Frank Horack, Winchell Road: Six to eight weeks ago I asked for an estimate of the paving project at the school and have not received it. So tonight I would like to request for the work that was done up there.
Frank's request covered the piping, the catch basin, excavation-- the things related to that project.
He went on: Is there a chance I could get that.
Vic: We had just paid the bill that night.
Frank: I was requesting the total estimate but since it has been so long since it has been done that all the bills would be in by now.
Vic: They are.
Frank: Are all the bills in and paid? I would like copies of all of them. I also want a list [or] tally of the township roads and numbers that we are responsible for. Is there someplace where I can get a lilst?
Vic and Mark: We have a road inventory.
Vic: We have a five-year plan that we go through every year.
Frank: I would like a list of that.
I also requested information on insurance information for contractors.
Marie asked about that.
Frank: I specifically asked for all contractors doing work in Mantua Township for all projects.
Marie: For which years? I don't get insurance certificates on everyone who does work.
Frank: The company I work for was putting in a bid on Mantua Center School. [Blogger: Frank did not indicate when this occurred.] We were specifically requested and required to show insurance for $1,000,000 on the vehicle. Is there any reason that was requested there and for no one else?
Vic: We need a certificate of liability for $1,000,.000. [Note: A sentence or two got chewed up in the back-and-forth.]
Frank: My question was, does this apply to all contractors or just that one project.
Vic: The contractors that we put out for bid in the spring--that is all specified in the ad.
Frank: Is that for all contractors that work in Mantua Township, or just that project?
Vic: That was specified for the school. We went through the prosecutor for that.
Frank: I know that. Do all contractors have to supply the same coverage?
Vic: [It is] usually on the bid for the year--the insurance coverage is specified and people have to comply with that. For trucking, the amount is lower.
Frank: Do the other ones require $1,000,000?
Vic: I think the other was $300,000 for insurance. That has been the standard bid for many years.
Frank: Do the contractors give you coverage at the beginning of the year?
Vic: [They provide] a certificate of insurance.
Frank: So that should be on file. I would like a copy of that.
[Blogger: I wish I knew what that was really about.]
Perspective and additional information on the above exchange: First of all, after the meeting when Frank requested the information about the cost of what had been done at the school, he missed perhaps three meetings. He apparently did not contact Marie for the information, which could have been sitting waiting for him. I don't know whether it was, but it could have been.
Second, as I understand it, Jason handled the ad for the work or project in question. As Vic indicated, the ad was run through the prosecutor's office and Chris Meduri advised the $1,000,000 figure. If you review the above exchange, you will see that Jason never identified his or Chris Meduri's roles in the ad.
I don't know how many people bid on the project Frank was questioning, and he did not indicate the date or the work to be done. There was one set of bids for electrical work at the school in which Frank's company came in much higher than any other and, of course, did not get the bid. So my question is this: was all of the above exchange even relevant?.
Robert Moody, Center Road: Mr. Moody asked for a copy of the road inventory. He also reiterated his distress about the aerator for the school's self-contained package plant.
The materials are on hand to build the surrounding sound barrier. Jason finally said that he would work with Vic and the road crew to ensure that the barrier would be up by the next meeting. Vic indicated that some new parts for the aerator were on hand; his approach for some time has been to work on getting the equipment running well enough to eliminate the need for the shed/sound barrier. As I understand it, the possibility of overheating the equipment during the summer is a concern.
[Blogger's Note: There are/were three funerals during Thanksgiving week, meaning that the road crew will be putting in quite a bit of time at the cemetery. That time is absolutely mandatory]
The issue of noise shifted to engine brake noise and the fact that a request for a "No Engine Brake" sign has been requested to cover the intersection of Center Road and Rt. 82. That signage requires a resolution and considerable paperwork with ODOT.
Even though both the aerator and road noise are both noise, they are handled differently, and a resolution to deal with the aerator noise is not, as I understand it, necessary. .
About This Blog
The purpose of this blog is to give an accurate account of what is said during Public Comment at Mantua Township Trustees meetings.
Trustees' decisions are in the official minutes, available on request from the Mantua Township Fiscal Officer, Jodi Thompson, at 330-274-8443. The Township charges 10 cents per page. FAX, 330-274-8447. E-mail, fiscalofficer@mantuatownshipohio.gov. The minutes are also posted on the website after they have been approved. That means that there is usually a two-week lag between a given meeting and the minutes being available to read on the website.
Since meetings are the first and third Thursdays of the month, there is a three-week wait during months with five Thursdays.
Other items of interest or the writer's opinions will be included from time to time, clearly identified.
This is not a forum or chat room, but a source of information, so it is closed to outside input.
During the time I have been doing the blog, the posts have expanded to become very detailed accounts of the meetings. Doing that is time consuming, to say the least, and I am going to try to return to the public comment focus, with background and perspective (and the occasional pointed editorial comment). Such additions are usually enclosed in brackets. However, since some extended accounts of the meetings reveal significant things--and character--better than I could by commenting, there will probably still be a fair amount of semi-transcript. (Sigh.)
My thanks to the readers who have found the blog, and to the ones who from time to time tell me that they value it. You have encouraged me when the tedious work of keyboarding has made me wonder why I am doing this. Then you have reminded me, and I am grateful.
Trustees' decisions are in the official minutes, available on request from the Mantua Township Fiscal Officer, Jodi Thompson, at 330-274-8443. The Township charges 10 cents per page. FAX, 330-274-8447. E-mail, fiscalofficer@mantuatownshipohio.gov. The minutes are also posted on the website after they have been approved. That means that there is usually a two-week lag between a given meeting and the minutes being available to read on the website.
Since meetings are the first and third Thursdays of the month, there is a three-week wait during months with five Thursdays.
Other items of interest or the writer's opinions will be included from time to time, clearly identified.
This is not a forum or chat room, but a source of information, so it is closed to outside input.
During the time I have been doing the blog, the posts have expanded to become very detailed accounts of the meetings. Doing that is time consuming, to say the least, and I am going to try to return to the public comment focus, with background and perspective (and the occasional pointed editorial comment). Such additions are usually enclosed in brackets. However, since some extended accounts of the meetings reveal significant things--and character--better than I could by commenting, there will probably still be a fair amount of semi-transcript. (Sigh.)
My thanks to the readers who have found the blog, and to the ones who from time to time tell me that they value it. You have encouraged me when the tedious work of keyboarding has made me wonder why I am doing this. Then you have reminded me, and I am grateful.
Principles
Two ideas guide and support me:
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
______Attributed to Edmund Burke
GOOD PREVAILS.
Those ideas are also the reason I have been doing the blog since late February 2011.
I have discovered that a transcript is almost impossible to do and that verbatim accounts are usually not absolutely necessary. When in doubt, I check against a recording.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
______Attributed to Edmund Burke
GOOD PREVAILS.
Those ideas are also the reason I have been doing the blog since late February 2011.
I have discovered that a transcript is almost impossible to do and that verbatim accounts are usually not absolutely necessary. When in doubt, I check against a recording.
