The meeting opened with two of the three trustees pledging allegiance to the State flag, still on the audience left. Vic faced the American flag.
During the minutes and approvals of various kinds, Larry Leitzow was muttering. Steve Zielinski came in at 7:40, removed a chair from the ones placed in the center of the room for attendees, and took it back to the end of the sign-in table, where he sat blocking part of the doorway.
Vic asked to have the custodians' pay added to the minutes in the section listing the payroll.
Fiscal Officer: Load limits have been reduced on the roads by 35%. [Blogger: Go to the township website for the financial information in the minutes. There, you can also see all of the bills that have been paid, so you can see in detail where the money goes.
Marie thought that a building use for the Civic Center should probably be added to the agenda quarterly.
Sue Skrovan: This is a listing of the events for each month for the Civic Center. Activity into January, February, and March has picked up. Most of the events are small. However, new people are showing up who have said they did not know the Civic Center can be rented.
Edie Benner, President of the Downtown Mantua Revitalization Corporation (DMRC), came to discuss progress on the connecting trail on the railroad bed. The goal is to have the Headwaters Trail connect the communities from Garrettsville to Aurora.
Mayors from Garrettsville, Mantua [I believe], and Aurora, the Aurora parks supervisor, and a representative from the Mantua Village Council attended the most recent meeting to move the project forward. When grants are sought, community connections are important. You [meaning Mantua Township and the trustees] are ultimately going to be involved. The mayor of Aurora has budgeted $5,000, and Portage Parks has contributed $5,000. Altogether, $15,000 has been designated to do a feasibility study.
The DMRC is going to apply for a grant to clean the trails. Ultimately our trail in Mantua can connect clear to Pittsburgh, and Edie Benner has already ridden her bike from Washington, D.C., to Pittsbuirgh.
The DMRC is looking for ways to get grants.
Edie, continuing: We will have another meeting on March 20 at 12 noon at Miller's of Mantua for the Connecting Communities group. They want to get together with the parks to brand the trail. Garrettsville has done some work on their end.
Dave Pollard: Most of these are going on on abandoned railroad rights of way. Are you having any trouble with private owners?
Edie: We are not that far yet. With the parks levy passing, they can begin looking at this and talking to owners.
Dave: One of the concerns is the unintended type of people using the trail.
Edie: Research has shown that this actually does not happen because the hikers and bikers seem to keep it down.
Edie described how this works between Washington and Pittsburgh. Small towns are struggling, but where the trail has been well developed and is running well, there are trail towns where the trekkers can get food and beverages, among other things. Property values have gone up.
Dave: So they also promote small business opportunities.
Edie: Once you brand something as a trail town, they seem to begin thriving.
Edie encouraged sending a representative to the March 20 meeting.
Jason: I have been approached about adding a bike lane to the roads that are being paved. We have the road right of way to do this, but it takes a lot of additional work to put in a four-foot bike lane. Grants to help with bike traffic would be a great idea. Paving costs $120,000 per mile.
Edie gave some more information about the grants available and how to cooperate.
[Blogger: My impression of this was that the trustees were basically passive, with Jason only seeming to take an interest when it looked as if someone else might do the work to get grants that would augment the roads. I did not detect any interest by either John Festa or Jason in getting involved in this venture.]
[A further note: Stacy Turner reported on the meeting in the January 24 edition of The Weekly Villager, for anyone who would like more detail on this.]
Club and Committee Reports:
Sue Skrovan thanked Linda Ehlert and Carole Pollard for helping to decorate and undecorate the Township Hall for the Christmas season.
Nothing from the LCA.
The Mantua Restoration Society, Inc.: Carole Pollard commented in Mark Hall's absence. I mentioned the newspaper coverage we had gotten recently in the Record Courier.
Then--Edie Benner and I did not rehearse this. What she said indicates that we are on the verge of a bigger world than we have been living in. When you start talking about Mantua being on a trail between Washington and Pittsburgh, that is not just Mantua Township.
Right now, the school building looks too big in some ways, but we will grow into that. There are things about that building that sound like it can be part of a trail town. For those of us who like the building, this area is perfect. It is like New England. All we have to do is make it ready and make it something positive.
Cemetery: Jim Aldrich spoke about the possibility of beginning to train Brian Tayerle as assistant sexton, since he is involved with the cemetery as part of the duties of the road crew.
Jim also mentioned the number of graves that have been sold but never used and mentioned that the ORC has something about this: that graves unused for 50 years can be reassumed by the township. Some of the graves go back to the 1920's, when the purchase price was as low as $7.50.
Jason: Vic has been doing this as assistant sexton for a number of years.
Vic: I think that would be good and I think Brian probably should learn this.
Brian was asked about the idea and agreed.
Vic: If you need any help, let me know. It takes a while to get it.
Jason mentioned that the Ohio Townships Association (OTA) conference always has sessions about cemeteries, and Vic added that now all of the classes will be on CDs and can be requested.
John Festa thought it would be good if Jim and Brian went, and Jason added that the township would pick up the expenses.
Road Department, Brian Tayerle: Nothing much new. The people in the subdivisions have to wait an extra hour or so with our having only two guys. People seem to understand that salt is expensive.
Vic: I had three phone calls about the salt and five people stopped, but some of the roads they asked about were county roads. Vic added that last year salt was $27.50/ton but it is $108/ton this year.
Blogger: At one point while Brian and the trustees were talking, Larry Leitzow said, "Jesus Christ."
The discussion between Brian and the trustees focused on a new truck. Just the new diesel emissions system requirements increase the cost of a truck by $25,000.
Brian and Vic talked a little about the quality of the trucks and the choices of specifications.
Brian: Our trucks are mechanically in good shape. But the double frames let rust get in and then the frames begin to crack. Our trucks still look good because they were take care of well by people before me.
Vic: That truck was spec'd very good.
Brian: If we do that again, we may not get as many years out of the new one. but it will be a good truck.
New Business
Jason made a motion to cover any costs associated with the OTA conference for anyone who attended. John Festa seconded. Unanimous.
Then there was discussion about InfoShred and either making that more available by putting the equipment and workers at the fire department, or maybe including it with the Township Cleanup Day.
Vic thought a drop-off would be good, but that raises security issues for business records and personal information. In previous years, we only had between 14 and 16 people.
John Festa asked Jason to put his fire board report on the agenda once a month and remarked that he has been elected chairman again. [Someone outside of the meeting allowed as how no one else wanted that job, so John got it.]
Employee evaluations are customarily conducted on the first meeting date in February. That will begin at 6:30 on February 5, but personnel matters are conducted in Executive Session. Regardless, it must be advertised. Marie will do that.
