The people who attended the potluck on August 19 at the school building had a number of comments and suggestions. Before that, Linda Ehlert, Terri Vechery, and Lynn Harvey gave a brief history of the original 1977 restoration society, how its existence was rediscovered, how the charter was renewed, and where we are now with our activities.
Here are comments from the people who came to the event:
One suggestion was to have a contest that would involve a fund raising element. [We need to investigate that a bit further; it sounds intriguing.]
Lynn Harvey thought that the north/middle room on the main floor, entered through the original front doors, could be a community room or an all purpose room.
Since most of the people who came are either retired or approaching retirement (or thoughtful enough to realize that eventually they will be retired, there was some discussion about whether there would be a charge for the use of the room, if it were developed for community uses.
Lynn was of the opinion that there should not be a fee, after a lifetime of paying taxes and being good citizens. That is her opinion, not an official policy.
The question of a library was raised. Someone who came to the Open House a year ago had mentioned the same thing--that one room somehow be used for a library. The Portage County Library, like all libraries, is on a really tight budget, with no wiggle room to support a branch here. However, we could set up a library ourselves, considering how many of us have more books than we will read again.
An addition to the library was, possibly, a computer lab focused more on adults than on younger people.
Arts and crafts could possibly be done in the basement, since those walls are masonry, and for those uses, a bare floor makes a lot more sense than carpet.
Another idea for a community room was intergenerational activities, which various studies have discovered benefit everyone who participates in them--and that the giving and receiving flow both ways, not just from older to younger.
Accessibility was mentioned, with the easy accessibility of the annex/gym a definite plus for senior citizens and for community use, with use for seniors at very modest charge.
Although there is a lot of interest among the Township seniors in getting together, those people do not come to meetings to say anything to the trustees. If they are not at the meetings, then what we say here counts for little. When people as a group show up at a meeting and talk about what they want, there is a better chance of attention being paid to their ideas.
Someone praised Pat Magyarics' letter to the editor of the Record Courier.
More on fund raising: At the Open House, ringing the bell was popular. Someone had one of the organizers of the event help their grandson ring the bell so they could take a picture. That could be turned into part of a fund raising event.
There was comment about the number of kids who do not have a place to go after school until they can be picked up and taken home. Someone mentioned a kids' activity in Streetsboro of reading to a dog, which is very helpful to kids. It matters for kids to feel that an adult cares what happens to them.
Someone mentioned bingo, and someone else volunteered to call the numbers if bingo were organized.
There was also a comment that having kids there would require a supervisor. Vic Grimm explained that the Trustees had originally tried to keep education as part of the use of the building. It took until 2006 to get drawings and the first Portage County Building Department the Township worked with wanted to declare a complete change of use for the building. [By way of explanation, a change of use when a building has changed ownership is long, difficult, and expensive.] The building had been used for 90 years as a school--why not keep some of it as education?
Someone asked when the need for volunteer labor was anticipated. [We had sign-up sheets for various kinds of volunteer help to work on the rooms in order to keep costs down as much as possible. As everyone is aware, the economy is tight, and state funding for Townships and local governments is being systematically reduced. Whatever we can do to help ourselves will be important.]
There was a question about when we might begin working as volunteers. When volunteers do work in the building, it would have to be under the supervision of a qualified person. The time frame was still indeterminate, but possibly fairly soon.
One other issue was discussed relating to access, and that had to do with reaching the main floor. When I [Carole Pollard] began researching various things about the school, I talked to Dave Summers, whose firm did a 2004 site assessment of the building. I asked him about a chair lift rather than an elevator. He said that code requires that stair landings not be obstructed, and that the landings in the school building are too small to accommodate the mechanism of the stair lift and still meet code. One of my friends, an engineer, worked for a major elevator company for a number of years, and he gave me a quick primer on elevator construction both from scratch and as retrofits. The retrofits involve a lot, starting with a structural analysis of the building. There is a church in Twinsburg that had an exterior chair lift/stair lift which went around a corner on the way up to the front door, and the amount of lift was only about eight feet. That mechanism had cost about $30,000, required regular certtified maintenance, was used infrequently, and was not (if I remember correctly) particularly reliable. They were trying to get rid of it. The Hilltop Christian Church has an internal lift or elevator of some kind which I have not seen. As I understand it, churches are not always subject to the same requirements as other buildings, so what works there--which is not only a church, but a frame building, not masonry/concrete--may not be feasible in our building.
First, we need to get into and begin using the building, which is fully accessible in part, and usable in that part for us and on the first floor for the Township.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Wrap-up, Mantua Township Trustees, August 16, 2012
Foreword: There is a little bit at the beginning of this post concluding what is being done on Pioneer Trail and Loris Drive to prepare for the paving to be done there. Then there was discussion about the purchasing policy that John Festa has proposed, and finally public comment.
Roads: Vic: The surveying is pretty much done on Loris. One culvert and one catch basin are on Township property, and the other is on private property. The Aurora line has been marked and Loris has been marked. The surveyor put a center line down Pioneer Trail. On John Edwards our right of way ends about 10 feet up the drive. All of this information was passed on to the telephone crew. A couple of pins at the cemetery need to be dealt with.
Jason asked about a diagram of the cul de sac at Loris; Vic commented on the service we have always gotten from this surveyor; Jason asked about any other old business.
John Festa: When will we address the purchase policy?
Jason: John, I have looked through it again. Let's see if I can find it. Here are my thoughts--take them for what they might be worth.
On the purchase policy right now we do not have a 100% written policy, and I think we need something to hold ourselves accountable with the residents and show them. In going through this again, in my opinion it is too detailed. I think it almost -- it is very restrictive and can/could really delay purchasing things.
Vic: Those are my thoughts exactly, Jason. To John Festa: Did you receive this [an evaluation of our purchasing practices] from Marie? What I saw of this policy is that it is set up for department heads. In the Township the three trustees and Brian Tayerle do most of the purchasing and sometimes a zoning member needs some supplies. All of this goes through a purchase order from Marie. This came from one of the audits we had. We have a good handle on it now as long as you handle your purchase orders. I don't think we need to go through that [proposed] process--we are not big enough.
We have always called around and gotten quotes on things. This B & C Communication -- It will be tough to find someone to quote against them because they have most of Ohio tied up. On a purchase requisition, I would have to write out a narrative about why we might want to do something different.[?]
All these years we have followed the Ohio Revised Code.
Marie: You have summed it up. This [John Festa's document] still refers to an office administrator.
John Festa. I don't believe the administrator is still in there unless that was an oversight.
Marie: We issue purchase orders through the UAN [Blogger: I do not know what this abbreviation is for.] and keep control of costs that way. There is no manual assignment of numbers. We have a credit card policy.
John Festa: I have been asking for a policy for months.
Jason: To be very honest . . .
John Festa: If that is how everyone feels, let's take a vote on it.
Jason: I think we do need a policy. Why not wrap all the pieces into one policy. To be honest, I would like to see how other townships our size do it. How do Shalersville and Hiram do this? How does the Fire Department do it? Do they have a detailed policy?
I am no expert on this--it is my third year, but what I am reading from this and [having] purchased things in the past, I feel as if I would have to read through the whole policy each time because I would be afraid of missing something.
I do not want to delay our purchasing because of this policy. If we have a policy, we should follow it. Going from nothing to 5 or 6 pages long, I think this is overkill for what we need.
John Festa: So does someone want to make a motion to kill this or do we want to revisit it? Will we come up with something to show people that we care about how we spend money and care about transparency?
[Blogger: The history of the intention to paint the Township Hall and some recent events in doing work on the roads put this comment into perspective. The dots will get connected.]
Jason: The first page lists things we owe the public. He reviewed the points quickly. I think when the policy gets to procedures, I . . . think. . .it needs to be shortened a lot and simplified.
Vic: I removed what does not apply and have it down to 2-1/2 pages. I think it's too big for the size of our township.
John Festa: Did you shorten it enough . . . . Do you have copies?
Vic: I can get it to you. We can table it now and look at it at a later date.
John Festa: I would rather just end it now.
Jason: We haven't voted for it. I don't think we need to vote to end it. To Vic: I would like to see what you have.
John Festa: I will ask for one more meeting.
That's all I have.
Public Comment came next and began at 8:45.
Cal Brant, Wayne Road: Cal asked about the painting project: Are we going to be making repairs before or after the painting is done?
Jason: A special meeting has been set up and it is to discuss that(on Monday August 27 at 6:30 p.m.).
Cal: Has insulation been added to the walls?
Vic: I think in 1981 it was blown into the walls.
Marie: It has been blown in since I have been here.
Cal: Is the paint going to be brushed or sprayed?
John Festa: Primer with a brush. On every quote I got, it says "applied."
Cal: The only question I have on spot priming is compatibility with what is already there. If the whole building is primed, then we will have a better bond. Can I make a bid?
John Festa bridled at that.
Jason: You could request the bids and come in at $1.00 less and get the bid. [Blogger: The estimate from Scott's Paint, which John Festa originally favored and which the trustees had --I believe--voted to accept was not the lowest figure.]
Cal: I would take this to an engineering firm and address the ventilation problem. If we do not solve that problem, the paint will not stick.
Dave Pollard, S.R. 82: I have one solid lead on a trailer to move the trailers at the school. To Vic: I have some nice poplar that I thought was too pretty to use, but you can have it if you can use it.
On the purchasing policy: The simpler the better. We see government all the time micromanaging.
Matt Parsons: nothing.
Mark Hall, Loris Drive: The purchasingt policy: Keep it simple. Document what you do today. Then you can work towards the future.
I would ask that maybe the road crew do a better job of putting out the "Road Work Ahead" signs.
Where are we concerning the school? You talked with one gentleman about historic character, and you had talked about sampling materials to see what we are dealing with.
Jason: I am still generating a list of things that need to be done--in detail. As far as simplifying things, I was going to make that part of the bid. That would hold the contractors accountable for any areas they disrupt.
Mark asked Vic and John Festa for their comments.
Vic: Processing on leads [?]: Have pricing per room. A consultant came out and reviewed it and I am getting some other pricing for sampling.
Terri Vechery: No comment.
Lynn Harvey, Mennonite Road: Concerning the school: When you do go ahead and get a plan, we wanted to let you know the Restoration Society is prepared to offer volunteers and know the nature of the task, so we can have the right people and skills. We will have plenty.
Barb Herbold, Sheldon Road: As Amy Janca and I were watering, we looked at the west edge of the cemetery. Is that area ever mowed?
There was some question about exactly which area it was.
Vic: We normally have not. There is a gas line that runs back there.
Carole Pollard, Allyu Road: I did not have a chance to say this last time: It was good to hear the results of the walkthrough of the school. It sounded positive, when so much of the comment about the school has been grim for some time.
I had a chance to go through the Chagrin Falls Middle School recently. It was also built in 1914, but ours is better--easier to move around in and less confusing.
I also put in a plug for the potluck scheduled for the weekend and said that anyone was welcome to join who accepted our purpose of renovating and preserving the Township buildings, starting with the school.
Dottie Summerlin, Olde Taylor Woods: Dottie asked about Remington Point: Are you going to look at it or start next week?
Jason: We do not have the funds to do this right, which means tearing up the whole road. We can not afford that. Jason then described what has been done in places where repairs have held up well. Todd Lamb is going to make a 300-foot repair, which will cost us about $10,000. Jason described some other repairs.
Dottie: How much is 300 feet? Jason gave a guesstimate of how to visualize that length.
Amy Janca: Will your e-mail addresses remain the same or will there be a change? [This had to do with the addresses on the official website.]
Jason: If you look at the agendas, I would/did not put them on there, but they are on the website. That is what they will be.
Roads: Vic: The surveying is pretty much done on Loris. One culvert and one catch basin are on Township property, and the other is on private property. The Aurora line has been marked and Loris has been marked. The surveyor put a center line down Pioneer Trail. On John Edwards our right of way ends about 10 feet up the drive. All of this information was passed on to the telephone crew. A couple of pins at the cemetery need to be dealt with.
