City of Geneva council administers oaths, elects president and approves committee slate

The City of Geneva council on an organizational agenda administered oaths of office to three members, elected John Barlow as council president and approved a slate of reappointments and board and committee appointments in what council members recorded as unanimous roll-call votes.

Council opened the meeting by administering the oath of office to the three incoming or re-elected council members, who each repeated the wording to support the U.S. and Ohio constitutions, to observe the provisions of the municipal charter and ordinances, and to faithfully discharge the duties of office. During the roll call and subsequent business, the council stood for the Pledge of Allegiance and a brief prayer.

In leadership elections, a member nominated John Barlow for council president; the motion was seconded and passed on a roll call in which each named council member answered "Yes." After the vote Barlow said he was "truly, truly honored to have this position again" and then presided over nominations for vice president. A nomination for Bob Roseford as vice president was received and put to a roll call vote as well.

The council moved to several reappointments and appointments. The body voted to reappoint Phyllis Dunlap as Clerk of Council and Gary Pasquale as city solicitor. It also approved appointments to boards and commissions, including William Baker and Bradley (Brad) McMichael to the Fire Dependency Board; Robert Rosebruch to the Northwest Ambulance Board; an appointment to the Joint Cemetery Board read in the transcript as "Robert Rose Group"; John Travis to the planning commission; Dana Shames to the Geneva Community Improvement Corporation; and Jeffrey Griffiths to both the Sustainability Commission and the Shade Tree Committee. The chair also read a full list of committee chairs and members — finance, safety, utilities, planning, streets and service — which the body approved as one slate.

Votes at a glance - Elect council president (John Barlow): approved (roll call: all named members recorded their vote as "Yes"). - Reappoint Phyllis Dunlap, Clerk of Council: approved (roll call: unanimous as recorded). - Reappoint Gary Pasquale, City Solicitor: approved (roll call: unanimous as recorded). - Appoint William Baker, Fire Dependency Board: approved (roll call: unanimous as recorded). - Appoint Bradley McMichael, Fire Dependency Board: approved (roll call: unanimous as recorded). - Appoint Robert Rosebruch, Northwest Ambulance Board: approved (roll call: unanimous as recorded). - Appoint "Robert Rose Group," Joint Cemetery Board: approved (roll call: unanimous as recorded; transcript spelling ambiguous). - Appoint John Travis, Planning Commission: approved (roll call: unanimous as recorded). - Appoint Dana Shames, Geneva Community Improvement Corporation: approved (roll call: unanimous as recorded). - Appoint Jeffrey Griffiths, Sustainability Commission & Shade Tree Committee: approved (roll call: unanimous as recorded).

The meeting concluded with a brief welcome to the new council member (referred to in the transcript as "Mr. Michael") and a motion to adjourn. Members adjourned shortly thereafter.

What to know next The actions taken were organizational and procedural: reappointments, appointments to boards and commissions, committee assignments and the selection of council leadership. No policy changes, ordinances, or budget items were debated or decided at this session. Any follow-up items (for example, formal acceptance letters from external boards or filling vacancies) were not specified in the record.