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Mayor Kessler previews summer events, new hires and inclusion initiatives
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Summary
Mayor Kessler outlined summer festivals, a tree-giveaway program, a soft opening of the skate park and two new hires; staff previewed a sensory-inclusion program at events with trained staff and quiet spaces funded by a community foundation grant.
Mayor Kessler used the administrative-update portion of Tuesday's meeting to list several community programs and personnel changes ahead of summer.
Events and programs: The mayor highlighted library festivals, a science fest on Main Street, a native-plant giveaway at City Hall, and a May 17 soft opening for the city's skate park. He asked council to promote the May 9 Women's Health Month event at the Bexley Public Library (9 a.m.-noon) and noted the Ohio State mobile mammogram will be on site that morning; organizers require registration and the mayor said a community foundation grant will cover mammograms for uninsured residents.
Staffing and city services: The mayor announced two hires: a part-time position (Robin Store) and Ryan Boatsman as a parks facility supervisor. He also previewed an e-bike class on May 17 and described ongoing park signage and wayfinding projects.
Inclusion initiative: Staff described a sensory-support program for festivals that will include a quiet space and sensory kits for attendees with sensory needs; the program is funded by a community-foundation grant and staff will track usage and feedback during a soft launch.
Quotation: "We absolutely need a big splash about it because we wanna make sure that we're doing this appropriately," a staff member said of the sensory-inclusion launch.
Next steps: Staff will continue outreach and registration details for the May events and will share more details on the sensory-inclusion roll-out and park openings.
Ending: Council members applauded the community programs and encouraged promotion to residents.
