Auburn Township Trustees

February 20, 2006

The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman John A. Eberly. All Trustees were present. Jeff Renner led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Motion by Patrick Cavanagh seconded by Michael S. Troyan to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of February 13, 2006. VOTE: Troyan, yes; Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The motion passed.

REPORTS:

Jeff Renner, President, Auburn Volunteer Fire Department (AVFD), presented a call report for January 2006 with 31 calls made for the month. Six of the calls were covered by station staffing (19.35%). Last year there were 510 calls for the year. Mr. Troyan asked how many of the calls end in transport. Mr. Renner said that approximately 75% of the time there is transport to the hospital. There was a discussion of soft billing for emergency services provided by the fire department. Jeff said that some insurance companies require an overnight hospital stay before they issue payment claiming if the person is treated and released it was not an emergency transport. They discussed what percent of the money collected stays with the billing service. There will likely be a fire levy on the next ballot. The issue of billing for service will be discussed in greater detail at the next AVFD board meeting. Mr. Renner presented a tally sheet he has been working on breaking out last year’s calls by time periods. The heaviest shift with 239 calls is the 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift. The 239 calls include Saturday and Sunday. The next highest time period is 6 p.m. to midnight with about 124 calls. Mr. Eberly asked if a bar chart detailing the breakout of the calls could be made. Mr. Renner will work on it.

Michael S. Troyan responded to a letter received at the Township office from a resident complaining about the potholes at the point (Washington Street and Bainbridge Road). His action included calling Bob Phillips at the Engineer’s office. Mr. Phillips said it has been about 12 years since he examined that intersection. He will readdress the point area.

The County also addressed the monitoring that could be a part of the traffic light that will be installed at Washington Street and Auburn Road. The fire department had said they were not interested in having the monitoring device when the issue was previously addressed. Mike will check with the AVFD again to see if they might consider the options available, or at least do the wiring now. The decision and the cost are with the fire department.

Patrick J. Cavanagh attended the Chagrin River Watershed Partners (CRWP) board meeting. They discussed how local townships can get some control back from the ODNR in regard to well drilling. One suggestion is to have a representative, like the zoning inspector, at the pre-construction meeting. We have no control over fencing and driveway guidelines, for example, and if a representative was present to explain our zoning guidelines, it might be considered. There are several cases in the courts now but regarding Villages, not Townships. There are new parking regulations developed by CRWP and Mr. Cavanagh will get a copy for us.

Mr. Cavanagh has talked with Mr. Eugene McCune, Jr. about Memorial Day celebrations. P.J. is getting ready to head the committee this summer.

John A. Eberly spoke about the meeting at Kenston High School for the Auburn Bainbridge Recreation Board/Kenston Community Education Board of Directors concerning the future of the organization. The group operates under a chart signed by the Auburn Township Trustees, Bainbridge Township Trustees and Kenston Board of Education begun in 1976. It was very successful in the 1980’s but over the past five years, they have operated in the red which is a violation of the charter agreement. They asked the three sponsor groups, “What do you want us to do?” There has been a decline since 2001 of people attending the classes since other communities such as Orange and Solon, have started comparable programs which are available to our residents. Further, they absorbed KAA and now operate youth sports.

Mr. Eberly suggests the three sponsor groups each elect one person to form a Task Group to determine future action.

Motion by Michael S. Troyan seconded by John Eberly to appoint John Eberly as our task force representative to work on the KCE study group. VOTE: Troyan, yes; Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The motion passed.

The trustees continued to discuss the issues involved. They all agree that the upcoming baseball season for the approximately 900 children interested is the first order of business. It has to be addressed quickly.

Susan Plavcan, Fiscal Officer, presented warrants, purchase orders and blanket certificates for signature. She presented each trustee the current financials.

Mrs. Plavcan was contacted by Ken Lewis of Cub Scout Pack 101. They have a very active and a very large group. They asked about using Adam Hall for a Blue & Gold Banquet. The trustees gave their permission for the Pack to use it. Mr. Lewis asked about service projects for the Pack and we discussed benches for the two gazebos at Adam Hall as a possibility. Mr. Lewis offered the service of the Pack for helping with the landscape planting, too.

OLD BUSINESS:

The five letters (one letter to each ZIP code in Auburn) were mailed and all were received on the same day thus proving that the United States Postal Service probably talked to the Mantua postal officials and told them to speed up their service!

Mr. Troyan will discuss the Gillmore Security proposal for Adam Hall with the AVFD at tomorrow’s meeting.

There has not been any response to date on our call for anyone with interest to serve as an alternate member on either the Zoning Commission or the Board of Zoning Appeals.

NEW BUSINESS:

The trustees discussed a cinder sweeping proposal for this coming spring. They decided to sign the contract as presented from Reilly Sweeping, Inc. There was a bit of a problem last year and Reilly Sweeping attributed it to not having enough water available. Mr. Eberly will provide a tank for water this year.

Motion by John Eberly seconded by Patrick J. Cavanagh to hire Reilly Sweeping, Inc. for this spring’s clean up. The proposal agreement provides a high dump four-wheel mechanical broom sweeper with operator to sweep all roadways as instructed. Auburn Township will provide a dumpsite for material collected and a water supply for the sweepers dust control. The price for this service will be $180 for a two-hour minimum, with each additional hour costing $85.00. VOTE: Troyan, yes; Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The motion passed.

The trustees discussed grounds maintenance for this summer and they decided to use PerfecTurf again. PerfecTurf presented a proposal that would add putting down weed control. The contract holds to the price we paid last year except for the addition of the weed control. Properties included in the 2006 seasonal pricing are: Auburn Fire Station, Maple Shade Cemetery, Administration Building, Shadyside Cemetery, Historical Building (Museum), Town Hall, Adam Hall & adjacent house. PerfecTurf will freeze this pricing for three (3) consecutive years upon approval from the township.

Motion by John Eberly seconded by Michael S. Troyan to award the 2006 grounds maintenance contract to PerfecTurf. The trustees accept payment option 1 which is for $17,300 made in two (2) payments of $7,785 (10% pre payment discount included) with payments due on April 1, 2006 and July 1, 2006. VOTE: Troyan, yes; Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The motion passed.

Mr. Eberly reminds everyone of the Pancake Breakfasts at the fire station on February 26 and March 5.

Motion by Michael Troyan to adjourn the previous meeting of February 13^th that was recessed rather than closed due to the trustees meeting for the KCE discussion at the high school. VOTE: Troyan, yes; Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The meeting was adjourned.