MADISON TOWNSHIP BOARD OF TRUSTEES
REGULAR MEETING
OCTOBER 11th, 2011

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Bill Brotzman with the following people present: Mr. Anderson, Mr. Wayman, Mr. Advey, Chief Del Calzo, and Township Solicitor, Ron Graham.  Mrs. Gerred-Ditchcreek was not in attendance.

Mr. Brotzman led the audience in reciting the “Pledge of Allegiance.”

The Board and audience observed a “Moment of Silence.”  Mr. Brotzman wished to remember Reverend Bernie Smith, his son Ron Smith served on the Fire Board and he worked in many of the area churches. Mrs. Whipple, 84; and Joe Patterson a former Township Administrator.

Mr. Anderson presented a motion to approve the minutes of the September 27th, 2011 Regular Meeting. Mr. Brotzman stated that Evelyn Biehl’s name was misspelled, other than that it was okay. Mr. Wayman seconded. Roll Call: All Ayes

Mr. Wayman presented a motion to approve:
Bill Lists in the amounts of:    $42,588.04 DATE: October 11, 2011
                                                      
(attached and made part of the minutes);

Mr. Anderson seconded. Roll Call: All Ayes

Mr. Anderson presented a motion to approve:
Payroll in the amounts of:       $82,453.83 Actual amount from October 7th, 2011;

                                            
$79,920.00 Estimated amount for October 21st, 2011;

Mr. Wayman seconded. Roll Call: All Ayes

Mr. Brotzman wished to welcome the audience as well as Ken Takacs from Madison Village Council and Vice Chairman of the Fire Board.

CITIZENS COMMENTS:
Max Sorensen, stated that he is in attendance with a few of the other business owners from the area around Township Park. He stated that he is asking the Board to do something about condition of Township Park. He stated that he understands that the rain has been horrible this year and that the grass had grown to the bottom rail of the split rail fence. He commented on issues of the amount of beach debris; the lighting issues; the boat ramp needing repairs; and a large pothole in the driveway; as well as the amount of drug dealing and drug use by young people. He stated that the businesses thrive on the people that come to that park and asked the Board to provide strict enforcement from the police. He added that the businesses are planning some events to get people back down in the area when the road is completed. Mr. Advey stated that he will be addressing these issues with Paul and he stated that we are in a record rainfall this year so far and noted that Madison Township Park isn’t the only park we have to take care of. He stated that the rain has really made it difficult to maintain the parks, cemeteries, and the administration grounds. He stated that the lights that are out can be reported again, noting that they are reported online and CEI is usually very good at getting them repaired. Mr. Sorensen stated he spoke to the Chief about putting someone on foot down there. Chief Del Calzo stated that he understands that there is a problem down there. He stated that he did assign an officer during the peak hours to work down there but noted that the problem is that there are only so many police officers. He then gave an example to show how difficult it is to put an officer on one specific issue such as this or speeders. He explained that we have the same number of police officers now that we did before Walmart was built. He stated that there were over eight hundred incidents that they responded to at Walmart in 2010. If you take the average number of total complaints per year handled by the police and divide it by the number of full time officers it comes out to eight hundred complaints per officer. He stated that basically, we’ve lost an officer to Walmart. He stated that if he is being asked to put an officer at Township Park specifically, it’s just not going to happen. He stated that next year he will be losing tangible personal property tax out of his budget. He stated that every empty home is a tax delinquency. Mr. Sorensen stated that since school started and since the big drug bust, he has noticed a decrease. Mr. Sorensen feels that the lighting issue will help alleviate the problem as well. Mr. Advey stated that there will be two major improvements down there, one being the pavilion renovations and the other the beach enhancement. Mr. Sorensen asked if there will be lights put in on the pavilion and Mr. Advey stated there will not be.

Greg Anderson, 1697 Bathgate, wished to thank the Trustees for approving the stormwater project and asked if there was a tentative date on when it will begin. Mr. Advey stated that there is a pre-construction meeting on Friday and some dates will be set up then.

Roy Blalock stated that he has a question and noted that he has asked many politicians but no one has been able to answer for him. He asked if the municipalities and school boards that are facing the cuts from governor, approaching the governor and demanding to get the money back. He stated that if he can give out $240 million to special interest, then he, as a taxpayer, wants the money to come back to the communities. He asked if there is anything the Board or any municipality group can do to approach the governor and make some changes. He stated that he doesn’t see anyone standing up for their communities and he noted that he has contacted Congressman Latourette’s office and Senator Brown’s office but their answer is to go to his local government. Mr. Brotzman stated that as an individual he will put a sign in his yard to vote no on Issue 2 and noted that “you get what you vote for”. Mr. Blalock asked Mr. Advey if there is any pressure that can be put on with the meetings that he attends. Mr. Advey stated that the Ohio Township Association has lobbyists that work on our behalf and that we receive correspondence that the Board replies to in support of or against certain issues that come up in the State house. Mr. Blalock asked if cameras could be put up in the Township Park, working or not, as the youth won’t know if they are working or not. Mr. Advey stated that they would be able to tell if it was real or not. Mr. Blalock then asked why Walmart doesn’t have security. Chief Del Calzo stated that they do have their own security but there are calls generated by Walmart that are not necessarily directly related to Walmart. Mr. Blalock stated that they do hire off-duty officers at other locations, such as Cleveland. Chief Del Calzo stated that they do contract with the police department on special shopping days but they can’t be forced to contract with their local police.

