Nancy Tafel, who manages the clothing giveaway, had a place on the agenda and spoke next. I was going to edit her remarks, but when I reviewed them and the trustees' responses, I thought they warranted a pretty full statement.
Nancy Tafel, Abbot Road: As the founder and call myself the COO--chief clothing officer of the clothing giveaway, I would like to make an appeal to the trustees. The giveaway has exceeded the goals I thought. We are open every two months and for those three hours we are open, we have 75-100 people come through. They are all from the Crestwood School District.
Ninety percent of the people who come are very needy and need the clothing we do give them. They are grateful for the clothes. They do not have nice clothes to go out for a job. The kids get bullied about their clothes, as we know. I only take donations of clothing and time. There are volunteers and parishioners from the church.
I have been borrowing the big room to do my sorting and I realize it is not part of the areas leased from you. We quickly outgrew the two small rooms and had to move to the bigger one. If you had asked me for more money, I would have found it and given it to you.
[Blogger: In fact, no one said anything on either side, and both had the option. Chief Roosa raised the issue, which will be described subsequently.]
Nancy, continuing: I ask that we lease the bigger room. I have looked for other space but there is nothing in the community. I wanted to appeal to you and ask if I can rent the bigger room also.
[Note: It may not get mentioned in the discussion, but Nancy estimates that the giveaway actually now needs about 1500 square feet.]
Jason: The reason we had to write the letter [to you] is because of the fire department. That room has to have two ways of egress. It only has one. It is the chief's discretion. A person has to be able to move around easily in the room to get out. One of his big concerns was the bags stacked up against the walls. In the event of a fire, the bags created food for the fire. That was his main concern. The Dollar Store is constantly being sited for the same kind of thing.
Some work needs to be done, not just the stairs, but also the fire alarms. They need to be put in that room properly and right now they are not. . . . For me personally, I do not have any issue about that. [I believe that refers to Nancy's request.]
Vic: The other issue is the occupancy of the lower floor. The occupancy is for education for that whole floor. The way that occupancy permit was laid out was for only so many people in each room.
John Festa: The fire chief has the final authority on this. Once the chief has his eyeballs on it, now it is on his shoulders and it is his responsibility. Right now he knows the clothes are there and are a fire hazard. We thought the building department was going to let us slide on the smoke detectors, but he became a different person once he looked at the building.
Vic: He has been back in there and said he had to go look at it.
Nancy: It is on his radar now.
Vic: We had to upgrade other things in the building.
Jason: I think there is some more work we have got to do. Give us a few weeks and allow us to do some followups. I don't think we are all here saying absolutely not.
Mrs. Sargent: You may still have a problem with the clothes hanging on the racks.
Vic: There have been some updates just in the last month. That has made an increase in the fire alarms. That has added another thousand dollars. As long as they met the requirements they did not have to upgrade. We are trying to get the fire recall system in without having to do the whole building. Everything new has to be a call out. Now they are trying to say that everything has to be a cellular call out.
Jason: The fire recall system is a requirement for the elevator. Once that is in, the elevator can theoretically pass code.
John Festa: Give us a little bit of time.
Vic: When we did the blueprints for the building, the basement was listed as education. The upper floor is listed as business because we want the township offices there. They gymnasium is assembly.
Nancy: So if everything that is in there were removed I could probably manage.
John Festa: For the sake of time, give us some time and come back in three weeks. We want to help but right now we have to get the other things done.
[Blogger: This is a unit unto itself. What came next in the meeting was about the smoke alarms and some fretting by John Festa about how we got into this situation. I have some views about that which I will hold until after the project is really done.]
Thursday, May 31, 2018
A Memorial Day Interlude
[Blogger: This year, the American Legion asked Mr. Kowalchick, the Chapter 193 (I may have that number wrong) fiscal officer, to be the speaker. Rather than mouthing a lot of high-sounding platitudes, Mr. Kowalchick talked about the history represented in the township's cemeteries by the names on some of the stones. I am not going to try to recount any of that, other than to say that every was since the Revolutionary War is represented in our three cemeteries. What I want to do in this brief post is to recount what Mr. Kowalchick said in his closing, and I thank Ray Corbett for getting these four items so you could see them, too.]
