July 2010

            NEWTON TOWNSHIP MINUTES  07-08-2010

                 Newton Township Trustees met in regular session on Thursday, July 8, 2010 at 7:00 pm in the township meeting room with the following persons present; John Phillips, Ron Paisley, and Travis McCullough, township residents; Larry Taylor, township road supervisor; Art Kunkler of 20 / 20 Enterprises; Allen Deaver, Jeff Swingle, Jeremy Yarger, Jeffrey Cohen, and Jeffrey Lloyd of the fire department; Derek J. Dozer, James R. Smith, and Bob Stephenson, township trustees; Bernadine E. Swingle, township fiscal officer.

                Meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by chairperson Derek Dozer.

                Pledge of Allegiance was led by Dozer.

                Agenda was approved as presented.

                Minutes were approved as presented.

                Public Participation was first order of business:

                John Phillips of 3605 /Dona Drive was present to discuss a drainage situation at his location.  There seems to be a culvert stopped up or broken and is preventing off road water to erode  across his property.  Was open for help and suggestions as to his and the township responsibility for correcting the situation.  Both Taylor and Stephenson agreed to meet him at the location and discuss what needs to be done.  Home phone number for Mr. Phillips is 740-683-5452.

                Travis McCullough of 4159 Moxahala Ave. (end of Main Street) in Avondale was present to request the possibility of erecting a privacy fence along his property line / possibly extending into the township right of way.  Dozer advised him if the township needed to get in to the area to perform routine township work, the fence might be destroyed.  Home phone number for Mr. McCullough is 740-661-5024.

                Art Kunkler of 20/20 Enterprises was on board to present a locating map and estimate of the next phase of roads to be chip / sealed.  See attached.  Following much discussion with the trustee board, Stephenson moved, second by Dozer and agreed by Smith that he should proceed as he had indicated although it was more road coverage that originally anticipated.  Kunkler indicated they would probably be in to do the application on Wednesday, July 14, 2010.  The remainder of the roads considered for chip / seal application should be completed by mid – August per Kunkler.  He (Kunkler) will be present at the August meeting to provide an estimate for the remaining application.

               A resident stated the Maysville Regional Water Department , in completing their work in the Dona Drive area had left quite a large hole in the road at the third house on the right on Dona Drive.  Taylor agreed to check it and repair as necessary.

                Fire Department Report was next on the agenda:  Chief Deaver reporting.

                *Boiler room has been flooded once again.  Stewart Plumbing will be contacted to make necessary repairs to drains and boiler room floor.

                *The cameras / security lights have come in and installation will begin sometime within the next week.

                *Fire department policy states that no new applicants will be accepted if the person has a prior DUI, at least not more than one.  An interested party has contacted the department for possibly coming on the team.  

                *Fiscal Officer has noted an outstanding invoice from Maysville Do-It Center in the amount of $62.30 that there are no receipts for.  Deaver agreed to check into this. 

                       Secondly, the allowed salary money for firefighters for the year has been depleted.  There appears to be no other line item containing sufficient funds to cover the cost for the remainder of the year.  Question; where do we go from here?  Much discussion followed between the fire department and the trustee board.  Fiscal officer suggested the possibility of paying all of July salaries from the EMS fund and discuss the issue further at the August meeting.  Dozer moved to proceed with this suggestion, second by Stephenson, Smith agreed.

                Road Report; Taylor reporting.

                General road maintenance continues with several of the roads be “zipped”.  This procedure seems to be working fairly well.  Considerable discussion with the board followed.

                Necessary preparations are being made for chip / seal application.  Porter – Run Road is currently being maintained in depth.

                Fiscal Officer noted there seems to be a receipt from Carter Lumber missing according to their current billing invoice.  Taylor agreed to check on this item.

                Fiscal Officer also noted a call had been received from one Loretta Ansel of Elm Street in E. Fultonham regarding a tree that appears to be on township property and is leaning into her house.  She is requesting someone to please come and check it.  Taylor agreed to do this.

                Trustee Reports:

                Stephenson had nothing further to report.

                Smith had nothing further to report.

                Dozer mentioned that in the very near future the trustee board needs to sit down and discuss what the plan is for maintaining roads over the next 5 to 10 years.  Asphalt roads in the township will soon need some attention and it needs to be determined what is financially doable.

                Old Business:  none to discuss.

                New Business:

                The fire department applicant with the DUI was once again brought to the table.  The decision was; anyone with a DUI charge within the past 24 months should not be considered for the fire fighting position.  Driving privileges would be a major concern due to liability purposes.  Dozer agreed to notify Chief Deaver of the decision, Stephenson was in full agreement as was Smith.

                Fiscal Officer Report:  Mrs. Swingle reporting.

                It was noted an invoice has been received from one Troy Mumford Home Improvement Services for work that has been completed on the fire department roof.  Originally there was to be an estimate secured so the insurance company could be contacted to send out an adjuster to view the damages and possibly help cover the expense of snow and ice damage received.  In reviewing the fire fund and the EMS fund, Dozer moved the bill be paid from EMS line item 2281-230-323-0000, this was seconded by Mr. Stephenson.  Mr. Smith abstained.

                A resolution was presented for approval to move line item funds in the fire fund to cover salary needs for the month of June.  This was reviewed and signed by all three trustees.

                A copy of July Grassroots Clippings was made available to each trustee.

                A copy of the “Alternative Tax Budget Information” for the year commencing 01-01-2011 was presented for review and approval of the trustee board.  Stephenson moved to accept the budget as presented, second by Smith, Dozer agreed.

                All bills presented were deemed to be valid expenditures and were to be paid as presented.

                The next regular township meeting will be August 12, 2010 at 7:00 pm in the township meeting room.

                Meeting adjourned at 9:44 pm.

Newton Township has made every effort to ensure all the information listed on this website is accurate and up to date.  This information can and may change without notice.  Meeting overviews are meant to serve as short informational updates on township business.  We can not be responsible for any inaccurate or omitted information.