Minutes
DEFIANCE
TOWNSHIP TRUSTEES
February
22nd, 2005 MONTHLY MEETING
The
Defiance Township Trustees met in regular session at VFW Post 3360 in Defiance Township,
Defiance, Ohio,
on Tuesday February 22nd, 2005
at 7:30 p.m. Following the Pledge of Allegiance the meeting was called to order by
Chairman Robert H. Layne. Answering to the
Roll were Trustees W. Tom Wiseman and Charles Bakle Jr.
Also present was Tim Houck, Township Clerk. All
three (3) members of the BOARD OF TRUSTEES having answered the roll a quorum was present.
Visitors
present: John Diemer, Joe Kolb, Mr.
James Schlegel, Township Zoning Inspector & Mary &
Richard Ankney, Township employees. Other(s)
present were JoEllen Houck of 8 Deville Drive, Defiance,
Ohio, Zoning
Commission members present were Lynn Keller,
Rodell Behlke, Bruce Hahn & Ruth Ann
Schofield, & Mr.
& Mrs. Roger and Lois Kohout 14898 Power
Dam rd – Def. Twp, Defiance,
Ohio.
ORDER OF
BUSINESS NO. 1
Review and approval of minutes of the previous session.
Chairman
Layne requested a motion for the approval of minutes from the January 25th,
2005, session.
MOTION: Charles
Bakle
SECOND: W. Tom Wiseman
YEA(s)
3
NAY(s) 0
Passed
X
Failed
The MINUTES
of the January 25th 2005, session
were approved.
ORDER OF
BUSUNESS NO. 2
FINANCES –
The
following financial reports provided to Board were reviewed.
a) The January monthly Reconciliation – noted a reconciliation
balance of $175,529.38 as of January 31st, 2005.
i) The balance was $4,791.28 less than the previous
month’s balance. During the past nine month
period there have been six months with a negative cash flow.
b) Receipt & Payment reports
i) Receipts for February were $7,264.24. Bills for February totaled $8,039.42.
c) The Cash fund summary through February 22nd,
2005, showed a “cash balance” of
$179,612.12.
d) The checking balance was $122,178.84 which is the balance after
encumbrances are subtracted from the cash balance.
e) Appropriation
Status showed that through February 22nd,
3.8% of the years’ appropriations had been expended.
All reports will be on file in the Clerks office.
f) The Trustees reviewed and signed the bills for the month.
g) Payroll for February was then reviewed and checks signed by the
Trustees.
Mr. Layne
asked for a motion to accept the financial reports.
MOTION: Charles
Bakle
SECOND: W. Tom Wiseman
YEA(s)
3
NAY(s) 0
Passed
X
Failed
The
financial reports were approved as presented.
h) Training for the Clerk relative to the investment of the
Township’s funds was discussed. The Clerk
informed the Trustees that during the OTA conference (early Feb 05 in Columbus,
Ohio) in session a representative (see clerk’s report on OTA conf 05) stated to
the Defiance Twp clerk that given the Township’s current investment program the Clerk
does not need to attend the Auditor’s training. This
training is required only of Twp/public fund officials that invest in vehicles other than
pass book savings, interest bearing checking accounts or Star Ohio.
i) The clerk suggested that if a training session is
available he may attend to acquire the training as in the near future the Twp accounts
will probably exceed the limit which excuses the Clerk from required training.
ii) This training will also be of value to the Clerk when
funds are available for a more aggressive investment program.
ORDER OF
BUSINESS NO. 3 Township Zoning
1) Jennifer Geiger issue remains an agenda item.
a) Recent history was reviewed: In
the November meeting the clerk reviewed with the Trustees a letter to the Prosecutor’s
Office requesting direction as to what if any fees/taxes can be charged for the zoning
permit allowed for Jennifer Geiger’s “Massage Therapy” business approved by the
Township’s Zoning Commission and the Trustees during October sessions of both
boards.
i) See Township letter (dated 11-23-04). The
prosecutor’s office responded with a letter dated 1-7-05 stating that the Twp can assess
certain fees and noted the amounts under ORC 503.40 to .50.
