CHESAPEAKE — A former Chesapeake councilman who lost in the general election was appointed to fill a vacancy on that same village council.

Paul Nathan Hart was sworn in Monday afternoon prior to Chesapeake council’s first meeting of the year that evening.

Hart, who served on council for 10 years, lost his third bid for the seat in November, coming in third in the race for two council vacancies. Hart collected 108 votes following the ticket leader Tracy Henson with 158 votes and Kenneth Wolfe with 151 votes.

Hart and his father, Paul E. Hart, also on council, were recently charged with misdemeanor gambling charges. That case is set for a pre-trial hearing in the Lawrence County Municipal Court on Friday.

Mayor Dick Gilpin appointed Hart to replace Scott Taylor who was removed from council after he missed three meetings, the limit allowed by the village’s charter.

Currently Taylor is facing a variety of misdemeanor charges in municipal court including assault, aggravated menacing, resisting arrest and domestic violence.

“I thought he was a good choice,” Gilpin said at the council meeting about Hart.

Gilpin said he had the responsibility to fill the seat after council was unable to pick its own replacement during the 30-day window that it had. Taylor was removed at the November meeting and council did not have a quorum in December to make its own selection.

During the Monday meeting council voted to take about half of drug recovery money it was allocated to buy $3,824 in police equipment. Items to be purchased include a vehicle radio for $500; four bullet-proof vests for $1,700; a camera cruiser for $500 and five clip-on cameras for $100.

The village received $8,700 after one of its officers made a traffic stop earlier in the year where $26,000 in drug money was found in the trunk of the car. That money was divided among the village, the sheriff’s office and common pleas court. It can only be used to purchase police-related equipment.

In other business the village council:

• Approved a resolution supporting Chesapeake schools’ application for an Ohio Department of Natural Resources grant for the proposed athletic complex at the high school;

• Heard a request from Paul E. Hart that the village needed to renegotiate its contract with an outside accounting firm for any upcoming audits. The last audit cost the village $8,000;

• Received a donation from the Rockwood Baptist Church that will be used to install a drain line on Rockwood Avenue;

• Hired Brenda Neville as the village solicitor.