12-7-17 Trustees: Grimm and Pollard clarify some $

Blogger Foreword:  When Vic presented information at the beginning of the meeting, it included mention of $55,000 related to the elevator project.  There wasn't a lot of detail, but it got my attention.  The following exchange between Vic and me occurred in public comment and clarifies what the earlier mention was about.  Its content is correct, but it is not verbatim.  There is always a certain amount of "filler" in any of these exchanges; I don't need to spend the time keyboarding them, and you, dear reader, would not gain a whole lot by reading them.

Public Comment:

Carole Pollard, 5359 Allyn Road:  This $55,000 is on top of what has been paid?

Vic:  It is out of Eklund's grant.

CP:  What got my attention since none of the paperwork is in front of me is that Terrie Nielsen said at the last meeting that we only have $57,000 left and this number shows up as $55,000, and the hair stood up on the back of my neck.

This is just a general question about how the bids and contracts are done.  Does the county or Lisa Reeves do a "not to exceed" bid?

Vic:  Apparently not.

CP:  That's like a blank check, isn't it?

Vic:  When I worked on Federal jobs, if it was on the print, that was what I did.  Now, "I didn't bid that, I didn't bid that."
 [As a result, the project has been confronted with one change order after another, which costs time and money, in case anyone was wondering why a job that should have been done by the end of June now looks iffy for the end of January in the next year.]

Vic, continuing:  It is not a township project, it is a county project.  I am sure that amount of money . . . .The other was $5300, and $2700 of that was paid for by MaRSI for the generator switch.  I think Lisa Reeves has received that.

CP:  I think she has--I think Lynn Harvey was there the next day.

Vic:  There are two lights . . . .

CP:  How much does that come to?

Vic:  $218.00.  $109 each.\

CP:  We have discussed this.  MaRSI is willing to pick up the tab for those.

Vic:  I am not supposed to be involved. [Vic made that remark with a tone of wonder in his voice:  he isn't supposed to be involved, but if he were not, this project would not be as far along as it is.]

CP:  If the lights are a holdup, consider them paid for.

V:  I have them.  I picked them up the other day.

CP:  When I walked in tonight, I wasn't going to say anything, and then the $55,000 got my attention.

This post completes what was said in public comment.

Mantua Twp. Trustees 12-7-17, Public Comment

Blogger Foreword:  Although I was first in public comment, I am going to do the other speakers' remarks first, since I will have to listen to the recording for what I said.  None of us made remarks dependent on anyone else's, so there is no continuity to be damaged.

Dave Pollard, S.R. 82:   The only thing I have is technically township business.  There was another accident last week.  The cars got beat up, but no one seemed to have been hurt.  I really hope we can get something done to improve this.

The next thing--I wondered why the flag was at half staff and it was Pearl Harbor Day.  I did not have any relatives there.  Mr. Buonpane, the band director [for many years] was a Pearl Harbor survivor.  I hope people with children and grandchildren will sit down and talk with them about the importance of this day.  It changed the world.  I hope we never get caught that way again, although 9/11 was reminiscent of it.  We owe the people who were there a lot.

Looking at the news, we are getting to the season when people are going to be complaining about snow--but look at California.  I would rather drive down a road with walls of snow, not walls of fire.  They will have rain next, and then mud slides.  But we don't get hurricanes, earthquakes, huge fires.  Reading in one of my grazing magazines, some of those fires could be prevented by enough people running herds of goats which would keep the brush down.  But that will probably not happen.  There were multi million dollar homes lost.  There was nothing they could do.

I hope we can get the elevator working before we are all too old to get onto it.

Sue Lilley, Mantua Center Road:  We had a truck come down Mantua Center Road, and we were informed that a line is down.  It hits the trucks coming down the road.  [Blogger:  This confused me, because Mantua Center Road is closed.]

Jason and Vic both stated that Brian Tayerle is aware of it.

Sue Lilley asked about follow up and Jason with check with Brian.

Vic:  I sent Brian to check on it.  [Blogger:  My understanding is that that was done within about 10 minutes of the event.]

Sue Lilley:  There are some little tags hanging on it [the wire] to warn of it hanging too low.  I wondered if it was going to be fixed.

I learned that Vic is the zoning inspector.  [Correctly, he is the interim or acting zoning inspector while the trustees interview and choose a replacement for John Dickey.  They made their choice at the end of this night's meeting.]

Sue, continuing:  A resident applied for a zoning permit.  Any building down there has to go through the Army Corps of Engineers.  It has to go through them first.  I wanted you to know that to give a permit in a wetland you have to go through the ACE.  This is all on our websitye.  I talked with ACE and they said the zoning inspector was aware of that.

Vic:  We approved the zoning requirements.  This is not a bulding permit.

Jason:  That does not mean he can start building.  He has to go to the building department first.  Anyone on Mantua Center Road should be informed of this. 

Sue Lilley:  Mr. Korner has been trucking in dirt for the last 2-1/2 months.

Jason:  That is out of our hands--wetlands, for example, is out of our hands.  We do not have any documents that will let us enforce that.  We can only do what is covered by the Ohio Revised Code.  In a situation like this, it is out of the township's hands.

SL:  The ACE has been contacted, butI hoped you could do something about this.

Jason:  I understand your concern, but there is nothing we can do about it.  [The website mentioned is the Army Corps of Engineers'.]

Vic:  I will check the website.  [He cited the relevant section of the ORC:  600.]

SL:  Can he build up the property?

Vic:  There is nothing in our regulations to cover that.

Jason explained the township's powers and limitations.  He can not build without the building permit.

SL:  Is there a way to inform people so that they know?

Vic:  I will review Section 600.

Jason:  Said more about the wetlands and what the township can designate.  It has been deemed a wetland by some other agency, like the ACE.

SL:  If a citizen wants to build there, I would like for something to be in zoning so people know.

Vic:  In our zoning, it is referred to as residential.

John Festaasked about Portage County Soil and Water.

SL:  We talked to them.

John Festa also asked about Portage County Water Resources giving any help.

SL:  They don't have a clue who we are.  The Portage County Building Department was not aware of the full extent of the regulations.

Vic:  I know there are a few things that deal with drainage but I don't know how much is in our zoning.

SL:  The ACE told me this has been in effect for five years.

Dave Pollard was recognized at this point.  [Dave was an alternate on the zoning commission for a number of years, and also a member of the Land Use Committee before that.]
I don't think zoning was aware of ACE superseding our regulations.  If you can get maps and information from ACE, we can put it into the zoning regulation.

Vic agreed and added, I will check the zoning and make sure at our next meeting . . . .

John Festa pointed out a new chart/map from the county which may be relevant.  [It is on the east wall of the township hall, just to the right of the door there.]

Vic:  I will follow up on it.  The new zoning book went into effect in 2011, so if this happened in the last five years, we need to make some changes.

To Sue:  Did he apply for an agricuiltural permit?

SL:  He is doing everything right now, but before he learned all of this he went through a lot of extra work.

[That ended public comment.  I will do one more post with my own comments and include the information about the new zoning inspector.]

Trustees 12-7-17: Routine business

In Jodie Thompson's absence, Vic presented the correspondence and some paperwork regarding the elevator grant.

He announced that Carl Zeleznik's (sp?) son and grandson have taken over the graphic design/sign business that Carl owns in the Village.

Brian Tayerle, Road Crew Supervisor, reported that 50 tons of salt have been ordered, and then that they were working on the trucks for the winter.  Any patching now will have to be cold patch, since the hot mix plants have shut down for the winter.

John Festa commented that he had heard something about grants available to townships for things like generators.  His comment was that I thought maybe we could find the application and stay ahead of this.  Jason thought nothing was available at present, and then there was something about NOPEC.  Apparently there is some kind of overage that NOPEC has accumulated and is tring to figure out how to get it back to customers.

John Festa reported that the township has gotten a check for about $22,000 for the Civic Center roof.  He wanted to get out specs for sealed bids and commented that the spec sheet Terry Hroneck (sp?) had given the trustees seemed pretty good.  John Festa hoped that maybe we could save enough money on the roofing to be able to paint the building.

Jason talked a little about restoring the historic ceiling in the gym/auditorium (Civic Center) to preserve the historic feeling.

[Blogger:  This all strikes me as very interesting, given the previous indifference and resistance to anything having to do with the school--also a historic building.  No matter--the buildings have kind of fended for themselves for a fair amount of time.]

Vic:  When the roof is off, that would be a time to insulate.

Vic had no new business, but did have the insurance papers top sign from Mr. Kasmarik, who had planned to be at the meeting but could not make it.

[Jason, I believe.]:  Update about the wireless tower:  Our certified letter went out, but not sure if we got anything back on that.  It is now up to them.
The next step if they want to continue would be to contact Zoning, who at this time is Vic.  Then they would apply for a conditional use permit.

Vic:  In June John Dickey (former Zoning Inspector) was notified about putting a tower in that area.  I haveno idea [about the relationship between the two companies], because it was not the same as the one that hjas juist shown up.

Jason  [to the Bainses, who came to the last meeting because of the wireless tower]:  As soon as we know something (about7-8 different residents have contacted us) . . . .

Vic:  The City of Aurora has also contacted us.  The City of Aurora law director wrote a letter oppposing it.  Residents from Auburn and Aurora and Mantua Township are all involved.  No word from Bainbridge.


There was no additional old or new business.

John Festa:  I am still concerned about the heat upstairs in the township hall.  There is no heat up there.

Vic:  We can turn the gas back on.