This letter was presented to the Trustees in the January 05 session.
ii) A copy of the letter provided to the Zoning Inspector at this session (Feb 05) at
his request.
iii) During the Jan 05 regular twp meeting the Trustees requested the Clerk to write a
letter to Ms. Geiger requesting the fees. A draft has been prepared which was presented as Exhibit 3-B
(1) 3-b remains in draft form
iv) during the writing of this letter certain questions arose which caused the Clerk to
determine that a Township policy must be in place. Said
questions were concerned with when the fees are collected, who is responsible to collect
the fees, (fees are to be collected annually
- when does the fee begin).
b) The Clerk presented a draft policy for Trustee review and approval.
See exhibit 3-C
i) Upon review the Trustees edited the policy by defining the Zoning Inspector as the
agent responsible for collecting the fee.
ii) The Clerk was instructed to edit the policy relative to the Trustees direction and
submit it to the Prosecutor’s Office for review and approval.
Once approved the collection letter may be sent out.
c) The Clerk also stated that a certificate or permit will need to be issued to the
citizen paying the fee. The Clerk is
preparing a license/certificate which will be reviewed at the March Township meeting.
Chairman
Layne requests a motion to accept the “Fee collection” policy relative to ORC 503 as
amended & to send the policy to the prosecutor’s office for review and approval.
MOTION: Mr.
Bakle
SECOND: Mr. Wiseman
YEA(s)
3 NAY(s)
0
Passed X
Failed
2) Trustees then discussed the Twp Zoning Commission hearing of
2-22-05 on the Kohout and Gee zoning requests.
a) Exhibit 3-E – legal notice of the hearing was reviewed
b) The Gee property request – split 22 acres (6.8 to include
existing home and 22 to build a new home) was approved by the Twp Zoning Commission
c) The Kohout request - rezone
from r-1 to r-2 to build a duplex was rejected by the Commission.
d) The Kohout’s were present and requested the Trustees to overturn
the Zoning Commission decision.
i) Chairman Layne asked the Kohout’s to explain
their position.
(1) Mrs. Kohout
stated that:
(a) the County health dept approved their proposal
(b) the project would increase property values in the
area & be more aesthetically pleasing
than what is current there
ii) Mr. Layne asked Zoning Commission Chairman Keller for input.
(1) Mr.
Keller stated that he is sympathetic, however, he feels it is clear that to approve
the request would result in “spot zoning”
(a) There is no other r-2 in the area.
(b) Also – although the Health dept approved the
request it was with a caveat that the property must connect to the Ayersville Water and
Sewer system when that system’s lines reach this property. The Health department noted that the property is not of sufficient size
to have the correct sized septic system built on the property and that the approval notes
the septic system to be built is only half the size required.
(2) Zoning
commission member Schofield also was recognized by the Chair:
(a) She reiterated the concerns noted by Mr.
Keller.
iii) Mr. Wiseman was
recognized:
(1) He stated he
has no problem with the proposal as it would indeed increase the value of the area.
Chairman
Layne requests a motion to accept or reject the recommendation of the Zoning Commission
which was to deny the re-zoning request.
Mr.
Bakle moved to concur with the Zoning commissions position to reject the re-zoning
petition of the Kohout’s.
MOTION: Mr.
Bakle
SECOND: Mr. Layne
YEA(s)
2 NAY(s)
1
Passed X
Failed
The
Trustees affirmed the action of the Zoning Commission and the petion to re-zone from r-1
to r-2 was denied.
e) the Kohout’s asked if they had any other recourse.
They were informed by the Trustees that they could take there case to the
Court’s.
3) Monthly report - Inspector’s
Report - Mr.
Jim Schlegel
a)
Monthly report -
Inspector’s Report
- Mr. Jim Schlegel - Defiance
Township Zoning Report February 2005
i) Nicole Rohlf 13868 Harding Rd wants to split 13.9
acres and build a new home and use current home for rental. She was advised of proper
procedures to follow.
ii) Went through all Township records at Anthony
Wayne School was unable to locate any rezoning records ref the Karate Academy Bldg on Sr
15 South just north of Watson Rd
iii) Working with Osborn Realtry on acreage sale on
Carter Rd
iv) Submitted and performed site review for John Bok
@ Powers & Ashwood Rd. He wants to
put in a pond & build a 1,500 sq ft home. Soil
& Water has this project at this time.
