Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
In the final minutes of the city of Oregon’s latest regular council meeting on Dec. 8, councilman Steve Hornyak made a motion to appoint David Andrus to fill the unexpired term created by the vacated council seat of new mayor Steven Salander.
In doing so, chaos erupted.
In November 2022, Oregon voters approved a change to the city’s charter that said should a seat become vacated, the council members would no longer be required to appoint the next highest vote getter in the previous election.
Instead, within a 60-day period, council can fill the vacancy how they so choose with anyone they deem worthy, or if they don’t meet the deadline, the replacement is chosen by the mayor. That meant that Thomas Lambrecht, who received the highest non-elected total of votes with 1,942 in November, wouldn’t be secured a seat.
Andrus has served on the city’s board of zoning appeals for the past 14 years. He is the president of J.C. Andrus & Associates, while also offering surveying services in Ohio and Michigan.
Despite that, council members Beth Ackerman and Paul Drake said they had never heard of him. They urged discussion or that council holds off until the next council meeting to vote.
Salander also urged council members to at least postpone a vote until next week.
“Is that how we're going to do it?” Ackerman said. “We're just going to pull a name out and then we're expected to vote on somebody we don't know?”
The city’s law director Melissa Purpura said that a member of council can make a motion and nominate a person, and if majority votes for that individual, then they would be elected to the seat.
Ackerman asked if anyone else on council had heard of Andrus. Drake said no, while Dennis Walendzak, Kathy Pollauf, and Terry Reeves said they had. They also said they had individual discussions with Andrus after he expressed interest in the vacant seat.
“I've heard this name before, and with you being on council for two years, I'm surprised you haven't heard this name before,” Pollauf said to Ackerman. “He's been on the board of zoning appeals for 14 years.”
“But not as a candidate for council,” Ackerman said. “I have not had to go and interact with him on zoning. So what I'm saying, you were aware that he was going to be nominated? That he was going to be submitted?”
Walendzak also commented.
“I had over 20 people contact me over the course of the month,” he said. “He was one of the names that was contacted and I spoke with.”
Moments later, Pollauf seconded the original motion by Hornyak.
“I talked about this two weeks ago,” Drake said. “I'll bring it up again. I believe, like it or not, and this is just my opinion, Mr. Hornyak is right. It was a charter change. I believe eight votes passed it. However, the majority of the people ... I'm out and about a lot. I haven't got 50 phone calls, but I can guarantee you I've talked to a lot more people than 50. Ninety percent of the citizens I talk to, they bring it up to me. I don't bring it up. They believe the intent was for the next group of council (to make the decision on a replacement), not the current one, because like somebody said earlier, the citizens spoke.
“Therefore, my opinion, and I'm just one person, it should go that way. I'm like Ms. Ackerman. I've heard the name Andrus. I had a teacher, Ms. Andrus. Other than that, I have no idea who it is. I don't believe there's a litmus test where we have to know every citizen that walks in here. I wish I did.
“However, I believe that like I said before ... Tommy (Lambrecht) took the time to get the signatures. You pay the $45. You open yourself and your wife up for public humiliation. Whether you have debt, credit card, how bad your credit was, your credit score ... da-da-da. Like most people say. I can't speak for all of them. Most people tell me at least he had the guts to run. He spent the money. Took the time. He had the guts. I have people, I had one guy call me. I had to tell him 20 times, there is no process right now.
“It sounds like there might have been a process down there, but sure the hell ain't up here. I can tell you that. I just want to set that straight.”
The debate then got off topic to a previous discussion point where a resident earlier questioned why city administrator Joel Mazur was allowed to resign and still receive a severance package.
“It's funny how in the wee hours before the meeting, last meeting, all this was going around, and then all of a sudden, they come up with this package for Mr. Mazur,” Drake said. “I'm not saying I'm for it or against it. But it's just funny how some people know what the hell's going on. And the other ones are like pumpkins alongside the road. So you know, it is what it is. People see that stuff ... these people, the voters. I'll say this, the voters are not stupid, trust me. That's all I got to say.”
The conversation then got back on the topic of the vacant council seat.
“My process, and we all have our own processes,” Pollauf said. “I had spoken to at least 10 people that came to me and inquired, and I asked people, what would you think about being on council? I've had 10 people that I've talked to. (Andrus was the) one that I felt that was fair, not connected in any way, meaning there's no sides, very neutral, doesn't even have a Facebook account, doesn't even get into social media, and he has worked and dedicated 14 years for no pay on the board of zoning appeals, talking with residents, helping residents, making decisions that go for the zoning.
“He knows the book of codified ordinances. He is well-versed in how parliamentary works, and that's why I felt he was a very good candidate. So that was my choice. It didn't matter. I mean, do I bounce off people on a phone call and call Steve (Hornyak) and say, 'What do you think? What do you think? Absolutely, yeah, we do that.' Do we meet? No, we don't meet.”
Ackerman questioned whether the motion was a violation of Ohio’s Sunshine Laws.