John Festa:  There is a lot of stuff up there that will not make it if it goes without heat for very long.

Vic talked about a way to get some heat up there and commented thjat they would get the heat turned back on.

John Festa:  Joel Holt was the attorney for Mrs. Taylor and is no longer the attorney for her.  He hadtried to get her to sign the agreement and they did notsee eye to eye.  She now hasno legal representation.  I don't know how [things will work out now.]   I will reach out to Chris Meduri and see what he has to say.  If we get a bunch of snow, we will have problems.

There was some discussion about that.

Then there was something technical for the elevator.

John Festa:  The recall system still has to be gotten in.    Vic explained some things about that.

Public Comment came next and began at 8:10.  Your faithful blogger needs to get the recording for that.  Dave Pollard, Carole Pollard, and Sue Lilley all spoke; I could do Dave's and Sue's remarks without the recording and do mine when I get it, since this time the content of each speaker's remarks was not related to the others'. 

11/16/17 Public Comment & 2 Trustees holding township regulations in low esteem.

Public Comment began at 8:45.

Jan Oros:  I have a question on the shared services [with the church] which was talked about last meeting.  I did not see iton the minutes.  ou talked about charging the church for plowing every time.  I had some questions on how it all might work.

Jason:  Everything needs to be taken into consideration.  I hope Brian Summerlin can take that back to the church.  [Brian and Dottie Summerlin were both in attendance.]  I tried to put a dollar figure to everything.

Jan:  There are three entities using the services.

Jason:  Nothing that I put onto the sheet I submitted to them is iron clad.  I juist tried to split those costs up.

Jan:  [Blogger:  Some hypotheticals that I did not follow came here.]

Jan, continuing:  The second thing is that a friend of mine told me they were in the Civic Center and there were a lot of bees.

Sue Skrovan:  They sprayed last Wednesday.  There was a craft class  _____ [missed a word].  There were a couple of bees, but we swept up a lot of dead ones.

Terry Ronak:  If you need anything from Warehouse Club, I have a membership and drive there every week.  You don't need a membership.

Terrie Nielsen:  I noticed some blacktopping was done at the school at the handicapped spaces.  Whenever that is done, because I work for the Board of Elections, I need to check to make sure the lines are correct.  They are not.

Vic was startled at that.

Terrie:  Spaces have to be eight feet wide plus five feet of white line.  For a van it has to be eleven feet.

Vic:  That was from the contractor.  I was cleaning at the same time and asked them and they said they were doing the lines right.  They said, the contractor.  This was the elevator contractor.  If I would have known we would have paid to have the whole thing done.  Now that I know it is wrong, I'm glad we didn't.  Please do check.

Terrie:  It is flat.  The level is good.

Dave Pollard:  Three things.  First, Susan and I hosted an after voting get together after the election.  We had our best turnout.  People seemed to be pretty much in favor of it.  We got enough donations to cover our expenses and put aside some for the next event.  We are hoping (I will check with Terrie Nielsen) to be able to use the room on the top floor at the opposite side of the school [eventually].
People have accepted it and are looking forward to it.  The poll workers would like to be able to just go inside the building.

About the bell tower:  If Hummel puts in a bid at least it  will be done in a professional manner, unlike the elevator.  We are about 6 months behind where we thought we would be for completion.

The other thing is that it is over and done now, and some people will say it doesn't matter.  But a couple of days before the election a bunch of signs sprouted up along SR 44 and SR 82.  I doubt that anyone asked permission.  The state owns that property.  It violated the Zoning regulation.  As a sitting trustee [to Jason] you should have known that.  You didn't put the signs up, but someone working for you did.  Someone from outside said it looked trashy.

I know for a fact [still to Jason] that it cost you and Matt some votes.  [Somewhere in his remarks, Dave cited the township zoning resolution by number.]

You can laugh, Mr. Festa.  Go right ahead.  It is just an indication of how you . . . . [Even after three repeats on the recording of the meeting, I could not get what Dave actually said.]

[Blogger:  Just to remind everyone of what they already know:  John Festa was not up for election, and so he didn't have a dog in this hunt.  But he sure launched himself into it.  In case he hasn't ever noticed, Jason has absolutely no trouble taking care of himself, including threatening to call the sheriff if someone disagrees with him strongly enough.
[What follows reveals character and the real attitude toward our township government of several people.]

John Festa:  This is one of the most cordial elections we have had in a long time.  I am proud of all the candidates that ran this year.  It doesn't matter about where the signs were--it was very cordial.

[So if you rob someone, for example, it's OK if you are cordial and smile while you do it?  Apparenly, for John Festa, the answer is yes.]

Jason:  The election is over, and thje signs are down.  Time to move on.

Dave:  It still violated zoning.  The people who feel they were unnecessarily hassled and cited and threatened with legal action by Mr. Dickey would have every reason to feel to feel bitter that an elected official did not have to observe the laws.


John Festa:  I just wanted to make known that it was a very cordial election.

Dave:  Thank you for reminding me of that.  That was what I wanted to say.  It does not take away from the fact of the violation.

There was more back and forth with John Festa.

Jason:  Call the state and have them taken down.  [Blogger:  Because I was smoking my pen across the page, I did not see Jason when he said that, but his tone was odd and contained a hint of mockery--the kind of tone that is used against someone on the playground or as now in adult life when one person has the power or has gotten by with something and the other can do nothing about it.  Class.]

Carole Pollard, 5359 Allyn Road:  I wasn't going to say anything tonight BUT the issue was observing out zoning regulations.

Jason:  We have already talked about that.

CP:  No, we have not, because John Festa said you would not ignore or violate your own zoning regulations in regard to the bullpen.  Now you have done that.

John Festa:  We didn't put the signs up.

CP:  So who's running the township?

JF:  We didn't have time to make any kind of action about the signs.  That night they were gone.

[Someone, not I, said, "So that makes it right?"]

John Festa:  Are you going to turn a very cordial election into a shouting match over the signs?

CP:  That's a nice spin.

JF:  Let's move on.  The election is over. 

CP:  And there's another one in two years.

[Blogger: Somewhere in the swirl of comments, Jason said something about the blog.  I could not pick it up off the recording.  Someone said it was, "Put it in your blog, Carole.  Yep.  Done.]

Sue Skrovan:   This is not what I wanted to say, but I am glad it was brought up.  Two years ago the same thing happened.  This year they were up for two days.  They looked terrible.  I hope that our elected officials would follow our zoning standards.  We hold you to a higher standard.  John Dickey was trying to address them but failed miserably.  It looks bad.

As cordial as people may be, the people running the campaign have the responsibility.

John Festa:  We had no control over this.  What are we supposed to do as trustees?
[Blogger:  In my experience, this is the last resort of the completely ineffectual:  There was nothing I/we could do.]

Sue:  We are talking merely about your own campaign committees, the people that are helping you.

John Festa:  Now you are insinuating that someone from a candidate's committee. . . .

Sue:  Anyone putting a sign out should know what their campaign was doing.

John Festa:  There were three different signs.  [Blogger:  There were four:  those for Matt and Jason, those for two school board candidates, and those for Vote No on the school levy.  Count much, JF?]

[Blogger:  I think there may have been more wrangling, but Vic stepped in at that point.]

Vic:  I think everybody agrees that it makes the township look bad.  This is freedom of speech and is hard to address.  We have talked to Chris Meduri about it a lot--it is very hard to control

Sue:  My concern is that when one is seen doing it, it makes it worse.

My original reason for signing in was to congratulate you--Jason and Vic--for a successful election.

Vic thanked everyone who supported him.

Jason:  An election occurs on our own personal time.  Everybody knows that for any election things go on that are ? and it gets nasty and ugly.  The township here is all very cordial.  The people running for school board can't say the same thing.

Jan Oros said something about the law.

Dottie Summerlin:  I want to thank the trustees and the Garden Club for getting ready for the Christmas walk.  We had 58 people come through, total, on both weekends.  We didn't up on the program, bur we had an insert that went with the ticket.  All of the houses were in other parts of the township and beyond.  We got some people who came just because we put a sign out.  One person was a KSU student who needed to do photos of historic places.  This was a gold mine for him.

Historical Society officers have been elected:  Dottie is the president; your blogger cannot decipher my note for vice president; Jodie Thompson is the treasurer, and Dottie commented on how nice it is to have an officer under 60.  Linda Ehlert and MaryLou Selander are the trustees.

Dottie said, We are trying to take the museum to a new direction. So thank you.

That was the end of public comment.  There was an executive session, but I did not stay until the meeting resumed following that.

Trustees 11-16-17: Summary of various items

Blogger Foreword:  After skimming what was discussed between the end of the previous blog post and the beginning of  public comment, I thought that getting a sense of the meeting required at least a summary of that section.  So here it is.

Jason read a letter/notice about a wireless communication tower proposed on Bartlett (?)/Crackle (sp?) Road.  Robert and Jeanie Wilson had come to the meeting to discuss the proposed location.

Jason read the letter, which had been sent to people owning property contiguous to the proposed site of the tower.  He also commented on the very tight time frame to respond, and the timing just before a holiday.  That very narrow window is unusual.  Also, something that the trustees should have received had not been received.

There was some discussion about the actual locations and the owners.  Some of the residents affected are probably in Auburn Township.

Jeanie Wilson:  The owner of the property intended for the tower has much other land to put it on.  Those towers are not good for people to be around.

Jason thanked them for coming to the meeting and promised to follow up.

