The regular meeting of the Rootstown Township Trustees opened at 5:30 p.m. on August 14, 2007. Those in attendance were Trustees David Armentrout, Diane Dillon and Bonnie Howe. Fiscal Officer, JoAnn Townend, Chief Palmer, Darrell Stephens, Jim Mahood, Van Black, and Julie Carpenter.

Resolution No. 2007-118 – Motion was made by Diane Dillon and seconded by Bonnie Howe to accept the minutes of July 24, 2007. Upon roll call the vote as follows: David Armentrout, yea, Diane Dillon, yea, Bonnie Howe, yea.

Portage County Bicentennial Report – Shirley Riemenschneider

The Bicentennial Committee has been meeting over 2 ˝ years. Shirley gave the Board a draft of calendar of events. The Gala Opening will be held on January 19, 2008 at NEOUCOM. The cost per ticket is $100.00. There will be many events throughout 2008. There is a meeting of legacy for the future, which entails everyone in Portage County to write a page or two of their life as they are living today. Every entry will be included into a volume and will be displayed at the Portage County Library and Historical Society. Mrs. Riemenschneider encourages the Trustees and residents to participate in some or all of the events.

Shirley also gave the Board a petition for citizens in favor of replacing the flagpole.

Shirley said the community sign has been painted and is ready to use. The Civic Club currently owns it.

FIRE DEPARTMENT

Chief Palmer reported they have been awarded $6,000.00 for EMS training and supplies from the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

Chief Palmer gave the Board a copy of a letter from LifeForce regarding Medicare and Anthem claims.

Fire Department members recently completed their annual drivers training. New members completed 16 hours of training and members that had completed the 16 hours training attended 8 hours of recertification.

Dave reported on August 9th an inspection was conducted with the Soil & Water Conservation Office regarding the storm water requirements. Dave will give a copy to the Trustees and Chief Palmer.

ROAD SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT

Darrell will be meeting with Barbicas Construction Company tomorrow to go over the roads that will be paved.

Darrell has a meeting with the County Engineer on Thursday regarding Issue II for 2008. The proposed roads to be paved are Sabin, Siefer, Moser and Ruth Drives.

Resolution No. 2007-119 – Motion was made by Diane Dillon and seconded Bonnie Howe to hire J.D. Striping and Service Inc. to strip Rootstown, Lynn and Camp roads in an amount not to exceed $7,200.00. Upon roll call the vote as follows: David Armentrout, yea, Diane Dillon, yea, Bonnie Howe, yea.

Darrell reported Rootstown Road was closed a few hours today to take down a tree. A tree on Hattrick Road was also taken down.

Darrell is working on the bidding process to purchase a truck.

There were three (3) funerals since the last meeting and one (1) more on Friday.

Darrell met with Rob Such and he is combing the map of the cemetery to include cremations.

Darrell will be on vacation August 29th-31st.

Oscar Whittington of Biltz Road was present and asked why there is a rough spot at Biltz and Tallmadge Roads. There is a big crack. Darrell said there are two (2) different sections in the road and we do not have the machinery to do that big of a width of the road. There would probably always be a crack. The County will be replacing the culvert on Tallmadge Road.

ZONING INSPECTOR’S REPORT

Jim said a resident asked to reserve the pavilion at Gracie Field Park. Jim took a security deposit in case there were damages that occurred. He told the resident once the Road Department inspects the park the deposit will be returned. JoAnn said she would check with the State Auditor’s Office to see if we are permitted to do this.

Jim met with a representative from Al-Tel in regards to placing a cell tower on the Kline residence on State Route 44 (close to Evergreen Nursery). The bond will be $19,000.00.

Jim said there is some progress being made to the Baker residents on Broadway. The Board agreed for Jim to send a letter informing the Bakers that their thirty days is near. Jim had trouble printing the permit log and will put it in the boxes tomorrow. There were nineteen (19) acts of business.

RESIDENT’S COMMENTS

Don Cardinal said he would like the flagpole replaced.

