Minutes: February 14th, 2012

Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees

Meeting Minutes

February 14, 2012

The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman William Rofkar on Tuesday, February 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the conference room.

In attendance were Matt Montowski, William Rofkar, Gary Mortus, Karen Shaw, Dan Barlow,
John Gangway, Bob Rogers, Jack DeVore, and Randy Riedmaier.

The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.

The minutes were read from the January 24 regular meeting of the Board of Township Trustees. Gary Mortus made a motion to approve the January 24 meeting minutes as presented. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.

The minutes were read from the January 26 special meeting of the Board of Township Trustees. Gary Mortus made a motion to approve the January 26 special meeting minutes as presented. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.

Matt Montowski made a motion to approve and pay the bills, including the last two payrolls, in the amount of $92,228.03. Gary Mortus seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.

Correspondence

The following correspondence was received by the township:

The 2011 Annual Report from the Ottawa County Municipal Court.

A letter from TransCore regarding the Federal Siren Maintenance Renewal.

A letter from the Ottawa Soil and Water Conservation District offering a discount to Ottawa County townships, villages, and cities on a variety of trees for sale.

A letter from the Joint Solid Waste Management District requesting completion of a survey to obtain solid waste recycling and waste reduction information.

A letter from the Ottawa County Board of Elections regarding set up for the Primary Election to be held Tuesday, March 6, 2012 at the Community Hall.

A letter from Todd Bickley, Ottawa Regional Planning Commission, regarding the 2012 Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG).

A letter from Marcy Kaptur regarding law enforcement funding opportunities.

A letter from Paul Ochs, Catawba Island Volunteer Firefighter, requesting use of the Community Hall on June 30, 2012 for a family celebration.

The Trustees agreed Paul Ochs could use the Community Hall and waived the fee.

A letter from Kevin Joyce, Black Swamp Conservancy, regarding their annual visit to the Cedar Meadow Preserve on November 18, 2011. An encroachment by neighboring property owners was noted in the letter. Aside from the encroachment issue, Trustees were commended for their exemplary management of the property and a special mention of the wonderful job the park board is doing of managing natural habitats on the preserve while providing recreational opportunities to the community.

Gary Mortus agreed to call Kevin Joyce regarding the encroachment issue.

A letter from Gary and Diane Straw requesting permission to use the Catawba Island Township Administration Building parking lot on Saturday, July 7, 2012 as auxiliary parking for a family gathering.

The Trustees agreed Gary and Diane Straw may use the parking lot for auxiliary parking as requested.

An email from Jodi Benner requesting assistance to fix the roads in her subdivision.

The Trustees agreed the subdivision in which Jodi Benner resides is private and therefore the township is not responsible for the road repairs. Gary Mortus agreed to contact Jodi Benner.

A letter from Glenn Maglott, Jr. requesting an easement from the township for continued use of the driveway, 20 feet south of the south lot line, on the property he recently purchased.

The Trustees acknowledged they are aware the driveway is on township property but do not wish to grant an easement. The Trustees agreed to allow the home owners to continue to drive on the driveway at this time. Gary Mortus agreed to contact Glenn Maglott, Jr.

A letter from Mark Mulligan, Ottawa County Prosecuting Attorney, and Stephen Levorchick, Ottawa County Sheriff, regarding the Ottawa County Drug Task Force Funding and seeking a contribution proportionate to the population of our political subdivision.

Gary Mortus made a motion to contribute $4,000 to the Ottawa County Drug Task Force.
Matt Montowski seconded the motion. William Rofkar said he would like to hold off on the decision a couple of months to see if the township is going to add a part time police officer to the department because he has a hard time donating to another law enforcement agency when we are not replacing our own part time officers that leave. Vote on motion: Gary Mortus, aye; Matt Montowski, aye; William Rofkar, opposed. Motion carried.


Fire and Safety

Fire Chief John Gangway said he attended a meeting recently with the Solid Waste District regarding the prescription medication drop off program held last fall. He said the next drop off is scheduled for Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. John Gangway said they plan to run the program out of the fire station again as it worked out well last fall. He said the Solid Waste District is interested in promoting a more permanent drop off location but there are some security issues. John Gangway said the group discussed the pros and cons involved. He said they will continue to work on a solution and might have something in place by the next drop off scheduled for September.

John Gangway said he would like to schedule the tanker and the equipment truck for biannual preventative maintenance. He estimated repairs would be less than $1,000 per truck.

The Trustees agreed to the necessary preventative maintenance.

John Gangway said the fire station cabinet project is moving forward and he hopes the cabinets will be in by the end of March.

John Gangway said Dan Barlow contacted G W Contractors regarding the exterior fire station repairs and he said they plan to begin work the week of February 20.


Police

Police Chief Bob Rogers asked the Trustees if they could purchase a new police vehicle with all new electronics and equipment from Statewide Ford to replace one of the cruisers.

William Rofkar said as the police vehicles are replaced he would like to see each one equipped with a camera system.

Bob Rogers said video equipment will cost an additional $5,400.

Gary Mortus made a motion to purchase a 2013 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor and video equipment not to exceed $37,000. The Ford Explorer is to be purchased through the State Cooperative Purchasing program. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.


Fiscal

Fiscal Officer Karen Shaw presented the January financial reports and bank reconciliation and there were no questions or concerns.

Karen Shaw said she researched and followed up an unclaimed funds case from the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Unclaimed Funds regarding a check in the amount of $1,098. She said it was determined the unclaimed check was for a ten percent hold back on work performed by Masonry Construction in March of 1998.

Karen Shaw said the township recently received the unclaimed funds in the form of a check. She said she believes the funds should be returned to Masonry Construction as the work was completed as scheduled.

Gary Mortus made a motion to reimburse Masonry Construction for a hold back of ten percent on a job that was performed at the fire station in March of 1998. The original check was never cashed and remained in the state’s unclaimed funds until recently and should be returned. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.

Zoning

Matt Montowski said the Board of Zoning Appeals will meet on March 7 instead of March 14 due to a scheduling conflict for several Board members.

Matt Montowski said Zoning issued three permits and two variances for a total $570 in January.


Other Business

Matt Montowski made a motion to purchase two new computer monitors for use with the zoning and cemetery mapping programs not to exceed $600. Gary Mortus seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.

Matt Montowski made a motion to renew the Federal Siren Maintenance program with TransCore for the period of March 1, 2012 to February 28, 2013 at a cost of $700 per siren for a total of two sirens. Gary Mortus seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.

Gary Mortus made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Matt Montowski seconded the motion.
All voted aye. Meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.





______________________________ _____________________________
William Rofkar, Chairman Karen Shaw, Fiscal Officer

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