Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees
Meeting Minutes
April 12, 2022
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman William Rofkar on Tuesday, April 12, at 6:00 p.m. in the conference room of the administration building.
In attendance were: Diane Belden, William Rofkar, Matt Montowski, Karen Shaw, John Gangway, Kevin Johnson, Kevin Gibbons, Dan Barlow, Brad Schwan, Vicki Wheatley, Jack Madison,
Skip Sorgen, William Baker, Toni DeLuca, Bob Feyes, John Karl, David Howell, David Belden,
Ann Rumpf, Mark Worley, Jim Stouffer, Quintin Smith, and Randy Riedmaier.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
Diane Belden made a motion to approve the March 22, 2022, Board of Trustees regular meeting minutes as presented. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Matt Montowski made a motion to approve and pay the bills, including the last two payrolls, in the amount of $108,034.21. Included in the total is a payment of $4,995 to WatchGuard Video for a new in car police camera system and a payment of $7,883 to Bill’s Implement Sales Inc. for two mowers through the trade in program, and a payment of $32,250 to the City of Port Clinton for emergency medical services. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Correspondence
A letter from Laura White, Ottawa County Project Noelle, requesting use of the Community Hall for a charity rummage sale the weekend of July 15, 16, and 17 to benefit children affected by the opioid epidemic. All proceeds will stay in Ottawa County.
Trustees agreed Ottawa County Project Noelle can use the Community Hall for the charity rummage sale as requested and waived the rental fee.
A letter from David Wonnell of the Catawba Island Historical Society requesting use of the Community Hall on Wednesday, October 19, for the annual membership business meeting followed by the Cultural Lecture Series fall speaker event. The speaker event will be open to the community at no charge.
Trustees agreed the Catawba Island Historical Society could use the Community Hall as requested and waived the rental fee.
A letter from the Ottawa County Board of Elections regarding the Community Hall set up for the Primary Election to be held Tuesday, May 3.
An invitation from the Port Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Port Clinton to the Annual Dinner and Awards Program on Thursday, April 21.
A note of appreciation from Frank Harmon of Ohio Insurance Services for continued support.
Fairway Villas Times spring 2022 newsletter.
Fiscal
Fiscal Officer Karen Shaw presented the March 2022 financial reports and bank reconciliation. There were no questions or concerns.
Karen Shaw presented the annual renewal from Sedgwick, third party administrator for the Workers’ Compensation Program.
Diane Belden made a motion to renew with the Ohio Township Association 2022 Workers’ Compensation Group Rating Program contract through Sedgwick, for $1,705. Services for the annual contract period begin July 1, 2022. The policy year group rating enrollment is for January 1, to December 31, 2023. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Diane Belden made a motion to approve a Then and Now Purchase Order to the City of Port Clinton for Emergency Medical Services provided to the township the first quarter of 2022 in the amount of $32,250 from contracted services 2192-220-360. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Zoning
Matt Montowski said there were 15 zoning permits issued in March and two variances with a total of $1,511.38 collected in fees. He said zoning training was held on March 23 for all board members.
Trustees agreed to advertise for zoning alternate positions available, one on each zoning board.
Maintenance
Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Johnson said the lights have been repaired on the fire department helipad and cleanup days are scheduled for April 29 and 30 and posted on the compost facility sign.
William Rofkar said the West Catawba Road resurfacing and widen project is underway and expected to be completed by the end of April.
Police
Police Chief John Gangway discussed the Affidavit Maker software program for the police department. He said in the past local agencies expenses were shared with Port Clinton Police and the Sheriff’s Department but they now use a different program. He said to obtain our own license and maintenance agreement with Affidavit Maker would cost $866.25 annually.
Matt Montowski made a motion to contract with Affidavit Maker for $866.25 annually for police software. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
John Gangway asked for approval of expenses to fund the Annual Police Memorial luncheon being hosted by Catawba Island Police on May 12, at Catawba Island Club. He said the annual memorial is hosted by a different agency each year with Catawba Island Police hosting once every ten years.
Diane Belden made a motion to approve $3,000 for expenses to host the Annual Police Memorial luncheon. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
John Gangway said there will be police presence at the compost facility gate for the spring cleanup.
Fire
Fire Chief Kevin Gibbons reported there were six fire runs including one car accident during the month of March and 29 EMS calls responded to during the month for a total of 35 calls.
Kevin Gibbons reported EMT’s and First Responders are finishing up classes and are awaiting their final testing. He said JVS Garage Door completed needed repairs and maintenance on the fire station garage doors recently. Kevin Gibbons said they are conducting hose testing in April and will be present for the fireworks at Catawba Island Club on May 29 as part of the Memorial Day celebration.
Kevin Gibbons said the department held an Easter Egg hunt on Sunday, April 10, with over 100 kids attending.
Diane Belden reported that Port Clinton EMS responded to 37 calls in January, 42 in February, and 52 in March for a total of 131 EMS runs to Catawba Island during the first quarter of 2022. She said in comparison there were 92 runs made the first quarter of 2021. Diane Belden said response time is averaging just under nine minutes. She said Kent Johnson is working on a new contract to present in the near future.
Parks Board
Vickie Wheatley said following the success of the speaker event on Bird Migration held April 11, the Parks Board would like to hold another speaker event on May 18 at the Community Hall at 7 p.m. immediately following their regular meeting at 6:00 p.m. also at the Community Hall.
