Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees
Meeting Minutes
March 25, 2025
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman William Rofkar on Tuesday, March 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, Dorthy Baker, William Baker, Bryan Baugh, Jodi Regal, Tony Hatmaker, Molly Sass, and John Davenport.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
Diane Belden made a motion to approve the March 11, Board of Trustees regular meeting minutes as presented. Matt Montwoski 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 $69,510.84. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried. These bills included a payment of $18,744.21 to Cleveland Communications for purchase of 7 portable police radios.
Correspondence
The Ottawa Co. Health Dept. submitted their 2024 Annual Report. This will be in the Fiscal Officers Office if anyone wishes to review. They also sent a notification for an Open House to kick off Public Health Week on April 7, 2025.
Request from Herb & Jackie Roder regarding use of the Township Hall. They would like to rent the hall on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 2025. However, they are requesting to utilize the hall the day before for decorating and the day after for clean-up (November 26th and 28th), they request the trustees to waive the fees for the day before and after. The trustees stated that they certainly can rent the hall on Thanksgiving Day, and as long as there is no one requesting to rent the hall the day before and the day after, they can use the hall free of charge for those days also but it is not a guarantee. Mary Jane will advise the Roder’s of this.
Jodi Regal, Chairman of the Ottawa County Landbank submitted an email, and was also in attendance at the meeting. William Rofkar turned the floor over to Jodi for a quick presentation. She stated that the Landbank has created a new program and her, along with Tony Hatmaker and Molly Sass are going out to entities to explain this new program. She stated that the Landbank is running out of traditional property. She is going to various townships to see if there are any blighted/vacant properties that may wish to sell to the Landbank (max amount of purchase is $20,000) who will in turn demo the property and turn into green space. They will then sell the property to get it back on the tax rolls and hopefully get it to a higher value and tax base then what it is now, while also cleaning up the property. She is asking if the township knows of any such properties (residential), that they complete a “Vacant/Blighted Property Acquisition” form and send to them so they can look in to it. The forms were left with Fiscal Officer Shelly Garcia.
A notice from the Ohio Dept. of Commerce Division of Liquor Control was received stating that all Class C & D retail permits that sell alcohol in our political subdivision will expire on June 1, 2025. If we wish to object or request a hearing for any in our area, we must do so by May 2, 2025. A brief discussion took place and trustees agreed that they did not wish to object or request a hearing. No action is needed.
Last meeting, a request from American Legion Post 113 was tabled until this meeting so we could determine the donation amount that was made last year. It was determined that a donation of $200 was made last year and the trustee agreed to do the same for this year for their Memorial Day Celebration.
Matt Montowski made a motion to donate $200 to the American Legion for cemetery decorations/flags for this years Memorial Day Celebration. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Email received from Frank Harmon from Ohio Insurance Services who stated that he asked for relief on our insurance renewal which previously was increasing by 6.9% for the upcoming year, and he was happy to report that he was able to get it reduced to an increase of only $100 a month for the total group.
Ohio Plan Renewal Application was received regarding changes in information, additions or deletions of township vehicles and additional information they need to properly renew our plan. Fiscal Officer will get with the various departments to get the updated information and submit.
Maintenance
Kevin Johnson stated that his department has been working on the flower beds around the Administration Building and they will be removing bushes and overgrown areas and decorating with river rock. The trustees stated they will meet with him after the meeting to take a look to see what all they would like done with the areas.
Police
Chief Gangway submitted a quote from Superior Uniform for Police Dept. Shoulder Patches. He is requesting to purchase 200 of these at a cost of $588. The trustees had no issue with this request. No PO will be needed for this.
Starting next week, Chief Gangway stated that he will have his officers on their new permanent schedules. He will have 2 officers on day shift five days a week.
Fire
Chief Gibbons stated that grab rails have been installed in the men’s and women’s restrooms at the Fire Station.
The Easter Egg Hunt will take place on April 19th at 10:00 am. at the Fire Station.
A quote from B & R Tech was received for two radios for the Fire Station/New Fire Truck. A mobile and portable radio with accessories and speaker/mic. This will allow better communication between other departments. The quote is for a total of $3,311.00, but does not include shipping. He requests the total be for $3,500 so it can include S&H. All trustees agreed that this is needed for the Fire Dept.
Diane Belden made a motion to purchase two radios from B & R Tech in the amount of $3,500 as quoted. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Parks
Jack Madison was looking for clarification as to what, if anything, is being done with the grant money that was approved (the $20,000 that the Ottawa Co. Parks District approved). It has been talked about making a walking path from the administration building to Cedar Meadows Preserve. And now it was brought up about making a parking area closer to Cedar Meadows Preserve instead of a walking path from the administration building. Jack stated that he would have to go back to make a request to modify the original request and he didn’t think that they would approve a parking lot. William Baker asked if the money could be used for a deck or walkway at the far northeast area that is so wet and impossible to walk through at times. A lengthy discussion took place and the trustees stated they would go out with Supervisor Kevin Johnson to look at the area to see what could be done. Jack stated that he just needed clarification before he went back to the Parks Board so he knew exactly what he was asking for.
New Business
John Davenport from the Rotary Club of Port Clinton submitted to the trustees a presentation for a Rotary Family Sports Festival at Heigel Park on Saturday, September 20, 2025. He would like this to be an event for all ages to promote community involvement and a fundraiser to “give back”. He stated that they will get windbreaks for the two pickleball courts and is asking the trustees if they would be willing to share in the cost of these windbreaks. They are a total of $1,120 and Rotary will also supply the labor to put these up. The trustees stated that this would be a great event for the community and they stated they will be willing to pay for the entirety of the nets if the Rotary will supply the labor. However, they know how hard it is to get labor so they asked that they be able to reimburse the Rotary once the job is complete so the township is not left with an unfinished job that they would have already paid for. John Davenport stated that he has no issue with paying upfront for the material and supplying the labor and then having the township reimburse the Rotary when the job is complete. He is also asking for help in getting the word out regarding the Family Sports Festival when the time comes.
Diane Belden made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:04 a.m.
The next meeting will be Tuesday April 8, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.
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Willaim Rofkar, Chairman Shelly Garcia, Fiscal Officer