Sue Skrovan reported on the Civic Center:  During the summer months, rentals drop off but pick up in the fall.  Weekends in October, November, and December are filling up quickly.  The yellow jackets are 99% gone.

Vic:  If any more are flying around, the exterminator will come back.

John Festa:  We are going to get a check [from the insurance company] for $21,000 for the Civic Center.  I thought this was mighty generous and we will get a lot of benefit.  At the next meeting maybe we can talk about getting bids.

Vic:  While you are talking about that, Terry Ronak had provided us with a spec sheet.  Thank you, Terry.
Are we reponsible for paying for the one repair?

John Festa:  $450.00.

Vic:  It looks like we can take bids on it.

John Festa asked Terry Ronak about metal roofs.

Terry:  A metal roof is noisier, and the [existing] shingles have to be pulled off anyhow.  Shingles have come so far they are almost lifetime.  The Owens Corning Kevlar is very difficult to rip off in a wind.

Vic:  Terry did drop of a couple of samples with the Kevlar.

Other business:  Letters have to go to zoning commission  members Kathy Kelley and Joy Brunetti, whose terms are expiring.

Vic mentioned talking with the road crew about some money that we get every year from our insurance company [I think I have that right] for safety-related items.

Vic, continuing:  Also, we had a meeting at the school for the elevator yesterday.  I think it was pretty productive.  There are a few things the township needs to address.

Yesterday morning I attended a District 7 meeting about roads.  It is here in black and white that Chamberlain Road paving was approved.  It is high on the list, so it should not get dumped.

Jason:  I called and asked when Mantua Center would be re-opened.  They are going to try to do that in house, which would save quite a bit.  The goal is to begin and complete it next summer.
He asked Vic about Chamberlain.

Vic:  Chamberlain scored 69 on the point system; the highest was 71.  I am not sure how much of it will be paved.
I have a meeting with Larry Kasmarik, who suggested that we may want to stay with who we have [for health insurance].  He will meet with Jodie Thompson and me next Tuesday here.

There was some discussion about the Baker residence, but I am not sure what that was about.  The people who live there, on Chamberlain Road, were at the last meeting.  When Jason asked about whether Vic should handle it, Vic passed it back to Jason.

Blogger:  This ends a quick pass between Terrie Nielsen's presentation about Grants and Funding and the beginning of public comment.


    

And Now to Resume: Trustees November 16, 2017

Blogger Foreword:  Well, the hiatus was longer than intended thanks to computer problems that kept me from doing anything but curse technology--and realize that, in spite of disliking the computer intensely, it would almost be easier to do without my car than without this idiot box on the desk.

OK, enough of that.  Here we go again.  My intention for the November 16 trustees meeting is to cover only two things:  Terrie Nielsen's report for the Grants and Funding Committee, and public comment.   And probably make a nod to anything else that seems to warrant it, but mostly only a mention.

Garden Club, Sue Skrovan:  The members will be electing officers and working on new ideas.

Restoration Society:  Another cookie walk and art event will be held in mid February.  This also looks like a good time to have a grand opening celebration for the elevator.  Surely it will be operational by then.  [Summarized remarks.]  

Terrie Nielsen, Grants and Funding Committee:  The state capital money:  no work has been done [using that money for the next phase].  $87,000 has gone to the elevator.  We have until the end of June 2018 to use the money.  We have been requesting companies to give us quotes to essentially restore the bell tower.  A number have been approached.  The only one providing a quote/scope of work is Hummel Construction.

We have $57,000 remaining in the capital fund grant.  The work on the bell tower  is $62,380.  I forwarded each trustee a copy of that quote.  This is a not to exceed quote.  I sent it to the Ohio Facilities group, and they said it looked to be in order.  The reason I am here is the discrepancy between the two amounts:  what is available and the bid.  It is $6,850.

I asked Hummel what they would have to take off to get it down to $57,000.  They would have to eliminate the scraping, caulking, and painting.

Part of the pricing is scaffolding around the tower.  It they do the other work and then take that down, then whoever comes back to do the painting will charge for erecting the scaffolding again.

Do the trustees have any money to cover that gap?  No should be coming to the township before the next fiscal year.  I sent the trustees a letter from the state that the dob does not have to be bid on.

 [If] the trustees are in a position to make a contribution there are other entities that can contribute, but that will be influenced by whether the trustees kick in.

Jason asked a question which your faithful blogger missed.

Terrie:  Once I get a bill, I send that to the state and then the state deposits it in the township's account.  There is a 2-3 week time lag between submission and the receipt of the money here.

Jason:  We can only spend so much on a mile of road, it must be bid out.  The elevator had to be bid out through the county.  I don't know with something this large whether there is something in the ORC that will require us to bid it out because the money goes through our funds.

Terrie:  I can talk to Jessica again.  Most of the entities that get these funds are political subdivisions.  I will lay this out to her and make sure about whether it has to be bid ouit.

Vic:  I can find out tomorrow.

Terrie:  Generally there is a $50,000 threshold, but I don't know if that applies here.  I will talk with Jessica tomorrow and find out.

Vic:  I will talk to Chris Meduri.

John Festa:  I don't mind our helping out with something the township owns.  My first concern is the ORC, which has been addressed.

My second concern is the optics of Hummel Construction.  I think Chris Meduri will give us an OK.  My concern is that Hummel is part of the committee and then he might get the contract.  The problem is how it looks from the outside and if Chris Meduri is OK with it, I am also.

Terrie:  The gentleman who did the work on the elevator was asked at the beginning of the summer to give us a quotre, and it never happened.  I started working on it then.  I would be more than happy to explain that to anyone who asks.  To my knowledge, the only committee that still meets is Grants and Funding.

John Festa:  We as trustees have to protect the people's money.  We can accept l;ow bid or best bid, but if we only have on on paper . . . .  If the difference was a few thousand, then the best bid would be Hummel.  [Blogger:  Sounds all very pious, doesn't it?]

Vic:  Has Jessica accepted that bid as OK?

Terrie:  It is a three or four step process.  I had originally sent her Cal Brant's bid before he passed away.  She said that would not work because of the vocabulary.  The terminology has to be satisfactory.  Then I sent her Hummel's bid and it was OK.

Because the building is on the National Register, the Ohio Preservation office must give it their blessing and then there is another agreement and blessing.  The same process has to be followed for the bell tower.

If she had said that this would not work, we would have to start over.

Vic:  As John Festa says, we are looking at more outlay on the elevator.  We just had a meeting yesterday.  The township still has to come up with some of the financial[s] [this] year.

John Festa:  We know you put your heart and soul into this.  There warethingswedidn't anticipate, but we are dealing with it.

Vic:  It is just too early tonight to come up with it.  But I feel that oneway oranother we can come up with some help, township or other.

Terrie:  I will continue.

Vic:  Do you expectto getany other quotres?

Terrie:  No.   I will continue to work with Ohio Preservation.  Maybe at the next meeting that will give time for Chris Meduri, and I can talk to Jessica and we can cross t's and dot i's.

John Festa raised a question about something in Hummel's bid, and Terrie explained that.

Terrie:  They will do the flashing around the bell tower but that is all.   I am going to suggest that he put in no roofing work  except for the flashing around the bell tower.

John Festa thanked her again.

Jason confirmed with Vic that Vic would  talk with Chris Meduri.

End of Post




 

Hiatus Revoked in Outrage

OK, everyone--I announced a break too soon.  There is also, as of 5:44 p.m. on 11/6, an additional clarification at the end of this post for those who are just coming to it. 

This morning, heading west on Rt. 82, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a bunch of red, white, black, and blue signs for school board candidates, Jason Carlton, Matt Parsons, and probably Vote No as well.  I noticed people's names a lot more.

They may not be technically illegal, but they are not proper.  They are in the right of way, just off the gravel at the edge of the road. They constitute a legal liability if someone damages a vehicle by hitting one or a bunch--it would be hard to avoid wiping out a lot--if s/he ran off onto the shoulder.  The rest of us who put out signs made a point of (a) asking the homeowner and (b) putting the signs out of the right of way, even if that made them less noticeable.

So--here is my question for any of you who happen to read this post:

What sort of government do you expect from someone who will pull or condone such behavior in order to get elected?

Oh, you may say--they didn't know the signs were going up.  Really?  Why not?  Their names are on them--and not just the candidates for trustee.  

Oh, but those signs were put up by their supporters, not the candidates.  

OK, and do you think those supporters are just going to go home and munch nachos after the election?  Or are they going to figure that by contributions or effort expended they own a piece of the people elected, and will, by gum, take that pound of flesh or know the reason why?

The township should not be the personal sandbox of people like that. 

If you ask, I'll tell you what I really think. 

Clarification:  Mantua Township zoning regulations prohibit putting signs in the right of way.  So the people who put them there have violated a local resolution, and everything in the above post stands. 

A Hiatus

The blog will be on leave until time to cover the next trustees meeting, which is on November 16.

If you are not on the blog contact list, check back the weekend after the 16th.

If you are on the contact list, I will as usual send out a New Post message.

I will check in a few times to see if anyone has e-mailed me.

Curiouser and Curiouser

Blogger:  My apologies to Lewis Carroll, of Alice in Wonderland fame, for the title of the post.

This is a really quick pass through several things at the 11-2-17 trustees meeting.

First, the chairperson is responsible for the agenda for a meeting.  Jason usually comes in close to the last minute before the posted meeting time and puts the agenda on the sign-in table.