Mr. Cardinal said while he attended the Board meeting several weeks ago he is still unclear of the Trustees exact feelings about the water company fire hydrant issue. Will the Trustees continue to maintain the hydrants? Diane said they are going into arbitration on August 28th and they cannot comment at this time. Mr. Cardinal asked if Township residents could attend the arbitration. Diane said they couldn’t. Mr. Cardinal asks what would happen if a Judge agreed with the water company. Dave said in the past they have worked with Mr. Drago who completed the inspections upon the request of the Trustees.

Russ Riemenschneider said there were records of the hydrants with the fire department.

Gary Michaels said his purpose for attending the meeting is to get some insight into what prompted this legal action? He has no personal interest, but does benefit from the lower insurance rates that the entire community enjoys because we do have the waterways. The water agreement dates back 61 or 62 years. The authority is granted in the Ohio Revised Code 505.37. He doesn’t understand why the Trustees prosecutor did not mention this ORC. Mr. Michaels asks if the fire department approves the location of the hydrants. Mr. Michaels knows they do because the Planning Commission approves the plats. Dave said they do review, but there are some mandatory requirements for water providers based on rural areas. Mr. Michaels said the fire department accepts the responsibility of locating those hydrants. Does the fire company distinguish the fire hydrant as a fire fighting apparatus? Dave spoke to the election board and they explained that in reference to ballot language the term “fire apparatus” is in the code.

Tom Ralston asked if the Board knows who the court arbitrator is. The Board does not know he is court appointed.

NEW BUSINESS

Dave met with Crystal Roberts of the Soil & Water Conservation and a representative from the EPA regarding storm water. Bird Drive and Bradley Avenue was not included in the report. Dave said Bill Hahn would be investigating these roads. There needs to be 100% dry weather screening.

Dave completed the Randolph Fair display Board. Bonnie and Diane thanked him for his nice display.

Resolution No. 2007-120 – Motion was made by Diane Dillon and seconded by Bonnie Howe to accept the following revised job descriptions: Road Superintendent, Assistant Road Superintendent, Road Worker, Board Assistant, Zoning Inspector, Assistant Zoning Inspector and the Zoning Secretary. Upon roll call the vote as follows: David Armentrout, yea, Diane Dillon, yea, Bonnie Howe, yea.

Community Awareness Day is Saturday, November 10th.

Trustees received a letter from Dominion regarding a change in rates.

Vera Hamrick said the grass on Tallmadge Road next to the Methodist Church needs mowed. Vera asks who owns the lot. The Board said the church now owns it and agreed to have the Zoning Inspector send a letter to the church.

FISCAL OFFICER

JoAnn reported Burnham & Flowers renewal total is $8,215.87. JoAnn will check with Darrell to see if he wants to continue his health coverage.

Resolution No. 2007-121 – Motion was made by Diane Dillon and seconded by Bonnie Howe to continue health benefits contract with Medical Mutual in an amount of $8,215.87. Upon roll call the vote as follows: David Armentrout, yea, Diane Dillon, yea, Bonnie Howe, yea.

The Ravenna Army Ammunition Plant will be giving tours on September 11th and 12th. The Townships slot is on September 11th from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM. The Board needs to RSVP by August 24th.

The Portage County Randolph Fair will be celebrating their 150th anniversary in 2008. They will be displaying a quilt and are asking the Township to design a block. The Board agreed to participate.

Resolution No. 2007-122 - Motion was made by Bonnie Howe and seconded by Diane Dillon to pay bills on file with the Fiscal Officer. Upon roll call all yeas and no nays.

Dave asked if the Trustees would be interested in hiring a shredding company to come in and shred documents. He isn’t sure of the costs. Diane is concerned of the liability.

Dave reported Bob Baumgardner agreed to serve as chairman and Paul Galido agreed to serve as temporary vice chairman on the Zoning Commission Board. After the Randolph Fair Dave will post on the sign at the Town Hall, we are seeking volunteers. Dave said some members have not been attending the meetings regularly.

Dave said Regional Planning yearly fees in 2005 were over $704.00 and $680.00 over in 2006.

Resolution No. 2007-123 - Motion was made by Diane Dillon to adjourn at 7:30 PM.

Respectfully Submitted:

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David Armentrout
Chairman

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JoAnn Townend
Fiscal Officer