The regular meeting of the Board of Township Trustees, Newbury Township was called to order at 7:30 p.m., November 18, 2009, with all members present.   Minutes of the meeting of November 4, 2009 were approved upon a motion by Mrs. Blair, a second by Mr. Skomrock, and a unanimous affirmative vote.  

David Lair provided the trustees with a brief summary of the October financial report.  It was also decided at this time that there would be a brief meeting with Mr. Snively, Mrs. Mansfield, and Mr. Lair on November 21^st at 11 a.m. to discuss the township’s records series listing to be adopted by the township in the near future.

Mr. Snively provided a brief summary from Mrs. Hrabak of the recent Geauga County Planning Commission meeting.  There were 5 subdivisions in Auburn Township discussed, and it was reported that due to sharply declining activity over the past couple of years, the Geauga County Commissioners had advised the Planning Commission that their 2010 Permanent Appropriation would be reduced by 35% from the total included in the Tax Budget earlier this year.  Mr. Snively also provided a brief report on progress on the neighborhood stabilization grant, reporting that Joni Stusek of the Geauga County Department Community and Economic Development, who is overseeing this grant, was  “cautiously optimistic.”   

Mr. Snively also reported that the Zoning Commission and BZA are each looking to fill a regular position and an alternate position to replace terms that are ending.  It was noted that a couple of the BZA members have missed a significant number of meetings; those members have been contacted and informed that their attendance must improve, or they must be replaced with others who are available to fully participate in the process.  Mr. Snively also provided an update on the Addington Court street light installation, stating that it will be installed the first week of January 2010.  Mr. Snively also reported that due to schedule conflicts among the trustees, the Year-End meeting would have to occur earlier than normal this year, and it was agreed to schedule the Year-End meeting for 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, December 23, 2009.

At the request of the Fiscal Officer, Mr. Skomrock moved that the board adopt Resolution 2009111801, the transfer of $8124.45 from 2031-330-740-000 Road and Bridge – Equipment to 2031-330-360-0000, Road and Bridge – Contracts.     Mrs. Blair seconded this motion, which passed by unanimous vote.  At the request of the Fiscal Officer, Mr. Skomrock moved that the board adopt Resolution 2009111802, the transfer of $3636.77 from 2141-330-230-000 Road Levy – Workers' Compensation to 2141-330-221-0000, Road Levy – Hospitalization.    Mrs. Blair seconded this motion, which passed by unanimous vote.

Mrs. Blair provided a report on yesterday’s Oberland Park meeting.  Engraving on entrance rock will be done in the next two weeks.   There is $112,000 remaining of the HUD grant, with all bills paid to date.  Chip Hess presented a concept plan to the rest of the group, which provided possible locations for baseball diamonds, parking lots, a volleyball court, and a youth playground.  The members provided their input to this plan, and a follow-up meeting will be held on December 10^th to firm up this design.  After that meeting, the revised design will be posted at the town hall for citizen input.  Mr. Skomrock said that he was following up on a possible source of grant funding from Kool-Aid for construction of a playground for preschool-age children.  Mrs. Blair reported that Newbury Kiwanis might be interested in stepping forward to aid in this process as well.

Mrs. Blair reported that Newbury Township would be hosting the Geauga County Township Association Dinner on January 13^th.  It was decided that the trustees would develop a presentation for the dinner which described this year’s recent township branding and updated website development process.

Mr. Skomrock reported that a request for proposal had been placed in the newspaper for cemetery maintenance, and that the Road Department was tracking costs to deduct from Lillibridge Landscaping.  The trustees discussed interior lights in the meeting room, and Mr. Skomrock will investigate alternatives and report back to the board.  Mr. Skomrock reported that there are some power issues possibly related to wiring which appears to be in need of updating at the building rented by the American Legion, some preliminary work has been done, and it appears that more will need to be done to ensure that the building has safe power.

Mr. Skomrock brought up the issue of dangerous falling ice that can come off a tall radio tower, as it might apply to the radio tower near the intersection of Route 87 and Sperry Rd.  Mr. Chuck Gates, who owns the former Great Lakes Cheese complex directly to the east of the tower said that the fall zone is considered to be 150% of the height of the 750' tower, which would cover an area 1200' around it.  Mr. Gates said that shields can be installed which can help to break up ice chunks before they hit the ground.  Mr. Gates reported that the current bond in place by the tower owner is only to dismantle the tower, but would not cover restoration of the site to its original condition.  The trustees asked Mr. Gates to talk with his technical expert to determine if regulatory legislation has been passed at the state or local level in other areas.  If others have enacted legislation, then the trustees along with the county commissioners could advocate at the state level to encourage Ohio to introduce regulations that would help to reduce the danger that the current situation represents.

Mr. Skomrock said that a new DER (designated employee representative) needs to be designated to act as the agent to notify employees if they are selected to be tested in the county random drug and alcohol test program.  Mr. Snively moved that Mr. Skomrock be re-appointed to this position, with Mrs. Blair as alternate.  Mrs. Blair seconded this motion, which passed by unanimous vote.

Mr. Snively asked the Board to consider providing reflective coats for the road department employees at an average cost of $200 each, to be kept for use only outside of their vehicles.  Some discussion ensued as to whether township purchase of an entire coat for each road department employee was necessary, or whether purchase of an appropriate reflective vest to be worn over the employee’s own coat would suffice.  Mr. Lair said that he would see what might have been adopted by the County Engineer for this purpose, along with what kind of volume pricing the county might have received; the trustees each said that they would check other sources as well.

Mr. Snively brought up the issue of possible sale of township equipment by auction; while the township does not have to sell equipment valued under $2,500 by bid (sealed or auction), the value of each of the four items being considered for sale might be in excess of that figure, so it was decided to investigate the process and cost of selling via Internet auction on GovDeals, which Mr. Lair said that he would investigate.  It was also decided that the township might retain the white Dodge pickup being considered for sale, as this vehicle had been used previously by Mr. Lashley, and might need to be used by the township if the decision was ultimately made to shift cemetery lawn mowing duties back to a an employee rather than a contractor.

This meeting was adjourned at 9:11 p.m., upon a motion by Mr. Skomrock, a second by Mrs. Blair, and a unanimous affirmative vote.

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David Snively – Chairman                                          Jan Blair – Vice Chairman

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William Skomrock, Jr.                                                            David Lair – Fiscal Officer