At this meeting, not only was there no agenda, there was not a mention nor an explanation for the omission.

There were some other odd things at this meeting.

One was that Jason decided to revisit the shared services between the township and the church.  This is not the first time, and seems to be prompted by the notion that the church is benefiting from the arrangement.  Cost is mentioned.  I will say that Jason mentioned he wasn't quite sure how to determine a cost arrangement.  (I believe I remember that being part of the commentary.)

I know that the church is paying rent to the trustees for the two small rooms in the school that are used for the clothing giveaway.

John Festa referred to the letters that I presented to the trustees at the last meeting, holding up some of the signature pages.  [That letter is verbatim, complete with a grammar error (mine, to my rue),  in the post of that meeting.]  John Festa thought action should be taken upon the request in the letter, saying that he was "moved" by the statement.  "Moved" is a very strange choice of word for a pretty nuts-and-bolts letter--not as if it was a plea to stop puppy mills, or something equally emotionally loaded.  Public relations?  "See, I really have a heart and compassion for people."  Interesting.

And then there was Vic's comment about the Civic Center roof, which had come up at the last meeting.  Amy Janca had offered the name of a roofing company in addition to Vic's comment that he had the number of a good, reliable business.

Vic said that the next morning (8:45 was mentioned, and I think it was a.m., not the night before) when he went to/spoke with the insurance agent, someone was already there trying to file a claim.  He thought that was distinctly odd.  [The other thing that baffles me is how an insurance company will replace the roof--not just repair it--at no charge, which John Festa mentioned.]

As usual, I was taking notes and so did not see everything, but two people said that Amy Janca suddenly appeared to be uncomfortable--"squirming" was the word used.  Of everyone who attends, the only one who just pipes up and inserts herself into the discussion is Amy.  She is not the fourth trustee, but she seems unaware of that.  She then added comments about roofing company scams.  I am not sure how that connected to anything.  The timing here is very odd--questionable, in fact; hardly looks like coincidence.

I have some theories, but they are only theories.  By observation, however, Amy clearly assumes privilege.

What follows is a quote from an editorial about the assault on freedom of speech and ethics in this country:

"The measure of a person, like the measure of a nation, is the ability to adhere to principle in times of chaos and strife.  I mean, who is the hero?  The guy who leads the lynch mob, or the guy who sands up against the vigilante, even to protect the guilty.  The hero is a person who would stand up against his friends."  (David P. Baugh, civil rights lawyer.)

That is a quote within the editorial.  Next is the editor's comment building on it:

"Integrity is:  'Having integrity means doing the right thing in a reliable way.  It's a personality trait that we admire, since it means a person has a moral compass that doesn't waver.  It literally means having "wholeness" of character, just as an integer is a "whole number with no fractions.'''

I have lost track of how long I have been doing the blog.  What I haven't lost track of is the people who have a moral compass and those who waver.  If you are a regular reader, you should have a similar sense.

The person who never wavers is Vic.








    

Who Needs a Reluctant Candidate:?

This is one of those "the rest of the story" tales.

In the spring, someone I know and was having coffee with declared that Jason was "absolutely" not running.  I asked about the source and was assured that it was very reliable, which I believe.

Report also has it that earlier in the year Jason pulled back from some county boards and committees (I may not have the titles  of the organizations correct) that he had been involved in.  I am not sure whether he is still involved in all of the things he listed on his campaign card.

If you feel like paging back through the blog in maybe late June/early July, I think I mentioned that Larry Leitzow had escorted someone to the meetings, an unknown who we learned  was Mike Lovejoy, whose wife, Bonnie, was a school board member.  She had been one of Norm Erickson's proteges.

At the first meeting, Larry introduced Mike to the group from Robin Park.  Also, during that meeting, he kept up a running commentary that someone with a better view of things than I had said apparently embarrassed Mr. Lovejoy.

He came to three meetings and disappeared.

Jason filed papers to run for trustee after Mike Lovejoy stopped coming to meetings.

Four years ago I had heard very obliquely that Jason had some misgivings about running then--but did.

So here we are, with someone who seems to have doubts about what he's doing, despite the post card.

The work of trustee is demanding for someone who wants the job.  Someone whose heart isn't in it or who has been talked into it--a logical surmise, under the circumstances and in view of where the signs are--is that what the township deserves?  

Trustee Tally 10-19

Blogger Foreword:  This was a very quiet meeting: mostly reports rather than actions.

FYI:  The posts for the 10-19 meeting have been proofread as I scanned them to put together the trustee tally.  I always find typos, and I have corrected the ones I found.

Jason 
Will list the equipment for sale on Craig's list


John Festa
Reported on MSFD new squad--expected delivery 1st week of November


Vic
Gathering information on health insurance through COSI
Arranged for Kasmarik (insurance) to meet with Jodie and the road crew for health insurance quotes
Will call a couple of roofing companies regarding the Civic Center

Trustees 10-19-17; Public Comment

New Business

[Blogger:  I have a question mark about Jason mentioning a meeting and discussion with Terrie Nielsen.  I do not know what that referred to.]

Vic brought up the resolution for local government:  Do we want to look at and pass that?  Most of the townships have signed up.  Most of the townships have passed resolutions about this concept.

[This is related to the budget commission.  The resolution  as I understand it requests distribution of funds based on a tax formula.  Right now, distribution to each community is on a per capita basis.  This produces a disparity in funding.]

Jason asked for a motion to approve the resolution; John Festa made the motion.
Vic seconded; passed unanimously.

Vic has been doing the legwork on this and attending meetings regarding this issue.

 Old Business

Jason confirmed that Vic will set up insurance meetings with Mike Kasmarik.

Vic:  John Festa and Vic met with the architect about the elevator.  There was a lot of information.

Jason:  Hal Stamm sent out an e-mail stating that we need to send a contract to [and your blogger missed that name.]

[There is an item that will cost $10,900 =/-, I think for fire.  John Zeit is going to check on this with Hal Stamm.]

John Festa:  It is a stand-alone component.  It is specifically for the elevator.  I don't know if the commissioners want to get additional . . . .  I don't know the kind of controller that is being used on it. 

Jason:  This wasn't a part of the original?

Vic:  I think it was.  When we had the meeting with the building department and fire department, we said that instead of the fire curtains, we would put additional smoke detectors in the hall.
Do you want me to get Ashton to come out?  [That is one of the contractors on the elevator--the fire-related components, I believe.]

John Festa:  Everything is on line to be completed.  As soon as we get this recall function completed, we are almost ready for inspection in the next couiple of weeks.  [Blogger:  Views of the expected completion date differ.]

John Festa:  We had some storms last week that took a lot of shingles off the Civic Center.  Now we have exposed wood.

Vic:  I can give you a phone number.

John Festa:  Why don't you just call him.  [Blogger's boldface.]

Vic:  OK.  He has done some good, very reasonable work.

John Festa:  Dan Wyznski and I went and looked at that slab [at the Civic Center].  We are going to caulk it for the winter so water can't get in behind or under it.

Sue Skrovan:  It pulled the caulk--the whole thing sank evenly and the window in the hallway has moisture in it--there is moisture in the wall.

John Festa:  That could be either  a roofing or a soffit issue.

Jason asked for any other additional old business.

Public Comment

Amy Janca suggested possibly Reinecker's to do work on the Civic Center.

Vic will call them also.

Amy:  Some of us on the cemetery committee have been working about the grounds and there are old graves with very overgrown plantings and bushes.  Maybe when the road crew has equipment there and  is digging they can dig up some of them.  We can put them by the mausoleum for a period of time if someone can use them.  Some of the older graves are so overgrown that the headstones can't be read any more.

Sue Skrovan:  In the past the LCA has gone back and cut back shrubbery. We will do that again.

Carole Pollard, Allyn Road:  I read a letter that a number of us circulated to get signatures regarding the intersection of Mantua Center Road and S.R. 82.  The text follows.  We had approximately 90 signatures on it.

To:  The Mantua Township Trustees

From:  Concerned Citizens

Subject:  Intersection of S.R. 82 and Mantua Center Road

As people who travel on S.R. 82 and Mantua Center Road, we are very aware, as yuou must also be, that the intersection of those roads have [sic] posed a risk for years.

The ODOT work on Rt. 82 scheduled for 2019 seems like an opportunity for the trustees to add a request that the state also modify the grades and levels of Rt. 82 through the intersection and of Center Road on both sides of S.R. 82.

We are offering this letter as support for you in making a request to ODOT to modify the intersection to make it safer not just now, but with an eye to the inevitable increases in traffic that the future will bring.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, which the safety of everyone who goes through Mantua Center in any direction.

Yours truly,

Cc:  ODOT Akron; Ohio State Senator John Ecklund; United States Congressman David Joyce

Jason has done some followup on this and read an e-mail exchange he had with Joe DiFuria, manager of the ODOT garage/office in Akron.  I did not take notes on that because it was more of a conversation between Jason and me, and taking notes during it would have been awkward.

 Basically, if I remember correctly, Mr. DiFuria [I may have the name spelled and capitalized incorrectly] nicely explained why probably that work is not on the schedule.  The position of those of us who signed the letter is that we should work to change his mind and the schedule.

I was pleased that Jason had had the exchange with Mr. DiFuria.


 Sue Lilley,  Mantua Center Road:  I asked earlier about whether you can fix Mantua Center Road.  It hasn't been done yet.

Vic:  I will bring it up to the guys again.

Sue Lilley:  Can you give me a plan?

Vic:  I think there was water at the time.

