Regular Meeting Minutes – July 21, 2026 – Draft
REGULAR MEETING – VILLAGE OF NORTHVILLE
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
The Village Board met Tuesday, July 21, 2026, at 7:00 PM.
Present: Sue Eckert, Mayor
John Markiewicz, Trustee
Janet Rudd, Trustee
Sue Sedon, Trustee
Wendy Reu, Clerk, Recording Secretary
Nathan Matthews, Treasurer
Dan Reidell, DPW/Code
Rick Richardson, Chief of Police
Absent: Kathleen Terwilliger, Trustee
Mayor Eckert called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Motion to approve the minutes of June 16, 2026, Regular Meeting was made by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Sedon, and passed by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
PUBLIC PRESENT:
Mike Warner, Amy Davis, Blanche Drapun, Loren Crannell, William Simmons, Blanche Drapun, Sara Will White, Ann Johnson, Eric Karabin, Cynthia Troia.
REPORT OF COMMITTEES:
Police – The police report was filed with the Clerk and read at the meeting. It was reported there were 58 calls handled in June.
Chief Richardson reported that DCJS has opened a Law Enforcement Technology (LETech) Grant opportunity for police departments. He stated it was a $100,000 grant that would be used for technology updates needed for the department. Mayor Eckert stated that Tony Clay wrote the last grant for the PD, which was successful, and she indicated that he would write this grant for the Village for $ 400.00. After discussion, Trustee Sedon made a motion approving that Tony Clay write a LETech grant for the Village, the cost of which would be $ 400.00. The motion was seconded by Trustee Markiewicz and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Chief Richardson presented a resignation letter from Jake Champain from his position with the PD, effective July 7, 2026. He started that Jake had been promoted to a K-9 position with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the new assignment required him to be on call 24 hours a day.
Streets – The DPW report was read and is on file at the Clerk’s office. Highway Superintendent Reidell reported that the pavement markings are complete around the Village and he will be talking to the fire department about painting a stop bar in the driveway between the old and new firehouse and completing a cross walk there.
Highway Superintendent Reidell presented a Spoils Policy for the Board’s consideration. He explained that the Village accumulates spoils from various jobs they perform. He stated the spoils come from jobs such as ditching, sweeping, screening, digging and tree cutting. Highway Superintendent Reidell stated that we do not have the capacity to store all of these materials and we don’t have the need for a lot of fill, which is what these spoils are mainly used for. Under the policy, the DPW will be accepting applications from Village and Town residents to receive some of these spoils. He stated he would develop a list of residents and they would be required to sign a waiver of liability for the Village to deliver these spoils to the location they need them at. He stated that we would only be delivering them in bulk, not working on the individual’s property. Trustee Rudd asked if that included millings, and Highway Superintendent Reidell indicated that millings are not spoils and would not be part of that policy. After discussion, Trustee Rudd made a motion to approve the Spoils Policy as presented. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Highway Superintendent Reidell reported that Bobby Baily had recently earned his CDL license.
Water – It was reported that usage decreased from 3,185,000 gallons in June 2025 to 3,083,000 this year. Water testing and operations were normal.
Code Enforcement- The Code Officer’s report was filed. It was reported that 11 permits were issued in June.
Joint Youth – Trustee Sedon stated there was no report.
