04/21/2026
·
Erica Bogner of WJ Village Council
·
April 20, 2026 village council meeting unofficial notes
Link to meeting video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-odShqCml8
The finance committee met prior, the agenda is on the post which I edited to add the specifics of each ordinance/resolution on it. Only one recommendation was made to council which we voted on tonight, and the other two items will be back in May for finance to discuss/pass changes.
Jimmy Little was absent and excused
Guests:
Chief Gatley of the Jefferson Township Fire Department came for his quarterly report. Year to date they have had 673 incidents, 351 which were in the village. 85 happened at the industrial park, with 30 on the freeway. Mutual aid was given 62 times, and recently 7 new part time firefighters added to staff.
He also spoke on the recent fire at Amazon in West Jefferson which originated on the roof due to solar panels, which thankfully the damage was mostly contained to the roof, and due to quick response from WJ and surrounding communities the fire was handled and not significantly worse.
A resident came and asked about the smell in the village. The Mayor responded it is from Michael Foods, the EPA is involved and monitoring and no remediation time has been shared. He encouraged residents to call himself or the water department to report the continued smell so the village can continue to monitor progress.
Mayor Martin: FirstEnergy and AEP still meeting with village to discuss electricity needed to allow for light manufacturing on 29. Substations still need built and those take a year. Spring is here and beautiful, encouraging residents to keep up with yard maintenance. If you have issues with AltaFiber (fiber optics construction) reach out to him for the contact information.
He also had the Public Service report: construction active: involved with some of the aspects of Greenhaven. Fellows avenue is moving along. Converse park concession stand is ready to begin.
Chief of Police Smith: our detectives met with Jefferson Township fire staff recently to further plan a new program called Safety Town. Detectives will host a weeklong event for 4 and 5 year olds beginning school to learn best practices with bus and street safety. The class will have special visitors throughout the week to assist with safety points.
Officer Smith successfully completed field training and began independent duty today.
The investigation into the recovery of a body near the Little Darby Creek remains active and ongoing. Based on preliminary observations, the incident appears to be accidental in nature however, Detectives are continuing with investigative steps as they await pending autopsy and lab reports.
At this time, there is no indication of any threat to the community. We will continue to follow all investigative leads and provide updates as appropriate.
(Press releases can be found here: https://oh-westjefferson.civicplus.com/.../home/detail/28 )
Total traffic stops: 92
Main St: 50
Warnings: 62
Citations: 32
Technology Crosten: new Village website is live! Email him or Jill with any questions or issues.
New business:
A. Ordinance 26-024 authorizing supplemental appropriations in various TIF funds and declaring an emergency
(Legislation in photos)
Motion to adopt: passed unanimously
Communications from clerk and council:
Cahill suggested correction to two previous meeting minutes that had already been passed and posted. Discussion was had on how that would work to correct it.
Next meeting is May 4, 2026 7:00 PM at Village Hall, Council Chambers