Sue L.  It has been dry.

Vic:  We will get them down there.

Dave Pollard, S.R. 82:  I am just hoping that if you are seeing bare wood on the Civic Center roof because Monday and Tuesday rain is forecast.  [Blogger:  My notes do not make sense for that sentence; I may have gotten ahead of or behind myself or omitted something.  Apologies!]

I just hope you can prevail on ODOT about the intersection.  What prompted me to begin recommending this is that when ODOT was in Streetsboro they decided to raise the level of S.R. 303 because it floods.  But it only floods occasionally in Streetsboro.  This is dangerous every day.  I realize that 303 is inside a city and they get preference.  But if you don't ask, the answer is no.

I know you aren't dropping it, but sometimes gentle pressure might work.  No one wants anyone to be harmed but if an ODOT family member was jurt out here, they just might look at it differently.

Then Dave returned to the Civic Center:  Now there are attractive steel shingles that last 70-80 years.  The real thing to look into is solar shingles that look like regular shingles.

[Blogger note:  Elon Musk, of Tesla fame, is developing solar shingles.  I watched a video showing how they look--there are four styles, one of which looks like slate--on several test homes.  When I mentioned them to John Zeit about the school, he said without hesitation that we can't afford them.  But what an idea!]

[Final note:  This period of time is very busy, so I have not asked for a recording of this meeting.  Usually the only reason to have that is to be able to include my own comments accurately.  For this meeting, there was nothing so significant or flamboyant that it warranted the trouble of the recording.]

The main meeting ended at 8:30, and I went home shortly after.



  

Trustees 10-19-17

 Blogger Foreword:  This post begins after the usual preliminaries about the minutes and the financial report.

Vic went to the JEDD (Joint Economic Development District) meeting with Mantua Village and Shalersville Township.  Ravenna has been working on it for 5 years.  There was a good crowd. [Note:  My understanding is that Vic went in order to be informed, not necessarily to become part of this venture.]

Jason confirmed that it has been a long, long process for Ravenna.

Jodie Thompson reported on the certified letters sent to owners of condemned properties in Aurora Meadows.

Three interviews have been scheduled for 10/24 for applicants for the job of zoning inspector.

Susan Lilley has expressed an interest in zoning and could be considered for an opening on various zoning boards.

Jim Aldrich reported that foundations have been poured in the cemetery, and other work has been completed.
He also reported for the beautification committee.  The bullpen project is finished for now.  [Blogger's italics.]  Straw is down and [we] will have a formal statement in November.
[About the italics:  Word has it that silence about a gazebo does not mean that attempts to have one are dead.  They have just gone underground.]

Predictably, Jason and John Festa commented on how nice it looked.

Vic reported that a couple of people have stopped to look at the equipment being offered for sale.

Jason said he would list them on Craig's List.

Vic said that the equipment had been listed, with pictures, on the Ohio Township Association website (?) or newsletter.

Jason noted that we would have to list minimum bid and deadline.

Garden Club, Sue Skrovan:  The club met last night (10-18) in the township hall.  It was a smaller meeting than usual.  We had a craft night and turned on of the salvaged windows into a mirror and one into a winter scene.  They will be offered during the Christmas Walk that will be in Mantua Township.  The Garden Club will be decorating with the Historical Society on October 29 at 1 p.m.  It has to be made to look very nice because the building is on the our of homes for Christmas.  It is a Rotary event.

John Festa commented to Sue that some people had used the windows as picture frames with a photo in each frame.

LCA:  Amy Janca contacted Terri Resh who will be formally setting up an organizational meeting the first part of November to discuss our plans for Christmas ornamentation.

The Mantua Restoration Society:  Your faithful blogger reported on having attended the Heritage Ohio annual conference.  I will do more with that once I get the recording of the meeting.

Also for the restoration society, Dave  Pollard reported on the corn maze.  We did not set up on Sunday because of the weather.  We only set up for Saturday.  We are heartened by people who comer in, see where the money is going, and make generous contributions beyond the food.  People say, "Keep up with it, because we lost ours.  Keep yours."

Also, Susan and I are still planning an After-Voting get together at the Civic Center again this year.  We hoped it would turn into a nice community get together, but maybe we just haven't gotten the right milieu.

John Festa reported that the fire department's new squad should be in the first week in November.
There were a few ODs again.

The fire department has just received a quote for renewal of health insurance.  It came in just a little over 50% higher.

We are still gathering quotes but will probably stick with that.  We don't have that in the budget.  The chief is working on it but we don't know what will happen yet.

Vic commented to John Festa about programs for small businesses through COSI--he is gathering information.  Kasmarik is working with Shalersville Township.  Meet in the school, and Brian Tayerle, Dan Wyznski, and Jodie Thompson can go over and get quotes.

John Festa:  Those quotes only have to be done once and can be used over.   This might be a good opportunity for OTA  to get the townships together.

Jodie said she had been given contact information for two people.  One pretty much said that we could not get health insurance together.  [I think that is what she said; it was hard to hear.]

Our insurance will go up if we stay with it.  Jason thought the increase would be15.94% for the same plan as now.

[Blogger:  This is a good place to stop: new business came next.]

Trustee Tally 10-5-17

[Blogger Foreword:  This meeting was marked more by discussion than by action.  What seemed at least action oriented is given below.]

Jason:  Stated opposition to an easement for the Taylor property.

Complimented the road crew on the appearance of the Civic Center railings.

John Festa:  Thought trustee action and intentions toward the Taylor property were fair.

Suggested improving the heating/temperature control in the township hall for the historical society and the society's artifacts.

Inquired about trustees' review of the proposed drivers' policy.

Vic:  Will fill in for zoning during the interim; has lined up some help for that.

Reported that he had given the serial number of the new tractor to Mark Russell, the township's insurance agent.

Reported that the elevator is being worked on.

Will lay out the center line on School Lane.  

10-5-17: Elevator, Bullpen, Historical Society, Public Comment;

 [Blogger Foreword:  I thought that the last post was the end of that section of the meeting and that Old Business would be at the start of this post.  Oops.  Here is the rest of that section of the meeting, followed by Old Business and then on to the end.]

John Festa complimented the rail fence at the bullpen, and Amy Janca chimed in about wanting to have it done for this meeting.

Vic:  They are working on the elevator.  They brought in hydraulic oil.  They are having some clearance problems.  They were working on the soffit for the enclosure.  I have not talked with Canton Elevator, but the last time they were plumbing it and bringing the oil.

John Festa asked about the plumbing and the clearance, and Vic explained.

Vic:  Lisa [Reeves] called me about the smoke alarm system.  Hal Stamm started that.

John Festa:  He called me about a week ago.  I would rather have him bring the company in.  It is not going to be an elaborate system.  It will only be about four detectors.  Lisa called me about getting that done before the inspectors come in.

Vic initiated some discussion about handling the doors:  They must have set the platform on, run it, and then taken it off.  I think they are doing a good job.    John Festa affirmed that they are a good company.

Old Business

John Festa:   Did you have a chance to look over the driver's policy?  I would like to have something done by the first of the year.
Also [to Jason] have you heard about ____?  [Blogger:  That word got swallowed up in some kind of noise.]

Jason made an explanation about electronic files.

Vic:  I will lay out the center line on School Lane.

Jason:  The tractor and roller that we replaced are up for bid.

Public Comment

Amy Janca:  Basically the situation with the bullpen--we were waiting for the fence to be put in.  It is pretty well now that we can progress with the seed and prepping the lane.  Our committee will be meeting probably this week to take an overview of what we originally proposed.

Linda Ehlert:  I was at Bud Foster's most of the day today with the Home Depot manager and Ron Kotkowski.  I want to make two comments.
One, he agreed to mow everything from his house to the property lines.

Vic:   There's actually three little lots that make up Bud Foster's.  There is a definite lot line next to Monroe's.
Linda, point two:  Since peoplwe will be mowing and working across the street, are there any kind of signs that maybe we can put out?

Jason:  Workers Ahead.  Jason thought the road crew could help a bit.

John Festa asked about the hours.

Linda:  8 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Ronnie Kotkowski is bringing equipment to paint the exterior of the house.  I think they hope to do the shrubbery cleanup first thing in the morning for painting.

Linda said that Bud is really excited about it.

Dottie Summerlin:  No comment.

Carole Pollard:  Passed.

Jan Oros:  I still believe it is my obligation to bring this up at meetings, especially with the lawyer saying the property is unsalable.  That grieves me and I would hope it would grieve other people in the township.  We are basically changing her plans for her life.  I look at that property--we have alienated residents and torn up established plantings and alienated the Garden Club, and I have to ask again whether it is worth it.  I know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  You cited equal coverage for not granting an easement.  Every resident should be aware that you can do the same thing to anyone.

John Festa:  You are welcome to your opinion.

Jan:  Am I heard?

 [Blogger:  Anyone who has been to very many meetings, or anyone who reads the blog regularly, should be well aware that any opinion that differs with John Festa's is NOT welcome.  Comments like his response here, or Jason's "That's your opinion," basically dismiss the speaker out of hand without thought.

 [Blogger continuing:  No, Jan, "we" didn't do that.  The beautifistruction (NOT a typo) committee, with the full support and praise of two trustees knuckling under to their bosses who are not elected and who are not the majority of residents, but only two, in my opinion--those two trustees have been responsible for authorizing the destruction of years of work by the Garden Club.

