Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees
Meeting Minutes
January 25, 2011
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman Matt Montowski on Tuesday, January 25, at 7:30 p.m. in the conference room.
In attendance were Matt Montowski, William Rofkar, Gary Mortus, Karen Shaw, John Gangway, Dan Barlow, Joseph Bires, Jim Root, Jack DeVore and Bob Christiansen.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all followed by a moment of silence for our troops.
The minutes were read from the January 11 Public Hearing. Gary Mortus made a motion to approve the January 11 Public Hearing minutes as received. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
The minutes were read from the January 11 meeting of the Board of Township Trustees. Gary Mortus made a motion to approve the January 11 meeting minutes as amended. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
William Rofkar made a motion to approve and pay the bills in the amount of $41,663.58 seconded by Gary Mortus. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Correspondence
The following correspondence was received by the township and read:
A memo was received from Virginia Park, Ottawa County Recorder, regarding the filing of Zoning Resolutions and Amendments with the County Recorder and the fees for recording these documents.
A letter from Mark Mulligan, Ottawa County Prosecuting Attorney and Robert Bratton, Ottawa County Sheriff regarding the Ottawa County Drug Task Force. This task force coordinates efforts with local, state, and federal agencies to provide specialized law enforcement to our local community. They are seeking a contribution proportionate to the population in our political subdivision for the Drug Task Force.
A memo from Ottawa County Engineer David Brunkhorst regarding the 2011 Road Tours. Those who wish to have a tour and discuss potential projects can call Ron Lajti to schedule a meeting and/or tour for the month of March.
A memo from Sandra Burt of Hylant inviting Trustees and the Fiscal Officer to the second annual Ohio Plan Gathering to be held February 9, 2011 in Columbus, Ohio.
Fire and Safety
Fire Chief John Gangway said he would like to purchase six replacement batteries for their portable radios from Cleveland Communications. He said $300 should cover the total cost of the batteries. The Trustees agreed to the purchase of replacement batteries.
John Gangway said they had a lightening strike a couple of years ago that damaged some electrical equipment. He said one of the items damaged, that they did not realize until recently, was an amplifier inside the building that allowed the portable radios to work inside the fire station. John Gangway said it would cost $375.95 for the necessary repairs. The Trustees agreed the repairs should be made.
John Gangway said the 911 Committee is going to remove the 911 printer from the Fire Station office. He said due to the increasing amount of 911 cell phone calls the printer has been used less and less and the printer is an expense to the 911 committee. John Gangway said the 911 Committee is going to install different hardware that will allow them to fax the same information.
Maintenance
Maintenance Supervisor Dan Barlow reported the maintenance department lost the rear end on one of their one ton trucks. He said the repairs will cost approximately $3,200 for parts and to put it all back together. Dan Barlow said it will take a day or two to get the truck back on the road. The Trustees agreed the repairs need to be made.
Dan Barlow said maintenance personnel will make another trip to replace the two totes of inferior beet juice product they received last week. He said he will request a discount due to the additional mileage and labor costs.
Dan Barlow said he will have quotes for a replacement heating system in the maintenance shop by the next meeting.
Financial
Fiscal Officer Karen Shaw stated the township received a restitution check from the Ottawa County Common Pleas Court in the amount of $754.82 for a claim submitted in December of 2008 involving a police car. She stated a check would be sent to Hylant for refund of the receipt for that claim.
Karen Shaw stated the township received a check for $11,407.35 from the Ottawa County Auditor for reimbursement from the Engineering Department for salt purchases recently discovered over invoiced in 2010.
Karen Shaw reported the Assistant Auditor recently came in to retrieve a few remaining items and said they are working on finalizing the audit for the year ending 2010.
Zoning
Matt Montowski talked about a letter he received from Zoning Inspector Walter Wehenkel, and asked the Trustees for clarification on the following items:
The Trustees agreed the definition of remodeling is anytime you change the footprint of a structure.
The Trustees agreed temporary portable food vending is not allowed in the R-3 (residential) District.
A brief discussion took place regarding a play/tree house and the regulation of playground equipment. The Trustees agreed the structure in question is incidental in size and they would not try to regulate it.
A brief discussion took place regarding the processing of a variance request for an accessory structure that may not be on the owner’s lot but rather in the road right-of-way or common ground of a sub division. The Trustees agreed the owner needs to provide proof of lot lines.
Matt Montowski read a Zoning update from Walter Wehenkel which stated three single family home zoning permits and one zoning permit for an addition to a single family home were issued in January 2011.
Matt Montowski stated there would not be a Zoning Commission meeting on Wednesday, January 26, as there was no business to conduct.
Matt Montowski said he and Walter Wehenkel would be visiting Danbury Township the morning of Wednesday, January 26 to check out their Zoning operation and software.
Other Business
William Rofkar said he completed and mailed the EPA and Compost Report for 2010.
William Rofkar made a motion to approve a $3,000 donation to the Ottawa County Drug Task Force as requested by the County Prosecutor and Sheriff. Gary Mortus seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Gary Mortus said he would like to schedule a work session to work on revising the personnel manual. The Trustees agreed to look at scheduling a couple sessions in March.
Gary Mortus said he would like to schedule a Road Review with the County Engineer’s office to keep up communications and ask questions. The Trustees agreed they should meet for a Road Review. Gary Mortus asked Karen Shaw to schedule a weekday meeting in March at 8:00 a.m. with Ron Lajti.
Gary Mortus said he would like to discuss the possible change to our healthcare insurance. Matt Montowski said the Trustees are considering implementing the 5 model Ohio Public Entity Consortium Wellness Program with a $100 Wellness reward per model, available to both employees and spouses, as recommended in a letter from Frank Harmon of Ohio Insurance Services Agency, Inc. He said the deductible for both employee and spouse would increase by $500 with the opportunity for each to earn $100 credit with the completion of each of the five models. William Rofkar said he did not see any drawbacks. He said if the employees did not want to participate in the program they wouldn’t have to. Gary Mortus said he feels even with the raise in deductible if employees didn’t participate it is still a very well funded program for the employees. He said the Wellness Program saves the township and helps us to be responsible with healthcare costs and gives the employees an opportunity to have a Wellness Program.
Following a brief discussion of the program benefits Gary Mortus made a motion to adopt the new healthcare program with the Wellness guidelines and higher deductibles as outlined by Ohio Insurance Services Agency, Inc. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
The Trustees agreed the Zoning Board members meeting rate will remain at $50.00 per meeting.
Matt Montowski stated he ran into Ron Lajti who informed him they may not get to the parking lot engineering until 2012. Gary Mortus said he and Dan Barlow have discussed the issue and think it may be in the townships best interest to have an outside engineer look at the parking lot.
Matt Montowski asked the Trustees what they thought about adding a Facebook page for the township. Gary Mortus and William Rofkar agreed they were happy with township information communicated on the township website and were not in favor of a Facebook page for the township at this time.
William Rofkar made a motion to approve the proposed Idle Speed Zone for the area in front of CIC’s Marina entrance and the Catawba Island State Park ramp as submitted to the township on December 14, 2010 by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Gary Mortus seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Gary Mortus made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 p.m. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Meeting adjourned.
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Matt Montowski, Chairman
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Karen Shaw, Fiscal Officer
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