Meeting Minutes: August 4, 2026
Council called to order by Mayor Ron Searight on August 4, 2026 at 7:30 pm.
Let us pray – Dear God, we thank you for allowing us to meet and discuss the Village of Rockford business. We ask for direction and wisdom as we serve the people of Rockford. Please let us give you praise and the glory for all that we do. As we ask all these things in your Holy Name, Amen.
Pledge of Allegiance
Those present: Marcas Heitkamp, Mark Heitkamp, Luke Stephenson, Mary Beougher, Chris Heitkamp. Shane Young – absent
Also attending: Chief Westgerdes, Patrolman Miller, Robbie Peel, Barry Helman, Francies Schaffner, Abigail from the Daily Standard and Ross Finke.
Motion Marcas. Second Mary to accept the agenda as orders of the day.
Luke called for the question. Marcas = y, Mary = y, Luke = y, Mark = y, Chris = y. Passed 5 yes.
Motion Luke. Second Marcas toaccept the minutes from the July 21, 2026 council meeting as presented. Mary called for the question. Luke = y, Marcas = y, Mary = y, Mark = y, Chris = y. Passed 5 yes.
Mayor’s Report and Correspondence:
As it is now August many things are happening in our area. Sunflowers in Bloom Festival will be going from August 6th through 9th and will be held at Schoolhouse Farms, Northeast of Rockford. It has all the makings to be something to see and enjoy looking at the USA in a different manner. Mercer County Fair will be on from 13th to 19th in Celina. So go support Parkway FFA food stand, along with other FFA projects and 4H groups from our area will also be represented as well, so enjoy their projects and if you get a chance talk to the students about their project. Finally, the first day of school will be on August 19th so a lot is going on this month.
We talked about solicitors a little bit in our last council meeting. But I would like to clarify that we have a “No Solicitation” ordinance that is being utilized presently. But there is an exception to this ordinance, and we are required by the Supreme Court to honor those. The two that are exempt are “political campaigning and religious individuals coming to your door. We cannot stop them with our ordinance, but you can do it. The way to stop this is to post something on your front door that states that “No Solicitation is allowed here,” then everyone is required to honor your request. The posting does not have to be large either, as it just needs to be readable in size.
At the last meeting you heard about Chene Development Inc. investing in a business park here in Rockford. For the village this is big news, as this park is offering new opportunities for businesses to build, grow, and provide jobs here. Its location gives easy access to US 33, along with easy access to other major highways if needed. This along with high visibility of this site offers more future development, as we have a lot of traffic that travels through this town. We want to thank all the investors for their commitment to the Rockford area and for its future growth.
Speaking of growth, Rockford is growing and I know that it has some people concerned about where we are going. We plan to grow in a responsible manner and with thought on how to grow. That is what is happening at the present time, but like everything else hindsight shows where we could have done better. But without growth businesses here have fewer people to provide their services or products too. We want to provide futures for our children and add value where we call home. We have seen the decline in businesses that were once here and left for a variety of reasons. Some of these types of businesses will never return due to reasons out of our control. But others are due to just not having enough people to utilize their services and make a decent profit to survive. A town is either growing, or it is in decline, as it is hard for any town to stay the same for extended periods of time. We are turning that page as we have people that want to build here, live here, retire from here, and open a business as well here. Let us welcome them to our community and provide the means for them to succeed, as well as ourselves.
Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) informed me that St. Rt 118 and St. Rt. 707 intersection will be soon a four way stop to all traffic. ODOT will be placing signs out notifying everyone that this is going to happen and when it will take place. They also said that the Stop Signs will have lights flashing on the perimeter of each sign. Please use caution when you are entering this intersection, due to the number of accidents that has created this move. Thanks,
Remember, “Give more than you take and you will receive more than you gave.”
God Bless you, Mayor Ron Searight
Upcoming Community information & events:
Thursday – Saturday – August 6-9, 2026. SchoolHouse Farms – Sunflowers in Bloom festival – 5486 Ross Rd., Rockford
Monday – August 10th – Parkway High School – The “Spiffy for School” event
- Parkway Students only
Thursday – August 13th – Back to School Night
Wednesday – August 19th – Parkway First day of School.
