The Windham Township Board of Trustees continues to struggle to find common ground with the Windham Township Zoning Commission. The Board discussed scheduling a public zoning hearing to finalize several zoning resolutions last Thursday at Windham Township Hall.
According to Trustee, Vice Chairman and Cemetery contact Rich Gano, there continues to be very little clarity on the commission’s stance on the Board’s recent resolution to reduce the frontage of properties from 200 to 150 feet.
“It is stuff that should have been happening. They went back-and-forth. They took frontage as setback and were confused,” he noted.
Board of Zoning Appeals Vice Chairman Todd Phillips said that the BZA had already discussed this issue and Gano responded that the commission never held a public hearing.
“Whenever a request comes in, the zoning committee has to have a public meeting and then they say yes or no. Then they send it back to this Board,” Phillips added. “Then you guys say ‘Okay, we either accept or reject that’.”
Gano said that he had not heard back from the Commission despite sending several emails.
Trustee, Board Chairman, and Fire contact Dan Burns suggested that the Board should investigate whether they truly need to wait on the Commission. Phillips said that there was a caveat in the revised zoning code that could allow the Board to bypass the Commission.
Phillips added that the Commission was still being vague about the Board’s recent resolution to change the variance notifications from a radius of 500 feet to only adjoining properties.
Burns said that Gano should get a clearer picture from the commission shortly and if he did not receive answers, then the board should schedule a public zoning hearing before the next board meeting in July. The meeting was tentatively scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on July 3 but was also subject to cancellation if the commission responded.
Windham residents James Bruce and Michael Morrison formally appeared as guests to discuss their concerns about the absence of the 10-ton weight limit sign that prevented trucks from crossing the Gotham Bridge.
Trustee and Road Contact Brian Miller said that the Township was in the process of replacing their signs and was still working on replacing the one on Gotham Bridge.
Miller added that one truck in particular had been spotted crossing the Gotham Bridge several times despite exceeding the weight limit.
“We just want to say we live on Gotham, and it is just discouraging to see these big trucks coming up and down that road on that bridge that you guys paid all of the money to fix,” Morrison said.
Bruce said that he would take a picture of the truck the next time it crossed the bridge and send the photo to the board, which could then contact the trucker’s employer.
If you could get a picture of him and give it to us, I can find out who the company is,” Burns told Bruce. “I will send it to them and say, ‘Hey we are contacting the engineers to see if they will help us out with the problem’.”
Miller added that the Township may have to get the State Highway Patrol involved.
Miller then discussed some road matters, including the township’s difficulty with one of their mowers, which operates at a slower pace and required the purchase of a new gearbox. He said that because of the mower’s poor condition, there would be some tall grass sticking up in the meantime.
He said that he wanted to avoid purchasing a new mower, as a new model would cost approximately $48,000 which did not seem like a worthwhile investment considering the Township only uses the mowers four times a year to cover nine miles of road.
Miller noted that the Township was still performing roadside cutting, having experienced some delays because of the weather and being short-handed. He added that the road workers still had two new culverts they needed to install, one on Liberty and one on Wadsworth Street.
He added that The Shelly Company Construction had yet to begin chip & seal projects on the roads and he had not heard anything from Vice President Bill Dvorak.
Gano said that two new graves had been poured in the cemetery and that Portage Marble and Granite, a monument maker in Kent, was storing a headstone for free until the grave had been filled enough to plant it.
Burns updated the Board on the status of a headstone the Township received from the Veteran Affairs approximately a year ago so they could plant a grave. According to Burns, the Township has run into several issues as the headstone became cracked and the next one that the VA sent was also flawed.
“They said they are going to take care of it,” he noted. “They will give us a flat one and we will install it for them but we just didn’t want to do it the other way because we thought it would fall down.”
Zoning Inspector Jake Sweet was in attendance for his monthly report. He said that that the Portage County Building Department had recently executed a search warrant on the property on 10664 State Route 303, which consisted of two residential structures on the same parcel, which was deemed illegal.
Sweet said that the Department classified the second structure as being a residential building and that the property owner needs to correct this issue.
BZA Member Tricia Kendrick notified him that the property had been demolished by the Portage County Land Bank.
“Whatever was in it, they grabbed it out. It looks like it is just grass and water,” she said. “We took our four-wheeler over there, but it is down. It looks great. It really does. They got everything.”
Gano lauded the Bank for having enough funds in the grant to fully level the property and Miller said that the property’s demolition did not cost the Township or taxpayers anything.
The next step was for the property to go up for sale and Gano said that the minimum starting price point would be at $17,000.
Kendrick also raised the issue of the abandoned trailer at 9126 State Rt. 303. The trailer is vacant and all property taxes have been paid. Kendrick questioned when the Township could start the clock on removing it if no one came to claim it.
Phillips said that it would be approximately a two-year wait.
Gano then informed the Board of an upcoming Township Seminar, which was being held by Portage County Prosecuting Attorney Connie J. Lewandowski on June 14 at the Northeast Ohio Medical University. He added that he believes that most of the Seminar would be dominated by zoning issues.
Burns said that the Fire Department had responded to 272 calls so far this year. He added that the Department was using a fire truck from the Burton Fire Department to replace one of their other fire trucks which had a weak frame.
“Burton had nowhere to put it because they bought a new one, so we are helping them out by parking it in our station, so we are helping each other really,” he said.
Burns added that the Fire Department was utilizing an “ABC” schedule, which provides that if a firefighter works a 24-hour shift, they are entitled to at least 48 hours off before beginning their next shift.
As far as old business was concerned, Gano said that he was still waiting on a map from Ohio Edison First Energy for the impending LED light project. Fiscal Officer Casey Timmons informed him that she had not sent a check yet as they had not received a map as to which lights would be replaced.
Miller expressed his gratitude to Windham students Jacob Cody, Gavin Kiser and Tristan Shearer for helping distribute flowers to all of the residents who were impacted by the EF1 tornado.
Phillips notified the Board that the electric bills were scheduled to increase in June. He said that he identified a company that offered a short-term deal of 4 cents per kilowatt for six months which would be a nice stopgap while the Board searches for long-term solutions.
The Board will reconvene for its next meeting on July 3 at 6 p.m. at Windham Township Hall, with a budget meeting scheduled at 5:50 p.m.
