February 27, 2006
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman John A. Eberly. All Trustees were present. Jack Trethewey 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 20, 2006. VOTE: Troyan, yes; Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The motion passed.
REPORTS:
Michael S. Troyan reported on his meeting with the Auburn Volunteer Fire Department Board of Trustees. They are studying the merits and financials of having an activation system installed with the upcoming streetlight at Auburn Road and Washington Street. They are also studying the merits of emergency transportation charges. There are three companies they have contacted who are going to quote their fees and pricing. There is a fire levy coming up for the general election; a renewal of a 2001 levy at 1.67 mills. The trustees will start discussion of the fire levy renewal in June.
Patrick J. Cavanagh has had several phone conversations with a Lorien Woods resident about parking issues near the pool in the subdivision. Specifically, P.J. is looking for a letter that Mark Lewis wrote around November 2004 stating the safety issues of parking on the street around the pool area. The Homeowners Association does not want parking on the street either.
Mr. Cavanagh discussed having a streetlight installed at the intersection of Messenger Road and Route 44. In order to do that, we will have to form a joint board with Newbury and plan a way to split the cost with them for the light.
Mr. Cavanagh went to the County Engineer’s office in Chardon and picked up the road work estimates. The trustees discussed the pricing and which roads should take priority. They also discussed the need for a loader and additional storage needs for equipment.
John A. Eberly noted that since we met with postal officials and Representative LaTourette to discuss ZIP code issues, his mail (in the 44255 Mantua ZIP code) has been arriving on time. Since service is our number 1 objective, it looks like it has been achieved.
Mr. Eberly met with John Peterson of Wheeler Landscaping and was given prints of the plan they worked up for Adam Hall landscaping. They also gave us three ideas for signage for Adam Hall. The trustees are most appreciative of the fine work done by Wheeler Landscaping. We now have a plan in place and can work on it incrementally as we can afford to.
Mr. Eberly has put in a lot of time and discussion toward getting the Task Force together for Kenston Community Education’s future. There is a meeting scheduled for this Thursday, March 2nd at 7:30 pm with the three sponsors forming the Task Force.
Susan Plavcan, Fiscal Officer, presented warrants, purchase orders and blanket certificates for signature. She presented each trustee the current financials.
Mrs. Plavcan asked for clarification on canceling the service contract portion of our agreements with Gillmore Security on the township buildings. The trustees want to get a blanket cancellation across the board for all buildings for the service portion of the bills.
OLD BUSINESS:
The trustees asked to have the newspapers notified again that the board is still looking for candidates to serve as alternates on our two zoning boards.
NEW BUSINESS:
The trustees asked for pricing for having a standard phone line installed at Adam Hall for the use of the Board of Elections when the Hall will be used as a polling location. The line should be installed in the mechanical room.
Bob Phillips, the Geauga County Engineer, was present. He and the trustees discussed the preemption option for the traffic light at the Auburn-Washington Streets intersection. The trustees said that the fire department was lukewarm on the idea. Mr. Phillips said that this unit does not require anything to be installed in their trucks – this one is audible.
They discussed road projects and they talked about the road potholes at “The Point” area (Bainbridge Road and Washington Street). Mr. Phillips reiterated that there will not be a traffic light there as erroneously stated in the newspaper. There will be lights installed on Bainbridge Road and Snyder and at Bainbridge Road and Haskins.
Mr. Phillips said the township would be receiving Issue Two wish list paperwork from his office at the end of March. He did say that 2007 money is tight.
The trustees will decide next week which road projects to do this summer.
Mr. Eberly announced that Loretta Seashols has moved to an assisted living facility and can no longer act as cemetery sexton. The position is opened and anyone interested in applying for the position should contact the trustees by March 24th.
The trustees looked over a preliminary plan for Auburn Thistle Woods subdivision. There are a total of 28.6 acres with 8 lots. The location is off State Route 44 opposite Stafford Road to the east.
Mr. Sean Mullen was present to discuss the fundraiser his group hopes to have at Adam Hall to raise money for Kenston Schools. He has tentatively reserved two dates at the beginning of May. He distributed to the trustees some guidelines from Attorney General Jim Petro’s office on “games of chance” legality.
Mr. Mullen would like to come in with some other residents to discuss playground fundraising efforts with the trustees.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Mr. Carl Schneider asked if the fire department has considered in-house billing for emergency response fees instead of using a company. Mr. Troyan responded that they did consider it but found that it is more effective to use an outside organization.
A letter from the County Commissioners was received advising us to reduce by 33% the maximum load limit permitted on all county and township roads effective February 17, 2006. The information will be given to the road department.
Motion by Michael Troyan seconded by Patrick J. Cavanagh to adjourn the present meeting. VOTE: Troyan, yes; Cavanagh, yes; Eberly, yes. The motion passed. The meeting was adjourned.