[Not only that--the Garden Club has almost been obliterated as a visible presence in the township, despite always being careful to work within guidelines of township regulations.  Furthermore, when they have suggested that they could use some help on things that women of a certain age simply can't do, they have been first ignored and then nastily criticized for the supposedly poor appearance of the bullpen.  But the beautifistruction committee has been given the help of heavy equipment, the road crew, and the cemetery sexton.

[So, with the agendas of people behind the curtain (think Wizard of Oz) carried out, the bullpen, now in a state of bleak nakedness, garners praise.

[But those fake flowers at the flagpole are thriving.  Let's all sing and shout Hosanna!] 

Dave Pollard:  All that we really have about the township hall [referring to its earlier uses] is that in the 50's the upstairs was used for little plays and skits.  I know they rehearsed [there].  I don't know where they put on the plays.  I believe that at some point in the late 50's or early 60's there was a group called the Mother Singers and they would rehearse up there.  I can remember when it was just empty up there.  I would hope that the historical society could find appropriate accommodations for what they have.  Shalersville was fortunate enough to benefit from the purchase or donation of a building.
That is what went on here, and I am not sure how long the historical society has been there.

Lois Summerlin:  1976.

Vic:  1976 was when the basement was done.  [Note:  1976 is the year the Mantua Restoration Society, Inc., was chartered, and those members set out to raise money to put the basement under the township hall.  Eric Hummel was one of those members, and Pat Magyarics is another.]

Lois:  Shalersville has a house.  We are not looking for a house.  Middlefield has a house, and has to raise $2,000 per month to do it.

Vic:  And that house was in pretty bad shape.
 [Blogger:  My notes indicate that Vic was referring to the house that Shalersville acquired.  A number of us went to the celebration and dedication of that house for the Shalersville Historical Society several years ago.  Ronnie Kotkowski was a prime mover in the project and clearly pulled together the whole township to make it a success.  Compare what we have in community spirit (not).  One person does matter, and the orientation of that person towards good or hostility can change the climate of a whole community.]

Dave, continuing:  The corn maze--most of the time you have not been able to get warm enough, but this time the first two weekends were in the 90's.  Last weekend was better.  Every weekend has had one good day.  We were hoping for mid60's, but predictions are for 84 degrees again.  We are not selling much soup this year.  It all helps in going to renovate the school and leveraging what we have.  We get monetary support when people find out what we are using the money for.  We have had a picture of the school with the elevator overlaid.  When people see that, they are very generous over and above the food.

Terrie Nielsen, Wayne Road, Co-Chair, Grants and Funding Committee:  I wanted to provide you with information regarding the state funds that have been requested and paid.  The total amount of the award was $140,000.  The elevator project took $87,000.  Terrie then gave a list of the dates and amounts of money paid.  There had been an overpayment of $8,000, and $1,080 is still outstanding.

Jodie Thompson:  I sent that to her today.

Terrie:  There should be $7,000plus still held by the township that I assume will be held segregated.  Every bit will be needed to pay for the elevator.

Vic:  Thank you very much.

Jason:  A question for you:  The $57,000--when does that have to be used?  The amount designated for the bell tower--utilized by when?

Terrie:  June 30, 2018.  [Blogger:  I think "June" is the correct transcription of my Speedwriting note here.]  My understanding is that a quote has been submitted for $60,000, which is $3,000 more than what is remaining.  So there is a difference of$3,000.  That information has been passed along to MaRSI (The Mantua Restoration Society, Inc.).  The concern I have is that if there are overruns, before that information is sent to the state, I want to make sure there is money to cover it.

Jason:  Sometimes when you bid things our, you include language about the amount not exceeding the bid.  But we had let them know that we have $57,000 to pay for it.
[Even though it is accurate about bid processes, this comment strikes me as yet another example of Jason's reluctance to support the school project.  Yes, I know the township has put some money into it all.  But not gladly.  Only Vic has been consistently solid in his support.]

Terrie:  I can talk to Mr. Parker about this.  [Note:  Ken Parker, a member of the task force working to develop a community center at the school building, is in charge of the physical aspects of the project.]

Linda Ehlert explained about who will be contacting him on all of this.

Jason commented, but without shedding a lot of light.

Terrie Nielsen:  Does the bid process have to be done?

Vic:  It should be.

Terrie:  This is not a CDBG.  As far as I know, this may not have to be bid out.  Lisa Reeves is not involved in this.  All the state is requiring is a quote that meets their very strict requirements and then the work can go forward.

Continuing:  Then we are working on the next Capital Fund request [from the state].   We are working with the task force on that.

That was the end of public comment.  As usual, your faithful blogger did not stay beyond this point.
This post was corrected for many typos as I went along.  There are probably a bunch that didn't get caught.  My apologies!

  

Trustees 10-5-17 (Including sharp blogger comment0

[Blogger Foreword:  First, my intention for the posts for this meeting is to present only the non-routine things in any detail.

[Second, I have this to say about John Festa's assertion that there are other locations for the driveway to serve the Taylor house.
One "option" that he mentioned is to put the drive west of the house and bring it out onto S.R. 82.  If you think the intersection of Center Road and S.R. 82 is dangerous, take a good look at what a driveway entering S.R. 82 would be like.  It's an option if you have a death wish.   And trustee Festa's true colors--remember that he likes to put forth all manner of things under the guise of safety and due diligence, and other high-minded and responsible sounding things--his true colors come out when the right thing interferes with his agenda.  Too bad for the residents--it's our property, by gum, and we would never hurt them of course, but it's our property and we're going to have it.  {The repetition there is deliberate.}

[Second driveway "option":  Put the driveway west of the house, but bring it in off Diagonal Road.  Right.  That puts it smack dab across the septic field.  So the residents of Robin Park got all kinds of compassion--didn't cost him a thing--from trustee Festa over their water and other problems, but never mind the health hazard of breaking the leach bed tiles of a resident.
[And, oh, yes--maybe the township could put that driveway in for the property owner and resident.  That was another idea floated by trustee Festa.  Never mind that it is illegal.  So, having sworn an oath to uphold the laws of the State of Ohio, he proposes to break one, obviously never having done his homework about the property or the law.

[But we are living in an age when knowledge is so old fashioned.]

And now for the meeting:
After Mr. Holt left, the topic was zoning, which I am not going to detail.  John Dickey's last day, or the day he departs for a new life, is October 18.  He will give the keys to Vic.  Jason and John Festa went to some lengths to be complimentary and asked for John to leave things in order for the next person to pick up on.

Vic said he had spoken to someone or a couple of someones who could help out in the interim, and he had also given the surveyor all of the paperwork for the fence in question on S.R. 44.  For that matter, in the past when zoning has lapsed for any reason, Vic has filled in.

There was also some discussion about the fence and bus stop shelter on School Lane.

Brian Tayerle reported on road crew activities, including using the new tractor/mower and the roller.

Vic:  I notified Mark Russell of the serial number of the mower, so that is covered.  It was a good purchase--it's in nice shape.

There was some discussion about patching and about crack seal for next year, an operation that takes three workers. Brian thought we could save money by doing it ourselves instead of paying the county to do it.

Jason commented on the repairs at the Civic Center, complimenting Brian on how nice the newly painted hand rails look.

Vic:  We still need to have somebody look at that soffit because we are getting water damage.

Jason commented to Sue Skrovan (who does the custodial work at the Civic Center) about the boards  buckling.

Sue:  I mentioned to Vic just before the clambake that the pad has dropped. . . . I have never seen anything like it. The soffit really needs to be fixed.  Then we can address the water.

John Festa:  I think it is very important to address that.  [Right.  What about action now?]

Continuing:  Some people have been calling me about the upstairs here.  People have been calling me about this.  We have a lot of township artifacts that we need to think about protecting.  We need to get some heat up there.  I don't know if one of those high efficiency heaters would work.  The temperature changes will ruin things up there and take a toll on this building as well.

[Blogger:  This is interesting coming at this point.  Trustee Festa is in his second term, and the first thing marking his tenure was that his supporters descended on the township hall and painted the inside of it, with much fanfare and a photo op in the Record Courier.  Now, suddenly, "people have been calling him" and he has become mindful of what we own up there.  What about the previous 6 years?  I have some fairly good guesses about how all of this came to pass and what artifacts need protection, but they can wait a while.]

Vic:  There is a gas line up there.  It would probably be OK to run a through-the-wall heater.

JF:  I don't think we have to run it the way we do the heat here, but just keep it at a minimum.

Dottie Summerlin  (Historical Society President):  What you say is very true--it is hot in summer and cold in winter, so cold we can not work up there.  We are in the process of reorganizing, weeding out artifacts that we don't know where they came from.  Over the years we have become a dumping ground.  In reality, we only were Mantua/Mantua Township.  We are having an old book sale on October 14, getting rid of almost everything but reference books.  We received a wedding dress that was made by Jackie Stamm for Kathy Havener.  It is stunning, but we don't want to take it out of the box.  We have a couple of other dresses as well.  Having heat up there would be great.

Vic:  You would have to have your own [?] [Missed that word.  Meter?]  through the wall.  The unit we are using was sized for the downstairs and basement.  The smaller AC units are only the size of the lectern [at the side of the room.]

Linda Ehlert:  I have a question.  If you ran heat from here, would we be expected to pay half of the electric bills?

Vic:  The gas bill would be like it was before.  They use the same meter.  For the gas it would probably be reinstated in your name.  They are really efficient.  I will get the same company out here because they are familiar with the building.

