Council Appoints Caleb Ferroni as New Member
Burton Village Council added another new member during its Jan. 27 meeting to fill out the remaining two years of former council member Ruth Spanos’ term.
Burton Village Council added another new member during its Jan. 27 meeting to fill out the remaining two years of former council member Ruth Spanos’ term.
Spanos was elected village mayor in November and picked up the gavel Jan. 6.
Council unanimously approved the appointment of Caleb Ferroni after briefly interviewing him and another candidate, Lisa Hernandez, during an executive session early in the meeting.
Spanos invited Ferroni to join council for the rest of the meeting, indicating a chair at the end of the U-shaped table.
“That used to be my spot,” Spanos said, as Ferroni sat down.
“It’s still warm,” Ferroni said, to laughter from council and visitors.
He was immediately appointed to the finance, funding and personnel committee.
Ferroni has lived in the village for two years with his wife, Cassie, and their two daughters, according to his application letter.
He joined the Burton Volunteer Fire Department in 2004 and is a full-time firefighter and paramedic with the Munson Township Fire Department, part-time employee of the Chardon Fire Department, and teaches fire and emergency medical service classes for University Hospitals, the letter said, adding Ferroni has been serving on the Burton Village Board of Zoning Appeals.
“I am confident … that the opportunity to serve on the council will mold me into a strong future leader for our village,” he wrote. “I have always been an advocate of getting involved and helping the community.”
Hernandez was elected to council in 2016 and served part of a year before taking the position of village deputy administrative assistant in October of that year and serving until April 2019.
She cited her experience with numerous village boards and the insight she gained into the day-to-day workings of the village in that position.
“Our village is embarking on some exciting new endeavors and I would like to be part of that,” she wrote. “I feel it is imperative that decisions made are for the betterment of our village as a whole.”
Spanos said both candidates had strong backgrounds in public service but, since the interviews were held in executive session, she didn’t feel comfortable discussing council’s choice.
Now all seats are full, village council consists of Tom Blair Sr., newly-elected Alex Hansel, Skip Boehnlein, Bonnie Richards, Cory Brown and Ferroni.
In other business, village solicitor Todd Hicks said he should have paperwork allowing the annexation of the 40-plus acres owned by Dan Demko in time for council to take action at its second meeting in February.
Language in the draft agreement addresses the need for the property, currently in the township, to be zoned so Demko and partners can proceed with construction of a 120-unit senior living community in the spring.
