Pip: Chillicothe city government: where a single agenda can run from Canada geese to opioid settlements to a landfill that once swallowed DuPont's hazardous waste, all before the gavel drops.
Mara: That's the territory today, thanks to INVESTIGATIVE TEAM — we're looking at what council is set to vote on August 10, plus a ballot tax question that Chillicothe voters will see in November. Let's start with the full agenda.
Chillicothe's Aug. 10 Agenda: What Council Is Voting On
Pip: Ten pieces of legislation in one meeting — ordinances covering everything from fire station infrastructure to park geese, plus a voter tax question that didn't wait for August 10 to move.
Mara: The landfill item is worth pausing on. The ordinance appropriates $12,240 for a replacement gas-monitoring probe at the closed Seney Road Landfill on Seney Road, and the reporting notes that "the old Chillicothe landfill is one of the most toxic locations in Ross County — over 6,500 tons of hazardous waste from DuPont was dumped there."
Pip: So the Ohio EPA issued a deficiency notice, the probe wasn't screened to the correct depth, and the city had to go back in at 45 feet to get back into compliance. The stakes there aren't bureaucratic — they're environmental.
Mara: The probe replacement, designated GP-11, was installed June 17 and a Construction Certification Report was submitted to the EPA's Southeast District Office. The ordinance states that returned the landfill to full compliance. That work was performed under Change Order No. 5 with Pandey Environmental.
Pip: Meanwhile, the solid waste containers ordinance has a drafting error worth noting — the emergency-necessity clause references firefighter turnout gear, not trash cans, and the signature block carries two different years.
Mara: Right — the city is also appropriating $66,409 for insurance premium increases across seven line items, $40,000 in OneOhio Opioid Settlement funds for the Hope Partnership Project, and $20,000 to the Assistance House of Ross County for homelessness prevention and utility assistance.
Pip: Fire Station 2 gets a new metal outbuilding so the weight room can move out and turnout gear can move away from diesel exhaust. Fire Station 1 gets a $4,380 control panel for an exhaust filtration system that failed in late 2025. And Yoctangee Park gets $15,000 worth of goose management from a company called Geese Chasers.
Mara: Two resolutions round out the August 10 agenda — one authorizing AEP easements for the Yoctangee Park pavilion reconstruction, another letting the mayor apply for ODOT transit grants for State Fiscal Year 2028.
Pip: And at the July 27 meeting, council already moved on a ballot question — Resolution 08-26 puts a 0.2% municipal income tax increase before voters on November 3, dedicated exclusively to street paving and repairs.
Mara: All three July 27 items — including that resolution and two financial ordinances — had the standard three-reading rule waived and passed the same night, with all members present voting yes.
Pip: A lot of ground covered before August 10 even arrives — and the November ballot is already set.
Mara: From landfill compliance to a street-paving tax on the November ballot, this is local government doing the unglamorous work that shapes daily life in Chillicothe.
Pip: Next time, we'll see whether the agenda gets any shorter. Probably not.