v) Currently working W/ Dick Leach for possible new
home on Lakeview Dr.
vi) Trustees please remember to look for new
construction when doing your monthly road inspections Thank you
4) The Twp zoning map being colorized and re-created by Soil & Water and Zoning
inspector Schlegel was presented to the Trustees for review.
a) These Maps were created with the assistance of the county soil & water group and is
part of our annual contract. The new maps are
from the crude zoning map which had previously been kept by hand by past zoning
inspectors.
b) Soil & water will continue to work with the zoning inspector to maintain the
map
c) Mr. Schlegel requested that the Zoning
Commission met with him to review the drawings (a zoning map and a land use map).
They and the Zoning Appeals Bd will hold a public hearing and review with the
public the drawings in March 05.
i) The Trustees concurred and the Clerk is to schedule a public hearing at 7 p.m. just
prior to the March regular Twp Trustees session. If
there are no issues raised the Trustees will review and accept the drawings during there
regular scheduled session which would immediately follow the special zoning session.
5) Schofield issue with functions of the Twp Zoning Commission and Bd of Appeals.
Zoning commission member Schofield has indicated her belief that the zoning
commission is in fact doing the work of the appeals board and the appeals board is doing
the work that is supposed to be done by the Commission.
a) The Clerk reported that he had verbally reviewed this concern with the prosecutor’s
Office. Mr. Herman – assistant prosecuting
attorney said that the situation as described by the clerk probably is not in compliance
with proper procedures. Herman said he would
e mail the correct process. We will review
this in the March session.
ORDER OF
BUSINESS NO. 4 -- Equipment;
1) purchase of the 2005 ford cab and chassis & attachments.
The clerk reported the following:
a) The Truck cab and chassis has arrived and unit is at Kalida Truck for bed and plow
installation
i) On 2-19 Mr. Wes Moats informed the clerk that the unit will be delivered to the Twp
by 2-24
ii) The clerk has sent in a gratis plate request and plates will be arriving soon…
(1) The unit may not be driven without
plates.. if need be the Twp must buy 30 day tags before using the unit on public road
ways.
iii) The registration is on file in the clerk’s office and a copy was provided to Mr.
Ankney at this session to be placed in the truck.
iv) The clerk returned the moats bid bond on 2-19-05
b) There is a need for an amended
certificate
i) The twp borrowed the money as reported in Jan. from the Defiance branch of the
Farmers and Merchants bank
(1) The borrowed money must be posted to our accounts both as income and expense
(2) This action will increase the current appropriations
(3) The clerk is preparing the necessary paper work to effect the adjustments
c) Mr. Ankney reported that he was in
contact with Moats Ford just prior to this session and they report that the unit will be
delivered to the Twp for service from Kalida Truck by mid Feb 28 week
ORDER OF
BUSINESS NO. 5 - Trustee Report – Monthly Twp Rd
inspection
1) February - Rd review was provided by Trustee Charles Bakle
a) A copy of the report will be provided to Township rd crew to
determine work schedule
2) Road work discussion & assignments:
a) From Jan session – Link Rd issue – this is a carry over issue
from the Jan 05 session
i) Trustees were to review the issue w the co Eng
(1) Mr. Layne
will see the engineer’s later this week. (week of 2-21-05)
(2) Previously
Mr. Bakle noted his belief that a plugged drain on Power Dam which is
a co hwy was causing the problem – this will be reviewed with the enginner’s
b) Trustees then
discussed the Chris Davis lakeview dr drainage issue of Jan session – Mr. Layne stated
he has been in contact with Soil and water and that department will review the situation
and issue a recommendation to the Twp. The
problem in general:
i) There is a drainage issue at 14754 St Rte 111
ii) Water ponds and a ditch or some excavation to
relieve the water build up is necessary
iii) The Clerk found past history of work in this
subdivision which was provided to the Trustees as exhibit 5-C
iv) Discussion…
(1) These letters
noted previous drainage work – it was noted by Trustee Wiseman that a mr.
Flores appeared to have failed to pay his bill for the previous work.
(2) The Trustees
agreed that a penalty should be imposed and a letter for payment should be sent.
