Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees
Meeting Minutes
May 14, 2024
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman Diane Belden on Tuesday, May 14, at 9:00 a.m. in the conference room of the administration building.
In attendance were: Diane Belden, William Rofkar, Matt Montowski, Shelly Garcia, Mary Jane Porozynski, Kevin Johnson, Lisa Murphy, Marty Auxter, Louie Wargo, Charles Bell, Kevin Gibbons, Will Moore, Mike Antonyzyn, Mary Ann Gipson, Barb Osterling, Bob Osterling, Flint Heidlebaugh, Laura Mahlich, Kevin Baron, Julianne Chapin, Larry Valentine, Dave Slosser, Marti Redmond, Chuck Redmond, Dorothy Baker, William Baker, Erik Funfgeld, Scott Hines, Todd Bickley, Brian Washburn, Jack Madison, and Joe Remalius.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
Matt Montowski made a motion to approve the April 23, 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 $70,446.10. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Correspondence
Request from Paul Ochs (CIT Vol. Fireman) to use the Community Hall on June 30, 2024 and also to waive the fees. All trustees agreed to waive the fees as long as the hall is available.
American Legion Post 113, requested a donation for the purchase of Memorial Day Flags for the Cemetery. Matt Montowski made a motion to approve a donation of $200 to the American Legion. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion approved.
Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Liquor Control sent a notice of liquor permit application for Midway Marina. Advising the township they have 30 days to object to this liquor permit. After a brief discussion, it was determined they see no issues with this and will not object.
The Ottawa Sandusky Seneca Solid Waste District sent a notice of their Tire Recycling Event that will be held on June 14, 2024 from 7:00am-9:00am. Anyone interested will need to register by June 12, 2024 by calling 419-334-7222.
The Ottawa County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) sent a Resolution to the Trustees to appoint William Rofkar to serve on the Ottawa County EMA 911 Program Review Committee. Diane Belden made a motion to adopt the resolution. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried. The roll was called on the question of its adoption and the vote was as follows:
Trustee Montowski: Yes
Trustee Rofkar: Abstain
Trustee Belden: Yes
Resolution No: 05-2024 was passed May 14, 2024.
Notice from the Ottawa County Engineer’s Office regarding a TRQ needed for cost estimates for 2025. Specifically looking at the paving of Colony Club Drive. William Rofkar stated that he will get with Kevin Johnson and Fiscal Officer, Shelly Garcia, to get the paperwork completed and returned to the Engineer’s Office.
An email was received from Marti Redmond regarding possibly looking into bringing EMS back to Catawba Island instead of depending on units from Port Clinton to service our area. She stated that she feels the time in which it takes for a unit to respond is too long and our residents could benefit from having our own EMS to cut response times.
There were many residents present to respond and comment on this issue.
Diane Belden had the numbers on hand for average response times. Last year we had 528 EMS calls. The average time was 9 minutes and 42 seconds. There were just three calls that took between 20-30 minutes and that was due to having multiple calls at once and the need to call in other units.
Matt Montowski stated that our contract with Port Clinton EMS is working very well, we have had no formal complaints since Port Clinton took over.
All trustees agreed that in the future we may look into bringing EMS back to Catawba Island, but for the time being this a very good, and fiscally responsible agreement that we have with Port Clinton.
Zoning
There were two letters of recommendation for text amendment changes to the Trustees that were read at the meeting.
1. Ottawa County Regional Planning
2. Catawba Island Township Zoning Commission
Zoning Inspector Todd Bickley reported on the three specific text amendments that were recommended. They are:
-Correcting the dwelling size location as stated in certain zoning districts.
-Eliminating the 20% limitation for non-conforming building enlargements.
-Adding the dwelling size and standards for manufactured homes.
Matt Montowski made a motion to accept the zoning text amendments as presented. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Maintenance
Kevin Johnson received a bid from Lakecraft for a new ditch pump to replace the one on Cemetery Rd. The current one is rusted through and it is not cost effective to repair.
William Rofkar made a motion to approve the bid of $9,900 for a new pump and motor. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Police
Chief John Gangway submitted a quote for three new computers and software for the Administration Offices. One for Fiscal Officer, Shelly Garcia, administrative assistant, Mary Jane, zoning inspector Todd Bickley. All three computers are very old and are at risk of virus and have very little memory space left. This quote is for $5,278.50 and then two other quotes to go along with that are an increase in the townships anti-virus software and a wall mount and TV for the zoning office.
Matt Montowski made a motion to approve the purchase of three computers, monitors and anti-virus software along with the TV and mount for the zoning office as presented in the quotes, not to exceed $6,500. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Fire
There were 26 runs in April. Eleven were fire runs (several being gas leaks) and 15 EMS runs (8 were lift assists).
Truck 221 is set to get serviced on May 29, 2024.
Louie Wargo presented a slide show for the replacement of Engine 224. The slide show gave information regarding the need for replacement of Engine 224, and also the upgrades that will be available on the new engine. The cost of the new Engine would be $926,453.00 and would take approximately 14-18 months for completion. After lengthy discussion between the trustees and department personnel, Diane Belden made a motion to approve the purchase of a new engine to replace Engine 224 as presented. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
New Business
Matt Montowski gave the April zoning permit numbers. There were 17 permits issues, 2 variances, 1 zoning book for a total of $2,331.28 collected.
There were three new houses this month, bringing the total for 2024 to 16.
Matt Montowski made a motion to adjourn the meeting. William Rofkar seconded the motion.
All voted aye. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 11:23 a.m.
___________________________ _____________________________
Diane Belden, Chairman Shelly Garcia, Fiscal Officer