Welcome to Suffield Township

The Suffield Township Board of Trustees met on Tuesday December 10th before about 16 residents.  It was one of those two-for-one meetings in that the first session was set as a hearing on one Zoning Resolution change.  The trustees heard Zoning Inspector Adam Bey and Zoning Commission Chairman John Yeargin explain a change to the rules that would allow residents to build larger accessory buildings on their lots.  The hearing concluded with trustee Jarod Phillip motioning to accept the Zoning Resolution change.  The trustees voted 3-0 in favor of the change.  The new rule will become effective in about 30 days.

During the regular trustee meeting, the trustees discussed a number of subjects, including, but not limited to:  mentioning that the oldest commercial building in the township is now up for auction by the Portage County Sheriff.  This is the old church (1292 Waterloo Road) next to Eastlawn Cemetery.  The trustees also decided to not oppose the change of the liquor license at Suffield Springs Golf Course from Joe Guarnieri to the new owner.  They passed a resolution acknowledging that a three year Fire Levy renewal would bring in $177,978 each year for the township.  This levy renewal will be on the March 17th election ballot.

The big news was announcing the winners of the Christmas Lighting Contest.  The Grand Winner was the Winkleman family at 1701 Woodlark Drive. Second through fifth place went to the Denison's at 2409 Congress Lake Road, the Ebie's at 1124 Etter Road, the McCarty's at 43 Pontius Road and the Bennett's at 1435 Galaxy Circle.  Gift certificates were given to these winners.  This year 16 families entered the contest.  The next step is for the Suffield Township trustees and the Rootstown Township trustees to vote on either the Winkleman house or the winner of Rootstown's contest.  Gift baskets from each township will go to the winner.  Residents are encouraged to drive by the sixteen houses in Suffield to see the lights. When Rootstown has announced their winner that location will be provided.  See the list of Suffield houses in the article near the top of this page.

Chief Bob Rasnick said that the Fire Department had a busy November, responding to 66 calls for service.  They also conducted nine continuing education classes.  Trustee Tom Calcei said that the Christmas With Santa was another big success with 67 kids visiting with Santa and receiving gifts.  The Field High School Concert Choir also gave a great performance. 

The trustees changed their meeting schedule for the remainder of 2019.  They will next meet of Tuesday December 24th at 7:00 AM, then again for the "Year End" meeting and "Re-Organizational" meeting on Monday December 30th at 7:00 AM.  The Zoning Commission has a meeting on Wednesday December 11th at 7:00 PM, and the Board of Zoning Appeals will hold a hearing on Tuesday December 17th at 7:00 PM. 

Suffield Christmas Lighting Contest

The participants have signed up & we are ready to go! Below, you will find the list of addresses competing in this years light contest. All participants are encouraged to keep their lights displayed every evening from dusk until 10pm for viewing. Good luck! The winner will be announced at the Trustee meeting this coming Tuesday, Dec. 10th. If the participants wish to attend, plan to arrive at 7pm at the community room. You are not required to attend the meeting to win the competition.

Here are the addresses:

1327 S. Polen Ave.

2409 Congress Lake Rd.      2nd place winner - the Denison's

43 Pontius Rd.                      4th place winner - the McCarty's

1177 Woodbriar Dr.

1334 S. Polen Ave.

177 Kehner Rd.

1239 Finley Dr.

1354 Brookwood Dr.

1435 Galaxy Cir.                   5th place winner - the Bennett's

232 Congress Lake Rd.

1701 Woodlark Dr.                1st place winner - the Winkleman's

1124 Etter Rd.                       3rd place winner - the Ebie's

414 Manning Rd.

1386 St. Rt. 43

451 Cresthill Dr.

1383 May Rd.

To all those participating, please verify your address is listed & correct.

Also, stay tuned for info on the app we will use to help direct everyone to each light display.  See www.facebook.com/suffield-Township

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 on Tuesday November 12th.  They discussed a number of topics, but the discussion of recycling was once again the top item.  The township's contract with the Portage County Commissioners that deals with our current recycling program comes to a conclusion at the end of 2020.  While that seems like a long way off, the subject has drawn a lot of traction around the county, especially since other township and cities are currently having discussions with the Portage County Solid Waste District.  And those talk have hinted at higher monthly or yearly costs to residents.  It appears to be a foregone conclusion that the $2.25 fee per month that Suffield residents now enjoy for the biweekly recycle collections is going to increase beginning in 2021.  The question that begs to be answered is by how much.  Naturally no decisions were arrived at tonight, since there have been no actual negotiations with Bill Steiner or the Commissioners, but how the County handles the other townships during the next several months is sure to have an impact on Suffield.

Fire Chief Bob Rasnick said the Fire Department responded to 81 calls for service in October, the staff attended five training sessions, and the need to replace thirty firefighter helmets has arisen.  Trustee Tom Calcei motioned that the township spend up to $9,000 for new helmets.  Chairman Jeff Eldreth seconded the measure and it was passed 2-0.  Trustee Jared Phillip was absent.  The Chief also asked for permission to allow Captain James Taylor and himself to attend the annual Firefighter Conference in Indianapolis in 2020.  Traditionally, Suffield has sent firemen to this conference every other year.  Last year the Department's Explorers raised money for the trip and represented the township.  Rasnick asked well in advance so that he could secure reservations at a reduced price of $620 per person.  The trustees agreed that both firemen could attend this event.  The Chief also said that there will be a controlled burn of the house at 2378 Sunnybrook Road on Saturday November 23rd.  The fire crews will arrive about 8:00 AM and the actual burning is to begin about 9:00 AM.

Gail Pavliga, a Republican hoping to unseat 75th District State Representative Randi Clites, stopped by to introduce herself and explain her qualifications and goals for the position, which will be on the November 2020 ballot.  Pavliga, who is an impressive speaker, is from nearby Atwater Township.  Adam Bey, zoning inspector, said that the Zoning Commission had voted to increase the size of accessory buildings and to allow a height increase to 25 feet for such buildings.  They then forwarded the change to the Portage County Regional Planning Commission, who will hear the issue on Wednesday November 13th.   After Regional Planning approves the changes, as they are expected to do, the issue will come before the Suffield Township trustees for a final hearing and vote, in all likelihood on December 10th.  

The trustees also set the meeting schedule for the last two months of 2019.  The second meeting for November will remain the same, that being Tuesday November 26th at 7:00 AM.  The December meetings for  trustees will be on Tuesday December 10th at 7:00 PM and Tuesday December 24th at 7:00 AM.  They have set Tuesday December 10th at 6:30 PM for the above mentioned Zoning Resolution change, and have set Tuesday December 31st at 7:00 AM for the annual re-organizational meeting.  The Zoning Commission next meets on Wednesday November 13th at 7:00 PM.  There are no Board of Zoning Appeals hearing set at this time.