MADISON TOWNSHIP — Madison Township trustees met for their regularly-scheduled meeting Monday under unique circumstances.
After Saturday morning winds tore about a third of the roof of the township hall building, trustees temporarily moved meetings to the fire station until further notice.
Richland County Emergency Management Agency director Rebecca Owens opened the meeting with a storm update.
“I talked with the National Weather Service in Cleveland this afternoon, and it sounds like they’re looking at something called a microburst,” Owens said.
“Typically, a microburst is something that’s roughly two-and-a-half to three miles in area and lasts about 15 minutes. It can have wind speeds up to 100 miles an hour.
“Trees are pushed in a straight line, whereas if it were a tornado, they would have been more twisted and spun out all over the place,” she said.
Owens said, as of Monday afternoon, the EMA had received reports of five businesses, two township structures and a church receiving wind damage over the weekend. Sixty homeowners also reported property damage and an antenna on the water tower was bent.
Owens asked residents to report damage to their insurance providers and call 211 to help give an overview of total damage across the township and county.
No casualties or injuries from the storm have been reported.
Trustee Cathy Swank said township road crews are cleaning up debris from a number of ditches. She said the township will open its garage for yard debris drop off.
“Just for smaller debris — no tree trunks, no firewood — and dispose of it at the township garage at the dead end of Grace Street,” Swank said. “No roofs, no siding, just yard debris.”
Residents should not burn yard debris, as that is against the Environmental Protection Agency’s open burning regulations.
Trustees thanked residents for their patience after withstanding home, vehicle and property damage.
“We got hundreds of phone calls in the last two days, and we have no way to answer them,” trustee Jim Houser said. “Thank you for your patience and try to work with us — we’re going to make it through this.”
Trustee Tom Craft said he wanted to get as many volunteers as possible for a privately-organized Earth Day cleanup on April 22. Volunteers will meet at Providence Church at 1122 Grace Street at 9 a.m.
Organizers will provide gloves and volunteers are asked to bring trash bags if possible and wear high visibility clothing.
“Let’s make it a township-wide thing,” Craft said. “Hopefully we can get someone to donate a dumpster.”
Craft said an evaluation on the township hall is scheduled for mid-April to determine if the building is safe to meet in. Trustees will meet in the fire department until further notice and are searching for a building to host their regular meetings.
Madison Township meets at 7 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of each month. Swank said she will alert local media organizations for who to contact if business or property owners have space for the township to host its meetings.
Fire Chief Ken Justus has talked with the township’s insurance agents about the storm damage.
“At this point, we’re just going to stabilize that building, we’re not doing any improvements right now,” Justus said. “We’re waiting on the insurance company to send a structural engineer to look at the building and ensure that it’s structurally stable for repairs.”
Justus said damage to the fire station included holes in the roof and a broken rooftop air conditioner, both of which he said should be fixed soon.
Also on Monday:
— Trustees held a special meeting to discuss the summer road resurfacing project. Estimated costs for the proposed 16 roads were higher than expected, so trustees will have to cut a road or two off the list at another meeting.
— Trustees approved hiring Heather Shelton as a full-time firefighter. Shelton is a lateral transfer from the Crestline Fire Department.
— Trustees voted to participate in a national opioid settlement involving CVS, Walgreens and Walmart. Fiscal officer Leanna Rhodes said the settlement is similar to a Janssen settlement the township receives.
