Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees
Meeting Minutes
July 28, 2026
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman Diane Belden on Tuesday, July 28th at 5:00 p.m. in the township community hall. The time and location were moved to accommodate the large crowd that was expected and give ample time to the three presenters that were invited to speak. Notice of time and location change was advertised in advance in several various outlets as required.
In attendance were: Diane Belden, Shelly Garcia, Chris Cellier, Quintin Smith, John Gangway, Kevin Johnson, Kevin Gibbons, Brian Caldwell, Dorthy Baker, William Baker, Lisa Murphy, Randy Riedmaier, Craig McCoy, Flint Heidlebaugh, Jean Hartline, Barb Osterling, David Belden, Greg Strayer, Dan Barlow, Paula Saver, Nancy Caldwell, Jack Behrendsen, Jane Stumbaugh, Kenneth Stumbaugh, Gayle Richter, Judith Smithers, Michelle Kokinda, Karen Wise, Irene Ohlmacher, Kathleen Foreman, Janet Kinsala, Douglas Sprouse, Rachelle Sprouse, Ruth Ann Reed, Michele Mueller, Jerry Schuett, Renee Jarrett, Ann Fitzwater, Robert Crawford, Susan Armstrong, Kathy Heidlebaugh, Jane Sprock, Pamela Holt, Beth Benko, Debra Pinkerton, Jamie Kochensparger, Nancy White, Joan Smith, Thomas Smith, Paul Derry, Brenda J. Brahier, Lynn Perry, Jim Perry, Paul Perlata, Alison Perlata, Judy Stadler, Marcia Thornhill, Gary Coon, Joan Thornhill, Todd Marsh, DJ Litz, Vicki Beal, David Caracci, Mary Caracci, Sharon Sanger, Greg Sanger, Lawrence Montowski, Emily Gibson, Kim Mulholland, Steve Cellier, Frank Maresh, Jan Behrendsen, Mike Lane, Carol Holdren, Kevin Latham, Cindy Peltier, Theresa Spitler, Edward Spitler, Connie Focht, and Keith Fisher.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
Chris Cellier made a motion to approve the July 14, 2026, Board of Trustees regular meeting minutes as presented. Quintin Smith seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
At this time Chairman Diane Belden stated that we were going to deviate from what we usually do in order to allow time for the three guest speakers.
Diane introduced our first speaker Pat Atkins, Superintendent of the Port Clinton City School Board.
Pat introduced the school board members that were in attendance. David Belden, Michele Mueller, Beth Benko, and Gary Coon. Pat then showed a promotional video for the audience and stated that he wanted to highlight some things that were going on at PC Schools.
Pat stated last year Port Clinton was recognized as Ohio’s School District of the Year. He then went on to list the many projects/renovations that have been completed to the various schools and facilities.
He gave a detailed outline of property taxes and PC schools and how the money is used and where the money comes from. He also explained the 20-Mil Floor.
Pat advised the audience that they have a carryover of about 10 million dollars and went on to explain what they plan to do with that money.
He stated that Catawba Island Township provides over 50% of Port Clinton City Schools revenue and there are roughly 1400 students that attend PC schools, and 126 are from Catawba Island. He stated schools are funded by where you live, not by where your child attends.
He went on to explain that property taxes is the only leverage that schools have. It is the only income outside of the state that they get to operate.
He stated they agreed to an inflationary tax credit of $2.4 million that went back to the community that the state contributed to, and residents will see that on their property taxes.
Pat then took questions from the audience.
A member of the audience asked if there was any discussion about giving back to the residents of Catawba Island since only 126 students attend and they are funding over 50%. The resident stated that with all the new homes being built, that number should increase.
Beth Benko stated that they are not able to just give back to one area, that it would have to be given back to all property tax payers. She stated that HB186 attempted to relieve some of this burden by bringing the percentage to the 8-10% range.
Michele Mueller stated that depending on what levy was approved, they cannot collect more then what they were set at. Meaning that even with the increase in homes in Catawba Island, they won’t be able to collect more in taxes then what the levy states.
