Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees
Meeting Minutes
February 10, 2026
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman Diane Belden on Tuesday, February 10, at 9:00 a.m. in the conference room of the administration building.
In attendance were: Diane Belden, Shelly Garcia, Chris Cellier, Quintin Smith, John Gangway, Kevin Johnson, Dorthy Baker, William Baker, Lisa Murphy, Kevin Gibbons, Genna Blakley Judy Smithers, Gayle Richter, Jean Hartline, Kim Mulholland, Barb Osterling, Greg Strayer, Mike Antonyzyn, Nancy Oreskovich, David Belden, Emily Cellier, Ann Rumpf, Kim Schaffer, Louie Wargo, Randy Riedmaier and Jack Madison.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
Quintin Smith made a motion to approve the January 27, 2026 Board of Trustees regular meeting minutes as presented. Chris Cellier seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Chris Cellier made a motion to approve and pay the bills, including payroll, in the amount of $151,944.34. Quintin Smith seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried. These bills included payment of $43,500.00 for EMS overages for 2025 and also $6,274.67 to Morton Salt for road salt for the township.
Correspondence
Ottawa Co. Board of Elections sent a notice of what they will need from the township for the upcoming election on May 5, 2026, and when the voting equipment would be delivered. This information was forwarded on to Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Johnson.
Notice from Ottawa Regional Planning Commission regarding the text amendments that were initiated by the CIT Zoning Commission. The Regional Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the text amendments as submitted. The trustees will meet on February 24, 2026 at 5:15pm (prior to the regular trustee meeting) to discuss this issue.
A request was received by David Wonnell, President of the CIT Historical Society, asking the trustees to allow them use of the conference room at the administration building for their meetings. They only meet about 10 times per year from 10:00am-11:00am. All trustees agreed to allow use of this space for their meetings.
David Wonnell also asked about the status of the projector purchase for the community hall that the previous trustees approved last year. Per Quintin Smith, he stated that he is meeting with Karl from Seacom and they will be going over to the hall next week to see about what best fits the needs as far as a projector.
Matthew Hollis submitted a letter requesting to be put on the meeting agenda for the March 10, 2026 trustee meeting. He would like to attend this meeting along with (County Engineer) Dan Toris and (County Prosecutor) James Van Eerten. At this meeting he would like to present the concept of a possible tunnel under Sand Road instead of the pedestrian bridge that he presented to the trustees last year. Matt was advised that he will be put on the agenda for this matter on March 10, 2026.
At the previous meeting the Ohio Dept. of Liquor submitted a notice for a transfer of liquor license for Catawba Moorings Club. At the time it was agreed to table this until further information could be obtained.
Chris Cellier was informed this request is to allow use by the public instead of only club members. He asked Chief Gangway if there have been issues or safety concerns with this location, and there have not. The trustees found no reason to request a hearing on this issue. Fiscal Officer, Shelly Garcia will complete the paperwork and return by the date required to notify the department that there are no objections.
The trustees had previously put on hold the decision of how much to charge the CIC for use of the community hall parking lot for six weekends this summer. Diane Belden stated that she would like to make a motion to allow them to use it for six weeks for a total of $1,500.00. There was no second to this motion. Motion denied.
After brief discussion, Chris Cellier made a motion to allow CIC to use the community hall parking lot for six weekends this summer for $2,500.00 total. Quintin Smith seconded the motion. Chris and Quintin voted aye, Diane Belden opposed. Motion carried.
Fiscal Officer, Shelly Garcia brought up the pay for the CITVFD. At the last meeting the trustees agreed to increase the rate to $22/per training and per run. It was discussed if this was enough. Quintin Smith stated that he would contact surrounding townships to see what they pay their volunteer fire department members. Quintin stated that he did some research and many communities keep it around a certain dollar amount to keep it a volunteer status, but that some might pay hourly after a certain time.
Fiscal Officer, Shelly Garcia had contacted Erie, Danbury, Carrol and Bay Townships and reported to the trustees as to what they pay their Vol. Fire Dept. members. They all align with the current rate that CIT pays their fire personnel. Trustees agreed to remain at $22/per call and training.
