Resident at Wexford County meeting challenges address ordinance process, questions Section 7 benefits

A resident identified only as Mitch told the Wexford County Board of Commissioners that he has been raising concerns for 15 months about the county’s address ordinance and about the process used to review changes.

Speaking during the public-comment period, the resident said Commissioner Potter had stated the county administration, building department and zoning did not want the address ordinance changed, and that the ordinance should go through the HR committee. The resident said he discovered an HR committee meeting was held on May 28, 2024, where the address item was discussed and that Allen Devereaux was contacted for comments; he said he was not notified of that meeting.

“I have been asking for 15 months, please someone tell me what benefit the Wexford County residents get from section 7 of the ordinance,” the resident said, according to the transcript. He told the board he has not received a reasonable explanation for the provision and said the ordinance’s Section 7, as written, benefits county building and zoning staff more than residents and imposes costs on citizens.

The remarks were made as part of the meeting’s public comment period; no board action, referral or vote on the ordinance is recorded in the transcript. The transcript records the resident’s account of prior statements by a commissioner and the HR committee meeting, but does not include responses from the commissioner named or a staff report clarifying the ordinance’s purpose or Section 7’s intended benefit.

The board’s minutes or a future meeting agenda would be the proper place to record any formal review, referral to committee or staff report on the ordinance.