MADISON TOWNSHIP — The township hall has a new roof and framing after an April microburst tore off a third of the roof and forced trustees to operate out of a temporary office space for the past few months.

Trustee Jim Houser said at the township meeting Monday that Rainbow International of North Central Ohio has crews working on the hall and are hoping to finish storm restoration work by the end of August.

“They are working inside to get the ceiling tiles replaced and they’re supposed to start on the siding and refurbish the outside door in the next week,” Houser said.

“Physically moving out of here could maybe be in September, but we have through mid-October on this lease.”

Trustees signed a six-month lease for the location at 1408 Ashland Road in May with an option to extend the lease if needed.

Houser said the township is currently storing records in the meeting hall, which would need to be moved back to the attic or to different storage before trustees can host meetings in the hall again.

“Things that have to be done before we can work out of there would also be restoring WiFi and details like that,” he said.

Fire station #2 renovations

Fire chief Ken Justus presented two different quotes for renovations in fire station #2 located at 801 Belmont Ave. He said the station needs a new furnace and air conditioning unit, as well as other repairs.

Village Enterprise & More estimated $56,622 for the renovations and Rainbow International estimated $84,593.75. 

Craft said the township needs to determine what kind of work is included in the estimated prices.

“I’ve been up in that attic and that ductwork in junk — it was never put in right in the first place,” he said. “So we need to ask if they’re redoing all the ductwork for that price.”

Justus requested the township allocate some of its remained American Rescue Plan Act funds once it determines which contractor to hire. Trustees will discuss the renovations again at a later meeting.

Trustees also voted on Monday to buy the Mifflin Township sign truck for its road department or $25,000. The Mifflin truck is a 2016 model and the current Madison truck is a 2001 Chevy model.

“Our sign truck blew a head gasket, overheated and it needs all kinds of work that’s really not worth the money to put into it,” trustee Tom Craft said. “They’re using the dump truck right now, but hopefully we can get Mifflin’s truck by December.”

Fiscal officer Leanna Rhodse said the money needed to buy a new sign truck is already in the road department fund.

Also in Monday’s meeting:

• Trustees approved recertification of five lighting districts in the township through 2026. Rhodes will file the recertification paperwork with the county auditor for the Cairns Road, Dresden Drive, North Stewart Road, Manor Drive and Neil Circle North districts.
• Houser said the soil remediation project on Expressview Drive is complete.
• Trustees voted to reallocate $5,000 from the motor vehicle license tax fund to the repairs and maintenance fund to prepare for possible repair charges through the end of the calendar year.