Documenters: Village of Sugar Bush Knolls Council meeting for Jan. 6, 2026

The Village of Sugar Bush Knolls Council held its first meeting of 2026 on Jan. 6. The council met on a quiet, rainy Tuesday in a conference room at 154 North Water St. in Kent. In attendance were Mayor Jeff Coffee, Clerk and Treasurer Amy Mucha, Solicitor Eric Fink and Council Members Don Bishop, Elizabeth Hartley, Nicholas Jordan, Nate Mucha, John Palik and Marshall Moore.

Coffee led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance to start the meeting. This was followed by Fink swearing in the two newly elected members: Palik and Hartley. This presented the council with a quorum, which they could use to approve the appointment of Bishop and Moore to fill the remaining open seats. Fink then proceeded to swear in the two new council members.

The full council next reviewed the proposed committee assignments for 2026 as presented by Coffee. Those assignments included some non-council residents.

Amy Mucha presented the meeting minutes from Dec. 11, 2025. Following a few typographic adjustments, the minutes were approved unanimously.

Coffee then asked Nate Mucha to activate email addresses for the newest council members and de-activate the addresses of any old members.

The next agenda item was a review of financial reports. Amy Mucha said that she was still working on reports for 2025 and would have them at the next meeting. According to the banking statements shared, the village ended December with $173,273.10 in the bank and with $119,845.60 in investments with STAR Ohio. The council also reviewed statements indicating cash on hand and appropriations. The only question asked was by Coffee, who wondered why the village had spent $286 in rent. Nate Mucha suggested it was to cover the cost of a post office box.

When revenues were reviewed, the overall revenue number was shown to be up 116.320% YTD over projections. 

The financial reports were then approved unanimously, as were the presented bills to be paid.

During the open comment period, no residents rose to speak, but Moore did ask a question about if the aerators in the lakes needed to be running. Palik said that was a question that was asked previously and, after doing some research, he found that they should be consistently running. He said it helps prevent the equipment from filling with sediment and from freezing.

He also took this time to announce that there are three river otters living in the water and, while he said that is the sign of a healthy ecosystem, he also worried that they might be “decimating the fish population.” He suggested that the village should look into “stocking the pond (with fish) in the spring.”

With no further comments made, the council moved on to hearing committee reports.

For the Traffic Committee, Coffee said that he recently had to call the Kent City School District bus depot because a bus “drove into my yard and took out my snow markers.” 

“I called because I was concerned for the kids that the driver didn’t know where the edge of the road was,” he said. 

He reported that the bus depot will be working with the driver in question.

Coffee also reported that the “speed tables look like they are holding up to the snow plows.”

Hartley shared an email she received from a resident that said they noticed a yard in the neighborhood had been damaged. They sent pictures, as well, which Coffee said looked like damage from a large truck, but without further evidence as to the type of truck, the council was unsure as to how to proceed. Nate Mucha said he would see if it was possible to get any Ring footage showing the damaged area. Coffee added that it is important for residents to put up markers to show where their property ends.

Fink next provided an update on violations in the village. He said that it appeared that there was some work done at the Kapasi house and that he and the mayor were planning to make a visit to walk the property and evaluate what has been done. Fink also said that he spoke with the magistrate to provide an update and that more time may be needed to reach compliance because of the weather. He added that he believes the owners still need to pay for the village's time, and he would ask the court not to release them from the order until this was done.

Fink also said that some progress may have been made at the “blue shutter house.” Coffee added that the house on the corner of Ridgecrest and Lake Martin has also seen some progress and that “come spring, we’ll address the cleaning that needs to occur.”

For his report on the lakes, Palik announced that they were “still there.” He suggested that in the spring, they look into some preventative maintenance efforts.

Coffee said that there were no details regarding any EMS and fire runs in December. Amy Mucha suggested that this was because the council was meeting earlier in the month than usual and that the full information on runs in December may not yet be available.

As part of the Communications Committee, Nate Mucha shared the terms of service and privacy policy that will be used for resident alerts. Fink said he reviewed them and endorsed their usage. There was then some discussion as to where a resident will encounter the documents, how they will accept them and if they should be added to the website, apart from the alert system.

The next item on the agenda was to review recent correspondence to the village. A letter from the Charlestown Township Trustees was shared. They recently detected what they believe were inconsistencies with NOPEC pricing. Nick Mucha wondered why the letter was sent, as no direct action was requested. 

“Maybe they got stung and they are trying to get a class action kind of thing,” Bishop said.

A request for proposals for H2Ohio Chloride Reduction Grants was reviewed and quickly set aside as Coffee noted the work it covered wasn’t anything the village undertook.

Hartley shared an email she received from Paula Snyder, who had concerns over the way new council members were appointed. Hartley also shared that she had been asked by some former residents if there was a way to be sent the village newsletter electronically. After some discussion, it was decided that since no one receives the newsletter that way, the easiest point of accessibility would be the website.

The final two items were the appointment of Bishop to the Portage County Regional Planning Commission and the announcement of the December passing of Carlton Sears. After a brief discussion, it was decided that the village would send a letter to the family of Sears recognizing his service to the community. 

The meeting was then adjourned at 8:30 p.m.