February 2012
NEWTON TOWNSHIP MINUTES 02-02-2012
Newton Township Trustees met in regular session on Thursday, February 2, 2012 @7:00 pm in the township meeting room at the fire department. Those in attendance were: Eric Waltermire, township resident; Larry Taylor, road supervisor; Craig Knox, fire department representative; James R. Smith, Robert J. Stephenson, and Charles R. Elson, township trustees; Bernadine E. Swingle, township fiscal officer.
Meeting was called to order by Smith at 7:03pm.
Pledge to the flag was led by James R. Smith.
Agenda was approved as read.
Minutes were approved as presented.
Public Participation:
Eric Waltermire was in attendance at the request of the township board of trustees to discuss the recent purchase of property at 1890 Greenhouse Road. As it stands, Waltermire purchased the property at Sheriffs’ sale for $4000.00 with no liens attached. According to Ron LaSamar at the County Prosecutors Office, the lien the township had against the property was overlooked at the time of the sale, so it is up to the trustee board and Mr. Waltermire as to an agreement. Waltermire states he is not willing to pay any more than the original price for the property. It was requested by the board to the fiscal officer to send a letter to Mr. LaSamar requesting the county pay a minimum of $2500.00. Fiscal Officer first contacted Mr. Bud Chess to determine the fact that there was not some legal possibility of securing at least a portion of the lien. In a return call from Mr. Chess, he stated he has spoken with both Mr. Earhart and Bob Stephenson re; this matter and it was the consensus of the group it is unlikely there would be a chance to obtain any portion of this lien. Mr. Stephenson, according to Chess was totally in agreement to this decision and the fiscal officer was advised by Mr. Chess there was no reason to pursue this issue any further.
Fire Department Business: Knox reporting;
*Emergency call-out responses in 2011 were met at 94%, a total of 837 runs total.
*January 2012, 83 calls were requested of which 79 responses were made.
*There has some considerable water leakage in the room behind the walk in closet in the basement of the fire house. Saup Hartley has been on the scene and reported they found no problem with the roof. Department personnel will need to be checking the ceiling further for the cause.
*Four sensors on a meter in the rescue have been replaced as was indicated at the last meeting.
*Finley Fire will be conducting ladder testing next week.
*Update on the installation of the generator; location of same has been changed to be placed in front of the township meeting room, several bushes and trees will need to be removed to allow room to do this. Taylor has been asked to dig holes and pour cement for reinforcement of the pad to be poured to house the generator. Secondly, word has been received from fire chief Deaver, he knows of a person interested in selling a generator much newer than the one currently on site at the cost of $10,000.00; Rick Davis who works for the county water and sewer department has stated he is sure the county would buy the one currently owned by the township at a price of $8000.00. It was noted a letter of intent would be necessary from the county department before any further consideration of this matter could proceed. Deaver has also been in contact with both trustee Stephenson and the fiscal officer requesting proper channels be pursued with the county commissioners to obtain exemption of needing to purchase a building permit at the cost of $425.00. A letter re; this has been mailed to the commissioners’ office at the time of the meeting.
*Knox, newly promoted to Battalion Chief of the department was sworn in by trustee Stephenson.
*Request to purchase two“King Vision” airways with cameras attached was made by Knox. This at the cost of $2000.00 plus blades for purchase of two. Smith moved to proceed with this purchase, second by Stephenson and Elson agreed.
Road Reports, Larry Taylor reporting;
*General maintenance is being performed on a daily basis to keep the roads in as good a condition as possible considering the weather changes we are experiencing.
*Ditching on Greenhouse Road in the area of Marvin Stevens property has been completed. The ditch still remains higher than the road with no place for the water to get away.
*There are some major repairs needed on Yost road which includes the removal of a bank. This will proceed as weather permits.
*Following much discussion as to plans for road upgrades for the coming season, it was determined one Art Kunkler of 20/20 would be asked to attend the March meeting to assist in the best plans to maintain as much mileage as possible and to review the current condition of roads they chip/sealed in 2011 season.
Trustees Reports:
*It was determined by general consensus of the trustee board to table the future plans for the generator until the March meeting as there are considerable areas to be considered.
*Matt Russell was to be contacted re; the resolution needed by the township for the new/upcoming “Frost Law” which has been initiated by the county engineer.
*Malibu Lane is a source of major concern. Stephenson noted the upper side needs to be built up and ditched to attempt to overcome the standing water and continuing pot=hole situation.
*Stephenson questioned Smith as to the current conditions of street lighting installation in the Southern Hills subdivision. Smith was told by AEP they(Lights) are in progress. Fiscal Officer noted she had been informed a couple of weeks earlier they were in place and a check for the installation of poles has been cut and presented.
*Elson, Stephenson, and Smith noted the following roads are in need of some major repairs this summer: Chadwick, Huggins, Foxfire, Lower Krofft, Slack, Stine, Workman, Moxahala Park Place, Bush Run, Butcherknife, Darlington, Dennis, Payne, Leffler, Porter Run and Butler (Avondale).
*Elson noted he would appreciate having a “Township Trustee Sourcebook” which will be ordered from OTA by the fiscal officer.
*Stephenson moved to suspend reading of the minutes and approve them as presented.
Old Business; nothing to report.
New Business; nothing to report.
Fiscal Officer reports:
*It has been noted that one Diana Lantz has not received a raise in pay this year as it was misquoted by the fiscal officer what her current pay is. It was moved by Stephenson to raise her pay $50.00 a month, second by Elson and Smith agreed. Her current pay is $350.00 per month and this will put her to$400.00 a month.
*Notes from the 01-12-2012 evaluation interviews of the FD were made available to each trustee for their personal reference.
*Notice has been received from the Muskingum County Association re; the spring banquet to be held March 31, 2012 at Coburn U M Church in Zanesville. More information will follow in the near future. Township membership cards were included in this mailing as well.
*Copies of the following notices were provided to each of the trustees;
Notice of affiliate merger of Ohio Power Co. with Columbus Southern Power Company.
Notice from the Ohio Rail Development Commission re; local highway authority’s responsibility for advanced warning signs at railroad crossings.
All bills presented were deemed to be valid expenditures and were to be paid as presented.
The next regular township meeting will be held on Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 7:00pm in the township meeting room.
Meeting adjourned at 9:35 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Bernadine E. Swingle, Fiscal Officer
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