Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees
Meeting Minutes
November 11, 2025
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman William Rofkar on Tuesday, November 11, at 9:00 a.m. in the conference room of the administration building.
In attendance were: Diane Belden, William Rofkar, Matt Montowski, Shelly Garcia, Kevin Johnson, Lisa Murphy, Chris Cellier, Dan Barlow, Robert Garcia, Michael Benton, Kim Mulholland, Marty Auxter, Dorthy Baker, Quintin Smith, Debi Barlow, Mike Antonyzyn, Kim Schaffer, Jack Madison and Linda Fox.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
Diane Belden made a motion to approve the October 28, 2025 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 $83,145.79. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Correspondence
Judy Peters from the Catwaba Island Garden Club submitted a request to use the Community Hall for their garden sale. They are requesting the hall on May 8th & 9th, 2026 and request the trustees waive the rental fee as this is a charity event throughout the community. All trustees agreed to her request.
Notice received from Janah Wilson, Director of the Park District of Ottawa County, advising the township that they have applied for a grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission, Clean Ohio Conservation Fund, to be used toward the purchase of approximately 16.3 acres of land on Catawba per ORC 164.23 (C). This is Parcel number 0131489320017000 and the name of the project is the West Harbor Preserve Addition Acquisition Project. It will be used for a passive public park with parking area, trail system, and kayak launch. It will also provide additional bird watching and educational programs.
Fiscal
Fiscal Officer Shelly Garcia provided the October 2025 financial reports and bank reconciliations. There were no questions or concerns.
Maintenance
Supervisor Kevin Johnson stated that leaf pick up has begun and they will be out weekly for this.
Kevin stated that he is in need of new tires for the backhoe, and provided the trustees and fiscal officer with a quote for this. The quote from Ohio Diesel is for $2,312.63 and that is for 2 new tires and disposal of the old.
Matt Montowski made a motion to approve the quote from Ohio Diesel as presented in the amount of $2,312.63 to purchase new tires. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Fire
Marty Auxter gave the run totals for October. There were a total of 24 fire department runs and 18 EMS. The majority of the EMS calls were for falls/lift assist.
He stated that the CPR classes are going very well and the group is being approached by people outside of Catawba for training. He also advised that there is still one more class coming up.
New Business
Diane Belden stated that she attended the meeting last week for SB104 which addresses short term rentals. She stated that it was very clear that the community has very strong feelings about where everyone stands on allowing short term rentals in the area. She stated that they just want local control and there are zoning regulations in place for this. She stated that allowing short term rentals would change your zoning from residential to commercial.
Diane Belden met with Chief Gangway regarding the Cyber-Security Plan that is required to be finalized by June 30, 2026. Chief Gangway, Karl and Travis are all working to put together the plan for the township.
Linda Fox asked the trustees if they are aware of current short-term rentals that are going on within the township. Diane stated that the zoning inspector sends out letters to homeowners when she is notified of short-term rentals and she advises them to stop and that they could be fined if they do not.
Matt Montowski gave the zoning report for October. There were a total of 18 permits and 2 variances for a total of $1,031.08 collected.
Matt stated that for the past year they have been working on updating the website and at the time didn’t take advantage of upgrading the search engine. He stated they have now looked into a different type search engine to be more effective and easier for the public to use. The cost of this will be $200. The other trustees saw no issue with this.
Matt Montowski made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:18 a.m.
The next meeting will be Tuesday November 25, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.
___________________________ _____________________________
Willaim Rofkar, Chairman Shelly Garcia, Fiscal Officer