Trustee Meeting – March 14, 2022
The Board of Deerfield Township Trustees met in regular session on Monday, March 14, 2022, at 5:30pm, with Trustees Ed Dean, Mark Bann and Tiffany Havens pre- sent. Chairman Bann opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance. Ed moved to dispense with the reading of the minutes from the previous meeting and approve them as written. Tiffany seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous. Ed moved to accept the January financials as presented. Tiffany seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous. Ed moved to accept the February financials as presented. Tiffany seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
Communications:
- The Air You Breathe sent their February 2022 Free Quarterly Newsletter from the Akron Regional Air Quality Management District
- Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) sent an email regretting to inform Deerfield Township that our application was not selected for funding through the Township Stimulus Program. ODOT received 1,182 applications in total requesting just under $138M from 647 unique townships. Freedom Township was the only township in the county to be selected.
- Portage County Board of Elections sent an agreement for Deerfield Township to allow them the use of the Deerfield Town Hall for the election be held on May 3, 2022, August 2, 2022 and November 8, 2022. Ed Dean made a motion to proceed with allowing the Portage County Board of Elections the use of the Deerfield Town Hall on the above dates for voting. Tiffany seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.2021 Township Highway System Mileage Certification: Ed Dean made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 22-15, thereby, to certify the total mileage for Deerfield Township in Portage County was 16.262 miles as Certified by the Board of Township Trustees or reported by the Director of Transportation in accordance with the provisions specified in the Ohio Revised Code, Section 4501.04. We, the undersigned, hereby certify that as of December 31, 2021, Deerfield Township was responsible for maintaining 16.267 miles of public roads.Tiffany Havens seconded the motion and the roll call vote was as follows:
Adopted: March 14, 2022
Mr. Dean Ms. Havens Mr. Bann
Yes Yes Yes
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Fire Department: Scott Simmons provided a verbal report for the fire department on activity since the last meeting. The fire department is up to approximately 103 runs for the year, with 9 EMS calls, 4 fires and 5 motor vehicle accidents.
The Deerfield Fire Department Station office phone and internet changed over to Spectrum. The emergency line is still on Century Link until it is confirmed that Spectrum can do the emergency line also, which is an additional $87 per month. Chief Vaughn Sutcliffe has been working to get this emergency line ported over. Mark made a motion to purchase a battery backup for the phone line should the power go out. Ed seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
Active 911 paging system needs to be renewed at a cost of $417.31 per year.
The indicator light sensor on Tank #1418 was replaced, which lets them know what stage the pump is in.
The spring on the Deerfield Township Fire Garage door broke and was replaced.
Barry Schroeder resigned from the Deerfield Fire Department due to a lack of time with his full time job.
Hal Lehman, Deerfield Fire Department’s newest member approved at the last meeting has already started working shifts and appears to be a good fit.
Ed Dean made a motion to accept Jayden McGreal as a cadet on the Deerfield Fire Department on a probationary basis per the recommendation of the Chief and Assistant Fire Chief. Tiffany seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous. Jayden is currently 17 years old, but turns 18 in May, 2022. He currently resides in Deerfield Township and currently holds his fire certification, completing his Fire I and Fire II and is currently in school to become an EMT. He would like to be moved to member status when he turns 18 in May.
Deerfield Township has received money for the first part of the 2018 grant in the amount of $47,624.76 and $1,329 from the wild fire risk reduction grant. There is a small amount remaining towards the 2018 AFG Grant to be spent. Scott indicated he would like to purchase gear for Hal Lehman, which includes his jacket, pants and boots totaling $3,500 with this remaining grant money since this member does not fit into any gear they have available. A majority of this purchase of gear would be covered by the remainder of the grant monies, however, approximately $350 would have to come out of the Deerfield Township Fire Fund.
Deerfield Township Fire Department has been asked to do an Ambulance Data Collection Survey for Medicare and Medicaid for the year 2022. If our department does not participate, the amount received for transports will be reduced. This request will require a lot of work at the beginning of 2023. Chief Vaughn Sutcliffe will work with Life Force
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Management and the Fiscal Officer to collect the data, which is expected to take approximately 20 hours of preparation.
Chief Vaughn Sutcliffe and Assistant Chiefs Scott Simmons and Nick Lam have a meeting scheduled with Life Force Management to discuss the ALS billing.
