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Coventry places replacement levy on Nov. 3 ballot



COVENTRY — The Coventry Board of Trustees voted July 9 to place a 0.95-mill replacement General Fund levy on the Nov. 3 General Election ballot.
Trustee Ed Diebold reported the township received its estimated property tax revenue certificate from the Summit County Fiscal Office, which the board had requested at its June meeting.
“The replacement levy will cost the owner of a $100,000 home $33.26 per year, or $2.77 per month,” Diebold said. “This levy currently costs the owner of a $100,000 home $29.10 per year — so it is a slight increase of $4 a year.”
Diebold said the replacement levy would put collections in line with current property values.
Also during the meeting, trustees approved acccepting a $2,846 Ohio Department of Public Safety Training and Equipment Grant awarded to the Coventry Fire Department.
Trustee Jeff Houck explained the grant is administered through the Ohio Department of Public Safety and requires no matching funds from the township.
“The funding is provided entirely from seatbelt fines collected in Ohio,” Houck said.
The funds are made available to eligible EMS agencies in Ohio to purchase approved training items and EMS equipment, and the grant money must be spent before the end of 2020, Houck said.
Trustees also approved a necessary revision to the township zoning fee schedule, discovered during the township’s 2019 audit. The revision removes a “$100 minimum” requirement for residential and commercial zoning permits.
Diebold explained permit fees have been determined based on square footage of a property, with the $100 minimum applied. The revised fee structure states the cost per square foot formula for both residential and commercial permits will stand and any prior permits that did not meet the $100 minimum will have that requirement waived.
In other news, resident Ellen Fryer, of Bay Path Drive, presented signatures from 32 of 39 neighbors contacted about returning Boston Avenue to a two-way street. Fryer said residents are concerned with both traffic flow and safety since Boston was changed to a one-way street two years ago.
Diebold said the township is in the process of contacting the Summit County Engineer’s Office to determine if two-way traffic, or a three-way stop, would be advisable.
“I expect that by next month’s meeting we will hear something,” Diebold said.
Houck added township Road Superintendent Lael Stouffer has also been in contact with the county Engineer’s Office about this issue.
Also at the meeting, trustees accepted a $2,151 proposal from Enviroscapes for weed removal along the rock embankment between the Coventry Clock Tower and Ned Mohrman Bridge and along sidewalks at Portage Lakes Drive and South Turkeyfoot Road.
In his report to the board, Trustee George Beckham reiterated his previously stated view that the new open space near the Clock Tower on Portage Lakes Drive created by the recent Ohio Department of Natural Resources dam project should not be overly developed for recreational purposes.
Beckham presented a list of 20 recreational park areas within 4 miles of the Clock Tower.
“The first step in the planning process is to determine what we have and what we need,” Beckham said. “The most interesting thing to me is that within 2 miles of the Clock Tower, there are a dozen places to go to walk and enjoy the outdoors.”
Trustees also OK’d the township’s 2021 alternative tax budget, which will be submitted to the county Fiscal Office.
The Coventry trustees next will meet Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. for an online, public forum via the Zoom videoconference application. To access the meeting, visit coventrytownship.com.