CITY HALL—The abrupt resignation of Councilmember Ronnie Terrill dominated much of the discussion at City Council's second regularly scheduled meeting of the month. Virgil Burnside was Council's unanimous pick to fill the vacated seat.

Mayor Bruce Fraley noted Terrill's commitment to the town's youth sports programs. "He did everything he could to keep our city looking nice, and I am grateful for his service, and I am sad to see him resign, but I understand," Fraley said.

During the Council comments section of the meeting, all shared their thoughts about Terrill's time on Council.

“There’s been lots of times that we disagreed and argued. And I think one time we even yelled at each other, but I always appreciated the work that he did,” Councilmember Steve Caudill said. 

"Ronnie and I didn't get along," Councilmember Katie Startzman said. "We disagreed more than we agreed with each other." Startzman said that she challenged herself to find ways to work together with Terrill. "Sometimes he and I were successful in that, and other times we weren't."

“One of the hardest working, most knowledgeable members of this body is not here,” Shane Morris said during the public comment section of the meeting. He described Terrill’s absence as “the elephant in the room.”

The Edge broke the news of Terrill's resignation prior to the City Council meeting in an exclusive interview with Terrill. During the Council's comment section of the meeting, Councilmember Jerry Little, who spoke of his friendship with the former Councilmember, claimed Terrill had told him he had not said the mayor had directed city workers not to speak with him. (Ed. note, The Edge stands by our reporting.)

In an interview with The Edge after the meeting, Little said that was the only statement in the article he and Terrill had issue with. “Ronnie might have forgot he said it. I’m not saying anybody lied or nothing. Please don’t say that. I’m not,” Little said. “But that didn’t need to be said about our mayor.” Little was not present during The Edge's interview with Terrill.

Burnside retired in 2019 from his post as vice president for student life at Berea College. Burnside previously served on City Council for 16 years.

Blue Grass Army Depot update

Council also heard from Craig Williams, the community liaison for the Blue Grass Army Depot, and William Ritter, BGAD's public information officer, who updated members on the demolition of the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Pilot Plant and other upcoming BGAD projects. For more details of the presentation, visit The Edge's previous reporting of Williams's and Ritter's appearance before the Fiscal Court last week.

Startzman asked Williams how the new projects at the Depot would impact employment. He said the projects are not far enough along to give an accurate estimate. Ritter added that the number of employees will depend on which contractors win the bids for the projects, and whether they bring in outside talent or hire locals. The bidding process for contractors has not begun, he said.

Ordinance

Council heard the second reading of Ordinance 11-2026 which decrees the sale of surplus equipment by the City. It passed and was adopted with a unanimous roll call vote. 

Public comment

Also during the public comment section at the top of the meeting, Berean Aaron Shaffer spoke against Berea's use of Flock cameras. It was the second time Shaffer addressed Council with his concerns about the automatic license plate reader technology. 

“It’s a violation of our Fifth Amendment rights,” Shaffer said. “I’ll say it before and I’ll say it again, it treats all Americans as criminals as if we’re guilty driving down the road. It’s just not right. I’d like you guys to truly, deeply, critically consider the implementation of this technology in the future. And maybe consider not renewing the relationship we have with Flock.”