Meeks called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. at Jackson Safety Center Training Room with all Trustees, Clerk, Lyon and Fitzgerald present.
Meeks moved and Pizzino seconded a motion to go into Executive Session for Management Personnel (Appointment/Employment/Compensation)
Upon return from Executive Session, the Work Session was called to order.
ATTACHMENT 08/23/04A
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion
to approve option A for the Strausser Park Design as recommended by the
Park Advisory Committee.
Phillippi discussed drainage issues.
At 6:00 p.m., Meeks called the General Session to order and was joined by all department heads. He requested that all cell phones and pagers be turned off at this time.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Public Speaks
Shawn O’Brien, 1460 Hillbrook, spoke about
the Zagan property.
Brian Specht, 9087 Gladys Street NW, spoke about rezoning of B-3 district on Revere NW.
Mark McMerch, 9045 Gladys Street NW, spoke about rezoning of B-3 district on Revere NW.
Fred Tobin, 7694 Strausser, spoke about rezoning of B-3 district on Revere NW.
Administration Department
ATTACHMENT 08/23/04B
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion
to re-enroll in the Frank Gates Group Rating Program for workers compensation.
ATTACHMENT 08/23/04C
Pizzino moved and Burger seconded a motion
to adopt and authorize the placement of the Board President’s signature
upon the attached agreement with the Exelon Energy Company.
Central Maintenance Department
ATTACHMENT 08/23/04D
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion
to approve the proposal from Kenneth R. Kuentz & Associates for review
of the safety center mechanical systems.
Fire Department
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion
to accept the resignation of part-time firefighters, Jason Marshall and
Brian Klotz.
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion to approve a leave of absence from Kevin Roarty.
Highway Department
RESOLUTION 04-092, ATTACHED
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion
to adopt and authorize the placement of a stop sign at Stanbury Circle
NW to stop southbound at Scotsbury Street NW.
Meeks moved and Pizzino seconded a motion to approve an Appropriation Transfer Request for the Highway Department from code 204.310.5387 to code 204.310.5462 in the amount of $1,350.
Meeks moved and Pizzino seconded a motion to approve an Appropriation Transfer Request for the Highway Department from code 204.310.5387 to code 204.310.5522 in the amount of $2,600.
ATTACHMENT 08/23/04E
Pizzino moved and Meeks seconded a motion
to approve the Blackthorne roadway vacation request and to object to the
Bramshaw vacation request.
Legal Department
RESOLUTION 04-093, ATTACHED
Meeks moved and Pizzino seconded the following
motion:
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the real estate described in the attached Deed from the Lake Cable Association is and will no longer be used as a fire department site and to accomplish the above described revision clause contained in the attached Deed, we hereby adopt and authorize the placement of the Board’s signatures on the attached Limited Warranty Deed to the Lake Cable Recreation Association, Inc. or our or the Law Director’s signature on any other document necessary to accomplish the transfer.
RESOLUTION 04-094, ATTACHED
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion
to adopt the attached yard waste drop off area use legislation and fines
for violations thereof, effective September 23, 2004, and further adopt
the attached citation form and request the Township Clerk to publish the
attached notice.
Fitzgerald discussed proposed policy for purchase of goods and services.
Police Department
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion
to approve an Appropriation Transfer Request for the Police Department
from code 209.250.5387 to code 209.270.5120 in the amount of $3,000.
Neftzer gave an update on the Police Levy Plan. He said, “A question has come up about ten or twelve people sound like an excessive number of officers. I just want to reiterate that it takes five people to staff one position around the clock. So if we had ten officers, realistically we’re only adding two cars per shift. When you consider vacation time, time off, sick leave and things of that nature, we’re not asking for the farm here. We’re doing what we need to do to get by for the next five years. When you play the numbers out, it’s still going to take us about 20 years if we’re successful every five years in adding twelve bodies to get staffed appropriately. I do not think it is prudent of us to ask our residents for that all at once. But we have to start moving in a manner so that 20 years from now, we’re able to keep up with the growth we’re experiencing.”
Meeks said, “I think that’s a very important part to bring out. And to put it in layman’s terms even if you’re putting 10 people on you’re only talking two additional per shift. That is key.”
Neftzer said, “We’re going to try to use them a little more strategically than that to try to realize a little bit more than two per shift but realistically, we’re not asking for the farm here.”
Gonzalez said, “Chief, also the ten or twelve isn’t something that is going to happen the first year either. That is over a series of years.”
Neftzer said, “Right. It’s going to take us about two years to get people trained and actually get them put out on the road. We do have some part-timers that we could put in right away. It’s going to take us a good twelve to eighteen months to get these people trained and out there.”
Gonzalez said, “We’re cutting this so close to this levy that if he hired twelve people the first year, he’d be out of money by the fifth year. It just wouldn’t work. So it’s important to note that this would be over a couple of year period. We will not be advertising for twelve officers the day the levy passes.”
Gonzalez asked, “Do you feel confident with your men as far as educational process as representatives out in the public all the time and around the voters that they can answer the questions and that they’re well versed in what is taking place in this levy attempt?”
Neftzer said, “I think they’re becoming better. They have been given some fact sheets so that they can speak intelligently about it. If you don’t deal with these issues everyday, it’s kind of difficult to talk in terms that break it down. When you start talking about mills and effective mills and evaluation of property, you have got to really break that down. That’s why I think it’s so important to combine these four levies into one. When you start looking at the effective millages of those different levies, it just doesn’t make sense not to do this. It made a whole lot of sense eighteen years ago, I think, when the Fire Department combined these things.”
Neftzer continued, “The other thing that has really come out here in the last couple of weeks is you will never pay more that you do that first year. So, as we continue to add these 220 homes or so a year or more, every year the individual portion should go down.”