Old Business
Jason reported on the speed studies and gave that information to the other trustees. Both Sheldon (south of Rt. 82) and Skinner Roads will be posted at 40 mph. Jason had the resolutions to be sent to the county.
The speed study on Mantua Center Road from S.R. 82 to Mennonite will take a few months to complete. If the speed limit is dropped, that might reduce the use of jake brakes by trucks.
Jason read the resolution so it could become a motion. Vic seconded. Unanimous.
Newsletter and recording meetings: Nothing.
Insurance: John Festa has lots of concerns about this and is putting together a list of things he needs more explanation about from Brian Savage. He wanted to have an afternoon meeting with Brian Savage.
There was discussion about various questions and costs, during which Larry Leitzow and Dan Cozzens were carrying on a conversation.
Then there was discussion about how the township uses the copier and whether to replace it by leasing a machine or buying a new one.
Marie said that even though it needs a while to warm up, it still works.
Larry Leitzow: Why change it then? [Larry seems to think that his opinion should prevail--as if it were the only one that has any value. He is the only person who simply inserts comments whenever he feels like it. He may have raised his hand, but since my back was turned, I did not see that. Neither, however, did I hear Jason recognize him.]
Marie: It is a 10-year-old machine that we bought used.
Larry interrupted about a maintenance program [he interrupts habitually] and then offered that that was the only way to go. [See my remarks just above.]
Public Comment began at 9::05.
Carole Pollard, Allyn Road: [I may have forgotten to give my address this evening.] I pretty much said what I wanted to in comments about the restoration society. I just want to reiterate that we have a building that we can move into, which we need to do, and stop debating about it and fooling around.
[Larry Leitzow was coughing during some of this. There are those who believe that he coughs to try to make people's comments hard or impossible to hear. I don't necessarily accept that idea, despite my obvious skepticism regarding Larry.]
We ought to be in the building and begin using it. It will become more and more useful. It needs to stop being turned into one person's poker chip. [If Larry was going to cough in harassment, he should have done it here.]
Dave Pollard, S.R. 82: I just wondered about progress on getting dangerous intersection signs for out here or Old Frost.
Jason: No. A study is being done out here. I don't know how much progress. It is not up to us to put up the signs. That is ODOT. They want to make sure that the study they do and actions they take are based on the study.
Dave: So a township doesn't have the flexibility to put up a sign on a townshiup road about a dangerous intersection?
Jason: They are all ODOT signs. We potentially could.
Dave: It just seems that in light of the accidents that have occurred out here . . . .
Jason: Look, it is not a fast process.
Dave: I just wonder why now it takes a study on this. On Old Frost, in a high piece of equipment like a combine you can see [traffic approaching from the west on 82] but not in anything else. It seems that it should be possible for government entities to push for regrading some of the roads. It is inconceivable to me that any government concerned about the welfare of its citizens would let that go on and on and on.
I thought it would have made sense when the signs were being discussed to investigate getting signs.
Dave, continuing: About salt. It has only been since the '50's that salt became the weapon of choice on roads.
[Larry Parsons went out at this point and yanked the door several times as he did.]
Dave: That door doesn't shut that hard. Then Dave talked about grits and maybe getting a supply from the gravel pits in the area to take the place of salt in the winter. They don't have slushy roads until it warms up. I just wonder if it might be possible to look into getting more grit to mix in. More and more equipment on cars is electronic. I wonder if salt fouls some of those mechanisms.
[Blogger: What's missing from this exchange is any slightest indication from Jason that he has even asked abut this issue.]
Steve Zielinski: Nothing.
Dan Cozzens complimented the road crew.
Larry Leitzow: This insurance thing. [Larry thought there was a better way to get insurance.]
Looking at the minutes, I don't see how the road crew can raise a family on their salaries. I don't see how they can afford food. There are two ridiculous things--what we are paying on insurance and wheat we are paying the road crew.
[Blogger: When I was working, as a department head I developed a budget. Faculty salaries were the largest part of it, of course. Here's what Larry doesn't know: The insurance costs plus retirement costs for, in my case, State Teachers Retirement System, plus Workers Compensation, added another 25% to the total department budget. Here, for the road crew, that coverage brings Brian's wage package up to about $21.00 an hour. He doesn't have to set it aside--and how many of us ever do that, no criticism of Brian--against a need. Because of the way the township handles insurance, it's there when he or Dan needs it. The Public Employees Retirement System covers all township employees, and if it is anything like STRS, it beats the daylights out of Social Security. So just a quick and dirty pass at hourly pay all by itself doesn't give the whole picture at all. And, because this is Larry's new source of indignation, it serves him better to ignore the whole picture.]
[Note, added 1/29: The compensation package for the road crew adds a bit over 30% of value to their pay. Ignoring that suggests a deliberately cultivated ignorance in order to serve a personal agenda. Or less brilliance than the speaker claims.]
Jason: We give the road crew raises every year. You would be surprised at how many people can't believe that we do all we do on a million dollar budget. but the large health insurance bill is part of the benefits we offer them. It may look as if they are not getting much, but there are other benefits. I don';t see why this year should be any different than the rest.
Matt Parsons: Concerning our health insurance--does everyone covered get reimbursed for things like co-pays?
Marie: If they turn it in, yes, they get reimbursed.
Matt: I don't get reimbursed. [And he doesn't get up at 3 a.m. and go out in a driving snowstorm to plow snow in the dark so the roads are passable when people go to work.]
Jason: People on the payroll pay part of their health insurance now.
There was an executive session for which I did not stay.
[I have one other comment to make here: Some years ago, the jackals were baying at Marie, the highest paid of the township employees, and insurance was the sore point then, too. One of the complainers then was clearly miffed or jealous or something that he didn't have anything like that. My skeptical opinion right here is that this is a sidelong way to get at Vic. The township can increase the pay rate for people hired by the trustees. The trustees' and fiscal officer's pay is fixed by the state. So reducing the coverage across the board can be compensated for to the road crew with a raise. But anyone whose pay can't be increased has to eat an effective pay cut.]
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Trustees 1-8-15; Public Comment also
Foreword: The first time the trustees meet in January is actually three meetings: End of Year, Beginning of Year, and First Meeting of the Year. The first two are pretty much boiler plate, including paying the last bills of the year just ended. Various organizational things are handled.
The meeting began with the pledge, which was delivered to the state flag of Ohio by John Festa, who had not noticed that the customary positions of the flags had been changed.
End of Year 2014
The financial report should be gotten from the township's website.
