By: Mario Gomez
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The first meeting of the month of July took place at the Springfield Township building on July 1. Trustees Eric Creighton, Steve Planson and Ed Ruffer were all in attendance, as were Patti Rosebrock, fiscal officer, and Mike Short, maintenance superintendent.
The meeting started with the Pledge of Allegiance, and then minutes from the previous meeting were read by Rosebrock.
Ruffer made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, with Creighton seconding the motion. Planson made a motion to accept the bills as presented, with Ruffer seconding the motion.
A resolution accepting the amounts and rates as determined by the budget commission and authorizing the necessary tax levies and certifying them to the county auditor was brought to the trustees.
There is $55,899 in the general fund, which was approved by the budget commission, $89,416 in roads and bridges and $104,958 for fire expenses. Ruffer made the motion to certify and adopt the resolution, and Creighton seconded the motion.
Maintenance Superintendent Short reported that 250 tons of grindings were received from the Ohio Department of Transportation for free.
The load was originally intended to go to a place in Montpelier, but that area could not accept the load and ODOT delivered it to Springfield Township.
Creighton asked Short for input on the creation of a new job description for Springfield Township workers. When Short was hired by the township, there was no official job description to use as reference.
Creighton did some work on his own, looking at job postings from other townships not in the immediate area to come up with a rough outline of what a job description would look like. Copies were submitted to the other trustees and to Short, who all agreed that the copy was a good starting point for the township to build from.
Short will give his opinions and suggestions on what he thinks should be included for a clear job description, and trustees welcome any input Short will give.
Trustees are not as concerned with getting a job description out quickly but would like to stay focused on working to get a final job description the township can use.
Creighton turned in checks from the sale of two fire trucks to Rosebrock. The titles for the fire trucks will need to be notarized to complete the sale.
Cleanup of the area around the Springfield Township building will take place on July 15, approximately 45 minutes before the start of the next township meeting, which is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
An increase in the cost of cemetery plots was suggested by Planson. At the current rate, plots go for $250, whereas most other cemeteries charge $500. The last time there was a rate increase was back in April 2019, when the charge for a plot was raised from $50 to the current rate.
A motion was made by Planson to increase the pricing of the cemetery lots to $500. Ruffer seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
With no other business left, the trustees signed the checks to pay bills, and the meeting was adjourned after Ruffer made the motion and Planson seconded it.