Mayor steps aside

He wanted to be the mayor of Fort Recovery for 20 years.
But that wasn’t meant to be.
Like Village Council President Rod Thobe, Roger Broerman didn’t want to step down. But if he ran for office again and won, the changes to his insurance after turning 65 would have made it too costly.
“I wanted to actually be mayor another eight years, was my goal. It was a tough decision,” Broerman said.
That would have given him 24 years in Fort Recovery government, the last 20 coming as mayor.
“I thought you had me beat,” John Wolf, a former Fort Recovery mayor, said to Broerman at a November council meeting during which he thanked Broerman and Thobe for their work.
“I wanted to,” Broerman told him.
Broerman got his start on village council when he was appointed in 2000 after no one ran for the office.
“(Council) asked me and I just thought it would be a good experience to see how the town ran,” Broerman said.
He liked the experience he got and being involved in decision-making. Wanting to stay involved, he ran for mayor in 2003.
Broerman had a vision for Fort Recovery, village administrator Randy Diller said, and he wanted to do what he could to make it happen.
“The thing that’s Roger’s legacy more than anything is just his passion for Fort Recovery,” Diller said.
“I just wanted to keep improving on the town, on the Industrial Park, and housing and street projects,” Broerman said.
His drive to improve the village didn’t change when he became mayor, but his role did.
While council members made decisions, he became responsible for bringing back the information on which they based decisions.
“I felt it was my job to go out and talk to different people,” Broerman said.
An essential part of this was getting input from Fort Recovery residents to present to council.
“I always felt like I wanted to do what was best for the community and the citizens,” Broerman said.
In his first term, Broerman kept seeing progress and envisioning more potential improvements, so he ran for mayor again. The industrial park was expanding and sewer and storm drain separation was in the works.
The village’s historic element also got a boost under Broerman with the installation of bricks on Wayne Street.
“That was sort of a big decision for the council,” he said, adding that council decided to do it because the street would fit “with the historic Fort Recovery.”
 “You’ve done an outstanding job. I really appreciate everything you’ve done. Everything looks to me like it’s running smooth,” Wolf told Broerman.
Before his career in government, Broerman owned Miracle Lanes, a bowling alley. He sold that in 1999, having co-owned it with previous owner Joe Remaklus for a time.
Like Broerman, new mayor Dave Kaup started on village council. Broerman expects that to help him.
“I think he’s going to do a good job,” Broerman said. “Being on council is a plus, that he knows how the council makes decisions. He’ll be very good.”