Jason asked about a diagram of the cul de sac at Loris; Vic commented on the service we have always gotten from this surveyor; Jason asked about any other old business.
John Festa: When will we address the purchase policy?
Jason: John, I have looked through it again. Let's see if I can find it. Here are my thoughts--take them for what they might be worth.
On the purchase policy right now we do not have a 100% written policy, and I think we need something to hold ourselves accountable with the residents and show them. In going through this again, in my opinion it is too detailed. I think it almost -- it is very restrictive and can/could really delay purchasing things.
Vic: Those are my thoughts exactly, Jason. To John Festa: Did you receive this [an evaluation of our purchasing practices] from Marie? What I saw of this policy is that it is set up for department heads. In the Township the three trustees and Brian Tayerle do most of the purchasing and sometimes a zoning member needs some supplies. All of this goes through a purchase order from Marie. This came from one of the audits we had. We have a good handle on it now as long as you handle your purchase orders. I don't think we need to go through that [proposed] process--we are not big enough.
We have always called around and gotten quotes on things. This B & C Communication -- It will be tough to find someone to quote against them because they have most of Ohio tied up. On a purchase requisition, I would have to write out a narrative about why we might want to do something different.[?]
All these years we have followed the Ohio Revised Code.
Marie: You have summed it up. This [John Festa's document] still refers to an office administrator.
John Festa. I don't believe the administrator is still in there unless that was an oversight.
Marie: We issue purchase orders through the UAN [Blogger: I do not know what this abbreviation is for.] and keep control of costs that way. There is no manual assignment of numbers. We have a credit card policy.
John Festa: I have been asking for a policy for months.
Jason: To be very honest . . .
John Festa: If that is how everyone feels, let's take a vote on it.
Jason: I think we do need a policy. Why not wrap all the pieces into one policy. To be honest, I would like to see how other townships our size do it. How do Shalersville and Hiram do this? How does the Fire Department do it? Do they have a detailed policy?
I am no expert on this--it is my third year, but what I am reading from this and [having] purchased things in the past, I feel as if I would have to read through the whole policy each time because I would be afraid of missing something.
I do not want to delay our purchasing because of this policy. If we have a policy, we should follow it. Going from nothing to 5 or 6 pages long, I think this is overkill for what we need.
John Festa: So does someone want to make a motion to kill this or do we want to revisit it? Will we come up with something to show people that we care about how we spend money and care about transparency?
[Blogger: The history of the intention to paint the Township Hall and some recent events in doing work on the roads put this comment into perspective. The dots will get connected.]
Jason: The first page lists things we owe the public. He reviewed the points quickly. I think when the policy gets to procedures, I . . . think. . .it needs to be shortened a lot and simplified.
Vic: I removed what does not apply and have it down to 2-1/2 pages. I think it's too big for the size of our township.
John Festa: Did you shorten it enough . . . . Do you have copies?
Vic: I can get it to you. We can table it now and look at it at a later date.
John Festa: I would rather just end it now.
Jason: We haven't voted for it. I don't think we need to vote to end it. To Vic: I would like to see what you have.
John Festa: I will ask for one more meeting.
That's all I have.
Public Comment came next and began at 8:45.
Cal Brant, Wayne Road: Cal asked about the painting project: Are we going to be making repairs before or after the painting is done?
Jason: A special meeting has been set up and it is to discuss that(on Monday August 27 at 6:30 p.m.).
Cal: Has insulation been added to the walls?
Vic: I think in 1981 it was blown into the walls.
Marie: It has been blown in since I have been here.
Cal: Is the paint going to be brushed or sprayed?
John Festa: Primer with a brush. On every quote I got, it says "applied."
Cal: The only question I have on spot priming is compatibility with what is already there. If the whole building is primed, then we will have a better bond. Can I make a bid?
John Festa bridled at that.
Jason: You could request the bids and come in at $1.00 less and get the bid. [Blogger: The estimate from Scott's Paint, which John Festa originally favored and which the trustees had --I believe--voted to accept was not the lowest figure.]
Cal: I would take this to an engineering firm and address the ventilation problem. If we do not solve that problem, the paint will not stick.
Dave Pollard, S.R. 82: I have one solid lead on a trailer to move the trailers at the school. To Vic: I have some nice poplar that I thought was too pretty to use, but you can have it if you can use it.
On the purchasing policy: The simpler the better. We see government all the time micromanaging.
Matt Parsons: nothing.
Mark Hall, Loris Drive: The purchasingt policy: Keep it simple. Document what you do today. Then you can work towards the future.
I would ask that maybe the road crew do a better job of putting out the "Road Work Ahead" signs.
Where are we concerning the school? You talked with one gentleman about historic character, and you had talked about sampling materials to see what we are dealing with.
Jason: I am still generating a list of things that need to be done--in detail. As far as simplifying things, I was going to make that part of the bid. That would hold the contractors accountable for any areas they disrupt.
Mark asked Vic and John Festa for their comments.
Vic: Processing on leads [?]: Have pricing per room. A consultant came out and reviewed it and I am getting some other pricing for sampling.
Terri Vechery: No comment.
Lynn Harvey, Mennonite Road: Concerning the school: When you do go ahead and get a plan, we wanted to let you know the Restoration Society is prepared to offer volunteers and know the nature of the task, so we can have the right people and skills. We will have plenty.
Barb Herbold, Sheldon Road: As Amy Janca and I were watering, we looked at the west edge of the cemetery. Is that area ever mowed?
There was some question about exactly which area it was.
Vic: We normally have not. There is a gas line that runs back there.
Carole Pollard, Allyu Road: I did not have a chance to say this last time: It was good to hear the results of the walkthrough of the school. It sounded positive, when so much of the comment about the school has been grim for some time.
I had a chance to go through the Chagrin Falls Middle School recently. It was also built in 1914, but ours is better--easier to move around in and less confusing.
I also put in a plug for the potluck scheduled for the weekend and said that anyone was welcome to join who accepted our purpose of renovating and preserving the Township buildings, starting with the school.
Dottie Summerlin, Olde Taylor Woods: Dottie asked about Remington Point: Are you going to look at it or start next week?
Jason: We do not have the funds to do this right, which means tearing up the whole road. We can not afford that. Jason then described what has been done in places where repairs have held up well. Todd Lamb is going to make a 300-foot repair, which will cost us about $10,000. Jason described some other repairs.
Dottie: How much is 300 feet? Jason gave a guesstimate of how to visualize that length.
Amy Janca: Will your e-mail addresses remain the same or will there be a change? [This had to do with the addresses on the official website.]
Jason: If you look at the agendas, I would/did not put them on there, but they are on the website. That is what they will be.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Mantua Township Trustees, August 16, 2012
Just as a reminder: The Township now has its OFFICIAL website, mantuatownship.gov. I believe that Jason and Brent Simon are continuing to work on it, but it is basically up and running.
Also: If there is a discrepancy between anything in the blog and the minutes of a meeting, the minutes are the official record. Furthermore, if anyone has questions about something, the Fiscal Officer may be the best source of clarification. Both money and information flow through every fiscal office, which doesn't leave much else that's factual.
Jason called the August 16 meeting to order at 7:32 p.m.
After the minutes were reviewed and accepted, Marie gave the fiscal officer's report. See the minutes for those details.
Also, the Township has received its second revenue from property taxes. Our real estate bills show how much of our real estate taxes the township gets--and it is not much of a percentage.
The Township annually passes a resolution to acknowledge the County Budget Commission's certifying the rates to us.
Jason made a motion to accept all of that; Vic seconded. Unanimous.
Marie: (To John Festa): You asked me at the last meeting for several items--the 2012 inventory, which I am passing down to Jason and Vic, and the list of all bills paid on the school from 2004-2010.
Vic: Marie, I have one question on the budget. I know you are concerned about our repairs and maintenance equipment fund because we are getting really low.
Marie: We have $2700 left for the year.
Vic: Workers' Comp--are we finished with that?
The answer was yes, and a motion was made, seconded, and passed to transfer $1288 from that fund into repairs and maintenance.
Marie also asked for a motion to transfer $5700 into the medical fund. After some discussion, the decision was to deal with that at the next meeting.
Zoning, nothing to report.
Zoning Commission, Lynn Harvey: We are still working on the adjustments necessary to the language on home based businesses. We have had a second session with a couple of BZA members. We have not set a hearing, but we wanted Regional Planning to look at it. If it looks good, we will schedule a hearing.
Also--I noticed discussion about the BZA secretary. Lynn asked if it has been advertised [recently]. It has not.
Lynn asked if there was going to be a pay increase. She said she saw it mentioned but was not sure it was decided.
John Festa: I have a couple of people in mind to see if I can persuade someone.
Lynn: I wondered if, since you are bumping the pay up for that, the zoning secretary does the same work, and I think both should be paid the same.
Jason talked about how difficult it has been trying to get someone to fill the position.
Lynn: You probably will need to offer more money and if you do, I think it would be fair to offer the same for both secretaries.
Nothing to report from the BZA.
Road Department, Vic: They have been berming and cutting back a lot of brush on Pioneer Trail. I can go into more detail in my statement.
John Festa: Nothing except that the road department is doing a great job.
LCA: Nothing much except that Amy Janca and Barb Herbold are still watering.
Garden Club: Terri Vechery reported that they had their picnic in the park the night before, and the next meeting will be in the Township Hall, to do weeding and trimming around the building.
The Chamber of Commerce does not meet in July and August.
New Business: Jason reported on Bowen Road having been chip and sealed, and also that the county had striped Infirmary after chip and sealing it, and the whole thing looks very nice. Jason had contacted a couple of companies about striping Bowen and wanted the other trustees' opinions because of the school and traffic and safety issues, and it looks very nice.
Vic: Normally I would not want to stripe chip and seal, but with the school there it might be a good idea. Normally we have reflectors there.
John Festa: Thought it looked very nice.
Jason also discussed e-mail addresses for the Township website and gave each person a sheet with the personal addresses and the passwords. Other handouts were on e-mail management, which came from one of the meetings in Columbus. Jason recommended talking with Brent Simon if there were questions.
John Festa: Does everyone have an e-mail address whether they want to use it or not?
Jason: Only those who have requested one. I set John Vechery up with one. Vic said he was not ready for one at this time.
John Festa had nothing for new business.
Vic: We had a special meeting Monday night [at the work site on Pioneer Trail], and on Wednesday, James from Portage County Soil and Water came and surveyed the site to define the area where we can work. Vic and James discussed various technical things, including an overflow pipe. James reviewed everything and was OK with everything so far and wants the silt dam kept in place. I talked with Dan, Mike, and Brian about it.
On Monday Brian said everything was ready to go. Then I called Windstream and the next call I got was from the contractor. The area needs to be flagged in order to be worked on correctly. They were hoping to be setting poles today. [Blogger: This refers to getting the telephone lines up out of the ground and onto poles, which should make it possible to put the culvert and drainage a little deeper.]
John Festa: I think they are all set and cable has been run.
Vic: We are really on target. I had Mike Kodash sign the agreement.
Jason: I saw the line was run--do we need to get a final OK from Windstream so we can dig?
Vic: I will get that. I don't know about the splicing--who does that. Everything is on schedule for pipe and concrete. All we have to do is coordinate it so our guys are not tied up while Mike Kodash is working. Vic asked about cement stabilization.
Jason: I saw that they had filled in several patches. I don't know how many samples they took.
John Festa: Are you going to keep us up to speed on this? Vic responded in some detail. He also commented that each piece of pipe is 4.3 thousand pounds, for a total of 43,000 pounds of pipe.
Jason mentioned the concern of a resident about his basement flooding.
Vic: James said we are going to gain a foot [of depth]. I have talked to that resident about the flooding, and he said that even last year he had not had a problem in his basement. I can get together with the resident.
