Long time Councilman Mike Heyeck 10/5/25

Mindy speaks with longtime councilman Mike Heyeck!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Is the month of October. It's my favorite month of
the year. It really is September and October. It's such
a beautiful time of the year. And people love fall.
You know, we're gonna talk more about fall fashions coming
up in our five o'clock hour. But you can understand
why people love fall.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
Yeah, they love that. I mean, you don't want to
be hot all the time. You can layer. It's so
fun to layer.

Speaker 1 (00:18):
We're gonna layer, We're gonna Oh my gosh, it's so
coming up in the five o'clock hour. Yeah, and now
we're talking to Mike Hyak, the one, the only who's
been on Westerville City Council for thirty two years. How
did you last for more than three decades?

Speaker 3 (00:40):
Mike, Hi, How you doing good?

Speaker 1 (00:45):
We're so glad to talk to you.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
Public service is really great, and I like in the
the stint to a golf shot. You know, I'm really
lousy at golf, but that one shot keeps you coming back.
So it's that one person that you helped, or that
that street that you got rebuilt, and or the development

(01:10):
that's working on they're working on right now. Those are
the types of things and it's not just me, it's
the entirety of council and our city staff. So that's
what keeps you going.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
Yeah, I you know what Mendy said that you were
going to be on today. Hey, I'm Debbie. How are you.
It's good to meet you on here. I wanted to
tell you. I've read a little bit about what you
have accomplished in the city, and I'm just like, park
in the city. How did you come to name it
that and get that moving all those years ago?

Speaker 3 (01:44):
City within a park, City park.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
That's it.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
I'm a little jet lagged.

Speaker 3 (01:50):
Well, Mendy knows that sometimes I utter something without the
brain engaging. It was two thousand and two and we
were looking at south State Street Gateway for redevelopment, and
I'm looking at the renderings and I see trees and
walkways and crosswalks, and I just uttered city within a park,

(02:16):
and the parks director just latched onto that it's more
than parks. It's actually linkages two parks and street scapes
that invite people to actually walk our streets. If you
actually create a street scape that looks like a park,
you'll get private investment. South State Street we got three

(02:39):
times the costs of infrastructure in investment, the Aloft Hotel
and a lot of other developments that happen in South
State Street. But our park system. We have over six
hundred acres of parks and every door in Westerable is
within a quarter of a mile of a park. And

(03:00):
that doesn't even Sharon Woods and Innis Woods.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Oh my gosh.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
Listen, the city is beautiful and it has changed so
much in the last thirty two years from when you
first started on city council. What's been the biggest change
that you've noticed.

Speaker 3 (03:18):
Well, thirty two years ago. Actually before that, the NORTHWESTERNLD
Plan was being developed. We were heading toward a bedroom
community and the city fathers back then saw that we
needed a little bit more balance between commercial and residential.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
What's a bedroom community residential?

Speaker 3 (03:39):
Yeah, all residential, not that many jobs to provide income taxes.
The cash register of the cities are income tax dollars.
Real estate taxes are tough, as you know. But the
biggest change has been the commercial development. We annexed about

(04:01):
one thousand acres in nineteen ninety four called Westar Today
we put it in thirty million dollars worth of roads.
Back in nineteen nineties, called polaris and free love, and
then look what's happened.

Speaker 1 (04:16):
Yeah, Blius, for sure. You know, Mike, the city council
isn't supposed to be political. In fact, when you go
to vote for people on city council, you're not necessarily
you don't see a little R or a D by
your name on the voting ballot.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
Is that correct?

Speaker 3 (04:32):
That's correct.

Speaker 1 (04:33):
But when I just am seed a candidate's night for
people who are going to replace you, you know, one
of the candidates spoke out right away and he said,
I'm so and so, and I'm a Democrat, and I'm
running for city council. But in city council, it's not
supposed to be a Republican and a Democrat. Why is that?

Speaker 3 (04:52):
Our charter is nonpartisan? And actually many school board cities
are nonpartisan. You get some cities that are partisan and
they have primaries. And when you fill a pothole, do
you fill it with red or with blue? So ninety
nine point nine percent of what we do is plow

(05:14):
the streets, pay police officers, encourage development. It's hardly partisan.
When we do get partisan, it's interesting because most of
the time we get partisan, it's symbolic. It's a statement,
and it's hardly worth the paper is printed on, and

(05:35):
then we move on. There are other things that we
do that, like our non discrimination ordinance. No one should
be discriminated against, for example, we could all agree with that.
They could call that partisan, but that to me is
human to human working with the greatest commandment that got
ever gave us to love one another. So those are

(05:59):
the types of things that are are just It flummixes
me when politics comes to the podium and we look
at one another saying, what can we do. The other
part of our charter is we're home rule, and so
people think that we could act on things like gun
control or something that are state in federal matters. We cannot.

(06:23):
It's a conflict and we cannot do that. But sometimes
people want statements, and again, statements hardly worth the paper
it's printed on. I really hope that. I know in
the state they're trying to enact school board members being
a partisan, and that just discourages people because then they

(06:45):
have to run for a primary. First. Goodness, gracious, don't
we want people running for these offices, right?

Speaker 2 (06:51):
And that would discourage them. They would think, oh, my goodness,
I have to do a primary as well. What do
you think that have you had of feedback from people
in the community who tell you, this is why we
like you so much, because you've been voted in how
many timing like is is? It is council people two years,

(07:14):
four years every when you get voted.

