RICHFIELD TOWNSHIP BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
November 3, 2005
7:00 p.m.

Richfield Township Trustees
November 3, 2005

The Richfield Township Board of Trustees met for a regular meeting on November 3, 2005 with the following in attendance:

Laurie Peters Gilmore, Trustee Chairperson
David Wyatt, Trustee Vice Chairperson
Shano Cica-Mraz, Trustee
Linda Bowmer, Township Administrator
Laurie Pinney, Zoning Inspector
Dale Canter, Richfield Police Chief
Joe Stopak, Richfield Fire Chief

11 attendees

A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to approve the minutes of October 20, 2005. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to approve the minutes of October 25, 2005. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Ms. Cica-Mraz to approve warrants 11607 through 11644. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

The Clerk report was provided by Ms. Pinney. The 09 Police fund and 13 Zoning fund have current positive cash balances respectively of $92,228.47 and $5942.37 over the currently appropriated amounts and these additional funds are available to appropriate. A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to increase permanent appropriation in the 09 Police fund from $401,971 to $491,971 and in the 13 Zoning fund from $44,821 to $49,821. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

Three legal spending categories are due for increase. Briarwood will require a minimum $1617 additional approval, JEDD will require minimum $6093 approval, and Zebrowski will require minimum $4221 approval. A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Ms. Cica-Mraz to increase legal spending for Briarwood by $5000, for JEDD by $8000 and for Zebrowski by $4500. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

The Police report was provided by Mr. Canter. In October, there were a total of 651 service calls, with 100, or 15% in the township. A descriptive summary of calls was provided. The National Park Service is conducting deer counting, which is done at night, in the eastern portion of Richfield during the first two weeks of November. Detective Joe Davis will be attending the FBI Academy. A letter has been received from the County of Summit Engineer regarding a speed limit decrease on Everett Road. The Summit County Sheriff has established a portable truck-weighing unit, which will be manned by two deputies.

The Fire report was provided by Mr. Stopak. In October, there were 84 total calls, with 12 mutual aid, 36 ems and 16 fire in the village and 12 ems and 8 fire in the township. The new pumper truck should be received in late 2006, as well as the new equipment rescue truck. Bath and Richfield are working toward hiring a fire prevention officer and have met with school officials to evaluate the need. The department is looking at installing a new dry hydrant on Medina Line Road.

In new business, the Trustees were addressed by Bonnie Binns, of the MRDD Board regarding the importance of Issue 6, which is on the November 8 ballot.

The County of Summit Engineers Office had representatives Greg Bachman, Brian Stormer, Bob Bunnell and Gary Ellison in attendance to provide an update to COSE activities. In Richfield Township, COSE is involved in many ongoing projects, including soil nailing, culvert cleanout & maintenance, ditch crews & mowing, with a new excavator & second crew, additional signs & tree trimming on Everett and Medina Line Roads. Speed studies have been done on Medina Line Road, resulting in a reduction in the speed limit from 55 to 45. The studies for Everett Road speed reduction are being done now. A major upcoming project is the reconstruction of Boston Mills Road from Black Road east to the COSE maintenance yard. They have applied for issue 2 funds and the project should be done in the next year. The road will be slightly widened and will have asphalt shoulders instead of the current gravel. The maintenance yard on Twinsburg Road in Macedonia has been moved to the Boston Mills maintenance site. Two years ago, COSE had a $2 million deficit, but now have about a $1 million reserve. They spend about $15 million a year, so this is still less than a month’s reserve. A presentation on the use of roundabouts was given and COSE hopes to install at least one or two in the next year.

The Zoning report was provided by Ms. Pinney. Eighty-two zoning certificates have been issued year-to-date, with 44 being for new residences. The Zoning Commission will meet next on November 10 at 6:30 p.m. The Trustees will have a public hearing on November 17 to discuss zoning language amendments for parking and for fences. The Board of Zoning Appeals is scheduled to meet next on November 21. The filing deadline is November 7 and no new applications have been received to date.

The Road report was provided by Ms. Gilmore. The new truck has been received and has a very large plow, which will help the department with keeping the roads clear in a timely manner.

The Administration report was provided by Ms. Bowmer. Mr. Wyatt and Ms. Bowmer attended a breakfast meeting sponsored by HCHY ( Healthy Communities, Healthy Youth) on November 2. They discussed the need for support, so will probably be attending a future Trustees meeting to promote their program. The TASC dinner was held November 1, with Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh as the featured speaker. Ms. Bowmer also recently attended a seminar on employment issues that was sponsored by Buckingham, Doolittle and Burroughs. The Summit County Emergency Management office brought over a radio that is to be left in the office for emergency situations. Township staff will be trained in use of the radio, which has yet to be installed, and will also receive NIMS (National Incident Management System ) training. Ms. Cica-Mraz asked Ms. Bowmer to contact the fire department to get a schedule for the NIMS courses.

The bids have been received for the senior snowplow program. The Bids were $15.50 a driveway for S & K Maintenance, $14.50 for Luther Farms and $9.50 for Nason Landscaping. A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Ms. Cica-Mraz to hire Nason Landscaping for the Senior Snowplow program, at a rate of $9.50 per plow and pending Village of Richfield approval of the joint contract. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

The waste hauling contract with J & J Refuse is up for renewal. The proposal is for an increase from $9.86 per household to $9.98 ($.12 increase). A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to extend the contract with J & J Refuse for one year at the proposed rate. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

Anderson Pump has provided a quote for a pump for the new well at the Boston Mills Service Yard. A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Ms. Cica-Mraz to approve the pump installation by Anderson Pump in an amount not to exceed $2000. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

A motion was made by Ms. Cica-Mraz and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to appoint the following members to the Zoning Commission: full members Kurt Kocias (2010) and Dennis Skoda (2006) and alternate members Arlene Pepera (2006) and Natalie Grubb (2006). The motion passed with unanimous approval.

A motion was made by Ms. Cica-Mraz and seconded by Ms. Gilmore to appoint the following members to the Board of Zoning Appeals: full members Ken Bowmer (2010) and Mark Salopek (2008) and alternate Frank Aveni (2006). The motion passed with unanimous approval.

The work for the Senior Septic program is complete. The township is required to pay the contractor and CDBG will reimburse. A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Ms. Cica-Mraz to pay a total of up to $30,000 to Summit Excavating and Novatny Electric. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

The Rising Valley Park transfer was recorded on October 27, 2005. At a meeting held with park board members on October 25, it was agreed that they would stay on in an advisory capacity for one year. A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to appoint the following advisory Rising Valley Park Board members: Frank Gindraw, Steven Nagy, John Paulett and Tom Johnson. The motion passed with unanimous approval. Former park board member Paula Kramer has volunteered to serve as a liason to Hinckley Township. There will still be an opening for one additional advisory member and the Trustees will seek a resident to fill the position.

Invoices for Rising Valley Park expenses have come in totaling $9557, with $7091 for capital equipment and $2466 for operational expenses. A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Ms. Cica-Mraz to approve payment of the current invoices. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to pay each RVP advisory member $25 for each regular meeting attended, starting with the November 1, 2005 meeting. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

A Hinckley resident has inquired about whether the driveway gate will be raised for through traffic in the winter. The Trustees responded that the gate would be raised only during emergencies, as determined by the service department and/or police.

A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Ms. Cica-Mraz to adjourn at 8:55 p.m. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

This page last updated on: 02/25/2006

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