Walnut Township Trustees Meeting
May 6, 2014
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM. Trustees William Yates, Doug Leith and Terry Horn were present.
Sergeant Hendershot, Community Services for the Fairfield County Sheriff’s department, was present to discuss Noise Issues in Walnut Township. He made suggestions to the trustees regarding the wording of the existing noise ordinance.
A noise violation is a minor misdemeanor; every occurrence will be logged when the sheriff is called. At the third occurrence, at which point a ticket will be issued.
Amy Anderson, Old Millersport Road, discussed the noise situation at her neighbor’s property with ATV and motorcycles.
There was a discussion regarding the barking dogs at Feeder Creek Veterinary Hospital.
Trustee Horn made a motion to make the suggested changes to the Noise Ordinance in Section B. Trustee Yates seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.
Jon Patrick Kochis, Director Fairfield County Emergency Management Association, presented an update on the installation of the Dam and Tornado siren. The Dam breach siren is fully operational as of May 9, 2014. In the case of a dam breach, an audible sound will be presented followed by a voice announcement.
Their future plan is to have evacuation route signs posted around Buckeye Lake, which would be a first in Ohio. They will have a website with all the information, a twitter account to notify residents of any problems, a phone callback notification program, and a smart phone app.
Trustee Leith made a motion to approve signing the contract for the siren and accept responsibility for maintenance of the siren. Trustee Horn seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.
The minutes for April 15th were presented for approval. Trustee Horn made a motion to approve the minutes with changes. Trustee Leith seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.
Trustee Leith made a motion to approve checks 24314 through 24332 and EFTS 259-2014 through 323-2014, after being certified that funds are available and appropriations have been made by Fiscal Officer Kraner. Trustee Leith seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.
Fiscal Office Kraner mentioned that the Trustees should be thinking about the budget for 2015. The budget must be prepared; a public hearing must be held and approved by the Trustees by July 15, 2014.
Comments from the Floor
Kelly Roberts asked what can be done about the junk cars and the cars parked in the roadway at 13520 Juniper.This not a zoning issue, however, if the cars are parked in the right-of-way, the sheriff should be called.
Department Reports
Chief Hite – Thurston Walnut Township Fire Department – Marshall Berry finished his training and his salary should be increased to $10.50/hour. Bench tests on airpacks have been completed. There was a question regarding the Keller fire hydrant in the Thurston trailer park, who has the responsibility for it.
Trustee Leith made a motion to approve the personnel changes for TWTFD. Trustee Horn seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.
Roads and Parks – Tim Morris – Sergeant Hendershot will check if No Parking signs are needed by Stop signs.
Tim Upp removed the cattails in the ditch on Cattail Road. Tim and Mike cleaned the ditch on the east side of the road so it will drain better; at the last rain, it didn’t overflow.
Truck 6 needs work done on the transmission due to the back transmission lines rusting through. The cost is approximately $1,400. Tim will check to see if stainless steel is available.
The repairs needed on Truck 2 will be partially the responsibility of the township. They determined that lack of lubrication contributed to the stress on the bed. The cost will be approximately $3,072.
Tim will check into a sealant for the bottom side of the trucks to protect against salt damage.
Trustee Leith made a motion to approve all truck repairs. Trustee Horn seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.
Tim and Mike have started digging on Summerland Beach, at the property of Chad Dupler, to find the blockage of the drain tile that is causing the water backup.
The bid opening for the Cedar Road repaving project through the CDBG will be this Thursday.
Tim will be attending the CDBG meeting to present the 4 applications to the Fairfield County Commissioners.
Detria Hiles – Zoning Inspector – There have been 25 permits, 1 appeal and 3 variances this year to date. She has completed the update of the zoning applications.
Detria is working on enforcing the requirement of a fence around a swimming pool. She is checking on the exact wording in Ohio Law. Property owners will be notified that this will be enforced.
Old Business
Trustee Leith stated that the tires at 13050 Shell Beach Road are due to be removed this week. Trustee Yates will check to see if Chet Irwin is still available to assist in the removal of debris from the property. If all else fails, the township can still remove the debris and add the cost as an assessment to the tax record.
None of the properties that are eligible to be demolished by Moving Ohio Forward have been signed off by the owners. The Gearhart property is a non-conforming property so 25% of the structure must preserved.
Trustee Horn sent his proposed letter for AEP to Jeff Porter, Fairfield County Prosecutor’s Office, for any suggestions.Horn sent his letter to Ron Scott at AEP; it requested $156K towards the repair of Blacklick Road and a response by June 1st.
Trustee Leith reviewed docks with Jason, ODNR. The 1st and 2nd docks on Lagoon Lakeside are ready to fall down.It is the responsibility of the leasee to maintain the docks.
There was discussion regarding drainage on Lakeside Road. It is currently not affecting the roadway. The homeowner is stating that the roadway ditch has been changed, which is causing the flooding.
In regards to the Frost, Brown Todd public records request; the Trustees discussed that the records be available for them to look at here.
The Kenny’s Beach Re-plat was signed off by Billy Phillips.
The set-up of the phones and voice-mail has been completed.
There was a discussion of Economic Development; one property is needed to start the process. Trustee Leith will start the process of talking to property owners.
The 208 plan for Baltimore includes rights to both sides of 204, north of 256. Trustee Yates will run by John the information he has for
New Business
Tim obtained a Road Usage Agreement from the county. Trustee Horn made a motion to approve the implementation of the Road Usage Agreement. Trustee Leith seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.
Steve Treinish raised the issues with the drainage at the Fairfield Beach field. Trustee Yates made a motion to have Tim co-ordinate with the soccer association to add drainage to the field; into the open ditch north of the parking lot.Trustee Horn seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.
The Serving Together seminar has been moved to June 26th.
Linda LaTorre has offered her resignation to the Zoning Commission due to relocating outside Walnut Township.
9:25 PM, Trustee Leith made a motion to adjourn. Trustee Horn seconded the motion. The motion passed with 3 yes votes.
Lynn Kraner, Fiscal Officer
William Yates, Chairman Terry Horn Doug Leith