Held in the Smith Park Shelter House on July 31, several local and state elected officials attended a special meeting hosted by the Tecumseh Local Schools Board of Education (BOE).

Following the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, the Tecumseh BOE opened the meeting by approving the Transportation Handbook, the CNS Catering charges for the district’s head start program, and a modification to the Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO) 457 Deferred Compensation Plan.

Following the board of education, the Bethel Township trustees were asked for new business, with Dave Phares, Ray Nelson, Sr., and Nancy Brown present. Bethel Township fire chief, Jacob King spoke of the trustees requesting a two-mil emergency fire levy to be introduced to the November election ballot for 2017. Chief King shared with the room the necessity for the levy for the purposes of new equipment showing an expiration in 2018, as well as some aged vehicles. King also pointed out the increase in service to the community since assuming his position in 2009.

At the time of accepting the appointment to chief, the Bethel Township fire department responded to an average of 890 calls annually. For the last four years, the department has responded to approximately 2,200 calls per year, with no increase in revenue. The fire department hasn’t requested new money since 2002 and as the need for their services have grown their costs have increased exponentially each year. King also stressed the importance of maintaining their Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating, as it assists with keeping insurance costs down for homeowners. Chief King closed his remarks by saying, “We’re a community-based program and we’re going to do what the community wants us to do.”

The next status report was given by the City of New Carlisle and they were able to share their financial management of the city is more optimistic than in the past. New Carlisle’s city manager, Randy Bridge, stated the repair and pavement of several roads in the city are calendared for the near future. He also shared the city’s cutting tens of thousands of dollars in expenditures due to outdated billing practices, including a $20,000 savings on utility bills and a refinance of their bonds, reducing them by $116,000 over the course of the loans. In addition, Bridge mentioned the city is in the process of ordering baby swings for the swing sets at Smith Park and his desire to make the location an “inclusive playground”, allowing for handicapped persons to enjoy the park and equipment.

Mayor Mike Lowrey followed with his report on the state of the finances pertaining to the municipal swimming pool, usually operated at a deficit each year. For the years of 2016 and 2017, the pool has shown a surplus of $6,000 and $10,000, respectively, and he attributes this turn around to the exceptional manager now in place.

The next to render a status update was the Tecumseh Local School District BOE, with Kurt Lewis, Mert Christmann, Corinne Scott, and Peter Scarff in attendance. The first point of business was a reminder of the FYI Safety Day on August 8 at the high school. There will be 40 services booths there, as well as free book bags, school supplies and 60 bicycles, all first come-first served.

To follow up on the notification from the Sheriff’s Department regarding the loss of their resource officers, the board had a meeting with the Clark County Sheriff, Deborah Burchett. Due to budgetary shortfalls at the department, a resource officer is no longer available to the district. They were told they could assist in paying for two officers at a cost of $155,000, and this cost would be shared between the Northwestern, Southwestern, Shawnee and Tecumseh school districts. It was agreed more discussion needed to take place as this is a problem that was presented to them only recently.

County Commissioner Lowell McGlothin, was the next to speak and the discussion was focused primarily on the ongoing issues in Mad River Township regarding the expansion of digging at the Enon Sand & Gravel location. McGlothin stated he continues to attempt to work with both the residents nearby as well as with the company.

The last to speak was District 79 State Representative Kyle Koehler, opening his remarks with expressing his pleasure at the success of the Clark County Fair and seeing so many local students taking part. He went on to share with the meeting a number of state legislation, some of which can benefit the county. However, he was most pleased with having the ability to say the state has approved $176 million to combat the opioid crisis in the state, with emphasis being given to the areas hardest hit. He also stated the state is searching for a way to provide more help to addicts through current programs, or perhaps a new one.

At the close of the meeting, the BOE expressed their gratitude to the room for the assistance they’ve all provided to the food bank and clothing drives, which have been successful and fed approximately 75 students each day this summer.

The next special meeting of all officials is calendared for Oct. 30, 2017, and will be accommodated by the Bethel Township Trustees.