Mantua – At the final meeting of 2019, the Board approved the part-time contract and approved a 3% raise for full-time employees for 2020. At their 2020 organizational meeting, the Fire Board selected Bob Gaglione from Mantua Village as Chairman and Jason Carlton from Mantua Township as Vice Chairman. In the regular meeting, Chief Matt Roosa reported on developments in the hiring of an assistant chief, at which time Firefighter Tim Benner noted that several residents within the fire district have fire department experience and would be happy to assist the department in the interview review process, if that would be beneficial.
In other news, Chief Roosa noted that the final phase of roof replacement would be completed in spring, as soon as weather permits. The small remaining areas of the building include the hose tower, training room, and bump out at the bullpen area.
You may recall that the board recently passed a Resolution of Necessity, allowing Fiscal Officer Ashlee Hawkins to submit the required paperwork to the Board of Elections in time to permit a Fire Levy Replacement on the ballot for voters within the fire district as early as March 2020. The chief encouraged homeowners to visit the Portage County Auditor’s website (portagecountyauditor.org) to use the Portage County Tax Estimator to determine what the replacement levy will cost their family.
Lastly, tickets are still available for the Mantua-Shalersville Firefighters Association Reverse Raffle event. The fundraiser, which enables firefighters to purchase gear not covered by department budgets, will be held on Saturday, February 29th at 6pm. Tickets are $100 per couple or $75 for a single ticket. Ticket includes dinner, dancing, an open bar, and the chance to win a grand prize of $2,000. Call (330) 274-3535 for more information, or to purchase your tickets.
The next Fire Board meeting will be held on Monday, February 10th at 6 pm.