Marie Stehli: I asked Lynn Harvey to give us a summary of the contributions from The Mantua Restoration Society, Inc. (MaRSI) for 2013-2014. Contributions in kind and cash were worth $24,963.30.
That includes negotiating with Sherwin Williams for paint and finding and enlisting Steve Coon, saving us $9,000 [for the work] and [accounting for] $7800 for the lift.
We [Marie, referring to the trustees] paid for some of the byler and part of the door, among other things.
Marie thought a letter was probably in order.
Jason asked Jim Aldrich for the December cemetery report: One burial for $500 and a refund of $25.00 on a burial that had been overpaid.
Zoning Inspector: John Dickey reported that there had been one $20.00 permit for a demolition.
[That was for the removal of the debris after the fire that destroyed Shirley Shuster's house on Sheldon Rd.]
Beginning of Year 2015
Marie opened and conducted that meeting, which is the election of officers and appointments to various external boards. The blog is just going to give the results, not every action leading to them.
Board of Trustees: Jason Carlton is Chair; Victor Grim is Vice Chair.
Fire Board: John Festa will continue; Victor Grimm is alternate.
Zoning Commission: Members and expiration year of their terms follow: Phil Derthick, 2015; Roger Hurd, 2016; Joy Brunetti, 2017; Lynn Harvey, 2018. Alternate, Nick Ehlert.
[Blogger: Terri Vechery applied to be reappointed to the Zoning Commission. No action was taken on that, so the commission is one down. This certainly seems to be one step in carrying out the declaration on the private, anonymous website about picking off people in power one by one. You, dear reader, might think about the apparent connection between that website and two of the trustees' actions in this situation.]
Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA): Randy Alger, 2016; Terri Nielsen, 2017; Kathy Kelly, 2018; Robert Stehli, 2019; Joan Martin was renewed at the end of 2014, term to expire in 2020.
Regional Planning Representative: Victor Grimm will stay. Vic recommended Sandy Engelhart to continue as alternate.
Chagrin River Watershed Partners: John Festa will continue; Jason Carlton is alternate.
Salaries: Road Supervisor, Brian Tayerle, $16.80/hr.; Dan Wyznski (sp?), $14.61/hr. Both are reimbursed $12.50 per pay for cell phones. Part time road crew: $12.50. There was some discussion about that. The part time road crew worker has had to be let go because of driver's license points, not involving accidents or serious violations, as I understand it, but points nevertheless.
Sexton: $410/month.
Zoning Inspector: $601/month.
Trustees: $51.44 per day for a maximum of $200 days per year.
Zoning Commission: $15.00 per meeting. Zoning Commission Secretary: $25.00 per meeting, with an increase for any meeting that goes over 6 hours, I believe.
Your blogger did not write down the pay for the BZA secretary.
The meeting dates for the trustees will continue on the first and third Thursdays in the Township Hall at 7:30 p.m.
That wrapped up the Beginning of Year meeting, with the addition of Jason asking if there were any additions or corrections to be sent to the Portage County Engineer for the township's listings on the county website. No. Jason will will respond to the e-mail inquiry.
First Meeting of 2015
The first regular meeting of 2015 was called to order at 7:45p.m.
The first report, as always, is the financial report, which should be checked on the township's website.
A zoning commission meeting was in progress at the Civic Center because the first Thursday of January was New Year's Day. The zoning commission meets the second Thursday of each month.
Zoning: John Dickey presented some wording that had been corrected, and there was some discussion about how to get that onto the township website. There is some litigation in progress regarding signs at Mantua Corners which the business owner is refusing to take down. [I do not know which business this is, but something like a year-plus ago there was an issue about the signs for the bar and grill not meeting our zoning code. This may or may not be the same situation.]
John Dickey also announced that the Shuster farm on Sheldon Road would be auctioned off in the next month or so.
Trustee Reports
John Festa asked Marie Stehli some questions about the computer. The end result of this conversation is that the trustees approved the purchase of a portable external hard drive for a cost of no more than $100. John Festa will handle that.
[Vic had to remind them to make a proper resolution a while after the discussion.]
Vic: Vic presented a letter to Steve Coon thanking him for what he has done for us and asked Marie to r read the letter. [Your blogger will get a copy and post it in the blog.] All three trustees signed the letter, and Marie will mail it to Steve.
Town Hall updates: Cal Brant reported that he is waiting for a break in the weather and also needs the ground to be firm enough so that the rest of the shutters at the windows can be installed.
Jason and John Festa both said that it looks nice, and Jason said he had gotten lots of compliments on it.
Cal: It's nice to have some excitement in the community.
Jason mentioned the Mantua Center school meetings discussed Todd Peetz's letter from the December 18 meeting.
Jason also referred to a letter from Linda Ehlert, co-chair of the Funding Committee, requesting the use of the Township Hall on Wednesday, January 21, at 7:30 p.m. That was acceptable.
Jason then discussed Todd Peetz's letter and the options it described. The most reasonable one seemed to be to ask Todd to facilitate rather than manage the meetings.
[Jason also used a phrase containing something to the effect of not having Todd use a microscope on the meetings. Your blogger most emphatically wants to state that the person who wants to micromanage this process is trustee John Festa.]
Jason thought that Todd might attend meetings if requested to do so and conduct community meetings quarterly if requested. [Quarterly? How much longer does he expect this to take? Is this what Larry Leitzow would call "moving right along," having bullied Vic mercilessly for taking too long between 2006 and 2009?]
Vic concurred with what Jason described, and Marie condensed it all into a motion that all three trustees approved.
Jason reported on progress about the speed study/studies and the jake brake. The weather is slowing some things down.
Newsletter: That project of John Festa's has been set aside.
Jason announced that the township is now recording meetings. [Blogger: I have heard that there is some dissatisfaction with their quality.]
Insurance: [Blogger: At the last meeting, John Festa was fretting about whether the trustees had passed a motion to continue with our present coverage and was displeased that Brian Savage had not returned an inquiry from him.]
John Festa repeated his sense that the trustees had not passed a motion, and Marie confirmed that they had not.
Vic had contacted Brian Savage and received information that day which he passed out, pointing out that the savings when the coverage was examined in detail did not amount to the $25,000 that John Festa had stated at the December 18 meeting..
John Festa disagreed and was of the opinion that no one could predict how much the savings would actually be.
[Blogger: What did I miss? He presents a case for changing the levels of coverage and gives a number, but when Vic's examination of the details suggested that the actual savings would be less, John Festa stated emphatically that no one could predict the savings. Doesn't that unpredictability cover both ends of the scale?]