Mr. Kowalchick said he wanted to leave us with four statements. Here they are.
It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us the freedom of religion.
It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to assemble.
It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the VETERAN, NOT THE POLITICIAN, who has given us the right to vote.
And, just to repeat what is on Dave's last sign board:
Lest we forget. Lest we forget.
Mr. Kowalchick said he wanted to leave us with four statements. Here they are.
It is the VETERAN, not the preacher, who has given us the freedom of religion.
It is the VETERAN, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to assemble.
It is the VETERAN, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the VETERAN, NOT THE POLITICIAN, who has given us the right to vote.
And, just to repeat what is on Dave's last sign board:
Lest we forget. Lest we forget.
Monday, May 28, 2018
Fire District Report, Jason
[Blogger: The fiscal officer arrived about midway through what I presented between Vic and Amy. For those who asked, my understanding is that one of her children was having his pre-school commencement, and Jodie is a single parent. Mom needed to be at that ceremony.]
After the fiscal officer's report, some bids on the tractor/roller were opened. There was discussion about that. Finally John Festa said that he was OK with a bird in the hand, and Vic agreed. The bid was from Richard Bevil[a]qua. Jason made a motion to accept his bid of $6600 in the form of money order or bank check. The motion passed.
There was a grant from the Commissioners for $21,277. This is regarding the elevator.
Fire District, Jason: This is [not?] my first year on the fire board. I sat on it previously. When we think of the fire district, we think of fire and EMS. It is unbelievable what they get called for. Everything from lift assists for elderly folks, a child had his finger stuck in a lawn mower this morning and a kid hung himself this morning.
Imagine going out for someone who had committed suicide. It affects the lives of the people going out to do this every day. The taxes that we pay for these folks to do this is well worth it. I can't begin to tell you the texts I see about overdoses. The calls are for everything from eyelashes turned back into the eye to suicides. They are constantly being called to the jail for various things to assist the nurses.
I want to commend them for what they do. I do not think they get enough credit. The fire chief is on staff but also has to deal with personnel issues, payroll, contract negotiations. I was completely unaware of the gamut of things the people in our fire district do.
[Blogger: This to me was a very interesting report: the human side of something that we probably take for granted and do not understand the workings of. I do not remember that John Festa ever said anything like this when he was on the fire board. The reports I remember from then were about equipment, mostly. As I remember it.]
John Festa: Other districts have [pay] more money, and we train our guys and other districts can offer them $10,000 more and they leave for Aurora or Streetsboro.
Terrie Nielsen: Why are they going to the jail? They have a contract for that work.
Jason: These are calls to assist. I don't see all of them because not all pass through my phone, but it is a couple of times a week.
Lois Sargent: Has there been an appreciation event for these guys?
John Festa: That isn't why they do it.
[Blogger: What came next was some business about the Civic Center roof and insurance, and something about the cleanup day. Then came the rest of Vic's exchange with Amy, already posted.
There isn't a lot for the first two items, and then Nancy Tafel came to put forth her case about the clothing giveaway. That was lengthy, and I am trying to decide whether to edit it or do the whole thing. So the blog ends here for this post.]
After the fiscal officer's report, some bids on the tractor/roller were opened. There was discussion about that. Finally John Festa said that he was OK with a bird in the hand, and Vic agreed. The bid was from Richard Bevil[a]qua. Jason made a motion to accept his bid of $6600 in the form of money order or bank check. The motion passed.
There was a grant from the Commissioners for $21,277. This is regarding the elevator.
Fire District, Jason: This is [not?] my first year on the fire board. I sat on it previously. When we think of the fire district, we think of fire and EMS. It is unbelievable what they get called for. Everything from lift assists for elderly folks, a child had his finger stuck in a lawn mower this morning and a kid hung himself this morning.
