The Village of Mantua Council held its regular May meeting on Tuesday the 19th at 6 p.m. in the Village Council Chambers. In attendance were Mayor Tammy Meyer, Fiscal Officer Maryann Fabian, Police Lieutenant Rodney Terry, President of Council Steve Thorn, Council Member Dave Sluka, Council Member Denise DiLellio, Council Member Chris Novotny, Council Member Marty Fergus, Council Member Zack Colegrove and Solicitor Bill Mason.
The meeting was called to order at 6 p.m., the Pledge of Allegiance was made and a moment of silence was held for Laura Parker. Following the pledge, a roll call was taken and Meyer began her report. She thanked everyone who connected with her while she was out of the office and then announced that the village was awarded a small government loan for capital improvements from the OPWC. This $5,000 loan will be used for the repair of a number of streets.
Meyer then thanked those who participated in the Crestwood Student Cleanup Day.
“It’s a wonderful thing,” she said.
She then announced that a contract for the removal of the Mats Bridge is progressing and should be ready for signature in the next two weeks.
A meeting with Portage County Water Resources was scheduled to discuss post-water project paving, Meyer said.
“Once this project is done, done, all of the roads that have been affected, will they be repaved?” Sluka asked.
Meyer responded that discussion was to be the goal of the earlier meeting, although not everyone needed could be there.
“We have a lot of questions,” she added.
The Portage County Board of Commissioners let Meyer know that they were working with Congressman Dave Joyce to secure funds in the federal 2027 appropriation budget for the public water system rehabilitation project in the village.
It was announced that a business survey will soon be making its way across the community. Posters linking residents to the survey will be posted around the village and hard copies will be available, as well.
Meyer then asked council to approve two personnel appointments: Desiree Shaffer to the role of full-time dispatcher and Rachel Sullivan to move from a part-time assistant to a full-time one. Both were approved unanimously.
Council members also approved the receipt of a $66,891 donation from the Delia Thompson Trust and a donation of services in the amount of $5,000 from DMRC, which will paint the pickleball court.
Meyer also alerted the council that the Mantua-Shalersville Fire Department requested to end their dispatch services on June 1. The existing contract extends to July 1, and so there was some question as to if the village should ask for payment of the full contract period. Fergus and Novotny voted to bill for the full contract amount, but Thorn, Sluka, DiLellio and Colegrove voted against pursuing the payment.
Council also voted to approve the use of the lodge by DMRC. Meyer noted that the lodge currently does not have water. She said she asked Portage County about restoring the meter and they are working toward that.
Meyer then listed several notable dates: May 30 is spring clean up, June 6 is the Triple Trail Fest, June 10 is a budget workshop, June 16 is the next regular council meeting and June 25 is a comprehensive plan steering committee meeting. Council decided that the budget workshop was not needed.
Moving to department and committee reports, Fabian asked for, and received, permission to pay $18,000 to Ravenna for road salt and $18,000 to Village Insurance for life insurance policies. She noted this was a less than a 6% increase. She also alerted council that Middlefield Bank is closing its office in August and, as a result, a new bank for the village will need to be selected.
Council then approved the minutes of the April 21 council meeting and the May 13 budget workshop.
For the Processes Committee, DiLellio said the employee handbook was finished and would soon be out for review. Sluka spoke for Safety and Finance. He reported that they would be proposing raising the uniform allowance for the police department. The report from Fire and Service was offered up by Novotny. He said the salt shed is progressing, and the new truck has been ordered. As soon as they get parts in, it will be shipped. The Parks and Recreation Committee was represented by Fergus, who said they were pursuing a ServeOhio grant for lighting at the courts. He also gave a report for Rotary. The members of Rotary are interested in helping with signage on both sides of the village and would like to include their name on the signs.
Terry next offered an update from the police department. He said that earlier, they swore in Amy Miller as an officer. He also said that the uniform allowance they are looking for is $1,200 for full-time officers in their first year and $900 for part-time officers. Both would also have a $300 boot allowance. The amounts would drop in subsequent years.
When the time came for residents to speak, one said she loved the new website. Another shared concerns he had with his storm basin and apron. Meyer advised him to call Portage County Water Resources. That resident then shared concerns he had with people being on the property for his business after hours. He stated he wanted to press charges and to see an increase in patrols as he had overarching safety concerns. Meyer advised him to speak to Terry. The resident said he had, but he wanted the council to be aware and to hear their thoughts on his concerns. No council member spoke up and the public comment period ended.
Two ordinances were put up for a third reading. 2026-04, which amends chapters four and five of the employee handbook, had been tabled previously but was unanimously approved to be taken off the table. Before the vote was taken, Fabian asked for an amendment of the FMLA language in the handbook. In section 5.10, a mention of 5% needed to be changed to 10% to be consistent with the rest of the document.
After the ordinance passed, Meyer asked council for permission to grant department heads three weeks of vacation. The request was approved.
Ordinance 2026-09 provides changes to the snow parking ordinance. It was approved unanimously and without comment.
An authorization for transferring funds in Ordinance 2026-17 was put forth for a first reading. The rules were then suspended and the ordinance passed unanimously.
Ordinance 2026-19, which would repeal Ordinance 2026-18 and allow for the implementation of adjustments to the 2026 appropriation, had its first reading. A motion was then made to suspend the rules and bring the ordinance up for a full vote. Both the suspension and the approval passed unanimously.
Ordinance 2026-20, which would adopt a budget for 2027, underwent a first reading.
The meeting was then adjourned at 6:45 p.m., so the council could move into executive session to discuss a pending court case.