Ravenna Council Meeting: Police Department Update, Cybersecurity Plan, Natural Gas Aggregation Tabled

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RAVENNA, Ohio – The Ravenna City Council meeting on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, opened with a heavy but hopeful report from the city’s relatively new police chief and ended with passage of a citywide cybersecurity plan after a closed‑door executive session.

Council President Rob Kairis called the meeting to order, followed by a moment of silence, the Pledge of Allegiance and roll call. Council members Amy Michael, Cheryl Wood, Paul Moskun, Tyler Marovich and Tim Calfee were present; Christina West was excused and Matt Harper was later excused when it was announced he had been called away.

Ravenna Police Chief Addresses Double Officer‑Involved Shootings And Department Healing

Under “Invited City Officials,” Police Chief Jake Smallfield used his time to confront what he called “the elephant in the room” – two officer‑involved shootings in six months and the toll they have taken on the department and the community.

Smallfield said the first shooting deeply affected “every member of our department and our entire community,” emphasizing that such incidents can “tear a department apart,” undermining morale, cohesion and trust both internally and externally.

Officers, he noted, live with the daily knowledge that they may be called upon to use deadly force to protect others, and in the aftermath of a shooting some must wrestle with the question, “Can I do this again?”

Six months later, on March 16, the department faced a second officer‑involved shooting. Many agencies struggle with even one such incident, Smallfield said, but Ravenna’s officers endured two within a short span.

Despite that, he told council the shared adversity had ultimately pulled the department closer together and highlighted the need for stable leadership and long‑term planning.

Leadership Changes And Promotions Inside The Department

Smallfield publicly thanked former Chief Wallace for his leadership during those difficult months, calling him “exactly the leader this department needed.” Wallace’s unexpected retirement left a leadership vacuum that took months to resolve.

Because Smallfield served as acting chief for part of that period, the department temporarily had no captains, complicating the civil service process. He outlined the sequence of promotions that followed:

• A sergeant’s process resulted in the promotion of Sergeant Joshua.
• After Smallfield was appointed chief, the city completed a captain’s assessment, ultimately promoting Captain Dustin Svab.

With those promotions in place, Smallfield said the department finally began “moving forward” again.

Community Outreach: Trunk‑or‑Treat, Food Drive And Shop With A Cop

Even amid internal challenges, Smallfield said the Ravenna Police Department has worked to strengthen ties with residents.

He highlighted several initiatives:

• Trunk‑or‑treat at NEOMED:
  Between 15 and 18 members of the department participated in a Toy Story‑themed trunk‑or‑treat event, complete with costumes ranging from Buzz Lightyear to Little Bo Peep and a sheep. Smallfield noted that even a newly hired dispatcher joined in and recruited her boyfriend to play the sheep, a “difficult task” when you barely know the people you’re working with.

• Record‑setting food drive for Center of Hope:
  A food drive held at Walmart to benefit Center of Hope filled shelves “overflowing” with donations, according to Miss Joyce, who runs the pantry. She told the department it was the largest food donation they have ever received, and residents also gave about $2,000 in monetary donations.

• Renewed Shop With A Cop program:
  The department restarted its Shop With A Cop tradition, inviting all council members to attend a Dec. 13 “Breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus” at the Elks, followed by a shopping event at Walmart for local children.
  Smallfield said department members and community supporters have rallied behind the effort, raising nearly $16,000 in a short period of time.

He said these programs are not just feel‑good events; they are part of rebuilding trust and connection after a difficult year.

Equipment, Training And Facilities: Drones, Evidence, Vehicles And Firearms

Smallfield also detailed several concrete upgrades to the department’s equipment and facilities that he said are already improving safety and efficiency.

Drone team and rapid response

The chief thanked council for funding a new drone vehicle, currently the only one of its kind in Portage County. Other agencies, including the SWAT team, have already asked to use it.

Ravenna now fields what Smallfield called “the elite drone team in the county,” with:

• Handheld drones designed to fly indoors and even perch on an officer’s leg or vest.
• One‑handed launch capability so officers can deploy drones while remaining prepared to respond to threats.

He cited a school‑related shooting near a football game as an example, saying:

• Six officers ran toward the sound of gunfire, demonstrating the willingness to face danger even after prior critical incidents.
• A department drone was in the air within about 2 minutes and 35 seconds, providing critical situational awareness.

