Maumee City Council Confirms Alan Lehenbauer As New Law Director, Concludes Year-End Business

BY MIKE McCARTHY | MIRROR EDITOR — Maumee City Council welcomed its new city law director and took care of some year-end accounting business at a special meeting held on December 30.

Alan Lehenbauer was confirmed to the position of Maumee law director by a 6-0 vote of council.

“Alan brings to our law director position unprecedented experience for our city,” said Maumee Mayor Richard Carr.

“He brings with him jury trial experience and prosecuting experience,” noted the mayor. “He has also prosecuted property nuisance cases and brings great experience to an area in which (the city) will be much more aggressive in addressing in the future, both in our code and in our enforcement.

“Alan’s extensive experience will enable him to immediately address all legal issues for our city,” the mayor concluded.

Lehenbauer earned his law degree from The University of Toledo and started practicing law in 1984. He joined The McQuades Co. LPA law firm in Swanton in 1985. He has served as the village solicitor for both Swanton and Metamora before joining Maumee.

His duties in Maumee begin on Monday, January 10.

Immediately following Lehenbauer’s confirmation, council moved to go into executive session to discuss pending litigation, and the new city law director was invited to participate in the discussion.

Council returned from executive session after 17 minutes and resumed the public council meeting, approving the only two items on the consent calendar.

The first item was the second reading of Ordinance 066-2021, amending the zoning ordinance map of the city. This relates to the new Redwood Apartment Neighborhoods project that is being developed on 22.56 acres of the Robert Mix property that presently contains a driving range, a mini golf course and batting cages at 1610 Market Place Dr. in Maumee. The site will be developed into 129 single-unit, two-bedroom apartments with two-car garages, as first reported in the December 30 issue of The Mirror.

The zoning is being changed from C-2 (General Commercial) to R-4 (Multi-Family Residential.

The second item approved on the consent calendar is a 120-day moratorium on consideration of mini-warehouses within city limits. The moratorium includes “the submission, consideration or approval of all applications for special permits, use permits, building permits, any plans, or any other applications or permit which are, or may be filed, for permits from the Building and Zoning Divisions for construction, expansion or remodeling of a mini-warehouse facility.”

Patrick Burtch, the city administrator, explained that the moratorium is basically a four-month pause for this type of development, so that the city can determine how this type of use will best fit into Maumee’s master plan.

Council concluded the meeting by passing two bookkeeping measures:

• Ordinance 067-2021 amended Ordinance 011-2021 relative to 2021 appropriations for current expenses, transfers and other expenditures.

• Ordinance 068-2021 called for appropriating funds for current expenses for the first quarter of fiscal year 2022.

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Editor’s Note: The Monday, January 3 meeting of Maumee City Council was canceled due to COVID concerns. The next scheduled meeting of city council is set for Tuesday, January 18, although it is possible that council may authorize an earlier meeting if city matters require earlier attention.