ROAD WORK … Madison Township approved funds for the completion of the chip and seal of County Roads P and 16 at their meeting on Tuesday, May 28th. The project is now a go and will start soon. The completion of this project will mean that County Road P will have completely been chip and sealed in the last two years.
By: Jenna Frisby
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The Madison Township trustees met for their regular bi-monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 28th. In attendance were trustees Rodney Baker Sr., Terry Huffman, president Mark Schmucker, and fiscal officer Debra Maneval, as well as their newly hired attorney Ryan Breininger, and several members of the community.
Schmucker called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. followed by an attendance roll call. After the roll call, Schmucker asked for a motion to enter an executive session. Baker Sr. motioned for the session with Huffman seconding. The executive session took place from 7:01 p.m. to 7:24 p.m. No action was taken as a result of the executive session.
The regular meeting resumed at 7:25 p.m. with Maneval reading the minutes from the township board’s May 13th, 2024 meeting. With no disagreements with those minutes Baker Sr. motioned to approve the minutes with Huffman seconding the approval.
Township Fire Chief Jon Baker then gave a report on the fire station. Discussion was had on the generator that the fire station will be getting.
The board has already approved for the generator but discussed the timing of when it should be installed considering the upcoming work that will be done on the fire station in the expanding of its current state.
After final drawings and mock-ups are done the board can better determine where the best place for the generator to set will be.
Baker also suggested to the board that a chain length fence surround the generator so the chance of potential vandalism to the generator is lessened.
Baker also informed the board that the issue with the west wall of the station was worsened with the recent weather that has gone through.
After the recent heavy rains and storms the area has had the wall is now leaking with water running into the floor of the station due to the issues within the wall. This issue should be resolved as soon as construction can begin on the fire station with the expansion project.
Baker Sr. then gave a report on the post office issue. He has spoken to several people in regards to what needs done next and was informed from a post office employee that they were in the process of obtaining a GIS map of Madison township for where they would like to put the post office.
According to discussion among board members they had three different sources whom have all claimed to be the head of their departments and in charge of helping push for the change.
However, at this time none of the sources currently have provided the board with the same plan. This has seemingly caused for more confusion as the board has sought to just have even a temporary place for Kunkle residents to receive their mail, such as a post box in the town.
However, they are being informed that there is a push for permanent placement as of the information they had received before their meeting. Baker Sr. informed the board that he would be following up in the next few days to get a more concise and set answer on the issue.
Next, Maneval presented that the auditors were done with their basic audits. These audits are performed every two years and take several days to complete. They passed the audit with only one citation being given.
That citation was due to one of the board members not having attended a public records training. Before receiving the audit report back, the board was unaware of this training requirement. They plan to ensure all requirements for all board members are met in the future.
Maneval then presented an insurance proposal to the board for the fire department. The proposal showed that while insurance for the fire department increased $90 from last year, they also received a larger credit from Conrad this year. That credit was for $897 and was applied to the proposal.
Maneval then moved to presenting a resolution for reallocating funds for the fire department to cover additional costs of insurance, per the proposal that she first presented. Baker Sr. motioned for the approval of the resolution and Huffman seconded the approval.
Last to be motioned was the chip and seal project. The total cost for the project is $39,120.80. The chip and seal will include a fog coat as well and be a single pass project. The roads to be done will be County Road P between County Roads 16 and 17 along with County Road 16 between US 20 and County Road R.
This will mean that County Road P will have been completely done in the last two years. Baker Sr. Motioned for the approval with Huffman seconding.
With no more business to be presented Schmucker asked for a motion to adjourn at 8:19 p.m., Baker Sr. so motioned and Huffman seconded.
Madison Township’s next board meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, June 10th at their Madison Township Building located at 105 E Mill St, Pioneer, OH 43554.