GALION — Council met for its annual organizational meeting Tuesday evening where council at-large member Gail Baldinger was elected as the president pro tempore in the event council president Carl Watt should miss a meeting.
Julie Bell also was reappointed as council clerk at the meeting.
The meeting had two new faces, as council members Ken Bodkins and Aaron Ivy began their terms.
Richard “Aaron” Ivy represents the city’s second ward at council.
“I was born and raised in town, growing up in the 70s and 80s,” Ivy said. “I saw a lot of negative things happen in the community, but in the last 10-15 years I’ve also seen tremendous growth in the community.
“I just thought it would be a good idea to come up here and continue to create prosperity and opportunities for people—that’s what it’s about, it’s about growth and serving the community. I comically say that I bleed orange and blue—I was on the youth football and baseball board, so I figured with my kids grown and gone, I’d try something new,” he added when asked why he joined council.
Ken Bodkins represents the city’s first ward at council.
“I was on council before when it was a city manager, and I decided that when the first ward came up that I’d run because I am in the first ward,” Bodkins said.
“I just really wanted to be involved again, and I don’t have an axe to grind or anything like that—I’m just going to start from ground zero and do the best that I can for the citizens of Galion. I was born and raised here, and I just love this town. I have a business here that I’ve had for 54 years, and I have the bowling alley, so we work real hard to keep the town afloat,” he said when he was asked why he ran for a city council position.
Also at the meeting, it was announced there will be a public hearing on the widening of Ohio 598 at Brandt Road on Jan. 16.