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Minutes: President Pro Tempore Nicole Lenhart called the February 26, 2026, Village of Attica Council regular meeting to order at 7:30PM.

Roll Call: Steve Tanner, Ed Beamer, Nicole Lenhart, Jim Gray, Keith Hopple, Kirk Stanfield  

Others Present: Village Administrator Shock, Maintenance Supervisor Scott, Cindy Brookes

Absent: Mayor Sanders

Approval of Warrants: Motion by Councilman Beamer to approve the warrants for payment, seconded by Councilman Gray. Vote: 6-0, motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: Councilman Gray moved to approve 2/12/2026 meeting minutes, Councilman Tanner seconded the motion, vote 4-0, Councilman Stanfield & Councilman Beamer abstain, motion carried. 

Written & Oral Communication:  Village Administrator Shock provided an update from the application for state budget allocation from Representative Click, noting that uses could not be for infrastructure. Councilwoman Lenhart volunteered to gather quotes for Legion Park improvements and constructing a walking path to surround the water reservoir. 

Councilman Stanfield suggested a path to connect the school and the village or upgrades to the park as requested, such as a skate park. Village Administrator Shock opined that insurance companies would frown upon park additions that could increase injury liability. 

Public Safety: None

Streets & Properties: None

Parks: None 

Trees: None 

Fire: None

EMS: Councilman Gray provided an update on the county EMS system noting 2025 was the first year ending in the black.  

Cemetery: None

Personnel: Councilman Gray noted employee Will Gates passed his water licensure examination and inquired with the rest of Council on their opinion of increasing Will’s compensation to be competitive with other licensed operators, suggesting an $8/hr pay increase. Councilman Beamer noted that he believes Maintenance Supervisor Scott deserves a pay increase if Will is getting one. Councilman Beamer also noted that although Will has passed the test, he is still considered in-training until his service hours requirements are met. Councilman Beamer suggested that high of a pay bump should be reconsidered when Will takes on the responsibility of being the operator of record and answering to the EPA. RCAP representative Cindy Brookes noted that with Will’s passing of the water exam his marketability is very high and the Village should be careful not to lose him to other employers. Councilman Beamer suggested a $3/hr raise for Will and a $1/hr raise for Tom. 

Councilman Gray moved to raise Will’s rate of pay $3/hr and Tom’s $1/hr effective 2/22/2026. Councilman Beamer seconded the motion. Vote 5-0 with Councilwoman Lenhart abstained, motion carried. 

Zoning Commission: None

Finance and rule:  None

Water & Sewer:  RCAP representative Cindy Brookes provided updates on the NORW regionalization project, most notably, projected timeline updates. Bidding for the construction of the project is slated to start in March giving the EPA through April to review submissions, OWDA loan approval to come in May, and contracts executed in June. Current estimates for the construction portion total $1,565,000 of which will all be grant funded. There will be an $85K additional cost for admin / design / engineering costs to Makeever & Associates, on top of that, contingencies will be required. With the refinancing of the corrosion control study / design / engineering loan, and any potential costs for the decommission of the current water plant all being wrapped into this new loan application. This loan will be a 30-year loan at 0% interest. In total, the entire project is estimated to be $1,956,500 with $1,600,000 in grant funding the Village’s new loan would be for roughly $356,500, if contingencies are needed it could grow up to ~$800K. This would add a new annual debt payment of $12K to $25K to the Village. With this new debt added, the Village’s debt payments would still be less than the prior debt payments from before the USDA to OWDA refinancing. Cost savings from regionalizing with NORW compared to Village water production is expected to more than offset the new debt costs. 

The outstanding item continues to be a rate agreement between NORW and Attica, understandably, this can’t be done until treatment can be fully determined by the corrosion control study.

Councilman Beaner noted easements being addressed in relation to the NORW regionalization. Councilman Beamer also noted the desktop portion of the corrosion control study is completed and the EPA continues to require more in-depth analysis, Cornwell (Makeever Subcontractor) has started to pushback on the EPA. Cornwell also noted that if everything goes to plan, Attica could be connected and up and running with NORW in January 2027.

