SHILOH – Voters in the Village of Shiloh will elect a new mayor Nov. 7, as well as determine the fate of two seats on village council.
Current Shiloh Mayor Charles Reeder will not seek re-election to another term.
Mayoral candidates this November include former Shiloh Mayor Marilyn Hall and newcomer Paul Currier.
The elected candidate’s term would commence on Jan. 1, 2024, and end on Dec. 31, 2027.
Current councilmembers Abby Hill and Kalynn Means are up for re-election. Both are running to retain their seats, alongside newcomers Ryan Click and Brent Wagers.
Both of the open seats would commence on Jan. 1, 2024, and end on Dec. 31, 2027.
Richland Source contacted both mayoral candidates, as well as those running for village council, to ask about their backgrounds and motivations for seeking election.
Shiloh mayoral candidates
Marilyn Hall
Marilyn Hall, 61, resides at 76 Euclid St.
Graduating from Plymouth High School in 1980, Hall has spent her whole life in the village, raising three children who all graduated from Plymouth as well.
Hall recently retired from MTD Products in Shelby, where she worked for 30 years.
“When you’re born and raised in the area, I think you have more of a passion for the area,” she said. “I know a lot of the people, and I know their needs.”
Leadership experience
Hall said her experience in positions of leadership, such as the fire board, zoning committee, and serving as president pro-temp on the village council, contributed to her decision to seek election.
“I like being on council,” she said. “But, with all of the projects we have in-line, I decided to run.”
Hall also possesses six years of mayoral experience, serving prior to the election of current mayor Charles Reeder.
Important issues Hall plans to address would include an increased law-enforcement presence, overseeing the current three-phase water project and rising utility rates.
“They’re (utility rates) awful,” she said. “As a group, I want to see what we can do, if we can, to make this better.”
Involvement with prior projects, such as the new water tower and new water line on the village’s west end, are accomplishments Hall is proud of, but she said more growth is needed.
“I think our community needs growth,” she said. “We are seeing some, but it’s mostly outside village limits.”
Time to evolve
With a population of just over 600 residents, according to the 2020 census, Hall said she feels the village has been locked in old ways of doing things, and would like to see growth with the times.
“We still need some more growth, to help bring in money for the area,” she said. “You can’t draw money where there is no money.”
Other important initiatives for Hall would include continued support of the Shiloh Village Fire Department, as well as increasing opportunities for village students to participate in FFA.
“Creating opportunities for them (students) to be involved is important,” she said. “If we provide this, it gives the kids more of an opportunity to learn responsibility.”
Additionally, Hall said she supports seeing candidates Kalynn Means and Abby Hill re-elected to village council.
“You want people at the table who have passion for the community they live in,” she said. “You have to make sure they’re there for the right reasons, to make a difference.”
Paul Currier
Paul Currier, 71, resides at 2349 Noble Road West in Shiloh.
Growing up in the western United States, Currier graduated from Sahuaro High School in Tucson, Ariz., and studied at the University of Arizona.
Now retired, he spent 43 years as a locomotive engineer for Southern Pacific Transportation Company.
Life experiences led to decision
“I’ve seen a lot of things and a lot of attitudes in the different places I’ve been,” he said. “It’s not too much different from a big city to a small town.”
Currier settled in the Village of Shiloh in 2016 and said his life experiences, including serving as President of the Tucson Division Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, are assets he would bring to the table.
“I’ve got a little bit of a background in trying to keep the peace,” he said. “What I want to bring is a different view on how things can be operated.”
Currier said he decided to seek election because he has time to devote all of his energy to helping address issues in the village.
“People are short on time and money in this fast pace that we have, even in a small village like this, it’s got people scrambling to make ends meet,” he said. “I have time to do this.”
Goals and aspirations if elected to office
Currier said his goals are centered around slowing the bleeding of funds having to be spent on projects, such as the village’s on-going three-phase water project.
“It’s a combination of all those things (water project), that now we’re indebted and partnered with Richland County to get all these projects straightened out, to the tune of $3 million dollars.”
As a result, village residents continue to see utility rate increases during difficult economic times, and Currier said he’d like to see how he can help address rising costs.
“We’re having a tough time dealing with all these issues that have come up in the last three years,” he said. “I want to bring some kind of relief, any way I can, back to the residents.”
Furthermore, Currier said he’d like to review the village’s current bookkeeping process, as well as current ordinances he feels have backed the council into a corner.
