Chillicothe — In his briefing to council, Mayor Luke Feeney covered city engineer hiring issues, sludge hauling, a Wayne McLaughlin memorial, the police chief retiring, the city’s Flock Camera policy…and Trick or Treat.
Feeney gave 10 minutes of comment in the October 12th, 2026 Chillicothe Council session. (See also stories on the continuing data center issue and a school levy presentation, in the same session on the Scioto Post.)
City Engineer
Feeney pointed out that the state requires municipalities to have a “PE” (licensed Professional Engineer), but s/he does not have to be an employee.
The mayor said the city has posted the job opening for at least a month, but it has received only one nibble, and from from out of state – so he said he is asking council to transfer funds for that salary from the start of the year to pay for outside contracts.
Feeney said the city can get the same services needed that way, and he proposed the same for 2027. He said the advantage of outside contracts is that the city could get coverage for the specialty needed: for example, bridge engineering or traffic engineering.
The ordinance was passed on first reading.
Emergency Sewage Hauling
Council added an item to their agenda to spend $202K of sewer funds, which bypassed the three-day receipt rule and three-reading rule to be passed that night.
Feeney said it pays for sludge hauling because of a “catastrophic failure” of the Marietta Road sewer lift station. He said the city had to call in haulers – on the 4th of July – so it was an expensive emergency.
The lift station is behind Lowe’s and Herrnstein on Marietta Road, and serves the city’s northern sewer system across the Scioto River – including North Bridge Street. Utiliies Chairman Greg McKeever reported on it two years ago.
Feeney said the city’s insurance company indicated that the incident would be covered…but then it wasn’t. He said they are seeking advice from the Law Director on how to appeal the lack of coverage.
Feeney said the city has engineered plans to replace the lift station, and grants and loans are lined up.
Trick or Treat
The mayor said this is a frequent question – which is always posted online by the city. Rain or shine, it will be 6:00 to 7:30 on Thursday, October 29th.
Feeney said the city follows the recommended date for Southern and Central Ohio.
Yoctangee Pickleball & Tennis Courts
Feeney said the 80 to 100 people attended the grand opening on October 5th in Yoctangee Park. He said the renovated courts were so popular that the pickleballers insisted on playing until right before the ribbon cutting…and restarted right after the scissors closed.
The mayor said the full Yoctangee Park ribbon cutting will be Friday, November 6th – with the Farmers Market grand opening the next day in the new Pavilion building.
Wayne McLaughlin
The life of the late director of Community Action, minister, NAACP member, former Human Resources Director for the City of Chillicothe, and Chillicothe activist was celebrated at Southern Park on South Walnut Street on October 3rd.
The mayor pointed out that the shelterhouse at Southern Playground was named after him in the event.
McLaughlin died on December 8th. Find stories on him on the Scioto Post, find media on McLaughlin’s Facebook page, and photos of the event on a Chillicothe Police Facebook post.
Police Chief Retiring
Feeney said Chillicothe police chief Ron Meyers is retiring in late December / early January – but with his many vacation days, he will be leaving earlier, around the time of his early November retirement party.
The mayor said Captain Michael Short will serve as chief until Meyers’ actual retirement.
(Ohio police officers are hired through a standard civil service and background review process, but a city police chief is appointed by the mayor and then confirmed by city council.)
City’s Flock Cameras
Mayor Feeney said he wanted to be transparent about the city’s use of Flock Cameras.
The “automated license plate readers” (ALPR) cameras, best known by the brand name of police technology company Flock Safety, are controversial.
Feeney said the police department had made a capital budget request for Flock Cameras in 2024, purchased them in early 2025, and started a subscription.
The mayor said the city is investigating if they want to continue that. He said that since it is an appropriation item, the city will need to come back to council if they want to renew when the contract ends.