Should this letter fail to achieve the required payment then the issue should be
given to the prosecutor’s office to have the cost + penalty placed on the property tax
schedule.
Chairman
Layne requested a motion to have the Clerk prepare a new bill for Mr. John Flores of 100
Lakeview Dr – Defiance Twp. The bill is to
be for original $291.50 as billed in a letter
to Mr. flores dated Jan 1, 2003, which was never paid.
This bill was for work to relieve standing water on his property in may 2002.
Further, the Trustees wish to impose a penalty of an additional $250.00 also to be
included in the new bill.
Mr.
Wiseman moved to bill Flores $291.50 + a penalty of $250 for failing to pay and if
the new bill is not paid the issue is to be reviewed with the prosecutor’s office in
order to have the bill and penalty placed on the Flores property taxes.
MOTION: Mr.
Wiseman
SECOND: Mr. Bakle
YEA(s)
3 NAY(s)
0
Passed X
Failed
3) Trustees noted that Mr. Layne will be in contact with the County
engineer on the Link rd issue and should also discuss the engineer’s bidding on the
Township’s behalf for work on the 15000 block of Co Rd #8 near the Bill Webb property.
a) Mr. Layne is also to get a quote on Winn Rd repairs
4) Trustees discussed road work at Bowman and karnes near the John
Rivers residence at 23485 Bowman. There is a
flooding issue. Mr. Layne said he had
contacted the County Engineer for a cost estimate which was nearly $15,000.
Mr. Layne suggested that Bendele Excavating would be less expensive.
Trustees agreed to contract with Bendele excavating as soon as weather and grd
conditions permit to address this issue.
Chairman
Layne requests a motion to hire Bendele Excavating to repair the drainage issue at Bowman
and Karnes.
MOTION: Mr.
Bakle
SECOND: Mr. Wiseman
YEA(s)
3 NAY(s)
0
Passed X
Failed
5) Mr. Wiseman wished to publicly acknowledge the Twp rd crew for
there efforts on snow removal this winter. All
Trustees concurred that the effort to date has been excellent.
ORDER OF
BUSINESS NO. 6 - Personnel
1) Mary Ankney – OPERS – service credit issue
a) Clerk received notice from OPERS 7-31-04 requesting pay recorders for month paid in
years submitted- 96,97,98,99,2000, 2001, 2002
& 2003
b) Clerk reported in Aug that a check of the files turned up nothing
c) Chairman Wiseman found a letter dated Dec 18, 1992 which states Ms. Ankney is a OPERS employee not an independent
contractor and is therefore to be paying into OPERS
d) This would seem to document service of at least an additional 2 years.
e) the Clerk re - contacted OPERS in Nov to determine next step.
i) Mrs. Ankney needs to provide the Twp with copies of w-2 which document salary
received for any year she wishes to apply for credit which is not already in the Twp’s
possession.
ii) Mrs. Ankney stated she has been in contract with IRS.
The request form she first sent in was the wrong form and a second request has been
sent to the IRS.
2) Jim Schlegel – unemployment compensation
a) See previous agenda’s for history
b) Twp received notice from Jobs and Family Services an update expense
report through Jan 05
c) Exhibit 6-C
d) Mr. Schlegel stated he has contacted the ODJFS employment office and has cancelled his
unemployment participation. Therefore, the
Twp will should not be receiving any more participation billing on his account.
i) The Clerk reported that as directed, he has
contacted via phone, the prosecutor’s office relative to preparing a policy/procedure to
have employee’s pay back any unemployment compensation received which was funded by the
Twp even though the employee remained employed and on the Twp’s active payroll at the
time they received unemployment which was generated
from a layoff from another employer.
ii) The prosecutor stated that the clerk must send
the request and draft proposal in writing for their review…
iii) The action plan is being written….and is not
complete as of this meeting date.
3) Employment packets – the clerk reported
that all packets have been filled out and are now on file in the Clerk’s office.