John Festa, to Vic: Are you going to coordinate Mike Kodash and our guys?
Vic responded in some detail, but the short answer was yes.
Vic also mentioned an issue that comes up every year about changing from narrow band radio in the vehicles to broad band. For the township to stay in compliance, new radios will have to be purchased. The licensing is $125.00, and the whole bill will come to about $1365. This is necessary because we come under public safety. If there is a disaster, the first thing that will be taken out is cell towers. So we have to keep radios so we can communicate with each other. Ham operators are heavily involved with this also. We have until January 2013, and Vic believes the Fire Department is already in compliance.
Under old business, ditching is going on on Pioneer Trail and Loris. We hope to wrap that up in the next few weeks and also the cement stabilization. Bowen Road and School Lane have been chip and sealed, and Remington Point is scheduled with Todd Lamb for next week.
[Blogger: This is where the first post actually occurred in the meeting. One more post should wrap up this meeting.]
Also: If there is a discrepancy between anything in the blog and the minutes of a meeting, the minutes are the official record. Furthermore, if anyone has questions about something, the Fiscal Officer may be the best source of clarification. Both money and information flow through every fiscal office, which doesn't leave much else that's factual.
Jason called the August 16 meeting to order at 7:32 p.m.
After the minutes were reviewed and accepted, Marie gave the fiscal officer's report. See the minutes for those details.
Also, the Township has received its second revenue from property taxes. Our real estate bills show how much of our real estate taxes the township gets--and it is not much of a percentage.
The Township annually passes a resolution to acknowledge the County Budget Commission's certifying the rates to us.
Jason made a motion to accept all of that; Vic seconded. Unanimous.
Marie: (To John Festa): You asked me at the last meeting for several items--the 2012 inventory, which I am passing down to Jason and Vic, and the list of all bills paid on the school from 2004-2010.
Vic: Marie, I have one question on the budget. I know you are concerned about our repairs and maintenance equipment fund because we are getting really low.
Marie: We have $2700 left for the year.
Vic: Workers' Comp--are we finished with that?
The answer was yes, and a motion was made, seconded, and passed to transfer $1288 from that fund into repairs and maintenance.
Marie also asked for a motion to transfer $5700 into the medical fund. After some discussion, the decision was to deal with that at the next meeting.
Zoning, nothing to report.
Zoning Commission, Lynn Harvey: We are still working on the adjustments necessary to the language on home based businesses. We have had a second session with a couple of BZA members. We have not set a hearing, but we wanted Regional Planning to look at it. If it looks good, we will schedule a hearing.
Also--I noticed discussion about the BZA secretary. Lynn asked if it has been advertised [recently]. It has not.
Lynn asked if there was going to be a pay increase. She said she saw it mentioned but was not sure it was decided.
John Festa: I have a couple of people in mind to see if I can persuade someone.
Lynn: I wondered if, since you are bumping the pay up for that, the zoning secretary does the same work, and I think both should be paid the same.
Jason talked about how difficult it has been trying to get someone to fill the position.
Lynn: You probably will need to offer more money and if you do, I think it would be fair to offer the same for both secretaries.
Nothing to report from the BZA.
Road Department, Vic: They have been berming and cutting back a lot of brush on Pioneer Trail. I can go into more detail in my statement.
John Festa: Nothing except that the road department is doing a great job.
LCA: Nothing much except that Amy Janca and Barb Herbold are still watering.
Garden Club: Terri Vechery reported that they had their picnic in the park the night before, and the next meeting will be in the Township Hall, to do weeding and trimming around the building.
The Chamber of Commerce does not meet in July and August.
New Business: Jason reported on Bowen Road having been chip and sealed, and also that the county had striped Infirmary after chip and sealing it, and the whole thing looks very nice. Jason had contacted a couple of companies about striping Bowen and wanted the other trustees' opinions because of the school and traffic and safety issues, and it looks very nice.
Vic: Normally I would not want to stripe chip and seal, but with the school there it might be a good idea. Normally we have reflectors there.
John Festa: Thought it looked very nice.
Jason also discussed e-mail addresses for the Township website and gave each person a sheet with the personal addresses and the passwords. Other handouts were on e-mail management, which came from one of the meetings in Columbus. Jason recommended talking with Brent Simon if there were questions.
John Festa: Does everyone have an e-mail address whether they want to use it or not?
Jason: Only those who have requested one. I set John Vechery up with one. Vic said he was not ready for one at this time.
John Festa had nothing for new business.
Vic: We had a special meeting Monday night [at the work site on Pioneer Trail], and on Wednesday, James from Portage County Soil and Water came and surveyed the site to define the area where we can work. Vic and James discussed various technical things, including an overflow pipe. James reviewed everything and was OK with everything so far and wants the silt dam kept in place. I talked with Dan, Mike, and Brian about it.
On Monday Brian said everything was ready to go. Then I called Windstream and the next call I got was from the contractor. The area needs to be flagged in order to be worked on correctly. They were hoping to be setting poles today. [Blogger: This refers to getting the telephone lines up out of the ground and onto poles, which should make it possible to put the culvert and drainage a little deeper.]
John Festa: I think they are all set and cable has been run.
Vic: We are really on target. I had Mike Kodash sign the agreement.
Jason: I saw the line was run--do we need to get a final OK from Windstream so we can dig?
Vic: I will get that. I don't know about the splicing--who does that. Everything is on schedule for pipe and concrete. All we have to do is coordinate it so our guys are not tied up while Mike Kodash is working. Vic asked about cement stabilization.
Jason: I saw that they had filled in several patches. I don't know how many samples they took.
John Festa: Are you going to keep us up to speed on this? Vic responded in some detail. He also commented that each piece of pipe is 4.3 thousand pounds, for a total of 43,000 pounds of pipe.
Jason mentioned the concern of a resident about his basement flooding.
Vic: James said we are going to gain a foot [of depth]. I have talked to that resident about the flooding, and he said that even last year he had not had a problem in his basement. I can get together with the resident.
John Festa, to Vic: Are you going to coordinate Mike Kodash and our guys?
Vic responded in some detail, but the short answer was yes.
Vic also mentioned an issue that comes up every year about changing from narrow band radio in the vehicles to broad band. For the township to stay in compliance, new radios will have to be purchased. The licensing is $125.00, and the whole bill will come to about $1365. This is necessary because we come under public safety. If there is a disaster, the first thing that will be taken out is cell towers. So we have to keep radios so we can communicate with each other. Ham operators are heavily involved with this also. We have until January 2013, and Vic believes the Fire Department is already in compliance.
Under old business, ditching is going on on Pioneer Trail and Loris. We hope to wrap that up in the next few weeks and also the cement stabilization. Bowen Road and School Lane have been chip and sealed, and Remington Point is scheduled with Todd Lamb for next week.
[Blogger: This is where the first post actually occurred in the meeting. One more post should wrap up this meeting.]
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Mantua Township Trustees 8-16-2012: Painting Town Hall
Blogger Foreword: To me, the post that follows was worth lifting out of its chronological position in the meeting and putting first.
The topic--painting the Township Hall--was also important enough so that the trustees scheduled a special meeting to discuss it on Monday, August 27, at 6:30 p.m. in the Township Hall.
Linda Ehlert had a place on the agenda for this issue, and Jason turned the floor over to her.
Linda Ehlert: Speaking on behalf of the Mantua Restoration Society, we have some good news. The Society has negotiated with Sherwin Williams Company , and they have agreed to donate 15 gallons (at $60.00 per gallon) for the Township Hall and will donate the rest at 50% off. They would honor the same agreement for the Mantua Center School if we do not use it for the Town Hall.
All we need to do is notify the manager.
In the body of the letter, I had gone to a Sherwin Williams store in Ravenna to try to get historic green paint from the shutters. The manager thought from his perspective we would need about 20 gallons for one coat. He did not think primer was needed as long as the surface was clean, dry, and dull. He said that a ventialtion issue had to be addressed as soon as possible. He said that even $100 per gallon paint would peel if the ventilation was not addressed.
The total savings is $1650. Hopefully, that will help you in preserving the buildings.
I understand that Larry Leitzow made a kind offer to let people paint the shutters in his shop. My husband and I and any other volunteers we can get will be happy to paint at his place.
[Blogger: At this point, Larry turned to look at the people sitting along the wall with him and snickered.]
John Festa: While I was waiting for Scott's Painting to get back to me, I talked with All Pro Painting, and they have offered to revisit their price.
When they compared the two coats--primer and finish--they were higher than Scott's. They agreed that they did not think the whole building needs a coat of primer. They think that if they did the work and applied the primer where necessary and used Sherwin Williams Super paint, and we talked about doing all the wood and the cupola for $9500 plus $750 for the cupola [?]. Perhaps we do not need to spend $14,000. We can apply those savings to repair the cupola and address the ventilation issue. Maybe we could do a whole-building fan as Vic suggested and we would have the extra money to do the repairs.
Vic thought he could find good poplar and use Cal Brant's router table to make the repair piece.
John Festa: I may have passed judgment too quickly on All Pro. They have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and are rated superior three years in a row on Angie's List. Scott's does not have a BBB rating.
We have not signed a contract with Scott's. He has provided us a certificate of insurance that does not include Worker's Compensation.
Jason asked about whether All Pro had actually reconsidered their bid.
John Festa said no, they had just talked further about it. [Blogger: But if they had rethought what they were going to do, isn't that reconsidering?]
Jason: We do have a resolution to have Scott's Painting power wash and paint. We can rescind the motion. In Speaking with this other company, does that include materials and labor?
John Festa: That includes everything Scott's was going to do, and for a little extra they were going to do portions of the wood. That would save about $4500 to clean the wood.
Jason: The information from Linda Ehlert about gallons of paint free and 50% off, have you talked with them?
Linda thought the offer would apply to any other paint.
John Festa: The free paint is a generous offer that I would like to take advantage of.
Jason: Linda, you had mentioned to me about a plaque or sign?
Linda: I told them that we could put up a sign indicating that Sherwin Williams had donated some paint.
John Festa: I want to make sure we do not take our focus off getting this building painted.
Linda: That is why I mentioned the cash account, which makes it very simple.
John Festa: I don't know the outcome, but I do not want to take our focus off this building. How does the board feel about pursuing the $9500 price, and with the savings finish the repairs?
Jason: If we do that, we should likely rescind resolution 196-12.
John Festa: So moved.
Vic: I will get together with Cal Brant and research the fan and ventilation.
John Festa: They made an offer to put the equipment up there when they come out for the power washing. I would like to set a date to do that.
Jason: There ar e three Thursdays in August. I am not sure how long it will take to finish what you are looking for.
Blogger: This is where the special meeting was arranged, for 6:30p.m. at the Township Hall on Monday August 27. The purpose is to discuss the painting and repairs to the exterior of the Township Hall.
Vic asked Marie if she would be able to make it and then said that we only need 24 hours of notice.
Marie will send it to the paper and it will be posted outside.
The topic--painting the Township Hall--was also important enough so that the trustees scheduled a special meeting to discuss it on Monday, August 27, at 6:30 p.m. in the Township Hall.
Linda Ehlert had a place on the agenda for this issue, and Jason turned the floor over to her.
Linda Ehlert: Speaking on behalf of the Mantua Restoration Society, we have some good news. The Society has negotiated with Sherwin Williams Company , and they have agreed to donate 15 gallons (at $60.00 per gallon) for the Township Hall and will donate the rest at 50% off. They would honor the same agreement for the Mantua Center School if we do not use it for the Town Hall.
All we need to do is notify the manager.
In the body of the letter, I had gone to a Sherwin Williams store in Ravenna to try to get historic green paint from the shutters. The manager thought from his perspective we would need about 20 gallons for one coat. He did not think primer was needed as long as the surface was clean, dry, and dull. He said that a ventialtion issue had to be addressed as soon as possible. He said that even $100 per gallon paint would peel if the ventilation was not addressed.