Michelle Kokinda stated that HB186 only gave relief to residential properties, not commercial. She stated that her property taxes went up 101% and was not given the relief that the residential property owners received.
This portion of the meeting was concluded and Quintin Smith introduced PC Fire Chief Brian Gutman to give an EMS/Fire presentation.
Chief Gutman stated that the current EMS contract with Catawba Island goes until December 2027, and they are starting to look now to see if other options might be available. Catawba Island currently pays PC Fire Dept. $168,750 per year plus $375.00 per call for every call over the contracted amount.
He explained the average response time for them to respond to a call is 9.39 minutes. He broke that down and explained that the time starts the minute the call comes in to dispatch before they are even notified. He also stated that the response time includes calls to the Miller Ferry where they sit and wait for the ferry to arrive which sometimes can be up to 20-30 minutes. The actual time if you factor out the Miller Ferry is much less.
He stated they are looking at options to improving response times. One plan that they are looking at is having an ECHO unit for Catawba Island. This will be a dedicated responder stationed on Catawba Island manned with an EMT-B or Paramedic 24/7. He went on to detail what this ECHO unit is and what it would be able to do for the residents.
He stated that Catawba Island averages 1.7 calls per day, and each call lasts approximately 1 hour. This means that there will be about 23 hours per day that this manned unit can do other various duties in their down time. They can do home visits, preventative care checks and support.
Dr. Chris Gulliver was introduced to the audience as an expert in this field. He stated that the cost to Catawba Island for an ECHO unit would be about $550,000-$600,000 per year along with the current $168,750 contracted amount. An EMS facility on Catawba would start out at over $1.2 million per year.
Quintin Smith asked if there was a guaranteed response time of four minutes. There was no one that could give this guarantee.
After further discussion and more details and information regarding this topic, the audience was given an opportunity to ask questions.
Someone asked if they were to do the ECHO unit, would it require a levy for the residents. The trustees stated they could not answer this question at this time as they are still looking at other options and possible funding.
Another resident asked if they are looking at getting our own Fire/EMS instead of continuing to utilize Port Clinton.
Trustees again stated that they are looking into many various options for the township and this was just one plan that they are entertaining.
Much discussion took place regarding other options that will be forthcoming and possible grant funding for this issue. Trustee Smith stated that they are working on another plan and that will be brought to the residents as soon as possible.
This concluded this portion of the EMS/Fire presentation and Chris Cellier introduced zoning inspector Jean Hartline to discuss the Land Use Plan for Catawba Island.
Jean gave a brief description of what a Land Use Plan (LUP) is, and stated that the current LUP was adopted in 2005 and was expected to be a 10-year plan. Since 2015 township trustees have passed numerous motions to extend the LUP without updating.
The primary goal of the LUP is to promote sustainable development, protect the environment, maintain housing open space/agriculture and assess infrastructure and transportation.
Updating the LUP can add a higher quality data that is now available, address infrastructure, traffic/safety, and identify drainage/flood areas.
To update this, hiring a consultant would be required. The township would lead the consultant on a day-to-day basis to assure the goals are consistent with the community direction.
Jean stated that she would be willing to prepare the request for proposal to select a consultant. It would take roughly 3 months to get a consultant selected and under contract.
Fiscal Officer, Shelly Garcia read a letter by Frank Carchedi in support of pursuing a professional planning firm to assist the township in updating the LUP. He outlined the many reasons this update is necessary.
Brian Caldwell who is the Chairman of the Board of Zoning Appeals also read a statement in support of this project. He stated that occasionally the BZA will have a case come up that sparks community interest such as development on Catawba. He stated that he can sense the public concern and that they think this will be a sure denial of the application. However, this is not how things work. The board has no option but to follow the regulations that are in place. And these are the regulations that need updated in the LUP.
He stated that this update needs to proceed sooner rather than later as each month it is delayed, this gives an opportunity for outside developers to come in, turn a quick profit, and leave the aftermath for us to deal with.
The audience asked the trustees if they were willing to give the go ahead to begin the process of searching for a consultation firm to look into these updates.