Lastly, Councilman Beamer noted discussion on sewer regionalization with the Village of Bloomville have resumed. Councilman Beamer and Councilman Gray agreed to meet with them on March 17th. 

Village Website & IT: None

Train Derailment: None

Unfinished, Old Business and New Business:   None

  

Executive Session: None

Next meeting: Regular meeting on Thursday, March 12th at 7:30 PM.

Motion by Councilman Beamer, seconded by Councilman Gray to adjourn the meeting. Time: 8:35 PM. Vote: 6-0, Motion carried. 

____________________________________ ______________________________

Mayor Louis Sanders -               Fiscal Officer Isaac Phillips

   Village of Attica, Ohio 

Seneca County

 

Minutes: Mayor Louis Sanders called the January  22, 2026, Village of Attica Council regular meeting to order at 7:30PM.

Roll Call: Steve Tanner, Ed Beamer, Nicole Lenhart, Jim Gray, Keith Hopple, Kirk Stanfield  

Others Present: Village Administrator Shock, Maintenance Supervisor Scott, Cindy Brookes - RCAP

Absent: None

 

Approval of Warrants: Motion by Councilwoman Lenhart to approve the warrants for payment, seconded by Councilman Gray. Vote: 5-1, with Councilman Stanfield opposed, motion carried. Councilman Stanfield inquired on the payment to RCAP for $20,000.00. Fiscal Officer Phillips noted this invoice was for the water loss audit that is being covered by a reimbursable grant through the Ohio EPA. 

 

Approval of Minutes: Councilwoman Lenhart moved to approve 12/22/2025 meeting minutes, Councilman Beamer seconded the motion, vote 5-0, Councilman Tanner abstain, motion carried. Councilwoman Lenhart made motion to approve 1/8/2026 meeting minutes, Councilman Gray seconded the motion, vote 6-0, motion carried. 

 

Written & Oral Communication:  Cindy Brookes provided updates on the water regionalization project noting her work on the new loan application to complete the project. Based on current expense estimates of the project and awarded grant funding the left-over amount to be covered by the village would be in the $600K range financed with OWDA at a 0%. Councilman Stanfield inquired on what will happen with the current revolving debt being used to pay Makeever. Cindy noted that the design and engineering of the project being paid by the revolving loan is included in the total cost of the project and will be refinanced into the final loan at 0%. Cindy also noted that based on the current timeline that repayment would not commence on this new loan until July of 2028. Cindy mentioned that Dylan (Makeever) projects the line connection with NORW to occur in 9-12 months, with the decommissioning of the plant taken the project longer into 2027. Councilman Beamer inquired if costs to decommission the plant are included in the total projected costs. Cindy noted that decommissioning costs are not included at this point since we don’t know to what extent the EPA will require decommissioning at this point. Cindy hopes to have more information regarding the current water plant and any ability of the village to sell those assets after connection with NORW.

 

Public Safety: None

 

Streets & Properties: Village Admin Shock noted recent discussion with ODOT wanting to perform a traffic study in the Village, he anticipates they may want to adjust speed limits in various areas, but they are willing to replace all stop signs that connect to Rte 4 and Rte 224. 

 

Councilman Beamer reminded those in attendance that village ordinance requires residents to clear sidewalks of snow. 

 

Parks: Councilwoman Lenhart provided updates on various grants being worked on to further improve the legion park. 

 

Trees: None 

 

Fire: Councilwoman Lenhart provided call stats for 2025 noting total calls of 270 up from 240 in 2024.  108 of the 2025 calls were within the Village with 13 fire calls and 95 rescue calls. 

 

EMS: None

 

Cemetery: None

 

Personnel: None

 

Zoning Commission: None

 

Finance and rule:  None

 

Water & Sewer:  Councilman Beamer provided updates on the regionalization project. Most notably the EPA wants to include testing on copper water lines in the corrosion control study. 