Imagine going out for someone who had committed suicide. It affects the lives of the people going out to do this every day. The taxes that we pay for these folks to do this is well worth it. I can't begin to tell you the texts I see about overdoses. The calls are for everything from eyelashes turned back into the eye to suicides. They are constantly being called to the jail for various things to assist the nurses.
I want to commend them for what they do. I do not think they get enough credit. The fire chief is on staff but also has to deal with personnel issues, payroll, contract negotiations. I was completely unaware of the gamut of things the people in our fire district do.
[Blogger: This to me was a very interesting report: the human side of something that we probably take for granted and do not understand the workings of. I do not remember that John Festa ever said anything like this when he was on the fire board. The reports I remember from then were about equipment, mostly. As I remember it.]
John Festa: Other districts have [pay] more money, and we train our guys and other districts can offer them $10,000 more and they leave for Aurora or Streetsboro.
Terrie Nielsen: Why are they going to the jail? They have a contract for that work.
Jason: These are calls to assist. I don't see all of them because not all pass through my phone, but it is a couple of times a week.
Lois Sargent: Has there been an appreciation event for these guys?
John Festa: That isn't why they do it.
[Blogger: What came next was some business about the Civic Center roof and insurance, and something about the cleanup day. Then came the rest of Vic's exchange with Amy, already posted.
There isn't a lot for the first two items, and then Nancy Tafel came to put forth her case about the clothing giveaway. That was lengthy, and I am trying to decide whether to edit it or do the whole thing. So the blog ends here for this post.]
Club and Committee: Chamber of Commerce, Restoration Society
Mantua Restoration Society, Carole Pollard: Jason, you mentioned an elevator opening or ceremony. . . .
Jason: I did?
(Laughter--Jason was genuinely non plused.)
CP: At the last meeting. I talked with Tony Ramos at NOPEC and learned that everything we do has to be free, but it is OK if we get food trucks in so people would pay for the food. Dave and Susan have a wedding to go to that weekend, so they are off the hook about food. I will dazzle you next time about what we have planned but we want a range of activities that will appeal to all ages.
[I joshed Jason a little more about not letting him off the hook on this, since he had little kids and might be able to suggest something that would appeal to them.]
Sue Skrovan presented the Garden Club Report, already covered.
Chamber of Commerce, Carole Pollard reporting: This is for the April meeting. The May meeting will be next week, so we will catch up at some point.
Dave Toth (Crestwood Schools superintendent) reported on the situation at the school which was full of staff and budgetary reductions. Every district in the state but one in Westerville has lost students. Demographics are changing and they have lost students, so things are dire.
For Chamber, there are two-three scholarships every year, and they give $800 per scholarship. If I remember correctly, a motion was made this year to increase them to $900. The chamber also discussed a different method of choosing the students [to be a blind choice method]. By the time of the next meeting they should have chosen the scholarship winners and there will be awards at the school.
The scholarships have always been funded by the golf outing, and Jason, I think you went to that for several years. Graham Harmon and hs wife did it for about 18 years and had done it for as much as they could stand. They are not doing it any more and no one has stepped up to filling that gap. If anyone wants to run the golf outing and do good deeds, the opportunity is out there.
Also, the Cooling Station Ice cream shop is open now.
Jason: About the schools--the state provides each school per pupil dollars for a certain amount of funding. The same pot of money is still going to the state [from our real estate taxes], and if you have lost -- I always thought it was a balance but every school district has lost students--where does the extra money go?
The lottery was supposed to serve/save[?] the schools, and what happened to that?
CP: I told a story about the superintendent of the Highway Patrol in the early '70's and got all tangled up in the background. Finally, I remembered the story:
Bob Chiaramonte, superintendent of the highway patrol, had to retire and was offered the position as head of the lottery commission. Three days later, he resigned that and my dad said, "Uh huh. He got in there and looked at it and it was so corrupt he couldn't straighten it out."
[I need to say here that that was my father's opinion. I was clueless then and still can't say what was happening.]
Terrie Nielsen: The per capita has been decreased over time, and the demographic issue is across the U.S. The number of kids being born isless than it was.
