Trustees' Reports, continued:
John Festa: I am just waiting on a couple more things on our inventory. Some of them are at John Vechery's house.
Vic: I talked to Terri Vechery about it.
John Festa: I would like to get this done.
Vic: I want to get it done also and I will check off the information against my list.
John Festa: [I have taken] a two-hour safety seminar at the Bureau of Workers' Compensation. I am waiting for the inspector to call me with some tips about how we can lower our premiums. I guess we took that because someone filed a claim.
Marie: I am not aware of that. It would probably be a good idea if the person who filed it would let us know.
John Festa: I will check on that. I am hearing and have seen some things on a website that some lots have been purchased at LaDue Reserve.
Jason thought that the business had purchased all of them.
John Festa: That would be good for our community. Their website has John Vechery's address on it--I will call them about that. Continuing: The county engineer's website has been updated with new phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
Marie: I do not want it [e-mail, I believe--blogger] and asked Brent Simon about deactivating the Township e-mail because I can't get on it.
Jason asked if Marie wanted some training on it. Answer: "No. Just 3-4 more hours in a day."
John Festa: I would like to get the last two employees in for evaluation. I don't know how to do that--do we have a protocol? [Blogger: These two employees are Sue Skrovan and Rhetta Hall, who clean the Civic Center and the Township Hall, respectively, and Sue schedules for the Civic Center. The positions were advertised some years ago; Sue and Rhetta applied and were hired; since then, the clean condition of the buildings has vouched for their work.]
Jason: I would say just set aside some time and propose a date and give them a call. Set something up.
[Blogger: Sue was at the meeting; I do not know if John Festa set up the meeting then.]
John Festa: It does not have to be right away, but I thought it would be good to have everybody on the same page.
Vic: [Regarding the Land Bank]: Randy Roberts (Portage County Building Department Head) called me up and did his inspections on the four sites.
Jason added that they have to have them done by Tuesday, so they have probably gone out.
Vic: Everything for zoning or the cemetery has been going to John Vechery's address, including veterans. We do not receive mail at the gymnasium area right now. What about getting a P.O. box in Mantua for Jim Aldrich and Tierney Bryant? They could have a couple of keys and pick up the mail there. The box would cost $56 per year for a standard P.O. box.
John Festa wanted to know why not a box for each.
Vic: Each person can have a key. We can get three keys.
Jason suggested setting aside $100 to get a box.
Vic: The other thing is about recycling [this is old business.] Last Saturday the Portage County Township Association dinner was held in Paris Township. Tom Smith spoke about this--the first book on the desk [disk?] about this issue is 300 pages. The revised plan is close to 300 pages. They have looked at privatizing part of it [the recycling.]
[Vic reported that] Bill Steiner [who runs the recycling center] took questions, and some were heated. Janet Esposito confirmed that the recycling plant does make money and will be paid off next year.
Vic, continuing: The EPA mandates that Portage County have a recycling program and it has been in place for years. There are grants available to update the trucks and equipment, so that what is paid to get them can be less than what the cost is. They are looking for the townships to ratify keeping the recycling center in the county.
The biggest contributor to recycling is Kent State. Portage County is not going to try to sell materials and watch the market to try to get the best price. They want to keep the tire program and the chipper program in place.
Vic: The thing I don't like [about privatizing or sending this program out of the county] is the money that would now go to some other county.
Marie: There is a practice of the outside contractors having low fees for a few years, equipment is sold off, and then the fees go up.
Vic, continuing to report on the meeting: Eight to ten people are/were on the panels. Dwayne Porter (Portage County Health Department Head) said that they do the policing on the tonnage, and that brings in $95,000 to the Health Department.
Continuing: The larger cities and some villages would like to go out on their own. It needs to be done by March 22. If the townships do not decide, it goes to the EPA and it will decide what will happen for the next 5 years.
If we vote on it that will be a yes but if we do not vote, it will be a no. No one knows what the EPA has in mind.
Marie: If you fail to vote it is considered a "no" vote. March 22 is the day after the second Trustees meeting in March.
John Festa: I didn't see anything wrong with the proposal.
Vic: They wanted something about privatizing in the future, and that is in there--there are options in there. Villages and cities can go out and privatize. The other thing they will seriously look at is what is called the tipping fee. They will try to lower that fee now that they are going to go to single-source recycling.