 

Councilman Beamer also noted recent discussion with Cindy regarding potential sewer regionalization with Bloomville. Bloomville is entering the design phase of the project and is hoping to enter into a draft agreement with Attica. 

 

Village Website & IT: Councilwoman Lenhart noted Fiscal Officer Phillips added financial statement dating back to 2015 to the website.

 

Train Derailment: None

 

Unfinished, Old Business and New Business:   Maintenance Supervisor Scott provided updates on projects around town along with noting the silver pickup truck having transmission issues. 

 

Councilman Tanner inquired if Council had signed anything with ODNR regarding the old reservoir or the new reservoir. Mayor Sanders noted nothing had been signed to date. Councilman Tanner noted his opposition to working with them if we lose ownership and control of the reservoir. Village Admin Shock noted the old reservoir will need decommissioned and the bank reduced to allow water to flow back to honey creek, the only way the village could financially achieve that is if ODNR was to take over the property and turn it into wetland as they have shown the desire to do. Mayor Sanders mentioned that although that is the current hope with the old reservoir, the new reservoir will likely be retained by the Village. 

 

Maintenance Supervisor Scott noted bank rocks of the new reservoir have been thrown out on the ice during winter sledding events. Councilman Lenhart mentioned she would make a post asking residents to stop.

 

Lastly, Mayor Sanders thanked Councilwoman Lenhart on her hard work repainting the village hall council chambers. 

  

 

Executive Session: None

 

Next meeting: Regular meeting on Thursday, February 12th at 7:30 PM.

 

Motion by Councilwoman Lenhart, seconded by Councilman Beamer to adjourn the meeting. Time: 8:43 PM. Vote: 6-0, Motion carried. 

 

____________________________________ ______________________________

Mayor Louis Sanders -               Fiscal Officer Isaac Phillips

Minutes: President Pro Tempore Nicole Lenhart called the February  12, 2026, Village of Attica Council regular meeting to order at 7:30PM.

Roll Call: Steve Tanner, Nicole Lenhart, Jim Gray, Keith Hopple, Kirk Stanfield  

Others Present: Village Administrator Shock, Maintenance Supervisor Scott, Solicitor Niedermeier 

Absent: Mayor Sanders, Councilman Beamer

 

Approval of Warrants: Motion by Councilman Gray to approve the warrants for payment, seconded by Councilman Tanner. Vote: 5-0, motion carried.

 

Approval of Minutes: Councilman Gray moved to approve 1/22/2026 meeting minutes, Councilman Hopple seconded the motion, vote 4-0, Councilman Stanfield abstain, motion carried. 

 

Written & Oral Communication:  Village Administrator Shock presented an application from State Representative Gary Click to apply for state funding. Village Administrator Shock recommended the Village apply for State funding to run a 10 inch line from the water plant to the town square so that the line impacted by the train derailment could be abandoned. Village Administrator Shock noted a March 12th deadline for application submission. Councilman Stanfield inquired on the need to replace a line that could be abandoned after regionalization. Village Administrator Shock noted even after connection that line would not be abandoned as it will continue to supply water on the south side of town out to Caroline. Councilman Stanfield questioned why not apply to fix roads throughout town. Councilwoman Lenhart noted roads would be second on her priority list with the potential risk factors associated with the water line near the rail road tracks. 

 

Councilman Tanner made motion to apply State Community Project Funding for a new water line, Councilman Gray seconded the motion, vote 4-0, Councilman Stanfield abstain, motion carried.

 

Public Safety: None

 

Streets & Properties: None

 

Parks: None 

 

Trees: None 

 

Fire: None

 

EMS: None

 

Cemetery: None

 

Personnel: None

 

Zoning Commission: None

 

Finance and rule:  Fiscal Officer provided an update from Bonded Chemicals giving notice of a 12% price increase. 

 

Fiscal Officer provided Resolution 2026-1 - Loan Application for Waterline Construction to connect to NORW.