The Ottawa Co. Engineer’s office submitted to the trustees Right-of-Way Permit Application #26-010 for Matt Hollis along Sand Road, near Rock Ledge. They are seeking the trustee’s pre-approval prior to them granting the permit. Diane Belden has been in contact with Chief Gangway and Craig Miller from the engineer’s office. They are proposing closing Sand Road for two hours and removing part of the guardrail at that location and putting up temporary barriers. Erie Construction will have temporary stop signs to keep traffic flowing.
Chris Cellier questioned if we knew for sure that Erie Construction will be taking care of road closure and traffic control. Chief Gangway stated that he assumed they would be. Chris stated that he would feel more comfortable if we had something in writing from them before the trustees gave approval.
Chief Gangway, by the end of the meeting, did speak with Erie Construction and they stated it is their intent to provide all traffic control themselves. They will get something over to him in writing stating that they will take care of everything and coordinate with Craig Miller at the engineer’s office.
Fiscal
Fiscal Officer Shelly Garcia provided the January 2026 monthly reports and bank reconciliation to the trustees; there were no questions or concerns.
Maintenance
Supervisor Kevin Johnson submitted two bids to the trustees from Bill’s Implements. One for the lease trade-in program that the township has been a part of for several years and one for the purchase of a new 72” mower.
The lease trade-in program allows for two mowers (48” and 60”) for $8,050.00. And the other bid is to purchase a new 72” mower for $16,799.00.
Quintin Smith made a motion to approve the lease trade-in and the purchase of the new mower as presented by the two estimates provided. Chris Cellier seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Quintin Smith brought up the subject of roof repair for the community hall. He asked if we have gotten bids on fixing this in the past 5-10 years. Kevin stated he had not. A discussion took place and it was decided that Kevin will get a few quotes for this and bring back to the trustees.
Kevin stated that Lake Erie Tree Service is almost done with the grinding and hauling of the compost.
Quintin stated that the quality of the compost is very poor. He stated we need to find a way to stop allowing contractors to dispose of waste here as it may be costing more in the long run.
Diane Belden stated that her and Kevin will be taking the road tours with the County Engineers office on March 25, 2025.
Fire
Chief Gibbons stated there were a total of 19 runs in January. Nine were fire and 10 EMS.
Chief Gibbons stated that the Nor’ Easter bridge has been removed and a temporary bridge has been installed. He is hoping it will be complete by next week.
Genna Blakley, a Catawba Fire/EMT member gave information regarding the CPR classes that the department offers residents free of charge. She stated that since the program has been up and running, it has trained 149 people in the community. They will announce soon the dates for 2026 and hope to get more community participation.
Police
Chief Gangway stated that he and Karl are working on getting the new phone systems in place and they are meeting with Omni Fiber and Amplex to compare the bids that they have received already from Fore Runner.
Park
Jack Madison stated that the Ottawa Co. Park District meets tonight and will be reviewing the grant recommendations. He stated they should know soon if the township will be awarded any grant monies.
New Business
Chris Cellier stated that we are still accepting applications for both zoning boards, the parks board and zoning inspector position. He is hoping to be able to make a decision on all within the next month.
Diane Belden stated that America’s 250 Celebration is this year and Catawba Island Cemetery has been selected to do a Call of Duty Salute. This will be on August 19, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. at the cemetery. More details to follow.
There was no further discussion from the floor. This concluded the regular business meeting of the township trustees. The audience was notified that there will be a brief recess and then we will reconvene to do the SCBA Bid Opening and they are welcome to stay if they like.
Fiscal Officer, Shelly Garcia, verified that there were a total of two bids received for the purchase of Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA), and both were submitted timely.
Shelly Garcia opened the first sealed bid from Howell Rescue Systems. The packet included all documents that were required and the total bid was $302,867.00.
Shelly Garcia opened the second sealed bid from Fire Safety Services. The packet included all documents that were required and the total bid was $309,501.00, however, they will give a $48,215.00 deduction if the order is placed by 2/25/26. That would bring the total to $261,286.00.
Chief Gibbons took both bids and stated that he will go over both and come back to the trustees at the next meeting on February 24, 2026 with his recommendation.
Quintin Smith made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Chris Cellier seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:28 a.m.
The next meeting will be Tuesday February 24, 2026 at 6:00 p.m.
___________________________ _____________________________
Diane Belden, Chairman Shelly Garcia, Fiscal Officer