Village of Greenfield, OH

Greenfield Council members are pictured during the Feb.2 regular meeting. Shown are (l-r) Kyle Barr, Eric Borsini, Phil Clyburn, and Brenda Losey. (Photo by Angela Shepherd.)

By Angela Shepherd
Village of Greenfield

The Greenfield Village Council has an open seat following the resignation of Mark Branham, who began serving on the council in January 2020.

The remaining council members have decided to accept petitions from any residents that may be interested in serving the remainder of Branham’s term, which runs through Dec. 31, 2023. 

The qualifications are that the interested person must be a registered voter in Ohio, at least 18 years old, and live within Greenfield’s corporation limits. Additionally, the petition requires 25 signatures, responses to questions within the petition packet, and a resume. 

The packets are available on the table in the third floor lobby of the city building. Call the village offices at 937-981-3500 if an emailed petition is preferred. Completed petition packets are due to the village offices by Feb. 23, 2021.

Council chair Phil Clyburn thanked Branham, who was not present at Tuesday’s regular meeting, for his support and diligence to the community.

On Wednesday, Branham said he resigned his council seat due to personal health reasons that would prevent him from fulfilling the role to its fullest. 

“It has truly been a pleasure being a part of this council and I am proud of the work we have accomplished in my tenure,” Branham wrote in his Jan. 28 resignation letter. “I will look forward to the continued great work, not only of this council, but this administration. There are great things at work in Greenfield.”

Branham’s letter also expressed what an honor it has been for him “to represent and serve the people and the community of Greenfield.”  

In his report, city manager Todd Wilkin said that a virtual public meeting held recently regarding downtown redevelopment efforts and planning was well attended. He said there were residents offering input in that meeting that the village has not heard from before and he thanked everyone for their input.

“It means so much to hear from individuals, and we invite more to get involved,” he said. 

A link of the meeting has been posted to the village’s Facebook page so that residents have more opportunity to comment.

The city manager later reported that Greenfield has been awarded an opportunity to not only further economic development in the village, but development in the industrial park.

The opportunity is the Prepared Communities Program through OhioSE (formerly APEG) and Bricker & Eckler, a Columbus-based law firm that is the “gold standard in economic development stimulation,” Wikin said.

Greenfield was one of five communities chosen for the opportunity across OhioSE’s 25-county region. The press release about the opportunity is posted on the village’s Facebook page.  

“Thank you to OhioSE and Bricker & Eckler for the award. We are excited to work with both of them regarding economic development in Greenfield, and specifically the industrial park,” WIlkin said, where the addition of businesses and jobs will produce a positive impact. 

In other business, council passed a resolution allowing Wilkin to apply for participation in the ODOT Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP). The grant would be for a pedestrian bridge on the west end of Jefferson Street where there is a traffic bridge. It is a dangerous spot for pedestrians, but a place pedestrians frequent as there is commerce across that bridge. 

This is a grant that the village has applied for in the past. Wilkin said they have made some modifications to the submittal and hope to be successful this time around. 

Council member Kyle Barr, in his Parks and Property committee report, said that he recently met with property owners that had found themselves in an unfortunate situation with a water leak and the resulting large water/sewer bill.

He said the strange situation with the homeowners was that the leak was hard to find as their meter was not located on their property and the water line ran through other properties. They worked out a resolution on the matter, which council members approved during Tuesday’s meeting, that involves relocating the meter to the property and working out the large bill associated with the leak.

The suggestion box has been moved to the first-floor lobby by the elevator in the hopes that easier access to the box will garner more suggestions and comments. The box is for suggestions, complaints, nominations for Employee-of-the-Month, Citizen-of-the-Month, Home & Garden award nominations, and other award suggestions, and it all can be done anonymously if one wishes. Suggestions may also be given by calling the village offices or by email. 

Finance director Carolyn Snodgrass presented January’s preliminary numbers. Those are: month-to-date revenue - $325,383; month-to-date expense - $462,843; year-to-date revenue - $325,383; year-to-date expense - $462,843; and a general fund balance as of Jan. 31, 2021 of $435,076. 

For the safety of everyone, the city offices on the third floor remain closed to the public at this time. To reach the office by phone, call 937-981-3500, or reach the following by email: City Manager Todd Wilkin, citymanager@greenfieldohio.net; Public Service Director Gary Lewis, glewis@greenfieldohio.net ; Finance Director Carolyn Snodgrass, csnodgrass@greenfieldohio.net; and for Building and Permits, cemetery, or council matters, email Sherry Parker at sparker@greenfieldohio.net. To reach the Water and Sewer Department, call 937-981-2082, email Bev Giffin at bgiffin@greenfieldohio.net, or Kathy Patton at kpatton@greenfieldohio.net. 

Greenfield Village Council meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers on the third floor of the city building. The meetings are also live-streamed on the village’s Facebook page. For information and updates, go to greenfieldohio.net or the Village of Greenfield, Ohio Facebook page.