Endorsement: Bath Township trustee
Ken Ertel vs. Elaina Goodrich (incumbent) vs. Ernest
Mertens
A longtime member of the Bath Township Board of Trustees is being challenged for her seat by two Bath residents for the four-year term.
Elaina Goodrich, who has served as trustee since 1996, faces Ken Ertel and Ernest Mertens in the Nov. 6 General Election.
Whoever is chosen will join fellow trustees Donald Jenkins and James Nelson, whose terms expire in 2010. The three-member Board of Trustees is responsible for handling the legislative and executive responsibilities of the township. The race is nonpartisan.
With Goodrich coming up on 12 years on the board, and Jenkins and Nelson with nearly 10 years each, both challengers to Goodrich said the time is right to get a new voice on the board.
Mertens, an attorney with a practice in Fairlawn, said two terms is enough for anyone to serve. He pledged that if elected, he would not seek more than eight years in office.
“After two terms you are pretty worn out,” Mertens said. “New ideas need to be brought in.”
Ertel, who is a sales manager for Alro Steel Corp. in Cuyahoga Falls, said he thinks a new trustee can help with what he sees as a problem in Bath: a disconnect that residents feel with the trustees.
“We need more efforts of outreach to get ideas and input,” Ertel said. “I don’t feel anybody has come to me or my neighborhood.”
Incumbent Goodrich said if she were in the two candidates’ positions, she would probably say the same thing. “New blood is probably good down the line,” she said. But she added that her fellow trustees may not be running for re-election, and she would like to remain on the board to give some continuity to it.
Goodrich said she feels she is still an effective trustee. She wants to serve again because she wants to see projects through. One of those projects is the recent formation of a committee to work toward creating a historic district in Bath.
Goodrich said the recent controversy regarding the possibility of a cell phone tower being placed in Bath near Hammonds Corner was the impetus for the committee and the work it plans to do. Restaurateur Ken Stewart had planned to allow his property on North Cleveland-Massillon Road to be used for a T-Mobile tower.
The cell tower controversy was mentioned by Ertel as one example of how the current trustees have been ineffective. He said the trustees are “more reactive than proactive.”
“They are finally taking the initiative to set up a historic corridor,” he said. “It’s a good thing ... but I wish some years ago they would have set it up (so this couldn’t happen).”
When asked about that issue, Goodrich said the trustees did try to set up a committee a few years ago and there was little interest in the community.
“When the cell phone tower came up, everyone was enthusiastic,” she said. The committee recently met with a consultant and is working toward having a document drawn up that examines the township and specifically three hamlets that are being considered for historic designation.
Goodrich also disagrees that local residents feel disconnected from the trustees. She said the three members of the board have spread themselves across organizations so as to meet the most residents. She also said the township’s quarterly newsletter and local media do a good job of informing the public with what is happening.
She added that if people are not pleased with something, they voice their opinion.
Mertens said he believes Bath residents are well-informed about what’s going on in the township. But he said he would like to see the trustees refrain from being neutral on issues such as taxes.
“You have to put yourself on the line,” Mertens said. “I’m outspoken. If you ask me a question, I’ll answer that question. I’m honest with people.”
Mertens said, if elected, he would have two priorities: to “keep Bath Bath” and to ensure the safety of residents.
Regarding his first priority, Mertens said he thinks Bath can keep its character while still being a place that people want to do business. He thinks some small changes, such as allowing businesses to use an “open” sign, would do the township good.
As for safety, Mertens stressed the need for the trustees to hire the best people for the jobs available.
“The dedication of people in an organization starts from the top down,” Mertens said. “If you want dedicated people working in an organization, you have to make sure people are taken care of. We need to provide the best possible equipment and guidance.”
Ertel also raised concerns about the fire department.
“With growth there are more calls,” Ertel said. “They need equipment and personnel.”
Goodrich said the community is being asked to support the passage of a 1.5-mill replacement levy for fire protection and EMS services that also will be on the ballot in November. But she said the township’s safety forces are handling their jobs and doing them well, especially Bath Police Chief Michael McNeely.
“Crime in Bath is down 30 percent,” Goodrich said. “He is doing a good job. They are patrolling the township more.”
She added that the township’s firefighters are well-qualified and have more training.
Both Mertens and Ertel agreed that services in Bath are on the right track.
Ertel raised concerns about cluster housing that has been built in recent years around Hametown Road. He is concerned that these smaller lot sizes are a sign of things to come in Bath.
Goodrich said the development in question was originally designed to be housing for senior citizens, which Bath is lacking. But when the original developer sold the development to another, the concept changed.
She stressed that almost all of Bath is zoned for 2-1/2-acre lots and has been for about six years. When asked, both Mertens and Ertel said they believed Bath’s required minimum lot size is 1-1/2 acres.
Both challengers admit to not being regular attendees at trustee meetings. Ertel said he has attended two meetings recently. Mertens said he hasn’t attended a meeting in about five years, adding that “going to meetings when campaigning is hypocritical.”
The challengers did say they would be willing to put the time into their work on the board.
Ertel said he would expect to spend between 20 and 40 hours a week on trustee business. He said he thinks he can do the job while continuing his job in the steel industry.
Mertens said he plans to lighten his workload in the coming years, so being a trustee would not place a time burden on him.
Goodrich said she has no problem continuing to spend the 30 hours or so a week she said she spends on trustee business. She said she spends at least four hours a day in the township offices and does a lot of work on weekends.
Goodrich and her fellow trustees currently spend all day on Mondays working on trustee business, she said, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and sometimes going until 11 p.m. She has concerns that a new member of the board may not be able to work within that schedule.
The three candidates all express their passion for the Bath community and keeping the qualities that make the township desirable. But when looking at these three candidates, Goodrich comes out ahead because of her experience and know-how as a longtime member of the Board of Trustees.
While the challengers stress the need for a new perspective on the board, Goodrich shows she is still engaged as a member and willing and able to put in the time it takes to get the job done well. She reports she has written 20 federal, state, local and private grant requests, nine of which have been granted, resulting in more than $1 million for Bath’s parks.
Goodrich has spent a lot of time recently reading the history of the township through records dating from the early 1800s through 1968. The wealth of information she possesses as a resident and trustee is invaluable.
Ertel’s concerns regarding the “disconnect” he feels in the community should be respected, as should Mertens’ contention that a fresh perspective is what Bath’s governing body needs. They both have different positive attributes that make them viable candidates. We encourage them both to stay involved in the community, perhaps through township committee work, to let their voices be heard.
Because we believe Goodrich has more to do as trustee and the capabilities to do it well, the West Side Leader endorses Elaina Goodrich for Bath Township trustee.
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