Hughes sworn in as Mendon's new mayor

MENDON - Former village council president Kris Hughes was sworn in as mayor during Tuesday evening's council meeting.

Former mayor John Boroff chose not to seek re-election, and no one ran for the position in the November election.

Hughes said as mayor he will continue to improve the village, increase property values and improve the community in general.

Council members unanimously elected member Steve Hughes as council president. They also swore in Bruce Rickard as a new member to fill Hughes's vacated seat. Rickard previously ran for a council seat in March after council member Jeremy Welker resigned in December 2018. Hughes was unanimously selected by council members to replace Welker in March.

Fiscal officer Kristina Boroff said council member April Grunden also did not seek re-election, leaving another vacant council seat. However, Grunden was present at the meeting to be considered for reinstatement, along with Bryan Webb, who also voiced interest in the position.

Council members met in executive session for 15 minutes to discuss personnel. After the session, members nominated Webb in a 3-2 vote over Grunden to be their candidate of choice. Council members Terry Seibert, Seth Seibert and Rickard voted in favor of Webb. Kayle Heckler and Steve Hughes voted in favor of Grunden. Members then voted 4-1 to appoint Webb as the new councilor, with Steve Hughes casting the dissenting vote. The council president later said he believes Grunden was more qualified.

In other business, water tower project manager Craig Knapke of Access Engineering said water lines have been installed and electrical work is expected to be done toward the end of the week.

Knapke also presented invoices from Phoenix Fabricators and Dixon Engineering. Council members approved paying a $23,237 invoice from Phoenix and a $2,800 invoice from Dixon.

Knapke also updated council members on the street resurfacing project. The village was awarded $166,000 to resurface streets in September. The Community Block Development Block Grant funding will go toward resurfacing West Market, North Washington, Mill and Dutton streets. The village must contribute $15,000 toward the cost, which Boroff said would be covered by the street budget.

The project will be put out to bid by county officials in the spring, potentially in late April to early May, Knapke said. He anticipates the project will be completed in late September to early October.

Council members also,

• renewed a contract with village solicitor Pete Van Arsdel for 2020.

• approved a motion for the Peoples Bank Co. to set a contract limit at $800,000 on public funds due to an increased balance of the account.

• noted a public hearing for a zoning ordinance variance will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 4 at the town hall.

• set the next council meeting for 7 p.m. Feb. 25 at the town hall.