Windham Twp. – Windham Township Trustees met for their regularly scheduled meeting on April 5, 2018 with all trustees and the fiscal officer in attendance. Chairman Danny Burns called the meeting to order, and had Boy Scout Draven Post lead the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The trustees approved the minutes from March, the expenditures, and the renewal of the township’s insurance through OTARMA (Ohio Township Association Risk Management Authority) with Ellerhorst-Russell Insurance.
Guest Draven Post presented his Eagle Scout project to the trustees for their approval. Draven will build four, 4 foot benches with planters on each end to place near the Veterans Memorial in the cemetery. The trustees approved the design. Draven plans to have the project completed by the end of the month. The trustees will put Draven in touch with the company the makes the plaques that are used for the memorial trees so Draven can have obtain plaques for the benches.
In roads, high winds took out a tree on Bryant Road that needed taken down and Eckman Tree Service helped with the removal. A tree was also removed from Wadsworth Road as well. Trustee Brian Miller talked with First Energy and made them aware of trees that need to come down that is on or near power lines. They went out and marked the trees that need to be trimmed or come down.
The township will hold off until April 15, 2018 before patching roads due to the fact that hot patch isn’t available until that date. Cold patch just doesn’t hold up with the continued freezing and thawing we have been experiencing.
They also had the trailer repaired and had running boards installed on the new truck.
In cemetery news, Trustee Rich Gano reported that they had 82 graves left and were in hopes to create a few more when they get more fill dirt. The electric at the cemetery still seems high since it is just running lights. Resident Tom Tauch, who is a contractor and very knowledgeable on electricity, will take a look at it.
In zoning, Inspector Joe Pinti reported that he had written one permit for a new home on Hewins Road. The demolition on Gotham Road is moving along and the residence at 9107 State Route 82 is in the process of being scheduled for demolition. All the paperwork is signed and should be on the judge’s desk by the end of next week. Pinti said he visited the address on Werger Road where it was reported that someone was living in a garage there. After investigating it, it appears that they are not living in the garage. It is just a game room for their grandson. A discussion was held on junk cars, Pinti said, Assistant Prosecutor Chris Meduri told him tag any cars that are not running and issue a zoning violation. Even if they claim they are using them just on the farm, all vehicles must be in operating order.
In the fire district report, Gano reported that they had truck 2812 out for a head gasket replacement, and truck 2815 is having work done on it as well. They were at 137 calls to date. Gano also reported that they were trying to get a levy committee together to help spread the word about the need for an additional 2 mill operating levy on the May ballot.
Old Business: Curbside recycling appears to be inevitable as the dumpster recycling seems to be more problematic than its worth. The trustees cited that they had nowhere to place the dumpsters and the public uses the area where the dumpsters are as a personal dumping ground for everything. This angered a several residents in attendence, giving the trustees a taste of what’s to come, when the word gets out that they will be forced to pay for curb- side recycling, whether they use the service or not.
Other items discussed were, Fiscal Officer Jayme Neikirk will keep looking for grants, talks about having township workers attend trustees meetings quarterly to report what their needs are, was nixed, and town hall usage. The big discussion was on rules and regulations of town hall usage. The trustees will have a set of rules and regulations ironed out by the next meeting.
Lastly, there was a discussion on having better fuel pricing options. They are looking into purchasing it from the schools for better pricing. Gano will look into it.
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned.
