Gambier hears new voices

After voting in a new council member to fill the vacancy left by Benjamin Nutter's resignation, Gambier Village Council ended their Oct. 5 meeting by approving a Statement of Support for a 6-mill levy on the ballot Nov. 3.

Council voted unanimously for Gambier resident Alec Wood as Nutter's replacement. He will serve until the end of Nutter's original term, Dec. 31, 2021. Wood, who nominated himself, was the only person to come forward at the meeting.

A part-time resident of Gambier since 2011 and full-time resident for just over a year, Wood said his interest in local politics started in 2016 but was piqued when Mayor Leeman Kessler, his neighbor, encouraged public participation in Gambier. 

He had been attending Zoom meetings of both Council and its committees since; and while he said he has "no burning issues" as his platform, he acknowledged that he has interests both in transparency of government and the prosperity of the village.

Also in the meeting:

*A conversation further defining what Gambier needs in its forthcoming underspeed vehicle legislation.

*A call to delay approving updates to the employee handbook until physical copies can be obtained and reviewed by council members. 

*An approval of Village Administrator organizing an online auction of obsolete village property; the itemized list of property to be disposed of through the auction is still being compiled and will require council approval.

*Kenyon Vice President of Facilities, Planning and Sustainability Ian Smith gave an update on Kenyon's COVID-19 testing: Tests have been done on 25% of the student body each week, cycling the four equal-sized groups that were divided alphabetically by last name, and all tests came back negative this week. Testing, Smith said, would continue until the end of the pandemic and currently has a turnaround for results of three days or less.

*Kenyon's Student Council Director of Operations Kate Lengel also introduced herself to Council and received a warm welcome as a non-voting voice on Council. Lengel focused on observing this meeting, as the exact nature of the relationship between the two councils remains to be developed in what Lengel described as "in the dating period."