December 2022

Established gravel drive maintenance required by code
New Chief of Police to be sworn in January 9
4% employee raise approved

By Paula Scott

On Tuesday, December 20 the Village of Ada council met for the last regular session of 2022. A packet including the agenda is at https://www.adaoh.org/sites/default/files/board_meeting_minutes/12.20.22...

ATTENDANCE
The meeting was conducted by Mayor David Retterer and attended by a full contingent of councilors: Sean Beck, Sheila Coressel, Jason Campbell, Linda Mason, Jeff Oestreich and Bob Simmons. Three residents, the Kenton Times and the Ada icon were present.

STREETS COMMITTEE
At 6:30 p.m. a Streets Committee meeting was chaired by Jason Campbell to consider the predicament of Mary Trudgeon, who lives at 427 E. Lincoln. Trudgeon addressed council at the prior meeting about being ticketed for parking next to a paved driveway at her home, when she has done so for many years without issue.

In the interim, the mayor and others on council took a look at the property, where street widening has removed on-street parking. There is a double-width approach to the driveway but only one half is paved.

Village code requires that the first fifty feet of driveways be paved; however, there are gravel driveways in the village that pre-date the code (attachment p. 26-28). Parking on grass is not permitted.

After extensive discussion, the council ended the committee meeting and entered the regular session. A motion was made to allow the property owner to park to the right of the paved drive with the stipulation that she refresh the stone in the established parking space within six months. Approval was unanimous.

Any similar situations will be handled on a case by case basis.

On Tuesday, December 20, 2022, Ada Village Council officially moved to hire Alec Cooper as Ada’s new Chief of Police with a start date of January 9, 2023.  He will be sworn-in at Ada Village Council at 6:30 p.m. on January 10, 2023.

Cooper comes to the Village of Ada from the City of Delphos where he has served for the past 5 years as a sergeant. During Cooper's time with Delphos, he managed their LEADS, Firearms Instruction, Policy Review and Implementation as well as a number of other administrative duties.  Prior to his time with Delphos, Cooper was with the Ada Police Department for approximately 7½ years serving as a dispatcher, full-time and part-time officer. Cooper was Ada’s Officer of the Year in 2014 and has been named the MADD Officer of the Year, 9 of the last 10 years in a row either with the Ada or Delphos Police Departments.

Cooper will be attending New Chief of Police Training and Police Executive Leadership College in early 2023, along with some day courses as he begins his training for the position.

Lily Baumgartner wins 2 races, swims in 2 winning relays

By Cort Reynolds

The Ada High School swim team finished a strong second at the six-team Bucyrus Invitational Tuesday evening, December 20.

“We walked away with multiple best times and I’m very happy with second place,” said first-year Bulldog swim coach Ashley Robey. 

Ada sophomore Lily Baumgartner won the 200 individual medley and 500 freestyle races to lead the Bulldogs.

Senior Carlie Oldfield won the 200 free, and took second in the 100 backstroke.

Senior Kaitlyn Bowden finished second in the 100 butterfly and third in the 100 backstroke.

A winter storm is looming, looking to disrupt travel for the Christmas holiday.

Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) crews in District 1 and District 2, which includes 16 counties throughout northwest Ohio, are preparing by checking trucks and all equipment; and organizing full-time, auxiliary, and seasonal employees to prepare them to begin 12-hour shifts when needed.

Based on predictions by our meteorology partners, ODOT is preparing its plow operators for the following:

A winter storm watch remains in effect for Thursday night through Saturday, with a brief and light wintry mix possible early Thursday before turning to rain.