[Blogger Foreword: This post is not going to make any attempt to cover the whole meeting. There was discussion between Linda Ehlert and Jason about the Historical Society. That will be included.
[Also included will be some discussion about the elevator project, but this post will concentrate on Jeff Jackson's presentation and discussion about the Community Center project at the school building.
[Nearly 40 people attended this meeting, some from the task force and some residents who are interested in the project and who have been committed to the school being saved, renovated, and used.
[Public comment will be included, although what I said will have to wait until I get the recording.]
The Mantua Shalersville Fire Department will stop monitoring the township's fire alarms at the end of December. This is of concern to the Historical Society because of their collection of artifacts, information, and archives on the upper floor. Jason gave Linda Ehlert, Historical Society president. the opportunity to comment.
Linda: Jason and I talked about this and Tim Benner delivered the letter to us. My understanding is that the monitoring had been getting done free. We do pay gas for the little bit of heat we have upstairs.
The township is thinking that maybe the historical society should pay a little more.
She commented that doing the monitoring via the internet sounded good.
Continuing: Our final meeting of the year will be the third Monday. If you can get me prices, let's have a discussion about it.
John Festa: Of course any new upgrades, we have to decide how much it will cost.
Jason: Just so everyone is aware, Linda and I have had some discussions about this. Getting upstairs in this building is very difficult. With the elevator going into the school, it is my idea that the historical society would be much better served in the school. I have had many discussions with people in the community. The elevator would help with accessibility.
Linda: We need $500/year for liability insurance.
Jason: I don't think we are ready right now to place people in there or rent out large areas.
[Blogger: A couple of meetings ago, Amy Janca proposed the same thing, with the added idea that the historical society holdings would be better protected in a climate controlled building. At the moment and for the foreseeable future, the school is hardly better climate controlled than the township hall. It will not be climate controlled until the upgrades, some time in the future, cover modern HVAC or the equivalent. Jason's idea may have come from that source, but I would bet on it being a new brainstorm from John Festa's patron.]
John Festa reported on the fire inspection and said that one recommendation was a CO detector because of the type of heater used upstairs in the township hall. The garage came out mostly OK in the inspection.
[That was no surprise to your faithful blogger. John Festa focuses on the trucks and equipment, and Jason lavishes his attention on the roads. The buildings, except for the garage, fend for themselves. My point of view is not against the garage; it is about the lack of balance in attention to our historic buildings.]
Vic mentioned a safety grant through OTARMA of $500 that could be applied to the lighting required as part of safety upgrades.
John Festa commented on the status of medical marijuana: The trustees can regulate the number of cultivators, processors, and dispensaries or prohibit them. A zoning resolution would be necessary, and Chris Meduri recommended both a zoning resolution and a resolution by the trustees.
Another option is to consider a moratorium.
Vic: I would like to see some of the other resolutions.
Vic's trustee report was next.
Vic: I have been working with Lisa Reeves, Regional Planning, on the elevator grant. There is still a lot of paperwork from Senator Eklund's office because there is still a 30-60 day lag after they receive the paperwork.
There is a walk through on Tuesday at the school at 9:30 for the electrical work.
Continuing: There were four quotes. The highest was $53,000, which was over the estimate. The lowest was $26,500 and there were two around $35,000.
Jason: Any idea about when construction might commence?
Vic: No. The holdup is that we have to certify the funds. We need the funds from Senator Eklund's office. Jodie Thompson has to certify $90,000 that we don't have. We can't even finish signing the bid for the elevator. We probably have enough.
I don't know if the electrical is tied into that. It was a separate bid but still part of the master contract.
John Festa: Does this all go through the commissioners?
Vic: Lisa Reeves is the contact. She has put a lot of time into this.
JF: I am concerned--it is getting close to winter time. [Right, he's concerned. This from the man whose employer bid on the project and cost us over a month to sort things out and re-bid.]
Vic: Lisa has been applying for extensions, but she can't do that forever.
Nancy Taffel's lease for the clothing giveaway rooms was extended.
There was some discussion about the logo and the website, with nothing definitive about either.
Public comment was next, and it will be its own post.
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.