CP: There is one other thing about school funding. Having taught, I am familiar with the pay scale. The amount of tax money coming in stays the same, but the salaries and benefits increase every year. It isn't a business, and it's hard to measure accountability, because 25 years after the fact, you have a graduate who has become famous.
[Case in point: One summer when I was reading an issue of Discover magazine, I ran across the name Paul Mantsch, a nuclear physicist who was researching neutrinos in Argentina. Something about that location made it a good research site. I asked Marilyn Mantsch Alger about that, Mantsch not being as ubiquitous a name as Smith. Yep. Paul, Ph.D. in nuclear physics and Marilyn's brother, was researching subatomic particles and quantum physics. Not exactly tiddly winks. Paul is a certifiable genius.]
[Blogger: This is all for club and committee reports. I will pick up the meeting, or at least what I intend to report of it, in the next post.]
Jason: I did?
(Laughter--Jason was genuinely non plused.)
CP: At the last meeting. I talked with Tony Ramos at NOPEC and learned that everything we do has to be free, but it is OK if we get food trucks in so people would pay for the food. Dave and Susan have a wedding to go to that weekend, so they are off the hook about food. I will dazzle you next time about what we have planned but we want a range of activities that will appeal to all ages.
[I joshed Jason a little more about not letting him off the hook on this, since he had little kids and might be able to suggest something that would appeal to them.]
Sue Skrovan presented the Garden Club Report, already covered.
Chamber of Commerce, Carole Pollard reporting: This is for the April meeting. The May meeting will be next week, so we will catch up at some point.
Dave Toth (Crestwood Schools superintendent) reported on the situation at the school which was full of staff and budgetary reductions. Every district in the state but one in Westerville has lost students. Demographics are changing and they have lost students, so things are dire.
For Chamber, there are two-three scholarships every year, and they give $800 per scholarship. If I remember correctly, a motion was made this year to increase them to $900. The chamber also discussed a different method of choosing the students [to be a blind choice method]. By the time of the next meeting they should have chosen the scholarship winners and there will be awards at the school.
The scholarships have always been funded by the golf outing, and Jason, I think you went to that for several years. Graham Harmon and hs wife did it for about 18 years and had done it for as much as they could stand. They are not doing it any more and no one has stepped up to filling that gap. If anyone wants to run the golf outing and do good deeds, the opportunity is out there.
Also, the Cooling Station Ice cream shop is open now.
Jason: About the schools--the state provides each school per pupil dollars for a certain amount of funding. The same pot of money is still going to the state [from our real estate taxes], and if you have lost -- I always thought it was a balance but every school district has lost students--where does the extra money go?
The lottery was supposed to serve/save[?] the schools, and what happened to that?
CP: I told a story about the superintendent of the Highway Patrol in the early '70's and got all tangled up in the background. Finally, I remembered the story:
Bob Chiaramonte, superintendent of the highway patrol, had to retire and was offered the position as head of the lottery commission. Three days later, he resigned that and my dad said, "Uh huh. He got in there and looked at it and it was so corrupt he couldn't straighten it out."
[I need to say here that that was my father's opinion. I was clueless then and still can't say what was happening.]
Terrie Nielsen: The per capita has been decreased over time, and the demographic issue is across the U.S. The number of kids being born isless than it was.
CP: There is one other thing about school funding. Having taught, I am familiar with the pay scale. The amount of tax money coming in stays the same, but the salaries and benefits increase every year. It isn't a business, and it's hard to measure accountability, because 25 years after the fact, you have a graduate who has become famous.
[Case in point: One summer when I was reading an issue of Discover magazine, I ran across the name Paul Mantsch, a nuclear physicist who was researching neutrinos in Argentina. Something about that location made it a good research site. I asked Marilyn Mantsch Alger about that, Mantsch not being as ubiquitous a name as Smith. Yep. Paul, Ph.D. in nuclear physics and Marilyn's brother, was researching subatomic particles and quantum physics. Not exactly tiddly winks. Paul is a certifiable genius.]
[Blogger: This is all for club and committee reports. I will pick up the meeting, or at least what I intend to report of it, in the next post.]