John Festa also wanted to go over the proposal for the copier. There was discussion about that, and leasing seemed the best option, since this kind of equipment becomes obsolete quickly, and a lease means that the company [I believe] has the burden of the service. [If our copier were a set of tires, I have the impression that we have used it so thoroughly that the air would be showing through the tire cord, so to speak.]
Public Comment
Carole Pollard, Allyn Road: This is a summary. I mentioned that the Record Courier article on Tuesday 1/6 in the series titled "Newsmakers" has a factual error. The article stated that the Mantua Restoration Society, Inc., had helped buy the school. I said that I had contacted the reporter, and that a correction had been printed on Wednesday 1/7. I also mentioned the earlier article about the renovations on the Township Hall.
Jason remarked that he had gotten many compliments about how the Township Hall looks, and that they are much nicer to hear than questions about when it is going to have something done.
Dave Pollard, S.R. 82: Dave encouraged the trustees to seek grant funding for the school and reiterated that they do that He advised against going to the voters before all avenues of outside funding have been exhausted. With the building on the National Register, we are now eligible for more funding.
Getting started is half the job. I would appreciate it if you guys pursued every avenue [before going to the voters.]
Steve Zielinski, S.R. 82: Steve commended Jason for his job as chairman and wished everyone a happy new year.
.
The meeting began with the pledge, which was delivered to the state flag of Ohio by John Festa, who had not noticed that the customary positions of the flags had been changed.
End of Year 2014
The financial report should be gotten from the township's website.
Marie Stehli: I asked Lynn Harvey to give us a summary of the contributions from The Mantua Restoration Society, Inc. (MaRSI) for 2013-2014. Contributions in kind and cash were worth $24,963.30.
That includes negotiating with Sherwin Williams for paint and finding and enlisting Steve Coon, saving us $9,000 [for the work] and [accounting for] $7800 for the lift.
We [Marie, referring to the trustees] paid for some of the byler and part of the door, among other things.
Marie thought a letter was probably in order.
Jason asked Jim Aldrich for the December cemetery report: One burial for $500 and a refund of $25.00 on a burial that had been overpaid.
Zoning Inspector: John Dickey reported that there had been one $20.00 permit for a demolition.
[That was for the removal of the debris after the fire that destroyed Shirley Shuster's house on Sheldon Rd.]
Beginning of Year 2015
Marie opened and conducted that meeting, which is the election of officers and appointments to various external boards. The blog is just going to give the results, not every action leading to them.
Board of Trustees: Jason Carlton is Chair; Victor Grim is Vice Chair.
Fire Board: John Festa will continue; Victor Grimm is alternate.
Zoning Commission: Members and expiration year of their terms follow: Phil Derthick, 2015; Roger Hurd, 2016; Joy Brunetti, 2017; Lynn Harvey, 2018. Alternate, Nick Ehlert.
[Blogger: Terri Vechery applied to be reappointed to the Zoning Commission. No action was taken on that, so the commission is one down. This certainly seems to be one step in carrying out the declaration on the private, anonymous website about picking off people in power one by one. You, dear reader, might think about the apparent connection between that website and two of the trustees' actions in this situation.]
Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA): Randy Alger, 2016; Terri Nielsen, 2017; Kathy Kelly, 2018; Robert Stehli, 2019; Joan Martin was renewed at the end of 2014, term to expire in 2020.
Regional Planning Representative: Victor Grimm will stay. Vic recommended Sandy Engelhart to continue as alternate.
Chagrin River Watershed Partners: John Festa will continue; Jason Carlton is alternate.
Salaries: Road Supervisor, Brian Tayerle, $16.80/hr.; Dan Wyznski (sp?), $14.61/hr. Both are reimbursed $12.50 per pay for cell phones. Part time road crew: $12.50. There was some discussion about that. The part time road crew worker has had to be let go because of driver's license points, not involving accidents or serious violations, as I understand it, but points nevertheless.
Sexton: $410/month.
Zoning Inspector: $601/month.
Trustees: $51.44 per day for a maximum of $200 days per year.
Zoning Commission: $15.00 per meeting. Zoning Commission Secretary: $25.00 per meeting, with an increase for any meeting that goes over 6 hours, I believe.
Your blogger did not write down the pay for the BZA secretary.
The meeting dates for the trustees will continue on the first and third Thursdays in the Township Hall at 7:30 p.m.
That wrapped up the Beginning of Year meeting, with the addition of Jason asking if there were any additions or corrections to be sent to the Portage County Engineer for the township's listings on the county website. No. Jason will will respond to the e-mail inquiry.
First Meeting of 2015
The first regular meeting of 2015 was called to order at 7:45p.m.
The first report, as always, is the financial report, which should be checked on the township's website.
A zoning commission meeting was in progress at the Civic Center because the first Thursday of January was New Year's Day. The zoning commission meets the second Thursday of each month.
Zoning: John Dickey presented some wording that had been corrected, and there was some discussion about how to get that onto the township website. There is some litigation in progress regarding signs at Mantua Corners which the business owner is refusing to take down. [I do not know which business this is, but something like a year-plus ago there was an issue about the signs for the bar and grill not meeting our zoning code. This may or may not be the same situation.]
John Dickey also announced that the Shuster farm on Sheldon Road would be auctioned off in the next month or so.
Trustee Reports
John Festa asked Marie Stehli some questions about the computer. The end result of this conversation is that the trustees approved the purchase of a portable external hard drive for a cost of no more than $100. John Festa will handle that.
[Vic had to remind them to make a proper resolution a while after the discussion.]
Vic: Vic presented a letter to Steve Coon thanking him for what he has done for us and asked Marie to r read the letter. [Your blogger will get a copy and post it in the blog.] All three trustees signed the letter, and Marie will mail it to Steve.
Town Hall updates: Cal Brant reported that he is waiting for a break in the weather and also needs the ground to be firm enough so that the rest of the shutters at the windows can be installed.
Jason and John Festa both said that it looks nice, and Jason said he had gotten lots of compliments on it.
Cal: It's nice to have some excitement in the community.
Jason mentioned the Mantua Center school meetings discussed Todd Peetz's letter from the December 18 meeting.
Jason also referred to a letter from Linda Ehlert, co-chair of the Funding Committee, requesting the use of the Township Hall on Wednesday, January 21, at 7:30 p.m. That was acceptable.
Jason then discussed Todd Peetz's letter and the options it described. The most reasonable one seemed to be to ask Todd to facilitate rather than manage the meetings.
