Townships across Geauga County are being flooded with waves of federal CARES Act funds intended to help them keep the coronavirus from spreading among officials, employees and residents.
Townships across Geauga County are being flooded with waves of federal CARES Act funds intended to help them keep the coronavirus from spreading among officials, employees and residents.
Some township trustees and fiscal officers have spent hours trying to figure out if the needs of the townships can meet the parameters of the restrictions put upon the funds.
As explained in several trustees’ meetings, each township has to justify its spending to the Ohio Office of Budget Management. The main conditions are that the expenditure must be linked to preventing the spread of the coronavirus, the item bought must not have been a previously budgeted township expense and the township must spend the grant funds by the deadline — Dec. 31.
If they are purchased, but don’t meet the regulations, the township must return the funds and pay for the items or services out of the township funds, said Claridon Township Trustee Jonathan Tiber, who said the township has been approved to buy computers, printers and ink for employees working from home because of COVID-19.
They have also justified the cost of a digital, monochromatic, permanent informational sign on township land along Mayfield Road, Tiber said.
“It’s not elaborate. It will reflect the character of the township and not be a huge distraction,” he said.
At a trustees meeting, Tiber said the sign can be used to keep residents informed about the coronavirus situation.
Sharing Wealth & Health
The grant restrictions rule out paving roads or mowing cemeteries, but there is an escape clause if officials want to be generous with CARES Act money they can’t spend.
Per Ohio House Bill 481, the grants can be passed on to school districts or fire departments associated with the township to be used for virus control, attorney Todd Hicks said Oct. 19.
“A governmental entity receiving CARES Act grants can grant a portion of those funds to another entity that provides public services provided the funds are used for (protective personal equipment) or other legitimate COVID-19 expenses,” he said. “The recipient of the grant must comply with all record keeping requirements and can be audited.”
Recently, Parkman Township Trustees gifted a $12,000 thermal camera to Cardinal Schools that can scan the temperatures of up to 30 children at a time as they pass through the doors every morning.
“We are allowed to give back to the community,” Parkman Fiscal Officer Nina Reed said in a phone interview Oct. 19. “The trustees determined the school was in need.”
Specifically, each student and adult coming through the doors in the morning must have his or her temperature taken.
The process means, even with several people using forehead thermometers, delays were inevitable.
Parkman Trustee Roger Anderson credited Trustee Henry Duchscherer with the idea of sharing the CARES Act grant.
“He originally contacted the superintendent and asked what the school could use,” Anderson said.
Superintendent Bill Kermavner has a 20-member COVID-19 team to advise the administration on dealing with the virus, he said.
“They came up with some really clever ideas,” Anderson said.
The thermal camera is similar to those used at the Cleveland Clinic to make sure no visitor with a temperature gets into the facilities, so the team figured it would work for a school full of elementary students and adults, he said.
The thermal camera is more sensitive than the forehead thermometers.
“A kid could be wearing a football helmet,” and the camera would still read his or her temperature, Anderson said.
Reed said it will give an accurate reading through hats and sunglasses, as well, and is not alarming to kindergarteners.
“It’s a lot less terrifying for the little kids,” she said, adding students will be glad not to have to stand outside waiting for their turns.
As they file quickly past, the camera images on the computer screen show those without temperatures have a green box around their heads while the student with a higher-than-normal temperature will have a red box, Anderson said.
The staff can pull that person aside and deal with the problem, he said.
The camera was purchased from Just Add Tech, Inc., in Newbury Township, Kermavner said.
Dan MacRaild said his company will be installing the camera in early November and will train personnel on its use.
The thermal camera focuses in on a person’s tear duct to measure his or her temperature and will recognize a person with an elevated temperature so school officials will be alerted if he or she returns to school before the quarantine period is over, MacRaild said.
More to Come
Another COVID-19-related delay is the cleaning of school buses between runs around the district, which extends from Parkman Township south of Middlefield Village to Huntsburg Township north of the campus.
Parkman Township Trustees purchased two sprayers, backup batteries and 100 gallons of expensive disinfectant to help school personnel clean buses much faster, Kermavner said during the Cardinal Schools Board of Education meeting Oct. 14.
All told, the trustees spent about $20,000 of CARES Act grant money on items the school needed.
Parkman has received about $80,000 in CARES Act money and Reed said she believes another round will be dispensed soon.
Making sure the money is spent according to the rules is a challenge.
Officials worry auditors may decide in the future the township has to pay the grant money back, she said.
“It’s a lot of money and it’s great. We love the grants, but it’s terrifying at the same time,” she said.