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Memorial Day Limerick
Foreword: Dave has replaced his sign boards and has written the following for Memorial Day:
In dust and mud,
Through pain and blood,
On a hostile sea,
In deadly skies,
They made the
Ultimate sacrifice
In the cause
Of liberty.
Honor our dead today,
Lest we forget. Lest we forget.
In dust and mud,
Through pain and blood,
On a hostile sea,
In deadly skies,
They made the
Ultimate sacrifice
In the cause
Of liberty.
Honor our dead today,
Lest we forget. Lest we forget.
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Count Us In: Cemetery Project
Blogger Foreword: This post is the three e-mails sent to the trustees expressing the desire to participate in the renovation/restoration project for the Pioneer and East Lawn historic cemeteries.
First to state her group's interest was Terri Resh, president of the Ladies Cemetery Association (LCA). Sue Skrovan, in a previous post, described that organization a little. Key is that it dates to 1901 and is a 501 c 3 organization, meaning it is registered with the State of Ohio and is bound by its laws and regulations.
Terri addressed her e-mail to Jason Carlton.
"This is Terri Resh (LCA president). The subject came up at our meeting that the beautification committee are going to start a project on Eastlawn Cemetery. Being our association also encompasses Eastlawn. We would like to be involved. Please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, Terri Resh by phone 330-472-0894 or email" [which of course was part of the message].
Second was the e-mail from Carole Pollard, president of The Mantua Restoration Society, Inc. It was addressed to all three trustees.
"Gentlemen:
Please include The Mantua Restoration Society, Inc., in the community groups who will work on the refurbishing of the East Lawn Cemetery. Although so far we have concentrated on the township's buildings, our mission statement includes the historic sites in the township.
"We very much want to be able to work on this project.
"Thank you.
"Carole Pollard, President
"The Mantua Restoration Society, Inc."
Finally, Dottie Summerlin, current president of The Mantua Historical Society, wrote on behalf of that group.
"Hello, John, Vic, & Jason,
"As president of the Mantua Historical Society, I speak for the organization to voice our support for the restoration of Eastlawn Cemetery & Pioneer/Sanford Cemetery. We pledge to work together with other organizations in a cordial manner & we expect the same in return. We will offer copies of any historical documents we may have to help with the restoration. However, please be aware we are a small organization with an older membership with busy lives but we will try to help as much as we are able. These cemeteries are sacred, hallowed, & historic grounds & we believe they should be given the respect they deserve before, during & after the restoration from all parties. If we witness anything less, we will submit in writing to the trustees our views in a respectful manner.
"Thank you for doing this. We are excited to be a part of this process.
"Dottie Summerlin, president
"Mantua Historical Society"
[Blogger: The Mantua Restoration Society, Inc., and The Mantua Historical Society are, like the LCA, 501 c 3 organizations.
The beautification committee is a group of volunteers without a registered, recognized presence with the State of Ohio.]
First to state her group's interest was Terri Resh, president of the Ladies Cemetery Association (LCA). Sue Skrovan, in a previous post, described that organization a little. Key is that it dates to 1901 and is a 501 c 3 organization, meaning it is registered with the State of Ohio and is bound by its laws and regulations.
Terri addressed her e-mail to Jason Carlton.
"This is Terri Resh (LCA president). The subject came up at our meeting that the beautification committee are going to start a project on Eastlawn Cemetery. Being our association also encompasses Eastlawn. We would like to be involved. Please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, Terri Resh by phone 330-472-0894 or email" [which of course was part of the message].
Second was the e-mail from Carole Pollard, president of The Mantua Restoration Society, Inc. It was addressed to all three trustees.
"Gentlemen:
Please include The Mantua Restoration Society, Inc., in the community groups who will work on the refurbishing of the East Lawn Cemetery. Although so far we have concentrated on the township's buildings, our mission statement includes the historic sites in the township.
"We very much want to be able to work on this project.
"Thank you.
"Carole Pollard, President
"The Mantua Restoration Society, Inc."
Finally, Dottie Summerlin, current president of The Mantua Historical Society, wrote on behalf of that group.
