LITCHFIELD BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING Feb. 22, 2016

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1 LITCHFIELD BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING Feb. 22, 2016 The Litchfield Township Board of Trustees met in regular session on Monday, Feb. 22, 2016, at the Litchfield Town Hall after the requirements of the Sunshine Law were met by notification and posting. Chairman Pope called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. with Trustees Horvath and Wargo present. There was an audience of 15. All stood to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Trustee Pope made a motion to accept the minutes from the Jan. 25 th regular meeting as written; second by Wargo. Voting yes: Horvath, Pope, Wargo. Motion carried. Debra Rollins from the auditor's office was present. Debra stated that the deadline for CAUV renewal or new applications is March 7 th. Fire and Rescue: Chief Davis stated that Kathy Szpak a new member to the department was present and ready to take her oath. Chief Davis swore in Kathy and introduced her to the trustees. Trustee Pope made a motion to take a minute recess at 6:08 for refreshments; second by Horvath. Voting yes: Horvath, Pope, Wargo. Motion carried. Trustee Pope made a motion to reconvene the meeting at 6:20; second by Horvath. Voting yes: Horvath, Pope, Wargo. Motion carried. Chief Davis report: from 1/23 2/20 there were 9 medical emergency calls and 2 fire calls. Litchfield gave mutual aid to Lafayette once for a house fire and to Chatham once for an EMS call. We received no mutual aid. President Porter held the monthly Fire Association meeting on Jan. 28 th. Chief Davis held the monthly officer meeting on Feb. 2 nd. On Feb. 4 th, Chief Davis and Lt. Butcher held fire training at which all equipment was taken off of both engines and laid out in the bays. The department members needed to replace all the equipment back onto the trucks which familiarizes members with what equipment is on the trucks and where it is located. Chief Davis stated that this information saves time on the scene of a fire. Chief Davis attended the MC Chiefs Meeting on Feb. 10 th. Capt. Yorko held work night on Feb. 11 th where building and truck maintenance was performed. There was an officer's meeting on Feb. 12 th to go over information for the upcoming ISO review. Rick from Medina Hospital came to the station and reviewed the new protocol on c-spine immobilization which involves switching from the long board to a vacuum mattress or just a cervical collar. Lt. Butcher, FF Bevier and FF Simon have been training with our 5 new members guiding them through their mentoring. The trailer, 46-2, is in service after Chief Davis, Lt. Butcher and several other members built shelving and a system to hold the boat and mounted all the tooling and equipment. Chief Davis ran the electric to the trailer so that a trickle charger could be hooked up to charge the equipment while the trailer is parked in the bay. Eppilotto Signs lettered the trailer. The rearview camera equipment has been installed giving backup cameras on all of the engines, tender and brush truck. The department members have used the cameras and they have worked well. Albright came out to look at the front door lock which had not been working properly. Since the manufacturer no longer made this lock, Albright took the lock apart and repaired some loose parts there and now the lock is working fine. Chief Davis and Lt.