[Jason also used a phrase containing something to the effect of not having Todd use a microscope on the meetings. Your blogger most emphatically wants to state that the person who wants to micromanage this process is trustee John Festa.]
Jason thought that Todd might attend meetings if requested to do so and conduct community meetings quarterly if requested. [Quarterly? How much longer does he expect this to take? Is this what Larry Leitzow would call "moving right along," having bullied Vic mercilessly for taking too long between 2006 and 2009?]
Vic concurred with what Jason described, and Marie condensed it all into a motion that all three trustees approved.
Jason reported on progress about the speed study/studies and the jake brake. The weather is slowing some things down.
Newsletter: That project of John Festa's has been set aside.
Jason announced that the township is now recording meetings. [Blogger: I have heard that there is some dissatisfaction with their quality.]
Insurance: [Blogger: At the last meeting, John Festa was fretting about whether the trustees had passed a motion to continue with our present coverage and was displeased that Brian Savage had not returned an inquiry from him.]
John Festa repeated his sense that the trustees had not passed a motion, and Marie confirmed that they had not.
Vic had contacted Brian Savage and received information that day which he passed out, pointing out that the savings when the coverage was examined in detail did not amount to the $25,000 that John Festa had stated at the December 18 meeting..
John Festa disagreed and was of the opinion that no one could predict how much the savings would actually be.
[Blogger: What did I miss? He presents a case for changing the levels of coverage and gives a number, but when Vic's examination of the details suggested that the actual savings would be less, John Festa stated emphatically that no one could predict the savings. Doesn't that unpredictability cover both ends of the scale?]
John Festa also wanted to go over the proposal for the copier. There was discussion about that, and leasing seemed the best option, since this kind of equipment becomes obsolete quickly, and a lease means that the company [I believe] has the burden of the service. [If our copier were a set of tires, I have the impression that we have used it so thoroughly that the air would be showing through the tire cord, so to speak.]
Public Comment
Carole Pollard, Allyn Road: This is a summary. I mentioned that the Record Courier article on Tuesday 1/6 in the series titled "Newsmakers" has a factual error. The article stated that the Mantua Restoration Society, Inc., had helped buy the school. I said that I had contacted the reporter, and that a correction had been printed on Wednesday 1/7. I also mentioned the earlier article about the renovations on the Township Hall.
Jason remarked that he had gotten many compliments about how the Township Hall looks, and that they are much nicer to hear than questions about when it is going to have something done.
Dave Pollard, S.R. 82: Dave encouraged the trustees to seek grant funding for the school and reiterated that they do that He advised against going to the voters before all avenues of outside funding have been exhausted. With the building on the National Register, we are now eligible for more funding.
Getting started is half the job. I would appreciate it if you guys pursued every avenue [before going to the voters.]
Steve Zielinski, S.R. 82: Steve commended Jason for his job as chairman and wished everyone a happy new year.
.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
12-18-14: Public Comment
Mark Hall had no further comment, having presented the cake and recognized the accomplishment of having the school paid off.
Barbara Herbold spoke about Amy Janca. That was presented in the pre-Christmas summary in an earlier post.
Bud (Chuck) Foster: About the memorial. You noticed the five flagpoles and the flags for the separate branches. The flags are topy of the line silk flags and will last a long time if they are taken care of. Because of the weather, I have taken them down and will put them back up in spring.
We are hoping by the end of December we will have everything in the time capsule and be ready to put it in. We were going to bring up another item with the township. If you put a chain around the cannon and with a sign, that will save a lot of grief if someone gets injured playing on it.
[Blogger: Two things: Children have played on that cannon whenever there is an event at the Center, as they have played on such memorials across the nation. To the best of my knowledge, not one of them has ever been injured.
[Second: Late in December, I went to the Wellington area and passed a small park in Spencer which has a veterans' memorial and not one but two cannons. There are low shrubs (just shrubs, not a hedge) around them, but no chains or fences. To the extent that we are fenced away from symbols of our heritage, that heritage is denied us.]
Cal Brant: Thanks to Dave Pollard for help getting the shutters up. It is a two-man job. I think it set it off pretty nice. The only osther thing is that the Building Assessment Committee met on Monday. Some figures are going to be pulled together. I think we really need to look at what is necessary vs. what upgrades people think need to be done.
Carole Pollard: There is no need to present my remarks in detail. I thanked the road crew for using grits in the intersections in the shortage of salt, and urged Jason to traverse the Center Road/SR 82 intersection in a small car to get a good idea of what that intersection is really like. His eyes didn't quite glaze, but it isn't going to happen. ODOT will do it. Yes, with all of science brought to bear--we can hope. My point about real personal knowledge appeared to be dismissed.
Dave Pollard: A lot of organizations in this township have lost a benefactor [in Shirley Shuster]. She called me to service the well on her place and I would be there for an hour and she paid me four times what I would havew charged. She is going to be missed. It is just a shame that this happened.
As far as the Center school is concerned, I would like to see all three trustees start working on lining up funding for what has to be done. We have heard a lot about what it will cost the taxpayers but you can't tell what that will be until you have exhausted every avenue. We have a historic building and it is on the National Register of Historic Places and so we have more chances to get federal funding. I would like to see all three work on it instead of leaving it up to just one.
[Blogger: Right. Like that will happen, with John Festa actively hostile because he is Larry's surrogate and Jason passively hostile behind his smile and doing a lot of answering to the same boss.]
Roads: We have a number of roads t hat share common visibility problems. If you have driven around this county, this year, there are projects everywhere. They are going to resurface Rt. 14. I wonder if the township association can put together a list of all the blind intersections in the county. Write a letter to the governor and see about getting something to regrade all of these intersections. None of them have been regraded since WPA [1930's or so]. When there was all the hullabaloo about the money that Obama made available I thought maybe something would get done, but it didn't happen. If the townships brought this to the governor's attention, that the last grading was WPA, this would create jobs. It would create a safer environment for the motoring public. If you don't ask, the answer is always no.
Steve Zielinski: Thank[s to] the trustees for letting us go forward with the veterans' memorial and volunteers.
Steve then ran down a long list of their names and finished by saying something about everyone who was listed on the sign at the edge of the memorial.
[Blogger: The Spencer veterans' memorial honors names, too: one who was lost at sea while serving on the Indianapolis; one POW for nearly 2800 days in Viet Nam; one airman killed in action; another who died in Paris; a Marine killed on Saipan. You get the picture, I'm sure.]
Jason wished everyone a merry Christmas and happy holiday.
