Trustee Joe McAbee was upset the public didn’t get a chance to make real-time comments on the legislation to contract with a builder for the new public works building. The township broadcast their meeting on Facebook Live as the public is ordered by the state to stay-at-home due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
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“We have absolutely no public discussion about the building itself,” McAbee said, advocating for the public to see the proposal “to know what we’re paying for.”
Detailed plans would be submitted to the township for permitting later this year, and the projects are expected to wrap by the end of the year, according to proposed timelines.
The public was asked through the township’s website and social media, and through traditional media, to either email or text comments and questions to the township administrator ahead of the meeting, or during the meeting.
Trustee president Shannon Hartkemeyer said the public works building, sometimes referenced as a service building, “is something that we’ve talked about for quite some time in a number of different ways.”
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Officials say much of the township’s public works equipment is stored outside at the former undersized Tylersville Road fire station.
CUC was the lowest of the two bidders of the project, and they built the new fire Station 212 on Gilmore Road.
After a motion to approve the public works project was seconded, McAbee said it should stand for a first reading to allow the public to review the bid packet received from CUC and the staff report.
“I feel if it’s on the agenda tonight I feel like we should share that information with the public,” McAbee said.
Hartkemeyer and Trustee Susan Berding said they were comfortable with voting on the legislation or continuing the vote, a motion to table was never made.
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Township Administrator Julie Vonderhaar said legislation allowed her to enter into contracts with CUC, and there is time for the public to see plans.
“I think we do need to make it available, but the board has had the information for several weeks,” she said.
Though the public works project was a 2-1 vote, trustees voted unanimously to contract with CUC on the police station remodel and expansion. This addresses the department’s continued growth and demand. Emergency calls for service went from 10,000 annually in recent years to 12,500 calls in 2019. The department’s authorized strength has also increased by four officers since 2018.
McAbee later questioned the $5 million loan. He said they “ought to wait 60, or 90, days to see what happens” as the police and public works projects were not essential at this time.
Interest rates were dropped drastically because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and officials believe rates may not be as low as the 1.99 percent quoted by Huntington Bank in two or three months.
Berding, disagreeing with McAbee, said both projects are essential, and “in the interest of progress,” should move forward, especially with the police station as “it’s really not up to par.”
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