Welcome to Suffield Township

On Tuesday August 15th, the Suffield Township Board of Trustees met and considered several issues.  One was to allow the Fire Department to buy some new communications equipment from Mitchell Communications at a cost of $6,600.  This new equipment would assure that firefighters and EMS personnel in the field have adequate ability to communicate with their portable radios.  Currently there are several significant dead spots in Suffield.  Chief Robert Rasnick said that times have changed and responding firefighters are now more likely than ever to be affronted by violent people.  He said the need to have a reliable way to ask for assistance is necessary to assure the safety of his men and women.  The trustees also voted to expend $4,200 for two new rescue "dry suits" from Dive Rescue International.  These suits will replace two older suits that are about 14 years old and are no longer effective.  The Chief also announced the departure of Mike Mohnacky and Kyle Knapp from the department's roster.  He also asked the trustees to hire Matt Leidel as a firefighter.  Leidel had served with the Suffield Fire Department about five years ago.  The trustees voted 3-0 to accept the two resignations and the new hire.

Trustee Jeff Eldreth asked for $300 to have Dave Kuntzman Tree Service remove a dead tree and some tree limbs along the right-of-way on Martin Road.  He also said that he wanted to stripe Martin Road and Congress Lake Road.  The trustees voted 3-0 to spend the money for this task.  Eldreth also wanted to congratulate a local 4-H girl, Caroline Blay, on raising the Grand Champ Simmental Steer at the Ohio State Fair. 

The trustees meet again on Thursday September 7th at 8:00 PM.  This is a change from their regularly scheduled meeting on September 12th.  The Board of Zoning Appeals meets this Thursday, August 17th at 8:00 PM.  The Zoning Commission does now meet again until Wednesday September 20th at 7:00 PM.  This is also a departure from their normal meeting date.  

Interested in being a vendor at this year's festival?  You're in luck, we're still looking for more vendors.  Click here to see the registration form.

The Suffield Township Board of Trustees conducted an advertised executive session prior to their regular meeting. The smaller than usual crowd of six people waited patiently for the executive session to end and the trustees to get down to the important business of running the township.  Once the meeting began, trustee Tom Calcei reported that the fire truck that had been wrecked a couple months ago was back in its home garage and would be put back into service in the next day or two.  Otherwise there was nothing new going on at the Fire Department.  Trustee Jeff Eldreth said that the road work on Portage Line Road was near completion, after the contractor had "fogged" the new road surface.  It still needs to be striped.  Trustee chairman Dave Vartenuk said that there was nothing to report on Carriage House Drive, as the Sheriff's Sale has not yet been scheduled.  He mentioned that the Zoning Commission would be taking the month of August off, but would return to action on September 13th.  He also said the Board of Zoning Appeals will meet on August 17th to decide whether or not to issue a variance to a resident at 1153 Congress Lake Road who wants to build an oversized accessory building.  It was mentioned that the property on Waterloo Road at Portage Line Line appears to headed toward some sort of development as dozers have been knocking down trees and clearing land, but no one has yet come forth seeking permits.  This discussion brought about questions on the "Welcome to Suffield" sign that sits in front of this property.  No action was taken on that matter.

Tom Calcei spoke on a meeting he had with other county township officials concerning the formula used to distribute Local Government Funds.  Each ten years a commission, consisting of the County Auditor (Janet Esposito), the County Treasurer (Brad Cromes) and the County Prosecutor (Victor Vigluicci), consider how to divide funds from the State to each of the political subdivisions in the county for the next ten years.  Townships have complained that the formula used in the past is unfair to the townships and too generous to the cities.  The meeting that Calcei attended yesterday produced a plan that would use population as one of the factors in the money distribution.  Another meeting on this issue is upcoming, and Calcei said he would report back to the Board of Trustees after that meeting.   Money received from this funding stream is extremely important to the financial health of Suffield.

Dave Vartenuk asked if there were any problems with the recycling program, now that it's been in effect for a little more than six months.  The trustees agreed that they were favorably impressed with the program so far.  No one in the audience had any objections on the issue.   