The trustees then went into executive session to consider the applicants for Zoning boards. The positions to be filled were an alternate on the Zoning Commission; a full member of the Zoning Commission; and a member of the Board of Zoning Appeals. The terms expire on December 31.
Nick Ehlert had requested reappointment as a Zoning Commission alternate; Dave Pollard had applied to appointment either as an alternate or as a full member of the Zoning Commission; Terri Vechery had requested reappointment as a full member of the Zoning Commission; Joan Martin had requested reappointment to the BZA.
Upon coming out of executive session, Nick Ehlert and Joan Martin were reappointed and the meeting was adjourned.
Barbara Herbold spoke about Amy Janca. That was presented in the pre-Christmas summary in an earlier post.
Bud (Chuck) Foster: About the memorial. You noticed the five flagpoles and the flags for the separate branches. The flags are topy of the line silk flags and will last a long time if they are taken care of. Because of the weather, I have taken them down and will put them back up in spring.
We are hoping by the end of December we will have everything in the time capsule and be ready to put it in. We were going to bring up another item with the township. If you put a chain around the cannon and with a sign, that will save a lot of grief if someone gets injured playing on it.
[Blogger: Two things: Children have played on that cannon whenever there is an event at the Center, as they have played on such memorials across the nation. To the best of my knowledge, not one of them has ever been injured.
[Second: Late in December, I went to the Wellington area and passed a small park in Spencer which has a veterans' memorial and not one but two cannons. There are low shrubs (just shrubs, not a hedge) around them, but no chains or fences. To the extent that we are fenced away from symbols of our heritage, that heritage is denied us.]
Cal Brant: Thanks to Dave Pollard for help getting the shutters up. It is a two-man job. I think it set it off pretty nice. The only osther thing is that the Building Assessment Committee met on Monday. Some figures are going to be pulled together. I think we really need to look at what is necessary vs. what upgrades people think need to be done.
Carole Pollard: There is no need to present my remarks in detail. I thanked the road crew for using grits in the intersections in the shortage of salt, and urged Jason to traverse the Center Road/SR 82 intersection in a small car to get a good idea of what that intersection is really like. His eyes didn't quite glaze, but it isn't going to happen. ODOT will do it. Yes, with all of science brought to bear--we can hope. My point about real personal knowledge appeared to be dismissed.
Dave Pollard: A lot of organizations in this township have lost a benefactor [in Shirley Shuster]. She called me to service the well on her place and I would be there for an hour and she paid me four times what I would havew charged. She is going to be missed. It is just a shame that this happened.
As far as the Center school is concerned, I would like to see all three trustees start working on lining up funding for what has to be done. We have heard a lot about what it will cost the taxpayers but you can't tell what that will be until you have exhausted every avenue. We have a historic building and it is on the National Register of Historic Places and so we have more chances to get federal funding. I would like to see all three work on it instead of leaving it up to just one.
[Blogger: Right. Like that will happen, with John Festa actively hostile because he is Larry's surrogate and Jason passively hostile behind his smile and doing a lot of answering to the same boss.]
Roads: We have a number of roads t hat share common visibility problems. If you have driven around this county, this year, there are projects everywhere. They are going to resurface Rt. 14. I wonder if the township association can put together a list of all the blind intersections in the county. Write a letter to the governor and see about getting something to regrade all of these intersections. None of them have been regraded since WPA [1930's or so]. When there was all the hullabaloo about the money that Obama made available I thought maybe something would get done, but it didn't happen. If the townships brought this to the governor's attention, that the last grading was WPA, this would create jobs. It would create a safer environment for the motoring public. If you don't ask, the answer is always no.
Steve Zielinski: Thank[s to] the trustees for letting us go forward with the veterans' memorial and volunteers.
Steve then ran down a long list of their names and finished by saying something about everyone who was listed on the sign at the edge of the memorial.
[Blogger: The Spencer veterans' memorial honors names, too: one who was lost at sea while serving on the Indianapolis; one POW for nearly 2800 days in Viet Nam; one airman killed in action; another who died in Paris; a Marine killed on Saipan. You get the picture, I'm sure.]
Jason wished everyone a merry Christmas and happy holiday.
The trustees then went into executive session to consider the applicants for Zoning boards. The positions to be filled were an alternate on the Zoning Commission; a full member of the Zoning Commission; and a member of the Board of Zoning Appeals. The terms expire on December 31.
Nick Ehlert had requested reappointment as a Zoning Commission alternate; Dave Pollard had applied to appointment either as an alternate or as a full member of the Zoning Commission; Terri Vechery had requested reappointment as a full member of the Zoning Commission; Joan Martin had requested reappointment to the BZA.
Upon coming out of executive session, Nick Ehlert and Joan Martin were reappointed and the meeting was adjourned.
Trustees 12-18-14: General Business, mostly but not all routine.
When the meeting was reconvened after the recess for cake, Vic asked if the trustees were going to send a letter of thanks to Steve Coon for his help with the Township Hall.
Jason said yes, but "we should send a letter" has come up before, and I have not yet seen letters signed at the next meeting.
There was some discussion about working in rights of way, and eventually Vic made it clear that permits and fees, and various other things, applied to the gas and electric utility companies doing work.
Vic: We only require a permit for driveways.
John Festa raised a question about the health insurance.
Marie: It was in the first meeting in October.
John Festa: I was not paying attention. [!!!!] I did not approve anything for that so I want to stand my ground on this. There is a real savings spike on the alternate plan: If we go with Anthem we will save about $25,000.
There was discussion about this. Jason asked if John Festa knew the difference in coverage. He said that last year's had just a slightly lower deductible but everything else seemed about the same.
Marie thought there was a large difference in the deductible, but John Festa thought it was small compared to the $25,000 savings.
Then there was some discussion about whether Brian Savage should be called, but John Festa said that Brian had not called him back.
Vic: I remember Marie bringing it up and that Brian Savage said it was a 9% increase and that we would stay with it by consensus.
John Festa: I didn't agree.
[Blogger: I find no motion to act on this in my notes. Here's my question: How is it that John Festa thinks that he alone, apparently, can have the say on this? And he said he wasn't paying attention. So how does he know what was going on, let alone apparently expect to be able to rule the roost?
[That's one thing. Another is that I was told that the change--was it made?--would increase Dan's cost by quite a bit. And, with Brian Tayerle now having a child, I would assume that his cost would increase as well.]
Township Hall Updates:
Cal Brant reported that all 36 window shutters are OK. They have all been painted. [Blogger: And by now some of them have been installed, and the building is looking more and more handsome.]
Cal, continuing: None of the old cupola shutters were painted, but the two new ones were. The older ones actually are not usable at this stage, but they can be repaired for about $450, in contrast to $1200 for six new shutters.