Deerfield Fire Sirenettes donated money to the Deerfield Fire Association to purchase new ice rescue equipment at a cost of $4,400. Deerfield Farms donated money to purchase aluminum auto cribbing to help the members stabilize vehicles involved in auto accidents at a cost of $2,145.
Mark made a motion to purchase batteries for the Thermal Imaging Camera at a cost of $185 and the Jaws Cutting Tool at a cost of $524. Ed seconded the motion and the roll call was unanimous.
The Boaters Education Course will be held Saturday, March 19, 2022 at the Deerfield Town Hall from 9am to 5pm.
The Deerfield Township Sirenettes and the Deerfield Fire Association are hosting a Breakfast with the Easter Bunny on Saturday, April 2, 2022 from 8am to 11am at the Deerfield Fire Station. The cost is $8 for adults. The Easter Bunny will be present and there will be a basket raffle. Each household in attendance will receive a free smoke detector.
The Deerfield Township Trustees requested a list of all the duties expected for all shifts along with a schedule of all the upcoming hours scheduled to be worked.
John Girscht, a member of the Deerfield Fire Department, attended the meeting upset about the amount of his fire reimbursement and the policy in place to determine the amount that is issued to each member as a Fire Department reimbursement. Assistant Chief Scott Simmons explained that members get more credits having hire credentials even if the same number of calls are run. The Deerfield Township Trustees asked the Fire Department look into this and discuss further at the next meeting.
Life Force Management sent five (5) ambulance billing accounts that are non-collectible and recommended that they be forwarded for collection. Ed made a motion to send four (4) of the accounts for collection and disagree to send one as it potentially should be soft- billed. Mark seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
Road Department: Patching has been started and will proceed as asphalt plants get up and running. The Road Department has repaired a few washouts from the heavy rains. Snow cleanup was done over the weekend. Snow markers and the snowflakes up at the Deerfield Circle will be taken down this week.
The Road Department replaced two (2) hydraulic lines on the Lo Pro Truck. 3
The F450 transmission repair is being finished up and should have back soon.
Ed made a motion to approve the purchase of a 55 gallon drum of hydraulic fluid for the trucks and trailers from Southwest Fuels. Mark seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
The Trustees are looking into purchasing a new truck. Earliest availability is out to the year 2023. Western Star trucks are too tall for our buildings. The Trustees have received a price on a Kenworth and waiting on a price from Mack. Dealerships are not required to honor the state bid and with the current supply chain, they may not offer this.
Cemeteries: Deerfield Cemetery Association donated a check in the amount of $700 to replace the door at the cemetery. Mark made a motion to accept this donation. Ed seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
Buildings & Grounds: A township employee volunteered to water the plants they anticipate to place at the circle this spring daily.
Ed made a motion to approve $1,000 for lawn products including seed, fertilizer, pellets, etc. Mark seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
Randolph Township has a Bobcat 4×4 side by side set up with safety lights for sale at a cost of $8,000 with 400 hours. A side by side could be used for cemetery maintenance, funerals, fields, spraying weeds etc. Ed made a motion to purchase the Bobcat side by side from Randolph Township at a cost of $8,000 with a $1,000 deposit down. Tiffany seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
New Business: The Deerfield Civic Association anticipate moving the Deerfield Apple Butter over to the Deerfield Town Hall on the day of the festival, but intend to keep the preparation and peeling at the American Legion. Ed made a motion to allow the use of the Deerfield Town Hall property to the Deerfield Civic Association for the purpose of the Deerfield Apple Butter Festival on the 2nd Saturday of October each year. Tiffany seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
Deerfield Township Trustees indicated they would provide one (1) porta potty at township expense, one (1) electrical outlet and water usage at the Deerfield Road Department garage. Southeast Youth Baseball and Softball Association will be responsible for providing a dumpster. The Trustees would like the number of keys issued to be limited. Deerfield Trustees are requesting a 30 day notice prior to the start of the season.
Mark made a motion to set up and advertise for a Special Trustee Meeting on Saturday, March 19, 2022 @ 8:00am to inspect the ballfields and discuss contract terms with Southeast Youth Baseball and Softball Association. Tiffany seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
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A Deerfield resident inquired about the status of the gas station. The Trustees indicated they did not start last year due to the increase in material costs from the supply shortages.
The following bills were presented for Trustees’ inspection and approval: See Payment Register attached.
Mark made a motion to pay these bills and adjourn the meeting. Ed seconded the motion and the roll call vote was unanimous.
Meeting adjourned at 6:30pm.
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