The total savings is $1650. Hopefully, that will help you in preserving the buildings.
I understand that Larry Leitzow made a kind offer to let people paint the shutters in his shop. My husband and I and any other volunteers we can get will be happy to paint at his place.
[Blogger: At this point, Larry turned to look at the people sitting along the wall with him and snickered.]
John Festa: While I was waiting for Scott's Painting to get back to me, I talked with All Pro Painting, and they have offered to revisit their price.
When they compared the two coats--primer and finish--they were higher than Scott's. They agreed that they did not think the whole building needs a coat of primer. They think that if they did the work and applied the primer where necessary and used Sherwin Williams Super paint, and we talked about doing all the wood and the cupola for $9500 plus $750 for the cupola [?]. Perhaps we do not need to spend $14,000. We can apply those savings to repair the cupola and address the ventilation issue. Maybe we could do a whole-building fan as Vic suggested and we would have the extra money to do the repairs.
Vic thought he could find good poplar and use Cal Brant's router table to make the repair piece.
John Festa: I may have passed judgment too quickly on All Pro. They have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and are rated superior three years in a row on Angie's List. Scott's does not have a BBB rating.
We have not signed a contract with Scott's. He has provided us a certificate of insurance that does not include Worker's Compensation.
Jason asked about whether All Pro had actually reconsidered their bid.
John Festa said no, they had just talked further about it. [Blogger: But if they had rethought what they were going to do, isn't that reconsidering?]
Jason: We do have a resolution to have Scott's Painting power wash and paint. We can rescind the motion. In Speaking with this other company, does that include materials and labor?
John Festa: That includes everything Scott's was going to do, and for a little extra they were going to do portions of the wood. That would save about $4500 to clean the wood.
Jason: The information from Linda Ehlert about gallons of paint free and 50% off, have you talked with them?
Linda thought the offer would apply to any other paint.
John Festa: The free paint is a generous offer that I would like to take advantage of.
Jason: Linda, you had mentioned to me about a plaque or sign?
Linda: I told them that we could put up a sign indicating that Sherwin Williams had donated some paint.
John Festa: I want to make sure we do not take our focus off getting this building painted.
Linda: That is why I mentioned the cash account, which makes it very simple.
John Festa: I don't know the outcome, but I do not want to take our focus off this building. How does the board feel about pursuing the $9500 price, and with the savings finish the repairs?
Jason: If we do that, we should likely rescind resolution 196-12.
John Festa: So moved.
Vic: I will get together with Cal Brant and research the fan and ventilation.
John Festa: They made an offer to put the equipment up there when they come out for the power washing. I would like to set a date to do that.
Jason: There ar e three Thursdays in August. I am not sure how long it will take to finish what you are looking for.
Blogger: This is where the special meeting was arranged, for 6:30p.m. at the Township Hall on Monday August 27. The purpose is to discuss the painting and repairs to the exterior of the Township Hall.
Vic asked Marie if she would be able to make it and then said that we only need 24 hours of notice.
Marie will send it to the paper and it will be posted outside.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Mantua Township Trustees, Public Comment, 8-2-12
Public Comment began at 10:00 p.m.
Amy Janca, Winchell Road: On behalf of Barb Herbold, thank you for getting the monument repaired. She will be happy and not pester him [John Vechery?] any more.
With regards to the public hearing, the itemized detailed plant, etc., were you planning on having this presented to the township public?
Jason: I think the thing to do is put together a detailed itemized list. Then that needs to be sent out for a bid.
Amy: But there will not be any actual public meeting about improvements.
Jason: We kind of have talked about it at the trustees meeting. That will be public record.
Amy: I was curious if that was going to be ? .
Carol Srajer, Winchell Road: I would like to say, Hurray! Rt. 44 is open. The last 10 days have been interesting on my road--buses and trailers with 4 things being towed behind them. I am not really sure why the buses or some of the semis were coming through there. Even McDonald's semis. When they say the road is closed, why did they come clear down to Winchell?
Mark Hall, Loris: Marie, what was [were] the encumbrances and balances you read off earlier?
I noticed that the township website is up. Who approved the release?
Jason: At the last meeting I announced it was up. I don't know we have to approve rules.
Mark: So no one gave permission to release it.
Jason: We approved that Brent Simon would do it.
Mark: I assumed it was looked at before it was released.
In the legal document [the purchase policy], who is the township administrator? It is in your policy--there is a reference to a township administrator.
Jason: I will have to look at that.
Mark: The other thing--this purchase policy. Marie, if you institute that policy, will we be subjected to auditing on this?
Marie: Yes. That will add another layer of paper work
Mark: Another item: The BZA secretary--what are you paying her to do?
Jason: Take minutes and journalize them.
Mark: What else?
Jason: I am not an expert.
Mark: I suggest that you make halist of the duties. To save costs, you might go back to the BZA
itself. You may want to come up with a job description so everyone knows what the township is really paying for.
Jason: [I] kind of leave that up to the board for the responsibilities of the secretary. Maybe that would draw some interest if people knew actually what they were getting paid for.
Mark: On the purchasing policy, I think you should include something about blankets and purchase orders. There was no mention of those.
Lastly, I was disappointed with the meeting [at the school] being cancelled. Vic was there, and I thought it would have been appropriate for the other trustees to meet with people.
Jason: I don't see the reason to be there.
Mark: What was required to get the ad in? You had time to get the notice in that it was cancelled. It would have taken no longer [to post an ad.]
Carole Pollard, Allyn Road: Jason, accountability and responsibility are performance based, not just words on a piece of paper.
Jason stopped me there, saying that my remarks were essentially like Mark's and therefore did not have to be restated..
I pressed on for another sentence or two: This is an issue that has come up before, and it continues.
[Note: Since this was an extemporaneous remark, what is posted here is the substance of it, but not necessarily verbatim.]
Matt Parsons: Our current policy, or lack of it, for purchasing. How does it work? Who is allowed to place an order?
Vic: We have part of a policy in place. We call around to get the best price and then get a purchase order after making sure the money is there.
Matt: Who is allowed to place the order? Are you the only ones sho can place an order?
Vic: It depends on the item. We have blankets and super blankets for things like salt. We keep track of it to see how it goes down. Then Marie issues blankets for asphalt so we don't have to approve everything three times.
Matt: Do you have to be an employee of the township?
Vic: Yes. Always make sure the money is there. We do not have many credit cards--Marie keeps control of the credit card(s) We have 1-1/2 pages put in place and approved by the auditors and it has worked well for 20 years for Marie and for the clerk before her.
Matt: What I was getting at is that as a resident I can not call and get a purchase order. [Blogger:?]
Vic gave examples of the process.
Larry Leitzow, S.R. 82: I just have one thing--if these shutters need work, I will volunteer my shop to anyone who wants to come and work there. I have two big work benches.
Dawn Pechman (gave neither name nor address): Dawn began by apologizing for not being there for the reading of the minutes. Were there corrections and what was it?
Vic repeated the corrections.
Dawn: It was not mentioned in the minutes that there was a special meeting called for the 21st. Special meetings should be scheduled 72 hours in advance. [Blogger: I believe that this is an inaccurate statement. When that meeting was scheduled, Vic asked if Jason was going to advertise it because there was time.] Dawn went into some detail about the meeting not being correct and therefore that Jason was not subject to criticism for it. [Blogger: At least, that is my perspective on the jist of Dawn's remarks here.]
Dawn, continuing: What is a Force Account?
Vic explained that several times, and Dawn kept asking about it. Then she asked what the width of Pioneer Trail is.
Vic: 18 feet.
Dawn: What is the right of way? You said you are going to scrape out stuff.
Vic said that that work would go 10 feet out.
Dawn: Is that all?
Vic: Beyond that we are on private property.
Dawn, continuing, now to John Festa: Did you get any information about how the contracting was done when you became a trustee?
John: I thought people would come in and give a list of their equipment and how much they charged per hour.
Dawn: But you were not aware of the contract [procedure]. Were you aware that this was renewed every March?
Jason made an effort to move on at this point.
Dawn: Not another dollare should be spent on the Center Scxhool. There ought to be a way for people to suggest[?] express[?] this.
[Blogger: I am not sure whether Dawn just stopped here or whether Jason managed to stop her.]
[Note: John Festa attended almost every trustees meeting for at least four and perhaps five years before the 2010 election, and every March the township opens bids from contractors who own and operate equipment that the township does not use often enough to warrant owning it. Customarily, all bids are accepted because any one of those pieces of equipment could be needed at any time during the year. The contractors state in their bids that they will hold the prices for the year.]
Dave Pollard, S.R. 82: One thing about tulip [wood], which this building is almost certainly constructed of, is that it will weather without rotting. Our barn was not the only one never painted. It weathered down to about 1/4" thick but was still solid. The fears about leaving the building unpainted are, I think, a little overblown because tulip has the quality of weathering without rotting. So it seems as if the best thing would be to get the repairs done first, which is what every technically informed person has recommended.
Continuing: The trailers--John Festa, you said you were in favor of having the road crew tear down the trailers. For two trailers almost two times the size of the building in the cemetery, it would cost about $5,000 to tear them down What would be saved by not having the road crew do that would pay for the pipe [on Pioneer Trail].
John Festa: I never had any intention of demolishing the trailers--I know the mess they would make.
[Blogger: More than one person remembers hearing John Festa say exactly that--to have the road crew handle the demolition. I have not had a chance to check on this thoroughly.]
Dave, continuing: Also, before I forget. If I get one of those [trailers] I will prepare the ground and seed it with grass seed that the trustees would provide.
Dave had also mentioned how long it took for the road crew to demolish the shed in the cemetery.
Jason: The guys spent no more than two hours tearing down the building in the cemetery. They they came back and cleaned it up. They spent no more than about six hours. [Blogger: OK, that was a total of 6 or 8 hours. Times three. There is also some question about the length of time actually involved.]
Public comment ended here with a motion to pay the bills. Your blogger stopped taking notes at this point.
Amy Janca, Winchell Road: On behalf of Barb Herbold, thank you for getting the monument repaired. She will be happy and not pester him [John Vechery?] any more.
With regards to the public hearing, the itemized detailed plant, etc., were you planning on having this presented to the township public?
Jason: I think the thing to do is put together a detailed itemized list. Then that needs to be sent out for a bid.
Amy: But there will not be any actual public meeting about improvements.
Jason: We kind of have talked about it at the trustees meeting. That will be public record.
Amy: I was curious if that was going to be ? .
Carol Srajer, Winchell Road: I would like to say, Hurray! Rt. 44 is open. The last 10 days have been interesting on my road--buses and trailers with 4 things being towed behind them. I am not really sure why the buses or some of the semis were coming through there. Even McDonald's semis. When they say the road is closed, why did they come clear down to Winchell?
Mark Hall, Loris: Marie, what was [were] the encumbrances and balances you read off earlier?
I noticed that the township website is up. Who approved the release?
Jason: At the last meeting I announced it was up. I don't know we have to approve rules.
Mark: So no one gave permission to release it.
Jason: We approved that Brent Simon would do it.
Mark: I assumed it was looked at before it was released.
In the legal document [the purchase policy], who is the township administrator? It is in your policy--there is a reference to a township administrator.
Jason: I will have to look at that.
Mark: The other thing--this purchase policy. Marie, if you institute that policy, will we be subjected to auditing on this?
Marie: Yes. That will add another layer of paper work
Mark: Another item: The BZA secretary--what are you paying her to do?
Jason: Take minutes and journalize them.
Mark: What else?
Jason: I am not an expert.
Mark: I suggest that you make halist of the duties. To save costs, you might go back to the BZA
itself. You may want to come up with a job description so everyone knows what the township is really paying for.
Jason: [I] kind of leave that up to the board for the responsibilities of the secretary. Maybe that would draw some interest if people knew actually what they were getting paid for.
