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Council swears in new chief
- Published: January 22, 2015
At Village Council’s Jan. 5 meeting, new Police Chief Dave Hale was sworn in by Village Manager Patti Bates, and Council unanimously passed a resolution approving Hale’s contract.
According to the contract, Hale will receive a salary of $70,000, which was his salary as interim chief since replacing Anthony Pettiford in September. According to Bates at the meeting, Hale was offered a higher salary of $75,000, but turned it down.
In an email this week, Hale said he turned down the raise because his non-salary employees received raises of 1 percent this year, so “it seemed inappropriate to take what would be a 7.25 per cent raise.” And any raise taken would mean less in the police budget for other needs, he added.
Hale also receives a pension from his 29 years of service with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department.
Hale stated this week that one of his first priorities in the new job will be completing the General Orders manual, which clarifies issues such as use of force, limits of authority, mutual aid, goals and objectives, professionl rules and internal investigations, among other subjects. He also plans to send four additional officers to Crisis Intervention, or CIT, training, and hopes himself to complete some leadership training. Hale said he also plans to involve officers in a mentoring program, either an existing program or one he would create.
In other Council Jan. 5 business:
• New Assistant Manager John Yung was also sworn into his job on Jan. 5. Yung, who came from Bellevue, Ky., started the job on that day.
• Council member Brian Housh acknowledged the many contributions to Village government by John Eastman, who died unexpectedly on Dec. 28. Eastman served as engineering consultant on many projects, especially those concerning water.
“He made a difference to the village in so many ways,” Housh said.
• While a review of Council goals was on the agenda, Council members postponed the review until their Jan. 20 meeting, so that Council members Marianne MacQueen and Karen Wintrow have time to prioritize the goals. Villagers are encouraged to review Council’s goals at http://www.yso.com, click on the Jan. 5 Council packet, and communicate priorities to Council.
• Council considered a request from the newly re-constituted Environmental Commission for approval to pursue a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to create a beaver management plan. The grant, which requires a participating team of five partners, could provide $25,000 to $50,000 in an effort to restore and protect the Glass Farm stream area that is currently occupied by several beavers. The Village has already created a flow device that allows the beavers to reside in the area without causing flooding to human neighbors.
According to MacQueen, Antioch College, YSI/Xylem, Tecumseh Land Trust and the Green Environmental Coalition have signed on as project partners. The deadline for the grant application is early February.
Council member Gerald Simms expressed concern about the beaver project spreading to a larger area, although MacQueen stated that the flow device would prevent expansion, and a concern about possible extra work that the project might require of Village employees was also stated. MacQueen agreed to bring back answers to the questions at Council’s next meeting.
• Council voted 3–1 in support of a request from Antioch College assistant professor of math and physics Barbara Sanborn for a letter of support for a Ohio EPA Environmental Education grant application. The grant would be used to construct an outdoor educational kiosk near the college’s solar panel installation for educational purposes.
Simms voted against the proposal because he believed the grant deadline of mid-January did not give Council sufficient time to respond.
• Council unanimously approved appointing Susan Stiles to the Village Planning Commission to replace John Streuwing, who is retiring. Council also approved Aaron Saari as an alternate to the Human Relations Commission, or HRC.
• After a brief executive session, Council unanimously approved a new lease for the Village-owned property 6550 SR 68, the site of the former Yellow Springs Botanicals. The Village signed a one-year lease with Karen and Steve Reed, the new owners of the business, which is now called Stony Creek Botanicals. The rental amount is $750 a month.
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