"Hello, John, Vic, & Jason,
"As president of the Mantua Historical Society, I speak for the organization to voice our support for the restoration of Eastlawn Cemetery & Pioneer/Sanford Cemetery. We pledge to work together with other organizations in a cordial manner & we expect the same in return. We will offer copies of any historical documents we may have to help with the restoration. However, please be aware we are a small organization with an older membership with busy lives but we will try to help as much as we are able. These cemeteries are sacred, hallowed, & historic grounds & we believe they should be given the respect they deserve before, during & after the restoration from all parties. If we witness anything less, we will submit in writing to the trustees our views in a respectful manner.
"Thank you for doing this. We are excited to be a part of this process.
"Dottie Summerlin, president
"Mantua Historical Society"
[Blogger: The Mantua Restoration Society, Inc., and The Mantua Historical Society are, like the LCA, 501 c 3 organizations.
The beautification committee is a group of volunteers without a registered, recognized presence with the State of Ohio.]
Monday, May 21, 2018
5-17-18: Mostly Cemetery Project, esp. Who's in Charge
Blogger: The fiscal officer was running late, so the meeting began (after acceptance of the minutes) with club and committee reports. Since your faithful blogger reported on both the Chamber of Commerce and the Mantua Restoration Society, Inc., those will be posted after I get the recording of the meeting.
Garden Club, Sue Skrovan: We had our meeting last night. It was short. We discussed a field trip in early June to go to a perennial grower near Ashtabula. We will be leaving from the township hall at 8 a.m. Anyone who wants to go needs to have their own transportation, but can follow. [Blogger: I did not get the date of that excursion; it may not be set yet.]
We will be working around the town hall and the four pots at the green and at the civic center. As soon as the weather permits, the garden club will plant and mulch to get ready for Memorial Day.
Ladies Cemetery Association (LCA), also Sue Skrovan: We were at the West Lawn Cemetery and will make plantings for the requests [bequests?]. We will be doing geraniums, raised bed, and flagpole. We amended the soil. Barb Herbold and Amy Janca put flags to mark for the flowers and we amended the soil and got everything planted in about two hours. The estimate is between 100 and 160 geraniums.
Officers: Terry Resh is president, Sue Skrovan Vice President, Debby Miller Treasurer, and Sue Beck Secretary.
The LCA was established in 1901 and may be the oldest LCA registered with the state of Ohio. We think working there is wonderful. We weed and trim and plant. We will be looking over the decorations for 4th of July. Amy Janca planted the urns.
John Festa: That is good information about how old it is.
Sue: I have been going through the old books to find things of interest. I am to about 1923.
Beautification Committee, Amy Janca: We are trying to get things cleaned up at the bull pen. We pulled out the trees that didn't make it through the winter and worked with the road crew to clean up some graves that had gotten overgrown. Some areas in the old section [of West Lawn] need intensive work. There is some rather wild growth there. We were a little disappointed with the condition of the grounds. Do you know when the landscaper is coming?
No mulching has been done. Everything looks very seedy [?] right now.
Sue Skrovan: One of the women who worked asked about when they would be coming. [There was some discussion about that.]
There are some areas in the old part that will need some dirt. It would be easy to twist an ankle there.
Amy Janca: I understand there has been a tremendous amount of interest about pitching in [on the East Lawn project]. I would like for any organization interested in helping to contact the Beautification Committee, P.O. Box 441, Mantua with names and contact information.
Vic interrupted: I want to talk about that later.
Amy: Yes, we are going to set up meetings.
Vic: I want to set up a panel so that we will be talking about the same thing and meet in the same place.
Amy: We need to know who is interested so we know who to invite. [Blogger's boldface.]
At this point Jodie Thompson arrived and gave the fiscal officer's report.
[After various other items of business, which I will come back to in a subsequent post or posts, Vic's "I want to talk about it later" was addressed.]
Vic: I wanted to talk about the working in the cemetery. It has been noted as the East Lawn Cemetery Project. There has been a lot of interest. I would like to name it the Pioneer/East Lawn Restoration Project. I would be willing to set up the first meeting here in the township hall. The first meeting would be after Memorial Day.
