The Windham Township Board of Trustees voted to accept the Windham Township Zoning Commission’s rejection of resident Colleen Thompson’s proposed zoning amendment last Thursday evening at Windham Town Hall.
As The Villager previously reported, Thompson presented the Board with a proposal at the September meeting to amend the Zoning Code to allow residents who live on parcels of 10 acres of more to have the option to build a second residential dwelling on their property. The amendment was considered by the WTZC, which held a meeting on Nov. 25 and voted 3-1 against the amendment.
Board Chairman, Trustee and Fire Contact Dan Burns made a motion to accept the Zoning Board’s recommendation and the motion carried.
“We are working with the residents to come up with a solution that works for everyone, not just for a few people so that is the answer we got back,” he said. “I will accept our Zoning Board’s recommendation and we will follow their guidelines at this time, and I would like to look into this again down the road because I like some of it, but I don’t like all of it.”
Burns informed the audience that the Board would hold a public hearing to further discuss the amendment. Fiscal Officer Casey Timmons said that she would file a public notice of the hearing in The Villager and the Board agreed to schedule a meeting on Dec. 19 at 6 p.m. at Windham Town Hall, which complied with the rules giving residents at least a 10-day notice of the hearing.
Trustee and Road Contact Brian Miller said that the Township had attempted to stay up to date with road maintenance this past month, as the Township was hit with two separate snowstorms. He added that the Township would be purchasing a new toggle for one of the smaller snow ploughs which would cost $338.46.
Burns also provided an update on the cemetery on behalf of Vice Chairman and Cemetery Contact Rich Gano who was absent.
He also provided an update about the headstone the Board had received a year ago from the Veteran’s Affairs for a grave, which had been previously discussed at the June meeting. When the Board received the headstone, it was cracked so it needed to be sent back, but when the VA sent a new one, the Township had already poured the footer and they could not place the headstone on the grave. Burns said that the Township could attempt to glue the headstone but did not think it was a viable solution. He assumed the headstone would not be stable and would probably fall. He said that the Board came up a new solution.
“We think we are just going to dig out the old footer and put the stone in the ground and put some concrete around it. The VA won’t be responsible for doing it, we can’t get in touch with the family and we don’t want the guy’s headstone just sitting in the garage,” he noted.
An audience member asked for an update on the status of the Township’s unresolved matter with the possession of a resident’s ashes. As previously discussed at the November meeting, the Board had reached out to the deceased’s relatives and they have refused to claim the body, so the Township assumed the cost of the cremation. The Board had sent the matter to the Probate Court and was still waiting for a response.
“We were trying to wait at least 30 days from the time it went to the probate because they said it takes a month or two for stuff to go through,” Burns noted. “Probate has not called me back to say if anything was filed there under this person’s name.”
He added that he did not expect the Probate Court to find anything and once the Board received official word, they would ask the family to make payments.
Township Zoning Inspector Jake Sweet briefed the Board with his monthly zoning report. He said that a MYLAR review had recently been completed after a resident purchased an acre from another resident and needed to have the land replotted. He added that he had also received a shed permit request on the property at 9750 Wolfe Road.
Sweet also informed the Board that he had received a call from a resident asking about the Township’s stance on solar panels. The Board had previously discussed having a moratorium on solar panels but had not made any final decision.
“It is not explicitly prohibited but that is the route that we are going,” Sweet said. “I don’t know what the megawatts are, but it is going to be an acre of solar panels.”
Burns said that the Board did have some precedent to refer to, as Atwater Township had recently ruled in favor of a moratorium on solar panels that exceeded 50 megabytes.
Board of Zoning Appeals member Becky Phillips notified the Board that she intended to fill the role as BZA Chairman, formerly held by her late husband Todd, current member Trish Kendrick has been appointed as the Vice Chairman. Phillips also proposed to the Board that they also appoint Noah Kendrick to the BZA.
Burns said that the Board would put a public notice out first seeking any other interested parties before naming Kendrick to the Board.
An audience member asked the Board about when there would be a public hearing about the application for a fence variance on Stanley Road. Sweet informed the audience member that the hearing would be on Dec. 17.
Burns informed the Board that the Fire Department has just filed the paperwork to purchase a used ambulance from the City of Ravenna Fire Department for $40,000. He added that the Department is waiting on approval from Ravenna. He also noted that the Fire Department planned to put their old ambulance up for sale on GovDeals.com.
He also reported that the Fire Department had recently passed an insurance inspection and that the Fire Department has made 626 service calls year-to-date.
Burns told the audience that the Board was having a new furnace installed in the garage through a Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council Grant and was also having both heaters in the building repaired by Yellowjacket at a cost of $800.
Burns said that the Windham Historical Society had paid to have a replica of the marker of the first house ever built in the Township installed on the greens of the building adjacent to Windham Town Hall as well as a stone with a plaque on it. Both were expected to be received the week of Dec. 8.
He added that the Township was also still waiting on the arrival of the street clock that the WHS had purchased to be installed on the greens of Windham Town Hall.
The Board decided to move the next monthly meeting to the first Friday of the New Year, as the original date fell on the New Year’s holiday.
The Board also re-scheduled their meeting in February, as the original date fell on a day when the Board will be attending the Ohio Township Association Conference in Columbus. The Board decided that the February meeting would be held on Feb. 9, the second Tuesday of the month.
The Board will reconvene for its next meeting on Jan. 2 at Windham Town Hall at 6 p.m.