Sunday – August 30th – Shanes Park – Maker’s Market – 11 am – 2 pm
Local vendors, food trucks and music !
Saturday – September 12 – Mercer County Fairgrounds – Household hazardous waste day and steel drop off. 9 am – 1 pm. Mercer County residents only – no businesses.
Saturday – October 31st – Rocktoberfest, Trick or Treating and Costume Judging at the Fire Station – more information coming !
Village Administrator’s Report – Aaron Temple
HSI Solar – we are in the final stages of verification – still planning to begin installation by the end of the year beginning with the UVU units.
Unfortunately, vandalism is still happing at the park, so we will need to look into increasing our WIFI signals and increase cameras at the park – of course that all comes with additional costs.
Several are aware of the brine tank issues at the water plant. We have spent the last 2 days trying to break down debris that is in the bottom of the tanks – which is leading us in the direction of looking into a better quality salt. This better-quality cost increase is about $64 / ton. We go through approximately 24 tons of salt per month.
We have been doing a water meter audit — we have had numerous water meters that are not reading – because of age – and we are changing them out with new meters. So if you have been used to an estimated bill, your bill may increase with new and accurate meter readings.
Some good news – we received the Capital Improvement packet for the park project, so we can get started on the paperwork and the plans for those improvements – most will be done early next year.
Committee Reports:
Finance Committee: Marcas Heitkamp
Motion Marcas to pay bills as presented $26,173.82 Second Luke.
Mark called for the question. Marcas = y, Luke = y, Mark = y, Mary = y, Chris = y. Passed 5 yes.
Motion Marcas to approve the monthly financial reports. Second Luke. Mark called for the question. Marcas = y, Luke = y, Mark = y, Mary = y, Chris = y, Passed 5 yes.
Cash Summary by Fund, Appropriations report, Revenue Report,
Budget vs Actual activity report, and Bank statement.
Motion Marcas to approve supplemental appropriations to date. Second Mark. Luke called for the question. Marcas = y, Mark = y, Luke = y, Mary = y, Chris = y. Passed 5 yes.
Motion Marcas to approve additional purchase order. Second Chris. Luke called for the question. Marcas = y, Chris = y, Luke = y, Mark = y, Mary = y. Passed 5 yes.
Rules / Zoning Committee: Mary Beougher
Reviewing several ordinances that need updates.
Service Committee: Shane Young – absent — report by: Marcas
After looking into the fun houses and their current condition down at the park we feel it may be best to completely eliminate them and move forward with other ideas. Possibly painting the rubber flooring into games like hopscotch, 4 square, etc.. Eliminating houses may also help eliminate the issue we have with our fence being damaged. Comments, questions or concern with moving forward ?
Shanes Crossing Historical Society: Fry Pie fundraiser order information on the Facebook page or at the Village Office.
Safety / Housing / Buildings Committee: Mark Heitkamp
Golf Cart inspections – we are offering a service to the community this is not mandatory. Some residents need cart inspections when taking their cart out of town to local campgrounds. The Rockford Police department will do inspections for a fee of $50.
Motion Mark. Second Marcas. Mary called for the question. Mark = y, Marcas = y, Mary = y, Luke = y, Chris = y. Passed 5 yes.
Economic Development Committee: Luke Stephenson
(Administration photos taken before council meeting)
Public Utilities Committee: Chris Heitkamp
Old Business:
New Business:
Motion Marcas to go into Executive Session regarding Matters required to be kept confidential. Second Mark. Luke called for the question. Time: 7:47 pm
Marcas = y, Mark = y, Luke = y, Mary = y, Chris = y. Passed 5 yes.
Motion Marcas to come out of Executive Session. Second Mark. Luke called for the question. Time: 7:57 pm Marcas = y, Mark = y, Luke = y, Mary = y, Chris = y. Passed 5 yes.
No action taken.
Meeting adjourned 7:58 pm.
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Mayor Fiscal officer