“I think what we need to do is make sure we can all work together,” he said. “I want to make this a great little village to be in.”
Additionally, Currier said he supports seeing candidates Ryan Click and Brent Wagers elected to village council.
Shiloh Village Council Candidates
Ryan Click
Ryan Click, 41, resides at 11 High St. in Shiloh.
Graduating from Plymouth High School in 2000, Click was born and raised in Plymouth, but has called Shiloh home for the past 16 years.
After high school, Click attended and graduated from the University of Northwestern Ohio, and has spent the last 14 years working for Pepperidge Farm in Willard as the maintenance manager.
While he’s never served in an elected position before, Click said his management experience, including budget responsibilities and overseeing about 145 employees, is an asset he can bring to the table.
“I see some opportunities here (Shiloh),” he said. “It’s time for something different to happen.”
Communication is key
Communication is a critical component of Click’s current position at Pepperidge Farm.
It’s an area he feels could use improvement between the council and village residents.
“A lot of things have been kept secretive,” he said. “There’s got to be a better way to get it (village happenings) out.”
Click said he wants to help increase the number of community engaging events, as well as address important village issues such as the current three-phase water project and utility rates.
“If we can explain the why (referring to rising utility rates), I think it would be an easier pill for the people here to swallow,” he said.
Abby Hill
Abby Hill, 33, resides at 30 Cleveland St. in Shiloh.
A 2008 Plymouth High School graduate, Hill has spent her entire life growing up in the Village of Shiloh.
Hill, now raising children of her own in the village, is employed by the Plymouth-Shiloh Local School District and works at the elementary school.
A current member of the village council, Hill said she’s seeking re-election because she enjoys her involvement in the community she loves.
Hometown water rates must be addressed
“It’s (Shiloh) a small, tight-knit community. It’s home,” she said. “I wanted to see if there’s a way I could be more involved in changes.”
Similar to most residents of the village, rising utility rates and the current water project top the list of concerns for Hill.
She said she shares empathy with residents and understands many are unhappy, but it’s something that needed to be addressed.
“I would love to find some wiggle room to lower our utilities (rates),” Hill said. “It would be great to find a way and look into ways to lower to lower things for the residents.”
Kalynn Means
Kalynn Means, 57, resides at 70 North St. in Shiloh.
After graduating from Plymouth High School in 1984, Means has continued to call Shiloh home her entire life.
One quality Means values about the village is a strong sense of togetherness, but she said it’s not as strong as it once was.
“Growing up in Shiloh, there was such a strong sense of community,” she said. “We need to get back to working together.”
Means has been a councilmember since February of this year.
If re-elected, she plans to continue trying to find ways to limit high-rising utility costs for residents.
“We’re trying to find something we can give back to the people, instead of take, take, take,” she said. “We’re trying to be a promising community.”
Time to revive the spirit of togetherness
Soaring utility rates are a result of the village’s current three-phase water project which Means, like many, has said inflicts mixed emotions.
“It’s a love/hate relationship (with the water project),” Means said. “We have to do it.”
Furthermore, Means is seeking re-election because seeing her hometown thrive is an area she’s passionate about.
“I think we need to come together and make this little village as great as it can be,” she said. “If we can all work together, it can happen.”
Brent Wagers
Brent Wagers, 52, resides at 124 Scott St. in Shiloh and graduated from Plymouth High School in 1989.
Wagers has not previously served on village council and said he’s seeking election this November because he feels it’s time for a change.
“I think we need to try and venture outside of the normal,” Wagers said.
“We need to look at a broader spectrum of things to see what we can change, to maybe improve what goes on inside the village,” he said.
If elected, Wagers said he’d like to help improve community engagement and activities, as well as create more opportunities to help village residents in-need.
“There’s all kinds of ideas,” he said. “So people can come together and get to know each other.”
Time for a change
Wagers said increasing opportunities of this nature may help residents get to know each other, converse, and voice their concerns better, more so than at a council meeting.
“We need something to draw the people together in town,” he said. “They’re (residents) more apt to come and talk at a community setting than they are here (municipal building).”
Open-mindedness and an optimistic outlook are traits that Wagers said he can bring to the table if elected.
“I always look at things very optimistically, and look at the big picture instead of the box,” he said. “We have to go outside the box and see what we can do to better fit the people or the situation.”