Portage County Regional Planning Committee Director Todd Peetz attended the Windham Township Board of Trustees meeting last Thursday evening at Windham Town Hall to present a proposal to the Township to purchase a comprehensive development plan from the PCRPC to sustain the Township’s longevity.
“The plan can be modified as it needs to be, and the Trustees can set their own goals. Sometimes I get these plans out to people and they are like ‘Oh my gosh you know how much money this is going to cost us?’” Peetz noted. “I am talking about the implementation of the plan and all of the different goals and concepts you want so right now we are doing 25-year plans.”
According to Peetz, the PCRPC has already drafted several comprehensive plans for the Brimfield, Shalersville, the City of Ravenna and Ravenna Township. He said that it is not just a comprehensive plan but also a marketing document for the community.
He noted that one of the most glaring issues in the Township is that there is only one non-residential zoning area in the entire Township. He added that another thing that the comprehensive plans also provide for is joint economic development, which would involve the Township working with the Village to create some non-residential opportunities.
He said that several entities have already partnered for joint economic development, including Rootstown and the City of Ravenna, Franklin Township and the City of Kent, the City of Kent with Brimfield and Aurora agreeing with Bainbridge Township. He said that those Townships who normally cannot secure extra revenue can achieve that goal by agreeing to joint economic development plans.
Board Chairman, Trustee and Fire Contact Dan Burns asked which communities the Township should be best compared to in Portage County. Peetz answered that Windham Township most closely resembles Paris Township, Palmyra Township or Nelson Township.
Peetz said that comprehensive plan he was presenting to the Board would cost the Township approximately $21,700. He also told the Board that they had the option of paying half of the cost this fiscal year and the remaining half in 2026.
Burns requested that the Board have a chance to look at other comprehensive plans for Townships that matched the outlook of Windham to see how they fared once they agreed to a comprehensive plan.
Board of Zoning Appeals Member Tricia Kendrick asked what kind of return that the Township could expect on its investment in this comprehensive plan.
“The biggest thing is getting access to grants and trying to find grants that match their needs,” replied Peetz. “Grants could be millions of dollars for the $21,700 investment but it is also a guiding document that helps assist the Trustees and helps assist the Zoning Board and the Board of Zoning Appeals. It helps give the people a better sense of what is happening in their communities going forward.”
Kendrick also asked how much support the Township could expect to maintain the comprehensive plan as a living document. Peetz responded with a five-to-seven-year timeline for the Township to revisit the comprehensive plan to make changes to the living document. He acknowledged that making amendments to the living document would be not be included in the initial purchase price.
Peetz also assured the Board that the comprehensive plan would not strip Windham of its agricultural identity but would identify key geographical areas where the agricultural fields could be converted into industrial areas for economic growth.
He then proposed that the Board initiate a community survey to see how much support there would be in purchasing a comprehensive plan.
Trustee and Road Contact Brian Miller supported Peetz’ suggestion.
“Personally, I think that is what we need,” he said. “That is what we were leaning more to if people even want a comprehensive plan to spend money for. Let’s see where people want to go.”
There was discussion on how to best distribute the community survey to the residents and the Board appeared to settle on the idea of sending the link to an online survey on post cards with a QR code on the back to all households. There was also talk of purchasing 4×6 signs that could be erected around the Township to attract interest. There was also mention of a need to identify which surveys were answered by actual Township residents or Village residents.
Fiscal Officer Casey Timmons posed the question of what kind of questions they would ask.
“I can start with a set of questions that we ask most of the other communities, but you might have more specific questions about zoning issues,” Peetz answered. “I know that is one of the reasons we were talking about this is because we have some zoning questions that are going on.”
Miller then updated the Board with road news, saying that the Township had installed a culvert on Wadsworth last month. He added that the road workers were in the process of replacing the street signs with new street signs that the Township had purchased, courtesy of a grant. He also said that the Township had fixed the brush hog portion of the roadside mower but the air conditioning of the roadside mower still needed to be repaired.
Burns notified the Board that the Township had purchased a new trailer for $9,400, which stood 22 feet tall and weighed 15,000 pounds, which was an upgrade to their previous trailer, which was 30-years old which was 16 feet tall and weighed 12,000 pounds.
He added that the Township planned to auction the old trailer, with an eye on at least recouping half of its value.
Vice Chairman and Cemetery Contact Rich Gano said that the summer youth workers had done a lot of mowing in the cemetery to keep it in pristine condition.
Miller took the opportunity to officially offer condolences on behalf of the Board to the Bropst, Clark and Shustrich families for their recent losses.
Timmons and Burns printed several copies of the Township’s Zoning Code Book and distributed them to all who attended the meeting. According to Timmons, she also put the entire zoning code on the Township’s website. She said that she copied the zoning code from the County website and added amendments that the Board had previously agreed to in the book.
Burns read an email from Zoning Inspector Jake Sweet, which notified the Board that he had issued a permit granting permission for a resident to build an accessory building on his property on Stanley Road. He added that Sweet also was sending letters from the Portage County Prosecutor’s Office to three properties on Bryant Road, citing them for violations.
Burns briefed the Board on the latest news from Windham’s Fire Department, informing them that the Fire Department had responded to 387 calls so far this year. He added that they also created a dry hydrant on Bryant Road.
“There is a pond out there on Bryant road that the homeowner ran a pipe through close enough to the road so that if there is a housefire or something like a trailer park somewhere around that area, they need more water, they can come right there and get water as they come back in town,” he noted.
Gano updated the Board about the impending LED light project that the Board previously agreed to with Ohio Edison/ First Energy. He still had not heard a response concerning what lights First Energy considered to be property of the Township. The Board decided to pause the project and perform their own count of which street lights they officially owned.
“If it was a Township Road that crosses a Township Road, then it is our light,” BZA Vice Chairman Todd Phillips told them. “If a Township Road crosses another political subdivision whether it is the county’s or the state’s, it is theirs.
Burns said he would place a call to the Portage County Emergency Management Agency to request help on the matter and Miller considered calling the Public Utility Commission for assistance as well.
Timmons notified the Board that they were currently receiving a 3.75% interest on their money market account at Middlefield Bank.
The Board concluded the meeting by signing a ratified updated document from the Portage County Solid Waste District, which allowed the Township to continue its partnership with them.
The Board will reconvene for its next meeting on Sept. 4 at 6 p.m.