Jason:  Ideally I am hoping this is a short term solution.  Eventually you would have your own finances and there might be handicapped accessibility.  This is just what is in front of us right now.  Ultimately we need to get you guys out of here [this building].  Maybe look at space at the school and you would rent.

Dottie:  It was my understanding that when you moved out, we would take over [this] building.

Jason:  If I were running the historical society, I would not want to be upstairs in this building.  The older folks want to be able to see things.  There are a lot of folks who want to be able to see the things.  My vision is to have beautiful display cases.

Dottie:  Do you want to be president?  Even with our membership, we have people who can't get up and down the steps.

Lois Summerlin:  You need a constant temperature.

Dottie:  To go to the Center school would be great if we had enough space.

Lois:  We are having to give away things that we don't want to because we don't have the room.

Vic:  My understanding is that before the historical society, that upstairs was the training hall for the fire department.  That is how all the locks got put on the door.  This was their meeting hall and training room.  There was some discussion and then they moved out.  [There was something about the way Vic said that that implied the discussion was, shall we say, intense.]

Dave Pollard added that at one time there was a group of singers who called themselves The Mother Singers [they were all PTA members] who practiced in the building.

John Festa asked about Halloween.  The township always schedules our Halloween for the same times and day as the Village.  Your faithful blogger did not get a date, but the hours are usually 5-7 or 5:30-7:30pm.

Trustees 10-5-17: Lawyer representing Mrs. Taylor

Among the usual opening items--check the website for the financial report--was an announcement that three applications had been filed regarding the position of zoning inspector.

Joel Holt is the attorney representing Zelma Taylor, who owns the house at the bullpen, over which there has been much discussion regarding her access to the house.  He was at the meeting.

Mr. Holt:  The main purpose [tonight] is to open a dialog about the property.  The main issue I want to broach is that the board seems to be against the idea of an easement.

 From what I can tell, she is probably entitled to an easement if she pursues it in court.  [Blogger's boldface.]

She has been in possession of that property since 1975.  All of the things required [for an easement] have existed for well over the 21 years required.  I am here to try to understand why the board is reluctant.

She wants to sell the property but without resolving this issue, she can't do that.  The easement would give her more certainty about selling it.  The driveway and the building have been there for some time.  So I am here to ask why the board is reluctant to grant the easement.

Jason turned this question over to John Festa:   My main concern is equal protection under the law.  There are other parcels [?] [not sure of that word] that could request this.  We set up what I think is a fair agreement.  There is nothing that the township could even do for six years.  Our new one [agreement?] is that we have given a 5-year window and then a renewal of five years.  If the township decides to use the property for any other public use, she will have another 12 months.

There are other places where they can put a driveway.  We have no intention of touching. . . .

What is fair is fair.  [Blogger:  Fairness, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.  If the beholder has astigmatism, the view is distorted.]

The driveway is not a driveway=--it was a road.  We did put another access driveway in there which she is allowed to use and that goes with the agreement for 5 years and another 5 years and a 12-month extension.

I thought that was really fair and it gives them 6 years to do something about the driveway.

I personally thought that was pretty fair.  As far as the property is concerned, I don't know if there is any way that would hold up in court to force us to put an easement on the property.  [This while he is addressing a lawyer.]

[Blogger:  John Festa raised the idea of adverse possession, which the lawyer never mentioned, and dismissed it. There was also something about the most recent agreement.]

Mr. Holt:  I apologize that I do not have the most recent copy.  If I can get that, how do you want to deal with this?  How would you like me to correspond with you?

John Festa:  Whatever you feel comfortable with.

Jason:  Chris Meduri, two years ago, was kind of his recommendation.  He has never once recommended an easement.  [Blogger:  I think that awkward first sentence--my fault, I think--was a reference to how long this has been an issue, plus Chris's position/advice on it. But I kind of wonder what information he was given, and what point of view.]

Jason, continuing:  What John Festa mentioned I don't want to do--to give someone permanent use of public property.  We softened the license agreement from the initial draft.  I think the trustees have been pretty gracious about this.  We never said they can not use it.

Mr. Holt asked for clarification.

Vic:  The original driveway is there.  The new one has only been moved a little bit.  It was a road.  With the beautification project [Blogger:  Amazingly, Vic managed to say "beautification project" with a straight face], we just moved the road.  I know what Mrs. Taylor is looking for is something attached with the deed.

Mr. Holt:  The easement runs with the land, and assurances can go with it.  It does no have to be forever and ever, amen.  Her view is that it would be difficult to sell the property because in 5 years [everything can change.]  [Blogger:  Those three words summarize more comment than that, but that's the gist of it.]  I think you can get to the same spot with an easement as a license.

Vic:  Can a memorandum of understanding be attached to the deed?

Mr. Holt:  That essentially goes into an easement.  For example, as long as these conditions remain the way they are, the easement is there.

John Festa:  There is a turnover on the board--no one will be here forever.  This gives ample time.

Mr. Holt:  I appreciate your time and will look at it and be in touch.

Jason said something about working through Chris Meduri:  If you work with us, will have more questions.  Chris Meduri will have our best interests in mind.

[Blogger:  Mr. Holt left at this point, and this post will end here.]

Trustees' Tally, 9-21-17

The list of trustees' work at the 9-21 meeting follows.

Jason:
Read (as required) the documents authorizing demolition of two deserted houses in Aurora Meadows.

Invited Jay Schabel to talk to trustees concerning the management agreement for the Community Center.

Charged trustees with deciding how they wanted the community center to work and get that information to Chris Meduri.


John Festa:  
Reported on developments at Robin Park (not withing the jurisdiction of the trustees).

Invited Mrs. Taylor's attorney to the October 5 meeting.

Vic Grimm:  
Is tracking JEDD proposal from Mantua Village.


Recommended joint meeting with trustees and community center task force, respective lawyers.

Reported that the elevator is getting started.

Deputized by the other two trustees to set up a special meeting with the community center task force.

Advised the other two trustees about procedure for selling the older Ford tractor.

Is the liaison between the township and the Portage County  Budget Commission. 

Trustees 9-21-17: Public Comment and a proposal from Linda Ehlert

[Blogger Foreword:  Well, there's a little before public comment.]

Old Business

Jason:  We talked about the civic center.  The guys did a nice job painting the handrails. They look real nice.

Sue Skrovan:  I noticed how nice the front ones looked--they were working on it today.

John Festa:  The license agreement across the street.  I got an e-mail from Mrs. Taylor's attorney.  I invited hin to come to a meeting do discuss it with us.  We need to discuss what he is asking for.

Vic:  Take a look at his response.  I think he thinks it is [on] October 1.

Now public comment can begin.

Linda Ehlert:  In searching for grants, I went to Home Depot's website.  I found that there is a grant program for updating veterans' homes for safety.  I think you already know Bud Foster, a Korean War veteran with a bronze star and a purple heart.  I contacted the store manager, who lives on Pioneer Trail, and when I told him what Bud's situation was, he said Bud sounds like a good candidate.

I contacted Ronnie Kotkowski, and we met with the store manager from Streetsboro and we met at Bud's house.  He will need quite a bit of updating.  They said absolutely, this is the kind of project they are looking for.

A couple of days ago we got the approval for the grant money.  We scheduled them this October 26.  They will bring 40 volunteers from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.  They will clean up the entire yard and mulch.  They will do things in the house--flooring and bathroom.

They will be here all day and will need restrooms and water.  Sam Eisely [sp?] heard about it and said he would provide all of the food.  I hve spoken with the Shalersville and Mantua Historical Societies and MaRSI.  We would like to use the civic center--Vic, you said it would be available all day.

Vic:  We can open the basement door for the bathrooms and upstairs will be available.

Linda:  We will contact the Record Courier.  Home Depot needs to approve of everything.

Ronnie Kotkowski:  We are also going to try to get the house painted.  We have a couple of guys to spray it.  It will be a nice restoration project that will help the town center.  In Shalersville we like to do some community outreach.  Bud Foster has been a member of the historical societies.

Vic:  I make a motion to go ahead with this project with Home Depot and the historical societies for the use of the civic center.

Vic:  The building will work out for that.

Linda:  We will have people park over behind the church.

There was applause for Linda, and the motion passed unanimously.

Rick Pemberton, Wayne Road:   Is anything on the table for the east side of Wayne Road and 44?

Jason:  No, just patching.

Rick:  They were down several weeks ago.  There are a couple of bad holes.  [He named a couple of other places as well.]

Vic:  I talked to the guys about it and they are going to talk to Todd Lamb and see if he can do something.  If they can't do that, they will try to do something about it with the excavator.  But I did talk to them about that.

Rick:  Two years ago I had culverts replaced and now it is eroding around that.  I know they were there.  I need stone.  I can't put dirt in the ditch.  All of my drain tile pipes are [sticking] out 2'-3'.  I would like to fill the ditch in, but need to get drain pipe to do it.  I will need about 800 feet.

Jason:  A lot of money.

Rick commented further about the problem and thought he needed about three wheelbarrows of 3's for it.

Vic:  Crushed 3's or 4's--you want them to lock in.  I will catch them in the morning and have them take a load to it.

Matt Parsons, Wayne Road:  Is there anything that we can do in regards to the detour sign at the intersection?  I have nearly been rear-ended a couple of times trying to get around it.

Vic:  I have contacted Doug [county engineer] about that.  Since we widened the road, trucks are hitting the trees and now we have to do something about that.  I have asked him about the sign also.

Jason:  The same question came up last week.

Carole Pollard, Allyn Road:  No comment this week.