RESOLUTIONS:
Mr. Wayman presented a motion to approve Resolution #11-081 a Resolution authorizing Larry Advey, Township Administrator, to prepare and submit an application to participate in the OPWC State Capital Improvements and/or Local Transportation Improvement Programs and to execute contracts as required. Mr. Anderson seconded. Roll Call:
All Ayes

ADMINISTRATION

POLICE DEPARTMENT:
Chief Del Calzo requested a motion to approve the purchase of radios for the police department. He stated that these are the radios that are needed to be used on the new County-wide system in January at an amount not to exceed $71,000.00. Mr. Anderson presented a motion to approve the purchase of new radios for the police department not to exceed $71,000.00. Mr. Wayman seconded. Roll Call: All Ayes

Chief Del Calzo requested a motion to approve the resignation of Jeannie McPeek, a part time dispatcher. Mr. Wayman presented a motion to accept the resignation of Jeannie McPeek. Mr. Anderson seconded. Roll Call: All Ayes

Chief Del Calzo stated that on Thursday September 29th, had the preliminary hearings for the fifty-eight people they arrested on the meth round up. He stated that having that many hearings in one day is a pretty monumental task. He stated that our prosecutor, Ed Powers would have been completely overwhelmed without the assistance of Ron Graham and he wanted to commend him for that. Chief Del Calzo also wished to thank him for donating his time to that project as well. Mr. Brotzman thanked Mr. Graham.

LEGAL:
None

FISCAL OFFICER:
None

ADMINISTRATOR:

ZONING:
None

SERVICE/PUBLIC WORKS:
None

BUILDINGS/GROUNDS:
Mr. Anderson presented a motion to approve Larry Advey, Township Administrator to sign the Department of the Army Permit number 1986-47735 accepting the terms and conditions for the Madison Township Park Beach Enhancement Project. He stated this is the last key component to get this project moving forward. Mr. Wayman seconded. Roll Call: All Ayes

CEMETERY:
Mr. Advey discussed the September Cemetery report, seven lots sold at Arcola and one in North Madison for a total of $2,600.00; seven footers sold for a total of $625.00; and eleven burials were performed for a total of $2,750.00. The monthly revenue for September is $5,975.00 and the total Year to Date is at $31,273.00.

Mr. Wayman presented a motion to buy back graves (Q29-3&4) at Madison Memorial Cemetery from Willis Messenger at a price of $600.00. Mr. Anderson seconded. Roll Call: All Ayes

Mr. Anderson presented a motion to purchase cemetery software and data conversion from Legacy Mark at a cost of $14,873.27, which will come from cemetery funds. Mr. Wayman seconded. Roll Call: All Ayes

OTHER:
Mr. Wayman presented a motion to schedule Trick-or-Treat night in Madison Township for October 31st, 2011 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Mr. Anderson seconded. Roll Call: All Ayes

Mr. Anderson presented a motion to move the November meeting date to November 15, 2011 at 6:00pm for the workshop and 7:00pm for the regular trustee meeting and canceling the other two originally scheduled meetings. Mr. Wayman seconded. Roll Call: All Ayes

BOARD/STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Madison Fire District:
Mr. Brotzman stated the next meeting is October 19th, at 7:00pm

Health Board:
None

Recreation Board
None

Lake County Township Association:
None

Community Improvement Corporation:
None

Other: 
None

Citizen Comments:
Max Sorensen asked Mr. Advey what will take place after the Governor signs the permit for the Township Park Beach Enhancement project. Mr. Advey stated that if they can, even before the signature, they will start bringing the armor stone in. He spoke with Matrix Engineering who feels very hopeful to get it constructed this year. He stated that if it doesn’t get started, it will be begin on July 1st of next year because of the EPA restrictions on spawning, polliwogs, etc. Mr. Sorensen asked if that is just to get the breakwaters in and Mr. Advey confirmed it is. Mr. Sorensen then asked if the boat ramp portion of the project can be done in the spring. Mr. Advey stated that they will wait to see how much of the funds are there and if they can afford to do it. He stated that he hopes there will be enough funds to complete it. Mr. Sorensen asked if it has to wait until July to begin it if they can do it and Mr. Advey stated that they do not have to wait until July and thinks it could be done with this part of the project.

Mr. Brotzman wished to comment that the occupying of Wall Street movement that has been sweeping the nation may be a good thing. He feels that maybe it could usher in a new concern for the common good and not just the profits of a few.

With no further business to come before the Board, Mr. Wayman presented a motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 7:33 p.m. Mr. Anderson seconded.

William A Brotzman, Chairman                     Terry Gerred-Ditchcreek, Fiscal Officer