RICHFIELD TOWNSHIP BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
JANUARY 19, 2006
7:00 p.m.
Richfield Township Trustees
Richfield Township Trustees
January 19, 2006

The Richfield Township Board of Trustees met for a regular meeting on January 19, 2006 at 7:02 p.m. with the following in attendance:

Shano Cica-Mraz, Trustee Chairperson
David Wyatt, Trustee Vice Chairperson
Laurie Peters Gilmore, Trustee
Laurie Pinney, Zoning Inspector
Linda Bowmer, Township Administrator

1 attendee

A motion was made at 7:04 p.m. by Ms. Cica-Mraz and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to open a public hearing for a rezoning request. The motion passed with unanimous approval. The request is for a change in zoning from C-2 Commercial Highway District to LI-O Light Industrial-Office District for parcels #4900014 and 4900015, located at the SW intersection of S.R. 303 and I271 and approximately 14 acres. The owner/applicant is K.F. Farms. The property currently has a wireless tower and associated structures and has been granted approval by the Board of Zoning Appeals for a temporary use as a materials storage and construction staging site during the I271 bridge reconstruction project, which will take several years. The Summit County Planning Commission and Richfield Township Zoning Commission have reviewed the request and each has given a recommendation for disapproval of the rezoning request.

A motion was made at 7:08 p.m. by Ms Cica-Mraz and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to close the public hearing. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

A motion was made by Ms. Cica-Mraz and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to disapprove the rezoning request. The motion passed with unanimous approval. The Trustees recommend that the Zoning Commission follow the recommendation of the Summit County Planning Commission and conduct a review of the current C-2 language to consider other conditionally approved uses that may be appropriate for this location.

A motion was made by Ms. Cica-Mraz and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to approve minutes for the regular meeting on January 5, 2006 and a special meeting on January 10, 2006. The motion was passed with unanimous approval.

A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to approve voucher warrant 1 and regular warrants 11835 to 11874. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

The Fiscal Officer report was provided by Ms. Pinney. 2005 legal spending categories were reviewed and category amounts were approved for further legal counsel invoices that are anticipated in 2006. A motion was made by Ms. Cica-Mraz and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to approve the setting aside legal funds for the following matters: General $5000, Glencairn $5000, Briarwood $10,000, Property Acquisition $5000, Personnel $1000, JEDD $10,000, Mt. St Augustine/Regina $5000, Pavlovic $5000, Adelphia/TimeWarner $1000 and Zebrowski $1000. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

The purchase orders approved in 2005 for the Boston Mills Road Department Building addition have been closed at year-end and new purchase orders will be opened for the invoices. A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Ms. Cica-Mraz to approve Gramley Home Improvement for an amount not to exceed $19,325, Terry Lumber for an amount not to exceed $5000 and architect Mark Kearney for an amount not to exceed $1506. The motion passed with unanimous approval. The original cost estimates have increased by $625 for additional permit costs, $760 for materials cost increases and $506 for additional architect work to address building permit adjudications.

The Fiscal Officer is planning on conducting more reporting and banking functions online in the future. A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to authorize the use of online banking and direct deposits of payroll, with electronic fund transfers for payroll withholding payments as available. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

The Trustees reviewed Rising Valley Park expenses for 2005 and a list of recommendations for Rising Valley Park made at the last Park Board meeting. A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Ms. Cica-Mraz to appropriate $10,000 from the General Fund for 2006 operating expenses and to approve the list of recommendation totaling $3992 plus labor. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

The Zoning report was provided by Ms. Pinney. A requirement of the JEDD agreement is that a Township Trustee holds one of the seats on the JEDD Board. A motion was made by Mr. Wyatt and seconded by Ms. Gilmore to appoint Ms. Cica-Mraz to the JEDD Board. The motion passed with unanimous approval. Ms. Pinney reported that a stop work order had been issued for construction at 4678 Wakefield Run Boulevard due to storm water runoff problems. The contractor is working to correct the problems and the stop work order should be able to be lifted by early next week. The attorney representing the Zebrowski’s in a zoning violation case has contacted Richfield Township legal counsel and an agreement may be reached for the consent entry that has been under discussion.

The Roads report was provided by Ms. Gilmore. The department is planning on purchasing a new truck and the funds will come largely from the trade-in of one truck and the sale of another. Ms. Gilmore made a motion to declare the 1999 Chevy 3500 truck with a plow and salt spreader as surplus township property to be displayed and offered for sale by sealed bid to be opened February 17, 2006 at 1:30 p.m., with the township reserving the right to reject any and all bids. The motion was seconded by Mr. Wyatt and received unanimous approval.

The Administration report was provided by Ms. Bowmer. The three computers used in administration and one used in the Road Department are out of warranty and having some problems using applications because they are outdated. A motion was made by Ms. Cica-Mraz and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to approve the expenditure of up to $5000 for purchase of four new computers with monitors and software. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

The Rising Valley Park Snowbird Festival will be held Sunday, January 29, 12 to 5, with a snow date of February 5. The event includes sledding, hot dogs and cocoa. The Cuyahoga Valley Communities Council is holding a dinner on February 16. None of the Trustees are available to attend the event on that day. The Township Association of Summit County (TASC) will hold their first meeting of 2006 on February 7. The Trustees will notify Ms. Bowmer if they would like to be included in the reservation for this dinner.

The 3-year, 2.72-mill fire levy is due to expire this year. A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to accept Resolution 04-2006, requesting the Summit County Fiscal Officer to certify the total current tax valuation of the Township and the dollar amount that would be generated by a 2.2 mill replacement levy. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

The police levy is continuous and is currently for 3.6 mills. A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to accept Resolution 04-2006, requesting the Summit County Fiscal Officer to certify the total current tax valuation of the Township and the dollar amount that would be generated by a 3.5 mill replacement levy. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

The Trustees had approved employee cost-of –living pay increases at the January 2nd Organizational meeting. A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to approve additional increases for merit to Jerry Schall in the amount of $2 per hour and to Linda Bowmer and Laurie Pinney in the amount of $1 per hour, effective as of the current pay period. The motion passed with unanimous approval.

A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Ms. Cica-Mraz to go into executive session to discuss property acquisition. The motion passed with unanimous approval. A motion was made by Ms. Gilmore and seconded by Mr. Wyatt to go out of executive session and adjourn at 8:55 p.m. The motion passed with unanimous approval.


This page last updated on: 02/26/2006

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