Vic: It must be passed by 75%, which is why they want everyone to vote on it. There is a standard resolution in the book. I made some copies if you want to look at them. [Marie had also made and distributed copies.]
Vic, continuing: Janet Esposito said that they are paying their bills and making money and have put a new roof on the building. The main thing is that it is Portage County money and Portage County jobs. That is what bothers me (Vic)--the money and jobs will go somewhere else [if the proposal is not ratified]. A $1.8 million payroll would stay in Portage County.
Jason asked how long the plan is for. Answer: It is a 5-year plan with a 10-year update.
Jason said he had no problem with staying with the same service.
Vic said he knew that the City of Kent is very strong in supporting Portage County Recycling.
John Festa thought that if we didn't vote to pass this plan and the EPA got hold of it, then what we have now might look really good.
Sue Skrovan [who had attended the dinner] added that it is going to be single stream and more plastics will be accepted.
OK, OK: Here is what happened: Vic made a motion to pass the resolution after Marie read it; John Festa seconded it; unanimous.
Marie asked about tire cleanup being part of the spring clean up day, and Vic said it would be.
About This Blog
The purpose of this blog is to give an accurate account of what is said during Public Comment at Mantua Township Trustees meetings.
Trustees' decisions are in the official minutes, available on request from the Mantua Township Fiscal Officer, Jodi Thompson, at 330-274-8443. The Township charges 10 cents per page. FAX, 330-274-8447. E-mail, fiscalofficer@mantuatownshipohio.gov. The minutes are also posted on the website after they have been approved. That means that there is usually a two-week lag between a given meeting and the minutes being available to read on the website.
Since meetings are the first and third Thursdays of the month, there is a three-week wait during months with five Thursdays.
Other items of interest or the writer's opinions will be included from time to time, clearly identified.
This is not a forum or chat room, but a source of information, so it is closed to outside input.
During the time I have been doing the blog, the posts have expanded to become very detailed accounts of the meetings. Doing that is time consuming, to say the least, and I am going to try to return to the public comment focus, with background and perspective (and the occasional pointed editorial comment). Such additions are usually enclosed in brackets. However, since some extended accounts of the meetings reveal significant things--and character--better than I could by commenting, there will probably still be a fair amount of semi-transcript. (Sigh.)
My thanks to the readers who have found the blog, and to the ones who from time to time tell me that they value it. You have encouraged me when the tedious work of keyboarding has made me wonder why I am doing this. Then you have reminded me, and I am grateful.
Trustees' decisions are in the official minutes, available on request from the Mantua Township Fiscal Officer, Jodi Thompson, at 330-274-8443. The Township charges 10 cents per page. FAX, 330-274-8447. E-mail, fiscalofficer@mantuatownshipohio.gov. The minutes are also posted on the website after they have been approved. That means that there is usually a two-week lag between a given meeting and the minutes being available to read on the website.
Since meetings are the first and third Thursdays of the month, there is a three-week wait during months with five Thursdays.
Other items of interest or the writer's opinions will be included from time to time, clearly identified.
This is not a forum or chat room, but a source of information, so it is closed to outside input.
During the time I have been doing the blog, the posts have expanded to become very detailed accounts of the meetings. Doing that is time consuming, to say the least, and I am going to try to return to the public comment focus, with background and perspective (and the occasional pointed editorial comment). Such additions are usually enclosed in brackets. However, since some extended accounts of the meetings reveal significant things--and character--better than I could by commenting, there will probably still be a fair amount of semi-transcript. (Sigh.)
My thanks to the readers who have found the blog, and to the ones who from time to time tell me that they value it. You have encouraged me when the tedious work of keyboarding has made me wonder why I am doing this. Then you have reminded me, and I am grateful.
Principles
Two ideas guide and support me:
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
______Attributed to Edmund Burke
GOOD PREVAILS.
Those ideas are also the reason I have been doing the blog since late February 2011.
I have discovered that a transcript is almost impossible to do and that verbatim accounts are usually not absolutely necessary. When in doubt, I check against a recording.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.
______Attributed to Edmund Burke
GOOD PREVAILS.
Those ideas are also the reason I have been doing the blog since late February 2011.
I have discovered that a transcript is almost impossible to do and that verbatim accounts are usually not absolutely necessary. When in doubt, I check against a recording.
