BLANCHESTER — The newest member of Blanchester Village Council took part in his first meeting Thursday.

Don Gephart was chosen by council to fill the seat previously held by J.R. Runk, who died on March 3. Mayor John Carman swore him in on April 3.

“Thank you for the opportunity to serve the community of Blanchester,” Gephart told council and the audience. “I promise to work diligently as a team member with honesty, integrity, and respect for everyone. I also promise that I’ll promote the policies of practice that contribute to the welfare and to the betterment of Blanchester.”

Gephart said he’d work to try to bring new businesses to Blanchester. He thanked everyone and said he looks forward to “working towards making Blanchester a place where people would be proud to live and raise their family.”

New comments policy

Council approved of a Public Comment Policy. The new policy contains guidelines for residents who wish to speak at a meeting. This was introduced as a way to keep public comments orderly.

It states that a person is permitted to speak as indicated on the order of business. Anyone interested in speaking must do so during the public portion. They shall be recognized by the presiding officer and be asked to preface their comments by announcing their name, address and group affiliation — if and when appropriate — and the topic they want to speak on. Each statement made shall be limited to one topic of discussion for a three-minute duration unless council motions an extension.

The speaker will be allowed to speak only once on a topic, whether at the same or multiple meetings. They will present their comment as a speech or monologue and are not to address or question council members, employees or officials individually. They are not to make complaints about village officials or employees during their time.

The policy then states that the presiding officer may be allowed to interrupt, warn, or terminate a statement if it’s too long, personally directed, abusive, obscene, or irrelevant. The officer may also request any individual to leave the meeting if they don’t observe reasonable decorum, request a law enforcement officer to remove them if disorderly or call for a recess or adjournment to another time if the comment interferes with orderly conduct.

Council may also prohibit a speaker who violates the policy from speaking at future meetings.

Also during council:

• Renee Quallen, WIC Director at the Clinton County Health Department, asked those in attendance to support and vote for the renewal of the health levy on the May 2 ballot. She said levy money goes to primarily health and outreach programs.

• Police Chief Scott Reinbolt pitched to the council the idea of having an amateur soapbox derby this summer. He said this would serve as a way to keep kids occupied during the summer and away from trouble because they’ll be planning and building their downhill racer. Council approved the idea unanimously.

• Blanchester Chamber of Commerce Board Member Dean Lynch spoke about recent discussions officials had about updating fees for parades. Lynch said this may put a hindrance on the Fourth of July parade and celebrations. He asked that the council consider that when discussing the fees.