Mazer
PHILLIPSBURG — It was a busy week for Phillipsburg officials.
On June 10, council held a special meeting to hire Benjamin Mazer of Coolidge Wall law firm in Dayton as the village solicitor.
The previous solicitor had already withdrawn from the position and the village wanted legal advice to be available in case of need.
Council member Brandon Myers later told the Register-Herald that this change would be advantageous because Coolidge Wall has a municipal law division, while the previous solicitor was an independent attorney who handled a variety of cases.
“For example, I’m an attorney,” Myers said, “but I’m a criminal case attorney, and there’s no way I could give good legal advice to the village.”
In the meeting, he also suggested that council designate one member to talk with Mazer after agreeing on the questions, to keep the legal bills to a minimum.
The council members also agreed with his suggestion that Mazer come talk with them about procedures under Robert’s Rules of Order and Ohio’s sunshine law. While the state provides training, Myers said much of the video on the sunshine law did not address situations common in small towns.
On June 13, the board of public affairs held its regular meeting.
Members learned the new tablet for reading water bills had hit a snag when the person installing the software was unable to activate the keyboard. The official promised to come back with a solution on June 18 and said if he couldn’t get the system activated in time, his company would do the June meter reading for the village.
That day the village had received several pages of questions from the Ohio EPA concerning the grant application for funds to help eliminate PFAS in the water system.
Upon closer examination, board members realized only the first two pages needed to be returned, while the others were matters they needed to be prepared for. Members suggested asking their Ohio EPA contact to meet with them to clarify some of the questions, as some did not seem to apply to a small town.
The board named Keith Koontz to manage meetings if Mary Combs is absent and approved training Council Member Donna Mullins to handle the July water bills when Water Clerk Nicole Adamson will be on medical leave. (Mullins is donating her services.) In addition, members decided to determine the cost of training Adamson as a notary. Mayor Shawna Newsom pointed out the village could also make notary services available to residents for a fee.
The next regular council meeting will be on Tuesday, June 18, and the next board of public affairs meeting will be on Thursday, July 11. Both will be at 7 p.m. at the municipal building, 10868 Brookville Phillipsburg Rd.