Evidence and ammunition storage

To address chronic space and safety issues, the department:

• Converted the former Safe Communities room in the basement into a new evidence processing center, replacing makeshift storage in borrowed leaf‑collection flags from the street department.
• Installed professionally built shelving and labeled plastic totes to better manage evidence and free up rooms that had been packed with long‑term storage.
• Built new shelving at the motor pool to hold ammunition and airsoft training guns in a secure room with glass block windows. Previously, ammunition had been stored on the floor, and a flood forced the department to throw away a significant amount of rounds.

Standardized patrol vehicles

Smallfield explained that the department’s fleet had been a patchwork as it moved from Fords to Chargers and back to Fords, leaving officers guessing about each car’s layout and whether they’d find a laptop or touchscreen in a given unit.

Now, he said:

• All patrol vehicles are standardized with uniform equipment layouts.
• No matter which car an officer gets into, critical tools and controls are in the same place, which he emphasized is vital in high‑stress situations when “you kind of do it off memory.”

New firearms and Milo training system

Under former Chief Wallace, the department transitioned to new Shadow Systems duty pistols, replacing 15‑year‑old firearms.

Through a trade‑in program, the department was able to:

• Acquire tactical flashlights and
• Red‑dot optics for all duty weapons, improving accuracy and low‑light capability.

Ravenna also invested in a Milo training system, a projection‑based simulator installed in a room at the motor pool. Smallfield described it as:

• A system where two officers at a time can run live‑fire simulations with realistic scenarios projected on a wall.
• Capable of night simulations using a fake flashlight that illuminates on the projection in real time.
• Loaded with “shoot/no‑shoot” scenarios controlled by a supervising sergeant, who can choose from 15 to 20 different paths depending on how officers respond verbally and tactically.
• Configured to emphasize de‑escalation and “no‑shoot” outcomes, so officers are not conditioned to fire in every scenario.
• Used for training officers to intervene when another officer might be making a poor decision.

Smallfield said the system was especially useful in helping officers adjust to the new grip angle and sight picture of their pistols and learning to “find the dot” with the red‑dot optics.

The department recently repaired worn O‑rings on the system and plans to ensure every officer gets at least one hour of Milo training per month in 2026.

Flock License Plate Reader Network: “A Beacon” For Other Cities

Council members praised the department’s professionalism, particularly after videos on social media showed officers calmly handling a volatile call that the county mental health board now plans to use as a training example.

Council members also asked about the city’s Flock license plate reader (LPR) system, which has now been operating for about a year.

Smallfield said Ravenna has become a model for other departments:

• The city has used Flock data to help solve around 100 cases, ranging from hit‑skip crashes investigated by the Ohio State Highway Patrol to stolen vehicle calls where a plate hit revealed a car had actually been repossessed.
• He credited Flock with helping solve the shooting near the school football game as well.
• Ravenna shares data with surrounding communities, and Smallfield said cities like Kent and Streetsboro hope to adopt similar systems as funding and approvals allow.

The system, he stressed, saves “man hours” and improves clearance rates.

Council Approves 2026 Payroll Ordinance With Technical Updates

Council later passed the city’s 2026 payroll ordinance after clarification from the finance director that:

• The ordinance is largely a technical re‑adoption of the existing structure, needed because union negotiations are still ongoing and may require another payroll ordinance next year.
• Minor corrections were made to fire department headcounts.
• The payroll schedule was also updated to reflect four new patrol officer positions authorized earlier in the evening, expanding the police force by roughly 60 percent compared to its size when Smallfield was hired 25 years ago.

Smallfield said the department has not added officers since the late 1990s, when several were hired under a federal COPS grant. He called the four new positions a “phenomenal milestone,” adding that his first priority is to place an additional officer in the schools once road patrol shifts are properly staffed.

Superintendent Ben Ribelin has already reached out asking when the new officer can be assigned, Smallfield said, though he made clear he must first fill road positions.

Comprehensive Plan And Safety‑Building Income Tax Proposal Left On Multi‑Reading Timetable

Two major policy items remained on early readings:

• Ordinance 2025‑127 – Comprehensive Plan
  Council took the first reading of the new City of Ravenna Comprehensive Plan. Kairis said he expects the ordinance to remain on three readings to allow time for public review and questions, and he requested that the full plan be posted on the city website.
  He anticipates scheduling a public hearing in January with a potential final vote in February.

• Resolution 2025‑112 – Additional 0.25% income tax for new safety buildings and City Hall
  On second reading, council continued to consider a proposed 0.25 percent income tax increase to fund planning and construction of a new fire station, police station and City Hall.
  Kairis said he plans to hold a public hearing on Dec. 22, immediately after the Committee of the Whole meeting, to gather resident input on the tax proposal and broader safety‑building needs.