There was an open purchase for work on the Township Hall which Jason thought should probably be left open. It was for $534, and Cal thought it may not take that much. By consensus, the trustees agreed to leave that purchase order open and standing.
Then there was discussion about speed studies and the jake brake use on Center Road between Mennonite and SR 82.
A letter from a resident who had been badly injured at SR 82 and Center Road has been forwarded to the proper person at ODOT, and Jason has acquired the OHP crash reports. [Apparently another study is going to be done, comparing the Chamberlin Road and Center Road intersections for sight lines, among other things. They are backed up by about a month.
Regarding the jake brake, Jason thought that another speed study might result in reducing the speed limit on Center Road, in which case the need to deal with the jake brake might be eliminated.
Jason read the resolution requesting a speed evaluation between Mennonite Road and SR 82. Vic seconded. Unanimous, by roll call.
John Festa reported that he had not heard from Crestwood Schools superintendent Dave Toth about having students do the township newsletter and was going to concentrate on another avenue.
Discussion of changes to the cemetery regulations was tabled until next year.
A section for legal ads has been added to the website.
Brian Tayerle reported that in their spare time the road crew was working on Frost Road towards Pioneer Trail to cut back trees. The salt shed is full, and a mild December will help get us through the year in good shape.
Brian thanked the trustees for the boots, lights, and wrenches.
Jason said yes, but "we should send a letter" has come up before, and I have not yet seen letters signed at the next meeting.
There was some discussion about working in rights of way, and eventually Vic made it clear that permits and fees, and various other things, applied to the gas and electric utility companies doing work.
Vic: We only require a permit for driveways.
John Festa raised a question about the health insurance.
Marie: It was in the first meeting in October.
John Festa: I was not paying attention. [!!!!] I did not approve anything for that so I want to stand my ground on this. There is a real savings spike on the alternate plan: If we go with Anthem we will save about $25,000.
There was discussion about this. Jason asked if John Festa knew the difference in coverage. He said that last year's had just a slightly lower deductible but everything else seemed about the same.
Marie thought there was a large difference in the deductible, but John Festa thought it was small compared to the $25,000 savings.
Then there was some discussion about whether Brian Savage should be called, but John Festa said that Brian had not called him back.
Vic: I remember Marie bringing it up and that Brian Savage said it was a 9% increase and that we would stay with it by consensus.
John Festa: I didn't agree.
[Blogger: I find no motion to act on this in my notes. Here's my question: How is it that John Festa thinks that he alone, apparently, can have the say on this? And he said he wasn't paying attention. So how does he know what was going on, let alone apparently expect to be able to rule the roost?
[That's one thing. Another is that I was told that the change--was it made?--would increase Dan's cost by quite a bit. And, with Brian Tayerle now having a child, I would assume that his cost would increase as well.]
Township Hall Updates:
Cal Brant reported that all 36 window shutters are OK. They have all been painted. [Blogger: And by now some of them have been installed, and the building is looking more and more handsome.]
Cal, continuing: None of the old cupola shutters were painted, but the two new ones were. The older ones actually are not usable at this stage, but they can be repaired for about $450, in contrast to $1200 for six new shutters.
There was an open purchase for work on the Township Hall which Jason thought should probably be left open. It was for $534, and Cal thought it may not take that much. By consensus, the trustees agreed to leave that purchase order open and standing.
Then there was discussion about speed studies and the jake brake use on Center Road between Mennonite and SR 82.
A letter from a resident who had been badly injured at SR 82 and Center Road has been forwarded to the proper person at ODOT, and Jason has acquired the OHP crash reports. [Apparently another study is going to be done, comparing the Chamberlin Road and Center Road intersections for sight lines, among other things. They are backed up by about a month.
Regarding the jake brake, Jason thought that another speed study might result in reducing the speed limit on Center Road, in which case the need to deal with the jake brake might be eliminated.
Jason read the resolution requesting a speed evaluation between Mennonite Road and SR 82. Vic seconded. Unanimous, by roll call.
John Festa reported that he had not heard from Crestwood Schools superintendent Dave Toth about having students do the township newsletter and was going to concentrate on another avenue.
Discussion of changes to the cemetery regulations was tabled until next year.
A section for legal ads has been added to the website.
Brian Tayerle reported that in their spare time the road crew was working on Frost Road towards Pioneer Trail to cut back trees. The salt shed is full, and a mild December will help get us through the year in good shape.
Brian thanked the trustees for the boots, lights, and wrenches.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Trustees 12-18-14: Todd Peetz's Role, School Use Committees
Blogger Foreword: This section of the post (or maybe the whole thing) will be the transcript of my notes of Todd Peetz's comments to the trustees regarding the way the committees should work as they work on what it will take to get us into the school building. From the beginning, Todd's view--and that of the residents who see the school as a valuable asset that we need to use--is that the purpose of the committees is to move ahead to begin using the building. That was clarified by Eric Hummel in the first Building Assessment Committee meeting. The sentiment has not been universally honored, as time and various subsequent meetings and blog posts will reveal.
The meeting began with money being transferred from some funds into others, as every government entity does at this time of year. There was also a little discussion about replacing the copier, with the decision about how to do that deferred until the January 8, 2015 meeting.
Todd Peetz, Director of Portage County Regional Planning, began his remarks at about 7:50.
Todd: A quick update. We did the plan in early spring--adopted a plan to use current technical assistance hours. [Note: Each township gets an allowance of a certain number of hours of advising and help from Regional Planning. The number varies a little, I believe, with the population of each township. We get 40 or 46 hours. I have heard both numbers and have 46 in my notes.]
On October 2, 2014, we had the first kickoff meeting. On November 11, the Building Assessment Committee met, with a second meeting on December 2. Before that, the Building Utilization Committee met. The December 2 meeting was joint with the assessment committee. [Blogger: Several members of the Funding Committee attended as well on December 2.]
On Monday (December 22) the contractors are meeting to figure out costs.
Fund Raising/Sponsorship Committee: They need to begin working on what grants can be sought. [Blogger: That sentence is more mine than Todd's. I think the intention is accurate.]
The DMRC and other such entities are also looking for grants. We need to gegin looking for sources of funds so they can write grants.
In the meantime, we [should] begin to talk about hours spent. I am not asking for a decision tonight. I want you to have a chance to think about it.
I need to understand my role a bit better. I thought my role was to facilitate the meetings and to let the volunteer committees to work among themselves. But it turned out more as if I was managing those meetings rather than facilitating. I put that on the list.
