LOUDONVILLE – Jason Van Sickle is officially hanging up his public official hat, and resigning from his position as Loudonville’s mayor.
Van Sickle announced his plan to resign at the regular council meeting Tuesday evening, where council approved the resignation, effective March 1.
His term does not end until Dec. 31 2027, so Council President Pro Tempore Cathy Lance will step up in the meantime.
Lance will finish until the end of 2026, with Loudonville mayor now appearing on the November ballot for someone to finish the remaining one year of Van Sickle’s term.
Lance said the village will announce that soon, with a candidate needing to collect signatures and file a petition with the Ashland County Board of Elections 90 days before the election.
She has not heard of anyone eying the position yet, but she’s on the fence about running because she still has a full-time job.
Van Sickle said he had been mulling over the idea for a while, but it was officially solidified a few weeks ago after a major health scare.
“I sacrificed time with my wife and kids to serve the community. It was time for me to move on to the next chapter,” he said.
Van Sickle’s reflections as mayor
Van Sickle said his resignation should be viewed as an opportunity for the village.
“I truly believe we need to circulate new blood and ideas,” he told council.
Van Sickle noted he got involved helping with youth organizations and in the schools 30 years ago, and eventually served two and-a-half terms as a council member before being appointed as mayor in 2021.
That involvement was a debt repaid to the Loudonville community members who helped Van Sickle and his brother as children, he said.
“My brother and I came from a meager household,” he said. “There were times we couldn’t afford shoes, and the community always provided for us. I couldn’t ever repay them monetarily.”
Van Sickle said his greatest accomplishments as mayor were:
- Helping create a plan for downtown improvements, which got him “a lot of pushback” from council and residents.
- Working with the American Legion, which committed to building a new joint village hall and police department with no expense to the village budget.
- Changing the perception about Loudonville’s government’s role in the village by collaborating with the Mohican Area Chamber of Commerce to create new events, making downtown tourism friendly lot and establishing DORA downtown.
- Ensuring the village’s bottom line increased each year.
He sees finishing the downtown plan as a future struggle for village leadership because the project must be funded through a grant. He also sees a need for more industry in the area.
“It’s a small town, we gotta find the money to keep it going,” he said.
But that struggle has been echoed since Van Sickle was a kid, when everyone told him Loudonville would become a ghost town.
His advice to the next mayor?
“Don’t take anything personal. And even if you don’t agree with what you’re presenting, but it’s for the benefit of the village, support it. It’s not about you, it’s about the village,” he said.
Van Sickle will continue his work as owner of JV Services. He and his wife plan to move out of the village to “somewhere in the country,” where they will raise chickens and other livestock and spend time with their children and grandchildren.
Other business at council
Council approved Gabe Griffith’s Large Truck Show Sept. 5, marking the event’s second year downtown. This year’s show will include a nighttime parade and additional 50 spaces, bumping the total truck numbers to 150.
He asked about shutting down parking downtown for the event, but received some pushback from Lance, who worried the all-day parking shutout would harm businesses.
Council agreed to address parking at a later meeting, with several options discussed.
Councilman Brandon Biddinger said the village fire department’s ladder truck needs repairs to the radiator. The truck is scheduled to be retired in May when the new truck will replace it.
“Do we pay to fix it when it’s out of service in 3 months?” he asked council.
The estimated repair cost is $12,000, but there has not been an official quote with a time frame. Council agreed a decision would be made after a quote with a time estimate has been submitted.