Residents say no to Odessa dissolution

ODESSA—Odessa residents voted against dissolving the village, Tuesday, Dec. 7, with a 61 percent turnout rate.
Village Clerk Kristi Pierce said there were 239 total votes, or 61 percent of registered voters in Odessa.  She said 154 people voted no to dissolution and 74 voted yes.  Pierce  added 11 ballots had to be voided because they were marked improperly.
“In the five years I’ve been here we average 35 to 40 people in a village election,” said Pierce about the turnout.  She added the night of the election the village board members were happy with the number of people that voted, regardless of what they chose.
“A lot of people got involved,” said Mayor Keith Pierce.  “Now we can move on to other things.”
Now that residents voted down dissolution, Kristi Pierce said residents cannot petition for another vote until after four years.  If a majority of residents had voted yes, the towns of Catharine and Montour would have absorbed some of the village’s responsibilities and services to residents.
The petition that forced this vote was turned in to Odessa, Aug. 25.  The residents that started the petition got 116 signatures to make the village hold a referendum vote.  At the time, the petition only needed 75 village resident signatures to be valid.  The village, towns, and county followed with a study on the impact of dissolving.