7/12/2012 - West Side Leader
     

The Bath Township Board of Trustees has amended the job description for township administrator to eliminate the residency requirement and has posted the job opening that will be created by the Aug. 31 retirement of Township Administrator William Snow.

Trustee Becky Corbett noted at the board’s July 2 meeting that the amendment to remove the residency requirement reflects court rulings that have struck down similar provisions in other communities. Trustees also agreed to accept applications for the job until the close of business Aug. 1. The job posting and description can be found on the township website, www.bathtown ship.org.

Snow submitted his resignation at the trustees’ June 18 meeting and indicated he was giving the required 60-day notice that he intended to reapply for the position. He said pending Ohio General Assembly legislation that would change the long-term payout of Ohio public employee pensions prompted his retirement. [For more on that, see “Administrator retires in advance of pension changes” in the June 21, 2012, edition or visit our archives at www.akron.com.]

Also at the meeting, the trustees approved a commitment of $5,000 in local matching funds for the Moving Ohio Forward grant program to demolish abandoned, vacant and blighted residential properties. Under the grant program, the township’s funds would be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Trustees discussed using the funds to demolish an abandoned house at 3177 Sourek Road and a house whose roof has collapsed at 685 Lois Drive. They also discussed demolition of an accessory structure on West Point Avenue.

The township would follow all legal procedures for demolition of the properties, and any cost to the township could be recouped through placing the amount on the property owner’s tax duplicate, according to the trustees. 

Trustees also agreed to accept a legal settlement reached with Blue Heron Nursery on Medina Road. The township has had an ongoing zoning dispute with the business owner. Terms of the settlement were not released pending court approval.

Trustees still are seeking applicants for a two-year term as alternate to the township’s Appearance Review Commission, which meets at 5 p.m. on the first Monday of each month. Trustees said they specifically are seeking a landscape architect for the position. Letters of interest may be sent to the board.

In other business, trustees:

• agreed to rehire firefighter Robert Motz as a part-time volunteer firefighter/emergency medical technician, effective July 2. This position does not qualify for the Ohio public employee’s pension program;

• approved payment of $181,999.90 in requisitions and purchase orders;

• approved moving Bath Fire Department employee Christopher Null to the position of firefighter/paramedic with a pay raise, effective July 1. Null completed paramedic training and has passed state and national examinations, said Fire Chief Walter Hower;

• approved payment of $215,071.22 to Perrin Asphalt Co. for the township road resurfacing program; and

• approved participation in a cooperative agreement with Summit County for job retention and tax revenue sharing.

The board also planned to meet in special session at 9 a.m. today, July 12. The regular July 16 meeting has been canceled because of trustees’ vacation schedules. The board’s next regular meeting will be Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. in the trustees’ meeting room on the lower level of the Bath Administration Building, 3864 W. Bath Road.

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