The June 18, 2018 meeting of the Garrettsville-Hiram Rotary Club welcomed Portage County Auditor Janet Esposito, who presented information on the activities and responsibilities of her office and answered questions of members. Her office handles building permits in the county. She stated the Portage County ranks 2nd in Ohio in the number of mobile homes on the tax rolls. She explained some of the points involved in tax evaluation, including age, income, military service, community standards…all on 35% of property value, whether commercial, industrial or residential. Portage County processes over $800 million per year, employs some 1300 workers to do this. The auditor’s office serves as the fiscal officer for various governmental entities in the county and does the financial reporting for virtually all county offices. The books are open, are audited and are available on line for inspection and inquiry.
In regular business, Amy Crawford reported that she and John Crawford, president-elect, had attended a village council meeting, along with an representative of Edison Landscape and Deck Lighting, to present information on the Lighting of the Falls project. This was well-received and led to discussion of updating of the Boardwalk with assistance from Rotary. More to come. They also reported that Always in Bloom has offered end-of-season plants to be included is the ongoing efforts to beautify the terminal points on the Headwaters Trail and the downtown fountain near the Boardwalk. The sleigh for Santa in the Grand Parade at SummerFest is being gussied up and should be ready for the big day. Candy is needed. The James A. Garfield Historical Society will be part of the presentation. RYLA participants were enthusiastic about their experience and will be coming to a meeting to tell about it sometime this summer. Wednesday will be the occasion for more mulch work on the Headwaters Trail, weather permitting. Joe Benedict (USN, ret.)of the Cleveland Honor Flight organization will be coming to explain the program to the Rotary group. SummerFest is looking for volunteers to sell tickets for the Car or Cash Raffle and the Lions Club Rubber Duck Race. There was a brief repot on the Quiz Bowl team’s trip to Chicao—more to come.
The Summer Steak Fry is tentatively scheduled for August 6.
