The Richfield Township regular Trustee Meeting was called to order at 7.09pm on December 9 2002.

Roll Call: Trustees: Present – Shano Cica-Mraz, Laurie Peters Gilmore
Robert Hooper
Clerk/Treasurer Absent-Mark Uhrich

Others Present: Linda Bowmer, Office Administrator & Laurie Pinney, Zoning Inspector, Police Chief Dale Canter

Ms Cica-Mraz made a motion to approve the October 28, 2002 regular Trustee meeting minutes, seconded by Ms Gilmore. Ms Mraz – Yes, Mr Hooper – Abstain, Ms Gilmore – Yes. Motion carried by majority.

Ms Cica-Mraz made a motion to approve the November 25, 2002 regular Trustee meeting minutes, seconded by Mr Hooper. Ms Mraz – Yes, Mr Hooper – Yes, Ms Gilmore – Abstain. Motion carried by majority

There was no warrant report to approve.

In Mr. Uhrich’s absence, Ms Cica-Mraz did the clerk report. Ms Mraz made a motion authorizing the Clerk to draw up temporary appropriations for 2003, not to exceed 33% of the 2002 permanent appropriations, seconded by Mr Hooper. Ms Mraz – Yes, Mr Hooper – Yes, Ms Gilmore – Yes. Motion carried by majority.

Mr Mraz made a motion to approve the following year-end fund balance adjustments, seconded by Mr Hooper:

From the General Fund – up to $1,100 to the Motor Vehicle Fund
From the General Fund – up to $9,000 to the Gasoline Fund
From the General Fund – up to $24,000 to the Fire District Fund
From the General Fund – up to $4,000 to the Community Development Fund
From the General Fund – up to $675 to the General Note Retirement Fund
Ms Mraz – Yes, Mr Hooper – Yes, Ms Gilmore – Yes. Motion carried by majority.

Ms Mraz made a motion to approve the transfer of police capital funds to the general fund for the purposes of road and bridge capital expenditures, seconded by Ms Gilmore. Ms Mraz – Yes, Mr Hooper – Yes, Ms Gilmore – Yes. Motion carried by majority

Chief Canter reported there were 117 incident reports in the Township during the month of November – 31% of the total calls received by the Department. A $7,800 grant has been approved for the DARE program which will help pay the wages of the new DARE officer. A 1934 Ford, acquired through a drug case, is now the property of the Department. They are refurbishing the car and a Township resident, Mary Serpentini, sponsored a fundraiser that raised $1,000. This Saturday the Department will participate in “Shop with a Cop” in cooperation with Sears Department Store. This program sold out in Richfield this year and 6 or 7 Richfield children will go Christmas shopping with a police officer and have $125 each to spend.

Road Report – The service department raked leaves out of Hawkins Road ditches, picked up litter on township roads, put up Christmas decorations at Triangle Park and were already working at snow and ice removal.

Administration Report - The Administrator has been out of town – the office ran smoothly in her absence.

Zoning Report – Glencairn has asked to be taken off the agenda for the Zoning Commission Public Hearing that is scheduled for Thursday, December 12, 2002. The BZA next meeting is December 16 at which time they will be considering 2 cases. Laurie Pinney said she would like to discuss NPDES at the first meeting in January and the regulations we will be required to meet on or before March 10, 2003. Ms Pinney has been attending meetings at Summit Soil & Water; they have now approached her regarding grant money that is available and requested a letter of support. Ms Mraz made a motion for Ms Pinney to draft such a letter for signature by the Board, seconded by Mr Hooper. Ms Mraz – Yes, Mr Hooper, Ms Gilmore – Yes. Motion carried by majority.

