Westerville City Council returned to City Hall Tuesday night for its first regular meeting in the renovated council chambers after holding public meetings at the Westerville Justice Center since January 2025.
The first person to speak from the new podium was longtime resident Peg Duffy, a familiar presence at council meetings for more than a decade. Before reading the standard instructions for public speakers, Council Chair Megan Czako called on Duffy to go first.
“I’m going to have you go first today,” Czako told her. “Peg has been coming to council meetings since I have been on council. I’ve heard her speak at this podium I don’t know how many times, but I feel like you should be the first one to speak at the new podium.”
Duffy said she has followed council meetings for about 12 years. Before that, she spent more than 30 years attending Westerville school board meetings. She joked that she had planned to stop attending school board meetings when she turned 80, but a ballot issue kept her involved for another couple of years.
For her first comments from the new podium, Duffy focused on the arts. She cited a Westerville City Schools publication and comments from an Otterbein University graduate who returned to teach and praised Westerville’s support for the arts.
“Obviously this needs to be discussed in some way,” Duffy told council. “We just can’t forget about it.”
Mayor David Grimes later said he was especially pleased Duffy had been invited to speak first. He recalled sitting with her at council meetings before he was elected and called her his “meeting buddy” during those years.
“I’ve literally been talking to her about it for months,” Grimes said. “It was really important for me for you to come see the room and speak at the podium. No matter what you said, I just wanted you to come say something.”
The return to City Hall brought some expected adjustments to a new room. Council members and staff were still getting accustomed to microphones and other equipment as Czako called the meeting to order.
“This is very exciting,” Czako said, thanking those in attendance for their patience while council members sorted out the new equipment. “We are brand new here too.”
City Manager Monica Dupee added a touch of ceremony to her report. Tuesday was also her birthday, and she opened what she described as a present from the city’s building department: the official certificate of occupancy for City Hall.
“So we are legally allowed to be here,” Dupee said, drawing laughter from the room. She also thanked the Westerville Division of Police for providing space for public meetings during the renovation. “It’s so nice to be back at home,” Dupee said.
Grimes said he hopes residents will continue to fill the seats in the renovated chamber and view City Hall not only as a place for city services but also as a place to participate in local government. City boards and commissions will also use the room.
Council member Kenneth Wright said returning to the building had personal meaning because he once sat in the audience there while deciding whether to run for council.
“This is your house,” Wright told residents. “And it means a lot to be back in this building.”
Wright praised the renovation but said he would miss one feature of council’s temporary home at the Justice Center. Council members and residents were physically closer there and sat at nearly the same level.
“We weren’t elevated above you,” Wright said. “We were there with you. We’re not above you. We are you. We’re representatives of you.”
Other council members also welcomed the return, praised the renovated chamber and thanked city staff for their work on the project.
The meeting itself was routine, with reports, legislation and citizen comments. But the night’s significance rested less in the agenda than in the return to the room and in who was asked to speak first.
Duffy gave her name, addressed council and resumed a familiar civic ritual in a newly rebuilt room.
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