Mark: On the purchasing policy, I think you should include something about blankets and purchase orders. There was no mention of those.
Lastly, I was disappointed with the meeting [at the school] being cancelled. Vic was there, and I thought it would have been appropriate for the other trustees to meet with people.
Jason: I don't see the reason to be there.
Mark: What was required to get the ad in? You had time to get the notice in that it was cancelled. It would have taken no longer [to post an ad.]
Carole Pollard, Allyn Road: Jason, accountability and responsibility are performance based, not just words on a piece of paper.
Jason stopped me there, saying that my remarks were essentially like Mark's and therefore did not have to be restated..
I pressed on for another sentence or two: This is an issue that has come up before, and it continues.
[Note: Since this was an extemporaneous remark, what is posted here is the substance of it, but not necessarily verbatim.]
Matt Parsons: Our current policy, or lack of it, for purchasing. How does it work? Who is allowed to place an order?
Vic: We have part of a policy in place. We call around to get the best price and then get a purchase order after making sure the money is there.
Matt: Who is allowed to place the order? Are you the only ones sho can place an order?
Vic: It depends on the item. We have blankets and super blankets for things like salt. We keep track of it to see how it goes down. Then Marie issues blankets for asphalt so we don't have to approve everything three times.
Matt: Do you have to be an employee of the township?
Vic: Yes. Always make sure the money is there. We do not have many credit cards--Marie keeps control of the credit card(s) We have 1-1/2 pages put in place and approved by the auditors and it has worked well for 20 years for Marie and for the clerk before her.
Matt: What I was getting at is that as a resident I can not call and get a purchase order. [Blogger:?]
Vic gave examples of the process.
Larry Leitzow, S.R. 82: I just have one thing--if these shutters need work, I will volunteer my shop to anyone who wants to come and work there. I have two big work benches.
Dawn Pechman (gave neither name nor address): Dawn began by apologizing for not being there for the reading of the minutes. Were there corrections and what was it?
Vic repeated the corrections.
Dawn: It was not mentioned in the minutes that there was a special meeting called for the 21st. Special meetings should be scheduled 72 hours in advance. [Blogger: I believe that this is an inaccurate statement. When that meeting was scheduled, Vic asked if Jason was going to advertise it because there was time.] Dawn went into some detail about the meeting not being correct and therefore that Jason was not subject to criticism for it. [Blogger: At least, that is my perspective on the jist of Dawn's remarks here.]
Dawn, continuing: What is a Force Account?
Vic explained that several times, and Dawn kept asking about it. Then she asked what the width of Pioneer Trail is.
Vic: 18 feet.
Dawn: What is the right of way? You said you are going to scrape out stuff.
Vic said that that work would go 10 feet out.
Dawn: Is that all?
Vic: Beyond that we are on private property.
Dawn, continuing, now to John Festa: Did you get any information about how the contracting was done when you became a trustee?
John: I thought people would come in and give a list of their equipment and how much they charged per hour.
Dawn: But you were not aware of the contract [procedure]. Were you aware that this was renewed every March?
Jason made an effort to move on at this point.
Dawn: Not another dollare should be spent on the Center Scxhool. There ought to be a way for people to suggest[?] express[?] this.
[Blogger: I am not sure whether Dawn just stopped here or whether Jason managed to stop her.]
[Note: John Festa attended almost every trustees meeting for at least four and perhaps five years before the 2010 election, and every March the township opens bids from contractors who own and operate equipment that the township does not use often enough to warrant owning it. Customarily, all bids are accepted because any one of those pieces of equipment could be needed at any time during the year. The contractors state in their bids that they will hold the prices for the year.]
Dave Pollard, S.R. 82: One thing about tulip [wood], which this building is almost certainly constructed of, is that it will weather without rotting. Our barn was not the only one never painted. It weathered down to about 1/4" thick but was still solid. The fears about leaving the building unpainted are, I think, a little overblown because tulip has the quality of weathering without rotting. So it seems as if the best thing would be to get the repairs done first, which is what every technically informed person has recommended.
Continuing: The trailers--John Festa, you said you were in favor of having the road crew tear down the trailers. For two trailers almost two times the size of the building in the cemetery, it would cost about $5,000 to tear them down What would be saved by not having the road crew do that would pay for the pipe [on Pioneer Trail].
John Festa: I never had any intention of demolishing the trailers--I know the mess they would make.
[Blogger: More than one person remembers hearing John Festa say exactly that--to have the road crew handle the demolition. I have not had a chance to check on this thoroughly.]
Dave, continuing: Also, before I forget. If I get one of those [trailers] I will prepare the ground and seed it with grass seed that the trustees would provide.
Dave had also mentioned how long it took for the road crew to demolish the shed in the cemetery.
Jason: The guys spent no more than two hours tearing down the building in the cemetery. They they came back and cleaned it up. They spent no more than about six hours. [Blogger: OK, that was a total of 6 or 8 hours. Times three. There is also some question about the length of time actually involved.]
Public comment ended here with a motion to pay the bills. Your blogger stopped taking notes at this point.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Mantua Township Trustees 8-2-12: Painting Township Hall
At 9:00 p.m., give or take, the discussion shifted to the topic of the Township Hall.
John Festa: I had another meeting with Scott's Painting and also the representative for Sherwin Williams. The SW rep said that a lot of the reason why the boards are wet, especially when the paint peels off, is that moisture and dew are getting in there. The wood is not too bad under there.
The rep thought that instead of Duration paint, he is recommending what they call Resilience, which is good for the moisture. [Blogger's emphasis. This was a major point of discussion in a previous meeting, when Cal Brant advised against using the Duration paint because of unsatisfactory performance and recommended getting a recommendation from an engineer. John Festa held out in that discussion for the Duration paint because the contractor offered a 10-year warranty.]
The price of the two types of paint is the same. The SW rep said with the Duration paint, the Duration has a pulling action on the older paint.
John Festa, continuing: We are into August and not many people are going to begin work now. We need to make a decision about this. Scott's has a good reputation and has worked on historic buildings in Aurora and Twinsburg. They are going to completely clean the building with orbital power washers and remove and put two coats on the shutters. They will prime the whole building. Price: Still $14,495.
Vic: Anything about repairing the cupola?
John Festa: That's on there.
Vic: I am talking about actually repairing the boards.
John Festa: We can probably repair that after it's painted. There is not going to be that much more after it's painted. The problem we are running into now is that we are running out of time. Of course there are other things that need to be done.
Jason: To Marie: What figure do you have for improvement of sites for the Town Hall?
Marie: $4200.
Jason: We need to make that figure grow. What about this figure--Professional and Technical Services, Town Hall.
Marie: I am trying to think if that is the trash contract with the church. I don't think so.
Jason: We are going to have to make a whole lot of transfers to make that figure higher.
To Vic: What are we talking about?
Vic: We need to do something on the inside if we are going to put a hinged door on the bottom half of the shutter so we can control some of this. You are going to have some extensive work in that cupola, and you need to repair some of the shutters on the outside of the building. I think you should do that.
Jason: I think it makes sense to repair before you paint. We need to move money, repair, and paint.
John Festa: Eight boards on the front of the cupola [need to be repaired.] I am sure if I asked Scott he would take them to his shop. I know there are repairs that need to be done.
Jason: Can any of the road crew do any of this?
John Festa: It does need to be done, but if we don't get it painted, the season is going to be lost. There is a lot of bare wood out there now.
Marie: We have $2100 in savings from spring cleanup.
That amount was moved. There was further discussion about moving money from one place to another, including something from the school account. [Blogger: I will get this information from Marie.]
Vic asked if they had looked at any other quotes. Also, you mentioned something about a warranty but I do not see it anywhere in writing.
John Festa: You're right, Vic. It isn't here.
Jason: Can we begin?
Vic: Where are we going to get the money if we run into a lot of repairs?
Jason asked about whether repairs would come to more than $900.
Vic: It could run to more than that. You can run into a couple of thousand dollars, depending on who you get to do it. You can do a lot from the inside up there. The other question is whether we want to address this humidity problem with some kind of ventilation. We have not had any rain but the wood is wet. The humidity problem is going to keep causing problems.
Jason: Do we have enough here to make a decision?
Vic: You don't know what shape the shutters are in before you take them off. I do not want to spend $14,000 to get paint on it and there is still the other work that needs to be done and we haven't fixed our problem.
John Festa: But we still need paint on it.
Jason: Can we look at getting vents into this building?
John Festa: It is an old building. [To summarize: John Festa does not think the problem is the humidity.]
Vic: But that is what is [pushing] the paint off the building. They might have to do it in stages.
John Festa: I have been trying to push it along for months and now we are against the wall.
Jason asked about the time frame.
JF: The contractor is about 3 weeks out. If he has to wait another week or two, he can not take the job.
Jason: We have issues with the cupola, shutters, and ventilation and the paint on the outside. Where do we want to start? You guys have been working on this--where do we start?
Vic: I think we need to start with the cupola and see what we need and then the shutters and then some type of ventilation. Everyone is telling me that the vents on the outside are not big enough.
Jason: Who would you get to do the work?
Vic: I have been trying to think who and I don't know. I would have had somebody look at it already if I knew who we could use. I can ask Cal Brant if he would look at it--he might recommend someone.
John Festa: I think we can do that in the winter time when there is nothing going on out there. You can not paint ? too long. If you want to delay it and take the chance that it will get worse that is your opinion and your vote, and I will respect it and get moving on it. I have been asking for this for many months and we keep dragging along and nothing gets done.
Jason: If they do the painting I want to make sure that we solve these ventilation issues. It will be drier in the winter time. I don't think there will be major issues then; I think we need to agree that we are going to take care of these things right after we do the painting.
There was discussion about the lack of a warranty in the bid/contract.
Jason: I make a motion to move those funds, to bring the Improvement of Sites, Town Hall, up to $15,000.
Vic: Is that just for painting, or to get some of the work done?
Jason: It is to get some money into the account. We are not going to spend it all at one time. [Was that the question Vic asked?]
Vic: I am afraid that we will paint the cupola and then repair it and then we will have to repaint it.
On the vote to move the funds, Vic abstained and Jason and John voted in favor.
John Festa made a motion to have Scott's Painting power wash, prime, and paint the Township Hall, remove the shutters and apply two coats for not more than $14,495, contingent upon his providing a warranty.
Jason: I would like to make it also contingent that we begin work on ventilation. Then Jason seconded John Festa's motion.
Vote: John Festa yes; Jason yes; Vic no.
Vic added: I want to base that on that we should be doing some other work before we paint. He said that twice.
Blogger: The next post will wrap up this meeting. That section included discussion and action to avoid being taxed by the State for something we have not done but only considered, consideration of how to get a secretary for the Board of Zoning Appeals, and public comment.
John Festa: I had another meeting with Scott's Painting and also the representative for Sherwin Williams. The SW rep said that a lot of the reason why the boards are wet, especially when the paint peels off, is that moisture and dew are getting in there. The wood is not too bad under there.
The rep thought that instead of Duration paint, he is recommending what they call Resilience, which is good for the moisture. [Blogger's emphasis. This was a major point of discussion in a previous meeting, when Cal Brant advised against using the Duration paint because of unsatisfactory performance and recommended getting a recommendation from an engineer. John Festa held out in that discussion for the Duration paint because the contractor offered a 10-year warranty.]
The price of the two types of paint is the same. The SW rep said with the Duration paint, the Duration has a pulling action on the older paint.
John Festa, continuing: We are into August and not many people are going to begin work now. We need to make a decision about this. Scott's has a good reputation and has worked on historic buildings in Aurora and Twinsburg. They are going to completely clean the building with orbital power washers and remove and put two coats on the shutters. They will prime the whole building. Price: Still $14,495.
Vic: Anything about repairing the cupola?
John Festa: That's on there.
Vic: I am talking about actually repairing the boards.
John Festa: We can probably repair that after it's painted. There is not going to be that much more after it's painted. The problem we are running into now is that we are running out of time. Of course there are other things that need to be done.
