Jason: An Aurora Meadows/Sewer Project update. Seventy-two are tied in out of eighty-eight. Two are still without permits, and one does not appear to be getting one. Another is lobbying [?] the commissioners to tie in at the reduced rate. Apparently that is excellent progress. [Blogger: If I remember correctly, there was a deadline for tying into the lines at a very good rate. After that, the cost would be pretty attention-getting.]
The walk-through for the lawn bids was conducted on March 20. Sealed bids will be opened at the next regular meeting (April 4).
Anything else is under Old Business.
John Festa: I have one thing. I still want to know about the items on the other side of the garage--the pipe and everything. To Vic and Marie: Is that part of our inventory?
Vic: We have not put the culvert pipe on [the inventory].
John Festa: Are we about ready to finish up on the inventory?
Vic: I gave that to you at the last meeting. The only thing is the metal detector. Jim Aldrich said he wanted to keep that. To Brian: If you can find the book on that, maybe Jim can take a look at it
.
Continuing: At the last meeting I was asked about the flags and I got information on them. I have not been able to copy much. We have always purchased flags from the American Legion and use about two per season. They do not last long. They are printed flags.
The flag store in Newbury recommended nylon for $26.95. They have cotton ones also. All have been made in the U.S. and are 3' x 5'. To Marie: I think we bought 30 of them last year.
Continuing: Also, [with] a little bit of research, it looks like a cotton flag made in the U.S. costs about $9.00. A nylon one would be about $24.00. To Brian: It would take 14 flags for the poles we have?
Jason: I would say whatever you think if they are the same quality.
John Festa: Do we get a couple of years [from a flag]?
Vic: The trouble is the traffic next to the road; flags get whipped by the traffic.
Larry Leitzow volunteered that his flag is three years old and is nylon.
Tom Monroe said that his nylon flag has been up for two years.
[Blogger: Neither of their flags is subjected to the turbulence of the ones the township has lined up along the roads.]
Vic: The truck traffic really whips them. I made an adapter for the pole so the flag would spin instead of wrap up.
Brian Tayerle: All of the flagpoles are ready to go with the Chinese flags. Are we going to run them?
John Festa asked how many. Answer: 13-14 . They are brand new but not on the poles yet. They are mostly printed, but for some the stars are sewn on.
More discussion on the flags followed.
Vic: The other thing is the clutch on the tractor. Dave Pollard mentioned a place that does Kevlar relining. I researched it; for ours they do not stock the clutch. It would have to be removed and taken to the place. We had an estimate of $200 plus. No one is going to want to split the case, take the clutch to this other business, and wait to get it back. They also do brake linings out of Kevlar.
Vic, continuing: I also called about spring cleanup. One company could not make it on May 4. Another company that we have been using has increased its prices quite a bit. They put a tonnage limit on the boxes of 3 tons and 4 tons. If we could stay under that, OK, but for each ton over that it is another $50.00. A four-ton limit equals $550 per box. They can do it on May 4. To pick up an empty is $85.00.
R & R Sanitation quoted $575 for a 40-yard container and a $75.00 charge for an empty.
Universal could not do it on the 4th; fee is $675 per rolloff.
Republic does not have a date on the paperwork that she could do it.. A 40-yard container would cost $368. Anything over 5 tons is $32.00 per ton, and empties are $50.00.
We should probably make a decision so we can lock it in.
Jason thought it should be Republic.
Vic: C & B is available on May 4 for the scrap, and they have paid us very good for the scrap in the past.
Jason: Let's make a motion.
Vic: I would like to go with C & D Scrap and Republic for the trash for our Spring Cleanup day on May 4.
Jason: Second; unanimous.
Vic, continuing: I have packets from Mickey Marozzi for Round 28. They want it in by May 28. I have not heard back about the local small government. I finally got to Linda Balog. We did not make the cut. They only took the top five, with two alternates. They took the top seven, and we were #8. But last year we did get Small Governments and Scott Miller said it was the first time he had every heard of anyone in Portage County getting something through Small Government.
Jason: To be very honest, we can free that money up because we had already appropriated it for Round 27.
Marie: Just our local share.
Jason: We could be able to spend that money for chip and seal.
Vic: We have time on this.
Jason: wanted to set the workshop date now. Vic thought after April 15 would be OK, and Jason has another meeting he wanted to take a look at before deciding on the date for this one.
Jason: Moving Ohio Forward. All of the buildings in question are unsafe, unsanitary, and not fit to live in. What I would like to do if it is OK with the board, we can start filling these out and sending them out to all of the owners and lien holders. Along with this letter (a form letter from Chris Meduri) we will have to set a public hearing. The owners and lien holders can have counsel with them and will be shown what has been done so far and can respond. They can present evidence and call witnesses on their hehalf about why the building should not be removed.
Continuing: This is our next step, to send the letter out, but we have to set a date. Most townships hold the hearing before a regular township meeting. If we allow one month, that would put it on the 4th Thursday in April. On April 16 we are beginning at 6 p.m. to have employee reviews.
Marie clarified that there would be one public hearing for all four properties.
John Festa asked about how the letters would be sent. One property has 5 liens from the Ohio Department of Taxation. (Certified mail.)
Jason proposed April 25 for that hearing, at 7 p.m. He will ask Chris Meduri some questions about how all of this is usually handled.
The trustees then looked at application for Round 28. There was some discussion about that and they decided that the public hearing would be at 7 p.m. April 25 for the Land Bank (the condemned properties) and then following would be a workshop for Round 28. [Blogger: I believe that will be a special meeting, which will be made clear later on.]
Zoning and Cemetery Files, Vic: I believe all of those files are over in the room [at the Center Administrative (formerly school) building]. I got a call back about the mailboxes for under $100.
Continuing: Tierney Bryant has a bunch of the zoning files locked in one room. I will hook up the one phone and get files in. Jim Aldrich has been over there doing quite a bit. I think I have everything that was in John Vechery's possession.
The 9663 phone number was for zoning and the sexton [both of which were done by John Vechery]
Vic, continuing: It will need two lines/buttons, zoning and the cemetery.
John Festa: Where would it be ringing to?
Vic: In that storage room [on the east end of the main floor hallway]
John Festa: I would think that if you got a phone call . . . .
Jim Aldrich: I can check from my own phone.
Vic: I can check messages on my phone.
John Festa: Everybody has a cell phone--I don't see why you have to call in anywhere. [Blogger: See the note below. However, John Festa seems to have issues about the phones in the Administrative building; there was a fairly intense discussion between him and Marie Stehli before she moved into her temporary office there.]
Jason talked about how this would work.
Vic: This gentleman was referred to me by Joan Martin. [Blogger: To be honest, my eyes glaze over when the phone service for the offices in the Administrative (school) building is the topic of conversation. I am not sure what the issue is at the front table, since no government body that I know of runs its affairs on individual officers' cell phones if they have physical offices. That government number stays the same no matter who holds the elected/appointed office.]
Jason: Old Business--Shredding services. He reviewed the previous discussion about the shredding.
We have confirmed May 18 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. To Brian Tayerle: You will not need to do anything. They do all the work. Maybe put out some signs.
Blogger: This is a logical place to end this post. The next part of the meeting considers work at the school building. Before doing that, however, I want to post the information I got from Todd Peetz, Regional Planning, that describes the Land Bank/Move Ohio Forward program.
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.
