Mayor says College Corner 'panicking' after series of resignations, promises 'smooth transition' for utilities

At a tense emergency meeting with nearly 20 public attendees July 3, the Village of College Corner dealt with a slew of resignations that have left the mayor and remaining council members with multiple essential positions to fill.

The fiscal officer for the Village of College Corner has resigned, two weeks after the village council refused to accept her severance terms.

Jennifer Woods, fiscal officer for the village, had been the only full time employee for the College Corner government. Her lawyer, Jon Allison, wrote in an email to College Corner mayor Molly Cason on July 2 that Woods was resigning effective June 30.

At the emergency meeting, Cason said she also hasn't been able to get in touch with Mike Sims, the volunteer village administrator and Woods' father. In an interview before Woods' resignation, Cason told the Oxford Free Press "no one knows the ins and outs [of running the village], just those two," and that losing both of them would put the village in an "uncomfortable spot."

Sims has not officially resigned as of July 5, according to Cason. The Free Press has reached out to Sims for comment.

Tensions between Woods and the current village council arose when the outgoing village council approved a contract to give Woods 120 days of paid sick leave per year. One new village council member, Danyell Bolser, also sued Woods for access to public records she says Woods withheld for months. The lawsuit was resolved in late May, and the village attorney then resigned.

At the emergency meeting, Cason said they had received a draft contract from a potential new attorney which the council will consider.

Sims was not present at the emergency meeting. Neither was council member William Bake, who sent a brief resignation letter to Cason on July 1, leaving a vacant seat. Council members Brian Toothman and Wesley Cedar also weren't present, though members of the public said both had to work during the meeting.

Byrco Inc., a company the village contracted with for village maintenance, also sent a letter to Cason this week announcing that it would no longer serve College Corner, effective July 5.

"Due to the changing economy, Byrco is having to travel further away than in past years for work," Cason read from the letter during the July 3 meeting. "What this entails is that we will no longer be able to be a service provider to the village of College Corner."

The village council now has to make sure water bills continue to be sent out to residents in both College corner and West College Corner, Indiana, on time. That task was previously handled by Woods and Sims. Council member Mike Ruther said he has some experience with the program the village uses and plans to help.

"Now we're in the situation of panicking," Cason said. "We're going to do our absolute best. I promise. I might have to call up to the state and call in all the ranks, but we're going to try to make this transition as smooth as possible."

College Corner and West College Corner have an agreement that the Ohio side takes care of water lines while the Indiana side manages the sewers. Emily Bourne, a council member for West College Corner, attended the emergency meeting to ask for clarity on how the village will navigate billing as it rushes to fill staff vacancies.

Sims was integral in setting up the current billing process after the village took over water management from Southwest Regional, Bourne said. Without Byrco providing maintenance, she said, the village not only needs to manage its billing system, but also prepare for emergency situations like water main breaks.

"I'm not here to agree or disagree with other situations that are taking place," Bourne said at the meeting. "Quite frankly, the majority of the issues don't affect the Indiana side of town. However, now that the fiscal officer, the engineer, the maintenance company who were all taking care of issues are no longer in place, it's our place to demand some answers to some serious issues."

Bourne also said during the meeting that Jones Warner Consultants, Inc. (JWCI), an engineering firm that frequently contracted with College Corner, is resigning from all work with the village. Cason and the other council members were unaware of JWCI's resignation.

Last December, the outgoing village council agreed to pay $19,800 to JWCI for engineering and professional services to complete upgrades to the village reservoir required by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

The Oxford Free Press has reached out to JWCI to confirm whether they are no longer entering into new contracts with the village and if this will impact the reservoir work.

General city maintenance has also lagged behind in recent weeks, with no staff available for landscaping or street work. According to reporting by FOX19, Woods' husband and son used to do the village maintenance work.

The village has received several applications for part-time employees to help with maintenance, which Cason said she and the remaining council members will review. The hiring process did not come in time to sweep the streets before the village's Fourth of July parade, which Cason asked for community help with at the emergency meeting.

During the meeting, the council members present officially passed an ordinance to change the standard meeting time from 8:30 a.m. on the second Thursday of each month to 7 p.m. on the same day. The council will meet again at 7 p.m. July 11.