2 Perkins went to Chatham on Feb. 5 th for their ISO review in anticipation of our ISO review on March 3 rd. FF Strickland and FF Porter are signed up for a FF II transition class at Hinckley Fire Department; the class begins in March. New members, Andy, Kyle and Kathy, are taking a 36 hour FF volunteer course at MCCC. Chief Davis stated that he would like to order a new set of fire gear for Mike Simon, Terry Teerlak and Tyler Strickland. The department continues to purchase new gear to replace the old outdated gear. Trustee Pope made a motion to spend up to $6800 for 3 sets of fire gear; second by Horvath. Voting yes: Horvath, Pope, Wargo. Motion carried. Chief Davis stated that this will give 11 department members new gear and 9 members older gear that is still okay. Capt. Kean stated that there were several items listed on the EMS Training inventory that are older, starting to deteriorate and no longer used. Chief Davis stated that there were also several other items that are no longer needed. Trustee Horvath made a motion to declare as junk to be discarded: I/O infant trainer (200), infusion trainer, fast I training kit, blood pressure arm trainer (arm missing), the old boat, 2 life jackets and an Indian gun; second by Wargo. Voting yes: Horvath, Pope, Wargo. Motion carried. Chief Davis stated that there is a committee forming to investigate purchasing a pick up truck which would act as a 1 st responder. Trustee Horvath stated that he is genuinely concerned about the cost of a pick up truck. Trustee Wargo stated that the township is receiving tax money from the residents that is to be spent towards equipment. Trustee Horvath stated that now with the combined fire/ems levies the trustees have 1 shot every 5 years to pass that levy so he doesn't think we need to buy everything that we see. Chief Davis stated that the fire department and the officers are good at purchasing wisely and applying for grant money to purchase equipment. Roads: Jim Meermans' road report: replaced the 2 front outer tie rod ends on the back hoe; repaired the mounting screws on the annex bay door; waxed the road mowers; drove the roads during the wind storms and discovered 1 tree down on Stone Rd; unplugged a driveway culvert pipe on Yost Rd.; built a work bench for the new cemetery building; stacked 100 ton of road salt; examined all the fire extinguishers. Trustee Wargo stated that she would like to revisit the idea of pay raises for the township employees. Trustee Wargo stated that her motion would be the proposal she presented at the Jan. meeting. Trustee Horvath stated that he was holding off on any raises for this year. Trustee Wargo made a motion to give a $.50/hour raise to Sue Marco, Jim Meermans, Bill Marks and Brandon Tompkins. The motion died for lack of a second. Trustee Wargo asked if it would make a difference if her made a motion for each individual. Trustees Pope and Horvath stated that it would not have made a difference. Trustee Wargo stated that there was an informational session on Spieth Rd. with Dan Becker, Jim Meermans and the trustees to ask Dan about chip and seal work there. Trustee Pope stated that he felt that other work needed to be done on Spieth Rd. before chip and sealing it and that Dan said if Spieth Rd. was chip and sealed the other work could wait another 5 years. Trustee Horvath stated that Dan would prioritize the roads from last year's bid adding Spieth Rd. to the list. Trustee Wargo stated that last year the township had a contract with Melway Paving to pave Jones Rd., Brooker St., Donald St. and Branch Rd. but due to weather issues and Jones Rd. not being ready for paving, Melway Paving ran out of time to do the work. The trustees had said

3 it would be okay to hold the bid until this year but recently were informed by the prosecutor's office that the contract should not have been extended. The road work needed to be rebid this year or the contract needed an addendum. Trustee Pope stated that it would be a good idea to rebid the road work. Trustee Wargo stated that she drove the roads listed on the bid last year again and thinks that Jones, Branch, and Brooker should be worked on this year and wait on Donald at this time. Trustee Wargo stated that Dan will ride with Jim to prioritize the roads. Trustee Horvath stated that Dan estimated that the cost of chip and sealing 1 mile of Spieth Rd. would be $20,000 and hot mix paving that same section would be $108,000. Trustee Wargo made a motion to notify Melway Paving that the township is rebidding the roadwork from last year; second by Pope. Voting yes: Horvath, Pope, Wargo. Motion carried. Trustee Wargo made a motion to ask the county engineers to prepare a bid packet for Branch Rd., Jones Rd., Brooker St., Spieth Rd. (between Vandemark and Rt. 83) and Donald St. (west) with the bid opening being on March 15 th at a special meeting at the town hall at 6:00 p.m.; second by Pope. Voting yes: Horvath, Pope, Wargo. Motion carried. Safety: Trustee Pope attended the MC Safety Council Meeting on Feb. 16 th. Police: There was no report. Fines for Dec. were $25. Town Hall: Report for Feb.: the town hall was used for 2 meetings, 12 times by groups; there was 1 town hall rental at no charge. Patti did general cleaning of the town hall and the annex; shoveling and salting of the walkways. Total hours: Trustee Pope stated that since the garland is still around the gazebo, he thinks if the company that put the garland and lights up does not return we should remove it. Cemetery and Park: Sexton Marco's report: there were no burials and no grave sites sold. Sexton Marco stated that there was an inquiry about expanding Crow's Corner Cemetery in order to sell more lots there. Trustee Pope stated that there may be an issue with cars not being able to turn around in the cemetery but he will look at the area for the possibility of new lots. Sexton Marco stated that the fence around the back of the Crow's Cemetery is down. The trustees signed a deed. Zoning: ZI Noderer's report for the month of Jan: site visits: 1; meetings attended: 3; miles driven: 43.5; zoning violations: 8109 Branch Rd case #15CIV0677, Judge Collier Final Order: A permanent injunction shall issue prohibiting the defendant, Forever Blueberry Barn, LLC and any Associates from using and/or allowing the property to be used to host weddings and/or receptions subject to retained and reserved jurisdiction of the court for the purpose of modifying the injunction if appropriate. Township s remedy if Blueberry Barn violates injunction is to file Show Cause with Court. ; 9940 Norwalk Rd. - monitor compliance efforts, additional equipment to be removed, 10/23 last contact; 9696/9706 Crow Rd. - zoning certificates pending MCE ECSW permit; 3933 Avon Lake solid waste removal monitored by MCHD. The MCHD held an administrative meeting that was attended by the property owner and then they referred the matter to the MC Prosecutor; 8963 Spieth Rd. - referred to the MC Prosecutor by the MCHD. Trustees: The trustees had no report

