Mayor Jason Frentzel, council members Todd Hickman, Christina McElfresh and Anna Hale voted for the change and council members Tom Callahan and Robert “Bob” Routson voted against the ordinance. Vice Mayor Keith Funk was absent.
Before the vote, Routson, who has served on council for 24 years, said Monroe citizens are “laughing” at council because of the ordinance.
“That’s embarrassing,” he said.
Then at the end of the two-hour meeting, Routson, who served as mayor from 2004-2019. announced he was resigning for personal reasons, effective June 30. His last council meeting will be June 22.
“Wow,” fellow member Christina McElfresh said after Routson’s announcement.
Frentzel said Routson’s announcement “took all of us by surprise.”
On Thursday, Routson, 69, said he’s retiring from the Butler County Auditor’s Office on June 30, and he was told his $4.200 salary from council would impact his retirement.
“I didn’t want to leave,” said Routson, who had pulled his petition. “It was a tough decision.”
Frentzel said he’s in contact with the city law director who will advise council how to proceed to find a short-term replacement.
When discussing the “grass clippings” ordinance Routson said the city can’t enforce some of the laws it has already and he wanted an ordinance with “some teeth in it that works.”
McElfresh said the ordinance “clearly is about safety.”
In April, council discussed at length whether grass clippings left in the roadway by residents or lawn-mowing companies should be considered a potential hazard, especially to those riding motorcycles or bikes. The issue was rejected by council.
The issue seemed to be over until a Monroe resident, an avid motorcyclist, brought her concerns to council.
Jennifer Rogers, who said she has lived in Monroe for eight years and often rides her motorcycle in the city, said she wanted council to add “grass clippings” to the ordinance because it’s “something that is easy and a no-brainer.”
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