Chester Government Update
The Chester Township Board of Trustees held a public hearing on July 11 to review the proposed 2024 temporary appropriations...
The Chester Township Board of Trustees held a public hearing on July 11 to review the proposed 2024 temporary appropriations.
The board reviewed in general the 2024 planned expenditures. Representatives from all departments were present to provide input. There was discussion and a motion was approved to return the inside millage from the road department to the general fund and re-allocating those funds either through advances or transfers as needed. A motion was passed approving the 2024 Chester Township Budget with expenditures in the amount of $9,373,052.20.
The public hearing was then closed and a special meeting of the board of trustees was opened to address several issues within the Chester Road Department, including staffing shortage. A motion was approved to advertise for a mechanic 1 to assist the lead mechanic and provide other support within the road department. A motion was also approved for the assistant road superintendent job description and to add it to the township’s policy manual.
A section of Heath Road alongside the Chagrin River has been experiencing ongoing severe deterioration. There was discussion about closing this section of the road into a single lane because of the slippage. More review and discussion will follow.
For the police department, a motion was approved to add the job description of school security officer and include it in the Chester Employee Manual.
On July 13, a regular meeting of the board of trustees was held beginning with approval of a memorandum of understanding by and between the West Geauga School District and the Chester Township Board of Trustees for the addition of officers to the Chester Police Department.
Next, the board approved the hiring of Karen Sweet as the new school safety officer for the police department. Police Chief Craig Young spoke of Officer Sweet’s prior work experience and that she will be a great asset to the department.
West Geauga School Superintendent Richard Markwardt spoke briefly in favor of the SSO position and praised how well the school board and township have worked together to support student safety.
During public comments, a resident spoke of the West Geauga Kiwanis July 4th parade and what a great experience it was to participate and that he appreciated the hard work of the Kiwanians.
Next, Barry Leven, of the West Geauga Pickleball Club, provided an update on the status of the pickleball courts. After the original bids were rejected for being too costly at more than $200,000, Leven and Trustee Ken Radtke worked together to reduce the scope of work. Recent changes in Ohio law also enable a project to be completed without public bidding if the cost of the project is less than $75,000. The reduced scope eliminated lighting along with some other changes to get the estimated project cost below statutory bid limit. Quotes will be solicited from various local contractors and we hope to finalize this project soon.
In other business, the township was credited $4,000 towards employee lockers for the fire station because of a delay associated with the fire station renovation. Repairs to the underground gasoline tank pump system were discussed as well as a joint project with Gates Mills to replace failing road culvert pipes in advance of paving County Line Road next year.
A motion was approved to donate some binders to the Geauga Engineering and Robotics 4-H Club.
There was discussion about how residential properties are currently used at Metzenbaum and what potential future changes may occur. To get a better understanding of current, planned and future uses of the property, a joint meeting with the Chester Board of Trustees, Geauga County Commissioners, Geauga Board of Developmental Disabilities and Geauga County Board of Mental Health was proposed and Trustee Radtke will reach out and coordinate a meeting.
Monies in the amount of $8,025 were approved for new windows to be installed at town hall.
At the recommendation of the prosecutor, revised language for the certificates of need required for the upcoming fire and police levies was approved.
A memorandum of understanding between the township, county commissioners and the Geauga County Engineer was approved for them to continue managing Chester Township’s Phase 2 Stormwater Program.
Submitted by Ken Radtke Jr., Chester Township Trustee