Amy Janca: It is to be after Memorial Day.
Vic: You will get this.
[They went back and forth about some of this. Even with the recording, getting all of it, especially the contentiousness of it, is impossible. Suffice it to say that Amy was not yielding gracefully and Vic was as determined as only Vic can be.]
Vic: I want to send an e-mail to all these groups to see what will be best for them.
Amy Janca: You give me the list and I will do it.
Vic: I am getting everybody on the e-mail. I am going to e-mail everybody on this list and they will be contacted about setting up the meeting.
Sue Skrovan: That makes sense for the initial meeting. At the meeting we can have a sign-in sheet.
Amy: I have private individuals who will be interested in this.
[Vic said something that I did not manage to get down.]
Amy was insistent: In other words, you are taking over. [At that point, your faithful but irritated blogger said, not quite under my breath, "Yep," or the equivalent.]
Vic: The township is involved in this.
[John Festa at this point tried to smooth things out.]
Vic: In a committee--pick someone like they did with the school. [This was a reference to the committees Todd Peetz set up, which in the case of the Grants and Funding Committee has been invaluable.]
Continuing: There will be a captain and co-captain. We will have to contact some people about grants.
Amy: I have already been thinking about that.
Jason: The beautification committee brought this up and so some . . . .
John Festa: But they brought it to the forefront. We don't have to discuss that right now. We can discuss it at the meeting. So we will all be able to say our piece at that meeting.
Amy: I am confused but that is OK.
John Festa: I think the beautification committee has shown their spirit and deserve . . . .
Vic: Township funds, employees, and equipment will be in this. I will set up the meeting so everyone is involved in it. The meeting should be in a public place--the beautification committee meetings are not held in a public place.
Amy: This is intended to be a community project.
[There was more discussion with Vic about this. Amy was very resistant to anything from Vic.]
Amy: Are we setting up a meeting now?
Vic: I will begin e-mailing everybody now and set up a meeting in June.
Amy: Should I give you a list of the private individuals? We have a number of people who have said they want to be involved.
Vic: Volunteers are good, especially the first couple of meetings, and then things thin out. I will be sending out an e-mail and if you want to give me the list, I will e-mail them.
Amy: Some do not have e-mails.
Vic: Then if you have phone numbers, I will take those.
[That ended the conversation, or whatever it was, about the cemetery project. Except that, at the end of the meeting, when Amy had gotten up to leave, Vic said to her, "You'll get me those names?" I did not write that exchange down, but Amy's response was something that indicated that she may not have things as nailed down as she had been implying.]
[Blogger: This post ends here because it is a unit all unto itself, and I do not want to blur it with other business.]
Garden Club, Sue Skrovan: We had our meeting last night. It was short. We discussed a field trip in early June to go to a perennial grower near Ashtabula. We will be leaving from the township hall at 8 a.m. Anyone who wants to go needs to have their own transportation, but can follow. [Blogger: I did not get the date of that excursion; it may not be set yet.]
We will be working around the town hall and the four pots at the green and at the civic center. As soon as the weather permits, the garden club will plant and mulch to get ready for Memorial Day.
Ladies Cemetery Association (LCA), also Sue Skrovan: We were at the West Lawn Cemetery and will make plantings for the requests [bequests?]. We will be doing geraniums, raised bed, and flagpole. We amended the soil. Barb Herbold and Amy Janca put flags to mark for the flowers and we amended the soil and got everything planted in about two hours. The estimate is between 100 and 160 geraniums.
Officers: Terry Resh is president, Sue Skrovan Vice President, Debby Miller Treasurer, and Sue Beck Secretary.
The LCA was established in 1901 and may be the oldest LCA registered with the state of Ohio. We think working there is wonderful. We weed and trim and plant. We will be looking over the decorations for 4th of July. Amy Janca planted the urns.
John Festa: That is good information about how old it is.
Sue: I have been going through the old books to find things of interest. I am to about 1923.
