Windham Twp. – Windham Township Trustees met for their regularly schedule meeting with all the trustees and fiscal officer in attendance. The meeting was called to order and the trustees approved the expenditures, and minutes from the June meeting.
Road Supervisor Brian Miller reported that Mr. Isler removed the electric poles on the green and thanked him for helping with the issues on Bryant Road. Miller met with the county engineer and received an estimated cost for the chipping and sealing of Colton Road. The township will take bids on the project. The road supervisor and road crew checked out a complaint on Wadsworth Road but did not find any issues on the road. A discussion was held about alleviating a drainage issue on Gotham Road. The trustees will work out a solution for the problem. Miller reported that the road crew has mowed back weeds twice to give drivers better visibility at the ends of township roads.
A discussion was held on whether to vacate the unmaintained portion of Shanks-Downes Road that is shared with Nelson, Southington and Braceville Townships. Each entity will need to agree to vacate their portion of the road before it can be declared vacated. The portion of road they want to vacate has been closed for years. Once they vacate the road, the right-of-way will return to the property owners as if the road never existed. Dann Timmons said he has talked with the Windham residents who live in the area and they are ok with the trustees vacating the road. Township legal counsel, Chris Meduri has drawn up a sample resolution for the township to use to vacate the road after they resolve the discrepancy on the official road name and number.
Timmons reported that Mr. Soinski has the cul-de-sac on Frazier Road all laid out, engineered and is ready for blacktop. The trustees still have not seen the engineered plans for the planned cul-de-sac that they were promised. This brought up a discussion on a guard rail or some kind of barrier to show residents the road is closed and is now private property. No decision was made on a barrier. Timmons also reported that he hasn’t received any reply from the village about the maintenance issues on Horn Road. Horn Road is maintained by the village even though township residents live on the road.
Zoning Inspector Joe Pinti reported that there were no new permits written in the month of June. He also reported that he was keeping a close eye on the Horner property. Trustee Rich Gano reported that he is searching for government grant money to demolish the old church on Silica Sand. The Community Block Grant money is not available any longer. A discussion was held on the demolition of the church on Silica Sand without a grant but the trustees were afraid of what the costs would be and decided to do more inquiring on government funds for the project.
The trustees have received complaints about several abandoned, unsafe residential properties that might qualify for the Move Ohio Forward Program (MOFP). Pinti will check on them.
In cemetery news, Gano reported that they had leveled and filled in the low section and are currently working to get drainage issues resolved before paving the one road.
The floor was opened up to residents. One resident handed the trustees a petition signed by their neighbors protesting the “no parking” signs in the heights area that were recently erected. The trustees accepted the petition and would take the it under advisement. Another resident questioned why the trustees were not doing anything about the village’s alleged breach of contract over the failure to provide dispatching for the fire district. Timmons responded that the trustees forwarded Mark Finemore’s opinion over the alleged breach of contract to WVFD Joint Fire District Board. Due to lack of quorum, the fire district has not been able to address the issue.
Another resident questioned what the trustees could do to help handle a situation on their street with a neighbor who has mental health issues. The resident claims their neighbor is harassing them and they can’t enjoy their property. The trustees said they have no authority to deal with such issues and the resident would have to try to resolve the issue through the court system. There being no other township business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned.
The trustees meet on the first Thursday of each month at 7 pm at the town hall.
