By Mayor Jerry Day
2026 is certainly proving itself to be another year of change in the Village of Fredericktown. With Council Members Mollie deRojas and James Hobson stepping down at the end of their terms in December, two new Councill Members were elected by the voters last November. Sabrina Pugh and Chris Cline both began their first term on Council on January 1st. We would like to sincerely thank both Mollie and James for their diligent service on Council. We would also like to welcome Sabrina and Chris aboard for their first term on Council.
Another significant change has taken place in the Village. After four years serving as Fredericktown Police Chief, and nearly forty years working in law enforcement at several agencies, Police Chief Tracey Myers retired in January. Tracey wanted the Fredericktown Community to know that it was a “privilege” to serve the Fredericktown Community and to work with the officers of the Fredericktown Police Department (FPD). Tracey’s future plans include travelling with his wife while also spending more time at home with family and getting to a long list of projects around the house. Tracey has been tremendous asset to the FPD and he will be greatly missed by both the staff and Village Council. Congratulations to Chief Myers on a job well done and we wish him nothing but the best in this next chapter of his journey.
With the retirement of Chief Myers, it is a pleasure to reintroduce Jay Sheffer, but this time we are introducing Jay as the new Police Chief for the Fredericktown Police Department. Jay grew up a “Freddie” in the local community and is a graduate of Fredericktown Local Schools. Shortly after high school, Jay attended the Police Academy and became a certified peace officer. Jay began his career in law enforcement as a part-time Police Officer for the Fredericktown Police Department in early 1996, then became a full-time Police Officer for the FPD later in 1996. After years of serving as a Patrol Officer, Jay was promoted to Lieutenant in the FPD. In 2013, Jay went to the Knox County Sheriff Department where he served as Captain. Jay was soon promoted to Chief Deputy, serving twelve years as second in command under then Knox County Sheriff David Shaffer. Jay says it is nice to return to his hometown, where he began his career in law enforcement. We are excited to have a local person with nearly three decades of law enforcement experience to take the reins as our new Police Chief.
In other news, as previously announced, in late 2025, the Village was awarded $100,000 in state funding for the engineering and design of Phase III of the Streetscape Project. This project will start on the north side of Columbus Road and run west to Mohican Drive, where it will connect to newer ADA compliant sidewalk, which was installed in 2018. Phase III of our Streetscape entails replacing nearly 2,500 linear feet of dilapidated sidewalk, installing eight ADA curb ramps, adding decorative street lighting, and replacing overgrown trees with smaller decorative trees. In addition to the aforementioned $100,000 grant, the Village has applied for an additional $600,000 in funding toward the estimated $888,000 cost of construction for this project and construction itself will likely take place as early as 2029. Phase I of the Streetscape included the Downtown Corridor and Phase II will be sidewalk, streetlights and landscaping improvements on South Main Street, from Sandusky Street to Sixth Street, and this construction will likely take place in 2028.
Phase I of the Water Infrastructure Improvements is currently underway and we hope to have this project completed at some point this spring, weather permitting. This project entails replacing approximately a half-mile of antiquated four-inch cast-iron water mains with new eight-inch water mains, along with replacing outdated and undersized fire hydrants and gate valves with new fire hydrants and valves. This project was made possible through a $750,000 State of Ohio Department of Development grant-funding program.
The Village will also be making an upgrade at the Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) in 2026. The twenty-year old industrial-sized microwave oven, which uses both electric and gas to heat and kill harmful sewage bacteria, will be replaced with a far more efficient natural gas oven. This gas oven will heat and kill the same harmful bacteria as the microwave oven, but it will do so for a fraction of the cost. The Village’s engineering consultant estimates this upgrade will pay for itself in WWTP energy cost savings over the next twenty years.
Lastly, the Village anticipates performing Street Improvements in the summer of 2026. These improvements will include repaving East College Street and the northern portion of Taylor Street, and possibly some additional streets. This work will largely be funded through a $132,000 Ohio Public Works Commission grant. While most civil engineers would agree that the useful life of a newly paved street to be around twelve to fifteen years in this part of the country, we tend to stretch the life of our pavement to at least nineteen or twenty years. The freezing and thawing of Ohio winters takes a tremendous toll on our asphalt, although a rubber cutting edge on the Village snow plows does ease the burden of winter weather on the asphalt surface of Village streets.
2026 will indeed be fast and busy times for the Village as we move forward with a new Police Chief and simultaneously attack several significant infrastructure improvements in three different departments. The Village will continue to aggressively pursue funding for its much-needed infrastructure improvements of all kinds throughout the Village. It is the goal of both Village staff and Council to continue to strive to further enhance the quality of life in the Fredericktown Community, but to do so at minimal cost to the local tax payer.