PHOTO BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
CHECKING THE MAP … Swancreek Township Trustee Rick Kazmierczak (right) reviews a map of the township with other trustees while discussing fire protection contracts with agencies throughout the area. Also pictured are Fiscal Officer Jo Stultz (center right), Trustee Marvin Green (center left), and Trustee Renee Walker (left).
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
Swancreek Township trustees questioned Swanton Fire and Rescue Division Chief Cuyler Kepling about their fire service contract and comments made by Mayor Neil Toeppe during their July meeting Monday evening.
The trustees shared concerns during their last meeting that all the fire departments with which the township contracts for services have increased their contract cost, several by six figures and one by almost 920% since 2015.
The township paid the Swanton department more than $258,000 for the current contract year, up from $66,608 in 2015, and Kepling said Monday the village plans to start its negotiations at $491,000 for the new contract.
Kepling had stated in a letter to the township that the department estimated the township’s actual share of service cost at more than $820,000.
Trustee Rick Kazmierczak said last month the township currently collects $722,000 from its fire levies.
During Monday’s meeting, he pointed out several communities in the area whose fire levies were either voted down or took multiple attempts to pass.
Kazmierczak also took time to rebut what he saw as misinformation in statements made by Toeppe during an April meeting of the Swanton Economic Development Commission, which he read about in a newspaper article.
During that meeting, Toeppe said the township had failed to follow through on its funding promises, including that it would fill the gap in funding when the village agreed to stop charging combined village/township residents their fire levy so they only had to pay the township’s levy.
Kazmierczak said no such promises were ever made by township officials, and pointed to the contract signed by both parties. That contract includes only the stipulation of the payment of the agreed-upon amount of $258,760.
Kazmierczak also referred to a statement which he said left him sleepless for several nights, in which Toeppe said that, if the situation didn’t change, the only options would be for the village to again tax the dual residents or to conform the boundaries of the village and township and stop providing services to residents outside the village limits.
The current contract between the township and village explicitly bars the village from the latter option during the term of the contract, which expires on December 31.
In a message to The Village Reporter several days after the Swanton EDC meeting in which he made the comments, Toeppe said “the conforming boundaries issue is on hold for the time being.”
Kazmierczak said the issue was one the village should not press. “As I told Chief Kepling this afternoon, he does not want to make that threat to us,” he said.
“We could very easily go to Providence and Delta Community Fire and say guess what, can you guys pick up Swanton’s area of coverage.”
Kazmierczak said he further told Kepling that the township did not want to negotiate with Toeppe, at which point he was informed that the decision had already been made that Kepling would be handling all of Swanton’s fire contract negotiations as head of the department.
“We want to do our part, but we have to know what our part is and you have to persuade us that that’s our part, and we will do whatever we need to do, but we just cannot raise money like that.
“It requires us to go back to the voters, and I will remind everybody our last levy only passed by 53 votes,” Kazmierczak said.
Trustees also questioned Kepling on the breakdown between EMS and fire services, the impact (or lack thereof) of the village’s improved fire ISO score on residents’ insurance costs, and the choice by the village to staff so many paramedics and its impact on department costs.
Trustees set another meeting with Kepling for 4 p.m. on Monday, July 20.
OTHER BUSINESS
Trustees approved the application for a grant and a loan through the Ohio Public Works Commission for repairs and improvements on a stretch of County Road 2. The grant would cover 50% and the loan would cover 25% of the estimated $357,542.75 cost of the work.
Trustees approved the submission of a request to Fulton County to survey the property at 5798 County Road C after the resident reported not being able to see out of their driveway.
After the survey is completed, township staff will cut back trees within the township’s right of way.
Trustees approved a change to the township website to only post the minutes from the current year’s meetings in order to make complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act easier.
Trustees approved and agreed to sign a letter telling a previous township employee to remove his township email address from his Facebook page.
Trustees approved the reimbursement of cremation of an indigent individual at a cost not to exceed $500.
Trustees approved a cemetery policy of each deed covering only one grave.
Trustees approved the sale of a Chevrolet Astro van, with sealed bids being accepted until 3:30 p.m. on August 3. Any bids will be opened at their meeting that evening.
Trustees approved the voiding of a check sent out for a duplicate payment.
Trustees set the time for an August 15 township open house for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The trustees ended the regular portion of their meeting by going into executive session for the purpose of discussing township policies.
The next meeting of the Swancreek Township Zoning Commission will be held at 5:30 pm on Monday, July 20, at the township offices, located at 5565 County Road D.
The next regular meeting of the Swancreek Township Board of Trustees will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, August 3, at the township offices, located at 5565 County Road D.