Parkman FD Offers Advice on Amish Youth Center
Parkman Township Fire Chief Mike Komandt told township trustees April 16 the group creating the Amish youth center on Tavern Road have reached out to the fire department for safety advice while planning the facility.
Parkman Township Fire Chief Mike Komandt told township trustees April 16 the group creating the Amish youth center on Tavern Road have reached out to the fire department for safety advice while planning the facility.
“They are meeting with a civil engineer who told them to reach out to the fire chief. The civil engineer wanted the fire department requirements,” he said, adding the 12.36-acre site may need a fire protection pond.
The Parkman Township Board of Zoning Appeals approved variances for the construction of the youth center project March 12.
The Haven Youth Center Board of Directors is considering three preliminary prints for a building that may be 25,000 square feet in size with one or two inside basketball courts, Komandt said.
“They don’t know if they will have bleachers or seating on a mezzanine,” he said.
Board members have visited youth centers in Holmes County, Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania to gather ideas for a center at 18040 Tavern Road, Komandt said.
“They seem extremely cooperative. It’s their community money going toward this project and they want to spend it in the most feasible way,” he said, noting he is willing to help them comply with the fire code.
The HYC board had previously bought a former deer farm property on Hosmer Road with the intention of putting a youth center there, but after push-back from the public, they withdrew their proposal and plan to clean it up and sell it, Komandt said.
In other business, trustees also heard a presentation from Kristi Pinkley — an environmental health specialist who works out of the Geauga Public Health office — regarding sampling of some septic systems in the township.
Pinkley said septic systems that discharge into a stream, river or above-ground spray types are required to be tested in the current operations and maintenance program.
“In Parkman Township, there are less than 100 of these types of systems,” she said.
Owners of those systems will receive notices that explain about the program and will get result letters once the samples have been collected and processed, she said.
Cost for the sampling is $155, said GPH Administrator Adam Litke.
“We charge $155 and that barely covers the cost of staff time and the sample,” he said. “We have the lowest cost in the state.”
A previous effort to have homeowners voluntarily participate in the program resulted in only 8% compliance, he said, adding those numbers are concerning and could lead to more state involvement.
“It’s only a matter of time before the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency gets in the picture,” he said. “We’re trying to make this as painless as possible. There should be minimal impact to the homeowner.”
If a system does not pass, the reason will be determined and repairs must be made, he said, adding it is rare the entire system has to be replaced.
If untreated sewage is discovered in a ditch or waterway, the next step is to track it back to its source, Litke said, adding that could lead to OEPA involvement.
“We’re trying to protect the community as much as we can,” he said.
Homeowners with systems that don’t discharge into streams should have their tanks pumped every five to seven years, Pinkley said.
“Save your reports — make sure you get one,” she said.
“When the average resident sees a problem, they do the right thing,” Litke added. “I don’t want to be Big Brother — I just want to make sure no one is poisoning someone and to make sure the OEPA doesn’t come in.”
The systems being targeted should have a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, which limits what can be discharged, requires monitoring and reporting and other provisions to ensure the discharge doesn’t affect water quality or people’s health, according to the USEPA website.
