Nelson Twp. – Nelson Township Trustees met last Thursday with all trustees and fiscal officer in attendance. There were four employees and ten guests in attendance as well. After the approval of the minutes, expenditures and permanent appropriations, Chairman Tom Matota opened the floor up for guests to speak. Mr. Bill Steiner from the Portage County Solid Waste District presented the recycle program to the trustees and asked them to approve the five year plan. After some discussion the trustees decided to do nothing with the proposal.
The trustees opened the sealed bid for their bobcat skidsteer. They had received two bids, with one being rejected for not being sealed. The bid for the skidsteer was $ 17,585 from Brian Collins. The trustees accepted the bid for the skidsteer with a role call vote Matota and Jim Turos, yes and Joe Leonard no. Leonard is not interested in selling it.
The trustees then approved the purchase of an excavator through the state bid program. The excavator is $57, 102.48. The trustees will use the skid steer bid money of $17,585 to offset the cost, leaving a balance of $39, 500. The money to purchase the excavator will come from two funds, the road and bridge fund and the gasoline tax fund. Leonard is against purchasing an excavator, he believes they do not need it and the equipment they had before they sold the skidsteer was adequate. Leonard questioned using road and bridge monies when [quote style=”boxed” float=”left”][..] a fiscally irresponsible decision [..][/quote] they do not know what roads they are going to chip and seal. Matota said they do not need to chip and seal any roads this year. Leonard also stated that the township needed to update the fueling system at the township garage and construct a new salt shed. Leonard is still waiting on estimates for the fuel tanks but expects it to be around $7000 -$10,000. The estimate for the salt shed $28,675. Leonard thinks the excavator purchase is a fiscally irresponsible decision, especially when they need a new salt shed and they need to get their fuel system in compliance with the laws.
The trustees then approved having Ohio Edison install street lights at Windham-Parkman and Knowlton Road, Windham-Parkman and Pierce Road, Bloom Road and State Route 305 and Ely and Prentiss Road. The light installation will cost $4,326.
Matota made a motion to raze the old township garage. Leonard brought estimates for repairing the roof and had several folks look at the building and said it was a sound structure. Leonard said the Amish community has offered to donate the labor to repair the roof. Materials for the roof are expected to be around $1,600-$2,000. Matota said he will not spend township money on the building. He once again offered the structure to the food cupboard with a 10 years lease, with NGCC responsible for all maintenance of the building. Matota withdrew his motion and told Leonard to take the offer to the food cupboard. If the offer is declined, a vote to raze the structure will be taken at the next meeting. In the mean time the township employees will remove everything from the old garage and sell any scrap.
In other township news, a resident asked if they could put more gravel around the recycle bins so folks would not have to wade through the mud to get to them. The trustees said they could do that. The trustees also tabled the final community house rental agreement due to a few adjustments. The agreement will be voted on at the next meeting.
The trustees meet on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 7:30 pm at the community house. More township news can be found at www.nelsontownshipohio.org.