 

Councilman Stanfield inquired on the purpose of the loan application. Fiscal Officer Phillips noted the application is for the construction of a water supply line to connect with Northern Ohio Rural Water. Councilman Stanfield inquired on the water debt service fund being the repayment source of the loan. Fiscal Officer Phillips noted that is correct as with the other water debt, it is collected as part of water utility billing in the form of a flat rate. Councilman Stanfield noted the legal way to collect this would be through property tax or special assessment and not a flat rate unproportionally to people’s wealth or means. Solicitor Niedermeier noted she would not argue the matter with Councilman Stanfield after having the same discussion previous times about the legality of collecting a flat rate for the purposes of water debt retirement. 

 

Councilman Gray moved to declare and emergency, Councilman Tanner seconded the motion, vote 4-1, with Councilman Stanfield opposed. Councilman Gray moved to suspend the three-reading rule, Councilman Tanner seconded the motion, vote 4-1, with Councilman Stanfield opposed.

 

Councilman Stanfield left the meeting at 7:52PM

 

Councilman Gray moved to adopt Res 2026-1, Councilman Tanner seconded the motion, vote 4-0, motion carried.

 

Water & Sewer:  Councilman Gray provided an update on the water regionalization project with NORW.

In recent discussion with the EPA they have established three phases of the project. 

 

Phase 1 - Loan approval through OWDA in March to allow the bidding process to start for the construction of the water line in March. This would allow for the winning bid to be awarded and contracts in place in the May / June timeframe. 

 

Phase 2 – Corrosion Control Study - remains ongoing, the findings of this will allow for the proper chemical feeding to be determined along with the necessary pumps and infrastructure needed to supply water effectively. 

 

Phase 3 – Decommissioning of the water plant – these discussions will take more precedence later in the process. 

 

Councilman Gray noted other key takeaways such as, the Village owning the equipment to feed chemicals, but NORW supplying the chemicals and water operator labor needed. These costs will be billed to the Village. 

Village Website & IT: None

 

Train Derailment: None

 

Unfinished, Old Business and New Business:   Councilman Gray brought a utility billing issue before Council. The old NAPA parts store submitted a request to have their water shut off, we did not shut the water off as we weren’t granted access to the shutoff inside the building. They were billed as if the water had been shut off until a water leak was found brining their bill to $896.75. Councilman Gray noted blame on both parties but thinks the Village should not re-coup the charges due to the miscommunication. Maintenance Supervisor Scott noted when the water was finally shutoff that the service was also shutoff to the American Legion building. This shared water line will need disconnected and the American Legion will need their own line that will most likely need bored under Rte 224. 

 

Village Administrator Shock noted an update on the resident that previously requested her home be re-zoned as residential, as it was previously a dental office, the matter has been resolved with the County Auditor. 

 

Maintenance Supervisor Scott inquired on council establishing a cost for service to provide residents with water service line work to privately owned lines. Village Administrator Shock noted previously established legislation from 2012 of $35 per hour per man and $50 per hour for use of village equipment. Councilwoman Lenhart encouraged Maintenance Supervisor Scott to provide recommendations on updating the legislation at the next meeting. 

 

Maintenance Supervisor Scott inquired with council on the purchase of a work truck for the maintenance staff, Maintenance Supervisor Scott noted the lack of a daily use vehicle for staff other than the dump truck and f250 that are in rough shape. Maintenance Supervisor Scott noted the chevy is useable but starting to show signs of needing transmission work. Councilwoman Lenhart inquired if financing options or outright purchasing was being considered. Fiscal Officer Phillips noted that if staying under $25K, it would be preferential to purchase out right. Councilman Gray asked if $25K would be enough to find what is needed. Maintenance Supervisor Scott noted it would be. Maintenance Supervisor Scott inquired if a motion was needed. Village Administrator Shock noted he has purchase authority up to $75K, but would like Council’s blessing. Council presented no opposition. 

  

Executive Session: None

 

Next meeting: Regular meeting on Thursday, February 26th at 7:30 PM.

