Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Gibsonburg councilman Jeff Herman will vacate his seat on Dec. 31 due to personal reasons, and his unexpired term lasts the next two years. With that, village council is accepting resumes and letters of interest to fill the vacancy.
Interested individuals must be a registered voter and live inside the corporation limits of the village. Resumes and letters of interest can be delivered to Gibsonburg Town Hall, which is located at 526 N. Webster St., until 4 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8.
After the deadline period has passed, council will review all materials submitted and schedule interviews with candidates.
The village council also held its latest regular meeting on Dec. 4.
The first order of business included the passing of a resolution authorizing the fiscal officer to transfer monies from the general fund to the economic development fund, regarding the franchise fee tax distribution the village receives every quarter. It has to be put in the general fund per state statute. The village uses it to pay down the loan payments at the industrial park. They need to authorize a transfer via a resolution every six months.
It was passed via an emergency.
Rounding out new business was the first reading of a resolution that would adopt the 2026 temporary appropriations for the village.
Administrator’s report
Village administrator Marc Glotzbecker provided an update on several items, beginning with the Ohio EPA staff conducting their NPDES compliance inspection at the sewer plant on Nov. 17.
“No major deficiencies (were) found,” he said. “It's a lengthy letter, and as we understand it, it's more of a reminder of the measures and the benchmarks we have to meet with our discharge permit. One of the things we have to do is to update our operation and maintenance manual, and we'll work towards doing that.
“And then we need to, somehow, and we're still not quite sure how we missed this, but we need to post our 2023 and 2024 combined sewer overflow reports on the website. Councilman Herman will help us get the 2024 one up on it. We had some issues with the 2023 report, but we have it figured out, and we'll have that posted soon.
“Then we'll respond to the general from the EPA to let them know that everything's taken care of. But again, (it was a) pretty clean inspection. I say clean in reference to the sewer plant, a little joke there, but yeah, the guys do a tremendous job. They take pride in what they do, and they work hard.”
Glotzbecker then updated the village’s trash and refuse transition, where effective Jan. 1, Gibsonburg will begin a three-year contract for trash and refuse removal with Stevens Disposal and Recycling Services.
“We have put out all the information out to the community, both through social media, and a letter went out this week through Every Door Direct Mail,” Glotzbecker said. “It was printed on bright pink paper. We'll continue to push that information out.”
Glotzbecker was asked if he had heard anything about Rumpke and the removal of their cans.
“Nothing, which I'm starting to think that it's probably going to be a last-minute decision on their part,” Glotzbecker said. “It kind of is what it is. Starting the first Monday in January, Stevens will be servicing the town. We appreciate everything Rumpke and Cyclone did, but we move forward, and we're trying to make it as easy as we can.
“There has been discussion about reintroducing recycling at some point in the springtime if we want to get through the transition process — get that going as smoothly as possible and then work towards some recycling for those residents who want to utilize it. It would be an every other week pick up. We just have to define what that would be, so we'll keep working with that.”
Trash pickup day will continue to be Mondays. The monthly rate will be $21, which is down from $22, per month. Stevens will begin to deliver their 96-gallon toters the week of Dec. 22, but residents are urged not to use them until after Dec. 29, which is the last pickup day for Rumpke. Bulk items will still be required to have tags purchased from town hall in advance of pick up. If anyone has questions, contact town hall officials at 419-637-2634.
In regard to the Marathon Station, Glotzbecker said that HAHNCO has obtained all the permits needed, and the station is open for business.
“If you haven’t been in there yet, it’s very nice,” he said. “They did a tremendous job.”
Glotzbecker discussed the Ugly Christmas Sweater Run and Walk, which will take place for the 12th consecutive year on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 9 a.m. He expects record participation. As of the meeting date, nearly 115 people had signed up, and he feels confident they could push 200 by the event date. He said the event is for a good cause as the entry fee is a new/unwrapped toy or non-perishable food item. He said that all donations stay in the Gibsonburg area, and those who don’t want to participate in the run or walk can still donate items by dropping them off at town hall during business hours.
In other business not addressed during the meeting, but listed in the unofficial meeting minutes are the following:
Police chief report
Gibsonburg’s police chief Don Karr said his department is working on filling its last full-time spot, and there has been some promising potential there.
In regard to the MARCS project, the department has made the commitment for the initial equipment purchase. Implementation and changeover details are still being worked out, and officials are awaiting approval from the state on the additional channels and the template updated. They should hear about the grant they applied for in January. The sheriff has agreed to cover any costs needed for their channel at dispatch.
The carport is being ordered for early 2026 installation. It will be three-sided. They went with a black roof and gray siding, which will help cruisers stay out of the sun and hopefully result in less snow on them.
All officers have met or exceeded 2025 training requirements from the state, and they will be reimbursed for approximately 173 hours.
Miscellaneous
A reminder was given that for the parks that have water, there is no ice fishing or ice skating.
If anyone is in need of a smoke detector, the Gibsonburg Fire Department is giving them out for free. Residents can visit the village’s website, fill out a form, and the department will supply one.
Resident portion
During the final portion of the meeting, a resident asked about minutes being posted to the village’s website in a timely manner, especially in light of the data center talk.
Minutes can’t be posted to the village website until after they are approved. The last meeting minutes posted were from the Oct. 16 meeting. The Nov. 6 meeting minutes were approved on Nov. 20, but they weren’t on the site. The minutes from the Dec. 4 meeting won’t be approved until Dec. 18.
However, it was noted by council that minutes, once approved, are posted at Kerwins, the library, and the bakery. The village also posts the video of each meeting and unapproved minutes on its Facebook page at “Gibsonburg,Ohio.” Note that there is no space after the comma when searching Facebook.
“We post the unapproved minutes on social media, and then the approved minutes are posted on the website, as well as the audio from the meeting,” Glotzbecker said. “The video is available on social media, and video from the past meetings is on the website, too. They’re posted very timely.”