Gonzalez said, “The levy, itself, which is a good thing for them to understand, is there are currently 5.15 mills out there. You’re asking for a 5 mill levy. So your millage is actually lower than what was originally voted for by this Township. That shows you how those levies decrease.”
Neftzer said, “At some point in time, in those days’ dollars, it was necessary to have 5.15 mills. At least that was what the Board and the Chief thought at that time. Yes, we have been able to reduce that finally. Although, Chief Heck said I probably have asked to keep that amount the same because I may regret that at some point in the future. We’re not being overly aggressive here at all. We are asking for an increase but it is very necessary given the growth that the Township has realized.”
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion to approve an unpaid leave of absence for Shelley Bender for the purpose of Family & Medical Leave, not to exceed 12 weeks.
Zoning & Planning Department
ATTACHMENT 08/23/04F
Phillippi gave an update on compliance
with Engineer’s Report for property located at 4056 Erie Street NW.
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion to extend the compliance date of the Zagan property until 10/27/04.
ATTACHMENT 08/23/04G
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion
to approve a proposal for development of Zoning Layer for Township GIS.
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion to approve an Appropriation Transfer Request for the Zoning & Planning Department from code 213.160.5116 to code 213.160.5458 in the amount of $2,400.
RESOLUTION 04-095, ATTACHED
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion
to approve a noxious weed resolution for property located at lot #17 Cheryl
Lane NW-Gowins Meadows 1, Parcel No. 1603695, Jackson Township.
RESOLUTION 04-096, ATTACHED
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion
to approve a noxious weed resolution for property located at 5940 Portage
St. NW-.24 acres, Parcel No. 1601515, Jackson Township.
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion to set a public hearing for zoning amendment #542-04 on September 13, 2004 at 7:15 p.m.
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion to set a public hearing for nuisance at 6963 Harvey NW on September 27, 2004 at 7:00 p.m.
Clerk
ATTACHMENT 08/23/04H
Meeks moved and Pizzino seconded a motion
to approve payment of the bills of Jackson Township in the amount of $569,093.60.
ATTACHMENT 08/23/04I
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion
to approve minutes of August 9 and August 16, 2004 Board of Trustees meetings.
ATTACHMENT 08/23/04J
Gonzalez discussed Massillon Municipal
Court costs.
Routine Business
Announcements:
Pizzino said, “A number of issues came up and we were talking about, at that time, Massillon considering moving out of L.O.G.I.C. because of their financial position. What came up was, and Chief Heck can tell you more, was possibly getting together and just sitting down and talking to Massillon, Perry, Lawrence and maybe Canal Fulton and us to discuss the number of people we could touch if we shared safety services like L.O.G.I.C. is doing. Where there would be a group of them and they are saving money. At one time, I guess, Jackson talked to the City of Massillon before they added on to Fire Station 2. They basically built one station right on the boundary line. They have Massillon firemen and Jackson firemen. This is just to get the lines together to start talking and open the lines of communication. We’ve just been brainstorming. Chief, do you want touch base on that? I don’t know how far you and the old Chief got from Massillon when that came up.”
Heck said, “We continued that over a number of years. I feel very strongly that this county would be far better off with a county fire department. With that said, I don’t see that happening. I think there are positive things that can be gained by doing functions together. One of the things we had done before we did our addition to Station 2 knowing Massillon wanted to add to their No. 3 station. I had talked with former Chief Matthews about the possibility of doing something combined. Obviously, that didn’t come to fruition. We are looking at moving ahead and trying to get some automatics similar to what we do with Plain Township. We can do that with some of the needs that both communities have. Obviously, it would make it more efficient for our operations and also for theirs. They’re willing to look into that. I think we will find that we may see some departments sitting in our community that we routinely don’t see. A.RIT Team is a prime example. If we look at the Industrial Commissions standards that went into effect 2004, you’re in a two in/two out requirement. You must have at least two people available for backup. In any structure fire prior to putting anyone inside the building you must have two back-up firefighters for life rescue. Communication still is an issue in this county. We’re still plodding along with 1940’s communications. It’s time we cross some of these boundary lines when it comes to safety.”
Pizzino said, “So what we’re asking this Board is to give me this opportunity to maybe sit down with the other jurisdictions close to us and just start talking about this. Again, it’s not going to happen overnight; it might never happen. But we’d like to pursue it. I think the Mayor of Massillon is excited about it also. He even said that the first meeting should be with Perry Township and us. If you are interested in something like that, I’d like to set that up.”
Meeks said, “We’ve been talking about that, at leave five years ago, partnering with the City of Canton at 18th Street and Whipple and Plain Township. Absolutely, if there’s a way that we can help our neighboring communities and help them to be more efficient and the end result is better service to their residents.”
Pizzino said, “It would be a cost savings to the Township and better service to both communities. Even thinking about the Police Departments – maybe a joint Detective Bureau maybe with the Sheriff and Massillon or whatever. I’m just throwing ideas out. Let’s just open the lines of communication and see what happens.”
Meeks said, “No problem with me.”
New Business
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion
not to object to an Ohio Division of Liquor Control Notice for Brinker
Ohio Inc., dba Romano’s Macaroni Grill, 4721 Dressler Road NW.
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion to accept a $707.25 donation to the Skate Park Fund from the Skate-A-Thon held August 14, 2004.
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion to accept a $500.00 donation to the Park Department from Jackson Fast Pitch Association.
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion to accept a $1,000 to the Fire Department from Wal-Mart.
Public Speaks
Tom Turner, 3902 Bramshaw Road, addressed
the Board concerning the vacation of the cul-de-sac on which he lives.
Meeks moved and Burger seconded a motion to adjourn.
| _____________________________ | _____________________________ |
| Steven M. Meeks, President | Randy Gonzalez, Clerk |