 

Motion by Councilman Gray, seconded by Councilman Hopple to adjourn the meeting. Time: 8:24 PM. Vote: 4-0, Motion carried. 

 

____________________________________ ______________________________

Mayor Louis Sanders -               Fiscal Officer Isaac Phillips

   Village of Attica, Ohio 

Seneca County

Minutes: Mayor Louis Sanders called the January  8, 2026, Village of Attica Council regular meeting to order at 7:30PM.

Roll Call: Ed Beamer, Nicole Lenhart, Jim Gray, Keith Hopple, Kirk Stanfield  

Others Present: Village Administrator Shock, Law Director Niedermeier, and Maintenance Supervisor Scott 

Absent: None

Organization: Mayor Sanders administered council members to various committees

Law Director swore in new council members

Councilman Hopple moved to nominated Councilwoman Lenhart as President Tempore, Councilman Beamer seconded the motion. Vote 6-0, motion carried. 

Approval of Warrants: Motion by Councilwoman Lenhart to approve the warrants for payment, seconded by Councilman Gray. Vote: 6-0, motion carried.

Approval of Minutes: Councilman Beamer requested amendment to 12/22/25 minutes to add that the payment plan offered to 27 N. Liberty St. requires no further missed payment otherwise water service will be shut off until the bill is paid in full. Clerk will update minutes and provide for approval at the 1/22/26 meeting.

Written & Oral Communication:  Resident Annette Groomes from 26 Cook Dr. inquired on council to address the homes zoned as commercial to lower the property tax burden. She noted that her home used to be a dentist office. Administrator Shock noted that he has contacted the other home owners and had not heard back on any other requests to change the zoning for the area. Law Director Niedermeier collected more information from the home owner and will further investigate what is required to re-zone the area. 

Resident Nate Beagle inquired with council on why updated financial reports are not supplied on the village website. Councilman Beamer noted that financials can be requested at village hall. Councilman Stanfield noted that audits can be found on the state auditor site. Nate noted that having them accessible electrotonically on the website would be a convenient solution. Councilwoman Lenhart noted that she would add updated financials to the website. 

Public Safety: None

Streets & Properties: None

Parks: None

Trees: None 

Fire: None

EMS: None

Cemetery: None

Personnel: None

Zoning Commission: None

Finance and rule:  Cash balance $917K

2025 Hinkle Report filed with the State

2025 investment performance reported with earnings of $22.5K from STAR Ohio.

Water & Sewer:  RCAP representative Cindy Brookes provided updates from 2025 water performance noting that challenges will continue until regionalization and recommending that rates be updated at that time. Cindy also noted how important it is that the village works to keep grant funding for the project noting a total of $1.6M in grant funding for the water regionalization project. The expectation is that the grant funds will cover the majority of the cost of the project. 

Councilman Beamer provided an update on the corrosion control study noting that it appears a desktop study may not be sufficient, but we expect to have a decision in the next 30 days if the full corrosion control study will be needed. Cindy noted that the project can continue as the corrosion control study is performed noting bidding the project out could occur in the spring. 

Village Website & IT: None

Train Derailment: None

Unfinished, Old Business and New Business:   Maintenance Supervisor Scott provided updates on projects around town. He also noted that employee Will Gates has been performing a lot of after-hours assistance over the phone and being called in to assist on weekends at the water plant. Maintenance Supervisor Scott inquired on behalf of Water Superintendent Rosemark, if Will could be compensated for call time. Councilwoman Lenhart moved to compensate full time employees 1 hour of pay at their base pay rate for answering after hour phone calls to assist in emergency work. Councilman Hopple seconded the motion. Vote 6-0, motion carried.

Executive Session: None

Next meeting: Regular meeting on Thursday, January 22nd at 7:30 PM.

Motion by Councilwoman Lenhart, seconded by Councilman Gray to adjourn the meeting. Time: 8:24PM. Vote: 6-0, Motion carried. 

____________________________________ ______________________________

Mayor Louis Sanders -               Fiscal Officer Isaac Phillips