Mayor Eckert stated that there was an incident at the beach at the end of last month that caused the closure of the gate. It was reported that there were over 250 individuals at the area, none of which were residents, and that there was an altercation in which people brought out baseball bats and were attacking each other. She indicated several arrests were made. She stated on June 30th, she had discussions with Supervisor Groff, DPW, and PD about the incident and based on those communications, the gate was closed. She stated this was not the only incident that has occurred at the area. She stated that at the March meeting, we discussed the area and after determining that Joint Youth was not going to be staffing a beach area, the decision at the time was to keep the gate open but if there were any issues down there, the Mayor was given authority to close the gate. Mayor Eckert stated that she recently met with our insurance carrier and according to them, it is not a beach area, it is a waterfront access and that is how they have it listed. She stated that it stopped being a beach area when services were no longer provided down there. Mayor Eckert stated that if we were to resume providing services, the policy for the area would need to be revised. Mayor Eckert stated that nothing has changed down there from before the gate was open to when it was closed, other than that you cannot park at the beach. She stated she would like to go back to a permit system making it for residents of Northville and Northampton only, but that would have to be something they budgeted for next year. It was noted there was a correspondence included in the Board’s packet from Sara Will White who requested it be made available to residents only, along with a Change.org petition and comments. Mayor Eckert stated she found it interesting that a Change.org petition was utilized for a case requesting local access only. Mayor Eckert stated the last several years that a beach permit system was used: 2016, 2017, 2018; there was a very minimal number of permits issued: 94, 77, and 72 respectively, with 69, 55, and 56 of them being residents. Mayor Eckert stated that over the years of beach operation, minimum wages have increased significantly. Some of the suggestions Ms. White detailed were discussed. Mayor Eckert stated that to make the waterfront access for our residents only, we would have to have a whole new gate system that would operate with an identifying feature. We cannot upgrade the existing gate. Highway Superintendent Reidell reported that he has researched a few systems. He indicated one with a key pad would cost approximately $ 20,000.00 and one with a plate reader would cost $ 25,000.00. He stated that both would have a monthly access fee that we would have to pay so there would be an additional $ 1,800.00 per year. He stated we would need dual gates, one getting in and one getting out. Mayor Eckert stated that if we don’t do the dual gate, there would be a backup on Route 30 which would create a traffic hazard. Chief Richardson also noted that there is no parking on Route 30. Mayor Eckert stated when the time came for budget discussion next year, they would be putting something in there for this as she agrees that it needs to be residents only. She stated that no out of town permits would be issued for the area. Treasurer Matthews stated that when the time came for implementation, we would need to get RFP’s or go out for bid. Mayor Eckert stated that she talked with HRBRRD about the gate closure and she indicated that restricting access is acceptable under their regulations. She again stated that we are not operating a beach, we have waterfront access for our residents.
Park Use Requests – None
Marketing – Mayor Eckert and the Board expressed their appreciation for the hard work put into the recent DOINS celebration. The Marketing Director stated that the crowd estimator for the event calculated over 4500 people along the parade route. She reported she heard many compliments about the event, especially complementing how efficiently the traffic was able to leave the village after the fireworks on Saturday. She thanks Chief Richardson for coming up with the plan at the exit meeting last year to enlist help from Fulton County and working with DPW to help with the traffic flow. She reported to the Board that she has already enlisted entertainers, fireworks, bagpipes, and vendors for the 2027 DOINS which will be held on July 2nd and 3rd. She stated that the fireworks would be on Saturday, the 3rd of July.
Plans are underway for Fall Fest, which will be held on Saturday, October 10th from 9-5 p.m. in the Waterfront Park.
PAYMENT OF BILLS:
The monthly financial report was reviewed and bills to be paid from the General Fund in the amount of $ 55,017.62, from the Water Fund in the amount of $8,585.33, and from the Joint Youth Fund in the amount of $ 1,153.62 were presented for payment. Motion to approve payment was made by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORTS
Trustee Sedon made a motion to approve the Annual Financial Report for Village for the purpose of Audit. The motion was seconded by Trustee Markiewicz and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
Trustee Sedon made a motion to approve the Annual Financial Report for Joint Youth Commission for the purpose of Audit. The motion was seconded by Trustee Rudd and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
OLD BUSINESS:
Mayor Eckert presented the request from the American Legion Post #1076 for reimbursement for cemetery flags in the amount of $ 573.80. This item was tabled from the previous meeting as there was no invoice. She noted that the total cost of the flags was $ 1,147.59 and it was split with the Town. Trustee Markiewicz made a motion to reimburse the American Legion Post #1076 in the amount of $ 573.80 for the flags. The motion was seconded by Trustee Sedon and carried by voice vote as follows:
AYE: Trustee Markiewicz, Trustee Rudd, Trustee Sedon
NAY: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
NEW BUSINESS:
Mayor Eckert reported that she received a written illegal fireworks complaint from Pat Purtell. She indicated that during the 4th weekend, there was an illegal fireworks display on Second Street. She also indicated that a neighboring family was subjected to repeated harassment during the gathering and law enforcement was called. Ms. Purtell requested that the Village review the incident. Chief Richardson informed the Board that he was on the email chain to the Mayor and he did speak with all the parties involved in this incident. He noted that neither party wanted to sign a complaint against the property owner shooting off the fireworks. He also noted that the property owner shooting off the fireworks was not aware they were illegal and he indicated he would not be doing that again.
