Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Oregon’s city administrator Joel Mazur, who has served the city since Oct. 10, 2022, tendered his notice of resignation at the Nov. 24 council meeting. He will serve in the role through Jan. 31.
“This is good for me, good for my family,” Mazur said. “I'm excited. Seasons change, and I'll always cherish my time here. It’s a very difficult job, just everybody knows it. You don't see the day-to-day and what happens every day, but there's a lot, and it's very rewarding, too. It's very rewarding.
“Being here, I will always cherish the time here. I greatly appreciate the opportunity from each and every one of you. Thank you so much. And I will always have nothing but good things to say. I really appreciate it,” he said.
The timing comes at the same time a mayoral transition is taking place. Outgoing mayor Mike Seferian, who hosted his final council meeting before the transition takes place Dec. 1, will be replaced by mayor-elect and current councilman, Steve Salander.
In fact, Salander and councilwoman Beth Ackerman, who was a supporter of Salander to unseat Seferian, both objected to the resignation. Council, however, voted 5-2 in favor of acceptance.
“This is such a sudden thing that, you know, it's not a lot of time to absorb the ramifications of it,” Ackerman said. “I question the timing of it, and I would like that to go on record.”
Salander gave his thoughts to WTOL following the meeting.
“It was just a matter of making a statement that I just think the timing was not right,” he said. “I wish we could have had things a little bit differently. I wanted to at least have some time to evaluate things and see where we go going forward, but this was Mr. Mazur’s decision.”
Seferian shared his thoughts for WTOL, as well.
“For somebody to deny that or try to bring controversy around them, shame on them,” he said.
Mazur also commented on his transition, and the potential data center project.
“I do still have some time left, so I would just want to assure everybody that I would like to make sure and ensure that it is as smooth a transition as possible,” he said. “That is a priority, and I think that's important for the city. And just to dovetail on what the mayor just said, (the data center) is an important project. It is on the table, and hopefully in my role, while I'm still here, we can put together the best package for city council to consider. Hopefully it'll be an eye opener, and you'll come to appreciate it.”
Seferian address data center detractors
With it being his final council meeting as mayor, Seferian made a statement on the recent election and the potential data center’s detractors.
“There is a lot of people out there who are concerned about the money,” he said. “And I still believe, if I had to do it over again, I would support this data center big time. The data center brings real opportunity to the city of Oregon. And just with the experience I've had being here for the 34 years, actually 36, where it was a two-year window where I was still very active with the city, but not elected at the time, but it's very important to me. The people think that this data center has some issues, and I'm sure it does, but not as many issues as any other possible industrial venture that could come to that same site.
“It's probably the lowest impact with the greatest dollar return that we could ever dream of. We never dreamed of being able to attract that type of money. I think that given time, and like I said, we listened to people who complained and the concerns they had. I respect that. I also respect the fact that there are a whole bunch of people out there, I believe, that would benefit. I believe the people that are complaining would benefit immensely from this.
“I believe when Will Turner came to represent Capacity (LLC) and the venture of it, he faced a gauntlet, and he did his best to represent the company that is wanting to come here. I hope everybody listens to the things very closely. It's a great opportunity for our city. I've lived every honorable moment I was elected in putting the city first. A lot of people will say, well, you put your family first and then your occupation or the city. There's an awful lot of times where I didn't put my family first in decisions I made here, but my family understood, and they were always there for me. Even times when I wasn't able to do things with them, because I was here, I took this very serious. I still do, and I still believe in it.
“I wish the best for Steve Salander as mayor and anyone who got elected, because I believe in the system here. I hope you folks that are adamantly against it really, really look at what happens and transpires. I think you'll come to think that the data center is really a great deal for not only the city, but for yourselves.”
Kathleen Pollauf was among councilmembers who thanked Seferian for his service.
“Working with the mayor, we got a lot done,” she said. “We got a lot accomplished. We did a lot of things that saved a lot of things in Oregon. He wasn't just a mayor that was just cutting ribbons and kissing babies because he's not a shaking hands and kissing babies kind of guy. But he is a guy that pulls up his sleeves and gets it done. He's unapologetic for everything that he does because he does what he feels is right. I want to thank you for loving Oregon as much as you had from city council all the way up to this date. I want to thank you for everything that you've done. It was a pleasure working with you.”