Jason: To Marie: What figure do you have for improvement of sites for the Town Hall?
Marie: $4200.
Jason: We need to make that figure grow. What about this figure--Professional and Technical Services, Town Hall.
Marie: I am trying to think if that is the trash contract with the church. I don't think so.
Jason: We are going to have to make a whole lot of transfers to make that figure higher.
To Vic: What are we talking about?
Vic: We need to do something on the inside if we are going to put a hinged door on the bottom half of the shutter so we can control some of this. You are going to have some extensive work in that cupola, and you need to repair some of the shutters on the outside of the building. I think you should do that.
Jason: I think it makes sense to repair before you paint. We need to move money, repair, and paint.
John Festa: Eight boards on the front of the cupola [need to be repaired.] I am sure if I asked Scott he would take them to his shop. I know there are repairs that need to be done.
Jason: Can any of the road crew do any of this?
John Festa: It does need to be done, but if we don't get it painted, the season is going to be lost. There is a lot of bare wood out there now.
Marie: We have $2100 in savings from spring cleanup.
That amount was moved. There was further discussion about moving money from one place to another, including something from the school account. [Blogger: I will get this information from Marie.]
Vic asked if they had looked at any other quotes. Also, you mentioned something about a warranty but I do not see it anywhere in writing.
John Festa: You're right, Vic. It isn't here.
Jason: Can we begin?
Vic: Where are we going to get the money if we run into a lot of repairs?
Jason asked about whether repairs would come to more than $900.
Vic: It could run to more than that. You can run into a couple of thousand dollars, depending on who you get to do it. You can do a lot from the inside up there. The other question is whether we want to address this humidity problem with some kind of ventilation. We have not had any rain but the wood is wet. The humidity problem is going to keep causing problems.
Jason: Do we have enough here to make a decision?
Vic: You don't know what shape the shutters are in before you take them off. I do not want to spend $14,000 to get paint on it and there is still the other work that needs to be done and we haven't fixed our problem.
John Festa: But we still need paint on it.
Jason: Can we look at getting vents into this building?
John Festa: It is an old building. [To summarize: John Festa does not think the problem is the humidity.]
Vic: But that is what is [pushing] the paint off the building. They might have to do it in stages.
John Festa: I have been trying to push it along for months and now we are against the wall.
Jason asked about the time frame.
JF: The contractor is about 3 weeks out. If he has to wait another week or two, he can not take the job.
Jason: We have issues with the cupola, shutters, and ventilation and the paint on the outside. Where do we want to start? You guys have been working on this--where do we start?
Vic: I think we need to start with the cupola and see what we need and then the shutters and then some type of ventilation. Everyone is telling me that the vents on the outside are not big enough.
Jason: Who would you get to do the work?
Vic: I have been trying to think who and I don't know. I would have had somebody look at it already if I knew who we could use. I can ask Cal Brant if he would look at it--he might recommend someone.
John Festa: I think we can do that in the winter time when there is nothing going on out there. You can not paint ? too long. If you want to delay it and take the chance that it will get worse that is your opinion and your vote, and I will respect it and get moving on it. I have been asking for this for many months and we keep dragging along and nothing gets done.
Jason: If they do the painting I want to make sure that we solve these ventilation issues. It will be drier in the winter time. I don't think there will be major issues then; I think we need to agree that we are going to take care of these things right after we do the painting.
There was discussion about the lack of a warranty in the bid/contract.
Jason: I make a motion to move those funds, to bring the Improvement of Sites, Town Hall, up to $15,000.
Vic: Is that just for painting, or to get some of the work done?
Jason: It is to get some money into the account. We are not going to spend it all at one time. [Was that the question Vic asked?]
Vic: I am afraid that we will paint the cupola and then repair it and then we will have to repaint it.
On the vote to move the funds, Vic abstained and Jason and John voted in favor.
John Festa made a motion to have Scott's Painting power wash, prime, and paint the Township Hall, remove the shutters and apply two coats for not more than $14,495, contingent upon his providing a warranty.
Jason: I would like to make it also contingent that we begin work on ventilation. Then Jason seconded John Festa's motion.
Vote: John Festa yes; Jason yes; Vic no.
Vic added: I want to base that on that we should be doing some other work before we paint. He said that twice.
Blogger: The next post will wrap up this meeting. That section included discussion and action to avoid being taxed by the State for something we have not done but only considered, consideration of how to get a secretary for the Board of Zoning Appeals, and public comment.
Mantua Township Trustees 8-2-12; roads and then onward
Strausser Construction was mentioned to do microsurfacing on some of the roads.
Vic: This is a lot of money for 0.4 miles to try. Is this microsurfacing or chip and seal?
Jason: I got an e-mail saying they are no longer accepting any new projects. They can fit us in because they have a couple of things in Geauga County. I know this is a lot but I think we ought to try something new. Munson Township has tried it and says the only drawback is that existing cracks will work back through. But the life of the process is longer than for chip and seal.
Jason made a motion to contract with Strausser Construction for several roads for a total of 1.4 miles contingent upon the county engineer's verification of the amounts and area to be covered.
Cost: $68,687.90.
Vic seemed to agree with the trial of the microsurfacing or whatever the 300-foot increments were [mentioned in the previous post].
Jason made a motion to contract with Todd Lamb to put down 3" of asphalt--a 1-inch leveling course and 2" of surface for 300 feet, plus or minus, price not to exceed $11,000. Todd Lamb estimates no more than one day for the work.
Vic seconded the motion, and the vote was unanimous.
Jason also asked Vic about getting a quote for School Lane.
Vic: The first time they quoted a single chip and seal and included some of the parking lot, but I wanted a double coat on School Lane only. Apparently they are going to begin Monday on Bowen Road. The contractor thinks that the double chip with the same emulsion as Bowen Road would be OK. The contractor says that most of his work is coming in under what has been quoted.
Jason: I know this needs to be done, but it only serves a couple of houses.
Vic: That road has not been chip and sealed since 1992. When we vote there the poll workers park on that road.
Jason: If we didn't do it this year, we would have to add it to the list for next year.
Vic:I wanted to see about it because they are so close on Bowen Road.
Jason: Made a motion to add School Lane to the County's chip and seal for an amount not to exceed $4300. [I think] Vic seconded; vote, unanimous.
Jason: I think we have spent enough money this evening.
John Festa, New Business: John had a couple of questions for Marie. First, about the contracts [that John had requested at an earlier meeting. I believe Marie gave them to him.] John, continuing: Is this all we have? Do we have credit card contracts? [About insurance, I think]: Don't/Didn't they give you an insert?
Marie: Yes.
John Festa: I would think that would be a contract. He mentioned health insurance and thought that should be coming soon.
Marie: I gave you a copy of that.
John Festa: You gave me the renewal but not last year's contract. What about with the auditor--did we have a contract with them [sic] auditors?
Regarding OPEC: A service contract for uniforms? Lane Business Products. Lawn Matters. Website design. Can you check on that?
Marie: Surely.
John Festa: Did we ever get a copy of our annual inventory report?
Marie: I am still checking on that.
John Festa: Was that due in January?
Marie: I ran a copy of it and gave it to the guys and they put a whole lot of nuts and bolts on it. Normally the inventory has been manor equipment.
John Festa: As soon as you get that could you give that to me. I do not have files from anything other than this year. I would like to start putting a file together for myself. I want to start with the accounts for the school. I would like to get together a list of everything we have spent on the school and the account number.
Could you get me something[?] sourcing[?] from 2004-2010?
Marie: What about 2011?
JF: I have that. And anything else you can think of that would go along with that.
John Festa: I got some news on the truck. They agreed to pay us back $700 for the work. I would like to take that and I think we still need to do some work on the bed of the one truck and fix it before winter. I would like to have it done between now and winter. Vic, what are your thoughts?
Vic: That's fine.
John Festa: I contacted Thompson Trailer in Streetsboro and he is interested in looking at them [sic] trailers. He will be out this weekend.
To Dave Pollard: Did you have a chance to look at the one you wanted?
Dave: People are on vacation. I am looking for a trailer frame with running gear. I am still working on it.
John Festa: I wanted to make sure that you had a chance to work on it.
Dave: Based just on what it cost to demolish the little building at the cemetery, that took three days. I think it would be better for the taxpayers if we took a little longer to move them. I am still hoping to get one of them.
Vic: New business: I went to a workshop for roads [which was about evaluating the applications for funding projects ]. We started at 72 points and we were reduced to 48 points. Not one township had a project that was approved. It all went to villages and cities. There was a lot of discussion on that. A couple of days afterwards, Scott Miller asked if we wanted to apply for the Small Government [funding] on this. Mickey Marozzi (Portage Co. Engineer) will be the new chair for District 7, but the meetings will still be in Geauga County.
Continuing: We may have a good shot at something because of the sewer project. Maybe they should have looked at having those roads paved instead of having the township do it. It would be worth filling out the paperwork.
Solon Monument came and fixed a monument at the cemetery. I found another one that was about ready to fall down. They will repair that and reset it for $350.00. One more needs to be repaired. I don't know how we stand on money for the cemetery.
Vic is afraid that someone will lean on that stone and it will fall over, and someone will get hurt or more damage will be done.
Vic made a motion to have Solon Monument repair the one monument for $350. Jason seconded. Unanimous.
Vic: I got a new, commercial dehumidifier through Grainger for $350. The next step up is over $700. [Note: This is for the school; the unit will run continuously and dump into the drain. The previous unit had to be checked and emptied frequently.]
Continuing: I tried to find something that would work in the cupola [on the Township Hall.] I found a louvered pine door that we could cut down but doing that would cost almost as much as a new shutter. Each one is a little different up there. I researched the whole-attic fan. It would cost between $350-$500 depending on the size and type of switch. There is electricity in the attic.
Jason asked if there was anything else on the Township Hall.
Blogger: Jason's inquiry came about 9:00p.m. The next half hour was all about the Township Hall. That topic will be the next post.
Vic: This is a lot of money for 0.4 miles to try. Is this microsurfacing or chip and seal?
Jason: I got an e-mail saying they are no longer accepting any new projects. They can fit us in because they have a couple of things in Geauga County. I know this is a lot but I think we ought to try something new. Munson Township has tried it and says the only drawback is that existing cracks will work back through. But the life of the process is longer than for chip and seal.
Jason made a motion to contract with Strausser Construction for several roads for a total of 1.4 miles contingent upon the county engineer's verification of the amounts and area to be covered.
Cost: $68,687.90.
Vic seemed to agree with the trial of the microsurfacing or whatever the 300-foot increments were [mentioned in the previous post].
Jason made a motion to contract with Todd Lamb to put down 3" of asphalt--a 1-inch leveling course and 2" of surface for 300 feet, plus or minus, price not to exceed $11,000. Todd Lamb estimates no more than one day for the work.
Vic seconded the motion, and the vote was unanimous.
Jason also asked Vic about getting a quote for School Lane.
Vic: The first time they quoted a single chip and seal and included some of the parking lot, but I wanted a double coat on School Lane only. Apparently they are going to begin Monday on Bowen Road. The contractor thinks that the double chip with the same emulsion as Bowen Road would be OK. The contractor says that most of his work is coming in under what has been quoted.
Jason: I know this needs to be done, but it only serves a couple of houses.
Vic: That road has not been chip and sealed since 1992. When we vote there the poll workers park on that road.
Jason: If we didn't do it this year, we would have to add it to the list for next year.
Vic:I wanted to see about it because they are so close on Bowen Road.
Jason: Made a motion to add School Lane to the County's chip and seal for an amount not to exceed $4300. [I think] Vic seconded; vote, unanimous.
Jason: I think we have spent enough money this evening.
John Festa, New Business: John had a couple of questions for Marie. First, about the contracts [that John had requested at an earlier meeting. I believe Marie gave them to him.] John, continuing: Is this all we have? Do we have credit card contracts? [About insurance, I think]: Don't/Didn't they give you an insert?