“If the four of you discussed this and you came to the agreement that you would vote accordingly, then that's a violation of the Sunshine Law,” she said.
“One by one, I don't think so,” Pollauf said.
Purpura then said that they would have had to have met in order to have violated Sunshine Laws.
A vote was then taken on the appointment of Andrus. Ackerman and Drake said no. Hornyak, Pollauf, Reeves, and Walendzak said yes. Thus, Andrus was appointed to the seat for the duration of the term, which runs until Dec. 31, 2027.
On Dec. 10, WTOL 11 reported that residents Jim and Laura Davis have filed complaints with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, the Ohio Auditor’s Office, and filed a petition to get the four members of council removed who voted for Andrus.
Mazur severance questioned
Earlier in the meeting, during the resident portion, Christine Gladieux spoke on two topics, including Mazur’s severance package.
Mazur announced his resignation for personal reasons at the previous council meeting. He is slated to receive a severance package, per his contract, that includes a lump sum of $39,140.27 and a vacation payout of 140 hours at $75.2697 per hour, or $10,537.76.
“Mr. Mazur, in 2022, you entered into an employment contract with the city of Oregon,” Gladieux said. “And that contract, in Section 13, clearly states that no severance should be offered. When I read in the Toledo Blade that upon resignation ... which I have resigned from many jobs to go look for future places of employment and have never been given a severance.
“So, I'm a little upset that you're leaving us and getting a severance when you entered into a contract that specifically states a severance should not be paid. It really makes me mad because the mayor, the prior mayor, said that we were in dire financial straits. And now you want to walk away with $40,000? It really makes me mad. How is that even legal? You're setting a precedent. This is not good use of public funds. How did that happen? When someone resigns, how do you give them a severance?”
Purpura responded.
“Under his contract that he entered into under Section 13 that you're referring to, the first part of the sentence that you're referring to — you’re referring to the second part — the full sentence says should the city terminate the employment of the city administrator for any reason, he shall not be entitled to severance. Mr. Mazur was not terminated. He resigned. Therefore, this section of the contract does not apply.”
“But you give someone that quits a severance?” Gladieux said.
“Mr. Mazur made a personal decision for what was best for him and his family,” Purpura said. “Due to the position that he's in, in the high-level day-to-day operations and especially our budget, he is agreeing to be available to the city for questions for a period of time. And due to the nature of having a change in administration and other items that are in front of this city, it's very important to have his knowledge and him answering the questions, and that's what that package is (for).”
Council business
Council approved earlier in the meeting, via emergency passage, a pair of ordinances authorizing the purchase of two 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee Altitude X’s to be used in the Oregon Police Division.
“These vehicles will be detectives' vehicles,” police chief Brandon Begin said. “Bauman Ford in Oregon was able to provide quotes that were better than state pricing for both vehicles. Even though they're coming from — one's coming from the Fremont lot and one is coming from the Port Clinton lot — the transaction will take place with Bauman Oregon through their corporate entity. We did budget $60,000 per vehicle, and both prices are well under. One's at $42,564, and the other one's at $44,446. This would also be cheaper than the Ford Interceptor models that we used, and we think it's a better purpose for the type of work that we'll be doing with them.”
Another ordinance was approved via emergency for a purchase order, not to exceed $56,500, to E R Zeiler Excavating to replace a 16-inch waterline valve on Wheeling Street just south of Brown Road.
“When we were doing a repair to the two service lines to Bay Park Hospital, we discovered that this line would simply not shut,” the city’s public service director Paul Roman said. “It is therefore not functional. We knew that it needed to be replaced, but this size of a valve does take the need of an outside contractor. We did receive three quotes. E R Zeiler was the lowest and best quote. They've done a lot of work for us in the past.”
Finally, a fourth ordinance was passed via emergency that allows the city to enter into an agreement with the Lucas County Public Defender’s Commission for the period of Jan. 1, 2026 to Dec. 31, 2026 for legal counsel to represent indigent defendants that have been charged with both state statutes and city ordinances that carry the possibility of jail time.
“This has been found to be the most economical way for the city to provide these services is to contract out with Lucas County Public Defenders Commission,” Purpura said. “In fact, this year the contract will be for $2,850, which is about a $35,000 savings from last year. Our prior contracts were $38,000, but due to the way that we renegotiated it, we were able to save the $35,000. This is an emergency ordinance so that we can continue to provide court representation to indigent defendants starting in the new year.”
Drake asked how many indigents go through the court system on a yearly basis. Purpura said 85 percent of the cases are indigent.
Mayor’s report
In his first mayor’s report, Salander announced the retirement of police sergeant Ken Reno, who has served 34 years for the Oregon Police Division. It is effective Feb. 7, 2026.
“I do want to very much thank Sergeant Reno for those 34 years,” Salander said. “That's impressive and very much appreciated.”
Next meeting
The next council meeting has been moved to Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. It was originally scheduled for Dec. 22, but it was moved due to the Christmas holiday. The committee of the whole meeting slated for the 15th has been canceled.
