Welcome to Suffield Township

The Suffield Township Board of Trustees met on Tuesday February 9th before a gathering of eight people.  Fire Chief Robert Rasnick gave a brief report of January's activity.  A total of 62 calls were handled, of which 52 were EMS runs.  Zoning Inspector Adam Bey gave a report in which he said the derelict property at 2412 Sunnybrook Road had jumped to near the top of the list of properties that the Portage County Land Bank planned to demolish this year.  The Land Bank acquired a demolition permit from Bey and it now seems likely that the structures on the land will be removed sometime in March.  Bey also gave a report on zoning activity in 2020.  Fifty-five permits were issued, including eight for new homes.  The total value of improvements to the township was $4,860,814, which is about ten percent more than in 2019.

Some discussion was had on record retention.  The trustees seem to want to consolidate all the old records in one location than then have some at the old administration building and some on the second floor of the original Fire Station.  Jeff Eldreth spoke of building out a room in the Road Department garage where the salt used to be stored.  Tom Calcei mentioned that some of the older records could be destroyed after a careful review by the Record Review Commission and the Suffield Township Historical Society.  No final decision was made on this matter.  The trustees spoke of the new "Temporary Vendor's Permit" resolution that had its first public meeting two weeks ago.  Some changes were suggested and these changes will be considered by the Zoning Commission on Wednesday February 10th at the regular monthly Zoning Commission meeting,  John Yeargin complimented the Fire Chief and his department for the kind and professional manner in which the EMS crew operated on January 31st when Yeargin's wife Judy needed transportation to the hospital.

The big news was that the trustees voted to go forward with purchasing a new Road Department dump truck to replace the township's 2000 International dump truck.  A dealership in Wapakoneta has been selected and has in stock just the truck that the trustees are looking for.   The cost is about $145,000 which the fiscal officer said the township could afford.

The next trustee meeting will be on Tuesday February 23rd at 7:00 AM.  They will meet again that same day at 7:00 PM to continue their public hearing on the "Temporary Vendor's Permit" issue.  The Zoning Commission will meet on Wednesday February 10th at 7:00 PM.  All meetings are open to the public and are at the Suffield Community Room at 1256 Waterloo Road.

Advertise yourself, your business or where you work by sending us your business card.  We will put it in the section above on the title bar that is entitled "Business Cards".  There is no cost to you, and the card will remain there until you ask that it be taken down, or when you ask us to replace an old card with a new, more up-to-date card.  You can e-mail the card to us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or snail mail it to Jeff Childers, 229 Waterloo Road, Suffield, Ohio 44260. 

The Suffield Township Board of Trustees met twice on Tuesday January 26th.  First they met at 7:00 AM in front of one attendee.  The meeting was quick and to the point.  The trustees discussed spending approximately $13,000 in the form of a grant offered by NOPEC.  Plans, while not finalized, are to make some repairs to the old salt shed, which is actually part of the Township Garage.  This would include new insulated doors, insulation in the walls and ceiling and heating the space.  Our friends at NOPEC have been very generous with Suffield Township over the recent past.  This year's grant of about $13,000 is a little less than the usual amount of about $19,000 they have made available.  The township can use these funds without allocating matching funds.  Last year's grant paid for the new roof on the Road Department garage. 

The trustees accepted the one dollar yearly payment from the Suffield Township Historical Society for use of the original Fire Department building where the museum is now located.  The property at 2412 Sunnybrook Road is now owned by the Portage County Land Bank.  The Land Bank plans to demolish the structure on that property, hopefully by the end of March.

The second meeting of the trustees was later in the day, when a public hearing on proposed changes to the Zoning Resolutions were heard.  The only issue up for discussion was a new section to the Zoning Resolutions that would regulate vendors who operate on a temporary basis.  In this case, the temporary basis would be no longer than six months.  Some concerns by the trustees caused the issue to be tabled until a later date.  Zoning Commission Chairman John Yeargin said be would work with the others on the Zoning Commission and have the requested changes included in the amendment by the time the trustees meet again on this issue.  Eleven citizens, including three Zoning Commission members, attended the hearing.

The trustees next meet on Tuesday February 9th at 7:00 PM.  The Zoning Commission meets on Wednesday February 10th at 7:00 PM.  There are no Board of Zoning Appeals hearings in the works.  Both meetings are in the Suffield Community Room at 1256 Waterloo Road. 

The Suffield Township Board of Trustees met before nine people on Tuesday January 12th.  The evening meeting featured the fire chief's monthly and yearly reports.   Chief Rasnick said that December' calls for service totaled 86, which was higher than usual.  The calls for service in the year 2020 set a record for calls, with the Fire Department responding to 862 calls.  EMS response calls weighed in at 71% of the total.  Rasnick said that the Fire Department has purchased a UVC light, which will help to eliminate germs and viruses from their ambulances.  New phones were discussed and the trustees decided to switch from AT&T to Spectrum.  The subject of getting internet service to the Road Department also merited some talk, and ultimately, it was decided that a "hard wire" connection would be made from the Historical Society Museum to the Road Department office.  Chief Rasnick also asked the trustees for permission to look into getting a new chassis for a 27-year-old truck.  The stainless steel body is still very serviceable and does not need to be replaced, but the cab and the under chassis does.  Lori Calcei, fiscal officer, said the township has money set aside for this sort of matter.  To re-chassis the fire truck will be in the $250,000 range.

Jeff Eldreth motioned for the trustees to accept and set aside the money ($1,500) that NOPEC is willing to grant us for 2021.  This money is to be used for community events.  Some discussion was had on signs that are in the township right-of-way, specifically those nailed to utility poles.  

The trustees next meet on Tuesday January 26th at 7:00 AM for a regular meeting.  Later that same day the trustees will hold the postponed Zoning Resolution Change hearing at 7:00 PM.  The only change to be considered pertains to "temporary permits" for things such as food trucks, etc.  The Zoning Commission will meet on Wednesday January 13th at 7:00 PM.  They hold their own re-organizational meeting, immediately followed by their regular monthly meeting.  No Board of Zoning Appeals hearings have been set.  As usual, all meetings are open to the public and are subject to social distancing.  All meetings listed are in the Suffield Community Room at 1256 Waterloo Road.