Marie: Yes.
John Festa: I would think that would be a contract. He mentioned health insurance and thought that should be coming soon.
Marie: I gave you a copy of that.
John Festa: You gave me the renewal but not last year's contract. What about with the auditor--did we have a contract with them [sic] auditors?
Regarding OPEC: A service contract for uniforms? Lane Business Products. Lawn Matters. Website design. Can you check on that?
Marie: Surely.
John Festa: Did we ever get a copy of our annual inventory report?
Marie: I am still checking on that.
John Festa: Was that due in January?
Marie: I ran a copy of it and gave it to the guys and they put a whole lot of nuts and bolts on it. Normally the inventory has been manor equipment.
John Festa: As soon as you get that could you give that to me. I do not have files from anything other than this year. I would like to start putting a file together for myself. I want to start with the accounts for the school. I would like to get together a list of everything we have spent on the school and the account number.
Could you get me something[?] sourcing[?] from 2004-2010?
Marie: What about 2011?
JF: I have that. And anything else you can think of that would go along with that.
John Festa: I got some news on the truck. They agreed to pay us back $700 for the work. I would like to take that and I think we still need to do some work on the bed of the one truck and fix it before winter. I would like to have it done between now and winter. Vic, what are your thoughts?
Vic: That's fine.
John Festa: I contacted Thompson Trailer in Streetsboro and he is interested in looking at them [sic] trailers. He will be out this weekend.
To Dave Pollard: Did you have a chance to look at the one you wanted?
Dave: People are on vacation. I am looking for a trailer frame with running gear. I am still working on it.
John Festa: I wanted to make sure that you had a chance to work on it.
Dave: Based just on what it cost to demolish the little building at the cemetery, that took three days. I think it would be better for the taxpayers if we took a little longer to move them. I am still hoping to get one of them.
Vic: New business: I went to a workshop for roads [which was about evaluating the applications for funding projects ]. We started at 72 points and we were reduced to 48 points. Not one township had a project that was approved. It all went to villages and cities. There was a lot of discussion on that. A couple of days afterwards, Scott Miller asked if we wanted to apply for the Small Government [funding] on this. Mickey Marozzi (Portage Co. Engineer) will be the new chair for District 7, but the meetings will still be in Geauga County.
Continuing: We may have a good shot at something because of the sewer project. Maybe they should have looked at having those roads paved instead of having the township do it. It would be worth filling out the paperwork.
Solon Monument came and fixed a monument at the cemetery. I found another one that was about ready to fall down. They will repair that and reset it for $350.00. One more needs to be repaired. I don't know how we stand on money for the cemetery.
Vic is afraid that someone will lean on that stone and it will fall over, and someone will get hurt or more damage will be done.
Vic made a motion to have Solon Monument repair the one monument for $350. Jason seconded. Unanimous.
Vic: I got a new, commercial dehumidifier through Grainger for $350. The next step up is over $700. [Note: This is for the school; the unit will run continuously and dump into the drain. The previous unit had to be checked and emptied frequently.]
Continuing: I tried to find something that would work in the cupola [on the Township Hall.] I found a louvered pine door that we could cut down but doing that would cost almost as much as a new shutter. Each one is a little different up there. I researched the whole-attic fan. It would cost between $350-$500 depending on the size and type of switch. There is electricity in the attic.
Jason asked if there was anything else on the Township Hall.
Blogger: Jason's inquiry came about 9:00p.m. The next half hour was all about the Township Hall. That topic will be the next post.
Monday, August 6, 2012
August 2, 2012--Mantua Township Trustees, New Business
Foreword: This was a long meeting, which I will try to condense in various ways.
The meeting began with the usual fiscal officer's report, club and committee meeting reports, etc.
There was discussion about the insurance policy and the fact that we make relatively few claims for the size of the premiums we are paying. A reduction may be possible.
The first meeting in September will be held one day earlier, at the usual time, and Jason asked Marie to advertise it.
Discussion of the roads took a lot of time. Part of the work does not have to be bid out because of the cooperative agreement with the state. The total for that is $68,681.90.
Remington Point is a problem, what with both cracking and sinking. Really fixing it would require removing everything and starting over--far too expensive. But a surface coated area has been holding up reasonably well. Todd Lamb recommended doing about 300 feet at a time partly to see how it works and partly to manage cost. The first step, a leveling course and a top coat, would cost about $10,000 for 300 feet. There was some more discussion about materials and the role of the township's road crew on this.
Then there was chip and seal on Bowen Road, for an already approved total of $20,820, plus $4259 for School Lane because of its proximity to Bowen Road and the economy of having it done while the equipment is in the area. Total road expenses approved to this point at this meeting are between $82,000 and $83,000. Vic asked Marie about a purchase order, and she said that the asphalt would come out of Materials.
Jason did some figuring that came to about $73,000, and the next activity was to look at the budget and discuss funds and categories. Jason made a motion to transfer $16,000 from Improvement of Sites to Roads and Bridges.
Vic asked what that left for contractors/contracts on Pioneer Trail.
Marie: $20,000. She added that we have $7500 in license tax fees. Gravel and Materials came to just under $30,500.
Vic: If we go ahead and install the pipe, we will need some full strength mortar to do it, for about $1,000.
Marie asked the cost of the pipe.
Vic: $6,000 if we use the large pipe. This was put into a motion and passed after some backing and filling.
Marie: How much do you think we will need in contracts for the Pioneer Trail project?
Vic: For the whole thing with the pipe, about $15,000. The motion eventually passed. Jason thought it wouldnot take more than a day, and Vic said it could take three days.
John Festa questioned where the figures came from and what they were.
Vic reviewed the costs.
John Festa: Do we need the concrete pipe?
Vic: I think you would be well advised to do that because it has so little coverage.
Vic has talked with everyone about underground clearance and is waiting for Windstream to respond.
John Festa: So we will not need elliptical pipe.
Vic: Yes we will. The round pipe is 64". With elliptical pipe there is no "hub" on the pipe.
The elliptical pipe is only 58" tall.
John Festa: Can we put in two pipes.? It seems like a lot of money. Can we use plastic? You don't have to replace it either.
Vic: Yes, if you do not have enough ground cover it will flex and crack. The pipe is in 8 foot lengths, and we will need five lengths. That pipe costs $125 per foot delivered.. The 44" oval is $97.50/foot, but the 48" pipe increases the flow by about 30%. The one there now can't handle it. [Blogger: There look like conflicting numbers here about the size of the pipe. I think the larger figures above are for the outside dimensions of the pipe, while the 44" and 48" sizes refer to the inner dimension. I think.]
John Festa: Have we looked into the ditch on the other side of the road? Do we have to subcontract everything? I just think we can come up with a way to lessen the cost and give our guys [whom John F. says are just jumping up and down to get at this] a way to do the work.
Vic: We are already behind the 8-ball. John: I agree.
Vic: We need to order this pipe because there are other jobs.
Festa: I would like to figure out a way for our guys to do the work.
Jason: It needs to be corrected. I have lived there too long and seen it flood too many times. I would like to see our guys do it.
[Blogger: Someone towards the rear of the room said to rent it.]
Vic: That is what we do every year.
[Blogger: I believe Dan Cozzens made the next remark]: What about renting it and having our guys do it?
Vic: There is a learning curve.
Jason described how it could be done with our guys. If we have to contract laying the pipe, then we have to. Our guys can be working to haul dirt in or out. We don't have the equipment to do it, John. [Blogger: One of John Festa's campaign statements was that he had operated heavy equipment, I believe. If so, one might expect that he would be able to determine whether or not the Township had the right equipment to do this job.]
John Festa: I think they can do the work.
Vic: Every year we have done such projects we have hired people and our guys work with them. It is the same as working with Todd Lamb. He operates the equipment and then sometimes we have to call in Tony Head [?]. Every year we put this out in May. With our guys working together, we can do it in half the time this way that we can with our guys doing it all. There is no way the Winchell Road repair could have been done in the time it was with just our guys doing it.
John Festa: Can we get another bid? [Again, in campaign literature, I believe I remember that John Festa presented himself as knowledgeable regarding contracts.]
Vic: You have already accepted the bids.
John Festa: What about other bids? [Blogger: The whole bid process covers about 6 weeks, if done properly.]
Vic: They already know everyone else's bids.
Continuing: I wanted to change this pipe in 1998 and was outvoted. The pipe broke through the asphalt. The road had to be closed for a couple of weeks. I don't know what the issue is with not using contractors we accepted in May. We have no issue with Todd Lamb, but now we have an issue with Mike Kodash.
Festa: There are other people.
Vic: They had the chance to bid in May. Everyone had the opportunity to bid and we accepted them all.
Festa: I didn't know we had to bid on the pipe.
Vic: We are bidding on the equipment. We do this at the beginning of the year: What are the rental rates, and we want you [the contractors] to hold your prices for a year.
Continuing: We have to do something about this. You (to Jason) want to test for cement stabilization and that can be done while the road is shut for the pipe.
Jason: I am going to propose that we put the concrete pipe in. An amazing amount of water flows through there. I see both sides of this. [Jason laid out how our road crew can prepare the road.]
Vic: [We should use] 48" pipe if at all possible and drop to 42" if necessary. I want to get down there and dig around and locate the telephone cable Do you want our guys to go down there and locate it?
Jason: They should be able to do that. [Note: An issue in that area is an underground telephone cable, which affects how deep the culvert pipe can be set.]
John Festa: With your proposal, how much is this going to cost?
Vic: $6600-$6800, with tar, pipe, tar, ingots.
Jason: As far as setting the pipes--will it take longer than 1-1/2 days? What will Mike Kodash have on site?
Vic: He has to have the excavator here to get the pipe off the truck. Each length is 8600 pounds.
There was a motion on the floor, and Jason asked for a second. Vic seconded.
Vote: Festa, no; Jason, yes; Vic, yes.
Blogger: I don't know about you, but I have enjoyed about as much of this as I can stand for today. Stay tuned.
The meeting began with the usual fiscal officer's report, club and committee meeting reports, etc.
There was discussion about the insurance policy and the fact that we make relatively few claims for the size of the premiums we are paying. A reduction may be possible.
The first meeting in September will be held one day earlier, at the usual time, and Jason asked Marie to advertise it.
Discussion of the roads took a lot of time. Part of the work does not have to be bid out because of the cooperative agreement with the state. The total for that is $68,681.90.
Remington Point is a problem, what with both cracking and sinking. Really fixing it would require removing everything and starting over--far too expensive. But a surface coated area has been holding up reasonably well. Todd Lamb recommended doing about 300 feet at a time partly to see how it works and partly to manage cost. The first step, a leveling course and a top coat, would cost about $10,000 for 300 feet. There was some more discussion about materials and the role of the township's road crew on this.
Then there was chip and seal on Bowen Road, for an already approved total of $20,820, plus $4259 for School Lane because of its proximity to Bowen Road and the economy of having it done while the equipment is in the area. Total road expenses approved to this point at this meeting are between $82,000 and $83,000. Vic asked Marie about a purchase order, and she said that the asphalt would come out of Materials.
Jason did some figuring that came to about $73,000, and the next activity was to look at the budget and discuss funds and categories. Jason made a motion to transfer $16,000 from Improvement of Sites to Roads and Bridges.
Vic asked what that left for contractors/contracts on Pioneer Trail.
Marie: $20,000. She added that we have $7500 in license tax fees. Gravel and Materials came to just under $30,500.
Vic: If we go ahead and install the pipe, we will need some full strength mortar to do it, for about $1,000.
Marie asked the cost of the pipe.
Vic: $6,000 if we use the large pipe. This was put into a motion and passed after some backing and filling.
Marie: How much do you think we will need in contracts for the Pioneer Trail project?
Vic: For the whole thing with the pipe, about $15,000. The motion eventually passed. Jason thought it wouldnot take more than a day, and Vic said it could take three days.
