Norwich Township trustees interview 13 candidates for vacant seat, enter executive session

Norwich Township trustees held a special meeting on March 14, 2026, to interview candidates for the township’s vacant trustee seat. The session opened at 12:40 PM after a motion by Brian Rothenberg, vice-chair, and second by Kelli Arthur Hykes, chair.

The board conducted 13 interviews in total: 11 in person and two by Zoom. The candidates named in the minutes were Kari Grafton; Jon Parker-Jones; Larry Larsen; Trish Barker; Morgan Gierman; Frank Johnson; Rachel Gutshall; James Friel; Matthew Turner; Carrie Killingsworth; Nick Uhas; Alauddin Alauddin; and Durya Nadeem. The minutes state each candidate received the same list of questions and the same closing statement; the record does not attribute who read the opening statement or who disclosed prior familiarity with any candidates.

At 6:14 PM, Rothenberg moved that the trustees go into executive session “Pursuant to ORC 121.22(G)(1): To consider the appointment of a public official,” which Hykes seconded. The motion passed with the recorded votes showing the trustee seat vacant and both trustees voting yes. The minutes record the board returned to open session at 6:57 PM after an executive session and then immediately voted to adjourn; both votes were moved by Rothenberg and seconded by Hykes, with the same recorded outcome (vacant trustee, Hykes–Yes, Rothenberg–Yes).

The minutes do not record any public appointment or public vote to fill the vacancy. The meeting record was signed by Kelli Arthur Hykes, chair, and Omar Tarazi, fiscal officer. Jamie Fisher is listed in the minutes as township administrator present during the meeting.

The trustees’ process during the special meeting focused on candidate interviews and an executive-session deliberation about a potential appointment; the public minutes do not include the substance of the interviews or any decision reached during the executive session.