COMMERCIAL POINT – Commercial point residents have a new mayor tonight after the official swearing-in during tonight’s (1/2/20) Scioto Township Trustee Meeting.
Mayor Allan Goldhardt, who has lived in Commerical Point his entire life, has been a mayor in Commerical Point and a former councilman. Goldhardt, during his campaign, said he planned to “right the ship” in Commerical Point and put in office 25 to 30 hours a week because he believes that’s how you do the job efficiently.
Goldhardt reminded citizens that Commerical Point, much like Circleville is a statutory village, which means the council decides what will and will not be done, not the mayor.
“The mayor cannot raise or lower your taxes, blacktop a street, annex any land, build any sidewalks, or spend any money. Those are council decisions. Simply put, the mayor is an elected village employee that reports to council, oversees the day to day operations of the Village, and carries out the decisions made by the council,” said the new mayor.
Goldhardt said that he would like to change that and go to another form of government called a charter before 2030.
“Council has already moved forward with the charter, and there is an ordinance in place already. Commercial Point will have to vote on it in March, but I think it is the right way to go before we reach city status. We will not reach city status in the 2020 Census, but we will most likely be a city in 2030.”
The New Mayor said that another big project they are working on is a 7 million dollar water plant to supply the new housing expansions.
“The Water Plant is a big deal for our town, and we are now talking about funding for the plant, how to pay for it now, and in the future when more funds are coming in. We want to make sure that we are making the best decision for the finances of the town.”
Another big project for the mayor is significant growth in the area, with new housing and annexations.
“I want to make sure that the roots of this town do not get lost with all this new development. We are growing, and I welcome that, but I don’t want the residents to get lost in the shuffle either. We have annexed over 1,200 acres that’s a lot of undeveloped lands, plus we have development coming in all at the same time. We are now talking about our long term goals and what’s needed for what we have already taken in and what we will take in, in the future.”
We asked the mayor how he feels about the issues with the Commerical Point police department with the former mayor’s claims and some of the disconnect with the council.
“I know there have been some issues in the past with the police department specifically with the Chief. I had a meeting with the Police Chief today, and will probably have another meeting with the Police department next week. We need to get that situation resolved for sure, and I don’t see any major issues moving forward. I think a lot of what has happened we can put to bed and work together.”
“One of the new Council members attended the Trustee meeting tonight Councilwoman Tracy Joiner was there, and that’s a great sign to me, I don’t think we have a member of council show up to a trustee meeting for some time. Joiner said that she and another new Council member are planning to go to the meetings on the regular. We all need to work with everybody, including the trustees. They are an intricate part of the whole situation here. I think we all can move forward together for the town, that’s what needs to get done.”
As Chairman of the Scioto Township Trustee Board Ralph Wolfe said this evening. It is all about bettering the lives of the Northern Pickaway County residents while all entities work together for that common goal.
Goldhardt defeated the former major Gary Joiner by 61% of the votes cast in Commerical PointCommercial Point, over Joiners 39%.
