Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees
Meeting Minutes
February 11, 2025
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman William Rofkar on Tuesday, February 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, John Gangway, Kevin Johnson, Dorthy Baker, William Baker, Lisa Murphy, Kevin Gibbons, Chris Cellier, Jason Schaffer, Kim Schaffer, and Jack Madison.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
Diane Belden made a motion to approve the January 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 $89,178.95. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried. These bills included payment of $32,060.00 to Atlantic Emergency Services for fire hoses for the Department.
Correspondence
An email was received by Ohio Insurance Services regarding the upcoming health insurance carrier renewal. They can start ahead of time by having employees fill out the electronic health questionnaire or wait until the renewal numbers come in and make a decision at that time.
The trustees agreed to wait until the numbers come in and make a decision then.
Ottawa Co. Board of Elections sent a notice of what they will need from the township for the upcoming election on May 6, 2025, and when the voting equipment would be delivered. This information was forwarded onto Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Johnson.
Fiscal
Fiscal Officer Shelly Garcia provided the January 2025 monthly reports and bank reconciliation to the trustees, there were no questions or concerns.
Maintenance
Supervisor Kevin Johnson stated that Lake Erie Tree has completed grinding at the compost facility, and they hauled out a lot of wood chips. He stated there is still a lot of compost remaining, and hopes this spring residents will show up and haul it away.
He also stated that the township has received the last of their salt order that remained on the current contract and hopes it is enough to get us through. We are using more than expected and may need to purchase or borrow more from someone. We will see where we stand after the next storm that is coming up.
Police
Nothing to report at this time.
Fire
Chief Gibbons stated there were a total of 7 runs in January. Three of those were CO alarms, ice rescues and gas leaks.
New Business
Diane Belden stated that she attended the OTA (Ohio Township Association) Conference in Columbus two weeks ago, and gained valuable information and will be bringing some of what she learned to the trustees in the future.
Matt Montowski provided the zoning report for January. There were 9 permits issued and 4 variances for a total of $1,452.92 collected.
Matt Montowski also stated that the township needed to update their public records policy. Fiscal Officer Shelly Garcia has been working on a new/updated policy and presented it to the trustees. This policy has been reviewed by the county prosecutor who found no issues with it and gave his approval.
Matt Montowski made a motion to approve the public records policy as presented by Fiscal Officer Shelly Garcia. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Diane Belden questioned if we had a record retention policy. William Rofkar stated that it is optional if you have a policy on record retention. If you do not have a policy, then you are required to keep everything. In the past, this is what Catawba Island Township has decided to do. Since we do not have a large number of records to store each year, it has always been decided to keep everything and file in our storage room. Everything is filed and labeled clearly to make for easy retrieval if needed.
Matt Montowski stated that he received a sample resolution from the Ottawa County Regional Planning Office regarding recreational marijuana. He read the details of the resolution and stated that it allows township trustees to prohibit cultivation and sale of recreational marijuana within the township. Matt stated that he liked the fact that it gives the township control of how recreational marijuana would be used. He stated that it wouldn’t hurt to have this resolution in place.
Matt Montowski made a motion to pass the recreational marijuana resolution as presented. Diane Belden seconded the motion. A roll call was done:
Diane Belden: yes
Matt Montowski: yes
William Rofkar: opposed
There was a majority vote, motion carried.
William Rofkar stated that he listed the old Police SUV on GovDeals.com.
William Baker asked if the trustees had heard anything further regarding the Solid Waste District Recycling. Matt Montwoski stated that he has not.
Jason Schaffer voiced concerns regarding the recent change in ownership of the Nor’Easter property and effects of egress issues if the property is split off into lots. He asks that the trustees try to keep the residents informed of any changing issues. Matt Montowski stated that the zoning process looks at all of these issues and they are highly in tune to that. He also stated that public hearings take place on such issues and legal notices are sent out to adjacent property owners to notify them with the details. Diane Belden stated that the trustees realize how important this issue is to the residents that live there and that they would definitely keep them aware of what is going on with this situation.
Diane Belden made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 a.m.
The next meeting will be Tuesday February 25, 2025 at 9:00 a.m
___________________________ _____________________________
Willaim Rofkar, Chairman Shelly Garcia, Fiscal Officer