March 18, 2014 Trustee Meeting Minutes

Walnut Township Trustees Meeting

March 18, 2014

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

Trustee Horn made a motion to approve checks 24253 through 24270, 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.

Comments from the Floor

Bobby Slater asked if the trustees knew when the AEP project will be completed. Trustee Horn stated he has made inquiries and needs to find the project manager’s name so he can contact. Horn will complete his letter before the next meeting for all to review. Trustee Yates said to go ahead and send the letter. The project manager’s name is Roger Haack; he stated the project should be completed by August 2014. Last estimate to repair is $206,380.80

Department Reports

Thurston Walnut Fire Department – Jamie Carroll reported – There are four prospective new firefighters – Daniel Goodfleisch, James Springer, Matthew Kimbleton and Jeffrey Poling. There are several maintenance issues that are being addressed on the trucks. The house across from the fire station is scheduled to be burned on April 12th. There are letter of liability that need to be signed. Thurston fire money does not agreed with what has been received by the Village of Thurston. The Chief has not been able to get answers from Aaron Reedy.

Zoning – Trustee Horn presented Anne Cyphert’s report. A zoning check register is needed. Need employment records.

Recycling – Mike King – He has received nice comments about the recycling site.

Parks and Roads – Tim Morris – Soccer has started. Tim Levacy regarding Little Lakers diamonds. Need to order the Porto-Jon’s for the two parks; Fairfield Beach through October; New Salem May through September. The cost is $70/month and a delivery fee of $20. Trustee Yates made a motion to approve the Porto-Jon’s. Trustee Horn seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.

The patching of the roads is complete.

Waste Management came back with a fee of $53/month for 3 years with no fuel surcharge. Trustee Horn made a motion to use Waste Management. Trustee Leith seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.

Truck #4 needs the water pump fixed at a cost of approximately $340. Trustee Leith made a motion to approve the repair. Trustee Horn seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.

There was a discussion regarding purchasing salt for the coming year. Of the 269 tons that were on hand, approximately 100 tons have been used. Tim estimates that 1900 tons were used this year at $48.84/ton. It is predicted that next year the cost of salt will rise to between $90 and $100/ton. Trustee Horn made a motion to contract for 700 tons of salt for next year. Trustee Leith seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.

There was a discussion regarding the drainage on Cattail Road. Amy from Soil and Water recommends using 2,300 feet of 12” tile, with an approximate cost of $10,000. The County Engineer’s office will look at the site on Thursday.The Township can only protect the roadways, not private land. There is 8” tile there now.

The Cedar Road project through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) has been approved by the Prosecuting Attorney. There is a letter coming for the trustees to sign. Trustee Yates made a motion to name the Project Supervisor. Trustee Leith seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.

Tim has completed four applications to submit for grants to the CDBG this year.

Old Business

No letters had be sent by Billy Phillips to the owners of 13050 Shell Beach Rd regarding the cleanup; however it does appear there has been progress.

Trustee Horn has received no response from Mike Rogers, Ohio Department of Agriculture, regarding the lion at 13748 Queen Rd.

Trustee Leith discussed the Township Boat Docks. Applications need to be returned to the township office for signatures by 4/21/14; and are due to ODNR by 4/30/14. There are 2 docks that are not paid and will not be approved by the Trustees. It is the responsibility of the lessee to maintain the docks to the standards of the ODNR.

There are 43 docks; one dock needs to be excavated, weather permitting.

Trustee Horn provided an update on the MOF properties. The property at 3320 Lakeside Dr and 13577 Gearhart St have both been condemned. No consent forms have been received from the property owners.

Cox Paving is working on the current MOF project.

There are three separate issues on the ballot for Electric Aggregation – Thurston, Millersport and Walnut Township.Bill Raddish will be presenting information about the Electric Aggregation at the April 15 meeting of the Trustees.Millersport and Thurston will be invited to attend and there will be notices in the paper. This will only be for AEP customers, however all registered votes will be able to vote on it. Fairfield County will have a public meeting on April 1, 2014.

Thanks to Bill and Carol for the County Trustees Quarterly dinner, many compliments were received. Thanks to the Millersport school for use of the facilities.

New Business

Public Records requests were reviewed. For case 2014CV00157, all the copies have been gathered; a copy needs to be sent to Jason Dolan, Prosecuting Attorney.

The BZA Appeal has requested meeting minutes.

The third request is a court request for salary information for a firefighter.

The outstanding dental bill needs to be paid.

The Zoning minutes need to be in a narrative format so that it can be posted to the website. Trustee Horn will be meeting with Sandi Wagner to copy the hard drive on the Zoning laptop; a copy will be downloaded to the township computer. Trustee Horn made a motion that the Zoning Minutes be in a narrative format. Trustee Yates seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.

There was a discussion regarding the job description and compensation for the new Zoning Inspector. Trustee Leith made a motion to approve the Job description and compensation. Trustee Yates seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.

Trustee Horn made a motion to hold a Special Meeting on March 25th for the sole purpose of interviewing and hiring a Zoning Inspector. Trustee Yates seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes. Trustee Yates will place an ad in the Lancaster Gazette and send an email to the notification email list.

There was discussion regarding the zoning at an Elm Rd property. Jeff Porter suggested using a B1 zone as an R zone. The permit was issued in error. Regional Planning has been consulted.

There was a discussion about the repairs on Blacklick Road.

John Albers, attorney for the township, has been asked to attend the meeting on April 1, 2014 to discuss Economic Development. Trustee Horn will obtain a property map for the discussion. The question was raised as to what is the recourse if not all the trustees agree?

There will be a meeting with the Fairfield County Engineers office on 4/4/14 from 2 – 3 PM to discuss the drainage on Cattail Rd.

Some of the catch basins at Fairfield Beach have been identified.

10:50 pm, Trustee Leith made a motion to adjourn. Trustee Horn seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.