John Festa questioned where the figures came from and what they were.
Vic reviewed the costs.
John Festa: Do we need the concrete pipe?
Vic: I think you would be well advised to do that because it has so little coverage.
Vic has talked with everyone about underground clearance and is waiting for Windstream to respond.
John Festa: So we will not need elliptical pipe.
Vic: Yes we will. The round pipe is 64". With elliptical pipe there is no "hub" on the pipe.
The elliptical pipe is only 58" tall.
John Festa: Can we put in two pipes.? It seems like a lot of money. Can we use plastic? You don't have to replace it either.
Vic: Yes, if you do not have enough ground cover it will flex and crack. The pipe is in 8 foot lengths, and we will need five lengths. That pipe costs $125 per foot delivered.. The 44" oval is $97.50/foot, but the 48" pipe increases the flow by about 30%. The one there now can't handle it. [Blogger: There look like conflicting numbers here about the size of the pipe. I think the larger figures above are for the outside dimensions of the pipe, while the 44" and 48" sizes refer to the inner dimension. I think.]
John Festa: Have we looked into the ditch on the other side of the road? Do we have to subcontract everything? I just think we can come up with a way to lessen the cost and give our guys [whom John F. says are just jumping up and down to get at this] a way to do the work.
Vic: We are already behind the 8-ball. John: I agree.
Vic: We need to order this pipe because there are other jobs.
Festa: I would like to figure out a way for our guys to do the work.
Jason: It needs to be corrected. I have lived there too long and seen it flood too many times. I would like to see our guys do it.
[Blogger: Someone towards the rear of the room said to rent it.]
Vic: That is what we do every year.
[Blogger: I believe Dan Cozzens made the next remark]: What about renting it and having our guys do it?
Vic: There is a learning curve.
Jason described how it could be done with our guys. If we have to contract laying the pipe, then we have to. Our guys can be working to haul dirt in or out. We don't have the equipment to do it, John. [Blogger: One of John Festa's campaign statements was that he had operated heavy equipment, I believe. If so, one might expect that he would be able to determine whether or not the Township had the right equipment to do this job.]
John Festa: I think they can do the work.
Vic: Every year we have done such projects we have hired people and our guys work with them. It is the same as working with Todd Lamb. He operates the equipment and then sometimes we have to call in Tony Head [?]. Every year we put this out in May. With our guys working together, we can do it in half the time this way that we can with our guys doing it all. There is no way the Winchell Road repair could have been done in the time it was with just our guys doing it.
John Festa: Can we get another bid? [Again, in campaign literature, I believe I remember that John Festa presented himself as knowledgeable regarding contracts.]
Vic: You have already accepted the bids.
John Festa: What about other bids? [Blogger: The whole bid process covers about 6 weeks, if done properly.]
Vic: They already know everyone else's bids.
Continuing: I wanted to change this pipe in 1998 and was outvoted. The pipe broke through the asphalt. The road had to be closed for a couple of weeks. I don't know what the issue is with not using contractors we accepted in May. We have no issue with Todd Lamb, but now we have an issue with Mike Kodash.
Festa: There are other people.
Vic: They had the chance to bid in May. Everyone had the opportunity to bid and we accepted them all.
Festa: I didn't know we had to bid on the pipe.
Vic: We are bidding on the equipment. We do this at the beginning of the year: What are the rental rates, and we want you [the contractors] to hold your prices for a year.
Continuing: We have to do something about this. You (to Jason) want to test for cement stabilization and that can be done while the road is shut for the pipe.
Jason: I am going to propose that we put the concrete pipe in. An amazing amount of water flows through there. I see both sides of this. [Jason laid out how our road crew can prepare the road.]
Vic: [We should use] 48" pipe if at all possible and drop to 42" if necessary. I want to get down there and dig around and locate the telephone cable Do you want our guys to go down there and locate it?
Jason: They should be able to do that. [Note: An issue in that area is an underground telephone cable, which affects how deep the culvert pipe can be set.]
John Festa: With your proposal, how much is this going to cost?
Vic: $6600-$6800, with tar, pipe, tar, ingots.
Jason: As far as setting the pipes--will it take longer than 1-1/2 days? What will Mike Kodash have on site?
Vic: He has to have the excavator here to get the pipe off the truck. Each length is 8600 pounds.
There was a motion on the floor, and Jason asked for a second. Vic seconded.
Vote: Festa, no; Jason, yes; Vic, yes.
Blogger: I don't know about you, but I have enjoyed about as much of this as I can stand for today. Stay tuned.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Cancelled School Walkthrough--Update, 8-2-12 Trustees
Foreword: The August 2 meeting was very lengthy. My intention is to condense and edit. The first editing is to present the followup on the walkthrough of the Center school building, rather than just getting to it chronologically.
Jason: The Center School: we had spoken about a meeting scheduled for July 21. I did not advertise properly for it and cancelled the meeting.
On the cancellation, I put a cancellation [notice] in both locations [the school and the Town Hall]. I said there would be a re-schedule. After that I spoke with Chris Meduri and[about] the past meeting [on July 2] and how it went. Chris Meduri said that if the trustees met with the contractor and did not deliberate, it would not be considered a public meeting.
Vic and Jason met with Littleton Kirkpatric, a historic preservation contractor.
Jason: He gave us information that was passed between contractor and trustee[s], and Chris Meduri's recommendation was to bring the information back to the public meeting.
There will be no rescheduling. I want to share some things that we spoke about. Without going into a lot of detail, we walked through the first floor and each of the old classrooms, conducting a visual examination. We had mentioned a wall being put up for records storage. Mr. Kirkpatrick recommended that all of the lighting be replaced because the present lighting is going to be phased out. Then put a full wall in on the west room.
Paint: Since there was some peeling paint, someone certified for lead paint would have to be on site or give people on site training. If someone was going in there and the EPA came in, there would be a significant fine.
He (Kirkpatrick) would not pull up the 9" floor tiles from the front hall,but would leave it as is but apply a surface compound.
I [Jason] asked him about cost, but he said it would require a detailed listing about what was going to be done and what kind of paint would be used. The paint on the window sills must be sanded off. Everything had to be specified in detail.
Jason, continuing: I mentioned volunteers and the thing there is that the number of people he controlled and put on a schedule. He would need, for example, 10 hours per day--two people for 5 hours each.
I have begun getting a detailed list together from Home Depot for lighting and carpeting and flooring and have carpet samples and tile samples.
The next thing the trustees need to do is to make a list and then bid it out to a contractor to do the work. We don't have a list finalized.
Vic: I have priced some lighting just so I/[we?] would know generally what we are looking at.
A salesman showed up and then he showed up today with a lighting contractor. He said that in many of the rooms we don't need that many lights.
One interesting thing with Littleton Kirkpatrick is that we could do it room by room, and he does not see a problem with that. The question about the asbestos was only the floor tile or what is holding it. He had a lot of knowledge and talked about lighting, which we have changed so far to T-8 in the basement and hallway because we knew the change was coming. It did take place on July 14, that certain light bulbs are not going to be manufactured any more.
He has a lot of knowledge about lead paint. We can use volunteers as long as things are set up right.
We looked into carpeting. Depending on the square footage, it can be installed for $35.00.
We need to look at what we want to do with the rooms. We can go from one to the next.
Littleton Kirkpatrick was very helpful. He is someone definitely to keep in contact with.
[Blogger: A note or two about the meetings held or intended to be held at the school. As I remember it, when the July 2 meeting was scheduled, it was described as a meeting--as required by Sunshine Laws--open to the public, but Jason said that there would be no public comment. I was surprised when he relaxed that restriction and allowed people to comment on July 2. The public did not pull their punches.
So Jason's comment about that meeting and "how it went" is rather puzzling. As chairman, he can set the procedure, and it would have been perfectly reasonable, since an outside consultant had been called in, to cancel public comment for that session.
I was at both the July 2 meeting and in the group that had come for the cancelled one. The tone was different for the two. The people who attended on July 2 wanted to be heard and made sure that their comments could not be misunderstood. I got the clear impression on July 21 that those people wanted to hear what an independent, objective professional had to say.]
A further note about the rest of the posts for the August 2 meeting: There was more about the school, but not on the same topic as the inspection, and also about public comment. I will make it clear how the pieces fit together if space and organizing the topics suggest doing that.
Jason: The Center School: we had spoken about a meeting scheduled for July 21. I did not advertise properly for it and cancelled the meeting.
On the cancellation, I put a cancellation [notice] in both locations [the school and the Town Hall]. I said there would be a re-schedule. After that I spoke with Chris Meduri and[about] the past meeting [on July 2] and how it went. Chris Meduri said that if the trustees met with the contractor and did not deliberate, it would not be considered a public meeting.
Vic and Jason met with Littleton Kirkpatric, a historic preservation contractor.
Jason: He gave us information that was passed between contractor and trustee[s], and Chris Meduri's recommendation was to bring the information back to the public meeting.
There will be no rescheduling. I want to share some things that we spoke about. Without going into a lot of detail, we walked through the first floor and each of the old classrooms, conducting a visual examination. We had mentioned a wall being put up for records storage. Mr. Kirkpatrick recommended that all of the lighting be replaced because the present lighting is going to be phased out. Then put a full wall in on the west room.
Paint: Since there was some peeling paint, someone certified for lead paint would have to be on site or give people on site training. If someone was going in there and the EPA came in, there would be a significant fine.
He (Kirkpatrick) would not pull up the 9" floor tiles from the front hall,but would leave it as is but apply a surface compound.
I [Jason] asked him about cost, but he said it would require a detailed listing about what was going to be done and what kind of paint would be used. The paint on the window sills must be sanded off. Everything had to be specified in detail.
Jason, continuing: I mentioned volunteers and the thing there is that the number of people he controlled and put on a schedule. He would need, for example, 10 hours per day--two people for 5 hours each.
I have begun getting a detailed list together from Home Depot for lighting and carpeting and flooring and have carpet samples and tile samples.
The next thing the trustees need to do is to make a list and then bid it out to a contractor to do the work. We don't have a list finalized.
Vic: I have priced some lighting just so I/[we?] would know generally what we are looking at.
A salesman showed up and then he showed up today with a lighting contractor. He said that in many of the rooms we don't need that many lights.
One interesting thing with Littleton Kirkpatrick is that we could do it room by room, and he does not see a problem with that. The question about the asbestos was only the floor tile or what is holding it. He had a lot of knowledge and talked about lighting, which we have changed so far to T-8 in the basement and hallway because we knew the change was coming. It did take place on July 14, that certain light bulbs are not going to be manufactured any more.
He has a lot of knowledge about lead paint. We can use volunteers as long as things are set up right.
We looked into carpeting. Depending on the square footage, it can be installed for $35.00.
We need to look at what we want to do with the rooms. We can go from one to the next.
Littleton Kirkpatrick was very helpful. He is someone definitely to keep in contact with.
[Blogger: A note or two about the meetings held or intended to be held at the school. As I remember it, when the July 2 meeting was scheduled, it was described as a meeting--as required by Sunshine Laws--open to the public, but Jason said that there would be no public comment. I was surprised when he relaxed that restriction and allowed people to comment on July 2. The public did not pull their punches.
So Jason's comment about that meeting and "how it went" is rather puzzling. As chairman, he can set the procedure, and it would have been perfectly reasonable, since an outside consultant had been called in, to cancel public comment for that session.
I was at both the July 2 meeting and in the group that had come for the cancelled one. The tone was different for the two. The people who attended on July 2 wanted to be heard and made sure that their comments could not be misunderstood. I got the clear impression on July 21 that those people wanted to hear what an independent, objective professional had to say.]
A further note about the rest of the posts for the August 2 meeting: There was more about the school, but not on the same topic as the inspection, and also about public comment. I will make it clear how the pieces fit together if space and organizing the topics suggest doing that.
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