The Lorain Sewer and Water Advisory Board elected Mark Ballard as chair and had new member Mike Ferrer sworn in at its meeting on June 5, 2025, Mayor Bradley announced.

The leadership changes came at the start of the meeting and were followed by routine business, including approval of the April 24, 2025 minutes and a discussion of meeting protocols the board will follow going forward under Ordinance 17-21, the ordinance that created the advisory board.

Board members nominated Mark Ballard from the floor and members voted to approve his election as chair. Mayor Bradley then administered the oath of office to Mike Ferrer, who was appointed to the board and repeated the oath to “uphold the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of the state of Ohio, and the ordinances of the city of Lorain.”

The newly elected chair said he will enforce meeting protocols to limit on-floor debate with members of the public during the public-comment period. “We will take in what they have to say,” the chair said, “but we’re not here to debate on the floor.” The board agreed that the chair will ask speakers to be respectful of time and will not engage in extended back-and-forth during public comment.

The board moved quickly through routine items: a motion to accept the minutes from the April 24 meeting was supported and accepted without additional amendment. The meeting adjourned after the board completed the published agenda.

The chair noted he will request that the law director or a law department representative attend future meetings when legal questions arise; Mayor Bradley said he would contact the law director about providing the board with legal support.

The actions formalized at the meeting are procedural: the election of a chair, an administered oath for a newly appointed member, approval of prior meeting minutes, and the chair’s issuance of meeting-protocol guidance.