Greenfield council discusses November ballot; says festival was a success WATCH THE VIDEO

Whether it is a village or a city, Greenfield will operate under the city manager form of government, according to law director Brian Zets, although for a time it was uncertain how many seats would be on the village council, and how many of those seats would be on the November ballot. 

As previously reported in the Highland County Press, Zets made a determination that because the city manager plan of government was voted on by the electors of Greenfield on May 8, 2007, this form of government "will remain in place and unchanged for the upcoming November election and future elections unless the optional plan is abolished." 

Greenfield City Manager Betty Bishop reported Zets' ruling to council members during their regular meeting Monday and also reported that, "There will be three, possibly four seats on the November ballot, and we encourage anyone who is interested to get petitions picked up and signatures secured by the (Aug. 10) deadline."

Council member Harvey Everhart questioned Bishop on what the "three, possibly four seats" meant. Bishop said that Zets had determined that the city manager form of government had five total council seats, and that an attorney for the Highland County Board of Elections felt there should be six total seats. 

Bishop said that the Ohio Attorney General's Office could ultimately make a determination on the matter. 

Steve Witham, of the Highland County Board of Elections, told The Highland County Press that an attorney from the Ohio Secretary of State's Office had researched the matter for the office. He initially thought four seats should appear on the ballot, but that he has ruled that he now agrees with Zets, and three seats will be on the ballot. 

"When they (changed to the city manager's form of government), they kind of broke new ground in everything they've done, so as they go into this (from city to village status), there are a lot of gray areas," Witham said. 

The terms of current council members Everhart, Robert Bergstrom and William Redenbaugh are up in November. Everhart has said that he will not seek another term on council. Witham said that only one person has picked up petitions to run, and that person is not an incumbent. 

Also during the meeting, Bishop and the members of council commented on the success of the 2011 Greene Countrie Towne Festival. Bishop said it was a "great community weekend. Citizens reported a lot of fun and fellowship, and we had a lot of positive comments about our community from visiting friends and from people in other communities." Everhart, on behalf of the Antique Car Club, wanted to thank the street department and police officers for their help in barricading the streets off for the parade.  Council member Brenda Losey said that she enjoyed the police presence and how well they interacted with community members and festival-goers while they were on patrol. 

In other business:

• Redenbaugh reported that council's finance committee has begun reviewing the city's 2012 budget, and it will be prepared for presentation to council during the Aug. 2 meeting. Once council reviews it, the committee will review it once more before it is submitted to the county. 

• The Paint Creek Joint Fire and EMS District, according to Redenbaugh, has changed two part-time positions to full-time, so there are now nine full-time EMS/firefighters, and that this fall all personnel will receive additional training, which goes toward the district's goal of having all firefighters be fully certified EMS personnel. 

• Council voted 5-0 to pass as an emergency a resolution authorizing the city manager to file an application with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, for a housing preservation grant for the purpose of assisting low- to moderate-income households with residential unit improvements. Everhart asked how much the grant is for, and Bishop said that she had not seen a figure on that yet. He also asked if their current village status would affect their ability to apply. Bishop said that according to the state of Ohio, since Ohio had recognized Greenfield as a city at the beginning of 2011, they were allowed to proceed with grant applications as a city through 2011. In 2012, Bishop said, Greenfield may have to apply for similar projects through the Highland County commissioners.