4 Fiscal Officer: The trustees received their monthly reports and signed the bank reconciliation statement. Joel Bender from Whitaker Myers will be attending the March meeting. Trustee Pope made a motion to approve Resolution 8-16 for the permanent appropriations; second by Wargo. Voting yes: Horvath, Pope, Wargo. Motion carried. Fiscal Officer Shaw stated that she learned at the OTA Conference that the transfer of money between funds needed to be done by resolution. Resolution 9-16 is to transfer $1700 from the Road and Bridge Fund to the Fire and Rescue Fund for the trailer that will now be used by the road crew. Trustee Pope made a motion to adopt Resolution 9-16; second by Horvath. Voting yes: Horvath, Pope, Wargo. Motion carried. Old Business: Trustee Wargo stated that she gave the trustees and the fiscal officer a draft copy of the newsletter for discussion and up-dating. The trustees asked about the businesses that were listed on the draft copy. Trustee Wargo stated that in the 2015 newsletter she asked local businesses if they wanted to be listed in this year's newsletter. Trustee Wargo stated that even though the newsletter was sent to all township addresses she did not receive many responses. On the Facebook page, Litchfield 44253, several people contacted her about listing their business. Trustee Wargo stated that she did not state that there would be a charge. Trustee Horvath asked if all the businesses listed were Litchfield resident's because he was concerned if they were not residents. Trustee Wargo stated that 2 on the list don't live in the township but were former residents. Trustee Horvath wondered if the newsletter would advertise for anybody or just township residents. Trustee Pope stated that he thought the prosecutors said the township could charge businesses a certain amount to defray the cost of the printing and mailing of the newsletter so he thought local businesses would buy an ad to defray the costs. Trustee Pope stated that the township should have something in writing from the prosecutors stating that it would be okay to list the businesses without charging them. Jerry Wargo asked if the businesses are charged how the fee would be paid. Trustee Pope stated that this is a good question that would need to be decided. Trustee Wargo stated that the businesses would just write a check to the township. Trustee Pope stated that if the trustees would be using township money for private businesses he would need to know that it was legally allowed. Fiscal Officer Shaw asked how the cost would be determined, if different size ads would cost different amounts and stated that the charges would need to be kept under the total cost of the newsletter since the township cannot make money from this. Trustee Wargo stated that she thinks the newsletter is important for the residents as a source of information. Trustee Pope stated that he agrees with this but is concerned about using taxpayer's money for local businesses. Trustee Pope stated again that he thought the prosecutor stated that if private businesses are listed in the newsletter then the township needs to charge to offset the cost. Trustee Horvath stated that he agrees with this and if they are listed the trustees would need to decide size, cost, etc. of an ad. Trustee Wargo stated that this idea began last year because a resident stated that the trustees are not business friendly so she thought this would be a good way to get local business information out to the residents. New Business: Trustee Horvath stated that he is concerned how much money was spent sending people to Columbus for the OTA Conference. Trustee Horvath stated that he voted for

5 the expenses this year but he plans on looking into it more next year. Trustee Wargo asked if Trustee Horvath didn't want to require training for township employees. Trustee Horvath stated that he has always approved training but not all training needs to be taken in Columbus. Correspondence and Communications: There were no correspondences or communications. Public Comment: Jerry Wargo stated that after attending the OTA Conference, he believes that every member of the zoning board and the BZA should be encouraged to attend it. Trustee Pope made a motion to adopt Resolution to amend appropriations; second by Wargo. Voting yes: Horvath, Pope, Wargo. Motion carried. Trustee Pope made a motion to approve Purchase Orders 3-16 to 9-16 and Blanket Certificates & and authorize payment of vouchers ; second by Horvath. Voting yes: Horvath, Pope, Wargo. Motion carried. Trustee Pope made a motion to adjourn; second by Wargo. Voting yes: Horvath, Pope, Wargo. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.