Chris Cellier stated that he is very much in favor of this project. The other trustees stated that they would like additional information such as cost, but would have no objections to having Jean go ahead and put something together to begin the process.
Quintin Smith made a motion to approve and pay the bills, including payroll, in the amount of $113,678.53. This includes payment to The Kriemes Co. in the amount of $44,500 for the asphalt overlay at the tennis courts, $4,800 to Rzlynt for the projector and $5,000 to Cynthia Bolte Living Trust for the earnest money for the option to purchase the Bolte property. Chris Cellier seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Correspondence
A letter was received by the Catawba Island Historical Society thanking the township maintenance department for the care that they took in moving a one-hundred-year-old orchard sprayer at the Union Chapel.
Fiscal Officer, Shelly Garcia advised the trustees that she received an invoice from Rzylant for the second, larger projector screen as the first one that was ordered was the wrong size. This was discussed at the April 14, 2026 trustee meeting where Quintin Smith stated when he ordered the projector and screen, he ordered a 100 inch instead of a 150 inch. He stated to keep the 100 inch and install at the Administration building and then get the 150 inch and install at the Community Hall it would be $360 more. The trustees all agreed to spending $360 more than the quoted amount. However, when the invoice came it was $575 more. Quintin stated that he will get with the company to find out why it is more.
Maintenance
Supervisor Kevin Johnson stated they have begun the paving on Basin and should be done tomorrow. He will then call the guardrail company to reinstall the guardrail.
Kevin stated that they will begin the painting portion of the tennis court now that The Kreimes Co. has completed the asphalt overlay and it is finished curing. Once all of this is completed and he gets the ok, he will notify the fence company to come and reinstall the fence.
POLICE
Chief Gangway stated the new phone system for the township is being installed and they will hold training on August 17th for the employees on how to use.
Chief Gangway stated that the cameras at the compost area are fully operational now.
Chief stated that we have received the Cyber-Security Manual from Falcon Forge and the board now needs to formally adopt this manual (and date). They will also need to appoint someone to be in charge as a point of contact within 30 days. Chief said that he would be willing to take on this role.
The trustees agreed to adopt this manual and appoint someone at the next meeting.
Fire
Nothing to report
Parks
Chris Cellier introduced new park board member Emily Gibson.
New Business
Diane stated that she received an email from the PC soccer league that they will be starting the fall season on August 1st and conclude October 25th. Diane stated that our maintenance department will take care of Heigle Park and it will be ready for the soccer leagues.
Keith Fisher and Connie Focht from the Board of Elections addressed the trustees regarding issues at the community hall during voting when people need to cross the street. They are requesting the township put up caution signs for traffic to slow down. Chief Gangway stated that he would be able to put up cones, and also get with the county to see if they would allow use of their signs during this time. He will advise on this issue.
Lisa Murphy stated that the Miller Ferry needs to revisit the discussion of safety when people are walking to and from parking to the docks. She stated there was an accident this past weekend and they should look into sidewalks and lighting for safety purposes.
A resident spoke to the trustees regarding the property at 4405 Konker. He stated this property has become overgrown and the weeds are 6-8 feet tall. He stated there is no power or gas to the property and is asking the trustees to contact the owner and declare the property a nuisance. The trustees stated they will look into this issue.
Dan Barlow spoke to the trustees regarding the Fire/EMS presentation that was given today by PC Fire Chief Gutman and stated that it would have been nice if the trustees had notified their own fire department so they may have been able to contribute or have time to work up something themselves. Trustee Smith stated that they had talked at several trustee meetings about having the PC department come in to do a presentation and at the meeting on July 14, 2026 they notified everyone that Chief Gutman will for sure be at the meeting on July 28th to deliver his EMS presentation.
Chris Cellier made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Quintin Smith seconded the motion.
All voted aye. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 8:26 pm.
The next meeting will be Tuesday, August 11, 2026 at 9:00 a.m.
___________________________ _____________________________
Diane Belden, Chairman Shelly Garcia, Fiscal Officer