Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees
Meeting Minutes
October 28, 2025
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman William Rofkar on Tuesday, October 28, at 9:00 a.m. in the conference room of the administration building.
In attendance were: Diane Belden, William Rofkar, Matt Montowski, Shelly Garcia, Kevin Johnson, Kevin Gibbons, Lisa Murphy, Mary Jane Porozynski, John Gangway, William Baker, Dorthy Baker, Sharon Sanger, Craig McCoy, Chris Cellier, Dan Barlow, John Imke, Jean Hartline, Kim Schaffer, Scott Hines, Debi Barlow, Mike Antonyzyn, David Howell, Quintin Smith, Randy Reidmaier, Mark Kelley, John Keefe, Kim Molholland, David Belden, Barb Osterling, Julia Robinson, Everett Robinson, Robert Garcia, Bryan Baugh, Zsolt Veress and Ann T. Rumpf.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
Diane Belden made a motion to approve the October 14, 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 $175,059.84. Which includes a payment of $75,812.41 to the Ottawa Co. Engineers Office for the 2025 Colony Club Paving Program. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Correspondence
A Public Hearing Notice for the Township Zoning Commission was read regarding a proposed zoning map amendment. The hearing will be held on November 19, 2025 at 7:00 pm in the Township Administration Building. This hearing is for proposed rezoning of a portion of two parcels of land at 1899 NE Catawba Road (Midway Marina). The applicant, H.T. Properties is requesting a zoning change from “A” Residential Low Density to the “C-4” Recreational Commercial District.
Notice from Ottawa Co. Community Electric Aggregation regarding membership into the government aggregation program, which will automatically enroll us into the Dynergy program unless we choose to opt out. Trustees agreed to be included into this government aggregation program. No action is needed.
Letter received from Kevin Mementowski regarding a donation in memory of his father-in-law, Dave Drusbacky. He stated that each year they have a memorial golf outing to raise money for local organizations and this year they choose to donate to the Catawba Island Police Department. Chief John Gangway sent a thank you letter to the family for their generous donation.
Elliott Bassett sent a thank you letter to the trustees for allowing him the use of the community hall for his daughter’s birthday party and also for waiving the rental fee as he is a member of our volunteer fire department.
Two notices from the Ohio Auditor of States Office regarding how public offices handle certain situations. First was how frequent flyer miles or other reward programs should be utilized and clarification of how these situations are viewed by the Ohio Ethics Commission. Second is reimbursement of sales tax by tax-exempt public officials. Both notices were reviewed by the Fiscal Officer to see how this may affect Catawba Island Township.
James VanEerten sent a letter to the trustees regarding the Ottawa County Drug Task Force/Major Crimes 2026 Funding. Each year they request a contribution from Townships, Villages and City’s in the County to help fund these programs.
Matt Montowski made a motion to contribute to the Ottawa Co. Drug Task Force/Major Crimes 2026 Funding for the suggested amount of $3,250.00. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Fire Chief, Kevin Gibbons submitted a letter that he sent to Harbor Island Home Association and Mr. Crawford regarding the removal and replacement of the Harbor Island Bridge. It states that per Ohio Fire Code 503.1.1 an approved Fire Apparatus Access Road (FAAR) is required to provide access to all emergency vehicles and equipment 24 hours per day during construction. And such FAAR will need inspected by both CIVFD and PCFD prior to removal to ensure both departments have safe and adequate access.
Letters from the trustees were drawn up for James VanEerten, Mark Messa and Davia Kasper thanking them for the training sessions they provided on zoning matters for zoning board members and trustees on October 16, 2025
Maintenance
Supervisor Kevin Johnson stated that Kreimes has finished a portion of the paving/striping and should be finished with the remainder in a few weeks.
He also stated that leaf pick up has begun throughout the township.
The Chapel project is coming along and, weather permitting, will continue.
Diane Belden stated that she received ten plaques from the dedication of the Veteran’s Memorial Highway from ODOT. They were for the three fallen CIT first responders and their families. Diane will get information so they can be given to the families and also displayed in the lobby.
Police
Chief Gangway stated that Statewide Ford is installing the camera in the new patrol car.
Also, one of his patrol cars has a water pump that is going out and he received a quote for $2,500-$3,000 to replace this pump. Trustees agreed for him to go ahead and get it fixed.
Fire
Chief Gibbons stated that the primer pump is bad in one of his trucks. Replacement has started on this and should be completed next week. The truck is still able to be in service, but repairs are going to be about $3,000-$4,000.
Diane Belden brought up the Fire Department Dependents Fund Board and asked if they got a volunteer from the fire department to be on the board. Chief Gangway stated that he is required to post a notice of election to choose two new members and that will be done at the next Fireman’s Association meeting on November 3, 2025. Those results will be brought to the trustees. They agreed to have a meeting with the new members of the board on November 11, 2025 at 8:45am before the regular trustees meeting.