Also, the roles of the committees need to be clarified. You can see if this is different than what you imagined.
When do we have meetings? The trustees need to be notified when committees are meeting. There should be at least a week of lead time so it can be posted in some way so members of the public know it is available.
Where should these happen? It should be where the public can attend. The Building Assessment Committee was granted more leeway.
An agenda should be done and minutes taken. Information should be shared among all members and all should get the same document. If I am managing it, I will coordinate . If it is the chair and co-chair, they should manage and coordinate.
Mantua Township began with 53 hours. I remember Jason asking me to tell him when you got to within 10 hours. My person tole me we are now over 10.
I do not want to nickel and dime the township. Next year you get another 46 hours.
[Then Todd went through the number of hours--26.] If I am a facilitator, I only see myself getting into three more meetings with everything coming together. That is about 12 hours.
If you want me to be more hands-on, I estimate eight meetings, and that would include the three community meetings. I tried to be on the liberal side and tell you I need more rather than saying less. I may not need 46 hours. [Blogger: 46 and 26 are what's in my notes. I always have trouble keeping up with note taking when numbers are involved, so no one should quote me on these.]
[If the trustees want Todd to manage the meetings, a different method of funding will come into play.]
Todd: [The managing] would be about 20 hours and would cost $1800.
I am not asking you to make a decision right now. This is the first time I have explained this to you. I do not want to just drop it into your lap. The committees should be consistent in how they are working.
Jason: I appreciate how you are working on this. I think your role was cloudy. I appreciate you telling the difference between facilitating and managing. I think we can review this and at the first meeting next year come up with a decision. Maybe there is a happy medium--maybe facilitate with checkpoints.
Marie asked Todd a question about another matter, since he was there, and then he wished everyone happy holidays and left.
Club and Committee Reports were pretty brief, for the most part.
The Garden Club met for its annual Christmas dinner meeting and will not meet again until March.
LCA--Nothing to report.
Chamber of Commerce--no regular meeting, but a Christmas dinner/social event at Miller's of Mantua.
Mantua Restoration Society, Inc. Jason explained that Mark Hall, President of the restoration society, had called about bringing a cake to celebrate that the school building is now paid off. A decorated cake had been brought, with the writing on it announcing that the school is paid in full.
Vic: Mark, I appreciate that you take back to the society all the help our organization has given us both on the school and this building. All the donations of time and money to get this building painted this year.
Then, to Larry Leitzow--Larry, you and Gloria for your contribution and call Brant, all the time you have contributed free of charge.
The meeting was then recessed so we could eat cake.
The meeting began with money being transferred from some funds into others, as every government entity does at this time of year. There was also a little discussion about replacing the copier, with the decision about how to do that deferred until the January 8, 2015 meeting.
Todd Peetz, Director of Portage County Regional Planning, began his remarks at about 7:50.
Todd: A quick update. We did the plan in early spring--adopted a plan to use current technical assistance hours. [Note: Each township gets an allowance of a certain number of hours of advising and help from Regional Planning. The number varies a little, I believe, with the population of each township. We get 40 or 46 hours. I have heard both numbers and have 46 in my notes.]
On October 2, 2014, we had the first kickoff meeting. On November 11, the Building Assessment Committee met, with a second meeting on December 2. Before that, the Building Utilization Committee met. The December 2 meeting was joint with the assessment committee. [Blogger: Several members of the Funding Committee attended as well on December 2.]
On Monday (December 22) the contractors are meeting to figure out costs.
Fund Raising/Sponsorship Committee: They need to begin working on what grants can be sought. [Blogger: That sentence is more mine than Todd's. I think the intention is accurate.]
The DMRC and other such entities are also looking for grants. We need to gegin looking for sources of funds so they can write grants.
In the meantime, we [should] begin to talk about hours spent. I am not asking for a decision tonight. I want you to have a chance to think about it.
I need to understand my role a bit better. I thought my role was to facilitate the meetings and to let the volunteer committees to work among themselves. But it turned out more as if I was managing those meetings rather than facilitating. I put that on the list.
Also, the roles of the committees need to be clarified. You can see if this is different than what you imagined.
When do we have meetings? The trustees need to be notified when committees are meeting. There should be at least a week of lead time so it can be posted in some way so members of the public know it is available.
Where should these happen? It should be where the public can attend. The Building Assessment Committee was granted more leeway.
An agenda should be done and minutes taken. Information should be shared among all members and all should get the same document. If I am managing it, I will coordinate . If it is the chair and co-chair, they should manage and coordinate.
Mantua Township began with 53 hours. I remember Jason asking me to tell him when you got to within 10 hours. My person tole me we are now over 10.
I do not want to nickel and dime the township. Next year you get another 46 hours.
[Then Todd went through the number of hours--26.] If I am a facilitator, I only see myself getting into three more meetings with everything coming together. That is about 12 hours.
If you want me to be more hands-on, I estimate eight meetings, and that would include the three community meetings. I tried to be on the liberal side and tell you I need more rather than saying less. I may not need 46 hours. [Blogger: 46 and 26 are what's in my notes. I always have trouble keeping up with note taking when numbers are involved, so no one should quote me on these.]
[If the trustees want Todd to manage the meetings, a different method of funding will come into play.]
Todd: [The managing] would be about 20 hours and would cost $1800.
I am not asking you to make a decision right now. This is the first time I have explained this to you. I do not want to just drop it into your lap. The committees should be consistent in how they are working.
Jason: I appreciate how you are working on this. I think your role was cloudy. I appreciate you telling the difference between facilitating and managing. I think we can review this and at the first meeting next year come up with a decision. Maybe there is a happy medium--maybe facilitate with checkpoints.
Marie asked Todd a question about another matter, since he was there, and then he wished everyone happy holidays and left.
Club and Committee Reports were pretty brief, for the most part.
The Garden Club met for its annual Christmas dinner meeting and will not meet again until March.
LCA--Nothing to report.
Chamber of Commerce--no regular meeting, but a Christmas dinner/social event at Miller's of Mantua.
Mantua Restoration Society, Inc. Jason explained that Mark Hall, President of the restoration society, had called about bringing a cake to celebrate that the school building is now paid off. A decorated cake had been brought, with the writing on it announcing that the school is paid in full.
Vic: Mark, I appreciate that you take back to the society all the help our organization has given us both on the school and this building. All the donations of time and money to get this building painted this year.
Then, to Larry Leitzow--Larry, you and Gloria for your contribution and call Brant, all the time you have contributed free of charge.
The meeting was then recessed so we could eat cake.
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