Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees
Meeting Minutes
October 22, 2024
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman Diane Belden on Tuesday, October 22, 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, Dorthy Baker and William Baker.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
Matt Montowski made a motion to approve the October 8, 2024, Board of Trustees regular meeting minutes as presented. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
William Rofkar made a motion to approve and pay the bills, including payroll, in the amount of $ 63,044.43. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Correspondence
A request from Dan Barlow was received for use of the Administration building lobby for the annual food drive from November to December 16, 2024. All trustees agreed to allow the use of the township building for this event.
Sara Hill submitted an application for use of the Community Hall on November 10, 2025 for the Board of Park Commissioners Meeting and requested the fees be waived as it is a public meeting. Trustees agreed to waive this fee.
Request from Monica Busby to use the Community Hall for a funeral luncheon on October 17, 2024 and fees waived as Karl Busby is a retired member of the CIVFD. Trustees agreed to waive the fees.
Notice from Janna Wilson that the date for the Parks and Trails Improvement Grant Virtual Workshop has been changed to November 6, 2024 at 10:00am. She also included a link to the registration for this event.
Email from Vicki Wheatley giving information regarding project eligibility for the Park District of Ottawa County Grant. She gave several great ideas of what the grant money could be used for here in Catawba and suggested the Parks Board apply for this grant. The trustees agreed that the grant money would be helpful with updates/additions to the parks, and the Parks Board will continue to look into useful ideas for the grant money.
Ron Lajti submitted a resignation letter from his position as the Ottawa County Engineer effective November 15, 2024. Matt Montowski stated that this will be a great loss for the county as Ron has done a lot for Catawba throughout the years, and he will be missed.
First Energy gave a work update and stated that they were having a difficult time getting ahold of three property owners in Catawba as they needed to clear some trees on these properties in order to replace old/rotting poles. They listed the three addresses and Chief Gangway stated that he already spoke to the property owners and First Energy and it is being taken care of.
A quote from DeAngelo Contracting Services was received for a three-year contract for 2025, 2026, and 2027 for herbicide spraying on Rock Ledge along Sand Road, West Harbor Marina Boat Launch Area and the Ditch Pump Area off SR 53. The quote is for $3,000 per application per year. William Rofkar made a motion to approve the quote by DeAngelo Contracting Services as presented. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Fiscal Officer Shelly Gacia presented the trustees with a contract from Auglaize Township Fiscal Officer, Sue Becher. The contract is for Sue to assist FO Garcia with year-end duties such as budgeting, appropriations, reporting and all other duties that are required by the State Auditors Office. As Shelly Garcia is new to this position and has not been trained on year-end duties, assistance is needed. The FO from Perkins Township was previously scheduled and approved by the trustees to assist, but she is out of the country until December 24, 2024 and is now unable to. Sue Becher charges $20 per hour and will help out remotely on an as needed basis.
Matt Montowski made a motion to approve the contract with Auglaize Township Fiscal Officer Sue Becher as presented at $20/hour. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Maintenance
Supervisor Kevin Johnson stated the ditch pump is out for repair and is hoping to have it back in 1-1 ½ weeks. He stated that Atkins will come in to clean the catch basin before the pump is put back in.
Bids were received for the repair/replacement of the heating and cooling system in the administration building from Ohler & Holzauer, Trent, Gundlach and Bayside Comfort. Per William Rofkar, Bayside was the most inclusive and also the lowest bid. He stated the bid was for $45,710.10 which will include all that is needed for complete heating and cooling replacement in the administration building.
William Rofkar made a motion to approve the estimate from Bayside Comfort as presented in the amount of $45,710.10. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Kevin Johnson stated that the old docks at the marina used to be pulled out and stored for the winter, however, the new docks are plastic and very difficult to pull out. Last year it took almost 8 hours to remove one dock. He received a quote for three bubblers to run throughout the winter to keep the area from freezing allowing them to leave the docks in. The cost is $919.00 for one bubbler. Three will be needed. The trustees agreed that this would be more effective as taking the docks in and out are tearing up the aluminum ramps at the boat launch area.
Matt Montowski made a motion to approve the purchase of three bubblers for the boat launch area not to exceed $3,000.00. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Police
Chief Gangway stated that he found a candidate that he would like to offer a full-time Police Officer position to. He asked the board if they would like to take part in the second round of interviews. The trustees agreed that Trustee Diane Belden would take part in the interview process and come back to the trustees when complete if an offer will be made.
Chief Gangway also presented the trustees with a (wish) list of potential purchases for next year for the department. These are just potential purchases with nothing set in stone, he will make a formal request when it gets closer to time of purchase. He just wanted to give a heads up for inclusion in appropriations for next year. Total potential amount for all would be around $36,000.
Chief was also asked about the issue that has come up lately regarding illegal aliens in the area. The Sheriff’s Department is having a “Town Hall” style meeting regarding this issue on October 28, 2024 at 6:30pm at the Liberty Aviation Museum. He stated that it is really a non-issue for our area. He stated that he has had only two “illegal” immigration issues on Catawba since 2016. In the last 16,000 calls that came in, only 2 have been for this issue.
New Business
Diane Belden stated that she has been working with Will Moore from the CIVFD on a grant that would be used for turn-out gear for the department. She stated that she will continue to work on this and enlist the help of the Fire Chief and Fiscal Officer to get this grant completed and submitted.
Diane Belden stated that she would like to revisit the medical marijuana topic. She stated that she spoke to Mark Messa and James Van Eerten with the County and they both stated that dispensaries could potentially come to Catawba, and passing the resolution is very easy and would remove the potential of a dispensary on Catawba. William Rofkar stated that he has not learned anything new since the last time the topic was brought up, and that he still stands with his original opinion on the topic.
Diane Belden made a motion to approve the resolution to prohibit marijuana sales and dispensaries on Catawba Island. There was no second on this motion. Motion denied.
Matt Montowski stated that he and Mary Jane have been working on the new township website. It is up and running and some issues are still be worked out, but when finished it will be more functional in house for everyone to work with.
Matt Montowski made a motion to adjourn the meeting. William Rofkar seconded the motion.
All voted aye. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 9:48 a.m.
The next meeting will be Tuesday November 12, 2024 at 9:00 a.m.
___________________________ _____________________________
Diane Belden, Chairman Shelly Garcia, Fiscal Officer