Parks
Per Matt Montowski, they have been working on getting estimates to redo the tennis and basketball courts at Heigle Park. Last year they only received one estimate and that was under $200,000 but it wasn’t bid properly. They were asked to submit a proper bid, but they never did. This year it was bid by another source and that was for $750,000. Matt went to Equalis Company and asked them to go back to other bidders and update with a proper bid to see if they can get the cost down.
Matt stated that the parks board would like to add a dry erase board to the kiosk at Cedar Meadows Preserve and would like trustees to purchase this. Matt stated that it would be around $130 on Amazon. All trustees agreed to purchase this for the parks board.
The Historical Society at the last trustee meeting asked the trustees to purchase a projector screen for the community hall. Matt has looked into this and the price rage is anywhere from $500-$1,600. The trustees agreed to this purchase, no more than $1,700 for the screen.
Matt stated that eventually he would like to purchase a projector as well, but he’s not ready for that right now, but will come back to the board for consideration when ready.
The Ohio Township Association will hold its annual conference February 4-6, 2026. Matt stated that he would like the zoning inspector to attend this year as well as the trustees and fiscal officer.
Matt Montowki made a motion for the trustees, fiscal officer and zoning inspector to attend the conference with the township paying for the expenses. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Diane Belden stated that the annual food donation collections box will be located in the lobby again this year during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Diane Belden made a motion to change the date of trick or treat given the fact that there is a high school football game the same day. There was brief discussion that took place and there was no second to the motion. Trick or Treat will remain on Friday October 31, 2025 as that date was decided over a month ago and people have already changed their schedules to accommodate this date.
New Business
John Imke spoke in detail about the flooding at John Braun Park baseball fields. He stated there needs to be a way for this water to drain. Much discussion took place and Matt Montowski stated that there is an EPA (MS4) study coming in the next five years and they will evaluate and make recommendations regarding draining for Catawba Island Township. He stated there is more to the issue then just pump stations and retention ponds. Bill Rofkar stated that per the Ohio Revised Code, the County Engineer is the authority over drainage.
Randy Reidmaier requested a copy of the recording of the last meeting and also a copy of the employee handbook. The fiscal officer told him she would make a copy of both for him if he wanted to meet after the meeting. (This was brought up after the last trustee meeting, but Randy left right after the meeting without getting with the Fiscal Officer to get the information).
Randy also asked who drew up the letter that all trustees signed for the Auditor of State stating that they knew of no fraudulent activity taking place at the meetings. Fiscal Officer, Shelly Garcia stated that she drafted the letter after being advised by the auditor that something in writing was needed. He asked if it was a form letter. It was not.
Randy also asked if there is a section in the employee handbook that goes over ethics, and who gets copies of the employee handbook. Fiscal Officer, Shelly Garcia stated there is an entire section regarding ethics in our handbook and each full and part time employee gets a copy and is required to sign off saying they have received a copy and that signed page is put into their personnel file. He asked if the Police and Fire Dept. also get a copy. Chief Gangway stated that his officers do get a copy of the handbook and sign off. Chief Gibbons stated they have their own policy manual and he would have to look to see what that states regarding ethics. Randy asked if the zoning board members get a copy. Matt stated that he did not think that the zoning board fell under that rule, but he would get with the Prosecutor and see if they needed to be giving them a handbook with the ethics information in it.
Dave Howell stated that he called the Attorney General’s office and got a free copy of the Rules and Regulations about the Sunshine Law. He asked the trustees how they can legally gather information if they are not able to meet consecutively with a department head. Diane Belden stated that they have to meet at different times and days with a dept. head and bring it back to the board for discussion.
A member of the audience asked the trustees who invited them to the Fire Dept. meeting in Port Clinton regarding EMS a few years back. Bill Rofkar stated that they were already in contract with Port Clinton and were there to listen to what they had to say regarding EMS and it was an informational meeting. Same as when they go to the Co. Engineers office to meet and talk about roads and other township issues. Diane stated that she had no idea the other two trustees were going to be there and she thought it was a violation of the Sunshine Law. Matt asked Diane if she stayed for the whole meeting. She said yes, she did stay. Bill stated this is something that was four or five years ago and if anyone feels that this board has done something inappropriately, then they should file this with the state.
Lisa Murphy asked who had a copy of the EMS contract. Diane Belden stated she had that copy. Lisa requested a copy of this.
Zsolt Veress asked when the last time the land use plan was revised. Matt stated it was in 2020 and then it is renewed every 3-5 years. They are updated at board discretion. Zsolt also had additional questions regarding developments and the use of plans and drainage approval. He was advised to contact the county engineer for some of the data he was asking about.
Criag McCoy spoke up and stated that he had meetings with Dan Toris, the County Engineer, and he repeatedly stated that anything under Route 53 is a state pipe and the state deals with it and they know they are all undersized and they were put in in 1950 and that is what the township is dealing with now. He stated we need to figure out where the water shed will go if we keep developing.
Matt Montowski made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried. The meeting was adjourned at 10:39 a.m.
The next meeting will be Tuesday November 11, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.
___________________________ _____________________________
Willaim Rofkar, Chairman Shelly Garcia, Fiscal Officer