Beautification Committee, Amy Janca: We are trying to get things cleaned up at the bull pen. We pulled out the trees that didn't make it through the winter and worked with the road crew to clean up some graves that had gotten overgrown. Some areas in the old section [of West Lawn] need intensive work. There is some rather wild growth there. We were a little disappointed with the condition of the grounds. Do you know when the landscaper is coming?
No mulching has been done. Everything looks very seedy [?] right now.
Sue Skrovan: One of the women who worked asked about when they would be coming. [There was some discussion about that.]
There are some areas in the old part that will need some dirt. It would be easy to twist an ankle there.
Amy Janca: I understand there has been a tremendous amount of interest about pitching in [on the East Lawn project]. I would like for any organization interested in helping to contact the Beautification Committee, P.O. Box 441, Mantua with names and contact information.
Vic interrupted: I want to talk about that later.
Amy: Yes, we are going to set up meetings.
Vic: I want to set up a panel so that we will be talking about the same thing and meet in the same place.
Amy: We need to know who is interested so we know who to invite. [Blogger's boldface.]
At this point Jodie Thompson arrived and gave the fiscal officer's report.
[After various other items of business, which I will come back to in a subsequent post or posts, Vic's "I want to talk about it later" was addressed.]
Vic: I wanted to talk about the working in the cemetery. It has been noted as the East Lawn Cemetery Project. There has been a lot of interest. I would like to name it the Pioneer/East Lawn Restoration Project. I would be willing to set up the first meeting here in the township hall. The first meeting would be after Memorial Day.
Amy Janca: It is to be after Memorial Day.
Vic: You will get this.
[They went back and forth about some of this. Even with the recording, getting all of it, especially the contentiousness of it, is impossible. Suffice it to say that Amy was not yielding gracefully and Vic was as determined as only Vic can be.]
Vic: I want to send an e-mail to all these groups to see what will be best for them.
Amy Janca: You give me the list and I will do it.
Vic: I am getting everybody on the e-mail. I am going to e-mail everybody on this list and they will be contacted about setting up the meeting.
Sue Skrovan: That makes sense for the initial meeting. At the meeting we can have a sign-in sheet.
Amy: I have private individuals who will be interested in this.
[Vic said something that I did not manage to get down.]
Amy was insistent: In other words, you are taking over. [At that point, your faithful but irritated blogger said, not quite under my breath, "Yep," or the equivalent.]
Vic: The township is involved in this.
[John Festa at this point tried to smooth things out.]
Vic: In a committee--pick someone like they did with the school. [This was a reference to the committees Todd Peetz set up, which in the case of the Grants and Funding Committee has been invaluable.]
Continuing: There will be a captain and co-captain. We will have to contact some people about grants.
Amy: I have already been thinking about that.
Jason: The beautification committee brought this up and so some . . . .
John Festa: But they brought it to the forefront. We don't have to discuss that right now. We can discuss it at the meeting. So we will all be able to say our piece at that meeting.
Amy: I am confused but that is OK.
John Festa: I think the beautification committee has shown their spirit and deserve . . . .
Vic: Township funds, employees, and equipment will be in this. I will set up the meeting so everyone is involved in it. The meeting should be in a public place--the beautification committee meetings are not held in a public place.
Amy: This is intended to be a community project.
[There was more discussion with Vic about this. Amy was very resistant to anything from Vic.]
Amy: Are we setting up a meeting now?
Vic: I will begin e-mailing everybody now and set up a meeting in June.
Amy: Should I give you a list of the private individuals? We have a number of people who have said they want to be involved.
Vic: Volunteers are good, especially the first couple of meetings, and then things thin out. I will be sending out an e-mail and if you want to give me the list, I will e-mail them.
Amy: Some do not have e-mails.
Vic: Then if you have phone numbers, I will take those.
[That ended the conversation, or whatever it was, about the cemetery project. Except that, at the end of the meeting, when Amy had gotten up to leave, Vic said to her, "You'll get me those names?" I did not write that exchange down, but Amy's response was something that indicated that she may not have things as nailed down as she had been implying.]
[Blogger: This post ends here because it is a unit all unto itself, and I do not want to blur it with other business.]
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