Hiram Twp. – At the last meeting, Fiscal Officer Diane Rodhe shared that she received the official notice from the Portage County Board of Elections regarding the upcoming Primary Special Election on May 2nd. She also noted that Hiram Township will be receiving a new laptop computer from the Auditor of State some time this summer, and noted that Trustees need to determine the use for the current laptop, since the State does not want the older model returned. In similar news, it was noted that Hiram Township is scheduled for an Auditor of State audit for the years 2015 & 2016. Lastly, Ms. Rodhe also noted that Dominion East Ohio Gas had incorrectly been charging the Township sales tax on one of their accounts; she explained that NOPEC has provided assistance in correcting the error.
Next, resident Tierney Bryant was in attendance; she notified the Board of her interest in participating on the Board of Zoning Appeals. In Legislation, the Trustees voted unanimously to approve Tierney Bryant as Alternate to the Board of Zoning Appeals, Eric Hankinson as Secretary to the Zoning and Board of Zoning Appeals, and Judy Zidonis as Alternate to the Zoning Board.
In addition, the Trustees unanimously approved the solid waste and recycling bid specifications as prepared by the Village of Hiram. Both Hiram Village and Township will work jointly to review bids for trash and recycling services throughout the greater Hiram area. In other news, the Trustees Steve Pancost motioned to spend a maximum of $27,000 to purchase a building that will be erected for cold storage of equipment at the Township’s State Route 82 property as soon as weather allows.
In other news, Trustees discussed attendance at a countywide meeting with the County Auditor and Treasurer to decide the disbursement of the State of Ohio’s Local Government Fund. The formula used to establish each locality’s portion was established in 2008, and is set to expire in 2018. Portage County’s portion of this Fund is valued at over $3.7 million this year. The estimated disbursements show local Townships including Hiram, Mantua and Shalersville to receive less than 1% of the Fund per municipality, while Villages including Garrettsville, Hiram and Mantua are estimated to receive roughly 1.5% of the Fund. Cities including Aurora, Streetsboro, Ravenna and Kent are estimated to receive percentages ranging from 4.5% to nearly 20% according to preliminary numbers provided by the County. This meeting will begin a dialog to establish the formula to determine disbursements for 2019 to 2028, and will be held on Tuesday, May 30th at 6 pm at the Reed Memorial Library in Ravenna.
In his Road Report, Tom Matota mentioned that a culvert will be needed and the cost will be approximately $400.00. He also estimated that the Township currently has about 90 Tons of unused salt that will be stored until next season. The schedule for 2017 Chip and Seal work has been posted on the Township website. The roads scheduled for chip and seal work include: Asbury, Hankee, Schustrich, Vaughn, Allyn, Washburn, Cadek, Thrasher, and Alpha Roads.
The next Hiram Township meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 2nd at 7 pm in the Township Hall. Residents are encouraged to attend.