Gas Aggregation Contract Tabled Indefinitely

On third reading, council revisited Ordinance 2025‑094, which would have allowed the city to enter into a new natural gas aggregation contract with Archer Energy, LLC from June 2025 through March 2027.

A rate sheet included in council packets suggested that:

• The proposed fixed rate of about $4.99 per unit is higher than current market rates, though slightly under projections for one month late in the contract period.
• Most projected future rates through early 2027 remain below the locked‑in price.

Several council members said they were not comfortable locking residents into a rate that appears higher than current and expected prices.

Council opted not to vote the ordinance up or down. Instead, on a motion from the floor, members voted to table the ordinance indefinitely, leaving the door open to revisit aggregation later if conditions change.

Cybersecurity Plan Adopted After Executive Session

Late in the meeting, council returned to Ordinance 2025‑128, which would adopt the city’s cybersecurity plan to comply with Ohio House Bill 96 by Dec. 31, 2025.

Because of the sensitive nature of the plan and state requirements that certain security information remain confidential, council:

1. Voted to move the ordinance to the end of the agenda earlier in the evening.
2. Entered executive session under the provision allowing discussion of matters required by federal or state law to be kept confidential.
3. Returned to open session and voted to:
   • Suspend the three separate readings,
   • Adopt the emergency clause, and
   • Pass the ordinance.

The cybersecurity plan, explained in executive session with input from IT Director Mr. Bender, now formally takes effect.

Other Board And Committee Updates

During committee reports and council remarks, members highlighted a number of smaller but notable items:

• Committee schedule:

  • All standing committee meetings are set for Dec. 8 at 6 p.m., with the Committee of the Whole on Dec. 22 at 6 p.m.

• Cemetery Board:
  Councilman Paul Moskun reported that leaf pickup at the cemetery is largely complete and benefited from unusually dry weather. The board also approved a new health insurance contract for cemetery employees that will save more than $20,000 in 2026.

• Parks and Recreation:
  Councilman Tyler Marovich reported:

  • A planned 9‑hole disc golf course at the Chestnut Hill property, with baskets ordered and installation expected in the spring.
  • Ongoing youth basketball sign‑ups, including the Little Dribblers program.
  • Planning under way for the Marlene Watt Poker Run/Walk, with flyers in development.
  • A setback for the Emerald Lake land preservation project, after a Phase 2 grant was denied. The city plans to pursue alternative funding through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to purchase an eastern parcel.

• Downtown decorations and parade:
  Councilwoman Amy Michael praised the city’s holiday decorations and said the recent Christmas parade looked like “a Hallmark movie,” citing the snow, lighting and downtown backdrop.
  Several members also complimented utility box wraps downtown featuring butterflies and anniversary themes.

• Youth leadership visit:
  Councilwoman Cheryl Wood reported that students from the Chamber’s Youth Leadership Program and the high school principal’s advisory council visited City Hall, the police department and the fire station for tours and lunch.
  She thanked Fire Chief and Police Chief Jake Smallfield for taking time with the students and said many were surprised and encouraged to see how many Ravenna High School graduates now work for the city.

• Tax Review Board vacancies:
  Kairis reminded members that the city’s Board of Tax Review currently has no appointed members even though state law requires a three‑member board to hear income tax appeals.
  Council will discuss potential appointments at the Dec. 22 Committee of the Whole, with the understanding that:

  • Council appoints two members,
  • The mayor appoints one,
  • Members cannot be elected officials or work in the finance department.

• Wells Fargo infill house:
  Councilman Tim Calfee note that Wells Fargo, which previously appeared before council regarding a derelict house it had demolished, has now completed construction of a new home on the site near Highland and Prospect. The house is for sale and viewed as a positive infill project in the downtown area.

• Charlestown dispatch contract:
  Mayor Seman reported that the long‑delayed dispatch application from Charlestown Township is finally nearing completion. Their fire chief is expected to drop off paperwork so council can consider a dispatching services contract before year’s end.

Farewell To Councilwoman Cheryl Wood

Several members noted that this was Councilwoman Cheryl Wood’s last regular meeting after six years on council.

Councilman Tim Calfee praised Wood’s deep commitment to Ravenna and her expertise with grants and housing, calling it “wonderful” and saying it had materially helped the city. He also pointed out that she was recently honored as Citizen of the Year by the Ravenna Area Chamber of Commerce.

Wood thanked council and the community, saying the experience had been “very rewarding” and that she looks forward to “circling through the waters again in the future” in other roles.

Adjournment

The meeting concluded with council voting to excuse Matt Harper’s absence, then adjourning until Monday, Jan. 5, 2026.