(the following is a reminder of the revised trustee meeting schedule)  Several changes were made to the meeting schedule for the Suffield Township Board of Trustees.  The first is that the regular meeting for Tuesday August 8th has been changed to Thursday August 3rd at 8:00 PM.  There will be an executive session at 6:00 PM, which is closed to the public.  Another change to the meeting schedule is that the regular meeting set on Tuesday August 22nd has been rolled back to Tuesday August 15th at 8:00 PM.  The regular meeting set for Tuesday September 12th has been reset for Thursday September 7th at 8:00 PM.  All meetings are at the Township Administration Building.  And, don't forget, beginning September 26th, the second regularly scheduled monthly meeting will be at 7:00 AM. 

Incidentally, the Zoning Commission is not meeting this month.  The Board of Zoning Appeals has a hearing set for Thursday August 17th at 8:00 PM.  David Stormer of 1153 Congress Lake Road is requesting a variance to build an oversize accessory building.

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. 

It was just at the last Suffield Township Board of Trustee's meeting the trustees voted to have one of their monthly meetings changed to a 7:00 AM start.  Again at Tuesday's meeting the trustees changed the meeting schedule, but on a more gentile and temporary basis.  Summer vacations, work travel and even the 159th Portage County Randolph Fair figured into the need to reschedule the next three trustee's meetings.  The regular meeting for August 8th and been changed to Thursday August 3rd at 8:00 PM.  The regular meeting for August 22nd has been changed to Tuesday August 15th at 8:00 PM, and the regular meeting for September 12th has been moved back to Thursday September 7th at 8:00 PM.  Beginning on Tuesday September 26th, the second trustee meeting of each month will be held at 7:00 AM.  Palmyra and Randolph are the only other of Portage County's eighteen townships that have a morning trustee meeting.

Fire Chief Bob  Rasnick's monthly report was read by trustee Tom Calcei.  In June, the Fire Department responded to 75 calls for service, bringing them up to 335 calls during the first six months of the year.  The fire truck that was wrecked about two months ago, is due to be returned to service sometime in the next week, and the Chief has asked that Ross Harmon, a Suffield Township resident, be hired.  The trustees voted to hire Ross with the normal stipulation of completing a one-year probationary period. 

Trustee Jeff Eldreth said the Road Department is moving along doing its normal summer work, including some mowing and patchwork.  He asked for $5,000 to buy asphalt, which the trustees agreed to.  Eldreth also commented on the road projects being done by the Portage County Engineer' Office and the ODOT.  For those tired of bumps at driveways and intersections along State Route 43, they will be glad to know that there is one more layer of asphalt to be applied and with that layer, all those bumps will go away.  Eldreth mentioned that the Portage Line Road project is nearing completion, and the rebuilding of Pontius Road, from Congress Lake Road to the east township limits is also nearly completed.  Resident Jim Lutz commented on a dead tree on Martin Road near Randolph Road that presents a danger to motorists.  The trustees asked Eldreth to get a price for removing this tree and some tree work further down Martin Road near Etter Road, where low hanging branches create a view obstruction.  

Trustee Chairman Dave Vartenuk asked the trustees to approve spending $5,255.30 for work by the Portage County Regional Planning on writing the 2020-2040 Land Use Comprehensive Plan that the Zoning Commission is working on.  The trustees also appear to be taking a more aggressive tone towards getting the derelict property at 1560 Carriage House Drive demolished.  The Prosecutor's Office had asked the township to hold off on demolition until the property was offered at a Sheriff's Sale, but no auction date has yet been set.  Since money for the demolition is available from the Portage County Land Bank, the trustees want to move forward with this.  Construction in earnest began on this house in 1996.  While the structure looks fairly complete, the builder has failed to get building department inspections and code violations are many.  No work has been done on the house in many years.  The Portage County Auditor's Office valued the property in 2006 at $295,500.  This year the valuation has dropped to $91,900, and according to the Auditor's website, as of today, the property taxes are about $19,000 in arrears.  While the Prosecutor's Office feels that the Sheriff's Sale auction is a necessary step in the condemnation process, trustee Tom Calcei wants to schedule a second public hearing to move forward with demolition.

The next trustees meeting will on on Thursday August 3rd at 8:00 PM.  The Zoning Commission does not meet in August.  The zoning inspector stated that the Board of Zoning Appeals would be called into action for a hearing on a variance on the size of an accessory building, but no date has been set.