On Nov. 13, the trustees held a regular board meeting. The meeting began with the participation of Geauga County Engineer Shane Hajjar who was at the meeting to provide input regarding the possible resurfacing of Heath Road, which is shared between Munson and Chester townships. Funding for this project was requested through the Ohio Public Works Commission local committee which has given preliminary approval to the project. If It’ssue I monies would be available, Chester’s share of the estimated $400,000 project would be $100,000.
Both Munson and Chester Townships are in similar situations regarding insufficient funding for road resurfacing projects. By moving with a Resolution of Convenience and Necessity for improvement of Heath Road and a resolution to cooperate with Munson Township, the project moves to the next level of OPWC for consideration. These resolutions do not obligate Chester or Munson to the project, as funding by both communities will need to be identified and available to proceed with contract finalization should OPWC approve it in the next round.
By majority vote, a weather station ($627.30) was approved. The Road Department will use this information to track temperature, wind direction and speed, rainfall and snowfall and other parameters. This information will be used to build a database correlating weather conditions and winter road maintenance activities (snow plowing, deicing techniques) to improve resource management. Given our localized weather patterns, this monitor will also be helpful in identifying the frequency and severity of 10+ year storm events, which have a likelihood of causing flooding in some areas of our community.
Repair to plow truck #2, replacing a cracked head was approved for $6,880, the lowest of three quotes and significantly less expensive than engine replacement (about $20,000). The truck will be out of service for about a month, but the township maintains a backup truck for snow plowing.
Our new Road Department mechanic, Steve Voigt, has started with the Road Department and the transition with our current mechanic, John Rogers who is retiring at the end of this year is going well.
A number of items were approved for scrapping because they are obsolete, no longer used or broken and have no value to the township. Items included an external hard drive, broken paper shredder and two obsolete CRT monitors. The township will continue this process through the year.
The board approved an extension of time for North American Waste Services to continue to obtain solid waste and recycling information for Chester Township government locations only.
The Fiscal Officer noted that a donation was received for the Police Department and he is continuing to work on clearing titles of some fire engines. Township information has been forwarded Ohio Public Entity Consortium for Health Care (http://ohiopublicentityconsortium.org/ ) to learn if there are opportunities for cost savings regarding our health benefits.
There was a preliminary discussion about arranging for year-end reviews with supervisory and Town Hall administrative employees in December.
Submitted by
Chester Township officials.