March 2021
NEWTON TOWNSHIP MINUTES 3-9-2021
Newton Township Trustees met in regular session on Tuesday, March 9, 2021. Those in attendance were Jason Taylor, Road Maintenance Employee for the Township; Craig Knox, Fire Chief; James R. Smith, and Derek Dozer; Township Trustees and Paula Frank, Fiscal Officer. Also in attendance were township residents: Bernadine Swingle, Tad Lantz, Bobby Mock, Marty Smith, Kim Smith, Mitch Smith, Austin Montgomery with A to Z Tree Experts and Muskingum County Commissioner Jim Porter.
Meeting was called to order by Trustee Dozer at 6:00 pm.
Pledge to the flag was led by Derek Dozer followed by a moment of silence in memory of Trustee Robert Stephenson.
Agenda approved.
Minutes – Trustee Dozer asked that the minutes from February state “take down the fence in that small section”, not the entire fence.
Public Participation: Fletcher Road bridge – Commissioner Porter – he wants a bridge on Fletcher Road and it will cost about $95,000. Where the bridge is now, they would use the concrete and base for the bridge. Moving it will cost more, obviously. The Smith family wants to abandon the bridge because they are the only accessible property by the bridge, or move the bridge and build new road to the bridge. The road will be the township responsibility if they move the road. According to Mr. Porter, the road may need to be paved because new roads built in the County are supposed to be asphalt. The township trustees can agree to just making it a gravel road. It will be about 700’. It will also need to be a two-lane road. The County Engineer will help come up with a cost to move / make the road. Mr. Porter will get back with the trustees on the cost of the road.
Mr. Porter asked Mr. Knox what his opinion was on fire districts because everyone seems to be fighting to employ fire fighters here locally. Mr. Porter stated that the county was looking at the possibility of 4 fire districts in the county. Dresden and Frazeysburg did not pass their fire district levies because all townships and municipalities tax payers have to pay taxes straight across the board instead of varying rates for each township or municipality. Newton does not have any issue with finding employees to cover shifts, but Mr. Porter stated that his area is having issues.
Mr. Dozer asked Mr. Porter – the streets in Avondale with the sewer replacement and the condition of the streets once construction was completed. Manhole lowering and rising was supposed to have been done per Mr. Porter. He told the trustees to contact Sheila Sampson about CDBG money. The county would resurface the streets, if we apply for CDBG money. Mr. Porter agreed to meet with the trustees in Avondale to look the streets over.
Bob Mock – would like his dry hydrant inspected and Craig told him that Jeffrey Cohen would be in contact with him to get that inspected. Mr. Mock also stated that he might run for trustee this fall.
Fire Department Business:
Chief Knox—Medic 1082 is at Millers Towing getting warranty work done. It will be there most of the month of March. They are going to order 6 new recliners – association agreed to pay for half on the cost and these. The company sells just to fire departments and they are more durable than regular recliners.
The vinyl that is being put on the restroom walls is not adhering like it should so they are testing a new method and will see how it goes.
The county has created a grant and each department is eligible but the department must already have purchased something or have an agreement to purchase something from a vendor. Mr. Knox is looking at possibly purchasing new turn out gear. The grant app has to be completed by April 30th. He hopes that by the April meeting they will know a total so they can see what the department will have to contribute.
Mr. Dozer has asked about the new hires to the department and Craig told him the status of the three individuals that in the employment process. Dozer asked about the Josh Weaver status of resignation – they have sent him a letter and he has not responded to it.
Mr. Dozer asked Mr. Knox about inner-department communication and what is he doing to get feedback from the members about his role as chief. Mr. Dozer suggested that he ask the department members for their feedback on how the leadership could be improved.
The fire department server was taken off line because they were concerned about a security threat, but he did find out that there was no threat to the fire department server. Keytel is working on a security patch to get them back online. Keytel has not always managed the security part of the department server, so they will send Craig cost information to get them set up to take care of the security on the server. What we pay them now is for backup support and help desk.
Assistant Chief—none.
Road Report – Jason Taylor— They are working on patching holes – Zella and Lewellyn. They discussed how far back Lewellyn he should spread stone and they agreed that just to the second house and no further. Jim suggested putting a culvert of in to help with drainage. Jason has ordered more signs. The Foxfire curve signs are coming and so is an electric pole / light. He has also fixed the fence that was damaged with the snow plow and the homeowner was very happy with the result.
Jason also stated that we are running low on salt and possibly need to get some more ordered. Possibly 150 ton. They discussed that the time to get that ordered is drawing near. Mr. Stephenson has taken care of that in the past so we are not sure if he had been in contact with Cargill recently or not.
Old Business –
New Business – Under the Ohio Revised Code 503.24 Vacancy in township office. “If there is a vacancy by reason of the nonacceptance, death, or removal of a person chosen to an office in any township at the regular election, or if there is a vacancy from any other cause, the board of township trustees shall appoint a person having the qualifications of an elector to fill such vacancy for the unexpired term or until a successor is elected.” As supplied by Mark Zanghi of the Muskingum County Prosecutor’s Office. An appointment must be made within 30 day. All resumes received were just emailed in and were not solicited by our board. Discussion about the five resumes followed. The two trustees took 20 minutes to review the resumes they were given and unanimously agreed to appoint Charles (Randy) Elson. Jim made a motion to adopt the resolution to appoint Mr. Elson and Derek seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Trustees Reports:
Smith—none.
Dozer— Zella Drive – Mr. Cannon—had asked about making a real turn around at the dead end. They discussed doing the same thing as they did on Dilts Lane. Just enough to pull in, back up and turn back around.
Mr. Larry Farus at 3010 Opera Road stated that the chip seal is good on top of the hill but then at the bottom of the hill it is deteriorating – by his mailbox. It needs looked at and fixed.
Fiscal Officer Report:
· Distributed Grassroots Clippings.
· Presented the following resolutions for approval and signatures:
o 03/2021 – Removing street light assessments from the two Maysville Local School District properties that were certified to the auditor in September.
o 04/2021 – Re-certifying the street light assessments for the next 9 years, minus the Maysville properties, noting change in amount charged each parcel.
o Resolution appointing Charles R Elson to take the position vacated by the death of Robert J Stephenson, on February 28, 2021. Randy’s term is effective March 16, 2021.
· CDBG Grant – information presented.
Trustee Smith made a motion to pay bills. Trustee Dozer seconded the motion.
All bills presented were deemed to be valid expenditures and were to be paid as presented.
Next regular meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 13, 2021 at 6:00 pm at the Fire Department.
Meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
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