March 2012

NEWTON TOWNSHIP MINUTES:  03-08-2012

Newton Township Trustees met in regular session on Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 7:00 pm in the township meeting room at the fire house.  Those in attendance were; Bruce McConnell and John Phillips, township residents; Larry Taylor, road supervisor; Allen Deaver, Craig Knox and Jeff Swingle, fire department personnel; Art Kunkler of 20 / 20 Enterprises; James R.Smith, Robert J. Stephenson and Charles R. Elson, township trustees; Derek J. Dozer, newly elected fiscal officer; and Bernadine E. Swingle township fiscal officer.

Meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Smith.

Pledge to the flag was led by James R. Smith.

Agenda was approved as read.

Minutes were approved as presented; Stephenson moved to suspend reading of same.

Public Participation:

                Bruce McConnell was first order of business.  He was present to present / share some information to the board re; discontinuance of several forms of incoming revenue to the township which he had received by attending a recent Farm Bureau meeting.  Also, he stated that according to O.R.C. 3714.07 there was a possibility that some revenue could be obtained by the board through a solid waste host fee.  Amounts noted were 8 cents per T / 4 cents / cu. Yd. which would be paid by the participating facility that resides within the township.  Following some discussion of same it was determined that the trustee board could request an additional 4 cents per ton to what the facility is now charging to obtain some revenue for the township.  This will be pursued further in the very near future.

                No other participation from the public was requested.

Fire Department Business:  Deaver reporting.

                *the generator installation which has been on hold for the interim was discussed with the following information forthcoming.  It will cost approximately $1080.00 for electrical wiring into the building and connecting to the present electric source.  Smith moved to proceed with the original plans for getting it connected, second by Stephenson and Elson approved of same.

                *the boilers are working much better at the present time.  The original boiler, the flow switch was not working; repairs are currently in the process.  The new boiler, the burner sensor has failed and has been replaced by Professional Plumbing.  The cost of all above repairs is / will be $630.00; Smith moved to accept the proposal, second by Stephenson, and Elson agreed.  All thermostats in the building have been calibrated and has improved the function of the boilers considerably.

                *Work on the kitchen is pending and should be started in the very near future as equipment comes available.

                *Knox reported for the EMS department; last month there were only 48 calls received and the department missed a total of 4.

                *The policy / s.o.p. has been completed; a copy was provided to the board for their approval at the next township meeting.

                Dozer noted to the fire personnel there needs to be connections of voice mail, fax machine and phone hook up made available in the existing records room by April 1, as all township correspondence will be directed to that area.

                Fiscal Officer noted an invoice for fuel purchased by Josh Bryan is not available for the records.  Also noted by the fiscal officer was that charges for the radio tower on Huggins Road has taken quite an increase – possibly due to increases by AEP?  Request was made for an updated list of all fire / EMS personnel including addresses and phone numbers.

Road Reports, Larry Taylor reporting;

                Art Kunkler of 20 / 20 Enterprises was present to discuss with the trustees and Taylor his proposal of what was the most economical road maintenance to be completed in the 2012 season.  He had traveled most of the township roads and was aware where the major concerns were located.  He advised getting the report to them as early as possible in the season with possibly being able to complete the necessary work in (2) two time segments.  Kunkler noted that with the increase in oil prices currently, the cost per mile of chip / seal would range approximately $1000.00 more than last season.  The approximate cost in 2012 would be $11,000.00 per mile.

                *Reporting of trash being dumped on Lower Krofft Road, Crock Road and Foxfire Road and what is the best way to handle the situation.  The sheriffs’ office has been notified and responded with no further action noted.  It was advised by the board that road employees pick up the trash and deposit it into the dumpsters located at the fire department.  Stephenson noted he would be in contact with the county sheriff to determine exactly what to do in the future.

                *General maintenance on the roads has been constant with lots of pot holes being filled and necessary cold mix applied as needed.  Need to purchase additional cold mix is prevalent.

                *Update on progression of the opening / garage was discussed.  A new door is necessary to complete the project.  In checking pricing, it seems to be more economical to purchase an installed overhead door at the cost of $840.00 than to build and install a sliding door.  Stephenson moved to proceed with the purchase of the overhead door, second by Elson, Smith approved.

                *Yost road is in need of some major repairs including the removal of a bank; Stephenson is checking with the county engineers’ office (Doug Davis) to determine if possibly the county could do the repairs using some of the “type 2” money that the township has available at the county. 

                *Taylor was advised to proceed with necessary repairs for the season on Chadwick, Malibu and Huggins roads consecutively.

Trustees Reports:

                Nothing more to report.

Old Business:

                The trash problem in Ironspot is ongoing and spreading to more area continuously.  Stephenson will be once again contacting the Health Department as well as Fire Chief Deaver to determine the possibility of pressing charges.

New Business:

                *Both Stephenson and Smith will be attending a Port Authority meeting at 6:00 pm on March 21, 2012.

                *Several calls have been received re; a burned out trailer at 5535 Limestone Valley Road in White Cottage.  The property belongs to Charles F. Rucker, of P O Box 102 in White Cottage and a certified letter has been mailed to him as to his intent of cleaning up the designated area.

 Fiscal Officer reports:

                *Notice has been received from Huntington Bank re; additional charges being made to the township account.  As of 03-01-2012 only 100 transactions per month will be allowed to the account with no charge.  Any additional transactions will cost 50 cents per item to the account.  It was decided not to make any changes at this time.

                *Fiscal Officer has been in contact with Tom Montgomery re; insurance for Jim Smith.  There is no insurance available beyond what he already has due to his medical history.

                *Notice has been received from ODOT re; mileage of township roads.  The number noted at the beginning of 2012 is 59.434 miles.  Notice was signed by all trustees and returned to ODOT.

                *OBWC is requesting once again that a person from the township attend a 2 hour session on safety training.  This must be done to allow the township to remain in the group rating program.  Stephenson agreed he would be able to attend a session being held in Zanesville at the Holiday Inn Express on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 from 9:00 to 11:00 am.

                *The resolution presented at the February meeting to be signed by the board re; “frost regulations / heavy equipment on the roads” has been scrapped by the county engineers’ office and will be rewritten for approval at a later date.

                *Note was made of the Muskingum County Spring Banquet which will be held on Saturday, March 31, 2012 at the Coburn U M Church on Maple Ave. in Zanesville.  Reservations must be submitted by Monday, March 19, 2012.

                *Notice has been received from Murphy Tractor & Equipment Co. of the buy out of the Leslie Equipment Company in both Cambridge and Chillicothe.

                *A notice received from FCC re; registration updates has been forwarded to the fire chief to update the contact person as of this date.

                *A Community Development Block Grant meeting will be held in the Commissioner’s Conference Room on March 13, 2012 @10:00 am.

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

                The next regular meeting of the township board will be April 10, 2012 @ 7:00 pm in the township meeting room at the fire department.

Meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Bernadine E. Swingle

Fiscal Officer

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.