Mike Marfut, Gene Mortimer and Buzzy Davis representing the Veterans Association attended the meeting. For several years they have been planning to put a memorial in town honoring Richfield’s veterans going back to the Revolutionary War. Various places have been considered, but they have decided Triangle Park would be their first choice. Mike Marfut did a presentation of their current ideas; a park with a central memorial, flags, benches and brick paths composed of bricks with the name of every person from Richfield who has served in any branch of the armed forces. By using bricks it would be easy to add names. Any person drafted from Richfield or who has lived 5 years in Richfield and is honorably discharged would be included. This would be a different type of memorial from that in West Richfield cemetery which honors only those who died in service. Ms Mraz asked who would be responsible for the memorial and it was understood that the veterans would pay for, fabricate and install the monument (which would replace the gazebo). Maintenance of the memorial would also fall to the veterans. The Township would remove the gazebo, maintain the grass areas and remove the 2 large evergreens currently in the park. Mr Hooper asked how many names they currently have. The veterans said there were 500 to 600. Ms Gilmore asked how long they felt it would take to raise the necessary funds. The veterans were unable to give a good answer as there were still lots of unanswered questions as to what and where. Mayor Larsen was asked for his comment and said he was surprised, as he had thought the location was still being considered in front of Town Hall. Mr Marfut said at the last Veteran’s Meeting it had been decided to approach the Township as the Village had not made a formal decision on the location and were perhaps going to take years to ready a location in front of Town Hall. Mayor Larsen wanted assurance that the majority of veterans were in support of Triangle Park as the location for the memorial; if so the Village would have no objection.

Ms Mraz made a motion to approve the Veterans Association’s use of Triangle Park for installation of a permanent Veterans Memorial. The Township would be responsible for removing the gazebo, removal of the 2 overgrown evergreen trees and maintenance of the grass and shrubs. The Veterans would be responsible for fabrication and installation of the memorial and all its portions, as well as the upkeep. Seconded by Laurie Gilmore. Ms Mraz – Yes, Mr Hooper – Yes, Ms Gilmore – Yes. Motion carried by majority.

John Lehlbach of J&J Refuse was present to answer any further questions about their bid for trash removal. After discussion it had been decided that recycling would be bi-weekly on the 2nd and 4th weeks of the month. The contract would commence on January 1, 2003. J&J will supply recycling containers to each household – more than 1 container if requested. J & J are currently studying the current routes and it is hoped that most households will retain their current pick-up schedule. J&J will do a mailing notifying residents of the change in contractors and pickup days. The containers will be delivered to each house with another copy of the letter explaining service. With 768 homes in the Township our first year bill would be approx. $77,230 or a savings of $7,800 over what we are currently paying. Ms Mraz felt that the recycle bins encouraged recycling and would hopefully increase participation. Ms Gilmore made a motion to sign a 3-year contract for solid waste disposal and recycling service, subject to signing a written contract, seconded by Mr Hooper. Ms Mraz – Yes, Mr Hooper – Yes, Ms Gilmore – Yes. Motion carried by majority.

Last year we received $13,000 in CDBG grant money for renovations to the Senior Center, specifically lighting. Loomis Electric came in with the lowest bid - $9,225. Ms Gilmore made a motion to hire Loomis Electric to do the lighting work at the Senior Center, seconded by Ms Mraz. Ms Mraz – Yes, Mr Hooper – Yes, Mr Gilmore – Yes. Motion carried by majority.

Ms Mraz reminded everyone that positions are available on all boards; Zoning Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals and Rising Valley Park. Applications should be received at the Township office by December 30th with interviews being held the week of January 6, 2003.

The regularly scheduled Trustees Meeting of December 23, 2002 has been cancelled. The organizational meeting for the Township is scheduled for Thursday, January 9, 2003. The next open work session with the Village is Thursday, December 12, 2002 at the Senior Center. There were no agenda requests.

Citizens Forum: Dan Emmett, 3051 Streetsboro Road – Mr Emmett felt Triangle Park was a wise choice for the location of the Veteran’s Memorial. He agreed the largest tree nearest Broadview Road was too big and should come down. He said he would personally take down the big evergreen in the park nearest the old Copper Moon Store since it holds a lot of history for Richfield.

Ms Mraz made a motion to enter into executive session at 8.05pm to discuss pending litigation and personnel matters, seconded by Ms Gilmore. Ms Mraz – Yes, Mr Hooper – Yes, Ms Gilmore – Yes, motion carried by majority

Ms Mraz made a motion to end the executive session at 8.30pm, seconded by Ms Gilmore. Ms Mraz – Yes, Mr Hooper – Yes, Ms Gilmore – Yes, motion carried by majority.

Ms Gilmore made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8.30pm, seconded by Mr Hooper.
Ms Mraz – Yes, Mr Hooper – Yes, Ms Gilmore – Yes, motion carried by majority.

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Chairwoman Clerk