Township trustees across Ohio spent the last three months of 2020 figuring out how to spend thousands of dollars of CARES Act funds provided to them to help stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Township trustees across Ohio spent the last three months of 2020 figuring out how to spend thousands of dollars of CARES Act funds provided to them to help stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Many townships in Geauga County purchased a variety of decontamination equipment, touchless switches and faucets, and vehicles by the year-end deadline. Whatever was left over was allowed to be sub-granted to school districts, hospitals and fire departments.
Claridon Township Trustees equipped the administration building with motion-activated lights, improved security and bought an F-250 pickup truck, among other items.
Most creative was Trustee Jonathan Tiber’s proposal that some of the funds be spent on a digital sign located a few dozen feet off Mayfield Road in the township park.
Tiber said the purpose of the sign will be to share information, encouragement and cheer with township residents.
“I believe communication is vital,” he said in a Jan. 2 telephone interview. “This will be getting productive information out to our residents.”
That could well include data on new countywide virus developments and warnings — information many could miss if they depend on television news, local government websites or other forms of media.
“We have several elderly residents who don’t go online, but almost everyone drives,” Tiber said, noting Mayfield Road is a main artery in the township, so all residents will have an opportunity to see announcements that could affect them.
Tiber had the Geauga County Prosecutor’s Office and the office of Ohio Budget Management vet his proposal and talked to the state auditor about his justification.
“They saw no red flags,” he said.
In early November trustees voted to spend up to $36,000 on the sign that was purchased from Twinsburg-based Easy Sign Group.
The final bill for the purchase and installation added up to $30,974, Tiber said. All but $300 was CARES Act money.
The overage occurred because the cold, wet, muddy conditions after Christmas slowed work for Englert Electric LLC out of Burton, which ran the underground wires from the town hall to the sign, he explained.
Getting buy-in from residents was important to Tiber when he designed the new sign, which is suspended on white pillars. He said he talked to many residents, including neighbors of the township property, and everyone’s feedback was positive.
The entire project measures 10.5-feet wide and 7-foot-7-inches tall. A resident recommended elevating the LED screen 36 inches off the ground so it can be seen over the park’s split rail fence, would be visible despite deep snowfalls and is at drivers’ eye-level, noted Tiber.
The roadside sign has a short list of limits in a policy Tiber has published on the township website. The conservative, single-colored (amber) sign will not scroll or flash, and the messages will change slowly — every 30 minutes — so passers-by will have time to read them, he said.
Tiber also consulted with the township zoning commission so the sign complies with the zoning regulations.
In addition, although it is up to trustees which messages will be in the queue, announcements of events being arranged by Claridon Township churches and non-profit organizations also may be posted.
“It’s mainly for Claridon Township (official) information, but I want churches and Claridon Township charities to put their messages up for township residents,” said Tiber. “I’m really excited about that.”
Although the ground around the sign is a sea of mud now, there is no reason the area cannot be attractively landscaped.
Tiber has an idea for that, too.
“We’re inviting any township resident or group to landscape it. If we get a volunteer from the community to take ownership, that would be pretty cool,” he said. “It would be kind of fun to get the community involved.”
Now that connections have been made, Easy Sign will be installing the software Jan. 8 and training Tiber on how to post messages. He doesn’t plan on wasting any time and expects to start posting information quickly.
Although he describes himself as a “non-IT guy,” once he knows the system, he wants to start communicating immediately.
“I won’t be able to hold back,” Tiber said.
