Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees
Meeting Minutes
April 26, 2011
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman Matt Montowski on Tuesday, April 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the conference room.
In attendance were Matt Montowski, William Rofkar, Gary Mortus, Karen Shaw, John Gangway, Dan Barlow, Joe Bires, Jordan Davenport, and Jack DeVore.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all followed by a moment of silence for our troops.
The minutes were read from the April 12 meeting of the Board of Township Trustees. William Rofkar made a motion to approve the April 12 meeting minutes as received.
Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Gary Mortus made a motion to approve and pay the bills, including the last payroll, in the amount of $40,470.64. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Correspondence
The following correspondence was received by the township and read:
An email from Joy Ault, Howard Hanna Real Estate Agent, requesting to rent the township’s billboard at the corner of Cemetery Road and Route 53. The Trustees agreed the billboard is used for township events and they do not wish to rent the billboard.
A letter from Catawba Island residents Dr. Donald and Robin Raybuck regarding the front yards of 2121 and 2137 NE Catawba Road. The Raybucks stated in their letter the junk in the front yards of both properties is an eyesore in the community. They requested the Trustees make an ordinance or initiative that would address the issue in order to protect the value of homes in the community.
Matt Montowski said he spoke with Zoning Inspector Walter Wehenkel regarding the letter and he said there is no Health Department violation or Zoning violation that would address the issue. He also said Catawba Island Township does not have a Maintenance Exterior Code to address the issue.
Gary Mortus stated the township does not have a legal revised code right to pass an ordinance to enforce an exterior maintenance code. He also stated if the township had the ability to do something through Zoning the properties would be grandfathered in because they existed before anything in Zoning would have happened. Gary Mortus said Dr. and Mrs. Raybuck bring up a valid point but there is no way to enforce what they would like the township to enforce.
An email from Thomas Frenette of Sprint regarding our eligibility to receive new cell phone devices at a significant cost savings.
A letter from Diane Watkins of Road Solutions, Inc. introducing herself as the new District Sales Manager and offering her assistance with safety, service level improvements, reduction in cost per lane costs for winter roads and related winter training.
Fire and Safety
Fire Chief John Gangway requested permission to take a fire engine and crew to the Ottawa County Fair this summer to assist as needed. The Trustees agreed the fire department could take an engine to the county fair.
John Gangway spoke regarding township vehicles requiring individual license plates as mentioned at the last meeting. He said it has since been brought to his attention fire, EMS and police emergency vehicles do not fall under this requirement. He said only the township maintenance vehicles are required to have the individual license plates provided by the state.
Karen Shaw said the township received a First Report of Injury from the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation regarding one of the volunteer firemen. John Gangway said he spoke with the individual and he said he was going to withdraw the claim because he found out the injury was related to a previous injury.
Maintenance
Maintenance Supervisor Dan Barlow said the tentative start date on the Sand Road resurfacing project is May 4 with a tentative completion date of May 26. He said one lane of traffic will be maintained throughout the project. Dan Barlow said the township will take up to 15 truck loads of the road grindings for the compost area roads reducing the cost to have the grindings hauled away.
A brief discussion took place regarding a couple areas in the road that have been repaired. Gary Mortus said at Dan Barlow’s request the county engineer is going to review the permits for the excavation area near Rock Ledge to see who is responsible for making the repairs prior to the resurfacing project.
Dan Barlow presented two bids for the concrete leveling work to be completed on the sidewalks surrounding the administration building. He said A1 Concrete Leveling quoted $1,950 and Concrete Leveling Services quoted $2,600.
Gary Mortus made a motion to award a contract to A1 Concrete Leveling for the proposed leveling of the concrete around the administration building as proposed by the job specifications for $1,950. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Dan Barlow said he followed up with Diane Watkins of Road Solutions regarding the inferior tote of beet juice received this winter, additional man hours, and additional trip to the facility required to correct the problem. He said Diane Watkins replied the township will receive compensation for the mileage and man hours required to correct the problem.
Matt Montowski asked about the status of the drapes in the Community Hall. Dan Barlow said the drapes will be installed Thursday, April 28.
Other Business
Gary Mortus asked Dan Barlow how long the Community Hall will remain open to walkers. Dan Barlow said they were playing it by the weather. William Rofkar asked Dan Barlow to ask the regular walkers if it would be beneficial to them to leave the Community Hall open year round.
Gary Mortus said he has given Shelley Stively a few requests and questions that have come through by email from residents and she has followed up very well.
Gary Mortus said the invoice we received from Lakecraft for the work done in the maintenance garage was for the original quote of $6,707 plus $135 for shipping. Gary Mortus said he is opposed to paying the additional $135 because it was not included in the original quote and Lakecraft had assured us the quote included everything.
