Chesaning gets clean audit; 709 W. Broad tenant still unnamed

Chesaning's books came back clean. Jamie Rabe, a certified public accountant with AHP, and Justin Comia, an audit senior at the firm, told the village council on Aug. 18 that the 2026 audit is finished and that the village received a clean audit, according to the meeting minutes signed by Village Clerk Tina Powell. The minutes record that the auditors said village staff "did a fantastic job and were very helpful."

That closes a question this desk has been carrying since the summer. The Current reported that Village Administrator Tom Ebenhoeh told the council after its Aug. 4 meeting that the audit was nearly complete and would be presented at the next meeting. It was — on Aug. 18, as an introduction and discussion item, with no council action taken.

What the minutes do not include is the audit itself. There is no fund balance figure, no statement of whether the auditors issued any findings or a management letter, and no dollar amount for what the audit cost the village. The minutes summarize the presentation in three sentences.

The council also cleared $204,403.59 in accounts payable on its consent agenda, on a motion by Councilmember Bueche supported by Councilmember Chludil. The minutes record the motion as carried and do not list individual votes or itemize what the bills covered. That is separate from the $157,901.69 in payables the village put before the council at its Sept. 1 meeting, a figure The Current has asked the village to break down and which remains unexplained in any posted document.

Nothing in the Aug. 18 minutes identifies the applicant or the intended use at 709 W. Broad St., the property whose site plan the village approved and whose $933 review fee the council was set to refund at its Sept. 15 meeting. The minutes show the planning commission did not meet before Aug. 18 and gave no report. The Current has a request pending with Ebenhoeh for the planning commission minutes and the application file; as of Sept. 11 it was outstanding.

Two other items surfaced in committee reports. The Downtown Development Authority met and discussed the moving Vietnam Memorial Wall with Dave Pappenheimer, along with paying bills and landscaping; the minutes do not say whether the wall is coming to Chesaning, or when. Representatives from Flushing contacted the DDA for advice on starting one of their own. The fire board reported six runs since its previous meeting and 127 for the year to date, that Don Felipe's provided dinner for firefighters at the fair, and that a blood drive collected 50 pints.

Administrator Ebenhoeh reported that ordinance codification is nearly complete. Police Chief Meder reported a donated Carter Kit from United Financial Credit Union and a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce about fireworks and safety. Councilwoman Chludil credited CAPA for its Shakespeare in the Park summer show.

President Pro Tem Wenzel ran the meeting in place of President Hoover, who was absent, and adjourned it at 7:57 p.m., 27 minutes after it opened.

What happens next: The council next meets at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 15 in Council Chambers at the village offices, 218 N. Front St., where it is scheduled to act on the $933 fee refund for 709 W. Broad St. and to set a 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20 public hearing on abandoning the unused Railroad Street right-of-way. This desk has asked the village for the full audit report and for the 709 W. Broad application file, and will publish both when they are released.