Riverside Council approves new meeting cadence, elects deputy mayor and adopts six housekeeping resolutions

Riverside City Council adopted a revised meeting calendar, elected Council Member Brenda Fry deputy mayor and approved six annual housekeeping resolutions at its organizational meeting on Jan. 9, 2025.

The council voted to change its regular meeting cadence to two meetings per month on a new schedule the city manager proposed; the council also approved an annual calendar that moves meetings around major holidays and retains a single July meeting. The roll call on the calendar showed five votes in favor and two opposed.

The calendar change was central to the evening because council members debated weekday impacts for volunteers and staff. City Manager Josh presented a draft schedule that would condense work sessions into the regular business meeting and proposed shifting some holiday meetings to the following Tuesday. Some council members said keeping the traditional Thursday meeting night was preferable for volunteer boards; others argued a Monday cadence would reduce delays when urgent legislation arises late in a week.

Council then moved through organizational business and a slate of housekeeping resolutions. Council Member Brenda Fry was nominated and confirmed as deputy mayor by roll call. The council approved Resolution 25‑R‑3001 revising the public records policy, and approved several appointments and intergovernmental representation items as part of the annual organizational housekeeping.

In separate votes, the council approved two right-of-way acquisition services agreements required by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) for the Harshman and Beatrice signal improvement project (PID 118164). Those agreements authorize acquisition work covering five parcels: two permanent…