Council to decide fate of Millersburg marijuana dispensary

Millersburg Village Council met Monday, Jan. 12 and discussed the following:

—Brent Hofstetter was elected to be the 2026 council president.

—The village is meeting with the engineers and the county Jan. 15 to review preliminary design plans for the Downtown Sidewalk Project Phase 1.

—Stakeholder interviews for the housing study are ongoing.

—The village is waiting on scheduling for the installation of the downtown smart traffic signals.

—Nick from ECOHBA will be at the Jan. 26 council meeting to answer questions. Any downtown building owner who's thinking about purchasing a building in the village should plan on attending to get information and ask questions.

—The village submitted a grant to the EPA for a generator and is waiting to see if it has been selected.

—Last year council unanimously agreed a marijuana dispensary was a topic best addressed by all voters rather than six people. Council has decided it will vote on this topic at the Jan. 26 council meeting. Because the language on the November ballot was nonbinding, council can decide one way or the other whether to allow the dispensary or not. Any resident who feels strongly either way should contact village council members and let them know their position before Jan. 26. Residents also can email their opinions to the village offices, and their email will be dispersed to all council members. Send them to Nathan.troyer@millersburgohio.com.

—The village is encouraging residents to sign up for their online account for the new water/sewer billing system. The village will need an account number and phone number. If those don’t work and a resident is unable to set up an account, they should contact the village. There are many available options residents can opt for, including autopay and electronic billing. The village will still send out paper bills to those who do not opt for electronic billing.

—The 2026 committee appointments were given to council and approved. Mayor Kelly Hoffee asked council members to come to the next council meeting with their 2026 goals to share.

—Council voted and approved a resolution approving the annexation of 1.220 acres to the village.

—The village has reported many burnt-out street lights to AEP, some more than once. Outages can be reported to the village or on AEP’s website.