August 15, 2005
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman John A. Eberly. Mrs. Fugman led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Motion by Patrick Cavanagh seconded by John Eberly to approve the minutes of the public hearing of the Board of Trustees of August 1, 2005. VOTE: Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The motion passed.
Motion by Patrick Cavanagh seconded by John Eberly to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of August 1, 2005. VOTE: Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The motion passed.
AUBURN VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT:
Mr. Jeff Renner presented the July 2005 report of calls. Forty calls were made with 10, or 25%, covered by station staffing. That figure is almost equal to last years figure. The reverse osmosis system is in and running. The department thanks Protectoplas for the tanks donated to the station. The squad is on schedule and will be in before fall. The AVFD is still operating under budget. Mr. Renner spoke about the upcoming clam bake to be held on August 27, 2005 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Each ticket is $20.00
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Mr. Willis Brown thanked the road department on behalf of his brother for their prompt installation of a catch basin on Taylor May Road to prevent water from running through his barn. It is working.
REPORTS:
Patrick J. Cavanagh talked to Cathy Bonner Franks, owner of Beds by Booty, a landscaping company, who will provide an estimate for a grounds maintenance competitive bid.
John A. Eberly presented an Adam Hall update reporting that the floor tile is completed. Some work on the doors and the locks remains. Most items on the “punch list” have been completed and the trustees will complete a walk through again. Tenant Construction is having a little trouble getting a pile of dirt moved and they have some installation work yet to do. Gordon Petersen will meet with the trustees in the next few days to discuss the lighting. We need to address doing some raking, rock removal, topsoil and grass planting. PerfecTurf provided an estimate for tilling with rakes and rock hounds and seeding for 70,000 sq. ft. at $14,000. That seems too high. The parking lot has hardened and is fine.
Mr. Eberly reviewed Geauga County Population by Places Estimates prepared by the U.S. Census Bureau. Geauga County’s population growth rate from the year 2000 to 2004 was about 4% while Auburn Township’s was 13%.
Mr. Eberly reported on a letter received from Geauga Trumbull Solid Waste Management District informing us that the funding necessary to continue our cardboard recycling program is no longer available and will be terminated beginning September 16, 2005. We will no longer accept cardboard at the recycle center. The recycling of glass, plastic, cans and newspapers will continue.
Mr. Eberly and the clerk, Susan Plavcan, signed the Change Order for the Taylor May Road project with American Diversified and it will be forwarded to the Geauga County Engineer’s office.
Mr. Eberly reported that Adam Hall passed the water testing done by the Health Department. Another negative test is needed and then the faucets will be connected to the well.
Susan Plavcan, Clerk, had purchase orders and warrants for signatures. She presented a resolution to adopt a tax budget for the tax year 2005 (2006 collection year). The trustees reviewed the resolution.
Motion by Patrick Cavanagh seconded by John Eberly to adopt the Resolution accepting the Amounts and Rates as Determined by the Budget Commission and Authorizing the Necessary Tax Levies and Certifying them to the County Auditor. VOTE: Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The motion passed.
Mrs. Plavcan asked permission to attend an all day, state-wide training session being held in Columbus on November 30. It will cover GASB 34 Look-Alike Statements for Cash Basis Governments and the preparation of same as well as Year End training. The class begins at 8:15 a.m. and ends at 5:00 pm. Mrs. Plavcan will go to Columbus the evening before. The trustees approved the request.
There was further discussion about joining or not joining the Ohio Co-op. The resolution is that we’ll rely on Sam’s Club instead.
Mrs. Plavcan presented the appraisal done by the Apprise Group on Adam Hall with a $654,940 replacement valuation grand total. The trustees elected to change our deductibles with OTARMA from the current $250 deductibles to $1,000 comprehensive/collision and property deductibles for a savings of $1812 for the contract year.
Motion by John Eberly seconded by Patrick Cavanagh to change the comprehensive/collision and property deductibles from $250 to $1000 with OTARMA. The annual payment will be $15,220. VOTE: Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The motion passed.
Mrs. Plavcan asked permission to call an exterminator for the carpenter ant problem in the Administration Building. She has received a price of $80 from Aardvark Pest Control Service. The trustees gave their approval.
Debbie Vogias attended the meeting to discuss the Hiram Co-op Preschool which would like to operate in the Auburn School building in a cooperative effort with the Friendship Alliance Church. Cynthia Wong also attended. The preschool is a non-profit co-operative that has existed for forty years at other locations. She has been advised that she needs a variance. The trustees said that the preschool has to meet Auburn’s zoning and they will need the conditional use and will have to go to the Board of Zoning Appeals and pay the fee involved.
A letter received from the Geauga County Auditor informs us that our second half real estate collection receipts included an additional $5052.74 that normally would have been collected by their office for the real estate assessment fund at settlement of tax collections.
Motion by John Eberly seconded by Patrick Cavanagh to put the $5052.74 collected by the Geauga County Auditor into the General Fund. VOTE: Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The motion passed.
The trustees discussed the draft contract presented from the Chagrin River Land Conservancy regarding the purchase of the Cathan farm property for use as future passive and active recreation for the township. Mr. McCune has an upcoming meeting to discuss this contract. Mr. Cavanagh said that he will be meeting with a contact to discuss grant opportunities.
The trustees need to determine how many acres will be used for recreation and how many will remain wooded. An appraisal and new legal description will be required as well as a site survey at a cost of $5,000 to $7,000. They discussed whether the parcels need to be separate. The entire parcel will be under the conservation easement but the easement is less restrictive for active versus passive use.
Motion by John Eberly seconded by Patrick Cavanagh to adjourn the meeting. VOTE: Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The motion passed. The meeting was adjourned.