CORRESPONDENCE – A notification was received from Lakeside Liquors, Inc. informing the Board that they have applied for a liquor license at the newly purchased liquor store on N. Main Street.
A beach proposal and Change.org petition was received from Sara Will White.
PUBLIC COMMENT: Sara Will White, Ct Hwy 152, addressed the board regarding the beach issue. She stated we would not need to hire lifeguards, just have a gate guard and restrict access to residents only. She stated that if you had a gate, you could issue residents a code for entrance. Mayor Eckert stated that we are all on the same page about restricting access to residents only. She continued by stating that if residents are given a code, they can give a code to anyone, and that is why they are exploring the plate reader system for the gate. Ms. White stated she can give her car to anyone and Mayor Eckert stated, but would you? Ms. White asked when the gate would be opened since you can’t legally keep it closed, you can only temporarily restrict access. Mayor Eckert stated that in conversation with our attorneys and HRBRRD, the Village has full authority to utilize the gate at the property, restricting cars from entering, and there are no plans to open it until a system documenting residency of users is in place.
Cynthia Troia, N. Third St, asked if residents would need to register their vehicle information to obtain a permit if a plate reader was installed at the gate. The answer was yes. Ms. Troia stated she felt it would be easier with a code. Mayor Eckert again stated that I can give a code to anyone. A code system doesn’t guarantee that it will be residents only.
Anna Johnson, Maple Grove Road, said that $ 25,000.00 is a hell of a lot of money to just throw around. She said, think about the little children whose parents can’t take them down to the beach because the gate is closed. She stated the PD can check it every so often. She stated we are in a poverty stricken area. Mayor Eckert stated that you can still access it, you just need to walk down there. Chief Richardson asked Mrs. Johnson to think about the little children that witnessed the violence on the site that day. He stated there were over 250 people there, none of them local, and there were little kids running and screaming while adults beat each other with baseball bats. He stated that no kid should have to experience that. Mayor Eckert stated that there have been numerous problems over the years. People have been using it as their private camping area, launching airplanes and boats while people were swimming, and leaving garbage strewn everywhere to name a few issue. Trustee Sedon agreed and stated that to have a permit system you need some way to verify who is using the area. If you have a gate with guards, then you need four lifeguards, porta johns, land line, etc. She said the costs accumulate. She stated that right now, we are trying to find the most efficient way to have a way to allow residents only to use the property and we are weighing the costs. Mayor Eckert stated that only one person came to her face and told her they were unhappy with the gate closure. She stated that all the other comments she heard were positive.
Erik Karabin, Hemlock Terrace, stated he has seen the beach area and the issues that have been there and said it is going to take work. He said people smoke weed there and drink, acting like degenerates. He has seen it full of garbage and stated that people can’t take care of themselves let alone an area they are using. He also wanted to thank Chief Richardson for attempting to slow vehicles down over the holiday weekend by putting the speed checker in their yard on Gould Hill.
Amy Warner, Ridge Road, asked how many flags were purchased for the cemeteries. The answer was 800 at a cost of $ 1.31 per flag.
Blanche Drapun, N. Third Street, asked what was going to be happening to the old blue flower boxes as she was interested in getting one. Highway Superintendent Reidell stated they were going on Auctions International and anyone could bid on them.
Anna Johnson, Maple Grove Road, stated as far as the beach is concerned, the first problem she sees is disciplinary and the second problem is money. Mayor Eckert stated that it is a staffing problem too. She stated that post Covid, it was extremely difficult to get lifeguards. She stated that competitively, lifeguards are making $ 20.00/plus an hour and guards were going where there was the most money and the largest number of hours. Mrs. Johnson said you can solve the problem by charging residents with a permit system. The Clerk informed Mrs. Johnson that if the Board went with a permit system for Village of Northville and Town of Northampton residents only, which is what the public wants and the Board is planning to do, that she would not be able to utilize the area because she is a resident of the Town of Hope.
ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business before the Board, motion was made to adjourn by Trustee Markiewicz, seconded by Trustee Sedon and passed by voice vote with no one dissenting. The meeting was adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Wendy L. Reu, Clerk
