Chester Township
Meeting Update
Chester Township Board of Trustees met Nov. 14. The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m.
Police Department
Trustees accepted the resignation of Officer Michael McIvor effective Nov. 29, 2013.
Two new police officers were sworn into the Chester Township police force. Officer Brian Bowser will be reporting as a full-time police officer starting Nov. 27. Part-time officer Jonathan LoPresti will also be reporting for duty Nov. 27.
Fiscal Officer’s Department
Former Fiscal Officer Karen Austin failed to be appointed to the interim fiscal officer position by a vote of two no votes and one abstain vote.
Craig Richter was appointed to fill the interim fiscal officer’s position by a vote of two affirmative votes and one abstain vote. He will hold the office until March 31, 2016, and will be up for election in November 2015.
Richter brings an impressive background into the office including the following degrees: master’s degree in taxation from Akron University, master’s degree in business administration from John Carroll University; LL.M, non-degreed student from Case Western Reserve University School of Law; and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ohio State University.
Richter is currently working as the international tax manager for the Nestle USA Corporation. He also has a rich background in community service.
In a separate action, training on the UAN accounting program was approved for the new fiscal officer and the assistant fiscal officer starting Dec. 12 in Columbus. The UAN is the state of Ohio’s choice accounting system.
Township Boards
The Chester Township Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) and Zoning Commission (ZC) each has five members. Member terms are staggered so one term on each board expires every Dec. 31. Newly appointed members serve for a five-year term. The boards, once appointed, are totally independent of the board of trustees per the Ohio Revised Code.
Ms. Doreen Merritt filled the opening board of zoning appeals position starting Jan. 1, 2014, with three affirmative votes. Doreen is currently serving the board of zoning appeals as the alternate board member.
The position of alternate BZA member was filled by Ms. Linda Betzes with two affirmative votes and one abstain vote. Betzes is the retiring full-time BZA member and has served in that capacity for five years. Betzes and Merritt traded positions on the BZA at their request.
Ms. Linda Gifford filled the open position on the zoning commission by two affirmative votes and one abstain vote. Gifford has already served on the zoning commission for five years.
The trustees wish all of the above the very best and continue to have high expectations for their service to Chester Township.
Meeting Conclusion
After taking care of the routine township business, the floor was opened up to the public for comments and questions.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:58 p.m.
