Forest Village Council – January 8, 2026

Village of Forest Council met in regular session on Thursday, January 8, 2026 at 7:00 PM in council chambers.

Mayor Hastings called the meeting to order with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Attendance:

• Valerie Mullholand- present
• Mary Dickinson- present
• Loretta Perkins- present
• Joe Moore- present
• Sarah Hankins- present
• Danielle Moore- present
• Village Announcements- None

Approval of Agenda for January 8, 2026: V. Mullholand moved to approve agenda. M. Dickinson seconded. Vote: 6 yeas, 0 nays. Agenda approved.

Approval/Corrections of Minutes:

V. Mullholand moved for approval of minutes from December 22, 2025. D. Moore seconded. Vote: D. Moore, J. Moore, and S. Hankins abstained. 3 yeas (M. Dickinson, L. Perkins, V. Mullholand), 0 nays. Mayor Hastings voted yea. Minutes approved.

V. Mullholand moved for approval of minutes from January 1, 2026. S. Hankins seconded. Vote: 5 yeas, 0 nays, L. Perkins abstained. Minutes approved.

Bills: M. Dickinson moved to approve the payment of bills. V. Mullholand seconded. Vote: 6 yeas, 0 nays. Payment of bills approved.

Citizens’ Comments: None

Old Business: None

New Business: Ben with Wessler Engineering gave funding and project updates. He took the time to answer any questions.

The sewer project was maxed out of the grading scale, meaning it was found to be a significant need and has potential for safety issues. This will open up the design for more funding options such as loan forgiveness. Ohio EPA loans have a maximum amount for principal forgiveness at 4 million. Other funding options are still being explored, such as USDA. With the government shut down, this has delayed funding decisions. There are still many factors to look into, and will need to be evaluated once qualified funding options are identified.

Ben advised that the 2026 goals should be how do we get the project readiness to proceed. The design needs to be completed and the time line is by October 2026. The sewer project can be completed in phases. Each phase identified could potentially open up the 4 million OEPA funding options. The lagoons have to be started in 2027. Ben also stated that Forest is classified as a disadvantaged community and could qualify for 0-1.5% loans.

Village needs to request for qualifications for the design phase as the next step. Village needs to identify what collection system to move forward with. By March 1, 2026, all requests for qualifications need to be received by the Village. M. Dickinson moved that J. Rinehammer and Solicitor Fish have the requests for qualifications posted to accept bids. J. Moore seconded. Vote: 6 yeas, 0 nays. Approved.

Resolution 2026-01 Amending Temporary Appropriations for 2026 Temporary Budget. M. Dickinson moved to amend the identified allocations. V. Mullholand seconded. Vote: 6 yeas, 0 nays. Resolution approved.

Committee Reports

Mayor: Completing trainings, public information officer training, thru Hardin County Sheriffs Office, and Sunshine Laws. Still working on nuisance properties.

Finance: Committee met 1/8/26 and updated S. Hankins on finances. Purchase orders were approved and bill payments were discussed. Meetings will at 6: 15pm prior to all council meeting.

Safety: Scheduled meeting for 1/19/26@ 6pm.

Police Chief: Stats update was given.

Fire Chief: None

Ambulance Board: None

Service: Meeting scheduled for 1/14/26@ 5pm.

Administrator: Continuing to work on well project with Layne Corp and Choice 1 Engineering.

Streets are being plowed as needed due to weather. Weather has improved and leaves are still being picked up. Campbell Street lift station is working well. Pumps and parts have been ordered for the other lift stations. Waiting on quotes to replace valves on the Vac line. Hoping this will reduce the time the Vac is down and reduce overtime. Trees have been cut in the park.

Service department will be removing the stumps left in the park. J. Rinehammer is finishing up Grants. A new Maintenance Worker has been selected. The individual is in the process of preemployment requirements.

Park Board: Next meeting scheduled for 1/12/26@ 1 0am at City Hall. Discussing and submitting project list for 2026. Beth Deringer received the Riverdale School Board Appointment.

Tree Commission: Committee needs to schedule a meeting. S. Hankins will be the council liaison for the committee.

Market Square: Looking into some different event options for 2026.

CIC: Scheduled for meet 1/14/26 @noon@ library. CIC wanted to thank Bentley Wilson for his work on the lighting project for the park during the holidays. A round of applause was given to Bentley.

Business/Industrial Development: Committee will schedule a meeting for March 2026,

Zoning and Planning: Meeting is scheduled for 1/19/26 @ 6:45pm.

Mayor Hastings appointed Curt Mullholand to the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Human Resources: Meeting is scheduled for 1/14/26 @ 6pm.

Village Solicitor: Has been updated on items he will be immediately focusing on.

Fiscal Officer: Will know soon if we are having a full audit completed. The Auditor wants to get this completed quickly. Meeting with Muni Link on 1/9/26.

D. Moore moved to adjourn meeting. L. Perkins seconded. Vote: 6 yeas, 0 nays. Meeting adjourned at 7:52pm.