Trustees agreed the Community Hall can be used by the Parks Board as requested and waived the fee.
Jack Madison discussed the 2022 Park District of Ottawa County Parks and Trails Improvement Grant opportunity for installation of a permeable path in the Cedar Meadow Preserve. He said they received an estimate of $34,450 from Ken Gill Construction for a walking path renovation 1300’ long by 10’ wide. Jack Madison said the Catawba Island Parks Board would like to submit the grant application requesting $30,000 with an additional $5,000 match from the township as previously agreed by Trustees.
Matt Montowski made a motion to approve a Resolution Agreeing to Cooperate for the Purpose of Providing Outdoor Recreation Improvements Whereas, Catawba Island Township Trustees desire to utilize funding available through and administered by the 2022 Park District of Ottawa County Parks and Trails Improvement Grant Program and to apply to the Park District of Ottawa County Board of Park Commissioners for funding assistance through the grant program. Diane Belden seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Brad Schwan discussed location and costs associated with the installation of pickelball courts. He presented a drawing of four courts at Heigel Park beside the current tennis courts with a buffer between to allow for drainage. Brad Schwan presented multiple cost estimates for nearby courts installed at Osborn Park in Huron and proposed courts in Port Clinton to give Trustees an idea of the project cost and relevant contractors. He said pickelball is the fastest growing sport in America.
Old Business
Diane Belden said she looked into the donation request from the Ottawa County Family Advocacy Center for the summer lunch program. She said they are a 501c3 organization, students from Catawba Island participate and benefit from the program, and legal counsel advised such a donation is allowable. Diane Belden asked Trustees to consider a donation to the OCFAC using General Fund or American Rescue Plan Funds for the summer lunch program as requested at the previous meeting.
William Rofkar said he does not feel a lot of kids from Catawba Island would actually benefit from the program and also in Daivia Kasper’s legal response she said the OCFAC should reach out to the Ottawa County Commissioners as she believes they have more authority to donate. He said the Commissioners received more ARP funds than the township and there is no question all the kids being served are within the county and under their umbrella.
Matt Montowski agreed he thinks the Ottawa County Commissioners should be approached regarding the lunch program donation as they received more ARP Funds than the township.
Skip Sorgen discussed the cemetery location for the proposed Memorial Wall. He said a representative from Balconi will be out to look at the area and provide a sketch for review. Skip Sorgen said the idea is to construct a black granite wall which can then be engraved in one foot by two foot sections and another area that would be for veterans only. He said individuals or family members would purchase a section of the wall from the township to be engraved and then three times per year Balconi would come out and etch the sections as desired and approved by the township.
David Howell said he spoke with the ODOT Engineer from District 2 and learned that they will be resurfacing Route 53 and the bike path in the fall. He said he asked about the bike path safety and found out that there have been two bicycle crashes in the last ten years. David Howell said ODOT considers the Route 53 bike path in Catawba Island Township to be safe for bikers. He said he asked the Catawba Island Police Department for Route 53 bike path data and their data matched.
David Howell said he has been attending the Ottawa County Parks District meetings and found they also established a Catawba Advisory Council. He said the Catawba Advisory Council meetings are also open to the public with dates and times posted on the Ottawa County Parks District website. David Howell said he appreciates having access to information regarding the proposed trail through the center of the island.
New Business
Karen Shaw said she received a phone call from James Phillips requesting to donate six cemetery spaces back to the township to be given to individuals or a family in need. She said the request is unusual because spaces donated back to the township are made available for the township to resell.
William Rofkar said he would like to review the request with the County Prosecutor and respond at a future meeting.
John Karl addressed the new state law regarding fireworks which will go into effect July 1, 2022, allowing people to discharge consumer grade fireworks on certain days and asked Trustees to consider opting out. He said many other Ohio communities are also opting out. John Karl said fireworks are a huge issue with most animals, especially dogs. He said fireworks are a concern for
Veterans with PTSD as well as older individuals and sleeping children. John Karl said he has also had issues with neighbors in the past setting off fireworks. He presented Trustees with a letter from the Humane Society of Ottawa County and a flyer from TEAM VIAC, an organization that works with Veterans living with PTSD. He said both organizations are against the legalization of fireworks. John Karl said he served 33 years on the Lakewood Fire Department and he believes anyone in safety services would want to keep fireworks from being legalized.
Diane Belden said at a meeting in February she expressed concern about HB 172 and asked the board to consider voting to opt out after members of the Catawba Island Volunteer Fire Department had expressed concern at their department business meeting. Diane Belden said she believes both the fire department and the police department are in favor of opting out.
William Rofkar said he agrees personally but would like to look into the matter further with legal counsel.
Mark Worley discussed his concerns with numerous cats going in and out of the crawl space of a home located at 5525 Porter Road. He said no one has lived at the home in several years and it has fallen in disrepair. He asked Trustees to look into a possible solution to rid the neighborhood of the numerous roaming cats.
William Baker said he would appreciate any help because he also lives in the neighborhood and has to deal with many roaming cats.
Matt Montowski said he would follow up and get back to the individuals regarding the cat situation.
Diane Belden made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Matt Montowski seconded the motion.
All voted aye. The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m.
___________________________ _____________________________
William Rofkar, Chairman Karen Shaw, Fiscal Officer