4) Clerk’s bond increase issue– OTA letter of 11-2 as noted
in previous meetings suggested a conflict as to when the new bond amount was effective
a) Prosecutor’s
office verbally stated they do not wish to place this in writing for obvious reasons but
suggest that the new bond amounts should be acquired immediately.
b) The clerk reported in Jan that pursuant to the prosecutor’s
verbal information he had contacted the Twp Ins consultants and First Insurance and a new
bond was to be issued
c) The Clerk learned in the 2005 OTA conference that the State
Attorney General’s office has issued an opinion letter that stated the Clerk’s do not
have to increase their bond until a new term begins.
d) Clerk contact 1st insurance Feb 21 to stop the issuance
– they will try.
5) The clerk reported to the Trustees that OPERS is requesting
legislation to increase the amount needed to be earned on a monthly basis to earn
retirement credit change
a) See your Feb “Grass Roots” hand out
b) Employees
currently must earn $250 per month
c) OPERS is requesting legislation to change this to $450 + a cpi
index
d) Ota requests survey of Twp officials who would be affected
e) An annual minimum salary paid monthly would need to be $5,400
ORDER OF
BUSINESS NO. 7 – Dry
Hydrant Program –
1) exhibit 7 was reviewed. This
was a letter from EMA requesting response noting participants
2) Trustees reviewed the letter and agreed that no action was
necessary on there part.
ORDER
OF BUSINESS NO. 8 – Seminars
& Training opportunities
1) Def Co Gen Health Dist annual meeting – exhibit 8-A was
provided.
a) This meeting will be March 8th 7 p.m. @ 197 building C
Island Park ave
i) All Trustees will attend and the Clerk is to confirm there
attendance with the Health dept.
b) Def Soil & Water – is hosting attorney gen rep Lisa Wu Fate
– “Open meetings regulations” exhibit 8 B
i) This meeting is March 10th @ 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. or
March 22 same times @ Evergreen Lane office complex
ii) Trustees Wiseman will attend the March 10th
session and Trustee Layne will attend March 22nd
iii) The clerk is to notify Defiance County Soil & Water.
c) Def Comm – 2005 CDBG grant application public hearings exhibit
8-C
i) Feb 28th 2 p.m. @ 500 Court St – Commissioners chambers
ii) Trustee Layne will
attend and the clerk is to call in the attendance.
d) State Auditor’s 2005 Local gov’t Officials conference.
i) March 23 & 24 Col convention center
ii) Clerk to attend
iii) Trustees were polled to see if any wished to attend none did.
ORDER OF BUSINESS NO. 9 – Handouts
a) Monthly
(February 05) GrassRoots clippings – exhibit 9-a
b) Defiance
Township letter to Anthony Wayne elementary principal notifying meeting location change
but need to retain use of the school exhibit 9-b
ORDER OF
BUSINESS NO. 10- Old Business:
1) Ohio Twp Association winter conference
a) Clerk’s report – exhibit 10-A was provided to the Trustees.
b) The Clerk noted that the Twp must adopt a cell phone policy
per information acquired from the State Auditor’s representative at this
conference.
i) Pursuant to this direction the clerk will write a
draft policy for the Trustees to review at a future meeting.
c) The clerk also reported that the Twp can expect anywhere from a 10%
to 20% reduction in its “Local gov’t” funds beginning in July of this year.
d) Trustee Bakle
reported that he attend several legislative sessions and spoke with state representative
Bueher and State Senator Watchman. He urged
them not to support cuts in Twp funds from the state.
He also attended a session on grant writing and found it may be useful to our Twp.
ORDER OF
BUSINESS NO. 11- New Business
1) The clerk reported that a letter is being sent from the Solid Waste District
offices to all local gov’t entities notifying them that the State is considering
enacting a $2.75 per ton tax on all solid waste disposed of in any landfill in the state.
This tax is in addition to the $3.25 per ton tax already in place. This tax will drive up the cost of living and working in our
communities. Should our local elected
officials object to such a tax increase they are urged to contact there state
representatives. Action by the state on this
proposal will be taking place in March 2005.
NEXT
MEETING:
Time:
7:30 p.m.
Place:
VFW Post 3360 – 221 North Clinton Street - Defiance,
Ohio
Chairman Layne
requested a motion to adjourn this meeting of February 22nd,
2005
Motion:
Charles Bakle
Second: W. Tom Wiseman
.
YEA(s)
3
NAY(s) 0
Passed
X
Failed
Respectfully
Submitted
Timothy J. Houck, Clerk