February 11, 2014 Trustee Meeting Minutes

Walnut Township Trustees Meeting

February 11, 2014

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM. Trustees William Yates, Doug Leith and Terry Horn were present.

The minutes for the January 17th were presented for approval. Trustee Horn made a motion to approve the minutes with changes. Trustee Leith seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.

The report of the purchase orders and Blanket Certificates for 2014 was distributed for review by the Trustees. Fiscal Officer Kraner stated that there is approximately $150K appropriated for road projects in 2014.

There was a discussion regarding the allocation of the cost of the 2012 – 2013 audit. Trustee Horn made a motion that the cost of the audit will be allocated based on the percentage each fund is of the total as of 12/31/13. Trustee Leith seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.

Trustee Horn made a motion to approve checks 24178 through 24230 and EFTS 53-2014 through 75-2014, after being certified that funds are available and appropriations have been made by Fiscal Officer Kraner. Trustee Leith seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.

The Bank Reconciliation for December 2013 was presented for approval. The current value is $1,640,766.11. Trustee Horn made a motion to approve the Bank Reconciliation for December 2013. Trustee Yates seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.

Waste Management sent a new contract for the dumpster at the Township office. It appears that the monthly fee will be around $125/month. Tim Morris will check around to see if he can get a better price.

An additional representative is needed for the Tax Incentive Review Council. Trustee Yates nominated Doug Leith to fill the position. Trustee Horn seconded the motion. Y – Y, L – abstain, H – Y. The motion passed with 2 yes votes.

Comments from the Floor

There were no comments.

Departments

Chief Hite, Thurston Walnut Township Fire Department – Chief Hite asked for a trustee to fill the vacant spot on the Dependency Board. David Burke is a new volunteer firefighter. Mitch Klosterman has resigned due to taking a fulltime position on the west side of Columbus. The issues with Claypool Electric have not been resolved and Chief Hite will be looking for a new electrician. Chief Hite has applied for a training grant of $2,880, equipment reimbursement of $38,727 and a revolving loan with a 5% payment.

Trustee Leith volunteered to accept the appointment to the Dependency Board. Trustee Yates seconded the motion.Y-Y, L-abstain, H – Y. The motion passed with 2 yes votes.

Mike King, Recycling – The pad is down and there has been little to pick-up around the containers.

Tim Morris – Parks & Roads – Tim spoke with Jason at ODNR about reinforcing the docks at Lieb’s Island that are on township property. He will waive the permit fee for the project that is being discussed. Walnut Township is only responsible for the organizing the assignment of the docks, not the maintenance. He will check with Jason at ODNR regarding using abated cement for dock reinforcement.

Tim has ordered 600 tons of salt this year and will order the balance of 120 tons. Currently there is approximately 150 tons on hand. The Villages have purchased 175 tons of salt this year. Tim has ordered 239 tons of grits and used them successfully throughout the township.

The snowplow blades are still on order. The back lights on Truck 6 are out and being replaced. The range inhibitor on the big trucks are malfunctioning and need to be repaired.

Tim is requesting approval to complete crack sealing again this year, two skids at approximately $4,000.

The application for the Community Development Block Grant was received. There are new standards this year and the total available is approximately $142,000. Tim will work on completing the paperwork.

The culvert at Fisher Marina was tentatively scheduled for February 24th.

Old Business

Trustee Horn stated that Billy Phillips will provide a recommendation for completion of the cleanup for the property at 13050 Shell Beach Rd.

As an update to the Lion at 13748 Queen Rd, Tessa Compton has applied for the permit to be issued for the Queen Road address. Billy Phillips has been working with Jeff Porter at the Prosecutor’s office due to the failure to correct violations. There was a question as to whether the landowner was aware of the violation. Trustee Horn will check with Jeff Porter regarding notification of the landowner. The Trustees would like to have the Ohio Department of Agriculture notify the local government whenever there is an application.

The Trustees have confirmation that we are on the ballot for Electric Aggregation. There will be community meetings at the County Courthouse in March and April. Trustee Horn stated that Thurston and Bern Township also have it on their ballot and wants to confirm if Millersport also does.

Tim Morris was told that the AEP project on Blacklick Road is to be completed around the first of June. Trustee Horn would like to send a letter to AEP to request they pay a percentage of the repairs. Tim requested copies of all the violations on Blacklick Rd due to trucks being overweight.

The Fairfield County Engineers have not released their price for Chip & Seal for 2014.

Trustee Horn requested that when the annual meeting is scheduled with the Fairfield County Engineers that it is scheduled for a Friday afternoon.

Tim will talk with Shelly regarding Blacklick Road and what needs to be done to repair it.

Trustee Leith will update the Dock Rules for Lieb’s Island.

As an update on the Moving Ohio Forward demolition, the property at 8920 Lancaster-Thornville Rd contains asbestos and will need to be abated before it can be demolished. The contract with Cox Paving for the demolition will be signed on February 21st. There is still $42k available for demolition if anyone knows of another property.

There was a discussion regarding who received copies of emails sent to contact @walnuttownship.com; the three trustees, fiscal officer and Tim Morris.

The invoice was sent to Don Bender for the asbestos testing on his properties at Shell Beach Rd.

New Business

The website is in the process of being updated.

The Township County meeting is March 15th at 6:00 pm.

The trustees and fiscal officer are putting an ad in the Corn Festival brochure at their own expense.

There are three interested parties for the opening for the Zoning Commission – an alternate position and the Board of Zoning Appeals – regular seat and an alternate position. They are Matt Helms, Greg Groves and Randy Quillian.Trustee Horn will clarify terms of office with Billy Phillips.

8:53 pm Trustee Horn moved to adjourn to Executive Session to discuss Economic Development. Trustee Leith seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.

9:47 pm Trustee Horn made a motion to return from Executive Session. Trustee Leith seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.

9:49 PM Trustee Leith made a motion to adjourn. Trustee Horn seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.

Respectfully submitted –