Colton Henson for Ashville Village Council

02/13/2024

At last evenings council meeting, we discussed the Ashville Community Market with those that organize those. The Community markets are a great thing, they do a great job and everyone enjoys them.

They talked about fees. Those can be looked at and I am sure the Park Committee will come to an agreement to keep costs low.

The points a few of us made are as follows and are as simple as they are laid out:

The market organizers have not taken out event liability insurance that others do to use the park. Think 4th of July, travel ball teams, Viking Festival and the former gazebo gatherings. All of which have a form of liability insurance.

At present, the Village would be liable for what goes on there. In a day and age of sue first and ask questions later, this requirement makes major sense.

Second, the market charges money. My family happened to be in the business of going to markets all around central Ohio so I have seen this before. Want to know what everyone of them have in common? They are all 501c3 organizations. And if you don't want to form one, partner with one that already exists. It is simple.

As anything grows, you have to make sure it is done properly. This is not red tape, this is normal course of business.

01/15/2024

Sold out show in Columbus to see “The Rainey’s” - Dave Rainey and his much more fabulous and much more talented daughters.

They are fantastic.

12/11/2023

A great evening as the Ashville Area Heritage Society celebrated Christmas. It was fun to see them honor Cody Logan Henson and Shannon Roese for their investment in preserving history.

Ashville is changing but it is our responsibility to preserve our history. You can’t make something better if you forget the past.

11/16/2023

Hello all,

I encourage everyone to visit auditor.Pickawaycountyohio.gov to have an understanding of just how high our local property evaluations are going to be for next years taxes.

With next tax year, it will be this evaluation on which you pay property taxes from the Park District to your local schools.

My valuation increased by over 40% - so you may want to search this out while sitting down!

Use this website to look up any property to view its tax appraisal and payment history, and you can run reports of recent sales.

11/14/2023

Tonight at the Committee of the Whole we discussed a variety of issues.

New NCA Board
Changes to local event conditional uses
Updating some intersections to 4 way stops and speed limit signs
A search committee for a new Village Administrator
The creation of an urban tree commission.

All in all, a quiet meeting but good discussion.

11/09/2023

I went around today to pickup my signs. If anyone sees a straggler, please pull it and either throw it away or bring to my home.

It is a pet peeve to leave campaign signs out after the fact so I’d like to get this done.

CTH

11/08/2023

Thank you for your support!

I had 50 signs out, if you could please grab them out of your lawn and lean them against your garage or house I will be by.

If you are feeling extra motivated, drop them on my patio!

11/07/2023

PLEASE SHARE - Today is Election Day! I would appreciate your vote to continue asking the tough questions on Ashville Council!

11/06/2023

On the eve of Election Day, I have learned of the passing of former Commissioner and long term educator Ula Jean Metzler.

Serving on Council, I hope to be 1/1000th of the servant to this community that she was.

Prayers to her family.

11/05/2023

It was good to be at Charles K. “Chuck” Council Chambers dedication. It’s bitter sweet as we all wish he were still here with us.

A dedicated public servant worthy of this distinguished honor for the rest of history.

11/01/2023

With less than a week until Election Day, I figured this would be the best time to directly ask you for your vote.

Prior to whatever early 2020 was, I was enjoying a great job in Washington D.C., missing Ohio but focusing on my career. Once Covid-19 hit and our collective world flipped upside down, my internal gut check told me get out of a place where you know nobody and quickly get home to where you know everyone.

It was a great choice and one that has allowed me to focus on my career without feeling confined to the Columbus side of my work and the ability to see my family and friends every day.

Being on Ashville Council was not a priority to me, but the passing of a friend led to my appointment and I have embraced the opportunity since.

While a generally optimistic person, I feel that Ashville is complacent in a time of serious changes to our Village and region. Some inconvenient debates and decisions have gone without addressing for too long.

Since being appointed I feel that I have had an aggressive attitude when it comes to addressing the legitimate large scale problems we face as a community.

We have to have a new water plant, we must address our nearly capacity waste water treatment, our roads are insufficient/crumbling in many places and growth is poised to swallow us up without addressing any of the above.

I understand after 32 years on this planet my approach and attitude are not everyone’s cup of tea, but I will promise you that someone that will question, voice concerns and go to you when things don’t feel right is needed on that Council more than ever.

Ashville is a great place because of the people. We need to continue to be a welcoming, vibrant and growing community. But we need to be vigilant and strong, because developers will have no problem swallowing us up and leaving us with the traffic, crowded schools and crime.

This is not 1985 Ashville anymore. Our needs are different and I have enjoyed being a voice as we move into that fight. I’m asking for your vote.