Village continues search to fill council vacancy

The village of Hopedale continues its search to fill its final remaining council seat following the November election.

Three candidates, John Cortez, William Luther and Daniel Skinner, appeared on the ballot in November out of a possible four seats. With no fourth candidate elected, Mayor Mike Pelegreen said several individuals have since expressed interest in the open position.

“There’s a couple people that’s possibly interested,” Pelegreen told council. “I told them to write some letters to us, turn it in to us.”

He encouraged residents who know of anyone interested in serving to let them know about the vacancy.

Pelegreen opened the meeting by reminding council that gas bills are expected to increase by $1.37 in 2026, citing system replacements as one of the reasons.

“And your power’s probably going to do the same … so I just wanted to let everyone know,” Pelegreen said.

He also announced a merger involving W.E. Quicksall & Associates, a firm the village has worked with for years, and the Spicer Group, a civil engineering and surveying company. Pelegreen said the Spicer Group is employee-owned, operates in five states and serves clients nationwide. The merger is expected to take place over the next two years.

Pelegreen said Spicer Group offers free surveying and plans to survey an area near the nursing home for a pressure station at the bottom of the hill.

In other business, Pelegreen reported the village’s Ford pickup truck, ordered in November, now totals $68,563 after necessary changes were made. He also said the village tested its new alert system with the recently installed board and that “everything was correct.”

Village Administrator Don Writesel updated council on the new water tank, noting adjustments were made to the altitude valve.

“There’s a few things that needed to be addressed before we went any further,” Writesel said.

When asked about the tank’s status, Writesel said it is already in use.