Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees
Meeting Minutes
August 27, 2024
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman Diane Belden on Tuesday, August 27, at 9:00 a.m. in the conference room of the administration building.
In attendance were: Diane Belden, William Rofkar, Matt Montowski, Shelly Garcia, John Gangway, Kevin Johnson, William Baker, Lisa Murphy, Mary Jane Porozynski and Kevin Gibbons.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
William Rofkar made a motion to approve the August 13, 2024, Board of Trustees regular 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 payroll, in the amount of $ 87,266.07. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Correspondence
The Outdoor Hiking Challenge press release was sent to the trustees to notify them of the locations and dates for their 2nd annual hiking program.
Vicki Wheatley sent an email to advise the trustees that the Parks Board will hold their 2024 fall walk at Cedar Meadow Preserve on October 5, 2024 at 10:00 am. They also decided to hold the September 18th meeting as a walk through at Cedar Meadow.
Fiscal
William Rofkar made a motion to adopt a Resolution accepting and certifying the amounts and rates as determined by the Budget Commission and authorizing the necessary tax levies for the fiscal year commencing January 1, 2025 as estimated by the Ottawa County Auditor. Rates to be levied include 4.2 Inside Mills and 4.3 Outside Mills. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. Vote on the Motion: Diane Belden, aye; William Rofkar, aye; Matt Montowski, aye. Motion carried.
Fiscal Officer, Shelly Garcia, reported that notification was received from the Ottawa County Budget Commission and that Catawba Island Township’s share of Local Government funds for 2024 is estimated to be $21,179.41.
Maintenance
Supervisor, Kevin Johnson, stated that Barnes has completed grinding and they did a very good job.
The new AED has been installed at Heigle Park. The trustees agreed that it should be taken down in the winter (after the sports programs have ended) to prevent damage.
The maintenance department has one more road to finish up by the end of the year, and that is near Rock Ledge and he will most likely need help with traffic control once he starts that project.
Matt Montowki asked Kevin about the headstone foundation project. He stated that he has one more to do and will be finished after that.
Fire
Chief Kevin Gibbons reported that Elliot Bassett finished and passed his fire training.
Fireworks at CIC will be September 1, 2024
The Fire Department will be having an open house on September 22, 2024 in celebration of their 75th Anniversary.
One of the garage doors at the Fire Department broke and JVS came out to repair. However, the door is damaged and they recommended it be replaced. Chief Gibbons stated that some of the other doors are in bad shape and he will be getting quotes for replacement of the damaged doors.
The Fire Department completed some training exercises recently and all went well with that.
Police
Chief Gangway received quotes to replace on of the older police vehicles and presented to the trustees. There were two quotes. One quote was for a new 2024 vehicle and one was for a 2025 vehicle. He stated that we could get the 2024 still this year as it is on the lot, but the 2025 would be sometime next year. Both vehicles will cost the same as quoted from State Wide Ford ($63,730.00) as long as the 2025 is ordered now.
The trustees discussed both options and decided that it would be in the best interest of the township to purchase the 2024 vehicle this year, and then purchase the 2025 vehicle next year, but place the order this year so we are locked into the lower price.
Matt Montowski made a motion to approve purchase of a 2024 Police UT Vehicle as quoted by State Wide Ford for a total of $63,730.00. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion Carried.
Matt Montowski made a motion to approve purchase of a 2025 Police UT Vehicle as quoted by State Wide Ford for a total of $63,730.00 to be delivered in 2025. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion Carried.
Chief Ganway reported that Bash on the Bay traffic was pretty hectic on Wednesday, but that Thursday was much better. No major issues reported.
Parks
Matt Montowski stated that he received his annual email from Bruce Buckingham regarding the banding of Saw-Whet Owls. All would be the same as in the past years. The board has no issues with this request.
Matt Montowski stated that he is still having a hard time getting estimates for repair of the courts at Heigle Park. Matt stated that he spoke to Jeff at Sports Masters at the first of the year and was told they would put together an estimate for repair. But he still has heard nothing. Matt reached out to Pete at CourtSmith and he will be getting back to the trustees with estimates.
William Rofkar stated that he has a complaint regarding the trailer at 1510 NW Catawba Rd. and the condition of the property. He stated that the owner of the property said they were going to fix/demolish, but never did. The property is not safe and action needs to be taken. The township has rules in place that allow removal of a structure if it’s deemed unsafe. Trustees agreed to send a certified letter to the owner to advise that per ORC 505.86 they are ordered to remove the trailer and excessive debris within 30 days or the township will contract to have it removed and costs will be put on as a lien on the property. Certified letter will go out today, and they will have until our October 8, 2024 meeting to respond.
William Rofkar made a Resolution declaring the need to remove the structure located at 1510 NW Catawba Rd. per ORC 505.86. Matt Montowski seconded this motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
New Business
William Baker asked if someone could get in contact with the Market family regarding a walking path from Porter St. to the ferry as it is very dangerous with all the people walking down the middle of the street.
William Rofkar stated that this past spring a meeting took place with ODOT and the Market family and they stated that they were going to work on this issue. William said that we cannot force them to do something they are not required to do and that if they are even considering working with us and ODOT that we need to give them the time to address this issue. He also stated that if you see something dangerous to please contact our Police Dept.
Matt Montowski made a motion to adjourn the meeting. William Rofkar seconded the motion.
All voted aye. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 10:03 a.m.
The next meeting will be Tuesday September 10, 2024 at 9:00 a.m.
___________________________ _____________________________
Diane Belden, Chairman Shelly Garcia, Fiscal Officer