Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees
Meeting Minutes
February 25, 2025
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman William Rofkar on Tuesday, February 25, 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, Lisa Murphy, Mary Jane Porozynski, Jack Madison, Dan Barlow, Louis Wargo and Brad Schwan.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
Matt Montowski made a motion to approve the February 11, 2025, Board of Trustees regular meeting minutes as presented. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Diane Belden made a motion to approve and pay the bills, including payroll, in the amount of $64,148.16. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried. These bills included payment of $8,650.00 to Lake Craft for the Fire Department Retro Fit Project and a payment of $15,800.00 to Lake Erie Tree Service for the compost grinding.
Correspondence
A letter was received from the Rotary Club of Port Clinton regarding their scholarship banquet.
Chris Scott requested use of the township hall for a celebration of life gathering on May 3rd, and he requests the fees be waived. Trustees agree to this request.
Dan Barlow submitted a letter regarding issues with the men’s restroom at the Fire Department. He stated that there was a luncheon there this past month and someone asked to use the restroom but could not due to there being no handrails to assist him. Dan is asking that the trustees look into a remedy for this issue. A discussion took place between the trustees and Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Johnson who stated that the men’s restroom is very small and cannot accommodate a wheelchair or walker and to bring it up to ADA standards would take removing some walls and reconfiguration. Diane Belden suggested that we at least put up hand rails to assist. Kevin stated that he will take care of this.
An email was received from the Ottawa County Engineers Office regarding the 2025 Road Striping Program. They are inquiring about township participation plans for the current year. If CIT wishes to participate in this program they will need to submit a resolution to the engineer’s office in the upcoming weeks. William Rofkar made a motion to participate in the Ottawa Co. Engineer’s Road Striping Program for 2025 as we have done in previous years. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Fiscal Officer, Shelly Garcia will provide the Engineer’s Office with the information needed for the resolution to participate in this project.
CelluSite LLC submitted a notice of intent to construct a wireless communications tower on behalf of TowerKing. They stated in this letter that they intend to construct a wireless communications tower on the property located at 3575 NE Catawba Road. They advise that they have complied with all requirements of township zoning and provided evidence of such compliance.
An email was received from Vicki Wheatley with the Catawba Island Township Parks Board regarding the Parks District of Ottawa County 2025 grant program. She stated that they were awarded a grant, but the members present at the last meeting were all in favor of not moving forward with the acceptance of this grant. Matt Montowski explained that CIT Parks Board applied for a grant in the amount of $51,000 for an outdoor exercise area and the trustees were going to do a $10,000 match. However, the Ottawa Co. Parks District approved a grant of only $20,000. A discussion took place on if the grant money should be accepted, then buy and store the equipment until next year and apply for additional grant money. Brad Schwan stated that if we do that and don’t get a grant next year then we are still obligated to complete the project and that would be a gamble. William Rofkar stated that he felt that would be too big of a risk. Matt Montowski stated that at this time he feels we should advise the Parks District of Ottawa County that we will not be accepting the award. All other trustees agreed that under these conditions it would not be in the best interest to accept. Diane Belden stated that she will respond to the Parks District of Ottawa Co. to advise that we will not be accepting the grant.
There was also discussion regarding making a path from the township parking lot to the Cedar Meadows Preserve. Matt Montowski stated that there had been previous conversations with Kevin Johnson regarding the maintenance department creating this path and that they can discuss further details of this with the CIT Parks Board and Kevin. William Rofkar stated that we can also look into an independent contractor to see if that would be feasible. Diane Belden asked if the $20,000 grant money could be used for this path. Jack Madison stated that he will talk to the Parks Board to see what they can do.
Maintenance
Kevin Johnson submitted a bid from The Glass Guys to replace the glass in the Community Hall windows as they are all in very bad shape. There are a total of 7 windows and the bid for the glass and labor was $1,992.63. Diane Belden made a motion to approve the quote as presented from The Glass Guys in the amount of $1,992.63. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion Carried.
Kevin presented a quote from Bill’s Implements for the yearly lawn mower lease program in the amount of $7,500.00. All trustees agreed that this is a very good program. Matt Montowski made a motion that we enter in to the lease program with Bill’s Implements and approve as quoted in the amount of $7,500.00. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Kevin Johnson stated that he is having issues with the air lines in the maintenance department. He would like to purchase an air line kit from Rapid Air Products and install in the maintenance department to better service the department, he would also like to set up an account with them. He provided an estimate from Rapid Air Products in the amount of $1,395 for this kit, however it did not included shipping. Matt Montowski made a motion to approve the Rapid Air Products quote not to exceed $1,500.00. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Police
Chief Gangway submitted a quote from Axon for taser cartridges. The quote is for a total of 50 cartridges and they last 5 years. The quote is for $2,230.00 and includes shipping. Diane Belden made a motion to approve the Axon quote as presented. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
The 2017 Ford Explorer Police SUV has sold on GovDeals.com. Fiscal Officer, Shelly Garcia will complete the title information and give to Chief Gangway to give to the new owner.
Fire
Louie Wargo stated that the new turnout gear for the Fire Dept. arrived a month sooner than expected, and is very nice. They are still determining what will be done with the old gear. He will notify the township once they figure it out.
Matt Montowski stated that they have been in communication with Bob Crawford who bought the Nor’Easter Club and it will be demolished and turned in to 8-9 lots. Matt asked Bob if the Fire Department could use this for training purposes. Matt stated that it will be forthcoming in the next few months as they are in the process of emptying out the inventory and such.
William Rofkar asked how the retrofit project was coming along. Louie stated that it has been a long process, but they are very close to being able to move the equipment. There are a few more purchases that will be forthcoming, but no big modifications.
Parks
Brad Schwan stated that they are working on their speaker series for 2025.
New Business
Diane Belden asked if there was any further information regarding the wind breaks that the Rotary was wanting to purchase for the pickleball courts. No one had any updated information.
Diane requested to hold Wreaths Across America again this year at the Catawba Island Cemetery. It will be held on December 13, 2025. All trustees agreed to this. Diane stated that this will be the last year for this as she will be stepping down, unless someone else decides they would like to take over.
Matt Montowski stated that he attended regional planning and advised that Marsh’s Crossing did come through and got their final plot submitted. He also stated that they still have to get signed off by a few other agencies and that there is still a lot more work to do.
Matt also brought up HB104 regarding Airbnb’s. The passing of this house bill would take the control out of townships hands. The Ohio Township Association and other townships are adamantly against this and are following up to see what can be done to prevent this from passing.
Matt Montowski made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:03 a.m.
The next meeting will be Tuesday March 11, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.
___________________________ _____________________________
Willaim Rofkar, Chairman Shelly Garcia, Fiscal Officer