Windham’s Board of Trustees convened last Thursday evening at the Windham Town Hall. Among other agenda items, the board passed a resolution to sign a contract approving the sale of the 15-acre Windham Alloy Property to BMW Contracting LLC.
“The Trustees just got the final version of the contract on Thursday and it has been cleared by the Prosecutor’s Office,” said Trustee Dan Burns. “They feel like it is a good enough contract that we can get it signed and get the process started.”
The Windham Alloy Property was used as a scrapyard and was recently acquired by the township. Burns said that BMW Contracting LLC is purchasing the property and intends to build a new facility for a paving contracting company based in Geauga County.
Although the township must still pay the property tax for the first half of the year, by signing the contract now, BMW Contracting LLC will be responsible for paying the tax for the balance of the rest of the year and the township will keep possession of the cell tower located near the property and its profits.
In road news, Trustee Brian Miller said he checked on the Township’s salt supply and it has approximately 100 tons of salt available, which should be more than enough to get through the rest of the winter. Miller proposed that the township buy an additional 25 tons of salt from Morton Salt.
According to Burns, if the township does not purchase more salt from Morton Salt this year it will be removed from the consortium that Windham is a part of, which allows the township to buy salt at a discount.
Miller added that there were reports of increased traffic control issues on State Route 82, concerning multiple deer fatalities.
It was noted that part of the problem is that State Route 82 narrows as vehicles approach the hill. A board member of Windham Township’s Zoning Commission, suggested that one solution would be to extend the yellow line over the hill to cover the entire road.
“You don’t realize how dangerous that hill is where they come over flying and then they stop and then somebody is trying to pass,” Miller said,
Miller also said that there was an issue with one of the snow trucks and he had it checked out by a mechanic who said it needed a new belt. Miller said the problem was recently addressed and the truck was up and running again. He provided an update on another truck that was still waiting for repairs at the Fairway Ford Dealership in Canfield.
With the truck having been in the shop since Nov. 17, Miller once again brought up the idea of citing Ohio’s Lemon Law about the vehicle but added that Fairway Ford’s manager would take a look at the truck.
In cemetery news, Trustee Rich Gano said he was having the cemetery workers use metal detectors on some old plots to find pins and excavate them so they can be replaced with the new pins he ordered. Once the pins are replaced, the township can continue with the process of beginning indigent burials.
In zoning news, Zoning Inspector Jake Sweet said the 20-day waiting period for someone to appeal the township’s plans to demolish the property on State Route 303 had expired. He also had received a permit request from a resident to build a pole barn on 9792 Bryant Road.
Another item of zoning news was an update on the board’s plans about how to proceed with the Zoning Commission. Gano printed out a new flow chart that outlined zoning amendment procedures that was approved by Brett Bencz, the Portage County Prosecutor, and provided a copy for the township zoning board member. She said she would share the flow chart with the rest of the Zoning Commission at the next meeting, which will take place on Feb. 15.
“This is general law when an amendment is brought forward to change the zoning,” Gano said. “These are the timelines. I will print hard copies and laminate them for the Zoning Commission and again I will do the same for the Board of Zoning Appeals because the timeframes might be a little different.”
In fire news, Burns said the Fire Department was waiting to receive funds from a levy that had been passed, allowing them to give raises to their employees. He said that incentive pay allowing firefighters to collect an extra dollar per hour for working overtime was working out nicely in having firefighters cover more shifts.
In other old and new business news, the Board discussed passing a resolution to give raises to the township employees. They originally said they would increase wages by another dollar an hour but decided to make it an additional two dollars, and the motion was passed.
Fiscal Officer Casey Timmons proposed making a part-time worker a full-time worker. The township previously only had two-full time employees who did cemetery work and road work but had lately enlisted the help of an additional person.
“There have been times when we have needed that extra help,” Miller said. “We had a double funeral and a storm at the same time so we called an extra helper to assist out at the cemetery as we put one guy out on the road, so they staggered that timing so we could stay out during that storm.”
The Board approved of Timmons’ suggestion to add another full-time worker to the payroll. In other old and new business-related items, Timmons said the Township still had over $2,000 remaining from its 2022 NOPEC Grant. Burns suggested using those funds to install a new electric box in the building.
The board also discussed installing a new primer pump on the right side of the Town Hall’s back-up engine and buying additional inventory from the old Windham Family Pharmacy.
The next board meeting will take place at Windham Town Hall on March 7 at 6 p.m.
