Vandalia council appoints Ron Atkins to housing appeals board; swears in Kelly Back to planning commission

The Vandalia City Council on Oct. 20 voted 7-0 to appoint Ron Atkins as an alternate member of the Vandalia Housing Code Board of Appeals and to appoint and swear in Kelly Back to the Vandalia Planning Commission.

Councilman Follick moved to appoint Ron Atkins as an alternate to the Housing Code Board of Appeals; Vice Mayor Blakesley seconded the motion. The roll call showed seven votes in favor and the motion passed 7-0.

Later in the meeting council approved the appointment of Kelly Back to the planning commission. Councilwoman Abelotus Weaver moved to appoint Back; Councilwoman Farce seconded. After the vote, Mayor Herbst administered the oath of office. Back repeated the oath, saying, “I, Kelly Back, solemnly swear that I will support the constitution and will obey the laws of the United States and the state of Ohio and observe the provisions of the charter and the ordinances of the City of Vandalia and will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of the planning commission.”

Why it matters: Appointments to advisory bodies and boards feed into the council’s decision-making on land use, code enforcement and development. The Planning Commission and Housing Code Board of Appeals make recommendations the council considers for zoning and enforcement matters.

Procedural note: Both appointments were presented as consent items with accompanying application materials cited in council packets; each appointment passed on a council roll-call vote 7-0.