Catawba Island Township Board of Township Trustees
Meeting Minutes
March 26, 2024
The regular business meeting of the Catawba Island Board of Township Trustees was called to order by Chairman Diane Belden on Tuesday, March 26, at 9:00 a.m. in the conference room of the administration building.
In attendance were: Diane Belden, William Rofkar, Matt Montowski, Mary Jane Porozynski,
John Gangway, Kevin Johnson, Kevin Gibbons, Marty Auxter, Brad Schwan, Jack Madison,
Shelly Garcia, Lisa Murphy, Dorothy Baker and William Baker
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
William Rofkar made a motion to approve the March 12, 2024, Board of Trustees regular meeting minutes and the March 19, 2024, special 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 payroll, in the amount of $109,887.93. The total includes a payment of $28,094.03 to Barnes Nursery for mulch grinding and a damage clause repair and a payment of $7,500 to Bill’s Implement for the annual mower trade-in program. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Correspondence
A note and donation from Evelyn Albrecht thanking township police officers for all they do.
A letter from Fire Chief Kevin Gibbons regarding firefighting foam known to contain high concentrations of PFAS, and a take back program being offered by Governor DeWine.
A letter from Shelly Garcia regarding her term as Fiscal Officer beginning April 1, and requesting to retain Karen Shaw on an as needed basis, for not less than $40 per hour, to ensure the best possible transition.
Matt Montowski and William Rofkar said they feel Karen Shaw should have trained Shelly Garcia on everything she needed to know for the transition. Matt Montowski said Shelly Garcia takes office April 1, so he would like to revisit the request at the next meeting on April 9.
Diane Belden said she would like Shelly Garcia to feel more comfortable and is in favor of the request.
Shelly Garcia said if a decision is not made until the next meeting, she will be without assistance for the first two weeks in office.
William Rofkar said the State Auditor’s office has the UAN system and is available if she has any questions.
Shelly Garcia said they do not use the same cemetery program that the township uses.
William Rofkar said that is not critical as long as you can do payroll then we are good on everything else and we can get through it slowly.
Fire
Matt Montowski made a motion to participate in Governor DeWine’s take back program and donate (35) five-gallon pails of toxic firefighting foam to the program for disposal. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye motion carried.
William Rofkar made a motion to purchase (12) five-gallon pails of National Foam Universal F3 Green from Atlantic Emergency Solutions at a cost of $240 each, not to exceed a total cost of $3,500 including shipping.
Fire Chief Kevin Gibbons presented a quote from Sensible Products Inc. for $1,975 for items related to the fire department retrofit project.
Diane Belden made a motion to purchase miscellaneous items from Sensible Products Inc. at a cost of $1,975 for continued work on the retrofit project. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Kevin Gibbons said the Easter Bunny will be at the fire station Saturday, March 30, at 10:00 a.m.
Maintenance
Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Johnson said the restroom door repair at the Marina is complete and maintenance personnel will now paint the door.
Kevin Johnson said Barnes Nursery completed the mulch grinding at the compost facility. He said they did a nice job although one machine was damaged due to contamination so there is an additional charge of $594 for that repair. Kevin Johnson said they are hauling extra stone to the compost site now in preparation for cleanup week.
Parks
Brad Schwan said he rewrote the termination contract for the pickleball courts project with Gerold Construction according to the suggestions of the prosecutor.
William Rofkar said the Trustees reviewed the termination contract and agreed it looked good and asked Brad Schwan to get a signature.
Brad Schwan said they made new color brochures for the Cedar Meadows Preserve and will put containers with brochures at the trailhead.
Brad Schwan said he received an email from the Catawba Island Garden Club regarding the Community Garden project and they have decided not to move forward with the project at this time due to location concerns.
New Business
Matt Montowski said a message was received from John Davenport confirming the Rotary fundraiser and pickleball tournament to be held Saturday, June 22, at Heigel Park.
Matt Montowski made a motion to contract with Levi Kill of View Eight for a total not to exceed $2,380 to upgrade the township website. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
Trustees reviewed the proposed new credit card policy.
Matt Montowski made a motion to adopt the new credit card policy as presented for 2024, including the authorization of Shelly Garcia, new Fiscal Officer effective April 1. William Rofkar seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
William Rofkar made a motion to renew a contract with Sedgwick for $1,880 for the Ohio Workers’ Compensation Group Rating Program. Services for the annual contract period begin July 1, 2024. The policy year group rating enrollment is January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025. Matt Montowski seconded the motion. All voted aye. Motion carried.
William Rofkar said a message was received from the Emergency Management Agency that the tornado siren on Muggy Road needs serviced and Cleveland Communications has been contacted.
William Rofkar said he and Kevin Johnson met with Tony Corona at the entrance to the Fairway Communities of Catawba Island Club to discuss some minor drainage issues.
William Rofkar said we have exhausted everything we need to legally for the home on Konker that was looked at last fall. He said on Thursday, March 28, we will secure the home and get the utilities shut off.
Diane Belden said she attended the annual Ottawa County Health Department meeting and shared the 2023 Annual Report.
Matt Montowski made a motion to adjourn the meeting. William Rofkar seconded the motion.
All voted aye. Motion carried. The meeting adjourned at 10:10 a.m.
___________________________ _____________________________
Diane Belden, Chairman Karen Shaw, Fiscal Officer