Gary Mortus also said a problem has arose because when Lakecraft was doing the work one of their employees moved one of our trucks without permission and raised the bed of the truck instead of the plow. This resulted in approximately $1,500 damage to the truck and $1,100 damage to the door opener. Gary Mortus said he feels we should hold the payment to Lakecraft until they reimburse us for the necessary repairs we have contracted out. Matt Montowski and William Rofkar agreed. Gary Mortus said he will call Lakecraft concerning the matter.
William Rofkar said he has done some research and according to the Ohio Revised Code we do not have to bid the remodeling project at the fire station unless the project will be above $50,000. Matt Montowski said any project work over $23,447 would have to be completed with prevailing wage. Matt Montowski said he would like to see three bid specification estimates. The Trustees asked John Gangway to talk to Walter Wehenkel about prevailing wage before proceeding.
Matt Montowski said the township is required to have a Records Retention meeting once a year and he would like to schedule the 2011 meeting at the same time as the next regular Township Trustee meeting on Tuesday, May 10. Everyone was in agreement.
Matt Montowski said the Zoning Commission will meet Wednesday, April 27.
Matt Montowski said the new zoning filing cabinet was delivered April 15 and records are being scanned and then transferred to the new cabinet.
Matt Montowski said a digital recorder was purchased for Zoning and the minutes will be stored on the computer and downloaded to a CD eliminating the need for audio tapes.
Matt Montowski said he received a statement from Mark Morris from the Center of Public Management and Regional Affairs at Miami University regarding his request to possibly help with revising the township personnel manual. Matt Montowski said they would be willing to review the policy with us at a cost of $5,000 or review it and revise it for $9,500. Matt Montowski said he is not in favor of utilizing the center at this time. Matt Montowski said Mark Mulligan stated he would be willing to help the township revise the personnel manual.
Gary Mortus said the personnel manual just needs to be updated and he does not wish to contract with Miami University. Gary Mortus suggested giving Mark Mulligan our current personnel manual to review and he could offer his thoughts. William Rofkar agreed to Mark Mulligan reviewing the township personnel manual.
Matt Montowski said Larry Hattan would like to meet with the Trustees for approximately one hour regarding the energy study he has been working on for the township. The Trustees asked Matt Montowski to schedule a meeting for a week day morning.
Matt Montowski said he contacted Ohio Insurance Services Agency regarding the township life insurance program. He said the current township plan is a single death benefit of $15,000 for each employee with a total cost to the township of $83 per month. Matt Montowski said he sees other employers offering one or two times their salary and he checked into what the price difference would be for the township if we increased our current plan. He said if we increased the benefit to one times the employee salary, with a maximum of $50,000, it would cost the township a total of $215 per month. Matt Montowski said if we increased the benefit to two times the employee salary, with a maximum of $50,000, the total cost to the township would be $284 per month.
Gary Mortus said he suggests because we provide the $15,000 death benefit to the employees free of charge if the employees wanted to increase the benefit to one or two times their salary they could pick up the additional cost through payroll deduction. Gary Mortus said most companies provide some benefit and if the employee wants more they have to pay the additional costs.
William Rofkar said he did not have any thoughts regarding the issue and would like to think it over.
Matt Montowski asked the Trustees if they would consider having a quarterly township financial meeting or six month review. William Rofkar said he feels the monthly financial reports provided by the Fiscal Officer are sufficient. Matt Montowski said he was thinking about reviewing the financials by line item, as done at the end of the year prior to the new fiscal year, in addition to reviewing the financial statements monthly. William Rofkar and Gary Mortus agreed they do not feel a review meeting is necessary because they review the financials monthly and know where the township stands.
Matt Montowski said he received an email from Catawba resident Mary Miller asking if the Trustee’s vision for the township included a fitness center for the residents. Gary Mortus said the Trustees looked into the possibility of a recreation center a number of years ago. He said they found the utility costs would be extremely high. William Rofkar said he also looked into it and has found these types of facilities are running into financial troubles all the time. He said even in communities where families have donated the facility they have found the centers to be tremendously expensive to operate.
Matt Montowski said he received a letter from Shelly Stively requesting to work additional hours. William Rofkar said she is at the maximum hours she can work to be considered part time. Matt Montowski asked the Trustees if they would consider making her full time. The Trustees agreed Shelly Stively does a great job. Gary Mortus said the additional costs to make her full time would be significant. William Rofkar said he would be interested in seeing what the additional costs would be if they were to make her full time. The Trustees agreed to revisit the topic after seeing the numbers.
Gary Mortus made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 p.m. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Meeting adjourned.
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Matt Montowski, Chairman
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William Rofkar, Vice Chairman
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Gary Mortus, Trustee
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Karen Shaw, Fiscal Officer
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