Welcome to Suffield Township

The Suffield Township Board of Trustees met on Tuesday November 10th before a crowd of eleven persons.  Chief Robert Rasnick gave his fire report in which he stated the Fire Department had responded to 75 call for service in October.  He also said that the Fire Department is hosting the Portage County Health Department on Tuesday November 24th for the purpose of doing free Covid-19 tests.  The tests will be conducted in the Suffield Community Room from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM.

Jeff Eldreth reported that the old township administration building, which is now being leased and used as a used car dealer, was broken in to,  Keys to all the cars were stolen and four vehicles were taken.  Two of the four cars have been recovered.  The trustees decided that instead of replacing just the one broken window that they would replace four window at a cost of about $3,200.  Jeff Wohlwend will do the window installations. 

Jared Phillip has arranged for Green's Men Christmas Lighting to light up the town hall this year.  The trustees approved spending $2,985 for the work.  The contractor will have the lights up by Thanksgiving Day.  The township can received a 5% discount if the invoice is paid before installation.  According to Jeff Eldreth there have been seven people who have signed up for the Christmas Lighting contest.  Entrance forms can be obtained in the lobby of the Fire Department.  Judging is tentatively set for December 12th.  Shannon Eldreth asked that the trustees purchase a new refrigerator for the Town Hall kitchen.  The trustees authorized spending up to $800 for the new unit.

Jeff Eldreth motioned that the trustees "sub-grant" $25,000 of the CARES Act money to the Food Shelter.  The motion carried 3-0.  He also motioned that any remaining funds from the CARES Act money be used for Fire Department payroll expenses. 

The trustees next meet on Tuesday November 24th at 7:00 AM.  The Zoning Commission next meets on Wednesday November 11th at 7:00 PM.  No Board of Zoning Appeals hearing are set.

The Leaf Dump is open for 2020.  Bring your leaves, just leaves, to 558 Etter Road and dump them. Do not bring other clippings or branches.  The dump is open until sundown each day.  We'll let you know later the date that the dump will be closed for the year.

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The Suffield Board of Trustees met on a dreary late-fall-like day at 7:00 AM before a crowd of four interested citizens. 

Fiscal Officer Lori Calcei had some good news for the trustees.  She had reported at the last trustee meeting that Suffield Township was to receive up to $282,360 in CARES grant  money.  Well, now the county auditor has updated the potential apportionment and Suffield is in line for up to $310,947.   This is money that must be spent on COVID 19 related expenses and must be expended by the first of the year.  It appears that using the money to pay Fire Department payrolls is an acceptable expense and that this is where some, if not most, of the money will be used.  Tom Calcei gave the Fire Department report and said that ten year employee Sara Slanina has resigned from the Fire Department, while Jacob Ricketts has been added to the roster and placed on the customary one year probation.  The trustees voted to accept the resignation and the appointment.  At the Fire Chief's request, several trees along the south side of the Fire Department property will be taken down and a vinyl privacy fence erected to prevent the headlights of Fire Department vehicles from shining in the windows of the neighboring property. 

Trustee Jared Phillip has been in discussions with Spectrum about getting cable and internet service to the houses along Carriage House Drive.  He mentioned a figure of about $45,000 that the township and/or residents would have to pay upfront, but also said that there may be grants available for this sort of endeavor.  Before this goes any further, Phillip said that a survey needs to be done to see if the residents are actually in favor of pursing this.

The new salt barn that has been in the planning stages for quite some time is getting nearer to becoming a reality.  Purchasing the property across State Route 43 from the Road Department Service Building took some time and the planning for the actual hoop-style structure took some time, but it recently has been the County Building Department's permit process that has held up things.  According the Eldreth, the contractor is now able to build the structure, but due the extended permit process, he has had to reschedule the construction dates.  Eldreth said that the salt barn would be up and operation before winter arrives.

Jeff Eldreth recalled that the annual Township Clean Up Day this year had been canceled due to the COVID 19 virus, thus residents had no sensible way to get rid of old tires as in past years.  Eldreth learned that there is a FREE Tire Drop Off on Monday thru Friday, November 9-13th at the Bob Sumerel Tire Company, 480 Cleveland Road in Ravenna.  See the above flyer for more information.  Keep in mind that this is for tires only, no other items, such as batteries, will be accepted. 

The next trustee meeting will be on Tuesday November 10th at 7:00 PM (this is a seasonal time change).  The Zoning Commission will meet on Wednesday November 11th at 7:00 PM.  No Board of Zoning Appeals hearings are currently scheduled.  The meetings are open to the public and are at the Suffield Community Room, 1256 Waterloo Road.

The Suffield Township Board of Trustees met in an open meeting on Tuesday October 12th before a gathering of seven concerned residents.  Fiscal Officer Lori Calcei told the trustees that they must come up with a plan to spend $282,360 of CARES grant funds.  The caveat is that this money's use must have some relationship to the COVID 19 pandemic.  It could go toward EMS expenditures, which would include supplies and EMS wages.  It could be "sub-granted" to various local agencies that are in financial need and some other less understandable expenditures.  If the township is unable to spend the entire amount, the remainder would be returned to he County Commissions, who would acquire 20% of it for their own spending uses.  The remaining 80% would be divided between the county governments and agencies.  It was unknown if this second round of spending would be limited to COVID 19 expenses, or could be used as general fund money.  This will be discussed at greater length at the next meeting.  Most expenditures have to be made by November 20, 2020.

Tom Calcei reported that the Fire Department handled 62 calls for service in September.  He also said that Mogadore VFW has donated a trailer to haul the Fire Department's UTV and have bought a new rescue stokes basket, which will be used with the UTV.  Many thanks to the VFW for their continued support of Suffield Township.  Calcei also reported that the complaint of junk vehicles at 1476 Trares Road has been resolved.  The residents there moved and took the vehicles with them. 

Jared Phillip said that he had a talk with someone from Spectrum and learned that there may have been some movement in getting cable service to the people in Carriage House Estates. 

Tom Calcei mentioned that Trick or Treat is still on for Sunday October 25th, 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM.

The trustees next meet on Tuesday October 27th at 7:00 AM.  The Zoning Commission meets on Wednesday October 14th at 7:00 PM.  There are no Board of Zoning Appeals hearings set.

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.