th Street and Third Street projects, there was a piece that had been asphalted for many years, and when they did that project they ended up using all of the bricks, when it wasn’t brick — it was brick before, but it wasn’t brick when they saved the bricks. He said they bought some bricks for a good price to try and make up for what was lost, but that was just off someone locally, and if they have to change them all out, he doesn’t know what the cost is going to be. He said if it’s dig-outs, it’s probably just a matter of getting to it, because it takes time to put it back, and a lot of times gravel is just left there — not that they forgot, they’re just letting it settle. He said if you put that back over a hollowed-out hole, it’s just going to crush that line when someone goes over it. He said concrete is expensive, but he would be all for doing that if they want to spend the money. Mr. Brown asked if the smaller repairs with brick and concrete are done in house. The Mayor said they do if there is a water break or some type of utility issue, but they are not going out and proactively fixing concrete streets. Mr. Brown also noted that there are adults without children loitering at the Splash Park pretty regularly and he was wondering what they could do about that because it makes the area less safe. The Mayor said they have been keeping an eye on that throughout the day. Mark Dickess said he is not sure how we can move people away from there.

Mr. Harvey said he echoes everyone’s sentiment about questions about boil water advisories recently, and everyone who has asked him about it was not signed up for the text alerts. He said the service is: text “Ironton General” to 91896, and you get all of the announcements that come from Terri at the Mayor’s Office. He asked if we are putting that out on social media and on the utility bills. The Mayor said he doesn’t think they do. Mr. Harvey said he would like them to find out how to put it on the utility bill and whatever other services are available to try to get people on the same page. He said it is a great service and Terri does a great job of getting the information out. The Mayor said they got criticized in part because the Tribune got information sent out quicker than they did. Mr. Brown said someone else asked him, since people pay their water bill online, wouldn’t it be nice if they could get emails if they already have a registered account, and he said that he didn’t know if the City has the ability to communicate via emails registered for water bills.

Mr. Haney said, regarding the boil water advisories, that Mr. Edens explained it very well to him after he had received some calls. He said it had nothing to do with the Water Filtration Plant. The Water Filtration Plant does a good job of producing clean water. He said it has been unseasonably rainy late in the summer, and typically they don’t have that much water coming from certain tributaries into the river. He said it was the intake from the river, not anything the Water Filtration Plant did. The Mayor said yes, it is turbidity — clay run-off and things that don’t bind as well to the alum chemicals used to clear the water when treating it. He said they have dealt with much higher turbidity levels before in flood stage, but regardless if you have turbidity that exceeds the normal standards, it is a boil advisory until you can confirm that there is nothing in there. He said over the weekend they had zero contaminated samples, but they weren’t just going to let them ride it out for the weekend. Mr. Haney said he believes that Mr. Edens did a great job of collecting samples and reporting. The Mayor said they were under the advisory across the river before the City was. He said this affects many different communities that use the river water intake. He said Aqua____ that Coal Grove or some other places use might not have that same problem because they are getting more ground water. Mr. Haney said he wants to add that it is the Ohio EPA that they have to work with to allow the boil water advisory to be lifted.

The Mayor said that the most urgent thing they should be working on right now is the aggregation, and he sent it to the Andersons for legislation. He said they asked Council what they wanted to do and he followed up with an email stating that they need a resolution. He said they have done this in the past and it gives prior authorization so that once the time is right to strike on a price, they can act — you can put not to exceed, as stated, but they really need that legislation now because winter is coming and the gas price volatility is coming with that. Mr. Haney told Mack that he would sponsor the resolution.

Mr. Elam said he would like to thank and recognize Matt Massie with Custombuilt PC’s for being present and installing Council’s laptops. He said also that the meeting’s agenda may be the last agenda distributed as a hard copy. Mr. Haney said he and Mr. Harvey agreed that they need one hard copy at the dais. Mr. Elam said they will get that, but most everyone will not get one, and hopefully in 10 years they won’t be throwing out 14 more tons of paper. He said this is a work in progress and Matt is making advances quickly, so to bear with them until all of the bugs are worked out. Ms. Simmons asked if they will also be getting the financials digitally. Mr. Elam said yes, they will be online as well.

Mr. Kline asked Matt if he was able to share the Council file outside of the chambers. Matt said the file is currently stored locally, but arrangements can be made — he said the simplest way if you want to copy outside is to email yourself a copy of the agenda. Ms. Simmons asked if they can have it on OneDrive with their emails. Matt said you can, but you have to set up a Microsoft account on every computer to use OneDrive. He said you can also bring a USB stick and make a copy. He said Chrome, Adobe Acrobat, Edge, or any browser can view a PDF. Mr. Haney asked Mr. Elam if they will still be receiving an email. Mr. Elam said agendas will be on a centralized drive and will be pushed out to their computers. Prior to that, they will still go out by email as before.

Executive session

Mr. Kline moved, seconded by Mr. Haney, to go into executive session to discuss four different property issues and personnel, with the Solicitor, Mayor, Finance Director, Kevin Wood, Ralph Kline, Rick Jansen, Mark Dickess, and Mr. Allard, with no action to follow.

Attestation

Minutes taken by Marta Leach, Clerk. Also in attendance: John Elam, Mack Anderson, Mayor Cramblit. Signature lines for the Clerk, Vice Mayor, and Mayor.