Speaker 3 (07:17):
In four years, so you have a four year term.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
Eight you're almost eight, okay, so that's eight is great?
So why what has what has the community said to
you that they're going to miss you? Did? I just understand.
I don't want him to.

Speaker 1 (07:35):
Leave because he is a voice of reasons. I've been
to a couple different city council meetings and I know
the different council members. Mike Kyak has been a voice
of reason. Unfortunately, Westville has also changed in another aspect
and you need more voices like Mike, really and so
I hate to see you go, but it was just

(07:57):
you just felt it.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
Was your time, Mike, Yeah, and let me Westerroll was
the first city in Ohio to become a first village
in Ohio to become a council manager former government. That's
in nineteen sixteen. A council manager form of government is
like a CEO with a board of directors. It's business like,

(08:21):
it's not political. The continuity of our city is really
resides with our city staff, and I'm very proud of
our city staff. But I got to say, even though
we do get a little wild a bit, we have
a collegial council and every one of them has a
heart for the City of Westerville. We can disagree on something,

(08:44):
and frankly, if there were seven of us that agreed
all the time, you don't need one of us.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
That's a good point.

Speaker 3 (08:50):
So it's good to have the debate because sometimes someone
comes up with an idea like distracted driving or some
other law that we can enhance to deter distracted driving
that's coming up recently. So those are the types of
things that But you wanted to know how many people

(09:10):
say A lot of people really come to you to
tell you how bad you're doing.

Speaker 2 (09:15):
Now, isn't that the truth? That's like, if you're doing okay,
no one's going to say anything.

Speaker 1 (09:20):
You know what, Mike, You're right, Just like if you
have a server at a waiter or waitress, everyone always
wants to complain. Yeah, you always should compliment. And when
someone does a great job. Go tell their manager, Mike,
you bring up a great point.

Speaker 2 (09:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (09:35):
Yeah, And I said, our city council is pretty collegial,
and I really am proud of If I could leave
anything behind, it's collegiality that we all agree to help
the citizens at Westerville. But again, the continuity and actually
the people that do the work are our city manager

(09:58):
and her team of about five hundred people, firefighters, public
service people, police officers and so on. They're the ones
that do the work day in and day out. We
meet weekly for a couple hours and hopefully we help them.

Speaker 1 (10:12):
Mike has been a champion of wanting to continue to
say prayer before council meetings. You're bringing the Christmas Christmas
prayed back because it was taken away from Western Health
for a little bit. Mike has been a champion for
the things that really matter to so many people who
have lived and raised a family there for decades. Mike
is also fighting cancer right now, right Mike, Wow, oh goodness.

Speaker 3 (10:35):
Yeah. I posted on social media about the issues and
it's really people need to pay attention to their health.
They need to go annually to the doctor. They need
to check their PSA, they need to have the mammogram.
They really need to be proactive because no one, no
one cares more about your health than the person in

(10:59):
the med.

Speaker 2 (11:01):
Well that's a nice.

Speaker 3 (11:04):
I'm cancer free. I'm doing fine.

Speaker 2 (11:07):
We gotta say, can I get it?

Speaker 3 (11:08):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (11:08):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (11:09):
Can I get a yeah?

Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yeah?

Speaker 1 (11:10):
For Mike hi Yak, Debbie has written a book, has
written three books, so she's had two of her books
kind of had some feedback from people all together as well.
But you are writing your own book.

Speaker 2 (11:23):
As well, right Mike. Wow.

Speaker 3 (11:26):
Yeah. It's a being Catholic in the public square. It's
kind of a thesis on church and state and how
an individual with faith acts in elected office. There are
some lusterable examples going to be in there, and hopefully
it comes out in twenty twenty six. And I'm not

(11:48):
going to make a dime off of this. Every dime
is going to go to my church. So it's this
is not free advertising, although it is, well, we need.

Speaker 2 (11:59):
People to know it exists, so good. We want you
to speak about it for sure.

Speaker 1 (12:05):
You've just been able to talk to him for a
few minutes. Can't you understand what he's been on city
council for thirty two years? These are the people who
we need to lead our communities.

Speaker 2 (12:13):
I agree, Andy has a great radio voice.

Speaker 1 (12:16):
You do have a great radio voice.

Speaker 3 (12:17):
Mike.

Speaker 1 (12:18):
Are you still there? Because we're hearing like beeps?

Speaker 2 (12:20):
Is it my microphone beeping?

Speaker 3 (12:22):
But you're still with us, right, Mike, I'm still I'm
still here. Yeah, I have a face that's good for
Rachel stopping.

Speaker 1 (12:30):
So here's what you need to tell everybody. Okay, because
we got to go here. We have about thirty seconds.
Your last final it'll be emotional. City Council meeting is win.

Speaker 3 (12:41):
December to second. That's it's going to be a justice
center at seven pm and it's going to be it'll
be a memorable one.

Speaker 1 (12:52):
For me, oh for so many of us. Well. I
will be there with bells on to support you.

Speaker 3 (12:56):
Mike.

Speaker 1 (12:57):
Thank you for everything that you've done for the city
of wester We're going to keep having you on because
you know what you earned it, you deserved it, and
we love you.

Speaker 2 (13:05):
Right And if he's not going to be in on
counsel his voice.

Speaker 3 (13:11):
Here, Mike, I'll be fine. Thank you very much.

Speaker 1 (13:16):
Thanks so much for being a champion for things that
truly matter, like the name of our show what matters.
Thanks Mike, we'll be right back. After the break.

Speaker 2 (13:26):
You've seen ruf Max onto