Northfield council holds executive session to consider appointment to vacant Ward B seat, schedules June 19 interviews

Councilperson Alan Hipps called a special Village of Northfield council meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. on June 12, 2025, to interview candidates for the vacant Ward B council seat, according to council minutes.

Law Director Brad Bryan read the roll; Councilpersons Renell Noack, Gary Vojtush, Nicholas Magistrelli, Alan Hipps and Kevin Lewis were present. Hipps said the interviews would be conducted in the order candidates arrived and named Chris Boch and Zach Hebebrand as the two candidates to be interviewed that evening.

Bryan asked whether the council wanted to conduct the interviews in executive session under Ohio Revised Code Section 121.22(G)(1), which permits private consideration of the appointment of a public official. Councilmember Kevin Lewis moved to enter executive session, seconded by Renell Noack. A roll call vote recorded unanimous support (Noack-yes; Vojtush-yes; Magistrelli-yes; Hipps-yes; Lewis-yes), and the council entered executive session at 7:02 p.m.

The minutes record that the council met in executive session to consider the appointment; they do not disclose the substance of interviews or deliberations. Council returned to open session at 7:39 p.m. after a motion by Noack, seconded by Lewis, again approved unanimously by roll call.

After resuming open session, Hipps moved, and Lewis seconded, to schedule a Special Council Meeting for Thursday, June 19, 2025, to interview additional candidates if necessary and to possibly vote on the Ward B appointment. The motion passed by unanimous roll call. The meeting was adjourned at 7:41 p.m. following a motion by Gary Vojtush, seconded by Hipps; the minutes were approved by Clerk Jennifer Porvin.

The council did not record a final appointment at the June 12 session. The next procedural step is the Special Council Meeting set for June 19, 2025, where interviews will continue and a vote on a replacement for Ward B may occur.