Dave Pollard, S.R. 82:  Three things:  You said a $9,000 minimum bid on the TW.  I don't know how many hours are on it, but it seems a little low for that tractor.  I have seen 5000's go for less than that.  I have seen them in Farm and Dairy for as much as $15,000.

Vic:  Do you know how many hours?

Jason:  6500 hours; that's  getting up there.

Dave:  If it were mine, I would have put $10,000-$12,000 on it.

Continuing:  This business with the budgets, it is funny that the people with all the population which is supposed to be a desirable thing are the ones considered to need the money more than the townships with the low budgets:  Kent, Mantua, Streetsboro .  You hear people say that if we had more people, we would have more money.  But those places are the ones always looking for more.  It would be nice if the townships could get more than that.

Third, I haven't looked back, but it seems to me that the little trees that were moved from the bullpen to the west side of the mound, it seems to me that they were supposed to be on the east side of the mound.

But to John Festa, you were concerned with snow removal.  But where they [trees] are, it will be very difficult to move the snow.  I just wonder if that was the best place to put those trees.
 




Sue Skrovan, Wayne Road:  We discussed it earlier, so this is why I signed in.  I just wanted to reiterate--I wanted to thank Brian Tayerle and Dan Wyznski for the nice job on the hand rails. 

 [Blogger:  There are now two mounds in the bullpen:  One runs parallel to S.R. 82 and was originally made to block  people from driving through there when Square Drive was closed.  The other runs north-south and now houses two burning bush shrubs and a weeping cherry.  Or its skeleton.]

[Blogger:  I think that was the end of public comment, at which time I usually leave even though the meeting does not adjourn until after the bills have been paid.  Sometimes that has meant that I have missed some interesting things, but not often.  My notebook contains more shorthand notes after Sue's comments, but I think those were from a conversation to clarify a couple of things I didn't understand during the meeting.  That information got built into the discussion about the budget commission and how State funds are allocated to local governments.]

Trustees 9-21-17

Following Jay Schabel's discussion with the trustees came club and committee reports.

Garden Club, Sue Skrovan:  The Mantua Center Garden Club met in the township hall last night (9-20).  We had a short meeting with a presentation by two beekeepers who life in the township.  Their presentation was how to keep them and what the benefits are.  We had a good meal from appetizers to deserts.

We discussed several things including the bullpen.  The flagpole looks very nice but our concern is the trees that have been moved that we did not really discuss moving.  The burning bushes look OK, but the weeping cherry looks very bad and it looks like it is dying.  The other trees and shrubs were planted in memorial and we never discussed moving them.  We don't see why they have to be moved at this time because the flagpole is done and the fence is going to be going up.

The next meeting is October 18 at 6:d0.  We will be working on a couple of the windows salvaged from the building./  We will be working with the historical society to decorate for their Christmas walk the first two weekends in November. 

Jason:  Have you talked with Jim Aldrich about that tree?

Amy Janca:  That was even a surprise to me.  I did not make the decision on that.  Jim Aldrich thought it would look nice balanced [between the burning bushes].   We had hoped that the [Blogger:  Missed a word here] season would help us with water, but it has not.  We do not intend to move anything else.  As long as this drought continues, we have other plantings.  I have been babying trees at home because it is silly to plant them.  It's easier to water them at home at this time.  This weather is absurd.  What is there is going to stay there.

[Blogger:  Well, that sounds all fine and reasonable, but this whole bullpen "project" has been shall
 we say "fluid."  Not to say slippery.]

For the LCA, Amy had nothing to report.

Dave Pollard was next.  [Your faithful blogger just asked him on the spot to comment, thinking he would report on the corn maze, the restoration society's main fund raiser.  In doing that with no previous discussion with Dave, I put him into the position of commenting on what was uppermost in his mind, a new thing.  The corn maze is a steady fact of life for restoration society members from late September through October.  So--what follows is something that both Dave and I have had a fair amount of comment about for some time.   Dave's comments follow.]

We are working on signatures on a letter of support for the trustees [about the intersection here].  A person does not need to be a township resident to sign the letter, but someone who goes through the intersection.  I wanted to bring that up to prevent fuss about non residents.  We are trying to get signatures at the corn maze.  We think the more signatures we have, the better.

[Blogger:  The following people have copies of the letter to sign:  Carole Pollard, Dave Pollard, Susan Skrovan, Lynn Harvey, Linda Ehlert, Jan Oros, Mark Hall, and I think Terri Vechery.  We are all easy to contact and would be happy to take your signature.  The letter is intended as support to encourage the trustees to request that ODOT regrade the intersection in 2019, when another project is scheduled for the dip and culvert between Mark Kramer's and Steve Zielinski's places.]

"Beautification Committee", Amy Janca:  The split rail fence was not provided as promised, and we can work on the installation next week.  Nothing new--no additions.

Jason:  Thank you and Frank Horack as well.  They power washed the benches and picnic tables out here.  [The Ruritan Clambake was over the upcoming weekend; to the best of my knowledge, Frank is a member.]

Amy commented further.

Jason mentioned a type of sealer for concrete.

Fire Department:  John Festa:  Still waiting for us to submit our application for the health insurance.

New  business, trustee reports, and announcements came next.

Jason:  The township purchased a new mowing tractor and we now have a Ford TW  that we no longer need, and we purchased a new roller from Todd Lamb, so we have a roller we no longer need.

[There was some discussion about that and both Jason and John Festa turned to Vic.]

Vic:  They paid good money for that when it was purchased.  We should get $4500, so maybe we should put a little higher value on it so we get what we want.

Jason suggested a minimum bid.

Vic:  I think the minimum bid should be $4300.

Jason mentioned a legal ad, and put it by the road with a sign on it.  Sealed bids, minimum bid $4300.

Then Jason went to the tractor with the mower.  The tractor is probably worth more without the mower.  I would say $9,000.  It has good tires, but it has quite a few hours on it.
[That recommendation was agreed upon.]
Why don't we do estimated value and minimum bid.  Do you want to include  the mower and ditching head as well?  There is also scrap value for the ditching head.  I have the legal ads for the truck and can use them as the template [for these ads].

New Business, John Festa:  [Blogger:  I am going to summarize this and comment on it, not do a verbatim transcription.]
The report was about Robin Park, and it included a list of the lots containing deserted or deteriorating units.  They constitute life safety issues and as such must be corrected immediately.  A second category must be corrected in 90 days.  There were at least 15 and possibly 20 violations.

Quote:  "I just want people to know that government does work once in a while as long as it works for people in need."

[Blogger:  From what I can tell, the residents found the help they needed in an agency dedicated to mobile home parks, and they pursued that avenue.  What they accomplished got an official action directed to the owner of the park, not the managers.  The pious quote above looks like an early campaign speech to my eye.  The residents learned that they do have some leverage and used it. 
The trustees listened, encouraged, and advised them about avenues to pursue.]

Vic:  I attended the Chamber of Commerce meeting.  They are moving it around a little.  They had it at the K of C hall.  I reported that we had widened Mantua Center Road.  Everyone liked that.  Mark Russell was there, and I asked him if anyone had contacted him about the new tractor, and Brian Tayerle gave him the serial number today.  Since we are using that tractor, we have to be sure it is on our inventory.    
[Blogger's boldface.  Clearly, Vic took care of this after learning that it had been missed.]

Vic to Jodie Thompson:  Have you been attending meetings of the Budget Commission?  Jack Groselle (Hiram Twp.) wants to know from the commissioners if a percentage has been allocated to the townships.  The commissioners are taking 39% now and Jack is trying to get that dropped to 35% [so that the townships can get a tiny bit more of the pot allocated from the state to small governments].  This is based on population and most of the population is in the townships.

 All of this is going to be gathered by Todd Bragg, and he will try to come up with a formula.  This formula has been in  place for over 30 years.  No one knows how it was established.  Instead of $2.7 million, it has dropped to $1.35 million.  They are talking about phasing in the new valuation over three years.

The townships only get .79% of the whole amount of $3.7 million.  Brimfield gets more because they have a police department and a Wal-Mart.  I need to get back to him by tomorrow to see if we are going to stay with this.  The one meeting was really a heated argument.

Jason:  Every 10 years you/we go back to the Budget Commission to see how the $3.7 million gets disbursed.  Everyone can agree that we are currently getting screwed.  The City of Kent gets the greatest amount and of course everyone wants as much as they can get.

Jack Groselle is kind of championing this for all the trustees.  I had a conversation with  Janet [Esposito] who said "We would let you guys figure it out."  But each category will come up with its own agreement.

But I did talk to Jack Groselle and in Geauga County, everyone gets [a certain] amount.  I am for the formula that gets us and other townships  a fair share.

Vic:  It has been 30 years.  We need a change.  It looks like we will have to phase it in because no one wants to take a cut [?] that hard.  At one of the first meetings I attended (years ago) we were getting $70,000 a year.  But the governor is  building his war chest--$8 billion, and where do you think it is coming from?  It hurts.  Some gets funneled into grants, but we need the money just like these other people.

Jason:  But when some of these villages are getting $58,000 and Mantua Township is getting $29,000; why do villages need twice the townships' [share], even though some of the neighboring townships have twice the population.

Vic:  All right.  I will e-mail him tonight.

Jason inquired about Jack Groselle drafting a resolution for townships to sign.

Vic:  Tallmadge is part of this [!] and they have 1,000 residents in Portage County and they want money.

[Blogger:  Old Business came next and will be a separate post.]